On 21 September 2015, a seminar at the Hotel Olivier in Strassen will seek to explain to participants how mindfulness can help reduce stress and encourage performance in the workplace.
Myriam Nihant, a healthcare professional who will lead the seminar, highlighted the importance of achieving mindfulness at a time when it is said that one in five people describe themselves as on the edge of burn-out, the phenomenon of long-term exhaustion and a diminished interest in work.
Nihant claimed that the mindfulness method was gaining in popularity among businesses, detailing how group training, breaks at work and silent reflective time without mobiles and internet has become an efficient way of dealing with an accelerated pace of life.
Mindfulness is not a relaxation technique, but rather the opposite and is used to redirect focus and regain control of oneself and one's attention to be more present in reality.
"I listen more actively in meetings, I'm less distracted, less tempted to use my smartphone and more present to others," explained Nihant.
A study conducted by the University of Massachusetts in the US found that mindfulness programmes led to 32% decrease in medical symptoms an a 13% rise in self-efficacy. Observational skills and acts of self-awareness also increased, whilst stress-related symptoms were reduced.
Research developed by Professors Davidson and Kabat-Zinn among employees of biotechnology companies also revealed the positive effects of mindfulness practice. Participants who spent twenty minutes a day meditating for a period of three months showed an increase in antibody levels of 30%, and more recent studies have demonstrated that this form of meditation can cause epigenetic changes, particularly with regard to certain genes involved in inflammation.
"We often live in confusion, our thoughts continually circulating between the past and the future and moving from one activity to another without finding serenity to which we aspire," commented Nihant, who is recognised by the Association de Développement de la Mindfulness (ADM). "Mindfulness aims to get out of this impossible situation and to prepare and establish a different rapport with facing the difficulties of daily life."
A free information session will be held on 21 September 2015 at the Hotel Olivier on Route d'Arlon. For more information visit www.maw.lu
Photo by Myriam Nihant
