Group Meditation Is The Untapped Team Building Activity To Increase Productivity

It has been shown that meditation can improve business productivity, as we discussed in a previous blog post. This is done by decreasing stress, improving focus, and relaxing the mind and body so they can be rejuvenated. But what is done individually, by business owners, executives, managers, and employees, to improve their productivity, can also be done in a group, which will have a different dynamic, but increase the benefits even more.

Why a group?

There is a saying. “Surround yourself with people with the same goals as you.” This is because any activity done in a group that is able to support one another, through their actions and energies, yields more results. Just like an ant trying to lift a rock alone, versus a group of ants working in unison to lift the same rock.

But you might be asking: meditation is not a physical activity, so how will doing it in a group give better results?

Have you ever gone to a concert, or a sporting event, and every time the band plays a really good song, or your home team scores a critical shot, you feel uplifted by the sheer energy of the crowd? Many people refer to this as the “electricity” of the crowd, or the “vibe” of the crowd, just making the experience all the more amplified, versus watching the concert or the game at home alone.

The same principles apply with group meditation. When you're with the group, with the same goals, the same purpose, you will feel the vibrations from the crowd amplify your own, and improving the experience. Not only that, doing it with the group let's you share the experience with them, which results in a better bond forming with the people involved. And it is this that can improve your business and take it to the next level.

How to set a group meditation session

The first thing that needs to be done is to determine a suitable size for the group, and the right venue for them. If the group is too small, then the meditation session might not be amplified enough. Too big, and it can be difficult to conduct and control, especially if there are members who might not be there for the right reasons.

A good way is this: if you or the company you work for is small, around 15-20 people, include everyone. If it is big, meditation groups can be the employee teams themselves, with the team leader or manager being the meditation conductor.

A small business, like a cafe or a restaurant, can use the main floor venue as the meditation area by pushing aside the chairs and tables and making enough space. Not only does this save money and time, it also gives the staff the idea that their own place of work is not just for work, but can be a place of sanctuary and peace, a place to call home if need be. If it is a big company, a conference room can be used. In fact, it is highly advisable for businesses that will regularly use meditation to devote a room specifically for meditation, where individuals or groups can go to and just meditate.

Next step is to decide on a goal. Is the meditation to simply provide relaxation? Is it to focus on a particular goal? Is it to promote inter-personal dynamics? Is it to be introspective in order to be a better employee and team member? This will also determine which kind of meditation for business you can use for your session.

Once the goal is set up, determine who will lead the meditation session. As a business owner, manager, or team leader, it is good if you know how to meditate, as this will help in leading a group meditation session. As an employee, you can volunteer to take the lead and show initiative even if your position is not the highest in the team or company. Just be sure that whoever will lead the group meditation has experience in meditation.

Finally, invite the people who will be involved ahead of time, explaining the details of the meditation session, and to make sure they arrive prepared (perhaps they will need their own cushion or have not done meditation before; include a primer in the email, like a short description of what it is.) This will make sure that they enter the venue with the right idea in mind, and not be surprised or taken aback by what they will see.

From there, conducting the meditation is very similar to the steps of the different kinds of meditation for business, or any meditation method you choose. Set up each employee's space, give a brief and solemn talk about the purpose of the session, and then begin. One is leading the actions, like calling for proper inhales and exhales at the properly timed cues, or leading the mantra for the group to follow.

Meditation in a quiet place is good, but adding a speaker system to play a binaural beats track for meditation can also increase the meditation's potency. Listen to this binaural beats meditation track for motivation and success and give it a try on your next meditation session! 

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Meditation Improves Business Productivity

Many people often associate meditation with spirituality, finding inner peace and achieving nirvana, and only done by those following a certain religion, or a practitioner of a far-eastern martial art. It is so old fashioned, that it’s something that no one in the modern world has time for, right? Well that couldn’t be further from the truth, because science has shown that meditation has its place in modern society, and one such place is, as we will be discussing, so unlikely that those not in the know might not even expect it: Business.


What is meditation?

Depending on your source, meditation may have different meanings. But each has one thing in common. Meditation is a state of mind wherein it is emptied of whatever may trouble or disturb you, to pause and be at peace with oneself and be calm. Contrary to popular belief, meditation is not an action: it is a state of mind and awareness; often we can see someone trimming some plants, doing calligraphy, or some other similar act, and still be meditating just the same as someone who is in a lotus position in a garden. But the latter is the common image and way of performing meditation.


How does it help me in business/work?

The main benefits of meditation for business, both for employer and employee are very valuable. In fact, meditation, as it was discovered by the Harvard Business School, and INSEAD, Europe’s top business school, is one of the two most effective business tools for executives and employees (the other being intuition.) Meditation affects the individual, going up to the team, and all the way to the entire business organization, all the while positively influencing each branch to bring overall results.

Meditation actually helps solve the four key components for a successful business, namely:

1. Coming up with, and adhering to a clear vision of the business’ goals
2. To be inspired and innovative in the way they provide their product or service to the market
3. Proper leadership
4. Solid teamwork

And it does so by doing the following:


Benefits of meditation

1. Stress relief – one of the things that can bog down a person’s productivity the most is stress. Stress caused by overworking, or anxiety about deadlines, can compound the problems further, bogging down the business engine even more. And stress can actually affect the person physically, causing loss of energy, slower thinking, and even other health issues. Meditation relieves stress and rejuvenates the mind to be able to do what needs to be done.
2. Improved focus and creativity – stress in work is caused by many things, and one of these is being unable to solve problems. Meditation helps this by calming the mind down, emptying it of unnecessary thoughts, and allowing the person to be mentally and emotionally well enough to focus on the problems at hand. Being creative allows the members of the business to be able to solve problems faster and more efficiently, leading to success which will provide boosts in morale and lead to even more solutions being thought of.
3. Better mental and physical health – the rigors of work and the stress that it causes can affect a person’s mental and physical well-being, from anxiety and insomnia to heart ailments and complications. Some employees have even been known to develop clinical depression! This can cause problems at work ranging from inability to achieve targets, to absences, to bad relationships with co-workers, which all lead to loss of productivity. Meditation calms the mind down, resets the heart rate to a healthier level, and reduces the risks of physical and mental problems. 
4. Better employee teamwork and relationships – staff members who meditate, whether individually or together, become more calm and easier to work with, due to their relaxed, peaceful state. This leads to better teamwork, which is critical in any business venture. Not only that, a good demeanor leads to people respecting each other better, with employers being able to trust their employees and employees being more motivated to deliver for their employers. 

What’s the science behind this?

Some may think that this is nothing more than some new-age idea embraced by some businesses as a fad. But rest assured that, if big companies like Google use it, there is a science behind it. And there is!

Our previous blog posts talked about brainwave patterns and the benefits of brainwave therapy like binaural beats. There’re Alpha Waves, which govern the brain’s cognitive, creative, and problem solving abilities, Beta Waves, which govern the brain’s focus, fight or flight response, and logic, and Delta Waves, which control the body’s healing capabilities and involuntary processes (like heart rate and breathing.)

Being able to produce the said brainwaves in the right amounts and right combinations will allow the mind to reap all of its benefits, and one way to do this is… yes, meditation.


Basics of meditation

There are many ways to meditate, and we will discuss the different methods in a future post soon, but for now, here are some basics to get you started.

First, find a plane surface you can sit straight on. Close your eyes, try to relax, and breathe slowly, in and out. To help empty your mind, focus on your own breathing, and nothing else. If you get distracted or are unable to focus, block it out, and keep your focus on your breathing. Do this for as long as needed until you feel better and relieved.

To increase your chances of being able to focus, the venue is important. If you have your own office at work, lock the doors, put a no disturb sign, close the blinds, and sit on the floor. If you don’t, find a room in the workplace where you can be alone, and do the same. If you’re a business owner, devoting a room for meditation can help your employees do this.

And finally, using binaural beats for meditation to motivate and success definitely helps. Try to listen to this track and it will definitely make you more relaxed and focused on your meditation.

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