How to Bring More Life to Your Work

Welcome to Ayurveda in the Workplace, where we offer tips to help you meld the seemingly conflicting energy of your daily work life and your Ayurveda practice.

Most of us have to work. Many of us like our work! Some are insanely jazzed about our work and for some of us, work is just, “meh.” In any scenario, work is a major part of life—it takes up at least half of our waking hours in a day!

So, what if we remind ourselves that even though work is a necessity, work is part of life to be enjoyed to the fullest. I mean it's almost our entire DAY for cryin' out loud! What if we brought delight and joy to our work no matter what kind of job we have? Our energy is ours—we create it! —we have the ability to improve our attitudes and experience any time we want.

Allow me to tell you a story of how I had a super-snoozy job but made it fun. Back in college, I worked in a factory making computer parts. Each day, thousands of TINY computer parts were laid out on stacks of cookie sheets that I had to solder, attach itty-bitty leads to, or monogram. Super exciting (*snark*). Needless to say the days were long and boring and I had an entire summer to make it through. Many of my coworkers didn't speak English, but we had something in common, soccer. So, I brought my soccer ball and we would all play at lunch. It made the entire day better! Then my coworkers asked if I could teach them a little English and I thought I could learn some Spanish, too. So while fumbling through these tiny parts while wearing goggles and gloves, we would make animal noises at each other and say, “What is…moo?” “Cow!” “Vaca!” “What is…bwak bwak bwak” “Chicken!” “Pollo!” and we'd go back and forth for hours, having fun and learning another language. Sounds a little crazy but it was our way of turning what could be a soul-sucking job into something that helped us evolve and laugh.

What if we all flipped a switch in our minds and spirits to decide that we will bring as much LIFE to work as possible? If everyone did that, imagine how much fun the days would be no matter what job we had.

Here are some of my favorite life-enhancing things to bring to the workplace. Here's to bringing LIFE to work!

• Start meetings with success stores. I recently led a team of eight and in each meeting I would start with, “Tell me what you did that was great, a success, whether big or small.” Everyone would go around and share while getting kudos from their colleagues. It strengthened the team, kept them engaged, and was fun from the start of the meeting.

• Offer help, even it if it's not your job. When you go out of your way to help others, they will do the same for you. Plus, it's fun to mix up your own plate once in a while and to step out of your comfort zone.
   
• A few aromatherapies. Lavender is good for bringing calm and stress relief. Citrus is zesty for uplifting and enlivening. Rose is soothing for the mind and heart.
   
• A variety of teas. Rose Tulsi is my very favorite. Especially great for pittas. It feels like a calming, luxurious treat in the middle of the day. Straight up Tulsi tea is calming yet energizing, supports the immune system and combats stress. Ginger tea is great as a post-lunch digestive aid and for tummy comfort.
   
• Play music. In Ayurveda, music is therapy. Music has a big influence on mood and can uplift or de-stress you in an instant! Create a station on Pandora, find one on Spotify, or let google music pick for you based on how you're feeling.
   
• Get outside. Schedule a break after every ninety minutes of working. Go for a ten-minute walk outside or find a quiet spot to sit with your eyes closed and breathe for five minutes.
   
• Uplift someone else. Giving kudos, providing help, or making someone else laugh might change their entire day. Let your light shine for others and in doing so, it will make your day too!
   

All these things bring a little more liveliness to work. I'm sure you are already doing some things that invigorate the workplace or your team. Do share with us so we can create a whole bucketful of ideas to bring LIFE to work!