Mindfulness
In an increasingly uncertain and volatile world, May & Company prepares its community to not only approach crisis with resilience, but to consciously open our hearts to help create a new world based in sustainability, inclusivity, and social justice.
Business on the Mat
Born in the winter of 2020 out of the Coronavirus crisis, Business on the Mat helped the May & Company community cope while simultaneously providing a space for being together virtually in isolation. The instruments of Kundalini yoga and meditation—both central to the Business on the Mat practice—are powerful tools for reducing stress, connecting with our true selves, and healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Our community meets once a week for an hour so we can benefit from these powerful instruments and build resilience to VUCA—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
Recognizing that we live in an increasingly unstable world where ideologies clash alongside back-to-back crises and social upheavals, May & Company has opened Business on the Mat to anyone interested in opening her heart to forge a world based in sustainability, inclusivity, and social justice. Business on the Mat is a movement to help us reconnect with ourselves, so we can connect with each other and the planet. In the spirit of this, a portion of proceeds from Business on the Mat goes toward various social causes such as Kindernothilfe.
Check out a few of the tools from Business on the Mat that you can use whenever you have a spare moment to take for yourself.
Sit up straight and place the hands in Prayer Pose. Close your eyes and roll them up to concentrate on the third eye. Breathe in and out rapidly from your diaphragm and through your nostrils. This is the Breath of Fire! Continue for 1 to 3 minutes. Then inhale and hold for 10 seconds. Relax for a few moments with your palms facing down. Repeat this combination 3 to 5 times.
Bring your right foot forward and bend it at the knee, your thigh parallel with the ground. Your left leg stays straight and sturdy. Your right foot faces forward while the left foot sits at 45 degrees. Pull your fingers into a fist. As if pulling back a bow and arrow, bend the left arm at the elbow and pull your fist to the left shoulder. Extend the right arm forward parallel to the ground, over the right knee. Chin in, chest out. Look forward with your eyes. Switch sides after three minutes.
The Camel Ride is one of the fundamentals of Kundalini yoga. It releases your spine and stimulates your organs, allowing your energy to move more freely and revitalizing your body. Sit in easy pose and place your hands on your shins. Inhale as you rock your pelvis forward and push the chest forward and up. Then exhale as you round the lower back and roll your shoulders forward, rocking your pelvis back. Repeat this motion continuously for a few minutes.
Sit up straight and place the hands in Prayer Pose. Close your eyes and roll them up to concentrate on the third eye. Breathe in and out rapidly from your diaphragm and through your nostrils. This is the Breath of Fire! Continue for 1 to 3 minutes. Then inhale and hold for 10 seconds. Relax for a few moments with your palms facing down. Repeat this combination 3 to 5 times.
Global Digital Lunches
The May & Company team is scattered all around the world, which is great for our clients. But it requires a bit of mindfulness for us all to stay in touch and keep our community bonds. That's why we launched our monthly digital lunch series. Our colleagues in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa join us virtually for lunch, in Asia for dinner, and in the Americas for breakfast or a morning coffee. Our Berlin leadership team surveys our network for the most pertinent topics to discuss and sets the agenda. Most importantly, we check in with each other and make sure to laugh.
