I have also met some amazing like-minded business
people who can inform and inspire me as I take this
leap of faith, for example Jacqui Lewis, founder of The
Broad Place (www.thebroadplace.com.au), a modern and
thoughtful education centre where she teaches others the
benefits of Vedic Meditation.
As she explains, Vedic Meditation is an independent
practice of repeating a mantra (an ancient Sanskrit sound),
that you can do anywhere you can sit and close your eyes
for 15-20 mins anywhere – the boardroom or bedroom,
public transport or park bench!
My kind of meditation – and not a Hemp happy pant in
sight.
“The results are so great, that people carve out the time
with ease as their days are so much more productive,
creative, and joyful. Personally I have a very engaged life,
with a young family and many brands and businesses that
I manage, so I understand wholeheartedly the challenges
we all face in learning and then practicing meditation,”
said Jacqui.
Jacqui is no stranger to modern stressors and has her own
story of how she got to start The Broad Place in 2014.
“My husband and business partner Arran and I are
committed to being purposeful within the world and
operating with the highest of integrity and so successfully
turned down $500,000 worth of client fees for our agency
FOLKE ARMY (that I play a small role within) over the last
12 months.
“We did this to ensure we could execute the best projects
and not compromise on any level. This also provided
space for excellent education platforms and the launch of
our product with The Broad Place. It was petrifying I won’t
lie to you! And a huge leap of faith that has netted a huge
return for us well outside financial gain,” explains Jacqui.
These sentiments are backed up by good food foodie and
low-tox living guru Alex Stuart (www.alexxstuart.com), who
makes it clear that having a healthier, cleaner diet and an
everyday exercise plan is easier than most of us think.
Her tips make it seem very accessible.
“Do some deep and slow breaths with a pause at the top
of the breath and the base of the outbreath, a couple of
times a day to cut that ‘fight or flight’ state you’re in. If
that’s all you can do for now, fine. It’s actually a huge step
and we often don’t pat ourselves on the back enough for
heading in the right direction, but rather only when we
achieve perfection, and that’s not the point. The direction
is the point,’ says Alexx.
Alexx reinforces the facts about the dangers that a
prolonged state of stress can do to the body and argues
it’s the current number one health concern to address in
business.
“In that mode, our body shuts down other areas of
function/restricts energy being spent elsewhere in the
body, to ‘get us through’ what we’re going through. I like
to say our physiology can’t tell the difference between an
impending attack by a lion and running really late for a
meeting. So, our digestive system stops functioning well,
as does our immune system.”
Alexx also advocates that today any non-cookers can
easily outsource the wholefoods delivery of meals like Eat
Fit Food and Kamilla Johns Wholefood, but reminds me
that it takes literally “two mins to get a roast chook and
some chopped veg around it in a roasting tray and in the
oven for an hour.”
And finding time for some outdoors time and exercise of
any kind you enjoy is key.
“Everyone has 10 minutes, and if you don’t then you
probably should take 20!” she adds.“The benefit is you
live more consciously. You’re in tune with your wellness
and you know when you need time out and you know
when to slow down a little. It’s not a cop out, it’s a time
out, to refuel. Two very different things. Funnily enough,
you don’t get ‘less’ done either. You get more done
because the time out clears the h VB