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As a seeker of solitude in my busy entrepreneurial workday, I use yoga, pilates, a good old-fashioned run in the park, and anything else I can think of to calm my nerves and keep my head clear and focused. I have worked hard to keep my body fit and my business running smoothly. I have also found that the same principles used in the meditation practiced during yoga can be used to strengthen my business.

While meditating during a yoga class several years ago, the instructor told us to feel that every movement is a new beginning. This made me think of my own business, which was just a fledgling startup at the time. In my day to day struggle as an entrepreneur, every project and each new contact could potentially take my business in a new direction. After making this connection, I knew that meditation had a lot to teach me about business. Since then, Ive learned to apply some of the basic principles of meditation to my business and you can do it, too.

Start employing meditation principles in your work life by viewing your business as a living being. Each direction the being goes in is, in fact, a new beginning. View this positively since life, just like business, is ever-changing and accepting that is a necessary part of enjoying your life and your business.

It is also important to pause throughout your day and really feel your body. When you are stressed out at work or you feel your shoulders or back stiffening after a tense meeting or an especially taxing day, take the time to make yourself physically comfortable. Yoga has taught me to sit erect, with my spine straight, my feet planted firmly on the floor, and my hands relaxed in my lap and that I should breathe diaphragmatically. When I have had a rough day or when I need a break, but cannot leave my office, I take a deep breath and count to four. I breathe in and out counting four or five times to quiet my mind. I keep remembering to breathe normally. I try to relax and let the thoughts come and then let them go. As you practice, the interference you feel at first will subside and you will be able to experience only that moment fully. I must also remind myself to be patient. Many times using these simple acts during the day can clear my mind and keep me focused longer while reducing the physical strain that comes with sitting at my desk for hours on end.

While there is a lot more to meditation than just learning the techniques and motions, I find that employing what I learn at my gym easily transfers into my work life. Meditation is an entire state of mind and a whole different way of looking at the world and the role you play in it. To help you understand this better, try taking a yoga class during the week. The cost (which might seem considerable for an entrepreneur with a strained budget) is worth it when you weigh the mental, physical and spiritual benefits. For more information about how you can renew and revive your business, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.

Elizabeth W. Gordon, founder and President of The Flourishing Business, LLC, is a visionary leader who has a passion for helping others achieve their entrepreneurial dreams and enjoy more of the best in life. With a vast and diverse background in many business arenas, Elizabeth regularly has the opportunity to share her business acumen with clients, large and small. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Atlanta and the Board of Directors of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Atlanta. She is an Accredited Executive Associate of the institute for Independent Business (IIB) and a certified Life Coach.

Practicing yoga is one of the best physical and emotional healers available. Anyone can practice yoga and benefit from it and there are some very basic reasons why. Besides the obvious physical benefits of a yoga workout, you also reap many positive emotional rewards. Stress is a leading cause of physical problems, such as cardio-vascular diseases, arthritis, reproductive problems, depression, anxiety and autoimmune diseases. Yoga has such a powerful effect on our stress levels that our general physical health improves.

Yogic exercises improve breathing and blood circulation. Your muscles gently stretch and relax. You gain physical strength, which helps your body stay healthy and heal. Strong bodies will help us be resilient and bounce back from stress-related illness.

Yoga helps us relax by using proper breathing techniques and gentle, but strong poses. These poses act on our parasympathetic nervous system, which often needs help processing the damage that constant stress can cause. A sudden increase in heart rate, blood pressure, shallow breathing, muscle tensing and excessive sweating are signs that a natural stress reaction is in full-swing! Our bodies, through our nervous system, can handle some of the stress easily and naturally, but many of us (most of us) are on overload -- we can be under so much stress that we have forgotten what "normal" feels like. Thats when our natural coping mechanism begins to become overwhelmed and sickness occurs. Yoga helps with that stress; it helps us return to a healthy balance.

Continuous stress increases levels of cortisol in our body, which in turn suppresses the immune system resulting in serious health problems like those mentioned above and other symptoms like sleep disturbances, loss of sex drive and loss of appetite. Stress can cause wear and tear on organs as well, a symptom that might not be immediately apparent, but takes its toll in the long run.

Practicing yoga regularly lowers your respiration and heart rates, and your blood pressure. It stimulates and aids in digestion and helps regulate blood flow to all of your important organs and systems: digestive, reproductive, glandular, circulatory and immune! Yoga boosts our well-being and keeps us healthy.

Yogas asanas (physical poses) enhance blood and fluid circulation. Breathing exercises strengthen the lungs and help us regain peace of mind. Often people who regularly practice yoga reduce their dependence on medicines or other therapies.

However, do not simply toss your medication as soon as you begin practicing yoga. You do not become unwell overnight and you will likely not heal overnight, but positive effects will come. By decreasing cortisol and reducing stress levels in the body, yoga will physically make you feel better than you ever have. Its strengthening postures will give you strength and endurance that you may not have before experienced. Yoga will also help you put worldly problems into perspective, which will bring you a great sense of peace.

To learn more about the health benefits of yoga please visit Hot-Yoga-Tips.info where you will find life enhancing information on yoga for elders, yoga for men, yoga for women and the many different branches of yoga that are being practiced by thousands of yoga enthusiasts.