This article is written by Freya Montague, Policy Advisor and Yoga Teacher on the International Human Rights team, Ministry of Justice.

  • The problem: How consideration of our daily wellbeing is often an afterthought and may lead to burnout.
  • Why it matters: Taking care of your wellbeing is strongly linked to an increased quality of life.
  • The solution: Prioritising your wellbeing through daily wellness rituals and using mindfulness as a tool to enable you to reconnect to yourself and build a healthier mind, body and spirit.

As policy officials, a lot of our time is spent indoors, seated, in front of a screen and often dealing with complex tasks and bouts of uncertainty in our work. Taking care of our wellbeing should therefore be at the forefront of our minds when planning our day, but is often an afterthought. 

How do we define wellbeing?

Wellbeing is not just the absence of disease or illness. It’s a complex combination of several factors (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental) which can make up someone’s state of being. Wellbeing is strongly linked to happiness, how you feel about yourself and life satisfaction (Bieda, A. et al., 2019). Every aspect of your life influences your state of wellbeing and therefore it’s important to integrate wellness practices into your lifestyle.

Wellness looks different for everyone, but there are some wellness practices that have been proven time and time again to enrich and enhance our sense of wellbeing. For example, regular exercise, good quality sleep, a nutritional diet, meditation, time in nature, nourishing relationships and engaging in hobbies you enjoy.

As a yoga teacher, I often tell my clients “little and often”, with the idea that practising for a few minutes a day is better than nothing.

The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health”. Wellness is not a passive pursuit but an “active one” associated with intentions, choices and actions as we work towards an optimal state of health and wellbeing (The Global Wellness Institute, 2021). 

To look after your wellbeing, therefore, requires an awareness of self and taking time to find a moment away from all the hustle and bustle of daily life, which can often distract us from what we truly need to feel happy, healthy and safe in our bodies. These personal practices often fall to the wayside as we prioritise other areas of our life that seem more pressing, but ultimately this is what leads to burnout.

Mindfulness and meditation

One way we can prioritise our wellbeing is through mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is our ability to be fully present in the moment, aware of where we are and what we are doing without attaching to the events going on around us. Meditation is what allows us to step into a state of mindfulness as we explore the present moment and our inner world. This is a moment to take time to embrace our being as it is and to simply witness the ebb and flow of thoughts, feelings and sensations as they arise.

Studies reveal that mindfulness may reduce anxiety and depression, boost your immune system, help with pain management, help you form healthier habits, soothe insomnia and reduce high blood pressure in as little as eight weeks (Creswell, J.D. et al., 2019a). In a systematic review (Janssen, M. et al., 2018) investigating the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on employee burnout, participants reported feeling reduced levels of occupational stress, emotional exhaustion, increased self-compassion and a feeling of personal accomplishment. Mindfulness has also been shown to boost productivity and team dynamics in the workplace (Liu, S. et al., 2020) (Bartlett, L. et al., 2019).

The evidence is loud and clear, mindfulness should be an integrated part of our lifestyle but is often viewed as a ‘treat’ rather than a necessity. The beauty of mindfulness is that it can be practised anywhere, at any time and is simply a deepening of awareness in the moment. For example, you could practise mindful eating, which involves paying attention to the taste, sight and textures of what you eat, or you could practise mindful movement and focus on the feeling of moving your body. Yoga is a very good example of mindful movement as the practice is centred around moving through postures with intention and awareness of the breath. 

Nature is a tonic for the soul

One of the greatest mindfulness teachers is completely free and right outside your front door – nature. Both correlational and experimental research has shown that interacting with nature has both physical and cognitive benefits, acting as a balm for our busy brains. Research suggests that regular exposure to natural environments reduces anxiety and depression and improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control (Schertz, K.E. and Berman, M.G., 2019).

As a yoga teacher, I often tell my clients “little and often”, with the idea that practising for a few minutes a day is better than nothing. We all lead busy lives, and it can feel cumbersome sometimes attempting to navigate how best to manage our health on top of it all. Taking a mindful moment in your day could be the first simple step in your lifelong wellness journey to reaching your optimum level of wellbeing, both personally and at work.

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