Stress in today’s life has become as natural as the act of breathing. But most simply live with it as they do not know what to do about it or how to fight it.
There are some professionals, who are reviving their long forgotten passions in a bid to beat stress and most importantly, they are doing it as a group.
For a group of young entrepreneurs who started GreenPepper, an HR Consulting firm in Kochi, the stress-buster comes in the form of a guitar. Krishna Kumar, the CEO, says:
“There is huge amount of stress leading to lack of creativity and fun at work and routine tasks dominate the workplace. We, as a HR company dealing with 40-50 clients at a time, face this all the time.
So we hired a guitar teacher, bought three acoustic guitars, music note books and started practising thrice a week, after work, for two hours. It is a spiritual experience when we start learning and playing the guitar is not that difficult.”
Nisha J.K., who is the director of the company, has this to say: “During my college years, I used to admire musicians, though I never dared to go near a musical instrument. So, this opportunity to be closer to music is rewarding and it rejuvenates me.
After a hectic day, music is always the best way to de-stress.” Their team member Varsha Menon agrees. “After eight years, when I got my guitar back, I felt awesome.
In the midst of tough tasks, such things not only act as a great motivator but also boost confidence and help develop self esteem.”
Most professionals who flock the salsa classes conducted by Shiv Loco, founder of Body Motion Earth, Kochi are also driven by similar considerations.
“Majoirty of my students are professionals in various fields. They include managers, doctors, accountants and IT professionals,” he says.
Recently, a group of 20 managers working in a tea plantation in Munnar approached him to conduct salsa classes to beat stress and recharge their creative instincts.
Says Khushbu Jain, a chartered accountant in Kochi, who is a student of Shiv: “Dance is an excellent stress buster.
It helps that I love dance and make time for it in the mornings before work. It proves to be an excellent workout session and provides the energy to start my day.”
Many of them take the sports route to get a sound body and mind. Nandakumar Mathoor, an engineer in Kochi, for instance, believes in hitting the badminton court near his home to unwind after a hard day’s work.
“I make it a point to meet up with my friends -- Wilson, James and Vishwambharan -- and play some rounds after stress-filled hours at work.”
