Work-life balance

Yesterday I was glad to take part in the Vienna Business Run that takes place yearly at the Prater Stadium of Vienna. The excited crowd of 14.000 runners from various Viennese businesses and offices wer running in 3-teams, 4km each person. Here is one photo of the event: BusinessRunVienna.jpg

…and here are the results: My time 19.20Min, I was placed on the #3402, and our 3-team was placed as #99(!) in the category of mixed teams (men&women)…Most of all it was a fun-filled evening and provided a good opportunity for networking and catching up with colleagues and friends.

Will definetely do it again next year!

Work-Life Balance

Yesterday evening, I was desperate to go running after coming back from the office.

I felt like I really needed to do sports. However subconciously I decided to go running only if I would find a “running buddy” to go with me.

I usually go with a neighborhood friend, who at this time (again) was not available. My second option was my brother-in-law, who was also unavailable.

In fact it happens that mostly I end up not going because my running buddies schedules dont match with mine. At this time I felt like I was stuck in the dead-end street. Against all the obstacles going through my mind, it really took some pushing to put my running gear on and just go, instead of just being cosy on the couch. You know the feeling?

This had been more or less the same situation for the entire summer,  in which I have put my own decision to go running subconciously under the condition of others. Yesterday was great, because I became a rebel against my own subconcious mind and twisted it around; I shall not put my own decision about my health under the condition of others. Afterall it is always us, ourselves, who have the choice to decide what we do in our lives, and luckily we can also share the consequences (ie. in this case a good mental and physical health -and condition or not).

Therefore, while running in the woods yesterday evening with crispy fresh air, I decided to go running at least 3 times a week from now on, whether my friends come with me or not. Of course, I am happy if they join me, but it is no longer a (subconcious) condition for me. Check out my webpage, if you would like to join me for 60 min run in Lobau National Park on Saturday mornings. 

Healthy Greetings!  

Work-Life Balance

It has been a while since writing to my blog. The reason is ironical. I feel like I have never been as busy as during the past weeks, and that is because I have been most of this time on vacation. You can imagine how busy it can get with a big family, with three small children running around, changing diapers, feeding the kids, watching out that none of them runs under the car or gets drowned in the lake, etc.. However at the same time we have had awesome time abroad, and the batteries are fully charged again. We spend some weeks in Italy near Venice and the second vacation in Finland. Here is a photo from our summerhouse (Mökki) in Finland, it is so cool because it is located right at the lake. However the water temperature of the lake during this summer has not yet raised above 19+C(!), therefore the only way to get in was from the traditional wooden Finnish Sauna:

In my family we still have a funny tradition, which is more like a cliche, that you wont get breakfast unless you jump in the lake in the morning. And guess what? Each one of us, even the kids, were swimming every morning (without sauna), and the water felt soooo… freezing cold but after the swim the feeling was just AWESOME; you feel like newborn, completely fresh. Now, that was a great way to start a day! I am trying hard to keep it up back home now by having a freezing gold shower every morning…lets see how long I can take it…

Talking about work-life balance, I personally strongly believe it is crucial to each one of us from time to time to shut our engines down, get the motor oiled and get some rest before going again. On the long-term this is the only way that will work. I have seen many workaholics in my life who burn themselves down and/or have terrible deficits in their personal life with relationships, at home, with their partner with their health, etc. This is not necessasry, and mostly it also does not work in the long-run. It would be non-sense to put yourself in a stress circle while locking yourself in and throwing the key away. Life is short! If we are lucky; we got around 80 years to live - so lets use it wisely…and try to strech it to hundred…

Laughter Clubs

I have been reading for the past 2 weeks a book by Dan Pink: Whole New Mind: Why right brainers will rule the future.It is a great book about how we can all empower and use more efficiently the right (creative) part of our brain.Inspite this is a great book, in the chapter I have just red today there is a very interesting topic. It is about “Laughter Clubs”.

Did you actually know there are laughter clubs around the world, that meet regularly and people just go in there to laugh?

Ha Ha Ha Ho Ho Ho Hi Hi Hi Hi He He He…

I had to google it myself and to my great suprise, there are also laughter clubs in my home town, Vienna, Austria.If you dont believe, have a look at one of the three laughter clubs in Vienna the “Vienna Academy of Laughter“.

In fact, it seems there are laughter clubs in almost every big city in Euorpe; it could be even described as a “laughter movement”.

Stay tuned, I will definetely go and visit one of these laughter clubs this year to check it out. And I will write about my experiences then in this blog.

The laughter yoga was founded by Dr. Kataria in mid-nineties and he even started a company with it: Dr. Kataria School of Laughter Yoga

The objective and principles are simple yet very important: Good Health, Joy and World Peace through Laughter

Through laughing more in our lives, we become more happy and relaxed and make the world a better place….

To the end here is an extract about “Why Laughter is so important”  from Dr. Katarias Website.

Google a laughter club near you, and go and visit them to make your own impression. I plan to do the same one day soon…

Laughter is the Best Medicine Humans were designed to laugh. Laughter is nature’s stressbuster. It lifts our spirits with a happy high that makes us feel good and improves our behavior towards others.Just a few generations ago happy healthy humans spent 20 minutes a day or more in laughter. Now adult daily laughtime is down to 5 minutes or less in many countries. This is one of the worst aspects of ‘modern life’.

Laugh yourself healthy We all know that laughter makes us feel good. A regular 20 minute laughter session can have a profound impact on our health and wellbeing. Laughter is gentle exercise. It fill your lungs and body with oxygen, deep-clears your breathing passages and exercises your lungs. This is really important for people who don’t get regular aerobic exercise.When we laugh our bodies release a cocktail of hormones & chemicals that have startling positive effects on our system. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted, your immune system is boosted & more. Western science is just starting to discover the great effects of laughter.

Why Laughter Yoga? In 1995 Dr Madan Kataria, an Indian Doctor and student of Yoga was writing a paper for a medical journal titled ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. Convinced of the medical benefits of laughter and Yogic breathing exercises, Doctor Kataria was searching for a way to bring these benefits to modern man. You can’t prescribe 20 minutes of laughter a day, and for best effect a range of different types of laughter should be combined.In a flash of inspiration Laughter Yoga was born. Thanks to Doctor Kataria, countless people all over the world today enjoy the benefits of a daily dose of laughter practicing Laughter Yoga at laughter clubs or at their workplace.

Anyone can laugh without reason Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises and yoga breathing to give you the health benefits of hearty laughter. Laughter exercises almost always lead to real laughter, especially when practiced in a group.

Laughter Yoga is practiced around the world at laughter clubs, laughter studios, in the workplace and in many specialized applications including schools, government departments, military & police, hospitals & hospice and more. There are more than 5000 laughter clubs and studios in more than 50 countries with new venues opening daily.

Laughter Yoga has been featured on most major networks including CNN. ABC , BBC, NHK Japan, Channel 7 & 9 Australia, ZDF Germany and print publications including TIME Magazine, National Geographic, New York Times, London Times, LA Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journals and many more.