It seems like yoga is all the rage these days, and with good reason. It has a whole host of benefits, from its fitness benefits to the fact that it can help us to boost mindfulness and combat depression and anxiety.
But today, we want to look more specifically at what public speakers need to know about yoga, along with a few of the reasons why it’s a good idea to practice it. We’re not going to provide you with an introduction or give you a bunch of exercises to follow because you can find that elsewhere, but rather we’re going to do what we can to introduce you to why it might be a good idea to look into it in the first place.
Are you ready? Let’s get started.
Yoga has an undeserved reputation for being something that hippies do, but we think that’s unfair. In fact, everyone can benefit from yoga, from the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to old age pensioners. If you spend a little time looking into the yoga community, you’ll see that it’s a diverse part of society that has a little something to offer everyone.
As a relaxation tool, yoga is second to none. It’s right up there with guided meditations and slow breathing, and there’s no reason why you can’t use all of them together. It’s important to have a whole host of tools that you can rely on when you need to chill out ahead of a big speech, because if you’re anxious or nervous then it will show in your performance.
It’s not just before the event that you’ll need to relax. Even seasoned professionals experience a surge in adrenaline before they take to the stage, and they need to have some way of burning off that adrenaline so that they don’t just start to crash. Of course, at a lot of events, you’re going to want to stick around afterwards and network with people, but the important thing is to find some time to de-stress once you’re back in the comfort of your hotel room.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of the people who do yoga are in fantastic shape? If you have, you’re not alone. Yoga allows us to exercise a number of important muscle groups and can be a great way to stay in shape without having to go to the gym every day or to take on more strenuous exercise routines. On top of that, it’s easy to do on the fly and there are a ton of yoga poses that don’t require equipment like balls or mats. That makes it perfect for when you’re traveling.
All forms of physical activity can help you feel more comfortable in your own skin, and that’s something that a lot of us struggle with. It’s even more important to feel comfortable in your body when you’re taking to the stage and subjecting yourself to the gaze of hundreds or even thousands of people that you don’t know. If you don’t feel comfortable in yourself, you’re going to start to think that they’re staring at every little imperfection.
Yoga is pretty much designed to be carried out alongside controlled breathing, and so if you spend enough time practicing yoga techniques then you’ll naturally find that your breathing is improving. This is important because if you’re not breathing properly then you’re going to start to hyperventilate, and that can lead to a panic attack. You also need to pay more attention to your breathing than you otherwise would when you’re on stage talking to an audience because your breathing will influence when you pause and when you talk.
No one likes to see a public speaker with a posture so bad that it looks like they’ve just been hit by a garbage truck. At the same time, a lot of public speakers go the other way and stand up too straight, which makes them come across as stiff and formal. Practicing yoga can help you to figure out which postures work best and feel the most natural for you so that next time you’re on stage, you feel comfortable.
Some yoga practitioners also practice chanting, and that can help you to better get to know your own voice. This is important for public speakers because the voice essentially becomes an instrument that you play every time you get onstage. You need to know how to emphasize certain words, and how to vary your pitch and tone for effect.
Yoga is one of many approaches to developing healthier practices and mental wellness which allow you to do it alongside other people. Sure, you can pick up some exercises that you can do on your own, but you can also take group yoga classes where you’ll meet other, like-minded people. This can help you to develop relationships and increase your self-confidence, especially if you get nervous about meeting new people.
We’ve saved this one for last, because while it’s not necessarily the most tangible benefit when it comes to your public speaking, it’s still worth bearing in mind that you can have a lot of fun by taking up yoga. We all need to have a fun hobby or pastime, even if we’re obsessed with our work and rarely think about anything else. Having a pastime like yoga will help you unwind and add a little more value to your life.
Now that you know a little more about yoga and why public speakers ought to be familiar with it, it’s over to you to decide whether you can find a place for it in your routine. Feel free to spend some time Googling basic yoga poses and simple exercises that you can carry out both at home and in your hotel room.
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