The World Celebrates ‘International Day of Yoga’

“President, PM join thousands in celebrating International Yoga Day” read one of the news headlines in a leading daily. June 21, 2016 marked the celebration of Yoga on a worldwide scale. Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice having its origin in India, which aims at transforming both body and mind. On December 11 in 2014, the United Nations General Assembly, following the call for the adoption of June 21st as International Day of Yoga by Hon’ble Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, declared June 21st as the ‘International Day of Yoga’. During his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014, he stated: "Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature." While suggesting June 21, which is the Summer Solstice, as the International Day of Yoga, Mr. Modi said, "The date is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and has special significance in many parts of the world."

Stress has become a chronic aspect of life for many of us; and it takes its toll. With our brains over-stimulated and our bodies more sedentary than ever, many of us suffer from the fatigue and imbalance that comes from chronic stress without sufficient recovery. Practicing Yoga is an excellent way to soothe nerves that are in a constant state of overdrive. Yoga can help give us the ability to live healthy amidst our hectic schedules and bustling environments.

It is no wonder yoga has soared to such heights of popularity. Through yoga practice we begin to find a sense of wholeness. We become more aware. We create balance in our bodies, in our minds, in our lives. As we evolve individually and come closer to an open, authentic state of being, we also evolve as a species, creating a better world for us all.

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” – The Bhagwat Gita

-          Sumit Chakravarty, Faculty, INLEAD

An Insight on International Career Planning with Mr.Frederick Young

There’s talent within each of us, all we require is the right guidance to make the optimum use of our talent and knowledge. And, in order to provide our students with the best guidance and mentorship, INLEAD recently organized a session with the noted, Mr. Frederick Young, Managing Director, Global Education Management, United Kingdom. During the session, Mr. Young provided great career insights on International Career Planning to the students.

Mr. Frederick Young had an interaction with INLEADers on their international career prospects. He provided some very interesting  and important details on cultural aspects, international work culture, and certain attributes that needed to be inculcated while working abroad, as also some basic mannerisms that one should adopt. He had a lively interaction with students and gauged their interest areas as well as found out from them the countries where they wanted to work in.

Mr. Young started his talk with inputs on certain fundamental attributes and mannerisms that are essential while working in a foreign country. Some of these include smiling, maintaining eye contact, polished communication skills and virtues like patience and positivity. He exhorted every student to maintain a small journal and keep making both written and mental notes. He insisted that gaining respect from coworkers and customers was essential. He kept on reiterating that students should look at a long career with any organization, which will give them an opportunity to travel the world.

Post this introductory session, Mr. Young asked some questions from students related to their choice of career and their experiences if any of them had travelled abroad. From the answers he received he was able to gauge that students were extremely keen to study the diversity and work culture across nations. He encouraged them to follow their passion, maintain enthusiasm in all they would do as also explore the country where they would be posted. He asked them to keep treating their career dynamically and be prepared for changes that might happen in their sector, especially with the increasing role of Information technology.

The session concluded with Ms. Khushboo’s (Senior Vice President, INLEAD) views on   students’ expectations and she even put forth some questions to Mr. Frederick Young on   behalf of the students regarding job preparedness and cultural awareness. Mr. Young answered the questions by making the students wary about all kinds of career upheavals, work politics and work pressures. He stated that students would have to conform to certain norms (social as well as work) in any country. They should ideally find a mentor who can be their friend, philosopher & guide. This would make their stay pleasant & comfortable. The session cleared many apprehensions that students would have carried about international career prospects. All in all, the session was a huge success with the students taking home truckloads of knowledge about how to fulfill their International Jobs dreams.