Self-inquiry for Teams

We use the ground breaking yoga practice of Self-inquiry - refined for use in organisations - to support work teams gain insight and clarity into their thinking and feeling. This skill is particularly useful while teams seek to sustain project momentum or take action in the face of unanticipated challenges. Self-inquiry is based on an ancient meditative practice of the same name, re-purposed for the 21st century* as a disciplined and structured means of using one’s body to identify and refocus feelings and thoughts with positive intent.

Recently, as part of Patricia's doctoral research, we collaborated with workplace teams to distill and define the benefits of using Self-inquiry at work. For the most part, work teams proved open to identifying and sharing their feelings in order to nourish and nurture their work.

They found that resilience, trust and emotional capabilities grew quickly, with group emotional intelligence and agility developing over longer use. Other benefits included more self-care and reduced stress when working at difficult jobs and stronger, more empathetic teams.

Today, we help project teams and individuals in organisations to adopt Self-inquiry as a day-to-day tool in their work, systematically asking the questions "How do we feel about this?" and "What's going on here?". We recommend the benefits of this process to you

* Over several years, Mahamandaleshwar Swami Shankarananda shaped and contemporised the ancient practice of Self-inquiry as a practical, uplifting form of meditation beneficial for western students of yoga. His book "Self-inquiry: Using Your Awareness to Unlock Your Life" is a step by step guide to developing insight into the workings of our mind and emotions.

Investigate

"Each time we use Self-inquiry, I find that it works for me. There's an increased sense of trust in the team and no one has chosen to opt out - even though we have impossible deadlines and we may be dealing with uncomfortable emotions."

Recognise and understand

"It's been really, really helpful for us to have a different way of looking at things in managing projects. Self-inquiry has added a valuable skill set to the team and has been beneficial in the way that we understand, prioritise and drive change."

Uplift and enrich thinking

"My role - while it's not hard - is busy and stressful; I need to please a lot of people and make them look good. Self-inquiry has taught me to recognise the things that stress me out. Now I choose when to yield and when I can say "No, I didn't sign up for this."

I used to say things like, "I'm in a constant state of anxiety and frustration. I feel fog-headed. I feel trapped and helpless, living in someone else's life." That’s all very dramatic, but it's actually quite good that I can now get out of that thought process