You could call it karma, or call it common sense.
Wendy Schie knows something good is emanating from the relaxed bodies on the floor at Thornhill Employment Hub.
Ms Schie is a Kripalu yoga instructor.
She is also director of the non-profit centre that helps unemployed find work.
Every Thursday morning she combines her two passions to help the unemployed find inner peace.
To her, it simply makes good sense.
“People who are without jobs are stressed and it can show in different ways. They may be depressed or angry or scared,” she says.
The employment hub is there to offer the “hard” skills — resume writing, interview techniques and job counseling — but the emotions need tending, too.
A yoga teacher at the professional level in addition to heading up the job resource centre, Ms Schie decided to share her skills via weekly free classes for the unemployed.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to de-stress when your emotions are all over the place,” she says.
Ms Schie says many people are troubled by an inner voice that says “you’re ugly or old or you will never get work.
“But when you can concentrate your mind, body and breath, for one hour, and are not burdened by your mind, you can rein in your thoughts and realize everyone has that voice in their head. When you start talking unkindly to yourself, you learn to let it go.”
The regular practice of yoga has been shown to reduce anxiety, stress and blood pressure levels while increasing relaxation, flexibility, strength, endurance and energy levels.
The classes focus on gentle yoga techniques rather than building up to challenging poses. That’s because, with the hub focusing on getting people back to work, the clientele varies from week to week, she says.
Each class includes stretching and meditation and wraps up with 10 to 15 minutes of relaxation under dim lights.
Many find the skills they’ve learned help their job search, using deep breathing, for example, to alleviate nervousness before interviews. Others say it helps them quiet their worries at night.
“Some say they hear my voice when they can’t get to sleep,” she says.
There is also some comfort to be found in company, says Elisa Pan, who has been attending yoga classes at the centre since January.
She began using the resource centre to help in her job search — computer, job fairs and newspaper want ads, for example — but discovered yoga was equally helpful.
“I see people with similar situations. And I’m not stuck at home,” she says, adding she practises her newly learned yoga skills on her own time, with YouTube videos.
Like Ms Pan, Kathy Kruschel made her way through snowy weather into the makeshift yoga studio on Yonge Street Thursday morning, searching for stress release in her own job hunt.
Ms Kruschel has been looking for employment since she lost her job in the printing and publishing industry four years ago.
“It can be daunting,” she says. “It’s good to find something healthy … to put you in the right frame of mind and be prepared for the day.”
In addition to weekly yoga, the Employment Hub offers a career advice, job search strategies, information on the latest Employment Ontario programs, job fairs, guest speakers and access to office equipment to those who have been downsized, recent graduates or returning to the workforce.
The services are funded by Employment Ontario and are offered free of charge.
From: Yorkregion.com