?? FAST | May 2023

Editors Note

Dr Rachel Formella

May's Newsletter topic is FAST. We continue closer look at 3F's of The Kyndryl Way. This month we are talking about being?FAST??to cultivate simplicity everywhere.May in Kyndryl is also celebrated as The Mental Health Awareness Month.

In this month's Newsletter we are bringing you plenty of live sessions including two new drop-in practice series of silence meditation and chair yoga. Podcast of the month is with Estela Quesada Zuheros, author of the book:?"The Mindful Response"?which was just translated into English. We have two beautiful blog post from Yolanda and Mahua. In the learning corner, we share more on our own offering. We also share with you the Mental Health Awareness Month offering prepared by Corporate Health & Safety team and Being a Mindful Woman event prepared by Women KIN from Hungary. Art of the month are beautiful photos from Kim, book of the month is?"Emotional Agility"?recommended by Mohua and champion of the month is Shalini - congratulations!

We are grateful for your interest. Thank you for?taking?time to?browse?through our Newsletter from the Kyndryl Mindful community. I hope you will find something of value in it and share it further.

Thank you kindly for being and doing what you do.

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Podcast of the Month

The Mindfulness Podcast #70 Mindfulness for our Planet Earth

We talk to Estela Quesada Zuheros , IBMer and author of the book:

"The Mindful Response: Lessons, stories and practices toward responsible leadership through mindfulness".

In the podcast we talk about the book, about what's mindfulness for Estela and how she discovered it and what took her to deciding to start writing.

A beautiful journey thanks for listening.

Below you can find links to?the book:

Canada,?UK?or?US Amazon

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Mindful Blog | Are you working FAST?

by Yolanda H.

When I think about Fast, it takes me back to when I was in high school. I was a first-year student, and I joined the girls’ softball team. I played second base and pitcher. I can remember practicing my pitching with the catcher. I was shown a few tips on how to hold and throw the ball. I was already practicing at home. I got the hang of it and loved pitching. I was pitching fast pitch when the pitcher needed to be relieved. I loved it when I could strike them out. I can still hear them saying “Strike!” It was always a great pleasure to hear them say “strike 3, you’re out!”

When I was in eighth grade, I played slow pitch for recess. I was pitching and the girl hit the ball right at me. It came at me at a speed that was so fast that I did not have time to react, and the ball hit me right in my nose. I went down holding my nose. It was bleeding. So, I quickly left the game to tend to it. I had to go to the hospital to have my nose checked. Thank goodness no broken bones. That ball once it met the bat just went so swiftly in a quick motion, and the ball could not be stopped until it encountered an object, which was my nose.?

Once we have things in order in our work environment and not have an object that will slow us down, we too can work faster. To work fast at work, we need to foster simplicity everywhere. Creating clear and simple processes will allow us to focus on what matters most. This will help us to deliver solutions to address the customers’ problems faster with fewer approvals from this department to that department. This is not being fast. We need to collaborate with each department, each customer to find a quicker way to meet their needs.?

Here are a few suggestions for you.?Write down your task with a time limit.?Block out distractions and create a daily planner and routine. Maybe you need to change the time of day you do the work. Some people work better in the morning, others in the afternoon or the evening. Find the time that works for your creativity where you can come up with ideas. Work with your manager. Break down the projects into more manageable pieces. This way you don’t have anxiety about it. Make a to do list. Work on one thing at a time and don’t try to multitask because it will slow you down. Limit your time to the one task so your brain does not overload and shut down. Do your work in a room where you can focus and not be distracted. Shut off your notifications during this time and let others know not to disturb you. If you do not have two displays, get yourself another one so you don’t have to spend your time going to this app and another app to that one plus trying to take notes. Don’t try to make it perfect. Make your work area comfortable for you. Just make it simple. Reach out to your customer if you need more clarification. Speak to your customers at their level of knowledge so they can understand what you are talking about. Take time to listen to what they have to say.?

Finally, it is a very important thing to take breaks. Stop what you are doing. Step away from your work for at least 5 to 15 minutes to reset your brain. If you are stuck, this is your brain telling you to take a break. Don’t try to push through it. Go outside for a mindful break with fresh air and notice the sounds, nature, and the beauty around you. Give your brain a break from your creativity. Your brain will work a lot better when you do. Try the Breathing exercise and take time to nourish your body by eating mindfully. Maybe get a journal and write down things you are grateful for during your break. Your brain will thank you for taking these mindful breaks. Take care of your brain and it will take care of you.?

I will leave you with a poem:

"When I am still" by Yogi

When I am still, I can feel the warmth.

What I feel inside is being peaceful.

The feeling is very calming.

I just sit here where I am.

I will wait for my body to calm down.

After I sit, the calm brings me some energy.

Now I feel more awake and alive.

I can now continue with my day.

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May is The Mental Health Awareness Month

To increase?Mental Health Literacy?in Kyndryl by increasing our basic knowledge about mental health and mental health conditions.?

1. What is the difference between mental health and mental health conditions??
2. What are the signs of mental health conditions??
3. How can I take care of my mental health?

These are just some of the questions we should be asking ourselves. Talking, wondering and being curious about mental health are some of the best ways to address the misunderstanding and shame some people feel because of stigma.?

Read?more on the topic, watch?videos?and join?seminars?within our intranet.

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Mindfulness Champion of the Month

Shalini Grover

Shalini is one of our core team people in Kyndryl Mindful. She has been with us since day one and stayed active the whole time. Shalini is currently undergoing 12-month Mindfulness Teacher Training with Oxford. She is also Certified Organizational Mindfulness Facilitator. She has led countless practice sessions over past few years. Last month she was co-leading Managing stress and anxiety sessions, helping Kyndryls in difficult times.?Shalini is empathetic to serve with trust and transparency. She has a great ability to empathize with others and is someone so many trust. She is transparent and clear about what she has going on and loves to co-create and sometimes takes on more than she should.?

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Book of the Month

recommendation from? Mohua Sengupta

Emotional agility is a wonderful book written by Dr. Susan David, Psychologist at Harvard Medical school.?

I came across at the peak of covid 19. I was staying on my own in fact, I was the only person living in the whole of apartment building and this whole situation brought of a flood of anxiety and emotional stress, I was also dealing with some major life changes and family situation, and in midst of?all of this, a big transformation came on?work front and I was required to lead the whole project. I was overwhelmed to say the least.

This book came to my rescue, the practical approach used in this book helped me navigate and explore how I was feeling and bring in more self-acceptance towards my situation, I felt, I do have the capacity to see things clearly and also look at what is going well in my life.?

This book provides a practical four-step approach that allows us to navigate life’s twists and turns with self-acceptance, clear-sightedness, and an open mind.

?In her more than twenty years of research, Susan David has found that no matter how intelligent, resilient, or creative people are, when they ignore how situations or interactions make them feel, they miss opportunities to gain insight, getting hooked by thoughts, emotions, and habits that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Emotionally agile people experience the same stresses and setbacks as anyone else, but they know how to adapt, aligning their actions with their values and making small changes that lead to a life of growth.

It is a must read when one is dealing with complex emotions and unprecedented life changes.

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Mindful Art of the Month - Mindful Moments Photo bundle

Photographies taken by?@Kim marie shed Marie Shedlin

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Mindful Blog | Beyond that Leap of Faith

by Mohua Sengupta

Passion and perseverance are the key traits to achieve our goals. One of the key components of perseverance is the ability to take a pause, bounce back and adapt quickly when things around us are not conducive to the transformation we are seeking.?

This was year 2018, I decided to take a pause and reflect on my personal & professional journey and took a leave of absence.

I had moved into a new role in a very esteemed team. Being busy and chasing after promotions and recognition seemed like the next best thing to do. But I quickly realized, I am never going to enjoy this work.?It just didn’t align with my purpose and what I stand for as a person.?

So I took off, I took a 3-month break and travelled around for a month and enrolled for a Yoga Teachers training in Goa in the last leg of my journey.

The day I landed at my Yoga school at around 8 PM at night, I saw from a distance, the group of students who were already there sitting, I was dumbfounded! It was a group of extremely fit looking folks from all around the world, all of them looked incredibly young and agile, all my memories of childhood of being the weird, outcast one came flooding back. I felt like a scared little 8-year-old. I was sure I would stick out like a sore thumb.

Anyway, I sat there with them, exchanged a word or two, but I had decided in my mind, I am going to call it quits, I got to know, all of them were either professional yoga teachers already, acrobats or MMA fighters which meant, they were already in physically challenging professions and hence were truly fit and here I was an IT professional with some passion for Yoga and not hours of practice behind me.

After a small introduction, I went up to the teachers and told them, this is not my cup of tea, I am going to stay here till morning and go back home or some resort nearby, I am not attending the course.?

One of the teachers very kindly offered me an individual room so that I get time and space to think through and asked me to join the welcome ceremony next morning, she promised, she will let me go after that.?

In one night, something within me shifted and next morning during the ceremony, I realized we all were different but yet some similar, we all were at some crossroad in our lives and were seekers.

I stay backed and decided to give it a try.?I must say that was the most fulfilling month of my life. Despite grueling 6 hours of asana practice and to 4 hours of philosophy classes, I was never tired. I felt a strong sense of purpose every single day when I would wake up in the morning.?

I discovered my own strengths and weakness in my yoga and personal transformation journey, and in the process made some great friends for life, we supported each other in our journey, and we still continue to do that after 5 years and I also learnt so much about different culture of the world!

I clearly remember the last day in the Yoga school, we all were sitting by the beach having our last meal together while watching the beautiful sunset, I was present in the moment no thoughts of the past or future , just being there, experiencing life as it is till the phone dinged and my attention shifted I did miss the last bit of sunset but resolved to stay more present and aware.?

After three months of hiatus, I came back to work and also joined the beautiful mindfulness community to stay committed to my resolve.?I also changed team???.

Here are the life lessons I learn in this journey:

1) It's never too late to start and learn something new.

2) Practice being resilient and show up for yourself every single day and when the time comes, you will bounce back from self- doubt, or a challenge must faster than you think! Trust me!

3) You are your only competition, try not to compete with others, when you show up for yourself and support others in their journey a beautiful transformation happens within you

So go on, take that leap of faith???

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Thanks for being and doing what you do.

This month we encourage you to check our wide offer of live courses and practice session.

If you want to take a mindful journey you can choose between?3, 6 and 8-week courses.

For daily practicing, sustaining practice after the course and for all of those that cannot commit to the course at this moment, we have short practice sessions. Most days of the week we have?drop-in practices?including meditations, breathwork, mindful tea break, yoga on the mat & chair yoga, mindful music and even a silent practice.

Furthermore, every month we offer single standing?events.

In the month of May there is something planned every single workday!

If you made it this far and are interesting to learn more about Kyndryl Mindful, our offerings, our impact and all the other great mindful things happening... please reach out to Dr Rachel Formella or Patrick Kozakiewicz ??