?? FOCUSED | June 2023

EDITORS NOTE

by Dr Rachel Formella ?

In the month of June our Mindful Newsletter topic is FOCUSED. We are closing our journey together with 3F's of The Kyndryl Way. This month we are talking about being?FOCUSED?to deliver best-in-class services.?

We share good news that Newsweek voted?Kyndryl?one of the?Most Loved Workplaces???

This month we are celebrating launch of?Spanish speaking community?that now has their own SharePoint page all in Spanish and multiple weekly drop-in sessions. We are sharing contacts for practice leaders speaking many other languages too.

We share article and photos from first ever?mindfulness?sessions?in Greek?that took place in Athen's office - thank you Stefanos for leading them! Podcast of the month is all about finding your focus explained by Dr. Amishi Jha. We bring you another beautiful blog from Yolanda. Book of the month is "Think like a monk" recommended by Rachel. Art of the month is collection of beautiful paintings by Sue. Finally, please join me in congratulating?Mariana?for becoming our mindful?champion?of the month! At the end of our mindful newsletter, you will also find few mentions of what happened last month in our mindfulness community and links to additional useful resources.

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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PODCASTS OF THE MONTH?

Dare To Lead with Brené Brown

Brené with Dr. Amishi Jha on Finding Focus and Owning Your Attention

We want you to pay attention and direct your flashlight right on this podcast - you’ll understand what that means after you listen to this episode. Brené is talking to Dr. Amishi Jha, a neuroscientist and the author of the best-seller?Peak Mind, about attention, focus, concentration, and mindfulness - specifically how mindfulness can literally change our levels of attention. This incredible conversation was a game changer for Brené.

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Kyndryl Mindful en espa?ol

Kyndryl Mindful in Spanish

Llega a Kyndryl la comunidad de mindfulness en?espa?ol.?

Te esperamos los lunes, miércoles y viernes en?las sesiones en vivo.

?únete y experimenta por ti mismo los beneficios que trae la atención plena!

The mindfulness community in Spanish arrives at Kyndryl.?

Join us with live sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.?

Experience for yourself all the wonderful benefits that mindfulness brings!

Muchas gracias?a todos los voluntarios que lo hicieron posible:

Thank you to all volunteers that made it happen:

Alexander, Carla Enith Hurtado Coronel , Flor Guerrero Rivas , GISELA KOHAN , Guillermo Olmedo , Mariana Moreno Argüello , Priscila Brambila ??

Spanish community Mindful Lead: Mariana Moreno Argüello

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For mindfulness in other languages please reach out to the following contacts

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Kyndryl Mindful Greece

by Stefanos Koutsoumpis, PhD, PMP?

As part of Kyndryl Mental Health month, we organized two sessions for Greek Kyndryls on?"How to recover from stress at work through mindfulness". The event was very well perceived and supported by local management who encouraged participation and helped with organization.?

During the event we made a distinction between acute and chronic stress and presented mindfulness as a definite strategy in the toolbox of stress reduction practices available. Participants got a taste of mindful eating, interval breathing and regular sitting practice.?

Overall, 30 Kyndryls participated in the two separate events. The audience ranged from people who have tasted mindfulness before, to people who do similar practices such as yoga, to people who were completely new to mindfulness. The feedback received was very encouraging, with people actively discussing about their stress reduction strategies, commenting on their thoughts on mindfulness and expanding discussion to other interesting subjects such as multitasking, working from home vs at the office and how to make the office friendlier to the employees.?

Furthermore, it was definitely a positive experience and nice exposure for me as a coach. Looking forward building a strong mindfulness community in Greece!

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Newsweek voted?Kyndryl?one of the?Most Loved Workplaces???

It is committed to employees offering a low-stress, low-pressure environment and wellness programs to recharge through activities including meditation and yoga.

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MINDFULNESS CHAMPION OF THE MONTH

Mariana Moreno Argüello

Mariana is the leader of newly created Kyndryl Mindful Spanish speaking community. She is one of the practice leaders in Spanish language. Mariana helped to organize kick-off event of the community & practice sessions in Spanish. She is co-creator of Spanish SharePoint page. Mariana is also undergoing 12-month Meditation Teacher Training (Meditación en Ti, with MET program creator Angélica Soler). But that is not all, as her daily job she is part of Corporate Health & Safety Global Offering Team - taking part in all kinds of events and initiatives around wellbeing of all Kyndryls! We are so grateful to have Mariana with us.

Well-deserved congratulations Mariana!

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BOOK OF THE MONTH

recommendation from? Dr Rachel Formella

In this book Jay is sharing his personal journey from leaving his modern life behind, heading to India to become a monk - to coming back to society and bringing his teaching to the outside world. Book is highlighting monk mindset and beautiful teachings it brings in a way that can be applied to modern lifestyle.

It highlights mindful attitudes as well as importance and power of mindfulness practice. It can be a guide into frantic world we live in and navigating through it in a meaningful way.

I think it can be truly groundbreaking for people new to the mindfulness world and for seasoned practitioners - a pleasant read with interesting life story of Jay. It can also help organize some knowledge and maybe highlight few new aspects of our wellbeing where we could make improvements.

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MINDFUL ART OF THE MONTH

Paintings from paint by numbers

by Sue Talbot

I started doing paint by numbers during lockdown and have completed 22 so far with another 15 to paint. I find it such a relaxing hobby and time-permitting can spend hours working on a painting. I am not an artist, so complete beginners can achieve fantastic results. They do vary in complexity, so a magnifying glass can be useful.

I am now painting them for family and friends and have just completed my neighbor's dog from a photo and the duck family for my friend’s little girl.

I only use?masterpiecebynumbers.com?as the quality, packaging and customer service is excellent.

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Mindful Blog | What is your focus?

by Yolanda H.

Every morning when you get up, you are focusing on starting your day. You may start with a shower, coffee, exercise or turning on the news, music, waking up others etc.…. We all have a center of activity that we do to start our day. We all focus on something. What is your focus?

One of the best ways to start your day is to focus on something that is positive. Maybe stepping outside if the weather permits and taking a fresh breath of air, sitting, and listening to the sounds around us. Maybe doing yoga, walking, exercising, or reading a paragraph of a book.?

Starting your focus on positive things when you start your day will enhance your day at work to be more positive and feel less stress in your day-to-day activities. Being positive will stimulate your brain so that it can function at its best level. This will increase your energy and will make you feel more alert and then you will be able to manage and perform your work duties better. Being positive will help you to think more clearly so that you can stay focused on your customers and the needs they have.?

I challenge you today for this month and going forward to start your day on a positive note. Think about what things you like to do that are positive and write them down. Then when you get up, do at least one of those things. Get up at least 15 minutes early just to do this one thing that is positive. You will be amazed at how focused you will be at work. This will also help you personally during your day. You will have more energy, you will be more grateful, be open to feedback and conflict conversations, it will increase your recovery time when things are difficult, you will be able to converse better and feel more confident in yourself. Try it and practice self-care. You are worth it!?

As you end your days, sit on the couch, or lay in bed and just be thankful for your day. Practice gratitude and think of at least three things you are grateful for. Maybe be thankful for your family, friends, the food, home, and the job you have. Be thankful for whatever senses you have and the people in your life. Just be thankful for whatever comes to your mind and then you will sleep better and feel more relaxed to end your day. Just take a pause and be grateful.?

May you stay focused on positive things and sleep well!?

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Additional mindful things that happened in May at Kyndryl

Katia Picada and Rachel Formella finished 12-month?Mindfulness Teacher Trainingunder Oxford Mindfulness Foundation. It was a beautiful and fruitful journey. They both learned a lot and soon will put their knowledge to the test - running their first Mindfulness for Life courses under supervision. Congratulations to Katia & Rachel!

Our VP for culture Adaobi Odili , VP for Biz Development David Homer and our SVP for Digital Workplace Services Ivan Dopplé spoke about the importance of mental health, well-being and being mindful. Thank you Isidora Gagovic and Frances Rodrigues for leading us here and beyond.

Patrick Kozakiewicz recently completed a year-long program from the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation, ‘Mindfulness: Teaching in the Workplace’ (MTW) designed to give one the skills and competencies to offer mindfulness in a workplace context.?Congratulations to Patrick!

For more great offerings from the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation?click here.

Dr. Rachel Formella was one of the speakers at?Mental Health Awareness Event?hosted by Kyndryl & ABN Amro.?We understand that Mental Health and related topics can be very sensitive and personal topics to talk about, therefore the more important that we, within our two organizations and jointly as one team, create and promote a safe environment culture and are kind to each other.

Alicja Zalewska-Choma is bringing her knowledge to talk about sustainability and how to deal with the anxiety connected with the climate crisis we are experiencing these days. Link to Podcast

Kyndryl Digital Workplace Services & Kyndryl Mindful are working more and more closely together. Special thanks to Dan Perlick , and Ivan Dopplé for leading the way here

Yolanda H. and Matthew Stoneburner organized a live mindfulness session for the employees at the Columbia MO Integration Center.

Debbie Foster-Nevin organized a Taste of Mindfulness during her 2023 Quarterly Tea Time with Global Strategic Team in May.?

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???