Seyman: Practice yoga anytime, anywhere

The close encounter with yoga occurred two years ago. At that time, Siman felt that due to his age, his body was sore when stretching and it was inappropriate to participate in intense sports, so he began to practice yoga."After two or three times, I felt much more flexible." One of the yoga currently practiced by Siman was learned from a teacher in Florida, USA. It combines the slow and smooth movements of qigong into yoga's breathing adjustment.

Every day, Simon's schedule is very tight and his life is fast. He claimed to be not a particularly patient person and had to deal with too many things. Practicing yoga can help him focus on the rhythm of his breathing during a fixed period of time and listen to his inner voice, thereby becoming more peaceful.

Siman, who has a master's degree in economics from the University of Trier in Germany and an EMBA background from Harvard University in the United States, has started his management career in China since 1990. He first served as the general manager of the East China/Central China region of Siemens Lido Fuchs, and seven years later joined SAP and became the company's president of Greater China. As a business manager, Seyman knew that what he needed to do most was to bring vitality to the company. Where does the vitality of leaders come from? Seyman opened his hands and asked questions. "Not from superiors, not from the board of directors, but from yourself, and then empower the entire enterprise." Siman feels that practicing yoga can stimulate more energy.

In China, nearly 90% of yoga practitioners are women, and the other 10% of men practice with their girlfriends or wives. The reason is that women pay more attention to their own body, while men ignore it. According to Siman's observation, in Western countries, the ratio of men to women practicing yoga is roughly 6:4.

There are not many practitioners of yoga among businessmen, and there are even fewer male bosses. Siman believes that most people use lack of time as an excuse, while some think yoga looks strange. In fact, they don't know about yoga and don't understand the specific benefits it brings to people. The sport that business partners often talk about when they meet is golf, and they rarely talk about yoga because yoga sounds more "feminine". But in fact this was a mistake. Siman joked that if you want to promote golf, it is recommended to practice yoga first, because its flexibility and flexibility will improve golf skills.

In foreign countries, some bosses will practice yoga or just meditate for half an hour in a certain corner of the office, staring at the candle or Buddha statue to eliminate distracting thoughts in their minds, and are not allowed to be disturbed during this period. When you work again, your thoughts become clear and your work efficiency is greatly improved throughout the day.

Seiman said he didn't have time to follow this approach in the office, believing that he could actually "yoga" anytime, anywhere. You can do it at airports, hotels, or even lying in bed. He does yoga on average twice a week, which takes ten minutes. At this time, he would turn off the phone and computer and concentrate on doing it quietly in one place. However, if there is an urgent business need to deal with, you can only suspend yoga and delay it first.

"If people want to be like the word 'middle', they must find a balance in the middle so that there will be no problems." Siman said while drawing out the Chinese character in his palm. He went on to explain that the reason why modern people are tired is that their brains are tired. They think about many things. Their bodies follow their brains. In the end, their bodies are very tired and cannot achieve this balance. Practicing yoga is about balancing the body and mind and integrating the two into one.

Even when traveling on a business plane, Seyman would spend five to ten minutes closing his eyes, concentrating on breathing according to the principles of yoga practice, and getting rid of chaotic thoughts. After opening my eyes, I feel relaxed and my thoughts are open. Another time, Seyman held a meeting in Miami, and the 12-hour meeting a day lasted for a week exhausted many participants. Siman gets up at 6 a.m. every morning and practices yoga for an hour. The effect is remarkable. He can face it easily every day without feeling tired.

Siman believes in the healing benefits of yoga. He suggested that after doing yoga, you can concentrate on your breathing and imagine your breathing traveling to various organs in the body, first the brain, then the heart, and down. After inhaling the gas and exhaling it out, the toxins in the body are expelled. Another way is to imagine your body melting, dirty things entering the ground, and a person is reborn.

I wonder if Siman's yoga practice has affected the management of SAP. At the beginning of last year, SAP Asia Pacific held a meeting in Shanghai. An important episode was that a yoga teacher took the stage for half an hour at a venue with more than a thousand people. Many people experienced the joy of physical and mental relaxation for the first time.

Siman respected every yoga teacher he had and found that everyone who practiced yoga was happy because they found the balance of physical and mental unity. He feels that to some extent yoga is indeed related to the spirit of philosophy. The reason why people feel frustrated is often because they cannot correctly evaluate themselves and cannot achieve the goal they pursue. But when practicing yoga, there is no need to think about what purpose to achieve. Just try your best at will, and after you try your best, you will find that you can do more.

So far, Siman has had two most profound yoga experiences: one was when he was very tired from climbing the mountain. After reaching the top of the mountain, he sat on a huge rock, faced the sun, fully relaxed, practiced yoga, and absorbed the energy of the sun. Another time was to Myanmar. There are more than 2000 temples and pagodas full of customs and characteristics in the capital Yangon. When Siman was doing yoga in a local pagoda, he felt the feeling of complete unity of body and mind."It felt like being in heaven." (Editor in charge: Zhao Ruilan)