Glaser Breathe

The Key to Successful and Healthy Leadership - Just 12 Minutes a Day for More Energy and Serenity
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-3-593-46209-7
Verlag: Campus Verlag GmbH
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 236 Seiten

Christoph Glaser is currently an insider tip at top management level. The management coach and mindfulness expert teaches a method that can significantly reduce stress and increase performance - with just 12 minutes of training a day. In his book, he presents the technique of breath-based mindfulness step by step. Glaser also writes about his training sessions in 50 countries around the world, from Switzerland to Madagascar, which led him to top executives, to a prince's castle and to the world-famous teacher of meditation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Glaser, Christoph

Leseproben

Chapter 1
Breathing is living

The first thing we do is breathe. Then the world, our world, holds its breath for a few seconds. We inhale – and we exhale, sending out the first cry like a cheer, and thus our life begins. We are given the chance to embrace it, shape it according to our ideas, fill it with longings and decisions. There are likely to be emotional ups and downs, our journey through time will include defeats and successes. Much of it will go well, some of it less so. We will love, suffer, struggle, and celebrate; we can set milestones, achieve goals. Perhaps, as the years go by, we will breathe less easily, grow weak, too weak to recover on our own.

One thing is certain: over time, we tend to neglect a skill that we practically mastered at birth – breathing correctly, in a way that moves both body and mind. Sometimes, we even forget how to breathe properly all together. As a result, our energy diminishes, muscles waste, organs weaken, and lightheartedness begins to fade. Life may take unpleasant turns that we might have been able to avoid if only we had channeled our breathing with greater awareness. If I could offer you one piece of advice at this stage, it would be this, be mindful of your breath – your breath is your main asset. And yet, we continue along our life’s path until eventually the final breath is taken – one last exhalation before the heart stops beating. Breath is the first and the last gift we are given. Between these two moments, we breathe in and out around half a billion times over the course of a lifetime. For those who enjoy numbers, that’s about 15 breaths per minute and more than 21,600 each day. Your body thereby circulates roughly 11,000 liters of air in 24 hours, drawing in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.

This is a miracle that we too often take for granted. It is an involuntary function; our breath comes and goes without our conscious attention, whether we want it to or not, whether we are working, relaxing, or sleeping. Breathing keeps our organs, muscles, systems, and cells functioning. Now, you might say, “All is well, so why bother thinking about breathing?” You might even quote the old managerial saying “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” and carry on as usual. Inhale. Exhale. Don’t waste time thinking about it, as there are already enough tasks on your list. You are simply not the kind of person who invents problems where there are apparently none. But wait. This is where I disagree, because, as a trainer for breath-based mindfulness, I see it almost every day: in today’s day and age in particular, we are often under pressure, and pressure affects the quality of our breathing, which in turn impacts on our energy, emotions, and performance.

You might be familiar with this scenario. You start your day in a good mood, looking forward positively to whatever may await you. You stretch out in bed, take a deep breath – and reach for your smartphone. You mentally sprint through the day’s appointments before getting up, switching on the espresso machine, and checking the news. What you read disquiets you – and, instantly, your breathing reacts. It becomes fast and shallow – and this lack of quality of your breathing alters your emotions, provoking irritation, which in turn disrupts your hormonal balance. Adrenaline and noradrenaline flood your bloodstream, turning irritation into anger, further disrupting your breathing rhythm. Your brainwaves change, shifting from low beta waves to high beta waves, as breathing and emotions influence each other, one triggering the other. If you fail to slow down your breathing, to give it depth and quality, your mind and body will get out of sync, and your systems will become unbalanced. This is what we call stress.

Emotional intelligence as a personality trait

In the previous century, knowledge and expertise were the cornerstones of the success stories of decision-makers. However, this has now changed. With all knowledge now accessible on the internet, and studies, articles, and methods extensively digitized and available to everyone, the expectations on top executives have evolved. Expertise no longer tops the list of career criteria. A Harvard business degree no longer guarantees a top-tier position. Instead, alongside excellent credentials, visible and measurable emotional intelligence is required. Only then do you have the potential to turn your elite degree into wealth and prestige. But how can this be achieved? How can emotional intelligence become a hallmark of your personality?

Psychologists have long claimed that the foundation for emotional intelligence (EQ) is laid exclusively in the first five years of life, and that emotional intelligence can only develop positively if socialization, education, and genetic predisposition perfectly harmonize. However, we now know better: neuroscientists point out that the amygdala, our emotional center in the brain, can be regulated through breathing. This almond-shaped subcortical structure in the limbic system responds to the rhythm and intensity of our breathing. I find this insight groundbreaking, as it enables us, to some extent, to alter the emotional reactions that have been stored there. What may have gone wrong in our early years does not have to define us forever. You have the power to correct this and subsequently give your emotions a different, brighter hue. You can reassess emotional reactions, motor processes, and even stored memories through breath-based mindfulness.

In the past 20 years, more than 500,000 employees and leaders have successfully practiced the TLEX method. And the latest research in neurophysiology can finally scientifically prove what the yogis, for example in the (a standard yoga work), have known for thousands of years. The text hypothesizes that we can influence the mindset with breathing, govern emotions, optimize our energy management, and ultimately give life more depth through breathing techniques known as pranayamas. “Prana” in Sanskrit refers to the life energy accessible to every person, and “Ayama” means to consciously harbor and control this energy within us. This is ample reason to take a closer look at the consequences of conscious breathing.

The energy of the high performers within the company

Those who know me are aware that I have an affinity for numbers and facts. I need evidence to be convinced. While enchanting words can quickly lead us astray, the truth of numbers is what matters to me. I would therefore like to reference a major study on high performers. Research by emotional intelligence experts Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves shows that successful people often stand out not because of a particularly high IQ, but because of a particularly high emotional intelligence (EQ)1. This means that empathy is a crucial character trait when it comes to leadership positions in companies. I can imagine that you might inevitably be able to come up with exceptions, which, however, will only serve to prove the rule.

Empathy, by the way, is the ability to sense the moods and temperaments of others, to understand their joys and concerns. It enables us to recognize what the other person is doing, feeling, and thinking. Mirror neurons in the brain are activated and they provide us with an image of what is happening within the other person. And there is indeed a deep longing within this technologized world for harmony, appreciation, motivation, and dynamism. Working in a team is more effective when the leader is sensitive. However, a high EQ brings even greater benefits: the degree of self-regulation is increased, self-awareness sets in, and self-motivation is enhanced. All of this can be trained with breath-based mindfulness. Experts describe this state of heightened awareness as acting mindfully in the moment.

When we stay in the moment, we are emotionally present and ready to act. The aforementioned study shows that 90 percent of high performers have a high EQ. It is therefore good to know that the EQ can be influenced and enhanced through breathing. Although we have an innate tendency towards displaying personality traits such as openness,...