It’s in the air. I hear it almost everywhere I go these days. People are verbally expressing their concerns such as:

• “I need to decompress.”
• “I feel so stressed.”
• “Time just goes by too fast.”

I am uncertain if this is a sign of the change of society or a sign of people’s awareness of a deep-rooted need.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly half (47%) of working Canadians ‘agree’ (15% strongly/32% somewhat) that their work and place of work is the most stressful part of their day and life. In addition, according to WHO, “Work-related stress is an issue of growing concern in developing countries due to important developments in the modern world; two of the most significant being globalisation and the changing nature of work.”

People are stressed and aware that they are stressed, so now how do we face this issue?

I believe one of the key factors to contributing to the reduction of these numbers is collective knowledge. And then, taking this knowledge and applying it to our everyday lives in a way which reflects an understanding that this desire is deep-rooted in our core and is evidently the essence of our internal makeup. One way to apply this knowledge is in the way we take care of ourselves and each other. Yoga and mindfulness are ways that can help us to care for ourselves and each other.

Yoga and mindfulness

Yoga and mindfulness have become more popular and accepted in our Western society. This is the reason I have chosen not to emphasize on the growing facts within the research regarding the benefits of yoga and mindfulness for our overall health. I believe most individuals can appreciate that applying yoga and mindfulness to our lives would be of benefit to our wellbeing. However, I do want to encourage us to view the benefits from a different point of view. What I would like us to do together here is to contemplate on a theory we are all likely familiar with; Erikson’s hierarchy of needs.

Exploring a theory

Some may dispute aspects of his theory, but I encourage you to be open to exploring this with me momentarily. A few nights ago, I was in that open mental space just before falling asleep, and I visualized the pyramid for some strange reason. I started to ponder how it related to my current practice of yoga and mindfulness. I started to wonder if there were correlations; what they were and will they deepen my initial understanding of this theory or my yoga practice. The next day, I started to research these thoughts further, and I found out that I was not the only one who noticed these comparisons. Here are some interesting comparisons to take a look at.

Following is a direct comparison of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the 7 chakras.

Source: Daniel Tomasulo, Ph.D. https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/02/06/maslow-revisited-the-hierarchy-of-chakras/

Tying it together, let’s briefly describe what the chakras are. According to yoga philosophy, a chakra is considered to be a form of life-energy, known as prana or chi, which remains within all of us on pathways called nadis. One way to view the main function of the chakras is as a system which absorbs energy by spinning around their own axes which holds this energy in their respective spheres to maintain and balance our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. When the chakras are working in synergy, we experience a balance between mind and body.

In the workplace

Based on literature focusing on mental health in the workplace, psychological health and safety, it is clear that many individuals do not feel safe in their workplace. They struggle with feeling appreciated and do not feel respected as an employee or colleague. As indicated in the graph above, those feelings are represented in stages 2 to 5 on the hierarchy of needs, and impacts four of our chakras. I found the similarities between these two models to be interesting. Did Erickson study the chakras and integrate his theory to reinforce his message? Or, does it point to a deeper level of universal intelligence, which points to the same premise, but comes from different academia, eras and cultures?

A different point of view

Sometimes, viewing something from a different angle could allow us to experience the information differently. In turn, it helps us to re-evaluate and/or reorganize the importance of a particular piece of knowledge. For those who held Erickson’s hierarchy of needs to a high standard as a reasonable way of viewing our life span development, the information provided here may further reinforce to you our need to find ways to seek balance through practicing healthy coping strategies, with yoga being one of the ways.

For those who dispute Erickson’s theory, perhaps this information has offered you a new perspective to take into consideration. Regardless, many of us seek balance and happiness, and the correlation between both of these theories tell me a story. First of all, the components of safety, trust, belonging and connection are all essential to our health. They are impacted by so many aspects of our lives which we encounter everyday, which seem to unfortunately be depleting these core elements of our wellbeing. Regardless, important similarities of the messages which these two points of view offer are either a coincidence or are truly synchronic at its best. We can recognize that taking consistent steps to keep these stages, needs and/or chakras aligned is a life-long process; one which we should all seriously reflect on.

It appears health-related issues contributing to stress will increase; thus, impacting the way we function with others. We don’t want this to negatively impact our wellbeing, essentially limiting our very existence. So, it is best to explore how we can keep our chakras aligned and needs fulfilled.

By Angelique Benois, BA, MScN, RYT

Emotional Health Specialist @ Nurturing Our Wellbeing (N.O.W)