CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN

Last updated05:00, July 12 2017

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN/STUFF

Power Living Wellington has seen an increase in 'corporate yoga and meditation'. From left: dedicated meditator Neil Meekin with Power Living's Justine Hamill and Jase Te Patu.

Business meetings are taking on a whole new meaning in Wellington, with a rise in 'corporate' meditation packing out classes in the CBD.

Neil Meekin, a long-time meditator,says taking the time to "quieten the mind" is beneficial to his workas an innovation manager.

"If you can imagine your day, there's so much stimulation. I know for me there's just so much going on," he says.

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN/STUFF

Meekin, left, says meditation helps him with relaxation and brain clarity and increases his work productivity.

"There's a metaphor: It's like getting a big bowl of water and putting loads of dirt into it, so it's all really cloudy and you can't see through. But when you come into meditation for half an hour in the day time, it allows the dirt to settle so you're getting real clarity."

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The clarity helps him be more creative and switched on in the office.

"Even though you're becoming really relaxed, it doesn't sacrifice productivity ... it's actually the opposite: you're relaxed, but you're actually so much more productive."

Yoga studio Power Living Wellington began half-hour lunchtime meditation classes three months ago.

Co-owner Justine Hamill says class numbers have doubled in the last couple of weeks.

"The beauty about it is you can come in andjustsit in your work clothes and have that half an hour to just tune in, without all the social media, without all the demands, without all the 'blah blah blah'."

Co-owner JaseTe Patu says meditation is something simple that people can do for themselves.

"We're just finding that just that idea of stopping in the middle of your day, especially if both ends of your day are hectic it's like hitting a reset button ...

"It's something for you. You're the thing that's in common with all the things you have to do, so if you're not taking care of yourself then all the things you've got to do are not going to be done with efficiency."

Te Patu says people generally take shallow breathsusing their chest, instead of deep breaths with their diaphragm.

Slow, deep breaths slow down a person's autonomic nervous system which leaves them feeling more relaxed.

He says during meditationthe studio is made up almost entirely of CBD workers many coming in groups with colleagues.

"They all come together, it's like theirlittle midday meeting together."

-Stuff

More:

Take your next business meeting to a meditation studio - Stuff.co.nz