stress

Build Your Resilience: Thriving through Change & Complexity

Join Wendy Woods on June 4, 2014 at 12:30 PM for this powerful one hour webinar.   Is the constant state of change, uncertainty and complexity making it hard for you to be and remain resilient? Today’s climate is so challenging that it is commonly referred to as “VUCA times” describing an environment of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Developing a capacity for sustained resilience is not only essential...

The Potential Project: Mindfulness at Work on Wednesday Evenings Starting April 2nd

CORPORATE BASED MINDFULNESS TRAINING (CBMT) Would you like to have more hours in a day? Or at least make better use of the precious time you have each and every day? Are you looking for opportunities to be more effective, calm, clear, and focused at work and at home? Are you interested in learning techniques to be more responsive and less reactive in everyday living? Mindfulness is a scientifically...

Resiliency in the Workplace

Join Wendy Woods for Resiliency in the Workplace on April 4 and 5, 2014 in the Applied Mindfulness Meditation program at the University of Toronto.  Learn how self-compassion and compassion can contribute to resiliency and impact the workplace.

The Mindful Workplace – December 6 & 7, 2013

The 24/7 demands of business are leading to greater absenteeism, less effective decision making and lower employee engagement and productivity. While the hectic pace of business has been acceptable in the past, there is a growing need for a more mindful workplace. This workshop explores why mindfulness is critical to engagement, focus and productivity. Click here for further details or to register.  

Coaching

Hear What Our Coaching Clients Have to Say About Us:  “My one-on-one sessions with Wendy helped me to pinpoint areas of my life where I could make changes.  Once I realized that I did have control, I was able to stop thinking of myself as a victim. Wendyhelped me brainstorm positive, specific steps that I could take to ease the stress in my life.” S. H. Certified General Accountant “Wendy...

Bring Mindfulness @ Work into your Organization

The pace of today’s workplace requires a new solution to be productive, effective and maintain well-being.  It requires resilience, reflection and the ability to respond rather than react.  The Mindfulness at Work series includes: Mindfulness Fundamentals Working with the Breath Tapping into the Body Bringing Greater Compassion into the Workplace Increasing Resilience: Thriving in a 24/7 world It is ideal for leaders and teams looking to be more effective in a dynamic...

Mindfulness @Work: Bringing Greater Compassion into the Workplace

Join Wendy Woods for her Mindfulness @Work series at the University of Toronto.  It’s a great opportunity to bring greater mindfulness into your day and reap the many benefits of mindfulness at work (e.g. greater concentration, lower stress, increased self awareness, improved leadership skills). If you want to bring Mindfulness @Work into your workplace, contact us for a complimentary assessment.

Requesting Sept. Newsletter

Are you feeling overwhelmed at work? For Stress Busting tips, check out our Stress Busters Ebook. Also if you want to receive a copy of our latest newsletter Quick Resources to Reduce Stress and Increase Productivity, email us.  

Quotes of the Week

Image courtesy of Photography by Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a forgetting of the breath. Nothing is that important. Just lie down. ~Natalie Goldberg, American Author The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. ~William James, American Psychologist Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one. ~
Hans Selye, Endocrinologist The time to relax is when you don’t...

Get In on the Fun with WTS

Watershed Training Solutions has two great  events in June that are designed to enhance your workplace experience while equipping you with the necessary tools to get the job done effectively and efficiently. June 17th CMA Ontario – Essential Leadership Skills This is an interactive and informative workshop that will identify critical emotional intelligence competencies, transforming you into the optimal leader. June 29th – Releasing Stress Through Laughter Yoga Giggle...

Quotes of the Week

“The choices I make today will determine the rest of my life!” ~Ginny Dye, Founder of The Ultimate Life Company “Life is best enjoyed when time periods are evenly divided between labor, sleep, and recreation… all people should spend one third of their time in recreation which is rebuilding, voluntary activity, never idleness.” ~Brigham Young, Religious Leader “Most people struggle with life balance because they haven’t paid the price to decide what is...

Stress Relief with Wendy Woods…(Sigh)

In 30 minutes you are presenting to the board of directors. As you stand in front of the elevator panting, you recall this morning’s mishaps. You missed the bus because you forgot to print an extra copy of your report, leaving you no other choice but to run the 10 blocks to your office building in the -15 ̊C weather. You bolted through the streets cutting traffic and spilt...

Importance of Breathing

Image courtesy of federico stevanin/FreedigitalPhotos.net Breathing is something we all do but most of us don’t do it properly. We breathe shallowly and quickly so we don’t get the benefits that our bodies need from a decent supply of oxygen into our lungs. Another wonderful benefit of proper breathing is that it can quickly help us manage stress. Here are 3 quick ways to improve your breathing: Check in...

Work, Life, and Everything In Between

Maintaining a proper work/life balance is an issue that is gaining more precedence, especially amongst Gen Y’s. Being a Gen Y myself, I can attest to the utmost importance of finding employment that offers the opportunity to maintain a happy medium between work and life. Though employers are becoming more attune to the need for balance, there is still a long way to go. Author of SuperCorp, Rosabeth Moss...

Benefits of Belly Breathing

Typically, the only place we really concentrate on our breathing is in a yoga class, but we really should be thinking about our breathing throughout the day as abdominal breathing has a plethora of benefits. Belly breathing a great way to relieve stress as it promotes calmness by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system and allows for improved concentration. What’s more, is that it also helps to detoxify your inner...

Managing Email Madness – Part Three

We hope you enjoyed our series on managing email madness. In case you’re still  experiencing resistance from your email recipients, or you’re just looking for some more great techniques, we’ve extended our series to include a third installment.  In our final chapter, we’re going to look at some more tips from  Stever Robbins on helping you to control the flow of email. Send out Delayed Responses This technique is...

Quotes Of The Week

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”~ Anatole France “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”~ Franklin D. Roosevelt “A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.” ~ Paul Dudley White “Above all, do...

Stress Busters- Part 3

Image courtesy of Michal Marcol/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Feeling stressed? Not being able to focus on work properly? Is stress causing a constant rush of adrenaline? Here is the solution! We have quick stress busters for you AGAIN. Our stress busters blogs have been so successful that we thought we’d provide you with more: Take a mental vacation. – Give yourself a 10 minute mental vacation by imaging yourself on a real...

Managing Email Madness – Part Two

Last week, in Part One of our three part blog series, Managing Email Madness, we taught you how to become a better, more efficient email sender. By now, we hope your new techniques for sending email have rubbed off on those around you, but in case you have some resistors, Stever Robbins has a few techniques that you can use when it comes to reading and receiving email Use a Paper...

Video Weekly Tip: Stress Relief with Wendy Woods

Take a break and watch Wendy Woods, Principal of Watershed Training Solutions, walk you through all the benefits of one of her favourite stress relievers: laughter. For more information about Watershed Training Solutions and stress management tools, strategies and workshops, check out https://www.watershedtraining.ca/

Work. Life. Balance.

I worked part time during the winter semester with a full course load at school. I struggled throughout the entire semester to keep balance between work, school, and my personal life. Towards the end of an unhappy, rough, and sleep-less semester, I realized that I failed miserably at keeping up with my responsibility for keeping some semblance of balance in my life. It was and is, like everyone’s, my...

Bringing more Balance and Joy into My life

In my July 2nd blog, I talked about bringing more joy and balance into my life so I could live more of la bella vita at home. I mentioned that I was planning on taking singing lessons in the fall. Well its here and I am signed up at a local high school. I’m going to get my Glee on. While I am really excited about starting, I’m fascinated...

Leaders – your moods have a huge impact on your Employees & the Bottom-line

Being a leader today isn’t easy.  With greater demands and less resources, it seems that there is never enough time or energy to get everything done.   Deadlines, demands and the resulting stress make work and life a challenge.  In addition to the impact on your personal well being, your mood has a profound impact on your employees. According to a Harvard Business Review article (Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2001), a...

Meditate like the Busy Person You are

I was asked to join a great group of women as they explore spiritual topics.  Since Monday night was only our second meeting, I suggested that we start each meeting with a guided mediation. This would ensure that we leave our stress, worry and busyness behind to be fully present. Luckily everyone agreed.I then lead them through a 7 minute meditation focusing on the breath and relaxing our bodies...

Fast and Simple Stress Solutions

Image courtesy of Ambro/FreedigitalPhotos.net Stress is meant to protect us from dangerous predators and situations. However today our stress response is triggered by less hazardous situations (e.g. deadlines, countless interruptions). Because these situations are constant, we never get the break needed for our bodies and minds to recover. As a result, stress can cause a multitude of problems, such as physical (cardio-vascular diseases), mental (depression), and behavioural (absenteeism) symptoms....

Finally Happiness at Work

When I did my MBA we took courses like strategy, finance and marketing.  The closest thing to a ‘soft’ subject was one on ‘ethics’ that wasn’t even a core requirement.  Today MBAs are being exposed to a wide range of personal development topics like Creativity and Personal Mastery taught by Srikumar S. Rao at Columbia. In his course, Rao asks his students to discover their unique purpose, creativity and...

The Costs of Stress

Stress is one consequence of today’s workplace with a high economic cost according to Dan Bobinski in Superman is a Fictional Character, In fact, research shows that the cost of stress to the American workplaces is about $300 million annually. Companies have been doing what they can to try and alleviate the stress of their employees by providing benefits (e.g. massages, yoga classes) and programs (e.g. Employee Assistance Program)...

4 Ways to Manage Post G20

Image courtesy of Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Nowadays, lots of things are happening in Toronto. In the midst of the rare earthquake that rocked the city, one of the more prominent things affecting Toronto is the G20 Summit. With protestors being arrested, leaders making big decisions, damage being done to the city, and its expensive nature in general, the G8/G20 has been quite stressful for everyone. Here are some techniques to...