Whenever one uses the term ‘job burnout’ in any conversation, this relates to the prolonged interpersonal and chronic stress that happens on the job and which results in inefficiency, exhaustion and cynicism.

Not only does this affect the individual who has to deal with this, but it also affects the organization’s effectiveness in production, and to the point that it costs American companies almost $ 300 billion dollars every year.

In a recent study published in the quarterly magazine of the Indian Institute of Management of Ahmedabad, ‘Vikalpa’, concludes that job-related stress and the corresponding burnout can be reduced significantly by adopting yoga as a part of one’s daily routine.

A group of 84 executives from Grasim Industries Ltd. were divided into two groups (of 42 each) where one group spent time understanding the philosophy of yoga for about 25 hours as well as practicing yoga for about 75 minutes a day while the other group was trained for the same number of hours in physical exercise based on modern theory.

While parameters such as body-mass index (BMI), blood pressure, weight and blood sugar were taken into consideration, stress was measured by using a standard self-reported questionnaire that documented responses from the participants before and after the experiment.

In comparing the results of both groups, it was found that the former group (which practiced yoga) felt stress levels drop as opposed to the increase in stress levels in the group that performed physical exercise using modern theory.

Until now, there hasn’t been any conclusive evidence to substantiate the fact that yoga which consists of behavioral modification, meditation, correct postures, breathing techniques and a low-fat non-spicy diet) reduces stress but with the results of this study, it has been established that yoga brings about a complete transformation at the physical, mental and spiritual levels while also fortifying one’s stress coping skills.