On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day held on Thursday, 10 October, YUVA partnered with the Centre for Counselling and Mindfulness to conduct a training session on mindfulness with 48 staff members of The Axis, at its Head Office located in Ebene, Cybercity.

The Axis is a leading specialist in Fund, Private Wealth & Corporate Services with deep expertise and bespoke solutions. Headquartered in Mauritius, with representative offices in Seychelles, Kenya & South Africa, The Axis’ team of industry experts craft bespoke solutions to a diversified client base, including Development Finance Institutions, Institutional Investors, Family Offices and Investment Managers.

It is acknowledged worldwide that the human resource of a company is its most important asset. In an effort to consolidate its human resource, The Axis invited YUVA and the Centre for Counselling and Mindfulness to train its staff in mindfulness as a way to help reduce stress among employees. Studies show that 80% of employees report that they feel stress at work and need help learning how to manage it.

Work stress is a dominant cause of employee disengagement that can also hinder productivity. To combat feelings of stress, The Axis sought professional help to promote stress reduction and employee engagement among its staff, through a training session on mindfulness.

The training was conducted by Dr Vasant Manna, Senior Medical Advisor and Project Manager, Clinical Research and Pharmaceutical Companies and Ms Sradha Manna, lecturer in Counselling at the University of Technology Mauritius, Couple and Family Therapist and Instructor in Mindfulness, both specialists who run the Centre for Counselling and Mindfulness.

While Dr Manna elaborated on the scientific theories behind mindfulness, Ms Manna conducted several short practical sessions on mindfulness as well as explained the theory behind these practices.

Throughout the training, The Axis team were educated on the meaning of mindfulness, the different types of stress, more specifically the difference between stress that motivates one to do things and the one that causes us to become panicked. Moreover, they were explained how the accumulation of stress can lead to a mental health disorder. Ms Manna also addressed the taboo attached to mental health and emotional problems in Mauritius.

After a brief explanation of the different techniques that can be used to practise mindfulness, the audience was then guided through a practical session on mindfulness. She also explained the effect that practising mindfulness has on the neurons in the brain, and how we become more aware of our senses and thoughts. Through this awareness, we are then able to take charge of out-of-context thinking. We give our body the permission to feel whatever it needs to feel, without reacting to it. In the words of the Counsellor “Our bodily sensations are emotions, and as they come out, we feel lighter”.

At the end of the training, feedback questionnaires were distributed among the participants to assess the training and its outcomes. Participants reported feeling very satisfied with the session and they were convinced that it would help them cope with stress both at work and in their personal lives.