AP Ministers, officers get spiritual, work-life balance tips

Ministers and bureaucrats in Andhra Pradesh today took time off their busy schedule to get lessons in spirituality and tips on enhancing productivity, efficiency at workplaces and handling stress.
They took part in a three-day course on 'Inner engineering for joyful living', conducted by noted spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev, that began here today.
Such courses would help in reducing stress and enhancing productivity, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said at the inaugural event of the course.
A number of Ministers and Government officials like IAS, IPS and IFS officers, took part in the course.
According to Naidu, the programme is a team-building exercise which will give clarity of thought, teach how to maintain work-life balance and increase the happiness quotient of officials. This, the Chief Minister believes, would eventually lead to improvement in governance.

The Andhra Government is also working with Isha Foundation, run by Vasudev, to incorporate yoga and meditation into its schedules. It will partner with the organisation, headquartered at Coimbatore, in charity activities, a Government release said yesterday.
The sessions include preparatory 'asanas' (yogic postures), breathing exercises, exploration of tools for inner balance and joy and tools for translating inner well-being to external effectiveness.
The sessions are said to increase efficiency, equip officials with multi-tasking skills, handle stressful situations with calm and clarity, elevate personal values and life goals and improve communication and relationships through an increased understanding of others.