Healthy mind, healthy you

The benefits of meditation

2 min read

July 2021

Manishi sitting cross legged on mat on green grass in front of lake

Living through a pandemic can be extremely tough. Many Americans are reporting increases in stress, anxiety, and depression as a prolonged lockdown ensues. Americans and Progressive employees alike are searching for ways to reduce stress and tamp down anxiety and depression. Manishi, a 19-year Progressive employee, believes he can help.

Manishi has practiced and reaped the benefits of meditation for years. He believes strongly that a healthy mind leads to a healthy body, and that achieving both can be helped, in large part, by practicing specific breathing and meditation techniques. Like many new things, when beginning your meditation journey, start small. Most beginner meditators start with three to five minutes of meditation. In those minutes, focus on the sensation of taking three breaths.

Impressed by the practice’s stress-relieving benefit, Manishi is a strong advocate for meditation. Meditation offers a variety of short- and long-term benefits, including a sense of calm, balance, and peace. Manishi made it his mission to share these benefits with others. Working with a team of co-workers, Manishi drafted and proposed a program to introduce breathing techniques and guided imagery meditation to everyone at Progressive.

Manishi shares his passion by teaching meditation and happiness workshops across the Cleveland area. His favorite thing about teaching is seeing how his students transform. “By the third session you can really start to see how different they’ve become,” he said. “When your mind is strong, it’s easier to deal with life’s challenges.”

In a time when stress and anxiety levels are high, Progressive’s efforts to support the mental and emotional health of our employees has been a top priority. Progressive encourages the use of MDLIVE which includes online counseling, our Resilience training which is a free virtual stress management course, and our Employee Assistance Program for around the clock mental health and emotional support. Check out what other benefits Progressive offers to support employees in uncertain times.

Manishi Bhatt is a Product Manager in Commercial Lines at Progressive Insurance. Outside of work, he serves as a SKY Breath Meditation teacher with the global non-profit the Art of Living Foundation. His passion is to help create a stress-free, violence-free society through yoga, breath, meditation, and broader perspective about life.

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