The average person is interrupted about 50 times per day, for an average of 5 minutes per interruption, and it takes us about 20 minutes to get re-focused. This means approximately every 8-10 minutes you are interrupted. Each workday, you spend almost four of eight hours dealing with phone calls, instant messages, emails, etc. It seems the only time you can find a quiet mind is on your mat!

A quiet mind is powerful. A quiet mind brings more clarity, focus, and attention to detail than the mind consumed by multi-tasking. It also brings efficiency and productivity to your business.

So how can you re-create the peaceful feeling off the mat when you are dealing with your business?

Create a space and time that is distraction free. Tell everyone that you can not be reached for a few hours. Do not answer your phone, email, instant message, or facebook. Do not allow anyone to walk into your office to ask a question. Do not get on the internet. Focus 100% on the task at hand.

This may be difficult. We are all addicted to our devices and worry that things can’t run without us there. THAT IS NOT TRUE! Everything will continue to run, people will figure out their own problems, and you will become much more productive and effective. You will be amazed at how quickly the mind will become quiet with no distractions or interruptions.

1. Green marketing materials – As much as we’d all love to be paperless, people still want a printed schedule! Use 100% recycled papers and sustainable printers – check out www.greenerprinter.com.

2. Make your next mat ECO-friendly. Most yoga mats contain PVC which is toxic. Do you really want that next to your body? Didn’t think so! Jade (www.jadeyoga.com) and Manduka (www.manduka.com) make some amazing ECO-friendly mats.

3. Offer recycling for old yoga mats. www.Recycleyourmat.com offers mat recycling and can help you set up a location to offer recycling to your students. Even better, right now they are offering 20% off at Manduka for recycling your old mat!

4. Clean with eco-friendly products. When there is bare skin coming in contact with your floor – no chemicals please! Shaklee offers fantastic cleaning products that come super concentrated to reduce packaging and Method is available everywhere! Method also makes a yoga mat cleaner (Check out Target in the sports section).

5. Encourage your students to invest in a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water. I love the ones by Sigg (www.sigg.com) Offer a chilled pitcher of water (throw some lemon or cucumber for some flavor) and glasses for a refreshment after class. And still offer recycling for those pesky bottles that will continue to find their way into the studio.