Toby Ouvry: Center Yourself

This is our “Center Yourself” episode.

I know what you’re thinking. You didn’t come here for meditation. You came for fresh perspectives on the region. You came for the stories and conversation.

You did not come here to meditate.

But if you’re like millions of others out there—stressed out from keeping dozens of balls in the air, from never having enough time, haunted by the feeling you’re always coming up short—you’re not at your best. Whether you’re an executive, a digital nomad, or a entrepreneur looking to get a startup off the ground, you know how difficult it is to shut down at midnight and pick it back up again at 6:00 the next morning.

Or do you shut down at all. We’re willing to bet most of you check your phone over 500 times a day. It’s hard to keep up and keep it together. It’s not just one of those days, it’s one of those lives.

Meditation, maybe, can help bring it all into perspective. And as CEOs around the globe are finding, it’s a practice that produces results. That’s why we wanted to make sure it was part of Inside Asia.

My guest this episode is Toby Ouvry, one of the best in the business when it comes to guiding people through and toward meditation and mindfulness. He spent five years as a Buddhist monk within the Tibetan order —a journey that brought him to Singapore. He left life as a monk, but didn’t leave meditation. Instead, he established a practice for layman looking for relief.

Today, he runs mindfulness programs for MBAs at the INSEAD School of Business, and helps a wide range of clients that hail from corporations, government and NGOs. In recent years, meditation has become quite trendy, but Toby was on the path well long before this, advocating the benefits and guiding people through it.

As always, thanks for listening and please join the conversation. Leave us a review on iTunes and tell us your story. How’s meditation changed your life? How do you work it into your schedule? What tips can you share with our listeners?