Helping kids as she helps their working parents; a Raleigh business owner offers guided stillness
Cole Baker-Bagwell has navigated plenty of ups and downs. She's built a successful company, worked through a divorce and returned to the corporate world during the 2008 financial crisis, only to find she had joined a toxic workplace.
Posted — UpdatedCole Baker-Bagwell has navigated plenty of ups and downs. She's built a successful company, worked through a divorce and returned to the corporate world during the 2008 financial crisis, only to find she had joined a toxic workplace.
"Those days were super rough. I went from working on my own schedule doing work I absolutely adored, to working in a cube, doing mindless work and being micromanaged by a manager who valued metrics more than anything else," said Baker-Bagwell, mom of one son and a bonus daughter. "Some days, I drove to work and drove home, sobbing."
A practicing yogi for a decade, Baker-Bagwell found relief in mindfulness and yoga. Eventually, she was able to move on to healthier workplaces where she saw the power of kindness in business. "I began to understand that mindfulness had a place in business and that kindness is transformative," she says.
I checked in with Baker-Bagwell to learn more about what she does and her guided stillness for kids. Here's a Q&A.
Leading business with kindness is not easy. That's largely because of habits, mindsets and narratives people have adopted about work that don't serve us well. Those things get in the way of great business. People have to be aware of where they are before they can make shifts to lead with kindness. That kind of awareness requires that they slow down. Mindfulness is the path to getting there. So, Cool Audrey is about reminding companies that people do business. It's about weaving kindness and mindfulness into business to ignite and discover the best in people inside of companies. Finally, Cool Audrey is about partnering with companies to offer objective insight and mindful, relevant practices that enable them to maximize the very best in the business they do.
As I made shifts in the Cool Audrey delivery model, the kids started showing up more frequently on the video calls. Many of them stuck around for the first few minutes, which my clients call the "magic time." I started thinking about all of the research I've studied over the last 26 years around the positive impacts of breathing and mindfulness on the nervous system and the countless benefits to overall well-being. I understood that the kids needed those things every bit as much as their parents. I realized if I could influence my clients and their kids through my work, I could help them create a more peaceable kingdom. I realized I could help them all navigate the changes with higher degrees of intention, understanding, kindness and calm. I knew that if I could make it fun for them to sit still for a few minutes, they just might develop a habit of sitting still and breathing because it feels good. So, I sat down and recorded my first "Young Friends" guided stillness.
1. Make it fun! Consider creating a special place for stillness. It just may become a place they love so much that they choose to hang out there more often.
2. Be patient. If they get up after a few minutes, don't sweat it. (Many adults I work with have the same struggle at first.) Ask your kids what they experienced, what they loved. That recognition will motivate them to sit longer the next time.
3. Feed their curiosity. Kids love to learn. Consider connecting them with the magical things that are happening when they choose to "sit" and breathe. (That understanding will help them develop a habit that will serve them well throughout their lives.)
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