Corporate Yoga

Yoga refers to the traditional physical and mental disciplines which originated in India with the ultimate objective of uniting the body and mind through the use of medication, physical postures, breathing and exercise. Yoga is a discipline of stretching and toning the body through movements, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and specific diet recommendations. Likewise, it also aims to achieve full control of both the body and the mind.

Currently, the practice of yoga is springing up in classes around the country. Since the beneficial effects of yoga is being corroborated with empirical studies, this leads to some people placing extra effort into finding other venues through which individuals may benefit from the practice of yoga. Two areas of interest have been identified which are classroom and corporate America. Accordingly, in a classroom setting where yoga is practiced, following were found to be the beneficial effects such as, improved concentration, homework compliance and students demonstrated a more stable state of emotions. On top of that, Yoga has also been found to decrease stress, anxiety, disruptive behavior and testing anxiety.

Similarly, yoga works the same way in corporate America which is another venue considered for the practice of the technique. It must not be forgotten that work place is one of the major sources of stresses in life. In short of saying that in corporate America, the level of pressure and stress is very high. One of the most common stressors in the workplace is the challenge of rising through the corporate ladder. Hence, it cannot be denied then that corporate America is one big source of stress and tension.

With this baseline, bringing into the office a stress relieving exercise program is a good idea. It will offer a lot of advantages such as an active involvement of employees, no hassle of travelling to and from the studio and undoubtedly, it will improve employees’ productivity. Yoga classes can be offered both during lunch time and before or after work. This also eliminates the tendency to lose people during those times when they may be tempted to do errands or make extra stops. This is so thought since it is a proven fact that stress has a lot of deleterious effects onto the body. In fact, about 80% of the illnesses and diseases from which the average person suffers is a result of stress or inflammation. An increased level in stress in the body will also increase the amount of cortisol secreted by the adrenal glands. This cortisol can cause an inflammatory response in the body when it occurs on a chronic nature. To name a few of the stress related diseases, it would be diabetes, lupus, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, atherosclerosis, stroke and cancer. And these are the disease by which yoga could be beneficial.

The price of offering a yoga class in the office will depend upon the number of people who participate in the program as well as a number of programs per day or per week which the individual company would like to be able to offer. Most of the time it is not necessary for the employees to have experience doing yoga to be able to participate. Classes offered are often at the beginner level. However, interestingly, Yoga classes can accommodate individuals who practice at all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Many companies who offer running yoga classes at the corporate level will offer three to four classes on a trial run basis in order to gauge the response and feedback from the employees. Companies to offer yoga classes believe that the first class is generally a new experience. The second class individuals are still on a learning curve. Moving into the third and fourth classes employees will begin to see the benefits of decrease stress in the workplace and will be able to determine if offering these classes on a consistent basis will be best.

Some of the benefits of working with a yoga class or instructor include enhanced memory and focus, a stronger immune system, improve posture and immediate stress reduction. All of these benefits will help to improve productivity in the workplace and decrease health risks. These benefits make both the employer and the health insurance companies extremely happy.

During the yoga classes individuals often to learn easy postures with slow rhythmic breathing as well as techniques to reduce deep-seated stresses and relaxation techniques that have been researched. All of these postures and techniques can be used at home or during lunch hour when employees are feeling the stress of work.

RESOURCES

Huffington Post: The Face of Corporate Yoga

MindBodyGreen: 11 Tips for Finding and Booking Corporate Yoga Classes

Vancouver Corporate Yoga: Yoga in the Workplace

Inner Vision Yoga: Outreach and Yoga

Yoga Journal: Teaching Yoga in the Workplace

Corporate Yoga Wellness