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What are the benefits of yoga in a corporate setting?
Stress Reduction:
By incorporating yoga sessions, with its gentle moving of the body and slower rhythm of breath, employees can learn and then incoporate techniques to manage stress more effectively, leading to an improved harmonious work environment.
Improved Focus and Concentration:
Helps employees sharpen their focus, improve concentration, and enhance cognitive function. This can result in increased productivity and better decision-making within the workplace.
Physical Health Benefits:
increased flexibility, improved posture, and muscle strength. Sitting at a desk for long periods can lead to stiffness and discomfort. Incorporating yoga into the workday can counteract these effects, reducing the risk of musculoskeletal issues and promoting overall physical well-being.
Enhanced Team Dynamics:
An opportunity for employees to bond outside of the typical work setting. Sharing a positive experience like yoga can strengthen relationships among team members, foster a sense of camaraderie, and improve communication within the workplace.
Boosted Morale and Employee Engagement:
Demonstrates that the company values employee health and well-being. This can lead to increased morale, job satisfaction, and employee engagement. Employees are more likely to feel supported by their employer and invested in the company's success when wellness programs are provided.
Reduced Absenteeism and Healthcare Costs:
By promoting physical and mental well-being, yoga can help reduce absenteeism due to illness and lower healthcare costs associated with preventable conditions such as stress-related disorders, chronic pain, and cardiovascular disease. Investing in employee wellness through yoga can yield long-term cost savings for the organisation.
Competitive Advantage in Talent Recruitment and Retention:
In today's competitive job market, offering attractive perks and benefits can help companies attract and retain top talent. A corporate yoga programme can serve as a unique selling point for job seekers and contribute to an overall positive employer brand reputation.
How does doing yoga help your work force?
Yoga helps you tune out from your surroundings and re-connect with your body. Yoga sequences can help you increase your flexibility, build strength and calm your mind. When you start focusing on your light and slow breathing and synchronising your breath with moving your body, it can help you create inner awareness while concentrating your attention on the present moment. Yoga is the Sanskrit word for union and refers to a variety of unions most often cited as the one between your body and your mind. Yoga asana, the physical practice of yoga, is about being ‘in’ or reconnecting with your body.
A yoga practice is a great way to re-connect with your body and tuning in by listening to what it is telling you. The yoga poses help you not only to get more flexible and strong, they also help you focus your mind. Through the focus, you start to slow down into the moment.
When you are in the present and undistracted, then you can begin listening in and understanding your body better, both physically and energetically, and finding a joyful inner calm.
"The entire outside world is based on your thoughts and mental attitude. The entire world is your own projection."
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Mindfulness as part of corporate wellbeing
Mindfulness, such as meditation and deep breathing exercises, really go hand in hand with yoga and breathwork practices. Learning to be more present in the moment, to be more 'mindful', have been shown to reduce stress levels significantly. In a corporate setting where the workforce often face high-pressure situations, providing mindfulness training can empower them with effective stress management techniques, which can lead to better mental health and resilience.
Building in time for mindfulness sessions, it can help cultivate the ability to focus attention on the present moment, enhancing concentration and cognitive function. This way, employees are better equipped to stay focused on tasks, leading to increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace.
Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words. Be careful of your words, for your words become your actions. Be careful of your actions, for your actions become your habits. Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character. Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.
Chinese proverb, author unknown
