5 Reasons Corporate Wellness should include Yoga

5 Reasons why is yoga a crucial addition to a companies’ workplace wellness program.

The key to having your employees reap the enormous benefits of a corporate yoga practice is to help them understand that they don’t need special skills to enjoy yoga.

It’s important to understand what employees know about yoga in order to break down any barriers they might have about giving it a try. For every person that embraces the idea of doing yoga poses and breathing exercises, there is another person who thinks yoga is only for young, super-fit people who can stand on their head or twist like a pretzel while rattling off complicated Sanskrit terms for all the poses! It’s time to shatter that image!

With so many styles of yoga out there, it’s also important to educate employees about the types of yoga classes that could work best in a company environment, and then survey your employees to find out what yoga classes they would prefer.

Here’s my 5 reasons why Yoga should be offered at work!

1. Regular yoga practice is scientifically proven to reduce pain, stress, and anxiety while improving flexibility, strength, and overall fitness.

2. Yoga is for everyone. It’s a great active that can include all abilities! Certified yoga teachers know how to start newcomers off slowly and adapt poses for all levels of practitioners.

3. You can do yoga anywhere. a variety of yoga classes that employees can feel comfortable doing in the workplace, including indoor mat sessions, outdoor yoga classes, and yoga classes that employees can do at their desks without having to take a long break or even change out of work clothes.

4. Yoga is fun, accessible, and provides a way for employees to walk away feeling great. Let them know that you don’t have to be a great athlete, a certain age, or certain body type to take part. A good way to help employees become more comfortable with yoga in the workplace is to emphasize that athleticism, strength, flexibility, and meditation experience aren’t required —these benefits are the result of regular practice. Be sure to stress the advantages they’ll receive, such as achieving better posture while sitting at a desk, gaining better focus, or using breathing techniques to manage stress.

5. Yoga helps employees de-stress and experience calm awareness both on and off the mat. Employees leave the yoga classes refreshed, relaxed, and resilient.

Perhaps the strongest reason for incorporating yoga into your corporate wellness program is the ease with which yoga classes can be implemented with a minimum of resources. All you need are floor mats and a group of willing participants with a strong desire for a healthier, more fulfilled life.

Yoga teaches us to move in ways that realign posture, help release tension, and promote more functional movement patterns. While modern technology offers countless benefits, the fact remains that many employees spend hours sitting in front of computers, and the repetitive movement patterns that digital devices demand can cause neck and shoulder strain, back problems, and a shallow breathing pattern that drains employees’ energy levels. Workplace yoga classes are a low-cost, preventive healthcare measure, and when done right, yoga can be the key to a winning corporate wellness program….alongside healthy eating of course!

Check out The Yoga Lounge in Bournemouth for excellent certified yoga instructors!

Barbara Cox-Lovesy