Yoga is the mindful practice of exercising our bodies and soul. Recently Yoga has also found its way into our workplace. During a study, a group of workers was made to follow Yoga practices for 50 minutes four times a week. Later this group revealed that they experienced less back pain, lower stress, greater self-confidence, and more peace of mind.
Why is corporate Yoga gaining more popularity?
Yoga has become increasingly popular all over the world, especially in our workplaces. As companies have started recognizing the value of Yoga, they are offering compulsory classes to their employees as part of their stress management program.
Below are some statistics that establish the importance of Yoga in the workplace:
- S. companies have reported spending about $300 billion annually due to incidents related to job stress.
- Stress was the significant cause of almost 90% of doctor visits in the U.S.
- Companies need to spend around $14.000 per employee annually as the cost of medically related productivity losses.
- Workers with stress incur health care costs almost 50% higher than other employees.
How doing Yoga at the workplace can help your corporation?
Corporate yoga has become more relevant in the current working scenario. The benefits of practicing Yoga for employees have been proved scientifically, and also from the results when employers invested in the wellbeing of their staff.
Below is the list of top benefits of introducing Yoga at your workplace.
Increased Energy
Working in continuation can lower our blood circulation, thus creating stress and causing fatigue. A small session of any physical activity, even stretching, helps lead to increased blood circulation and generates energy in our bodies. Corporate Yoga focuses on some dynamic movements and helps increase blood flow through the body of employees and reduce fatigue.
Yoga can be a good source of energy, but it also prevents burnout feelings, and regulates the circulatory system, while awakening the nervous system.
Yoga Reduces Stress
Stress is the main reason that affects workplace motivation and hinders production. The negative impact caused by stress causes companies monetary losses and affects turnover. Incorporating Yoga in your company can be the way to mitigate these problems as it reduces cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Employees, who regularly performed yoga, were reported to show a less stressful reaction when under slight pain. Moreover, an improvement in stress relief brought less anger at work.
Better Focus and Productivity
Employees have to meet deadlines, go through heavy workloads, and have long meeting hours, which can cause them mental blocks, thus hindering their decision-making abilities. A well-organized Yoga session can help clear these mental blocks, making the employees more alert, focused, and productive. It may seem counterproductive to some, spending a half hour doing Yoga in a busy schedule of the office. But after a short Yoga session, employees are sure to notice an uptick in their focus.
Improvement in Mental and Physical Health
Office Yoga can also manage various chronic health conditions. Employees with cancer, insomnia, high blood pressure, and depression reported an improvement with regular Yoga. Practicing Yoga helps broaden creative expression as it refines our emotions and helps balance the mind, body, and soul.
How Companies can Bring Yoga into their Workplace?
By incorporating the following practices, employers can bring Yoga to a workforce.
- Make a daily routine: Doing Yoga daily at the beginning of the day can loosen tight muscles and increase blood flow. Or, an employer can set a mindful moment of Yoga, after a few hours of work. This will help reduce pain caused by hours of typing and other similar activities.
Preferably, Yoga at the work place should not be made mandatory, but the employees should be encouraged to attend a few classes. There are also the perks of a virtual team, where the employees can do Yoga virtually together or on their own.
- Include Yoga under an employee wellness program: Employee wellness programs benefit the employer and the company as a whole. When the employees are mentally relaxed, they will do their jobs better. Consider conducting Yoga sessions at least once a week outside work hours. If you have a larger workforce, you can have a dedicated yoga session during work hours also. This will help employees to extract more advantages, and enjoy Yoga’s physical and mental benefits without taking much time away from their jobs.
- Try to set an example from the top: Like other things in corporate culture, Yoga also needs to start with leadership. There may be a lead on an expectation from the top that employees should take care of their minds and bodies. It is OK for a cultural shift that spends a half hour of the day on self-care. If these practices are undergone by leadership and also encouraged, employees are sure to take more interest in Yoga activities. They are less likely to feel guilty about taking time out for Yoga and meditation.
Conclusion
While incorporating Yoga classes in your workplace, it is critical to ensure that the trainer is well-qualified, and knows how to cater different groups of people. Employees even don’t need much room and can do easy stretching exercises at their desks. If you need some more tips to improve your health within the office, Patanjali Yogapeeth can help you. Experience the benefits of corporate Yoga sessions from the experts of Patanjali, and visualize the changes in your workplace.
