5 signs that you need yoga at your workplace

 

short attention span1# Do you find that your concentration lags after 45 minutes, even if you did: 

  • have a healthy breakfast?
  • walked into work with plenty of fresh air?
  • slept fairly good last night?

There are countless articles on business organisations attempting to combat distraction in the office.  The issues are the technology employed in communicating internally (too many emails); the hyper-connectivity available to us all the time demanding our attention (mobile phones, social media); the multitasking nature required by our job roles.

Concentration and focus is rapidly becoming a real issue in the modern workplace.  Interruptions can be beneficial in refreshing our resolve and perspective when we look back at a task.  Still, productivity can take a toll as workers go back to the job in hand working faster and faster, causing stress.

Yoga at your workplace is one of the most efficient and effective ways of counteracting these concentration lags and grounding the multitasking nature of today’s world.

A regular yoga practice helps employees develop skills in how to clear and focus the mind and become more aware of their sensations, learning how to release them. This gets taught through techniques of movement, breath, visualization and relaxation.

 2# Do you make far too many cups of tea, and make them for the whole department?

  1. a) your true vocation is to open a tea and fancies shop or
  1. b) your brain is just crying out for more oxygen – through movement rather than through tea.
yoga at the workplace

Your body needs a breath of fresh air, like a stretch

In our experience of delivering yoga in office environments, the latter is the most common. Regardless of our best intentions, it is a challenge for our bodies to sustain its energy in a closed environment, sitting on a chair for long periods of time.

Of course, in response to this, YouTube videos of desk yoga are popping up all over the place. This, however, ends up being another entry in our endless to do lists, another random distraction and can at times be dubious of actually delivering results.

A weekly group yoga session in your workplace can instead provide an interactive and supervised experience.  It brings the benefits of controlled, injury conscious movement, tips on posture, breathing techniques.  It nurtures ways to cultivate a mind-set that also helps with anxiety, depression, sugar and nicotine cravings – so the workplace becomes invested in health promotion.

yoga at your workplace

Posture related back pain is common in an office environment

 

3# Do you take a painkiller everyday because your back hurts? Or maybe it is your neck that is stiff, and your shoulders and upper back are crying out for relief? Or your eyes are burning and your head feels full of fog by the end of the day?

You might work in an office that can afford to invest in one of those adjustable desks for every employee to be able to work standing for part of the time. However, the issues connected to repetitive movement, of holding your arms forward to type, of staring at a lit surface like a screen all day remain.

Yoga at your workplace offers most of all the opportunity to become aware of what we do and how we do it;

how we sit

how much interrupted time we spend at the screen

how we breathe unconsciously

how we slump and more.

 

We do all of the above differently as individuals according to our health and psychological history.  Meeting an experienced Yoga teacher every week can help workers address their specific individual issues.

4# Do you wish you could connect to your colleagues in better conditions than during your quick trip to the water cooler or while washing your hands in the bathroom? Are you wishing they didn’t just see you rushing from the desk to the kitchen?

business yoga

Yoga as a group at the office (photo by enfad)

Practising yoga as a group helps to build empathy, solidarity and communication amongst participants. It allows each person to relax individually, to look at their colleagues in a different light, to learn something new and to nourish themselves amidst their busy work day. Participants report going back to their desks feeling refreshed, energized and positive.

5# Are you hooked on books about anxiety and success? And you really would love to learn to embrace your workload as a challenge to look forward to, rather then the familiar old anxiety ridden pattern of achieving through pressure?

The workplace nowadays requires you to thrive, and that is exciting. It speaks to us about opportunity and development, which are all human needs.  Unfortunately the price tag for many of us is anxiety, fear of failure, hyper-alertness and burnout.

When a person burns out, it takes a huge toll on the individual and on the people around them: their family, friends, community and co-workers. Managers need to stay alert to these risks, and put structures in place to help their staff cope. It’s estimated that burn out and mental health stress costs the European economy billions of euros per year. Any business that wants to remain effective, cohesive and innovative needs to invest in the physical and psychological wellness of its staff: happy, balanced employees make for a creative, capable team and an effective, flexible organisation.

Yoga at your workplace addresses all that with a mix of physical movement, breathing techniques and an understanding of how body and mind are connected. It raises an awareness and provides concrete steps to address imbalances and a self-responsible attitude.

Are you interested in providing a business yoga class to your employees? Pinelopi offers high quality business yoga that addresses all the issues named in this article.

Click here to book a class, or contact Pinelopi directly: pinelopi (at) englishyogaberlin (dot) com.

This season at English Yoga Berlin

“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby”. –Langston Hughes

No point mourning the end of Summer. There’s plenty to be happy for this Autumn.

Now that the hot days are winding down, we happily put away our swimming gear and bring-out our favourite scarfs. Whether you get ready for a new semester at school, new projects at work, or the city’s cultural season, we know you’re looking forward for the spectacle of colour and light that comes in the next months.

We at EYB are also looking forward to some exciting new classes and some popular continuing ones, to help you get more clarity, and energy for whatever you plan to do this Autumn.

Yoga Kreuzberg Studio

Yoga Kreuzberg Studio

NEW SCHEDULE
Our Autumn Schedule offers you more opportunities to learn and develop your practice of yoga.

Now you can start the week with Hatha yoga –check-out Pinelopi‘s Monday class at 9:45. Our most popular style is also available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That’s four Hatha Yoga classes each week.

Classical Yoga Tuesdays. This 105-minute class includes lots of pranayama, meditation and many of the methods of tantric kundalini yoga. Each week has a different focus, so check our page for details. Tuesdays at 8pm.

Pregnancy Yoga comes to EYB! Pinelopi draws from her vast experience as a teacher, yogi and mother to teach this class for expecting parents. Read more about this class. Every Monday at 11:45am.

Juli’s beloved Sunday class continues to bring gentle Vinyasa Flow to the people. Our Juli is committed to making yoga available to everyone, so a tight pocket is no longer an excuse for not reaping the benefits of yoga. Read more about Juli’s classes. Pay what you will. Sundays at 4pm.

Welcome to The Lab! Sundays bring a new experimental window to EYB. Every week we’ll have a different teacher/concept, exploring yoga, meditation, psychology, self-expression, and everything in between. Check our website for week by week details. Pay what you will.  Sundays at 6pm.

 

OUR FAMOUS CLEANSING WORKSHOP IS BACK FOR THE ALLERGY SEASON

Yogic Detox

Yogic Detox

FOR OFFICE YOGIS
To welcome the many internationals arriving to Berlin this season, we are offering a 30% discount on all of our Office Yoga packages. Bring the magic of yoga to your workplace and enjoy less stress and more productivity.

Yoga Exchange

Seeking Barter Yogis

GIVE US A HAND? OR TWO?
We need people for flyering, assisting between classes, child care, and more. Do you want to help out in exchange for yoga lessons? Drop us a line! Only responsible people need apply.

THE GIFT OF YOGA
We have gorgeous new gift cards for those of you who want to turn a friend or relative towards yoga. There’s never been a better time to give clarity and energy to someone you love.

Why Offer Yoga In Your Business or Organisation?

 

yoga in the workplace

office yoga photo by enfad

It is very rare in today’s globalized, interconnected world that work gets accomplished alone, slowly or in a linear fashion. Contemporary employees are expected to cooperate and collaborate intensively with each other, cope with a fast pace of change, deal with the pressure of deadlines, juggle multiple responsibilities and get used to rapidly changing technologies. The multitasking, creativity and hyperawareness that today’s employees develop in order to thrive in the modern workplace can make them incredibly valuable assets to their organizations—but it also leaves them highly vulnerable to the risks of burnout, exhaustion, carpal tunnel syndrome, illness and depression.

When a person burns out, it takes a huge toll on the individual and on the people around them: their family, friends, community and coworkers. Managers need to stay alert to these risks, and put structures in place to help their staff cope. It’s estimated that burn out and mental health stress costs the european economy billions of euros per year. Any business that wants to remain effective, cohesive and innovative needs to invest in the physical and psychological wellness of its staff: happy, balanced employees make for a creative, capable team and an effective, flexible organisation.

In-company Yoga is one of the most efficient and effective ways of reducing stress, calming anxiety and soothing the body. A regular yoga practice helps people to develop skills in clearing and focusing the mind, becoming more aware of their sensations and learning to release them – through techniques of movement, breath, visualization and relaxation. Studies have shown that an hour of yoga benefits practitioners in multiple tangible and sustainable ways: lower blood pressure, more oxygen in the bloodstream, reduced stress and anxiety, increased energy, less tiredness, better sleep, better posture, team building, employee morale, etc. Practicing yoga as a group helps to build empathy, solidarity and communication amongst participants. It allows each person to relax individually, to look at their colleagues in a different light, to learn something new and to nourish themselves amidst their busy work day. Participants report going back to their desks feeling refreshed, energized and positive.

A weekly in-company yoga class is something that employees can look forward to every week. It’s an opportunity for each individual to relax and rejuvenate their body and mind, and for the group to build trust, relationship and communication with each other. Office yoga classes offer a healthy injection of positivity and wellness into your workplace culture.

Click here to see our English yoga offers for companies in Berlin and here to book a try-out class or to inquire about availability/rates or anything else.