It doesn’t matter where in the world your office is located —the U.S.A, UK or Japan — it’s exciting to see how more and more companies are reaping the benefits of office yoga by simply offering yoga in their workplace once or twice per week to their employees. Even more exciting is reading stats like this…
A study led by Professor Jim McKenna, from Leeds Beckett University, surveyed 210 office workers to find that lunchtime exercise increased staff productivity, and even helped them work better with others.
It revealed workers reported their performance improved by 17 per cent! – the equivalent of an hour of a working day – on a day they exercised at lunch compared to a day they did not.
Prof McKenna said: “Exercise acts like Miracle Grow for brain cells and you grow new synapses, if you are producing more brain cells you are producing more brain capacity.” Read the full article here.
Quite simply, yoga at work just works! It’s hard to put a stat on some of the “touchy feely” benefits like office workers stating they experience an increased sense of well-being and healthier office dynamics.
Or how about this…
Over the years since I’ve been teaching office yoga in Washington, DC and Arlington, VA, I’ve had several students tell me they only went into the office that day (vs. work from home) since it was office yoga day. Multiple times I’ve witnessed coworkers meeting face-to-face for the first time simply because they showed up and unrolled their yoga mat in the middle of the work day vs. sitting hunched over their computer. How do you measure this?!?!?
Other benefits of office yoga include:
- Relief from job-related stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, jaw clenching, neck and back pain
- Less mental stress and anxiety
- Fewer headaches
- Improved concentration
- Better sleep
- Lower number of sick days
- Heightened morale
It’s my hope that more and more companies will start to realize how important it can be to give their employees a break in the middle of the work day to do such things like yoga. Providing office yoga is like giving employees a mini-vacation for their minds so they can return to work refreshed and energized as they move throughout the rest of the day. Enough said!
Melody of abellaYoga has been gratefully teaching office yoga (and private clients) full-time in Washington, DC, Alexandria and Arlington, VA since 2006. Thankful for experiences gained in the telecom/tech corporate world, this ex-marketing, yoga-chick is happy to share all she knows about yoga with all. Find her blogging here, scrolling facebook.com/abellaYoga page or on twitter.com/abellaYoga -follow @abellaYoga