How a regular yoga practice can improve your work-life

Yoga is used more and more in workplaces to improve both physical and mental employee well-being and improve work-related productivity and satisfaction. There are indeed many benefits one could assign to a yoga practice, especially for balancing the ever-increasing work demands and expectations, that are worth considering if you need that extra push for stepping on your mat.

Improving the ability to concentrate and focus

What makes yoga different from other forms of exercise is the conscious connection of our movement with our breath which on one side pulls us to the present moment and away from the mental scatter and monkey-minds during our practices even when standing on one leg or our heads. On the other side, it also improves our longer-term focus and concentration abilities outside our mats by training ourselves to be able to focus on one task at a time even in the presence of several distractions which has positive implications on work-related productivity.

Developing a skillset to find calm in hectic and stressful situations

You know all these times in a yoga class while practicing difficult asanas/poses we focus on our breath and on consciously relaxing the parts of our body that don’t need to work at that moment to find more ease in those shapes? These very humbling moments are excellent in training ourselves to be able to find ease and softness even in the most challenging and stressful situations. Just taking a few long, deep breaths can help us to almost press a little reset-button, take a step away from our speedy minds and come back into the present moment, ground, and get back to the task with more calm. Furthermore, it improves our resilience as it can teach us to not get tense, worried and stressed in a challenging position or situation by default but remain calmer and more grounded in tasks from the outset.

Reduces stress

All the above improves our stress-response and is proven to reduce levels of stress and improve anxiety in the long term. There are numerous studies demonstrating the stress-reduction benefits of yoga in the workplace in addition to feeling more clear-minded and self-confident in stressful situations.

Furthermore, in a yoga class we aim to be mindful of how our bodies and energy levels differ day-to-day and compassionately adapt our practice to our state on a specific day while celebrating all our efforts as the best we can deliver that day. This compassionate approach on our mats can also translate to our lives off the mats and at our desks both in relation to our own work and also to the work and behaviour of others. This ability to be more kind and understanding towards ourselves and others can also contribute to reduced frustration and aggression and chances of stress and burnout.

Reduces tension in the body.

Headaches, neck-and shoulder tension, back pain, lower-back tightness - we’ve all been there when meeting a big deadline, being buried in desk-work and in general spending too much time in one sitting position or repetitive movements. When we’re worried, stressed, working hard on something or just consistently repeating same movements, it’s natural that we tense some muscles, often unconsciously (e.g., shoulders pulled to ears, crunching of our necks - you know what I’m talking about), which in the long term strain the overused muscles and create aches and pains here and there.

In yoga classes we learn to scan the body to find those places that feel tense, and actively release that tension with both our focus and active relaxing of muscles, and developing the ability to be mindful of the moments we start tensing up again throughout our days and therefore prevent future tension.

Moreover, we bring movement and stretches to the muscles and ligaments which improves blood flow in the muscles, and stretches the connective tissue which in combination contributes to loosening of the tension developed in the affected areas.

Better posture

Practicing yoga asanas is a great way to improve posture. By activating core and upper-back muscles, constantly focusing on lengthening our spines to stand and sit up tall and straight, and building stability and strength in lower-body, we create the mind-body connection and muscle-memory necessary for us to keep a good posture while seated or going about any daily activities. A better posture means less slouching, less ill-use of our bodies by compensating the weakness of certain muscles with over-straining the others (neck!), therefore having less tension in the body to stretch out and relax (see the previous point).

More energy

Do you feel sluggish already in the beginning of your workday or are reaching for yet another cup of mid-day/afternoon coffee to give you the energy boost to get through your work-day? Only a short morning practice in the beginning of your day or a few minutes of moving - opening, activating, releasing and stretching, can significantly improve the blood flow in our bodies and to our brains, oxygenating the blood and consequently bringing a natural energy boost without another dose of caffeine, while also stretching out any accumulated tension from the day, activating the muscles to improve our posture, re-focus our mind and bring a sense of grounding and calm as we bring attention from the billion abstract thoughts and to-do lists in our heads back to our tangible bodies, breath, and present moment.

A free 12-minute mid-workday yoga class you can do anytime, anywhere.

The benefits a regular yoga practice can have to our work-lives, productivity and wellbeing above are quite evident. For results I would recommend practicing at least around 3 times a week, preferably including some longer classes as well, to really get into the flow and put all the above mentioned into practice. I wanted to give you a short practice you could practice anytime whenever you feel overwhelmed, achy, tense, sluggish or stressed out at work. Something that would give you an energy boost as well as grounding. Sign up to my newsletter below to get exclusive access to this short class, in addition to an energising morning flow and a relaxing evening unwind practice.