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Hi, my name is Carolyn Fallon. I'm a 20-something year old who is passionate about fitness, eating well, and living life to the fullest! I love my family and friends -- I wouldn't be where I am today without all their love and support. I love to watch movies, read all kinds of books, and travel as much as I can (I wish I could do more, but I try to get away here and there when possible!). I love to shop and find great deals, learning DIY projects, and I love to immerse myself in all kinds of learning and help to spread awareness and share my experiences with anyone who is interested :) Check out my blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/.
Today’s
businesses are (finally!) becoming savvier about employee health and
well-being. Many companies have the goal of improving employee
retention and productivity by incorporating breaks throughout the
workday. Although it hasn’t become mainstream for a majority of
companies, there are some out there that actually break for
employee-activity times to allow for team bonding and
creative-thinking to occur. My company, unfortunately, does not do
these kinds of breaks. However, since I do
get a 1-hr lunch
break, a few of my girlfriends and I from work have decided to make
our own
fun breaks – and this is the time where we allow ourselves to
de-stress and regain some energy by practicing yoga… oh, and a
whole lotta laughter mixed in!
Fortunately
for us, we have a large enough work space where we can go in one of
the meeting rooms and use it as our Yoga Room. It started out as a
small group of us, but as more and more of our colleagues saw what we
were doing we have tripled in our original size! Even our bosses have
noticed—one of the managers even joins us on a regular basis!
As
our bosses have noticed, those of us who participate in our Yoga &
Laughter breaks are in a MUCH better mood and waaaay more productive
when we return to work! While we aren’t to the point where we as a
company take breaks to practice yoga and get our laugh on, we are
actually causing enough of a stir where our bosses have at least
started to talk about the possibility of making a company-wide break
to do some of the things we are doing! Of course, it never hurts to
“make known” what some of the other
benefits are of practicing yoga and laughter during the workday.
Why
Yoga in the Workplace?
What’s
one of the highest-wants of employers from their employees?
Productivity. In order to be productive employees have to actually
like
being at work. When we’re allowed to have some time to practice
yoga and giggle with one another, we feel better about ourselves, and
we are ready to return to work and get things done with way more
energy,
attention, and optimism.
Also, a big part of most workdays involves stress of some kind, and
yoga is a great way to alleviate stress in a short period of time as
blood pressure lowers and stress hormones stop being released.
Yoga
AND Laughter Together
Again,
where there is stress there are bad health outcomes. Stress is a
leading
cause of chronic health problems
like the common cold, headaches, viruses, sleeplessness and more.
Yoga reduces stress due to its innate nature of focusing on one’s
breathing and calming of the body. Laughter, while not as “calming”
as yoga, can be used along with yoga to reduce stress because
laughter causes endorphins to release into the body, which
automatically makes people feel better. Next time, when things just
don’t seem to be going well – allow yourself to laugh for a
couple minutes straight and see how much better you feel JUST because
you gave yourself that little break to let out a few “ha ha ha’s!”
Yoga
in the workplace has so many benefits that it’s a surprise that
more companies out there aren’t taking advantage of using it in
their normal daily/weekly routine. Yoga alleviates stress, keeps
people healthy so they don’t use as many sick days, allows for
bonding between employees, and allows employees to feel like they are
getting a work out in without having to worry about running to the
gym before or after work.
Since
I have started doing yoga at work on a regular basis I have noticed
that I have such a better attitude when I return to my desk and my
body feels good because I was able to stretch it and work it in a way
that makes me feel good about myself when I’m done. Dr. Seth
Greenky of St.
Joseph’s Hospital
suggests that regular physical exercise is critical to ensuring
healthy bones, and yoga is a sure and easy way to fit exercise into
my weekly routine by allowing me to do it at work!
So
there you have it – work can
be fun when a little bit of yoga and a whole lot of laughter is
thrown in. Although your company may not be on board in the
beginning, give it a shot and see how much better it makes YOU feel
each day you do it. People, including your bosses, will be sure to
notice your change in mood, production, and overall attitude, and
then who wouldn’t want to be a part of something like that?!
