How Yoga Can Help

When our minds are bouncing around from thought to thought and busy with petty grievances and judgments, it is very difficult to be productive or happy or live in our true nature. This is true in any situation, even work. But work is an especially rich place to practice because it is the place where we do the things that make us stiff and tired, the place where we get most agitated and frustrated, and the place we spend the most focused of our waking hours. It makes sense to bring the practices that make us more energized, flexible, and focused into our work environment.

Physically, most jobs have us doing one of two things – sitting and looking at a computer screen or standing on our feet for most of the hours of our waking life. Both of these ways of being can and do take their toll on our health, energy, vibrancy, attractiveness, physical integrity, outlook, and mood. Yoga can help.

Some complaints are so ubiquitous in our society that we take for granted that that’s just how things are. Headache, stiff neck, tight shoulders, pain in the lower back, numbness and tingling in the legs, and sore and swollen feet and ankles. Most of us have at least one of these complaints right now. Over time these sorenesses and stiffnesses accumulate into injury and chronic illness. Cutting off the blood supply to an area leads, over time, to that area becoming sick and weak. Yoga postures and breathing are all about healing these imbalances. The physical movements help strengthen, stretch, and move the muscles and joints. This movement helps flush out old stale blood and get new oxygenated blood in. The intentional breathing during the postures ensures that there is a place for the stale air to go and an abundant supply of oxygen for the moving muscles.

The brain, while not a muscle, is one of the biggest benefactors of a yoga practice. Just moving and breathing while keeping a positive intention will bring an increased ability to focus and an uplifted mood. Cycling, running, swimming, and a host of other activities all do this too. What’s different about yoga?

What's Different Aboug Yoga?

A couple of things are different about yoga. One is the deliberate setting of intention. We dedicate our practice to something bigger than our own personal self. We may ask that the practice help access our insight in order to solve a problem and help another person. We may dedicate our practice to the healing of someone we know, or to the environment. A classic dedication is "May this practice benefit all beings, everywhere". Whatever you choose, it is important to have something other than your own interests in mind while you practice. The practice will benefit you. It's just good if there's room for something more in your motivation.

Another difference is the sequence of movements. We deliberately work all the muscles and joints of the body to both strengthen and stretch. Most other exercises repetitively work the same muscles in the same way leading to predictable patterns of strength, weakness, and tightness. Yoga is very complimentary to these other activities and can help prevent injury from them.

Another thing that is different about yoga is its history and philosophy. The poses are a doorway into a whole system of healing that has as its end goal nothing less than enlightenment and the victory over death. Whether you choose to believe these goals are attainable or not, there is something to be said for all the tangible benefits along the way. As the motivational poster says “Reach for the stars. If you miss, you just might catch the moon.” Reach for enlightenment, if you miss you just might find yourself happier, healthier, less judgmental, and more efficient.

Why bring yoga to work?

What place does yoga have in the workplace? Good question. Let’s start with another question. What are you doing at work? Some common reasons are: Making money to pay rent, buy food, and buy all the other pretty things you like to own. Making money to support your family in their needs for housing, food, and pretty things. Having a place to exercise your brain, accomplish something, and get acknowledgement for your capabilities. Working to get promoted for more money and to receive external validation for your worth and continued value.

Ok.

So how does yoga help you get those things? Some of that’s a little deep in the philosophy but we’ll give it a try. First, as your body deteriorates, so does your productivity. Someone younger and fresher comes along who can do things faster, looks more attractive, and gets promoted ahead of you. Don’t you hate that? Yoga is like an ace in the hole. Steady practice over time will allow you to function better than you did 10 or even 20 years ago. Through the combined efforts of breath and postures, the old gunk that’s accumulating in your body and causing you to age more quickly will get flushed out. In effect, you’ll be younger while still having the wisdom of your years. Clearing out the gunk allows that wisdom to flourish. Instead of making the same mistakes over and over again, you will find yourself learning from your mistakes and making fewer and more interesting ones. More energy, greater access to wisdom, and fewer mistakes – yoga can help with all of that.

Yoga can also help with the feeling of accomplishment. Indeed finishing a yoga class all within the bounds of the work day can really increase the sense of accomplishment. Not only did you get out the memo, plan the meeting, and meet with clients but you got in exercise too. And while you were exercising, you missed your mid-afternoon slump and subsequent sugar rush. So you were more successful in sticking to the healthy eating plan you resolved to do. Sounds like a good day.

There is also a feeling of accomplishment within the class. Perhaps you start out feeling rushed, annoyed, and distracted. During the initial sitting and first poses your mind is still wandering back to work and what you should have said. But you notice that as your body gets warm and the poses require more effort, your mind is having moments of calm presentness where all you’re doing is the yoga. At the end of class, you’ll likely return to thoughts of work but the distracting annoyance is probably gone and replaced with clearer insight and calmn. That's good for you and everyone else involved.

There is also a feeling of accomplishment from class to class. Maybe Warrior I felt really awkward, bothered your knee, and irritated your low back the first time you tried it. But you stuck with the classes and after awhile you notice that the same pose doesn’t feel the same. The instructions make more sense and instead of tweaking your knee, you feel lengthening in the thigh. Instead of irritating your low back, you feel your shoulder blades supporting you and lengthening your low back. The same pose doesn’t feel the same and you feel how it’s healing you. Even more obvious are balancing poses like handstand. At first it may have felt scary and unapproachable but over time you find yourself kicking up without fear and contemplating balancing in the middle of the room. A very nice sense of accomplishment.

The search for someone else to tell us we are doing well, the happiness we feel when we get the praise, and the sense of loss when we don’t are too often integral parts of the workday. Yoga can help with that. One way is the make the praise come more often. As blood supply to your brain and body improve, you work will naturally improve, and people will notice. As your body gets out of its old stiff patterns and in to stronger more flexible ones, you’re more likely to hear compliments on your appearance. But more importantly, yoga can help with the searching for praise. As we feel more complete within ourselves, we are less likely to search for fulfillment from outside sources whether that’s praise or candy. We just don’t need it as much. We are building a stronger sense of internal worth and are less dependent on external sources to offer it to us. This is a very good thing. It also means you are more likely to seek out work that truly interests you rather than just something you happen to be good at or receive a lot of praise for doing.

And even more simply, yoga at work makes sense because you are already there. You don’t have to get in the car, drive across town, park, and settle in to a new setting. Just walk down the hall, change clothes, and unroll your mat. It is easy for you and that makes it more likely that you’ll keep doing it.

Cost

Yoga classes at work are quite affordable. I suggest that each person (student/employee) taking the classes pay for the classes themselves. This is important for several reasons. One is the perceived value. When I pay for something myself, I am more likely to follow through on it. If the business pays for the classes and offers them free to the emplyees, this may at first seem like a good idea. But I've heard stories of this situation and the frustration management feels when no one shows up for class. A frustrating situation for all involved. When each person pays for themselves there is immediate feedback about the effectiveness of the class. Within a short time, it is apparent if the classes are meeting people's needs because if they are not people will stop signing up. Budget cuts are another good reason to have each person pay for themselves. Even if the classes are popular, budget concerns in the future could lead someone to look for programs to cut. If the yoga program is not costing the business anything, then it is very unlikely to get cut. Especially since it helps add to the health and wellness profile of the firm.

Classes are $10 per person per class. I suggest that we meet twice a week for 8 week sessions. 8 week sessions follow each other immediately so there is continuity to the classes. The purpose of 8 week sessions is commitment on the part of the student and knowledge for me, the teacher, on how many and who are coming to class. This facilitates planning an appropriate class.

Please call, 303-547-0867 or email Kassandra with more questions or to schedule a session. Namaste.