Excerpt from the Yoga Journal Article:
Fortune 500 companies like Apple, HBO, IBM use yoga to increase productivity. Small & Mid-size companies too!
By Nancy Wolfson |
Decrease workplace stress
At HBO in New York, employee health and fitness director Bill Boyle can't keep pace with the demand for yoga classes. He recently added a third class to the weekly schedule and would add more if he had room. Boyle attributes the boom in yoga at HBO to rising levels of workplace stress. "Everybody is under more stress now, and has to perform better, and work more hours per day. Yoga gives them a chance to take it all in stride." Boyle is convinced that the investment HBO is making to subsidize yoga classes for employees is well worth it. "The deep breathing and relaxation employees get from yoga help them to be more focused and less anxious. When they go back to work, they're in a position to make better decisions. You don't want people making business decisions when they're stressed."
It's not just large corporations with deep pockets like HBO that are bringing yoga into the workplace.
Students who do yoga at the workplace often move swiftly in and out of a class scheduled between meetings and work commitments. But yoga helps them go back to work with a clearer head. It provides an opportunity to let everything go for one hour during the workday, to find quiet and stillness, focus on breathing, and allow for relaxation. "A freer body gives you a more open mind," says Theresa McCullough, who teaches at HBO. "How you feel physically is going to affect how you function mentally," she reasons.