Planning a Workplace Yoga Session? Read These Expert Tips First

Seven tips to make sure the corporate yoga session at your workplace turns out to be a hit with your staff

Workplace Yoga session

Yoga has become an integral part of workplace wellbeing initiatives across the corporate world. Thanks to my experience of teaching yoga to employees at corporations, I have gained a few important insights that can help you in organizing a corporate yoga session for your company’s staff. Keep these suggestions in mind and you will maximize the benefits for your organization and staff.

Tips for Organizing Effective Workplace Yoga Sessions

Choose a theme

Always have a theme for your session. This is important because it allows the trainer to tailor the session to the specific theme and stick to it. The theme could be common issues like sleeplessness, neck pain, lower back pain, acidity/indigestion, improving concentration or the all-time-favorite, weight loss. This way, employees will know what to expect. Those who are facing that specific challenge will be particularly attracted to the session, and you can expect a healthy rate of participation from them. You could also consider running a poll and checking with your staff what are the common issues they are facing and choose your theme accordingly.

Follow the appropriate type of yoga

You might choose the trainer based on a friend’s recommendation and seal the deal because he or she fits the budget allocated for the activity. But do check on the style of yoga that the trainer specializes in. For the introductory session, it’s best to choose someone with experience in Hatha Yoga as that is the traditional form of yoga and will introduce your staff to the basics. It’s also the safest, if done correctly. Resist the temptation to introduce power yoga or any other adaptation of yoga in the first session itself as not everyone may be able to keep pace with it.

Be mindful of the level of practice

Remember, some employees who come for the yoga session may not even recall the last time they did any physical activity. For them, sitting crossed legged on the floor or doing asanas will be a BIG challenge. But there would be others who come to the session wanting to learn something new and challenging. So based on the theme, you can ask the trainer to start the session with beginner level poses and then move progressively to intermediate level. It’s best to leave out advanced level poses as they need personal attention and the trainer needs to know the limitations and comfort level of each participant.

Also read » Yoga for busy bees: 5 simple asanas you can do on your desk

Consider the timing of the sessions

All your efforts will go waste if you don’t pay attention to the date and time and inform your staff in advance. Make sure not to plan the session on month ends, when the staff is likely to have more workload; just before or after long weekends is also a no-no. As for timing, best time is in the evening around 4 – 5 pm. On the morning of the appointed day, send an email to everyone who has registered for the session, reminding them that they need to finish off their lunch at least three hours prior to the session. Also, keep at least 15 minutes after the session for people to cool down and ask questions or clarify their doubts.

Insist on suitable attire

Just because it’s corporate yoga does not mean it can be performed in corporate wear. I have had people show up to the sessions in outfits like skirts, tight trousers and even saris! Insist on changing to work-out attire so they can move freely, comfortably and make the most of the session.

Ensure there are enough yoga mats

Yoga is no fun without a yoga mat, so your work is not over till you have organized for those. Where do you source them from? Check with the trainer if she can get a few, and ask participants to carry theirs; you could also rent a few. If you are using a carpeted area, participants can carry a full length towel in place of a mat.

Space

Whether you are using a large conference room, or converting the cafeteria into a make-shift yoga hall, you will need to ensure some hygiene factors. The floor must be absolutely clean and the room should be quiet. Make sure that the session does not get disturbed by sounds from outside. A music player for some relaxing music in the background is a great idea; lighting aroma candles or incense makes the participants feel welcome and gets them into the mood for yoga.

Related » How to do candle meditation or trataka

Conclusion

Workplace yoga sessions are organized in many companies, yet few participants continue with the practice afterwards. A little planning can go a long way in making the session enjoyable for your employees and some may even take to doing it regularly.


This is an update version of the article that was first published on 31 March 2017.

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Grazilia Almeida-Khatri
Trained as a physician, Dr Grazilia Almeida-Khatri is a wellness coach and consultant. She endorses yoga as a way of life and conducts wellness and yoga retreats for individuals and corporates. She is also trained in Pilates by Michael King, who is based in the UK. Dr Grazilia is a practitioner of the Body Mirror System of healing as taught by Sir Martin Brofman. She lives in Pune, India and offers consultations in person and online.

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