tips | St. Louis Corporate Yoga

Yin Yoga for Workplace Stress

Yin Yoga is a unique style of yoga that emphasizes relaxation while also providing a beneficial stimulus to the bone and connective tissue of the body, promoting optimal functioning. The emphasis is on holding poses for long periods of time while relaxing the muscles of the body.

Jack Lalanne, who passed away at 96, worked out 2 hours per day and contributed regular exercise and nutrition to his longetivity and great health. In the early 1950’s, many people avoided exercise believing that exercise was detrimental to one’s overall well-being. Jack Lalanne, coined the term “use it or lose it”. Many people at that time avoided exercise, believing that exercise wasn’t helpful and even posed a risk to one’s longevity, diminishing the number of heartbeats. Imagine…

In a very similar way, Yin Yoga educates us about the powerful proactive steps we can take to reduce the fixation and immobilization of joints and improve the overall mobility and posture of our body. Up until recently, doctors believed that it was not wise to put pressure or to exercise the joints, believing joints would only wear out.

Yin Yoga can help to promote meditation and general relaxation, the important of which should not be underestimated. A wide range of health conditions are stress related and any practice that reduces stress will have far reaching effects on the general health of the individual. In addition when people are calmer they will be more likely to engage with their family, friends and all others that they encounter in a positive way, which then will improve the ealth of the social environment on more subtle levels.

Prolonged pressure (without force) increases synovial fluid and hyloraunic acids, keeping joints supple and pliant (opposite from atrophy, imbalance, fixation, dried out, brittle, hard, and more susceptible to injury)

☀Feeling of calm and balance

☀Regulated energy levels (chi-energy)

☀Greater strength

☀Improved health

☀Stress levels lowered

☀Greater stamina

☀Flexibility of the body’s connective tissues and joints

☀Slowed signs of aging

☀Improved meditation

☀Deeper Relaxation

☀Improved practice of yang yoga

☀Conditions you to sit longer and more comfortably

☀Also helps lengthen response time, stregnthens limbic system, hypothalamus, aid in the treatment of drug and alcohol, pain and trauma recovery, and eating disorders.

To start your onsite workplace Yin Yoga class, contact 314-630-1677. We have been teaching Yin style yoga in addition to our regular Vinyasa classes for over ten years!! Feel good. Namaste.

Your Memory –An Important Asset

Having a good memory is an asset to every part of your life – and your career, too! Are you able to remember everything you want? This can be a challenge – not surprising given the times we live in.
Information overload is our reality at home and at the office. The good news is: you don’t have to remember everything just the most meaningful and important things.

The tips below will give you information on how to boost your memory.

Yoga and Exercise

Getting regular exercise can also improve your memory! Exercise isn’t just good for your body, it’s also excellent for your brain. Exercise increases the oxygenation level in your brain. Plus it can be beneficial to the chemical balance in the brain.

Practicing yoga is an outstanding method to help your brain manage information overload. Those relaxed 50-60 minutes you spend on the yoga mat give your brain cells to chance to process information. Hopefully you have a chance to practice yoga during the workday as part of an on-site wellness program!

Get Enough Good Sleep

Sleep is critical in letting out bodies recover and regenerate from the day before. Without enough sleep the brain can become compromised. Forgetfulness and memory lapses? This is what happens when we are sleep deprived. Research has shown that during the deepest parts of our sleep cycle, memory consolidation occurs. Without proper sleep, you can be sure that your memory will be negatively affected.

Try to get enough sleep every night! What is enough for you? You need to find this out as everybody has slightly different needs. Some people are happy with sleeping only 6 hours per night. Some others need their 8 hours. What is your number?

Laugh and Have Fun

Laughter is a blessing for your brain! When you laugh, you brain is engaging several areas at once, and giving you a good mental work out. Laughing helps you to think more broadly and improve your free associations aka creative thinking.

Laugh often! Funny movies, the latest jokes or even laughing at yourself and you will be helping your overall mental health! For more inspiration read our article “Laugh Stress Away “.
Spend time with people who make you laugh. Stick around these people and you will feel happier and have more fun for sure.

Manage Stress

Those senior moments? When you are stressed, you can become forgetful. Stress can actually damage the part of your brain – the hippocampus – which helps in recalling old memories and creating new ones.

Spend time each day using stress reduction techniques including meditation, deep breathing exercises, listening to relaxing music or anything that calms your mind and body.

Train Your Brain

Give your brain a workout to improve your memory skills by doing crosswords, brain teasers, word searches, and logic puzzles. There are plenty of free resources online to keep your mind active on a daily basis. Here are 2 resources we recommend:
http://sharpbrains.com/brainteasers/ – a selection of fun and enlightening brain teasers for adults of any age.

http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/ – addictive games for challenging your brain!

5 Tips For Better Communication At The Workplace

Nothing kills our enthusiasm to go to work more than having conflicts with colleagues and the lack of cooperation at the office. As in any relationship good communication is paramount.

We gathered 5 better communication tips for you:

People remember how you made them feel. What you say is not as important as how you say it and how the communication influences the other party. So pay extra attention to make people feel good when you talk to them. Just a smile on your face will do the trick. If you talk to somebody on the phone, put a smile on your face, too. They will notice the “smile in your voice”, they really do!

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

Self-image to protect. We all have a certain image of ourselves in our heads (if it has anything to do with the reality is another question). What you need to know is that people will fight tooth and nail to cling to this image. Don’t attack their self-image if you don’t want them to seriously dislike you. On the other hand you don’t have to actively build a false self-image, either.

The magic of the name. People love being referred to by their name, there no doubt about this. It signals trust and friendship. Use the name of the person you talk to often – but not in every sentence as that feels phony. The best is to include their names at the beginning and at the end of the conversation.

The power of silence. Sometimes you just need to shut up. How many times do you have the feeling that your questions are not getting answers? Or you suspect that you only get part of the story? Use the power of silence! Just wait, don’t say anything but keep the eye contact with your partner. The silence will help them continue talking.

Feet talk attention. Do you want to know if your co-worker is actually paying attention to what you say? Just look at their feet. It might be that their torso is turned into your direction and you think they must be listening to you… but wait till you check out which direction their feet is facing. If the feet are facing in any other direction than you… well, their attention might be totally somewhere else. Want to know where? Just follow the direction of their feet….

Are you welcome? You can use the above feet direction test to see if you are welcome to join a conversation. If the people involved in the conversation only turn their torso but not their feet towards you, they don’t want you to join in. You’d better set up a separate meeting for a meaningful discussion.

Would you like to learn more about building better communication in the workplace? We recommend this classic: “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. There is even an updated version available for the digital age: “How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age” by Dale Carnegie & Associates. Both are available on Amazon.com.

Corporate yoga classes are also a great way to foster better cooperation in the workplace. Would you like to know how? Michelle will be happy to answer your questions! Just call 314-630-1677!

Find a New Way to Respond to Stress!

Let’s continue our series around stress in the workplace! In our last installment we discussed better ways to deal with the source of stress in the office.

Let’s explore ways you can change your stress response!

First I would like to become aware of your typical stress response. What happens when you get a call to appear in his/her office immediately? Or any other stress inducing situation happen? Do you begin sweating? Reach for a piece of chocolate? Feel your heartbeat getting quicker and quicker? Feeling dizzy and weak?

Our stress response is as varied as we are. I encourage you to get awareness for your own response to stress. Try to take just a few seconds and notice what is happening. If you forget to do this when stress is flooding your system, no problem. Try to take a minute after the immediate stress is gone to reflect on what has happened.

Explore new ways to react to stress:

Take a deep breath – immediately as stress hits you. One the typical stress response is taking fast and shallow breaths. Stop the craziness and breathe. Just one deep breath has the power of putting you in a better state of mind.

“It shall pass” – remind youself that whatever causing your stress now will eventually pass.

Ask for time. If you are expected to report to your boss or answer a complex question immediately, try to ask for a few minutes to prepare yourself. Most managers and colleagues will understand the need to gather your thoughts and even appreciate your initiative to come prepared. This way you don’t waste anybody’s time.

Have a buddy. Hopefully there is at least one co-worker in your workplace whom you can totally trust. Buddy up with him/her to support each other. Have a short chat during the workday, take your lunch hour together and vent if you need to. It is better to vent than bottle up all your frustration inside. The important thing is not to stop at venting. After you had those negative emotions out of your system, make a commitment to look for a solution. How can I handle this situation best? What good could come out of what I experience now? How would Bill Gates, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Madonna (or any of your inspirational heroes) handle this situation?

Bathroom break – there is one place you can escape to if stress is getting unbearable: the bathroom. Take a minute and visit this sanctuary if all else fails. Use this as the last measure, though as you cannot use this escape every time somebody stresses you out. Still, it is perfect if you need a few minutes of undisturbed time to get calm yourself down and gather yourself.

We hope these tips will help you next time you feel stressed out. Please share below in the comment section how you deal with stress on an everyday basis!

Stay Cool In The Office

Summer has finally arrived. As much as we can’t wait for summertime to come, this time of year might challenge our productivity at work.

A few easy tips for hot summer days in the office:

Drink, drink, drink! The best choice is water, of course. If you crave a different taste, prepare spa water! It is so easy to prepare this even at the office. Just take sliced fruit with you from home, fill up a big jug with water, and let it chill for 2 hours so the fruit flavors infuse the water. Invite your co-workers to enjoy a refreshing glass of spa water with you!

Here is a Pinterest board with lots of different spa water recipes for every taste: http://pinterest.com/spawaterrecipes/spa-water-recipes/

Quick cool down

You are dreaming of a cool shower after being outside in your lunch break? Run cold water on your wrists for a minute. Splash your face with cold water, too. If you don’t want to ruin your make-up, simply use a facecloth soaked in cold water. Yes, this is the same method your Mom used when you had a fever as a kid. It works wonders on hot days, too!

Difficult to get some much needed sleep during hot summer nights?

There is nothing that will influence your productivity as being dog tired as a result of a sleepless night. Try to cool down your bed. The way you would use a hot bottle to warm your bed in the winter, use a “cold bottle” to cool it down in summertime. Just fill up the hot bottle you use in the winter with chilled water.

An extreme method is to pack your sheets in the freezer for an hour before going to bed. If all else fails, this might bring you a sweet cool down experience! Put the sheets in a plastic bag before you put them into the freezer.

Your beautiful office shoes killing your feet in hot weather

Especially if you have problems with water retention during the hot summer months, soaking your feet in cold water will help a lot. It will cool you down, too. The best time for this is in the evening. It is so easy to include this into your evening routine. Have your feet in a bucket filled with cool water while watching your favorite shows or checking your emails.

Two yoga postures that help to cool down during summer:

There are some excellent yoga postures to practice to keep cool in the coming hot months ahead. Try Downward Dog with your legs hip distance or more apart and your knees bent. Place the hands closer together with the thumbs touching. Bend your knees and allow the blood to flow to the head.

Try Uttanansa, too! A great summer time cool off posture. Walk your feet from Downdog to your hands and bend the knees. Simply hang in this forward fold and allow your back to relax and soften. Keep your feet firmly planted and your legs strong. Remember legs active, spine passive. Breathe!!

Ask your yoga instructor for more tips during your corporate yoga class!