Blog | St. Louis Corporate Yoga

Want To Practice More Yoga?

Having the opportunity to take corporate yoga classes during the workday is awesome to find relief from every day stress. If you fell in love with yoga at your organization, why not practice more during the week?

In our corporate yoga programs we teach Vinyasa yoga as this type of yoga is very easy to integrate into a work day. You won’t need to take a shower and you can get back to your desk immediately after class. Still you will enjoy a full workout and experience stress reduction as a result.

Although Vinyasa is the fastest growing yoga style for a reason, there are many different yoga styles you can experience! Which one will work best for you? The only way to find out is to try them and see how you feel after taking a class. Check out the yoga studios in your neighborhood and try different styles. Your gym might offer different type of yoga classes, too.

Besides experiencing different yoga styles, you might love to practice more than just that one class at work. We invite all out corporate yoga participants to visit us at our Clayton Yoga Studio in Clayton. For information about our studio, please go to our website.

Especially if you are a beginner yoga practitioner, we advise you to take live classes and not online ones. You will need the caring eyes of a certified yoga teacher to help you practice yoga in a totally safe way. Your instructor will be able to show you modifications of poses to fit your body’s special needs. Plus nothing substitutes the encouragement of a personal interaction with your teacher and fellow students.

Online yoga classes can be a good option if you are at least at the intermediate level and already have a good understanding of the poses. If you are generally healthy, taking a virtual class can be a good option. Please be mindful that you need to be cautious as there is nobody to support you on the spot.

As a general rule of thumb, if you have health issues or you are not yet confident in your yoga practice, we advise you to take the extra effort to practice at a studio.

One excellent option could be to take private yoga classes where the attention is 100% on you. You work very closely with your yoga instructor to create the best possible yoga plan for you. You get undivided attention and instruction. Our yoga teachers are more than happy to provide private classes at the studio.

Have you thought about taking a yoga retreat? This is the ultimate yoga experience! One week or more at a fabulous resort to forget about all the challenges in your world. Being immersed in your yoga practice, taking care of your soul and learning new ways to find meaning in life. A quick search online for yoga retreats will give you a colorful list of many possibilities.

Clayton Yoga International offers a unique yoga retreat and yoga teacher training combo next summer in Guatemala (June 28th-July 12th, 2014). Would you like to explore Guatemala while enjoying daily yoga work to deepen your practice? Learn more on our Clayton Yoga International site!

The opportunities are practically endless to practice yoga. Take the ones that fit your life and delight your soul!

Is Corporate Yoga Competitive?

In an already high stressed world, do you need your yoga class to be competitive? Of course not.

Yoga is non-competitive in its nature. But did you know that there are actual yoga competitions going on in the US? Sounds unbelievable when you think about the true philosophy behind yoga but yes, there are practitioners who take their practice to that competitive level.

Do you feel competitive during yoga class? Checking out how your colleagues are doing? Who is most flexible? Who has more stamina or simply who has the trendiest T-shirt on? Who is huffing and puffing to keep up? Let’s be real, we are all human.

At the essence, yoga is about growth. Your own growth. Not your performance compared to anybody… not the teacher, not a fellow yoga student. It is about one person and that is YOU.

Some people say: “Compete against yourself!” But do you really have to be at war with your own self? Where is the compassion? Where is the loving kindness towards your body and soul?

Sometimes, we see yoga students struggling…. Struggling to keep a pose, struggling to breathe deeply, struggling to let all expectations go and just enjoy that 50 minutes they are gifted with during the workday. And we see yoga students focusing on their practice, accepting their daily form and smiling even if they decide to skip a pose or need a breather. What do you think who has more fun?

Doing yoga is a gift you give yourself. If you have the opportunity to practice in your lunch break – even better! You get this valuable gift from your employer (mostly) free of charge.

What if you decided to make the most of those 50 minutes of yoga? What if you showed up with the sole goal of giving yourself all those minutes to return to the now? What if you left all your expectations outside? What if you were curious of how your body can support your soul? What if it was all about the growth you can witness inside?

What if you could make peace with your current form, your limitations, the self-criticism and all the dark thoughts you might be still entertaining before entering the class? You know what would happen? You had a chance to grow… some days by small baby steps… some other days through a breakthrough.

This is what we want for you to happen: you leave the class a little bit stronger, a bit calmer, maybe more flexible and with a more positive outlook on life. Feeling that you did something for your own self. Just for you…. Knowing that you can come back next week and continue your journey to better understanding yourself and the people around you. Knowing that your body is grateful for being freed of all pressure, stress and competition… even just for an hour a week.

Our mission is to give you that one hour…. for you!

Yoga’s Incredible Benefits – Part 2

Why choose yoga as the base of your company’s wellness programs? There are tremendous mental health benefits in offering yoga to your employees! Let’s explore the most important of these benefits this week. If you would like to read more about why yoga is the best choice for a corporate program, please read our last week’s article about the most important health benefits of yoga.

Nobody can deliver great work without concentration – we know this from our own experience. Nowadays losing the ability to concentrate is easy. Distractions come from every direction: colleagues, email, messages, phone calls, the need for immediate responses – all working against focus.

Practicing Yoga gives the wonderful possibility to create harmony between the mind and the body. This harmony then gives way to a sharper focus. All the light poses during a corporate yoga class plus the deep breathing exercises work together to provide this experience. Yoga students enjoy these benefits not just during class but hours after the yoga class has finished. It becomes easier to concentrate on the most important tasks and actually getting them done in less time and with less effort. In short, developing focus is the best way to increase productivity.

During an overwhelming week at work, it is a blessing to be able to free the mind from constant worry and negative emotions. A meditation practice will help tremendously in providing “space” and emptying the mind.

Yoga is still misunderstood sometimes as a weird practice of endless meditation. But there are numerous medical studies proving that yoga can help many modern day ailments like mental anxiety, stress, worry and overwhelm.

Have you noticed your employees stress level rise? Job pressure, work overload, conflicts with co-workers and managers at the workplace are the most important source of stress in the US population according to a recent American Psychological Association (American Institute of Stress, NY) survey. Around 73% of those suffering from stress experience psychological symptoms caused by stress regularly. (Source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/stress-statistics/)

Fortunately yoga can activate the natural relaxation response! Deep yoga deep breathing, meditation or rhythmic exercises can help to relieve the stress we all face in today’s world.

Basically anybody can begin a yoga practice and reap the benefits of practicing this ancient art! (Individuals with medical conditions need to discuss taking up yoga with their health providers and specialist, of course.)

In a corporate setting we welcome everybody no matter their fitness level or previous practice of yoga. All the yoga classes are customized to fit the needs of the particular group.

From our own St. Louis Corporate Yoga case studies we know that even one corporate yoga class per week can bring lasting relief from job stress. If you are interested to learn about the results our programs deliver, please ask for our case study documents by contacting us – just send your questions through the green box to the right side of this page or through our Contact page. Would you rather give us a call? Here is where you can reach us: 314-630-1677.

Yoga’s Incredible Benefits

Companies looking to provide wellness programs to their employees often turn to Yoga for the preventative and healing advantages it provides. What a great choice! The body and mind can be rejuvenated by the gentle moves and deep breathing involved without needing to risk injuries or worsen existing medical conditions.

Here are a few of the amazing advantages that Yoga offers:

Improve Flexibility – Do you believe that you need to be flexible to be able to do yoga? That’s not true – your muscles and joints will become more flexible as a result of a committed yoga practice.

If your employees sit a lot during the workday, there are specific postures that address that issue. An experienced yoga instructor is able to build a customized practice to fit your people’s needs.

Build Muscles – If you think that only weightlifting can develop muscles, you’re wrong. Yoga can assist strengthening muscles through special asanas. You don’t have to lift weights – you can lift your own body weight! We can show you very effective yoga postures where the muscles get sculpted even without trying!

Toning and strengthening of the body is a natural result of consistently practicing Yoga.

Ease Back Pain – Back pain can be distressing and incapacitating. And ultimately decrease the wellbeing and productivity of your work force. Yoga postures can help naturally and provide the relief needed.

Restorative Yoga can neutralize the damage of a sedentary life style and too much sitting in the office. A few easy yoga poses that are terrific to ease back discomfort are Cat/Cow, Downward Dog and Spinal Twist.

Strengthen the Spine – To preserve appropriate spine alignment you have to have flexibility and balance. If your spine isn’t really aligned properly, you can struggle with back pain and lack of motion. A couple of Yoga stretches such as Seated Twist and the Bridge Pose will help to keep your spinal column straightened appropriately and to improve your range of movement.

Boosts Immune System – Priming your immune system for better wellness is essential to fend off colds and flu and other, more severe conditions. Yoga can boost your immune system by enhancing circulation of the lymph – a clear fluid that helps to get rid of microorganisms and viruses.

Yoga poses such as the Child’s Pose and Downward-Facing Dog can considerably benefit the immune system and are easy to practice even during a corporate yoga class.

St. Louis Corporate Yoga classes offer a customized plan to help your employees to enjoy better health and higher productivity. As no two work environments are the same, we will support you to find the best solution for your company!

It is easy to connect with us! Just fill out the box to the right on this page and we will get back to you as soon as possible, usually in less than 48 hours’ time. Alternatively you can give Michelle Maue a call at 314-630-1677 .

Become a Resilient Wonder

For ten years, St. Louis Corporate Yoga has taught over 7,000 corporate yoga classes and is considered one of the top local experts in providing fabulous onsite yoga and wellness classes throughout St. Louis. St. Louis Corporate Yoga provides incentives to help your company get ready for onsite yoga classes soon!

Would you like to see change great improvements for your life in 2014? Most of know that in order to improve our lifestyle, we must take action. Every corporate yoga class is appropriate for all level students and takes 50 minutes in total.

If we are interested in sleeping better, eating healthier foods, and having more positive thoughts, there is nothing more beneficial than a good, strong regular yoga practice. Yoga is extremely time efficient and includes a wonderful 3 part system which addresses the mind, body and spirit.

Make a commitment to a Healthy, Happy & Stress-Free You! Did you know that many research findings share the many health benefits from a regular yoga practice? Would you like to lower your blood pressure, relieve tension migraine headaches, increase resiliency to colds and flu, or simply become a more relaxed and empowered coworker. No matter what change you are looking for – yoga is the answer!

Become a St. Louis Corporate Yoga Ambassador. Each time you send new business our way, and the new company spearhead a fabulous yoga program for at least 3 months, we will give you a $100 Amazon gift card. Also, if you are a corporate yoga client with St. Louis Corporate Yoga, you will qualify for monthly promotional discounts at our yoga studio.

Here is a list of current corporate yoga client testimonials.

“My blood sugar is down to 5.5 from 6.2. Yoga works!!” Carla Johnson
“My strength, energy and flexibility have improved after having 2 surgeries in 2009 for cancer.” Walter Jones
“My stress definitely was lower the session I took yoga. Also my physical energy was improved. I could not do last session and definitely missed it.” Susan Freise
“This class is a good stress reliever for me. Before taking the yoga class, I was having chest pains and I have not had them since starting yoga.” Phyllis Dilworth-Weaver
“I had migraines up to 16 times a year before. Since starting yoga 7 months ago, I’ve had 2! I’m off my migraine maintenance medication, and only have pain meds for migraines now.” Kathy
“Yoga has helped me reduce stress and tension. My balance has improved as I am getting older. The breathing aspect has helped me to quit smoking.” Donna Boeger
“I lost 40 lbs over the past year. Yoga has helped me lose and maintain the weight loss and made me much stronger in the process. I love yoga!” Darlene Rich
“Yoga gave me more flexibility in my joints, and I have better control of my stress and shoulder aches have disappeared.” Nora Pullen
“Yoga is good in retaining focus on multiple tasks and demands at work and home. Also keeps me focused on improving my health.” April Schutte Wilson
“Yoga has improved my overall health and attitude personally and professionally. I am stronger, calmer and more focused. I recently participated in the biometric screenings and ALL of my numbers were great.” Natalie Warren

Refer new companies to www.stlousicorporateyoga.com and have them complete their name and email today into our inquiry box. We will them contact them within 24 hours.

You may also call us anytime at 314-630-1677.

Team Effort is Best

St. Louis Corporate Yoga developed out of 15 years of regular yoga practice, yoga studio ownership and ongoing corporate yoga classes. Throughout this time, as the owner of Clayton Yoga, I faced many up’s and down’s. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I learned early on how to take the job seriously and made every effort to make daily improvements as both a business leader and a community role model.

I attribute my success to many people who offered their supportive coaching and encouraging words to me. I also cherish the everyday small experiences and step by step approach I went through to get to where I am now. I remember teaching just one yoga class each week and agonizing over it. I would spend weeks thinking about the meaning of life, and being obsessed with developing my own style of unique voice. I could think of nothing else!

After taking hundreds of classes from many great yoga teachers, I decided it was time to begin my own yoga studio. Yoga was an incredibly humbling experience. I was so passionate about finding yoga and what yoga could do, I just taught purely from instinct and as much positive energy as I could gather. After three years, fate intervened and I met Jonny Kest who would shape her yoga practice and style forever. Mr. Kest taught me to go within and really listen to my own unique edge, quieting my mind, and be authentic. His style is described as eccentric.

As a child prodigy of tennis, perhaps I relate to his childhood upbringing in yoga as well. Athletes are so competitive, that even when teachers were trying to be soothing and comforting, I still picked up competition energy. When I studied with Jonny, for the first time, I felt free to my wild, to be myself, to celebrate the tools I already had, rather than trying to perfect a pose, Jonny encouraged me really to listen to my breath.

I remember he would tell jokes, wear blue jeans and sponsor yearly national conferences which featured the best yoga teachers from around the world. I attended a Midwest Yoga Conference every year for 8 years and traveled to his studio 800 miles away twice to study for extended period of time. Yoga was not about following certain postures, or teachers, but rather allowing the postures to support and nurture compassion. Yoga began to take hold into my everyday life and I wanted to expand the business further.

I began offering corporate yoga classes after one of my students in 2001 recommended that I bring yoga to her workplace at Wachovia. Now I now train other teachers to teach corporate onsite wellness yoga classes.

Clayton Yoga and St. Louis Corporate Yoga has grown now from offering just 4 yoga classes per week to 11 weekly classes. And we plan to expand to 22 classes with the next year!

With over a decade of teaching, I have instructed over 2,000 on-site yoga classes and servicing well over 800 yoga students. My business was featured in the St. Louis Business Weekly newspaper for creating a successful business yoga niche locally. (http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/02/08/story13.html).

I want to continue inspiring both yoga teacher and yoga students to live their truth. Life is challenging. Each moment presents an opportunity to be reactive, fearful, or calm, peaceful. The choice is up to us. Yoga can show the way!

Please call us at 314-630-1677 to explore the possibilities of offering onsite yoga wellness programs! You are welcome to send us a message through the message box to the right side of this webpage. We will connect with you soon.

Namaste!

CEOs Who Believe in Yoga

Yoga’s acceptance in the workplace depends very much on how the management thinks about of this ancient practice. If the CEO of a company has his/her experience practicing yoga and learned to appreciate its benefits, adding yoga to the corporate wellness offers is easy.

Why do CEOs love yoga?

We found 3 great articles about how yoga changed the perspective of leaders in different industries. Please enjoy the short excerpts and if you found them interesting, please go and read the whole articles.

Yoga has deeply influenced Stanton Kawer’s (CEO and chairman of Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide) life.

“I love business. I am passionate about growing companies. Still, I can share that since I started practicing more than two years ago, yoga has profoundly influenced my life in every aspect. It has redefined my sense of self. I have changed as a husband, father, friend and leader.”

“On a personal level yoga has been instructive in helping me redefine my expectations for achievement. Perhaps the most salient lesson I’ve learned is that there are no scorecards to define success. In the yoga studio there are no winners or losers. No umpires. No victory measured against the loss of another. In yoga success emanates from within and is defined by self-mastery.”

“Yoga allows me to carry both equanimity and enthusiasm through my days. Ultimately it has allowed me to be a more effective CEO by making me a happier, healthier and more mindful human being.”

Source: http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/25/yoga-meditation-better-ceo-leadership-managing-kawer.html

Mark Bertolini, chairman and CEO at Aetna had a very personal experience with the healing powers of yoga. After a serious skiing injury he embarked on a journey to heal his body from the damage caused.

His own experiences with nontraditional remedies lead him to start a study to understand the benefits of yoga and mindfulness at the workplace.

“To prove the effectiveness of these practices at work, Aetna collaborated with eMindful and the American Viniyoga Institute to craft a 12-week study, during which Aetna employees practiced alternative techniques to reduce stress as measured by cortisol levels and heart-rate variability.

“When employees are in the highest quintile of stress, their health care costs are $2,000 a year on average higher than the average employee,” he said. “We saw dramatic drops in stress after the program was over, and we saw a 69-minute gain in productivity of our employees over a year,” he added.

The increased productivity along with reduced health-care costs and lowered employee stress yielded an 11-to-1 return on the program’s investments, Bertolini said, which added up to a savings of about $3,000 per employees per year.

“The other part that we couldn’t measure that I think is far more important is being present in the work environment, and by being present making better decisions for the organization and those decisions depending on where you are in the company take a longer time to have an impact, and we’ll see that over time” he added.

Following the study’s success, Aetna has opened up its stress-management programs to the insurance company’s customers and their employees.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100569740

Mark Hughes (CEO of C3 Metrics) shares about his experience with practicing yoga and the 3 principles he learned in the process:

“…I was beginning a journey learning more about myself and, surprisingly, more about business than I learned at one of the top ten business schools in the country and 20 years of professional experience.

Here are three things I learned:

1). Embrace Fear to Overcome Fear

“The headstand. It’s a pose in yoga that few novices relish. But I envisioned it in my mind, embraced the fear of falling as real, the fear of injury as real, but temporary, and thus overcame that fear.

And with many other poses in yoga, the fear of falling, the fear of making your failure widely known in front of many people is entirely real. But embracing that fear enables regular people to overcome great adversity in business. It enabled Richard Branson to create a billion dollar enterprise from a basement. It enabled Howard Schultz to go from subsidized housing to creating Starbucks. Achieve power through fear and adversity by embracing it.”

2). Transitions Make or Break You

The tough part is transitioning from one position to that position; that is what makes or breaks you.

Again, this is true in business and in life. Doing what you’ve been doing isn’t hard. Transitioning from one position to the next is where failure abounds.

It’s this transition that’s a lot like business. Transitions require planning and execution with intense focus.

If you’re paying attention, planning is the easiest part. Transitioning from planning to execution is where things make or break you. Without intense focus, you could slip and lose sight of the end goal.

3). Soul Needs Training

The whole “Namaste” “Ooohhm” aspect of yoga freaked me out. What I’ve learned, though, is the complete yogi – and the complete CEO – are about positive energy.

Namaste is simply a phrase meaning “the light in me honors the light in you.” Whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or Hindi, when you examine the phrase Namaste, it’s really about energy.

Like nuclear power, it’s energy that can be used for good or bad. The amount of positive energy you bring to your office, your call, your meeting, is felt. This is embodied in your body language, your smile, your gratitude, and gestures like opening a door and saying hi. When a baby smiles at you, you smile too. There is no complication in that exchange. The amount of energy and light you bring reflects on people. And sometimes that soul energy requires training.

Source: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/3-things-a-ceo-learned-a-yoga-manifesto/

What is your experience with corporate yoga? What do you learn during your practice that you will be able to use during your workdays? please feel free to share below in the Comments section! We would love to hear from you!
© Morganlane | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

St. Louis Corporate Yoga Ambassador Program

Our Yoga Ambassador Program will reward you when you share with others how yoga can make a big difference in their lives! Let your friends, family, colleagues know about how yoga can make a big difference in their workplace and lives.

For the next 12 months, we are promoting a special referral gift of $100 Amazon gift card for you! Here is how the Yoga Ambassador Program works. Refer St. Louis Corporate Yoga to a company and when they sign up for a minimum of 3 months of yoga with us, we will present you with your free gift card to spend any way you wish.

We are the experts in the field of corporate yoga and would love to help you get started. Our corporate yoga classes have been described by clients as a wellness workout which helps you find your inner radiance, glow, and softer, more creative side. Through movement and exercise, every movement in this all levels work out is designed for bliss and fun.

We help you enjoy working out with this Vinyasa style of yoga. Each and every student at all levels is welcome. Each class will be for 50 – 60 minutes. We ask that new students come comfortably dressed, and bring their own yoga mat.

St. Louis Corporate, a subsidiary of Clayton Yoga now offers 11 weekly yoga classes throughout the metro St. Louis area. Since 2003, when we began with two classes per week, today we offer over 11 weekly all level style yoga classes with more than 6,000 corporate classes having been taught.

More and more, yoga is becoming more commonplace as employees find enormous benefits and results from practice, including greater productivity, teamwork and energy.

Hear what a couple of our corporate yoga clients have to say:

“When I found out St. Louis Corporate yoga was being offered at my workplace, I signed up for the convenience. However, after a few classes, the instructor was better than most I had practiced with and I was pleased to continue with yoga at work. I use deep breathing and meditative aspects of St. Louis Corporate yoga when encountered with stressful moments throughout my day. These methods have helped me deal with my own anxiety and stress so that I can be at my best on a day to day basis. Yes, I would recommend yoga to others”. Sharon Schuler, Thomas Eagleton Courthouse

“My job can be very stressful, and the time during the day, away from my desk and the telephone can be very beneficial to my mind, spirit and body. St. Louis Corporate Yoga’s one hour yoga session calms down my busy mind; rejuvenates my spirit; strengthens and relaxes my body. Yoga has been the one form of exercise I have truly stuck with over the years, and I find it so beneficial. Because of yoga and the strength it has built in my body and in my mind, I rarely have physical injuries, and my mind is clear and at peace most of the time. I would highly recommend St. Louis Corporate Yoga classes and in fact I have recommended it to coworkers”. Suzanne Cross, Thomas Eagleton Courthouse

St. Louis Corporate Yoga offers its customized programs to both small and medium size companies. Often the best corporate yoga classes start with just a spark!

Let us help you bring yoga to your workplace, please call us at 314-630-1677.

Office Yoga Programs Are Not Just For Corporations

Yoga offered in an office setting is usually referred to as corporate yoga. But it is not just big corporations that can take advantage of all the benefits in-house yoga classes deliver.

Many different type of organizations can benefit from inviting yoga to the workplace!

A company doesn’t have to employ hundreds of people to make adding on-site wellness programs worthwhile. Small companies with 5-10 employees can make this concept work, too!

Non-profit organizations, hospitals, hotels and government organizations can all benefit from our programs.

We offer on-site private yoga classes, small group classes and yoga classes up to 25 participants.

One of our new offers is private yoga classes at the workplace. Many busy executives don’t have the time to travel to a yoga studio after work. On the other hand, these managers have to cope with very high stress levels daily. The practice during lunch hour, before or after work might be the only opportunity for them. A private class offers privacy and sole focus on the person’s needs.

There are many different ways to finance corporate yoga programs. Your health insurance might finance the costs of such program full or at least partly. In our experience the employees who take advantage of in-house classes gladly pay a small fee per class, too.

A few months ago we ran a pilot case study program at one of our valued partner companies. Our goal was to understand what type of improvements yoga class participants enjoy after practicing for just 3 months. The results were very positive! If you would like to get a copy of the executive summary of this case study, please let us know. We are very proud of our results and would be more than happy to share it with you!

Would you like to hear what our corporate yoga students has to say about their experience with St. Louis Corporate Yoga? We have interviewed a few of our enthusiastic students and recorded these videos where they share their results: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/praise/

Would you like to have a peek at how our business yoga classes are running? Check out our class videos here: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/videos/

We are famous for our flexibility and client friendliness when we prepare an office yoga proposal for our prospects. No matter if your organization has 10 employees or 1000, we will find the best way to share yoga with everybody in the company.

Please call Michelle at 314-630-1677 to explore the possibilities of offering in-house wellness programs! You are also welcome to send us a message through the message box to the right side of this webpage! We will connect with you soon!

Sleep For More Productivity

Want to become more productive in your job? There is a surprising answer to this question: sleep more and you will get more done on a daily basis – no matter what you do for a living!

Do you have a mile long to-do list that is getting longer every day? Do you feel like there is never enough time to get at least a few projects done? Do you begin new projects without finishing old ones? Could you just scream when you think about all the stuff that needs to get done in a short time? If you answered Yes to any of these questions, you know so well the stress this causes in your life.

The easiest way to handle the never ending to-dos in your job might be to work some more instead of taking some time off for recreation. You might take work home or spend more time in the office.

How do you fit all this extra work into your day? You might think about sleeping a few hours less, burning the midnight oil to get at least the most important stuff done. Unfortunately you will pay a high price if you sacrifice sleep.

Sleep is precious! Your body needs sleep to process the information flow you get throughout the day. This is the way it was constructed. Now we might try to test the limits of our systems…. But what price do we have to pay for this little experiment?

I am sure you know the feeling of fog spreading in your mind after a sleepless or short night. The ability to think clearly weakens and you feel you need to think twice to understand simple things and taking action is just a dread. Remembering things you want to get done becomes a chore and creating creative solutions is just out of question. You function but at base level at best. Now try to get productive in this foggy brain state… what are the chances of succeeding? Zero!

And no matter how we try defy the natural law of getting enough sleep, the reality is we cannot.

Protect your sleep no matter what! You need to get between 6-8 hours of sleep per night. How much sleep you need exactly is very personal. Some people thrive on 6 hours, some other need their 8 hours of zzzzzzzz….

In order to find out your natural sleep demands, lead a sleep diary for a few weeks. Note when you go to bed and how long you sleep. Also note your sleep quality. A few words or giving a note is sufficient (1 for a terrible night to 4 for an excellent night of sleep for example).

Plan for at least 7 hours of sleep per night. If you consistently wake up earlier than the 7 hours are up – this is an indication that you might need less sleep. If you cannot wake up without an alarm clock, you need to experiment with sleeping 8 hours or more.

One of a great indication if you got enough sleep is the fact that you wake up without an alarm clock feeling refreshed and ready to begin a new day full of energy.

Practicing yoga will add relaxation to your days and with a more relaxed brain you will get more done than you thought possible!