benefits of corporate yoga | St. Louis Corporate Yoga

Breathing With Awareness

There are many special breathing exercises we share with our corporate yoga students during on-site classes. There is really an appropriate breathing style for nearly all ailment of body and soul.

A healing journey teaches that yoga is life and all life is interconnected. When we practice stretching, we access and expand 72,000 energy openings called Nadis. Watching our breath, we step to the edge, and ignite our spirit!

Yoga is not about having the most flexible or strongest body. Real yoga is developing the ability to maintain an equanimous mind no matter what is happening. When we push ourselves to the edge, breathe and remain gentle and calm, we begin to rewire our mind. The parasympathetic calms, soothes and repairs our system. As well, we also experience all of the following benefits as well.

Breathing with Awareness

■lowers high blood pressure
■slow digestion
■increase blood flow to the skin and surface of the body
■provides constant stimulation
■slows down an irregular heartbeat
■helps the mind rewire and change a fear of constant threat to
■work with the root causes of disease in the body

Watching our breath or meditation, helps us shift from the unconscious to the conscious. This “witness of breath” helps raise the parasympathetic nervous system where we may quiet and raise the balance energy of our nervous system.

As soon as we feel sensation, the Buddha taught, we have been conditioned to compete, react and judge, thereby limiting our true experience. We will show you how the issues of your life are trapped inside the tissues of your body.

Tension in the body is just trapped energy. Yoga does not seek to manipulate the mind. Rather, we work with opening up the web of life found in your body. And when you learn to move your bodies in a sacred way we wake up the life force and feel good. With constant practice and application of the tools we share with you, you will learn how to transform the reactive places in your mind/body experience, expand on new possibilities, find greater levels of inner peace and have fun.

When you live from your truth, from your joy, and from feeling good every day, you become abundant. Practicing like this on a regular basis will bring about greater transformation, magic and rapture! Yoga develops longer response time, and increase our ability to make better choices. This results in activating parts of your limbic system, and brain to make better choices based on motivational living. The more we practice this kind of yoga, the more we expand our circles to inspire and motivate others by our own example.

Our yoga classes are all level style and a great fit for both brand new beginners to yoga as well as those who are more advanced. Our corporate yoga clients report a much greater overall level of joy, life satisfaction, vitality, and improved energy.

We would love to schedule a complimentary phone consultation at your earliest convenience – just call us at 314-630-1677. Namaste!

Sitting Is Killing You Now

Sitting is silently killing you – It is true. We wrote about this 18 months ago on this blog already. Would you like to read our article? Here is the link.

Just a few days ago The Washington Post published an awesome article summarizing the different ways sitting is becoming one of the most dangerous thing we do every single day. Who would have thought that an activity we engage in for hours at the workplace and then at home in front of the computer or TV can wreck our lives so efficiently.

The infographic in the article shows in detail which part of our bodies suffer the most from sitting way too much.

One of the most shocking finding we read is the way sitting might actually lead to an overproductive pancreas and then to diabetes. Here is the quote:

“The pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that carries glucose to cells for energy. But cells in idle muscles don’t respond as readily to insulin, so the pancreas produces more and more, which can lead to diabetes and other diseases. A 2011 study found a decline in insulin response after just one day of prolonged sitting.”

Please view the whole infographic here: http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sitting/750/

You can also download it as a PDF. Print it out and keep it by your desk so you get a daily reminder why you must stand up and move to stay healthy!

For easy reminder we post here the part of The Washington Post infographic which gives you advice on how to deal with the consequences of too much sitting.

Practicing yoga is mentioned as an effective way to counteract the damage sitting is causing. The simple fact that you decide to use 1 (or more) lunch break to be in movement, stretching and moving those muscles will benefit you tremendously. We like to focus on poses beneficial to the hip flexors in our classes.

You can practice yoga during work hours without sweating or messing your clothes and hair up. After 50 minutes of calm inducing practice you will bale to return to your desk without any extra prep.

Would you like to hear what long time corporate student have to say about St. Louis Corporate Yoga classes? Pay attention to the wonderful benefits they enjoy as a result of yoga! Please watch our many testimonial videos!

What will you do today to cut back on sitting? Feel free to share in the Comments section!

Would you like to introduce yoga classes at your work place? Your solution is just one phone call away – call Michelle at 314-630-1677!

Why Does Yoga Give Us So Much Energy?

One of the most fundamental tools to great yoga and a healthy body is the yogic breath. Learning how to breathe the yoga breath is surprisingly easy. What is difficult is to keep going. This style of breathing will bring incredible levels of energy and vitality to your day. Higher levels of energy boost your mood and ignite creativity. When we are inspired spiritually speaking, contribute new insights and become a better team player.

In essence, the yogic breath has profound mind-body-spirit benefits. Our body is built on a network of wiring called the central nervous system. This system is made of a balance between two important and different functions called the sympathetic and parasympathetic. When we breathe from the belly, we initiate the well-being aspect of our physiology. Even sitting at our computer or desk, we can practice this yoga breath. Deep, calm, regular breathing mirrors feelings of safety, support and that the world is safe.

The Buddha once said, I live in two worlds, that of being and doing. What he meant was that he was able to accomplish everyday tasks, doing with staying present and calm.

Using our primary muscles of breathing, we inhale, expanding the abdomen, allowing the diaphragm to release, the lung tissue to expand and the deep, rich oxygenated breaths to flow. When we stay connected to our breath, we let life unfold without attaching to results. We circulate the body with life force energy and wire our brain to stay calm, confident and centered right in the center of change.

Yoga also works great for the overall toning and conditioning of the system because it stretches and releases tension in some of the deepest and tightest areas of the body. Shoulder and hip opening postures place tensile pressure on key areas which then help us to unlock anxiety, fear, stress, tension and transform this into vitality, support and feeling good.

When we use our body’s own natural resistance, and hold weight bearing postures for long periods of time, we increase the level of synovial fluid and hydrolauranic acids located in the connective tissues throughout the body. These vital life force energies bring tremendous stamina and strength both to the mind and body and help promote healing, health and balance to the system.

Postures taught by St. Louis Corporate Yoga are both safe as well as challenging. Students learn proper alignment techniques as well as important anatomy tips to help break apart difficult postures and learn how to build one’s practice.

Vinyasa Yoga or literally “moving with breath” is one of the safest, healthiest and beneficial exercises available today. All corporate yoga classes are open to any student, level, background, or ability. Clayton Yoga corporate teachers have been described as warm, friendly, helpful, intelligent and articulate.

Practicing yoga has helped many people find tremendous peace, gratitude and joy. Let St. Louis Corporate Yoga help you design a yoga program that uniquely fits your company’s individual needs today! For a private free consultation about how to get corporate onsite yoga started in your workplace, please contact, Clayton Yoga, at 314-630-1677. Namaste!

Stress – It Never Stops

Do you feel that your life is filled to the brim with stress on most days?

It usually begins with hearing the sound of your alarm: time to get up! Have you ever woke up scared and not knowing where you are at hearing that alarm clock? Wanting to hit the snooze button… if only you could find the clock or your phone or whatever you use to signal the end of sleep.

You are on high alert even before getting out of bed. And it is not betting better, either. Your family members are intruding in your space (aka use the bathroom so you have to wait, eating up your breakfast instead of making theirs, and sharing with you the newest to-do list of the day and…and…and…).

By the time you hit the road to enjoy your daily commute, you are stressed deeply. The rest of the day has plenty of situations where your stress response gets tested. And it never stops, does it?

Stress becomes a constant in your life not an exception. “Good stress” that is helping you stay alive in the face of danger is an acute state. What you experience most of the time is the killer non-stop stress.

How can you get a breather during intense periods of stress?

First you need to become aware of the situation you are in. Become aware of the need to step back for a few seconds and realize what is happening. What is causing the stress response? What symptoms you experience in the moment of stress?

The second step is to make a conscious decision to step out of stress’ way. This might mean actually separating yourself from the place of stress. During an argument, you might decide to go to another room or office to remove yourself momentarily from this situation you are in. While driving you could take a short break. I know you might be stressed because you are late already but driving yourself crazy will not get you to your meeting any seconds earlier.

Take a deep breath! I know you hear this advice all the time. But have you tried it? Taking a few deep breaths concentrating on how the air is moving in and out of your lungs is guaranteed to help you to calm down.

Depending on your stress level, you might need to take a few more deep breaths. Do you feel you are wasting your time? No, you don’t. You are helping your body to get back to its normal state. Your thinking becomes clearer as a result and you are able to look for solutions to the issues that caused you the stress to begin with.

If you are able to take a few more minutes away from the stress source, even better.

The reason corporate yoga classes work so wonderfully to cut back on bad stress is that you are “allowed to walk away” for 50-60 minutes. Just imagine having an hour to actively relax your body, brain and nervous system!

Our corporate students return back to their desks rejuvenated and ready to look for solutions through cooperating with their co-workers. This is one benefit that all companies love!

Would your company be interested to create a calm, results-oriented and cooperation-based culture? We would love to help! The solution might be just a phone-call away. Call us at 314-630-1677 to discuss how we can support your organization!

Clayton Yoga Classes Building Community at the Workplace

Anne Hollin, Executive Assistant, speaks to us about her fantastic experience as a corporate onsite yoga student with Clayton Yoga. Ms. Hollin has been working with the Family Court for over fourteen years. While she has never been a big, huge fan of exercise, Anne is extremely motivated, energized and excited to talk today about the benefits she has been experiencing. More than two years ago, Anne began attending yoga onsite classes. And the more that she came to class, the more she realized how difficult these yoga postures were and relaxed she felt afterwards.

Anne says that she had done yoga before. Though, when she started attending Clayton Yoga’s corporate class, she was not a real fan of yoga initially, she began to notice and enjoy both the exercise and empowering the yoga Family Court community. Anne has developed greater flexibility. Yoga helped Anne after her Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Doctors were very pleased with her overall prognosis and within 3 yoga classes, she was back to her regular plank routine. Having greater practice with breathing, has really taught Anne how to pay attention and back off meeting unique moment to moment varying needs as they arise. She finds that having a calmer, more peaceful mind has directly resulted in healthier decisions to eat better and take care of her body.

She finds that yoga helps her to become more accountable to her coworkers. Each week, they check in with each other and ask if they are going to yoga today? And if “I don’t go” Anna says, “then that’s my thing!”. Now after attending more than two years of onsite regular yoga classes, Anne finds a thriving connection and wellness culture taking place. Many work colleagues who have never tried yoga before are a bit intimidated to start. People would come by and check it out. Many of them may believe for example, that sitting cross legged and chanting Om is practicing yoga.

They don’t realize yet, that yoga is a great workout. Anne would like nothing better than to help get more people exposed to that. She remembers one colleague who came in and tried out one yoga class. Even after one yoga class, found what a difference that made. She noticed how this one yoga class made him more calm throughout that particular workday.

Above all, Anne really enjoys the group of committed yoga students who have made weekly yoga practice a necessary staple in their overall enjoyment for life. Anne looks forward to even taking her cat naps toward the end of class as she finds the teacher’s loving and soothing voice coupled with very meditative music nice. She is interested in the possibility of yoga class now twice per week. And would like to encourage any student from any background or ability to try this wonderful corporate onsite yoga class.

If you are interested in starting a corporate yoga onsite class with Clayton Yoga, we would be happy to provide you with a free phone consultation, 314-630-1677! Let us help you to set up an onsite corporate yoga class soon! Namaste.

Corporate Yoga Benefits – A Testimonial

Ed Enslin, a devoted corporate yoga student with Clayton Yoga finds his weekly yoga classes incredibly beneficial.

Having been always very athletic, Ed finds however, in his maturing years, the impact life can have on our bodies: “When I took my first yoga class, I was very stiff. And I had several previous injuries that had not gone away.” Over 13 years ago, maybe longer, Ed suffered a right broken heel, and after surgery, and many more months of painful recovery, still found it difficult to put his shoe back on. Even completing simple daily activities like mowing the lawn, left his foot feeling swollen for days. Also walking up and down the stairs, he had to go one step a time time leading with the left foot only.

At this point, Ed knew he needed to do something and to make healthy lifestyles changes or things were going to get a lot worse. Ed decided to sign up for his first corporate yoga session with Clayton Yoga. What initially interested him the most was the low cost and outstanding value. Because health insurance companies subsidize these corporate yoga onsite classes by more than 70%, individual students no longer have to carry such financial burden. Ed Enslin, also enjoys the added convenience of onsite yoga classes. Rain or shine, it is super easy to get to class!

The benefits he has found through attending classes are incredible. While he admits that very often before coming to class, he feels very sore and definitely is not pain free, soon enough, after a few yoga stretches, the soreness goes away. Also, he is much more interested in keeping an eye out for high potassium levels in the body.

The wellness model has helped Ed Enslin realize what terrible shape he used to be in and how is able to change all of that. The flexibility and learning that is taking place in my life now is incredible. The practice of breathing prepares Ed for other office tasks too. As he gets older, he finds that yoga also helps him to stay physically balanced as well.

He has even found in the past 4-6 months that attending two corporate onsite classes per week is not enough support. He supplements more yoga with 1-2 additional yoga classes each week at Clayton Yoga studio. Ed enjoys keeping his injuries at bay and his new found ability to take part in more and more of life’s activities. Now, he says he can walk up and down the stairs with two feet!

Ed Enslin finds the Clayton Yoga studio teachers to all be very intelligent, dynamic, active and people that he would want to be friends with. Also, he looks forward to the yoga classes because students are cheerful and bright.

In working with is colleagues, he notices many positive changes there too. People tend to become more social interactive. They really look forward to class. And quite frankly, it makes their day go by faster and folks are more productive. Because of all these benefits, more and more students are also attending. The benefits of yoga are there for everyone, but Ed advises that students do need to give themselves more than just 12 weeks to see all their dreams come true too!

Are you interested in being your healthiest and having your own best lifestyle? If you are interested in more information about starting an onsite yoga class with Clayton Yoga, please contact Michelle at 314-630-1677 or info@claytonyoga.com.

Treasure Trove Of Our Best

Did you know? Our St. Louis Corporate Yoga blog was established 14 months ago. We share valuable content every week since November, 2013.

The articles we publish here cater to our two major audiences:

HR professionals interested in creating a unique wellness program for their companies
Employees interested in the benefits corporate yoga programs can offer

We gathered the best of the blog for you so you can discover evergreen articles published weeks and months ago.

Our best for corporate representatives, HR professionals and business owners:

The 10 best reasons to get started with corporate yoga at any organization.

This list of the incredible benefits of yoga will be useful when you need to convince the management team to fund a yoga wellness program.

Detailed list of questions to explore before starting a yoga program in your organization.

Around 75% of US population experiences physical and/or psychological symptoms as a result of stress. Stress be gone but how?

A bit of a stress can be a motivator in the workplace. When does stress become too much and start to influence performance?

Yoga classes at the workplace can benefit any organizations not just big corporations. If you are a small business owner or work for a non-profit or government organization, read this blogpost.

Corporate yoga is mainstream by now. These CEOs and their firm belief in the benefits of yoga offered in the workplace made this process easier.

Our best for employees: tips for home practice, remedies, and great tips from our editorial team:

How to supplement your corporate yoga classes with an at home yoga practice? If you would like to more deeply engage with your yoga practice, here we give you more options to do just that.

Feels like you have only a very limited time for yourself? Just one minute to meditate? Let’s make the most of that one minute with these tips from the owner of St. Louis Corporate Yoga:

A must read article for anybody working in an office environment! The dreadful truth about sitting – the research finding urge us to stand up and move as much as possible during the workday:

Precious, sweet sleep! Why don’t you try these easy practices for better quality sleep?

Some more sleep tips: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/sweet-sleep-for-increased-productivity/

How to deal with stress at work? Find our best tips in the following articles: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/how-to-deal-with-stress-in-your-workplace/ and https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/find-a-new-way-to-respond-to-stress/

Music to your ears! For relaxing music suggestions, go here.

One of the practical question we get from our students: what to eat before a yoga class. We gathered the best and tastiest options for you.

Stop these unhelpful behaviors to get the most of your corporate classes: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/you-need-to-stop/

Unplug for more serenity! Sounds scary? Read this inspiring piece on how to switch off distractions.

Success stories from our corporate yoga students:

We love to get feedback from our students! We regularly ask them to share their success stories. It is really inspiring to see what amazing results these people get out of their regular yoga practice.

Key benefits of corporate yoga practice as our successful students see it. Here is a selection of feedback, written and video testimonials.

Enjoy reading our articles!

Do you have any corporate yoga related topics you would like to read about here? Please let us know through our Contact page or in the Comments section below.

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.