St. Louis Corporate Yoga | St. Louis Corporate Yoga

Find Your Best Work Mojo With Onsite Corporate Yoga Classes

Find Your Best Work Mojo With Onsite Corporate Yoga Classes

Did you know that the type of breath you use, correlates with a particular state of mind. A rapid, shallow, irregular, noisy breath equals an angry, afraid or upset state of mind. While a calm, slow, deep, regular breath corresponds with a tranquil, creative and positive mental state. In our corporate yoga onsite classes, we provide all the breathing and stretching tips you will ever need. Our all level yoga classes, whether beginner or advanced, with Clayton Yoga corporate classes are geared for everyone! We often convert empty office space or conference rooms into yoga classes in no time. After each class, employees report feeling more relaxed, energized and confident. While students experience a great deal of work, showers are not necessary.

Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt therapy, describes “anxiety as simply the experience of breathing difficulty”. We can then, unblock negativity and fear, find creativity, joy and excitement again simply through the practice of deep breathing. Our corporate yoga program now boasting over 13 weekly corporate classes weekly in St. Louis teaches, empowers and shows simple breathing tips to company employees. An increase vitality, energy and productivity results from learning how to breath through work challenges and life stressors.

After spending two decades as a traveling physician searching for potent herbs and other forms of traditional and modern medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil finds that the single most potent and practical tool is our breath.

Proper breathing is the KEY to Great Health Proper breathing cures common conditions and more serious diseases.

This is..

●FREE
●NO EQUIPMENT NECESSARY and RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE

Stress is widely agreed by doctors everywhere to be a the primary or aggravating cause of illness. In Africa, 95% of all doctorʼs visits are peptic ulcers, neck and back pain and headaches which suggest that even in third world countries, lack of proper breathing is also the main cause and source of problems.

Working with the breath changes consciousness.

♥Provides tools and ability to center our mind.

♥We can turn our direction away from the material to the non-material.

♥Working with the breath, we have the chance to change physiology.

A good indication that patients had this imbalance, he would find cold hands. Too much sympathetic means that our system is hardwired for “the fight or flight” response too much of the time.

Some other very serious indications of an over active sympathetic nervous system include:

■high blood pressure
■slow digestion
■increase blood flow to the skin and surface of the body
■constant stimulation
■irregular heartbeat
■body responding to constant threat that never goes away
■drugs suppresses tendency of the body to rebound

Based on expansion and contraction, the stars and the body simultaneously breath. Breath is a concentrated, still essence of being. We are not trying to change the breath, simply observe the breath. Eventually, Dr. Andrew Weil believes you may reach enlightenment.

If you are interested in feeling positive mojo in the workplace again, please contact us! We can be reaching Monday to Friday from 8am-6pm, at 314-630-1677. Namaste.

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.

Find the Courage to Shine at the Workplace

We are more than physical beings getting caught up, we are metaphysical beings transcending our environment. Yoga helps us connect with our energy. We experience our life force energy– stronger, faster, and more powerful than any of our thought systems. From here, we access the courage necessary to be ourselves. Yoga postures wake up space in the body, clear out garbage in our tissues, allow the flowing of waters to move in and around, purifying our being and illuminating our light.

The Buddha’s teaching is one of empowerment. The balance and wellness of our planet depends on our own individual ability to be disciplined. Like two wings on a bird, we must be both: aware and equanimous. A lack of compassion or equanimity may produce bad feelings. For example, if we feel guilty for noticing our own frailties or weakness, then we become self-indulgent and reproduce more of the same. However, if we can see fear as frozen, engage a new neural pathway in our brain, we illicit greater compassion and then begin to thaw the ice.

We can redirect our attention to possibility of new growth, when we neutralize judgment and fear. Each one of us are unique, with different backgrounds, needing something that is particular to us. My friend Rampersad once said, we are each complicated beings, and may look for short cuts and project unfinished work onto others in hopes of finding something everlasting.

We are not born in perfect alignment and we came here to find that alignment, so the best we may hope for is to bring some guidance and support to the other. When we assist the other person in our workplace or our friendships or family life to be successful, then the universe will in turn help to facilitate our own growth and development.

The discipline of the practice is making the time every day to connect with a soft, gentle yielding peace which lends itself to finding an internal resource and empowered state. The old school of exercise tells us to keep pounding and pushing but the body never allows time to recover. Yoga gives us time to replenish and articulate the unique needs coming from the inside resulting in expanding the power within.

When we work with vitality and feeling great, there is no need to get caught in our negativity. We work with energy first, let go of the fear based model: emptiness, neediness, laziness and being an ostrich and instead turn our attention to soul. We let go of the desire to manipulate and control, and go with a dynamic, fluid, changing, sharing compassionate energy for real support.

St. Louis Corporate Yoga currently offers 11 weekly yoga classes throughout St. Louis. If you are interested or know someone who may enjoy a nice weekly yoga class during lunch or before work contact us for a free phone consultation today. To start a corporate yoga class at your business ask for Michelle Maue at 314-630-1677 or contact us at info@claytonyoga.com

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.

St. Louis Corporate Yoga Wellness Onsite Classes and Promotions for 2014

What would you like to see change in your life in 2014? Bring yoga to the workplace and show others why yoga is the best medicine and empowerment tool today. St. Louis Corporate Yoga is extending a free $100 Amazon gift card for all new company referrals in St. Louis during 2014.

Would you like to

become healthier,
loose a few pounds,
become more resilient against stress in your job?
Or would you like to finally take some time just for yourself?

No matter what change you are looking for – yoga is the answer! With over ten years of corporate yoga onsite experience, we know how to tailor yoga classes to best suit your personal and individual company needs. All of our classes are geared for all levels and backgrounds. There is no showers necessary, and most companies hire out for one or two yoga classes per week.

Here is a sample of what our corporate yoga clients have been saying.

“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

Let St. Louis Corporate Yoga show you how to start a onsite wellness yoga class with just one consultation phone call. With over 5,000 corporate yoga classes taught, we are certain you will be pleased with our results.

If you are interested in having yoga at your workplace, we would be happy to have a 20 minute phone consultation with you. Please go to our web link here to sign up for a special phone consultation: https://stlouiscorporateyoga.com/contact/. Make a commitment to a Healthy, Happy & Stress-Free You.

Also, check out our other very special New Year Yoga Class Card promotions available at our yoga studio in Clayton, Missouri. We have three types of packages available anytime in January. A 3-month Yoga Class Card unlimited for $150, 6-month Yoga Class Card for $300 and a really great promotion of one yearly unlimited Yoga Class Card for $500. A very small investment for a healthy return: http://www.secure-booker.com/bellayoga/ShopOnline/Series.aspx. If you would like to enjoy unlimited yoga time at the studio, please take action now.

Why wait and expect different results? Make a change and take action NOW! Stop by and start practicing yoga with us soon! We are here to support your transformation in health and happiness.

3 Corporate Yoga Pitfalls To Avoid

Offering corporate yoga is an easy choice for most organizations. Yoga has a high acceptance level among employees, it is not considered something exotic to be practiced only in ashrams any more.

The investment that companies need to make is relatively low and organizing an on-site yoga program is mostly stress free for the HR department. Yoga is here to stay as a wellness option.

There are a few pitfalls though that we want you to be aware of and avoid.

Not assessing employee demand

Before committing to a corporate yoga program it is very important to understand the preferences of your employees.

Is there enough number of people willing to sign up?
How often do they prefer to practice?
What time of the day will work for them best?

Asking these questions ahead of time will ensure that there is sufficient interest once you have the program set up.

Picking a provider whose offer is not the right fit

Is your company bombarded with yoga offers? How to find the right yoga teacher/studio to provide the best services for you?

You need a yoga teacher or a team of instructors who has a considerable practice in offering on-site yoga classes. 5-10 years of experience is ideal. Not all yoga teachers on the team has to have such long experience if newer teachers get mentoring and supervising from the owner or head instructor.

You want to avoid any disharmony between the ideals of the yoga instructor and the reality of your business. Aim to find a yoga teacher with a corporate background. You will be surprised to find quite a few yoga teachers who used to be in the corporate world then retrained as yoga teachers to find a new meaning in life.

Picking the right yoga style for a corporate program is essential. We teach Vinyasa yoga as it is so easy to integrate into a workday. Your employees will be able to return to their desks immediately after class.

Not committing to a long-term yoga program

As with any other wellness solutions, it takes time to see the benefits corporate yoga offers to the company and to the yoga students. You will need to commit to at least to a 3-month trial program to understand the results your employees will get.

We encourage our clients to offer 6 or 12-month yoga programs. If yoga is totally new to an organization, it makes sense to try a 12-week program to see how yoga will fit into your company’s life.

St. Louis Corporate Yoga offers a special 3-month case study opportunity to companies. Please ask us how you can be part of this initiative.

We are just a phone call away to answer all your question around on-site yoga. Please call Michelle at 314-630-1677.

Let’s create the prefect program for your organization!

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.

How To Deal With Stress In Your Workplace?

Stress is part of life – there is not much you can do about it! But that doesn’t mean that you must suffer from the different symptoms stress will cause you.

A bit of stress can be actually good for you as many times it adds to your motivation to take some action to get rid of or change the circumstances that add stress to your life. If you feel overwhelmed with your projects at work and feel stress mounting up inside, a healthy stress response would be to go to your manager and ask for help or ask for a new deadline. You take action to solve the issue and this helps to relieve the tension inside.

What happens if you get no support from your manager in that situation or nothing changes even after you asked for help a few times? When you see no way out from a situation, no chance to solve the issue or influence the solutions – a small irritation can turn into a major stressor in your work life.

Too much or constant stress will not only kill your motivation to do your best work, it can threaten your physical and mental health, too.

The first signs of facing a stressor can be procrastination and avoidance. You try everything not to face the reality of the situation, begin procrastinating on projects or missing meetings. The problem with reacting this way is that the problem will not go away. You will have less time and chance of renegotiating with every minute you procrastinate. And this will lead to even more stress. A never ending circle!

In every stress situation there are 2 important factors:

1.the source/cause of stress: the stressor

2.and your reaction to the situation: your stress response.

Let’s look at both factors separately!

You should deal with the source of stress in your life, there is no way around it. You might opt to take pills or herbal medications to deal with your stress response, but if you don’t do something about the source of this problem, the solution you picked might be short-lived.

A few tips:

-before the situation gets out of hand, try to set up a clarifying meeting with your boss. Even if you tried talking with him/her once, try again. Your manager has a vested interest in keeping you motivated and doing the best job you can. Important is that you don’t complain – that rarely solves anything. Concentrate on setting up priorities and renegotiating.

–create a better solution. Use the freedom you have in your job and come up with a better work organization. Try out the new solutions, gather proof that your ideas work then share with your manager.

–clear expectations. Many times misunderstandings around projects, confusion around the deliverables will lead to much unneeded stress. The only way to deal with this: discuss with your team and create clear, manageable, realistic and measurable goals. A system for follow-ups will help tremendously, too.

Most important is this: The more proactive you are, the less powerless you feel. The feeling of being able to influence the outcome will decrease stress levels immediately.

In our upcoming blogposts we will look at the options you have to change your stress response and heal the damage stress is causing in your life. Stay tuned to our new articles in the coming weeks!

In the meantime, starting a corporate wellness program is proved to help alleviate stress in the workplace. Please get in contact so we can help you find the best solution for your company’s needs!

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!

Having a Spirit of Cooperation in the Workplace

Michelle Maue, owner of Clayton Yoga began St. Louis Corporate Yoga in response to needs of her clientele seeking to reduce stress in the workplace over ten years ago! Since that time, St. Louis Corporate Yoga has over 4 corporate yoga instructors teaching onsite wellness classes throughout St. Louis. With over a decade of experience, St. Louis Corporate Yoga provides over 9 weekly classes in a courteous, prompt and professional manner.

Many yoga corporate clients report overall greater resiliency to challenge, increasing greater cooperation, teamwork and levels of support. Our long standing corporate yoga programs have also shown a marked increased in improved employee morale and better communication between employee and employers. Sometimes, we begin our yoga class with a heartfelt and sincere prayer of gratitude called the Heart Meditation by Deepak Chopra.

In this simple and powerful story or meditation, students are prompted to recall any situation at work where they feel a certain grievance toward a particular person or situation and using their imagination create space and allow their energy to shift back to the breath, lengthening in a calm way, new positive states of mind.

When we begin to take a make a more conscious effort and choose to focus on the positive side to our circumstance; we slowly can make the shift. We can very often learn from resistance how to transform our own mindset. The journey from resentment to gratitude is very productive to our energy, health and mental well being.

When we live from a place of appreciation even for the setbacks, we and allow the healing life force to move through us. Sometimes the greatest of mistakes, can often later become the greatest stepping stones to our success! The following is a written copy of this exact meditation for you to enjoy…

[box]Heart Meditation by Deepak Chopra
Experience gratitude in your heart by considering all the things in your life for which you are grateful. Think about all the people in your life you love and the people who share their love with you. Spend a few minutes reviewing the gifts in your life for which you are appreciative.

Keeping your awareness in your heart, let go of all grievances, resentments and regrets. Repeat, every decision I make is a choice between a grievance and a miracle, I relinquish all regrets and grievances and choose the miracle (Repeat 3x)

Think of anyone that you may be holding a grudge or resentment against. Visualize them in your awareness and practice forgiveness, recognizing that everyone is doing their best from their state of consciousness. Have the intention to forgive others and yourself from any actions that have resulted from pain.

Having let go of resentments, grievances and regrets and having embraced forgiveness, bring your attention back to your breathing.[/box]

It’s great to have a healthy body, but the rewards of creating a healthy attitude and appreciative spirit is far greater. When we release our judgement, we set ourself free! We become more compassionate with the complexities of the working world and find things in our coworkers that have allowed us to do things we never could achieve alone. As one yoga corporate yoga client said, “yoga classes have made me more aware of just how interdependent we all really are”.