Yoga is a practice that was founded in ancient India. It has various styles that include different postures, meditations, and breathing exercises. Moreover, yoga helps people to find the connection between body, mind, and spirit. By applying yoga to our everyday lives, we can experience more peace, comfort, and mental clarity. Additionally, it reduces and prevents physical pain and tension in the muscles. Besides, it helps to clear the mind and be more productive and confident. But how does yoga have such benefits for our body and mind, and how can we use it to promote our well-being in our workspace?
Why do people experience stress?
Our sympathetic nervous system is activated when our body is responding to stress or danger by increasing heart rate, opening airways, and slowing down digestion. Also, it is called flight or flight mode. In the old times, when humans existed in line with nature, it was important to keep us alive and avoid dangerous animals. However, nowadays people's sympathetic nervous systems are more and more activated. There are different reasons for this, but the most common ones are a fast-paced lifestyle, stressful work, and too many responsibilities at the same time. Therefore, we as human beings have a big need for less stressful environments and habits that help to keep our stress at its normal levels.
How does yoga reduce our stress levels?
When we experience stress, our breathing is lighter, and our mind is more busy with thoughts about all the things we have to do or what we have done. Besides, yoga is one of the best ways people can balance their nervous systems and reduce stress levels in their bodies. The science behind it is that yoga helps to activate our parasympathetic nervous system. This system is responsible for relaxing and recovering the body by lowering heart rate, stimulating digestion, and saving energy. Thus, it is also called the rest and digest mode. Furthermore, it can be even 5 minutes of breathing exercises or meditation that help our bodies to feel at ease again. That is also the reason why small breaks for yoga during the workday can help us to be more calm and focused.
How can yoga benefit us?
The main purpose of yoga is to help us to be connected to our bodies and to improve our health and well-being. One of the ways that yoga benefits us is through physical movement. When we move through different postures, we can experience different advantages. For example, it can boost the blood and oxygen flow, relieve stress, and make us feel calm and relaxed. Additionally, breathing exercises can help us to relax or, vice versa, make us more active and motivated. For instance, the right nostril breathing generates heat in the body and makes us feel more energised. By contrast, Sheetali pranayama reduces heat in the body and relaxes our nervous system. Therefore, while choosing the right breathing technique or postures, it is good to know what your needs are at that specific moment.
How can we implement yoga in our worklife?
There are lots of ways we can do yoga during our workday:
Breathing exercises: One of the ways is to take small breaks to check our breathing and take deeper and slower breaths that help us to be more connected to our bodies, as well as enhance our focus and mental clarity.
Guided meditations: Another option is to listen to guided meditation. There are hundreds of different free meditations that can be found online. Usually they have an intention that is mentioned in the title. These can be meditations to feel more grounded, calm, active, grateful, etc.
Active meditation: Additionally, there is an option to do active meditation that can be done indoors or outdoors. For example, when we have a small break from work, we can walk in the office and concentrate on a single object like our breathing. There is also an option to focus on different things. For instance, we can concentrate on our senses and think about what we can see, touch, hear, taste, and smell. These kinds of exercises help us to feel more energised, confident and productive.
Yoga classes at the office: Lastly, if employers want their employees to be more motivated, active and at peace, it is suggested to make weekly yoga classes during lunch breaks. This is a great way to show that the company cares about their workers and wants to contribute to their well-being and happiness.
Conclusion
Yoga is an ancient practice that was founded in India. It has different postures, breathing techniques, and meditations that help us to be more connected to our body, mind, and spirit. Also, yoga postures boost our blood flow, reduce stress and tension and muscle pain, and give us good energy and mental clarity. By activating your parasympathetic nervous system, yoga helps us to stabilise our stress levels and find peace in a modern, fast-paced lifestyle. We can implement yoga into our everyday work lives by focusing on our breathing, listening to guided meditations, or doing an active meditation while walking in the office or outdoors during a small break. Besides, these practices help us to feel more at ease and increase our productivity and self-confidence. Moreover, if the employer wants to contribute to the employees health and happiness, it is recommended to organise weekly yoga classes in the office during the lunch breaks. In conclusion, yoga practices make us feel balanced and happy, and practicing them regularly in our work life helps to ensure job satisfaction.
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