On 30.1.08 an article with the above title was published in the Sydney Morning Herald in the “My Career” section. It was written by Kate Hilpern and Gillian Cook.

Summary:

To keep employees well, coporate yoga is being added to the list of things employers offer. Lunch time classes and weekends away are gaining popularity, especially in Britain and Australia. Some seven years ago a group of British Google staff was treated to a weekend retreat in Spain.

Benefits of yoga:

The article talks about some of the benefits gained by the employees like reduced backaches, headaches and tension as well as better quality sleep and lower bloodpressure. There are social benefits as well, like meeting colleagues which they normally would never see at work. The employees also talk about having more clarity of mind and better focus.

One Corporate Yoga Teacher’s opinion:

A British corporate yoga teacher by the name of Subbodh Gupta states: “It’s not like teaching yoga in a health club, where people tend to have pretty good fitness levels,”…and he goes on to explain how you have to be aware of lots of potential problems when teaching corporate yoga.

My Opinion:

This is the one point I strongly disagree with. I teach yoga in two vastly different gyms (one small and intimate, the other one is huge and quite impersonal). All my classes are very mixed in terms of fitness levels.

A number of my class participants have the same issues like Gupta mentions in the article: Pregnancy, being very unfit because they are just starting out, high blood pressure and eye problems. The list of problems my students have is even more comprehensive and changes every week, depending on who comes to class.

If you are a yoga teacher or studying to become one – be aware that a lot of people who come to yoga classes are there because they are unable to do any other type of exercise. They think that yoga is the “easy” option.They suffer from various injuries. Their doctor may have sent them because they are suffering from “stress” or other, more serious mental health issues. For many, yoga is a last resort, their last hope to find an answer to their problems.

Positive outcomes:

I am glad to report that many of my students have found relief, learnt to manage their pain (be it emotional of physical) and felt happier overall.

Whatever situation you might find yourself in - never underestimate the power of yoga!

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