Yoga at Work

Yoga is a comprehensive system of physical exercise, breathing techniques and meditation that offers the practitioner many benefits, including greater strength and flexibility, improved stress management, and sharper mental focus. Regular practice can increase energy, improve posture, relieve pain, and prevent repetitive-strain injuries. The meditative quality of yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn helps to reduce stress-related conditions such as mild anxiety, high blood pressure, heart disease and digestive disorders. Moreover, people who regularly attend yoga classes often notice an improvement in their self-esteem and general outlook.

The benefits that yoga offers employees can translate into valuable assets for businesses; namely, higher employee morale, increased productivity, and fewer sick days and disability claims.

Many companies now recognize the value of yoga and are offering classes to their employees as part of their stress reduction and corporate wellness programs. According to Yoga Journal, such companies include Chase Manhattan Bank, Forbes, HBO, GE, Wall Street brokerage firms, and dozens of Fortune 500 companies.

For more information about yoga and articles about corporate yoga programs, please see the following links:

www.yogaalliance.org/documents/TopTen07-06_002.pdf
www.yogajournal.com/views/294_1.cfm
www.yogajournal.com/views/308_1.cfm

Michelle Morrison has worked in several office environments over the years, including law firms, a hedge fund and an accounting firm, and is familiar with corporate culture. Recently, she taught a daily "7th-Inning Stretch" yoga class to members of the litigation department at Marks Paneth & Shron LLP, an accounting firm. Read what employees had to say in the column to the right.

For inquiries about One Wave Yoga at work, please contact

Michelle’s 7th-Inning Stretch class is like a magic anti-stress elixir! Afterwards, I feel refreshed, energized and ready to take on new challenges!
– A. Voos, Analyst

I greatly enjoyed the stretch sessions that Ms. Morrison led at our accounting firm. I found that they substantially decreased my back pain and stiffness, and greatly increased my flexibility. These sessions were doubly important to me since I sit at a desk all day crunching numbers.
– P. Diamond, Litigation Specialist

Michelle Morrison’s late afternoon stretch helped me make it through the rest of the workday and into the early evening. I always felt refreshed afterward and my body relaxed.
– P. Marquez, JD CPA, Litigation Consultant

Yoga at Work

Michelle’s 7th-Inning Stretch class is like a magic anti-stress elixir! Afterwards, I feel refreshed, energized and ready to take on new challenges! – A. Voos, Analyst

Michelle Morrison’s late afternoon stretch helped me make it through the rest of the workday and into the early evening. I always felt refreshed afterward and my body relaxed. – P. Marquez, JD CPA, Litigation Consultant

Michelle’s 7th-Inning Stretch class is like a magic anti-stress elixir! Afterwards, I feel refreshed, energized and ready to take on new challenges!
– A. Voos, Analyst

Michelle Morrison’s late afternoon stretch helped me make it through the rest of the workday and into the early evening. I always felt refreshed afterward and my body relaxed.
– P. Marquez, JD CPA, Litigation Consultant