Teachers’ Tales:
I
n my old job, most of my time was spent sitting. Whether
it was behind a desk at a computer, hunched over piles of
scripts, perched in a TV gallery or sitting in meetings, there
was very little of my work that did not involve being attached
to an oice chair. No wonder I had back pain, tight shoulders,
tight hamstrings.... the lot! Memories of my childhood and teenage
enthusiasm for dance and feeling at ease in my body were distant.
Instead, I had more in common with the Tin Man.
Luckily for me, I discovered a great weekly yoga class at my
local gym that I was soon attending after work. (It was long before
the proliferation of yoga studios across my home city, London.)
This eventually expanded to include a burgeoning home practice.
However, if there had been the opportunity, for instance, of
lunchtime yoga at my oices at the time, I would have leapt at the
chance to roll out my yoga mat during the workday to re-energise.
It is now quite a number of years since I have worked in an oice
and it seems things have changed. It has become increasingly
more common for companies to ofer packages to their employees
including yoga classes, meditation, Pilates and all sorts of otherBringing yoga into the oice environment. By Paula Hines
(^) activities. As more employers come to understand and see the
beneits of looking after the wellbeing of their employees, I say: long
may it continue!
Every week for the past several years I have taught private
corporate yoga classes. While some do take place in a studio
space, the setting is more likely to be a boardroom with the tables
and chairs pushed to one side. And these classes are among my
favourite to teach. Why? Because they remind me of my corporate
days and what I wished I’d had access to at the time. Even though
it has been a while since I worked day-to-day in this kind of
environment I do remember how good it felt to be able to take some
time to focus on my breathing, move, stretch, meditate... to press
‘pause’. I love that I get the opportunity to give oice workers an
hour away from their projects, tasks and email inbox. And I love to
share tips that can be taken away and utilised whenever they are
needed. Who knew corporate yoga could be such a joy?.
Paula Hines is a London-based yoga teacher and writer
(ucanyoga.co.uk)
The joy of corporates
Te acher zone