In recent years, the prevalence of yoga and its popularity has dramatically increased. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown our daily routines into upheaval and blurred the lines between home and work. Meanwhile, mental fatigue, stress and burnout are overwhelming working adults at an unprecedented level. While the practice of yoga cannot eliminate all the stress from your life, it can help to combat some of its most harmful symptoms.
If you’re looking for a better way to overcome anxiety, stress and burnout, here are some reasons why incorporating yoga into your before-or-after work routine will help lead you back to center.
Yoga improves your posture
So many people have work that requires you to sit in a chair for eight or more hours per day, staring at a bright monitor or craning your neck down to answer work emails on your cell phone. All of this can contribute to poor posture and cause mild-to-severe back and neck pain.
Yoga focuses on strengthening your core, which helps promote an upright posture throughout the workday. Maintaining good posture improves your body’s alignment, promoting optimal organ function. Yoga also trains your mind to be more aware of your body and its movements, so you’re more likely to correct your slouching posture before aches and pains kick in.
Yoga boosts your concentration and short-term memory
Workdays filled to the brim with endless meetings and stressful deadlines can scramble your mind. Stepping away from your desk to meditate or stretch can soothe a restless brain if you feel overwhelmed. Yoga also helps regulate the oxygen flow in your blood, helping you stay alert and make better decisions.
Yoga can maintain your energy throughout the workday
Working in a stressful environment leads to exhaustion and burnout. Standing up from your desk, stretching out or practicing mindful meditation can increase blood circulation and replenish your energy levels. Yoga helps promote physical and mental stamina, so you tire less easily throughout the day. If you do feel the two o’clock slump creeping in, step away from your desk for a quick lunchtime yoga routine to get you back on track.
Yoga alleviates muscle aches and stiffness
Sitting in front of a computer screen can lead to lower back pain, a stiff neck, and other physical ailments. Maintaining a regular yoga practice can alleviate these nagging aches and promote muscle growth. If you’re looking for immediate relief to your lower back pain throughout the workday, try soft forward folds to release tension in your spine and a few alternating cat and cows.
Yoga can improve your mood and self-esteem
Yoga’s combination of gentle movement and focused breathing can boast some mental health benefits. Yoga activates feel-good chemicals in your brain to improve your mood and fight stress. Additionally, in a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, & Health, 48 office employees found that after six weeks of practicing yoga, they reported feeling less stress, anxiety, depression, and fatigue than their coworkers who didn’t participate in yoga.
What are you doing tomorrow? Drop in to flow with us before or after your workday!
Whether you’re working from home or the office, yoga will keep your mind and body in tip-top shape, so you can start or end each workday with renewed energy, strength and confidence.
Yoga Flow’s new Walnut Creek studio is officially opening June 26th!
Yoga Flow SF is a family-owned company that has three San Francisco locations. We made it through the pandemic and are thrilled to be taking over the former Yoga Works studio in Walnut Creek, located in Main Street Plaza. We are incredibly honored to continue to bring yoga and healthy living to this community!
Ready to flow with us? Join our community by downloading the Yoga Flow app and view our class schedule here!
Leave a Reply