21. June 2022
Franzi Krenz
It is no longer a secret that the VAST FORWARD team meets once a week for a joint YOGA session. The reason why we have been enjoying this little time-out every Wednesday morning for more than five years now, and why it keeps us physically and mentally healthy and fit, we will tell you here and now, on World Yoga Day.
We find yoga at work to be one of the best things in the world. Not only for the ladies in the VAST FORWARD team individually, but also for the VAST FORWARD company as a whole. For a variety of reasons, yoga has an incidental positive impact on social sustainability within the company.
Many studies have now confirmed the positive effects of yoga. Not only does it improve our general physical health, but it also trains our ability to relax and unwind, thus reducing stress. A significant decrease in general discomfort, stress or even depression and anxiety through regular yoga sessions has also been scientifically confirmed today.
In our jobs, we spend a large part of our day at the computer, usually sitting down – we balance this out with our joint yoga sessions. The physical exercise and the calm and controlled breathing in yoga trigger a cleansing, strengthening and relaxation of the body. In this way, you prevent tensions and stress and improve your overall posture.
The movements in yoga also effectively stimulate the cardiovascular system – more blood is pumped into the body per minute thus supplying the body and brain with sufficient oxygen – we feel fitter, more alert and more focused.
Yoga makes you happy!
Exercise promotes the release of the two “happiness hormones” serotonin and dopamine, which not only have a positive influence on our emotional state, but also on our sleeping and waking rhythms and the brain’s performance.
Regular yoga sessions are therefore a real all-rounder in terms of body, mind and soul and, in addition to the positive effects for the individual employees, also bring a whole range of benefits for the company.
Employee satisfaction increases, as does motivation and the ability to concentrate and perform.
The team sports sessions also promote team spirit. When we stand on the mat together – moving into unfamiliar positions in the same flow of breath, holding them or listening to our bodies during relaxation exercises – it creates a feeling of togetherness as a team.
Incidentally, yoga has been shown to reduce the number of sick days in companies.
So why, among the many possible types of sports and exercise, did we choose to do yoga in the workplace?
The simplest reason is probably that yoga can be integrated into the workday very easily, without much effort and regardless of location.
Vanessa from Y2B, who has been supporting and accompanying us on our yoga journey for more than 5 years, knows another reason:
"Yoga is not something you know how to do, it's something that you do." Vanessa Hansch - Y2B
Vanessa shared this and a few other reasons with us in a short Q&A session. Maren also tells us what yoga means to her personally and how the idea came about to integrate yoga sessions as a fixed part of the VAST ladies’ daily work routine
For us ladies in the VAST FORWARD team, the benefits of yoga as regular exercise in the workplace are obvious. We do something for our own physical and mental health while strengthening our team and our company.
After our yoga time-out together, we get back to work feeling balanced and alert, and can continue to work on our projects with concentration and motivation.
On top of that, the regular yoga sessions give us an extra push and motivation for more exercise in our free time and a mindful approach to our own bodies.
Yoga at work is suitable for almost every company, whether it is done online or in presence, and regardless of the size of the company. The added value of regular yoga sessions benefits not only the employees themselves, but the entire company.
