Yoga, it seems, is shaking off its longhaired, tie-dyed image as it suits up and goes corporate. Is it time you started doing "office yoga"?

Stretching yourself

A growing number of Britons have already started rolling out their yoga mats on the boardroom floor. Bankers, stockbrokers, hoteliers and publishers are among those turning to yoga in the workplace.

Some are using it as a means of improving performance, helping them focus or giving them confidence in public speaking and presentations, while others are hitting the mat to wind down during a lunch break, before a big meeting, or before negotiating rush hour.

But it’s not all about lying around on the office floor. There are also stretches that can be done at your desk to help prevent neck and shoulder aches developing after spending hours at the computer.

Advocates say office yoga reduces the number of sick days because it revitalises the immune system and major organs of the body, and also reduces the risk of back pain.

Seemingly it also boosts energy, vitality, and helps with concentration and problem-solving skills. According to The Lotus Exchange, which organises corporate yoga classes, the exercise harmonises the left and right side of the brain so that logical and creative thought "come together as one".

The exchange adds that yoga can be a way of tackling the rising stress levels witnessed in many UK offices. It also makes for a stronger working team, says the company. Seemingly, taking classes together helps build communication and trust, and may even mean fun in the office.

One person who’s convinced of its value is Anne Hudson, an administrator who has organised yoga classes for her colleagues at a London stockbroking firm. "It’s very, very relaxing," she says. "Everyone absolutely adores it. We do it twice a week now."

Office oasis

So-called "corporate yoga" does not have any one particular form. Instead, individual instructors tailor programmes to suit the workplace. The focus tends to be on relaxation rather than placing your ankles back behind your ears or saying "om".

"We do get into some weird poses, I must admit," says Anne, whose class is predominantly made up of women. "Any blokes who walked in and saw the poses we were in, they would be shocked. But at the same time they’re not difficult. It does take away a lot of stress."

Ailon Freedman, the man behind the Lotus Exchange says the corporate yoga he has developed is based on "pretty middle-of-the-road" Hatha yoga.

"The emphasis is not on chanting, it’s not on meditation, it’s not on your guru in India," he says. "It’s on de-stressing... by creating a little oasis either in the middle of the day, the start of the day, or the end of the day."

By and large, says Ailon, the impetus to start workplace yoga sessions comes from a staff member who’s already tried yoga or heard about it. Bosses then come to the party by offering a venue within the workplace and in some cases covering or splitting the cost.

Sessions are sometimes held in work time, but more often they’re in the morning, at lunchtime or after work. It’s all about the convenience of having classes at work rather than having to make an extra journey to a gym. "You can just go straight home," he says. "You’ll probably be a bit more chilled out to face the tube, and you might even have missed the peak of the rush hour."

All together now

Yoga is also cropping up as part of conference and training day programmes – again, usually organised by a yoga enthusiast on staff – as a way of keeping delegates fresh and focused.

Phil Aston, who runs such programmes in the West Midlands through his company Yoga at Work, says he takes care to ensure the sessions are easy and don’t leave anyone feeling embarrassed.

Humour, for example, can help take the edge off that sinking feeling people get when they realise they have to take their shoes off. "You can see people looking nervous, thinking, ‘Oh my God, my staff are gonna see I’ve got holes in my socks now,’" he says.

Both Ailon and Phil have worked in high-pressure corporate jobs themselves: Ailon in the pharmaceuticals industry and Phil in public research. Both decided to design corporate yoga programmes after finding it had helped them deal with stress in their own work lives.

"I used to do a lot of public speaking and presentations," says Phil. "And I used to get terribly stressed and have panic attacks." But after learning yoga, he says, "I was able to apply the simple breathing techniques in a way that it was almost like a secret weapon."

If yoga sounds like the key to getting you and your colleagues motivated, there are a number of instructors offering corporate sessions across the UK; some work alone and others as part of businesses geared specifically towards the corporate "well-being" market. You too could be finding inner peace at work. Just remember to wear your best socks.

Further information:

The British Wheel of Yoga (which registers and trains yoga instructors)

www.bwy.org.uk

The Lotus Exchange

www.lotus-exchange.com

Yoga at Work

www.yogaatwork.co.uk