How to Find a Great Office Yoga Teacher for Your Team

Four Factors to Consider Before Investing in Office Yoga

What makes a good yoga teacher for your Office and tribe?

The rise of companies offering on-site wellness programs is encouraging to anyone looking to have a more mindful and enjoyable day at work. This article is written for people interested in bringing this benefit to your team.

Whether you are new to the world of yoga and meditation yourself, or an experienced yogi, this post includes a few factors to consider to help you bring yoga and meditation to your office.

Here are factors you should be considering:

Ability Level

• Is your team generally fit and active? A slow flow Vinyasa class may suit many folks. If your team has mixed abilities, you can choose twice weekly classes—one beginner and one more challenging—to suit everyone.

• If your team is more interested in mindfulness than in a challenging workout, consider trying a gentle yoga class. Some of my classes cater to stress relief and gently opening shoulders, lower back and hips. Gentle classes can be taught with or without mats.

• If your team includes many folks who meditate, consider adding a mediation section to your weekly schedule. If it’s new to some folks, I usually choose guided meditation with quiet intervals. This helps folks get used to just sitting.

Time

• It is important to choose a timeframe that will work for your colleagues. Yoga and meditation should relieve stress, not become another thing to cram onto the calendar. Consider how much time your team will be willing or able to devote to classes.

• A typical class is an hour and can be held primarily in a separate room and includes mats. Folks may want to change their clothes, so keep that in mind when scheduling company events before and after.

• Shorter classes of 15 or 30 minutes may be held in flexible use spaces, which makes scheduling easier and better for tight schedules. It is common for companies to include two classes per week of this type.

• The most popular times are around lunch hour or before work in some areas. In others it’s late afternoon at the end of the workday. Use these times as suggestions, but know your team may prefer another time.

• If your team tends to be short on time a 30 minute class may be a great way for them to step out of their busy heads, decompress and walk back to the job rejuvenated.

Price

• To make the conversations with teachers as easy as possible, get an idea of what budget looks like at your company. It would be great if we didn’t need to consider price, but the reality is that all companies have budgets and it’s going to be easier for everyone if you know yours.

• Interview teachers, invite them to your space, and have a discussion about pricing. Don’t be afraid to ask for a type of class that is going to fit your team and budget best.

• Consider hiring a private teacher. Some larger companies who specialize in company benefits like healthy snacks, offer office yoga as well. These places don’t always offer yoga teachers a livable wage. Overall yoga is a hard business for many teachers because hourly pay is not high considering the prep, travel time, etc.

Teacher

• Be cognizant of what is going to capture your team’s awareness and abilities. Since you are choosing a teacher for the whole group, allow yourself to make a decision not only based on your impression, but on how the teacher will gel with your whole team.

• Find a teacher that gives you options for your space, team and budget. Once they see your space, the teacher should offer suggestions about what types of classes would work well.

• Gather interest from your whole team before meeting with the teacher so you have questions and ideas for them in the beginning. This will also help with company attendance and retention in classes.

The more mindful you can be about creating a wellness program in your office, the better it will be for your employees or coworkers. Have questions or thoughts about the process?

Are you thinking of a wellness program in your office and have other considerations? Contact me for a free consultation.

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