“Now it’s totally changing, and I’m doing things I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing 10 years ago,” Birch exclaims. She even avoided using Sanskrit terminology so her students wouldn’t be turned off. When Birch first began teaching yoga in corporations, she kept it physical, not spiritual. Director of wellness at the New York Road Runners Club for the past 18 years, Birch has taught at Pepsico, General Electric, AT&T, and Chase Manhattan Bank, among other companies. “Today, yoga is pretty much standard equipment in corporate fitness centers,” says Beryl Bender Birch, author of Power Yoga (Simon and Schuster, 1995). Now they do, but 15 or 20 years ago they might have run the other way. “We’ve found that in Wall Street firms, a class in stress reduction doesn’t fly because people think, ‘I don’t want other people to think I can’t deal with the stress level of my job and if I can’t, I shouldn’t be working here.’ If you call it yoga or meditation, it’s more positive and people come.” It is the calming effect of yoga that appeals to many employees, says Byrne, who recognizes that the name of a class can have an impact on its popularity with members. “Yoga is very hotwe wouldn’t open a fitness center without it,” says Holly Byrne of Frontline Fitness, a Manhattan-based consulting company that manages corporate fitness centers for Wall Street brokerage houses, law firms, and publishing companies. These and scores more Fortune 500 companies consider yoga important enough to offer classes as a regular employee benefit. Nike, HBO, Forbes, and Apple all offer on-site yoga classes for their employees. This attitude may explain why yoga is catching on at corporations. Yoga gives me an opportunity to focus, since it’s rare that everything is so serene.” Afterward, I talk to one of the MTV staffers who tells me, “Life at work is full of distractions. All you have to do is channel and focus it.” Harris’s metaphor resonates with everyone in the room. “Let this acorn be a reminder of how powerful your energy is. “In this little acorn there’s a huge oak tree,” she says softly. She tiptoes around the room, placing an acorn at everyone’s side. Harris, who has taught classes for NYNEX, IBM, and AT&T, uses business buzzwords like “systems” and “mind screen” to tap into the language of her students.Īt the end of class, Harris has us lie on the floor and leads us in relaxation. Focus on your hands and the energy then listen to your breathing and feel the echo of your heartbeat.” “The hands bring energy into the body and they send healing energy out. “Your hands are like cosmic conductor cables,” intones our instructor Sara Harris. The program includes sports, hikes, a croquet tournament, and this yoga class for “active relaxation.” Next to me are 14 other students from the Market Development department at MTV Networks, here on a two-day corporate team-building retreat. Just after sunrise, I am lying on the floor of Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York. You're joining a strong and inclusive tribe and we all look forward to getting to know you.Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth yoga, fitness, & nutrition courses, when you Welcome to our international community of yoga teachers. We also have continuing yoga education courses to support you beyond certification as a yoga instructor. If you're interested in becoming certified as a yoga teacher, you can take our 200 hour, 300 hour, prenatal or children's yoga teacher training online. We have a diverse and experienced team at Online Yoga Studio and we are happy to offer you membership in our online yoga studio so that you can practice with us from anywhere across the globe. I've trained and certified thousands of yoga teachers internationally and own a local yoga studio. I have studied with Maty Ezraty, Nancy Candea and Chris Loebsack. I have my MA in Counseling and have been teaching yoga for over 25 years with over 20,000 hours of teaching yoga and 10,000 hours of training. I am the founder and lead trainer of Online Yoga School and I'm happy to tell you a bit about us. We're really glad that you're here and we would be honored to be part of our yoga journey. Hi! I'm Steph, and I want to personally welcome you to our space. Meet Steph, Founder of Online Yoga School and Yoga & Ayurveda Center
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