Corporate wellness programs have certainly evolved over the years. What was once limited to a generous health insurance package combined with a health club membership has become so much more. Not only that, but companies are also always looking for new wellness options they can add to their programs. For something completely different, companies are looking at yoga nidra.
Yoga nidra offers an interesting corporate wellness opportunity by going beyond standard healthcare and physical fitness. The practice is a holistic one, promoting well-being through deep relaxation and meditation. It is said to benefit the entire person – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Yoga Nidra in a Nutshell
Yoga nidra is a form of yoga that places less emphasis on yoga’s spiritual aspects and more on achieving a heightened state of relaxation and conscious self-awareness. It can be practiced without any of the spiritual undertones normally associated with yoga.
The goal of a yoga nidra session is to achieve an ultimate state of relaxation that allows the practitioner to shut out any surrounding distractions and focus inward. International yoga nidra educator Scott Moore explains that the inward focus makes practitioners more self-aware. It helps them better understand their own thoughts, emotions, and belief systems. Learn more about Yoga Nidra with Scott Moore Yoga.
Yoga Nidra in a Corporate Environment
If all of this seems kind of hokey, you might wonder how yoga nidra can fit into a corporate wellness program. Remember that one of the big targets of modern wellness programs is stress. Employers understand just how destructive stress can be, and they want to eliminate it from the workplace.
If nothing else, yoga nidra’s heightened state of relaxation is a very good stress reliever. People capable of learning how to relax and become more self-aware are less likely to be controlled by stress in the workplace. Corporate America loves that sort of thing.
The Practical Benefits of Yoga Nidra
Unfortunately, simply introducing corporate wellness experts to yoga nidra doesn’t necessarily convince them to add the practice to their programs. So Moore goes one step further by outlining the practical benefits of yoga nidra in the workplace. They include:
- Mental Clarity – Yoga nidra can help improve mental clarity by encouraging practitioners to release stored tension and pent-up emotions. With mental clarity comes less stress, anxiety, and burnout.
- Neuroplasticity – It is believed by some that yoga nidra supports neuroplasticity. This is to say that it opens new brain pathways that enhance problem solving and creativity. Both are important to the corporate environment.
- Team Dynamics – Yoga nidra improves both emotional resilience and emotional intelligence. As a result, team dynamics improve among practitioners. They resolve conflicts more easily, encourage one another with better interpersonal skills, and experience better emotional regulation.
The effect of yoga nidra on any one individual depends a lot on how deeply the person dives into the practice. But even a surface-level experience can make a difference in a person’s life.
Little to No Entry Barriers
Company executives and HR departments do not have to worry about barriers to entry. Yoga nidra requires no special equipment, skill, or advanced knowledge. It is accessible to just about everyone regardless of age and physical ability. A company could add yoga nidra to its corporate wellness program with a very modest financial investment.
As American companies are looking for ways to enhance their corporate wellness programs, yoga nidra educators like Scott Moore are offering something completely different. Yoga nidra offers a way to reduce stress in the workplace. The practice can be taken home as well, making its well-being benefits available to family members and friends.