One of the things I've noticed is the unusual demographic of the people at the classes. A proportion of them are perhaps a bit older, are unfit, or have certain injuries. I'm sure this is a testament to Lucy's lovely, accepting, gentle manner, and the rather therapeutic style of the yoga she teaches. But I'm also sure that by offering yoga cheaply or for free at a convenient time and place, allows people who wouldn't otherwise go to a gym or studio class, to come and do yoga. For this alone, I applaud any company that offers yoga to their employees at work!
And from talking to the people coming to the classes, one of the main reasons they come is to relax and de-stress.
Having a city job means stress. Doesn't it? "If you're not stressed then you're not working hard enough...!" It's almost rite of passage in the city to feel stressed. "Can I speak to John in derivatives please? I'm afraid he's been off for the last month with stress."
And how often do you hear the term "burn out" these days? Burn out, also known as chronic fatigue, is what happens to your system when you've been in a state of hyperarousal and it just can't take it any more.
Our bodies are hard-wired to respond to a situation of danger or vulnerability in a very particular way. Let's say we meet a bear in the forest, or perhaps more likely these days get asked at the last minute to do a board presentation. In both situations our body responds In the same way: it redirects energy and resources from our non-essential systems like digestion and our immune system to things like our muscles and heart (flight or flight). Adrenaline and cortisol are released that raise the heart rate, raise body temperature, and narrow your mental focus.
Getting that stress reaction once is a while is fine - in fact good! It can be exciting, adding a sense of thrill to giving that presentation! But the problems come when you live in a constant state of low-level stress, with those occasional big stresses thrown on top. There's always a deadline looming, your work phone keeps buzzing with emails from the LA office one moment and Hong Kong the next, someone in your team not performing, your partner keeps reminding you that you need to get the car fixed... Like this your body never gets a chance to return to normal, to come off orange alert. You're in a state of "hyperarousal".
Often the first things you might notice is that your digestion isn't working so well (the energy is constantly being diverted to more 'important' areas), you struggle sleeping (the mind is on alert mode), you keep getting colds or infections (your immune system is low), and maybe you have a low sex-drive (reproduction is another system that's compromised in the stress response). You may get sweaty palms, cold feet, headaches.
So what do we do? Our ambition and desire says keep going, work harder - it'll pass. But underneath that you might hear a quiet voice saying you need to relax. And that's where yoga can really help.
Stress brings tension, so yoga helps by lengthening and flexing the limbs so that they can soften and relax. You learn how to focus your attention on the body and sensations so intently so there's no space left in your mind for all those to-do lists and job worries. You learn how to let the movements unfold from moment to moment, and with as you notice that everything is in a constant state of change, and what you thought was fixed actually isn't, you build up a softness and resilience to difficulty, pain, and stress. So how wonderful it is to have it on offer at work!
If you listen really carefully after your class, you might hear your body saying a quiet, heart-felt thank you!
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