Virtual corporate yoga and wellness sessions can be a great way to bring your team together and offer a mindful break during meetings. Onboarding training, all-hands meetings, annual leadership conferences, and employee retreats are all great times to introduce yoga and mindfulness.
However, there are a few key things to keep in mind to ensure that the session is successful and beneficial for all participants (including the yoga instructor).
6 Tips for Hosting a Virtual Yoga Session
1. Make it optional but encourage participation
While these sessions should be considered part of your company culture, it’s important to make them optional so that employees feel comfortable participating.
Engagement from leadership often sets the tone for staff engagement. Having a senior leader in the same session as an entry-level staffer builds camaraderie and boosts the team’s dynamic.
2. Integrate it during the day rather than before or after the main event
To maximize participation, try to schedule the session during the main conference hours rather than before or after the event. Most people will opt out when given the option to start earlier or stay later after a long day of meetings.
Consider starting the day with an energetic practice or ending with a grounding practice.
3. Consider chair yoga for accessibility
Chair yoga is a gentle practice that can be done seated in a chair and is perfect for virtual sessions. People are already and don’t need extra equipment to practice. It’s also low intensity, so participants can easily get back to the conference after the session.
4. Request a playlist from the instructor
Many yoga instructors don’t have a music license to stream music while they teach, and dead air is often mistaken for technological glitches. If your team can play lo-fi music for the instructor, great!
If not, ask the instructor to create a custom playlist for the group to play on their own from wherever they are. This shareable playlist is also a great takeaway from the session.
5. Share the event theme with the instructor
Sharing the theme of the conference with the instructor can help them add a personal touch to the session and keep participants engaged. It can also help those who may be hesitant to join or who worry about yoga being synonymous with religion or something “woo woo,” feel more comfortable with a corporate vibe.
6. Keep it short
Attention span online can be limited, so try to keep the session under 45 minutes to avoid cognitive and eye strain. A sweet spot for a virtual corporate chair yoga class is 40 minutes with 5 minutes at the beginning and end for breathwork and grounding.
Looking for more information to help plan a corporate yoga event? Click here to read more about corporate yoga and here to book me for your next event.
