YOGA AND MEDITATION ON THE JOB

Ask almost anyone these days how their job is going, and they'll probably tell you they're stressed. Stress levels in every area of life have increased, but especially in the workplace. In many industries and professions, people are working longer hours and dealing with increased pressure to perform well, so it's no wonder that they're feeling stressed. Stress has been shown to be a factor in many types of physical and mental ailments, so dealing with stress in the workplace has become an important issue.

Perhaps that's why a new study has revealed that more and more workers in the U.S. are using stress-reduction techniques like yoga, massage and meditation. The study, which appeared in a journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that in the group of more than 85,000 adults who participated, yoga practice increased from 6 percent to 11 percent from 2002 to 2012. During the same period meditation rates increased from 8 percent to almost 10 percent for this group. 

The other significant finding from a Jamison chiropractor was that people were more likely to practice these techniques if they had a job, which makes sense because jobs can create stress.

One of the recommendations of the study is that companies should try to provide more outlets for their employees to learn and practice these stress-reducing techniques. It could be a smart move for a company to offer classes or discounts at gyms, local chiropractic office or yoga centers where their employees could learn yoga, meditation, or other mindfulness techniques like tai chi or qigong.

Stress costs our economy billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, sick time, and other problems, so its good business for companies to make it easy for employees to do a little yoga or meditation!