Emily Bonzi, Author at Body Techniques

March 17, 2022March 29, 2022

Employee Wellness Best Practices For Health Care Workers

Making mental health resources accessible for health care workers is no longer a desired benefit, but a necessity. As most doctors, hospital administrators, and patient care managers know – sound mental health requires a lot more work than the occasional day off of work. From maintaining healthy diets to company-sponsored massage, employee wellness is attainable with the right stress management program in place.

Read on to learn how implementing just a few employee wellness best practices around your healthcare facility can keep staff in the right state of mind to continue helping those in need.

How To Implement Stress Management Programs For Health Care Workers

When narrowing down employee wellness options consider asking your nurses, receptionists, hygienists, and administrators what they need in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Starting this conversation shows your employees that you see them as real people and not just a means to an end. This can be done in the form of an email survey or hosting a company meeting to get their feedback. Body Techniques has several options to help you implement wellness best practices specific to the healthcare industry. With our expertise, you can easily show gratitude to your employees.

Employee Wellness Ideas For Health Care Workers

We’re all too familiar with the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” This also rings true for prioritizing employee wellness. Giving your faculty and staff guidelines for maintaining a healthy work-life balance equips them with different outlets to look and feel their best. As a result, they’re happier at work and more productive in their daily roles. Our clients tend to see the most success from their company-sponsored stress management program when it’s supported by additional mental health best practices:

Keep Healthy Snacks Around The Office Or Breakroom

While everyone loves a mental health donut every now and then, we all know that sugar is one of the worst things someone can consume when they’re having a bad day. Instead of surprising the office with sweets, try keeping fruits and/or vegetables around for your employees to snack on throughout the day. If this isn’t feasible for your medical practice, an engaging alternative could be hosting a monthly potluck where everyone brings in their favorite healthy dish. These events not only build morale amongst your staff, but equip their bodies with the right foods to power through each shift.

Create A Collaborative Work Playlist

Find the right tune and you’ll improve just about anyone’s mood. If your healthcare facility allows, create a playlist that employees can add their favorite work-appropriate songs to. If your practice doesn’t have speakers throughout the office, try adding a bluetooth speaker to your breakroom or employee lounge to help ground your staff when they need to take a break.

health care workers at a lunch and learn

Host Lunch & Learn Sessions

A huge part of employee wellness is nurturing growth. Host a quarterly lunch and learn session to keep staff members at the forefront of any updates either within their field, or something totally off the wall and fun!

female health care worker receiving a corporate massage with body techinques

Stress Less With Corporate Massage

Corporate massage is quickly becoming a must in terms of maintaining mental health for doctors, EMTs, nurses, practitioners, and really everyone who works in healthcare. Body Techniques has helped hundreds of medical practices empower their employees through corporate massage. The most successful? Roaming massage.

If you’re wondering to yourself, “What is a roaming massage?” It’s an all-encompassing solution for busy healthcare facilities (like hospitals and urgent care) that brings a much needed massage right to your staff. One of our certified massage therapists meets your nurses on their floors or stations and provides a chair massage. This is ideal for nurses who are sitting in front of their computers or need a mental health break after charting.

Encourage Balance, Not Burnout

Keeping your staff in the best mental state possible is essential to operate a successful medical practice. Body Techniques is here to help you turn the page when it comes to prioritizing employee wellness. By taking the time to hear what your staff is looking for in terms of work-life balance, you can create a custom program that meets their needs so they can, in turn, provide the highest quality of care to your patients.

Getting started is easy – talk to us today to learn the value of maintaining mental health at work.

January 26, 2022February 1, 2022

A Simple Way To Show Gratitude For Healthcare Workers

mental health programs for healthcare employees

It goes without saying – healthcare workers are at their limit. Physically and mentally. Medical practitioners and healthcare employees across the country are at a breaking point.

And who could blame them? They’re caught up in the perfect storm: being on the frontlines of a pandemic, focused on providing care to others, with little-to-no access to mental healthcare of their own (like stress management programs).

It’s past time to express gratitude and move away from burnout culture with tailored care for the doctors, nurses, and allied professionals. After two years of navigating this pandemic, these teams are in need of support and lasting change.

But what is the best way to support healthcare workers in a way that prioritizes their mental health? We’re here to support healthcare organizations that are going ready to go the extra mile to keep employees’ mental health a priority.

Why Mental Health At Work Matters Now More Than Ever

Two years into a pandemic, healthcare workers are facing staffing shortages, continually shifting guidelines, as well as juggling their own personal responsibilities at home, all while trying to provide the highest level of patient care.

This is why promoting mental health at work is imperative for healthcare facilities. Nurses and others in healthcare are constantly understaffed, and many are reconsidering their career paths. It’s time for those who have a say in hospital benefits to implement new programs, packages, mental health days; whatever it takes to show your healthcare workers you value their contributions and wellbeing.

How To Show Gratitude for Frontline Healthcare Workers

Healthcare workers deserve a benefit package positioned around mental health. What that looks like is up to you, but know we can help to design and tailored programs to suit your environment and needs. Managing stress levels is a key element in any successful healthcare career. Body Techniques creates customized corporate massage programs that provide the mental break your frontline workers should have access to.

We make implementation seamless thanks to our trained and certified massage therapists. The massage therapists come to your facility to set up and carry out one-on-one massage sessions to keep stress levels low. As you create your benefits package, you can choose from several on-site massage programs for employees including:

Chair massage therapy: This convenient method of massage uses chairs specifically made to provide a soothing massage experience. We suggest this option for employees who spend a lot of time at desks or nurses and staff who are required to be on their feet for long periods of time.

Roaming massage: Busy healthcare facilities like hospitals need solutions that work with daily operations instead of slowing them down. Roaming massage is specifically designed to solve this problem by bringing the massage directly to your staff. Our massage therapists meet your nurses on their designated floors and provide massages as they’re sitting in chairs in front of computers before or after charting.

Table massage therapy: If you’re planning an internal mental health day or employee celebration ideas, a table massage is a great way to show gratitude for your staff. Our massage therapists use a series of techniques to make employees instantly feel relaxed. After their massage experience, they feel lighter, happier, and ready to take on whatever comes next.

Reflexology: We have taken this ancient practice and transformed it into a proven method of stress release for healthcare professionals. Our therapists gently apply pressure to the reflex points to help energy flow to help your employees find a state of balance and calm to help them make level-headed decisions in high-stress situations.

Choosing to celebrate mental health by subsidizing a corporate massage program keeps your employees healthy and present on the job. Body Techniques works with the unique layout of your facility to have a designated massage “space” be it a breakroom, empty meeting room or meeting nurses on their assigned floors at their stations.

Remember, the biggest benefit (and goal) of implementing corporate massage is to promote mental health amongst your healthcare faculty and staff. Without resources like this, your employees will continue to feel burned out.

Tip: Our clients have the most success when an internal “mental health day” is celebrated. Healthcare workers can get a 15-minute chair massage in before making their rounds or returning to their stations. Make it an employee appreciation event with catered food and mental health resources specifically for those in healthcare.

Say Thanks Through Actions, Not Words

Show your staff and faculty you appreciate the hours they’re putting in by improving your benefits. Pizza parties are a great start, but today’s workforce is demanding a healthy work-life balance that goes beyond. Encouraging mental health through employee perks like corporate massage or other stress management programs sends a message that you truly care about your employees and want them to feel good mentally and physically.

Celebrate Mental Health With A Corporate Massage

With a consulting physician guiding our safety policies and protocols, we are confident we can work with you to start shifting healthcare work from burnout to balance.

Do your part: equip your healthcare employees with the right tools they need to keep mental health top of mind. Talk to us today about how to build a benefits program designed to combat the unique challenges that come with healthcare stress management.

December 22, 2021February 15, 2022

10 FAQs To Help Prepare Your Office For A Corporate Massage

The benefits of corporate massage go a long way – a really long way. Not only are routine corporate massage sessions beneficial to the staff who receive them, but your business also thrives with the newly added employee perk. Let’s be honest… Who doesn’t want to work for a company that has free massages available to anyone who wants or needs them?

Body Techniques has perfected our corporate massage services for every kind of setting. No matter if you’re looking to book a one-time employee celebration event or seeking to enhance the wellness package you offer employees, we make onboarding easy by handling the logistics.

And while we facilitate the nuts and bolts, businesses should keep a few things in mind as they prepare the office for our most popular service. In this article we’re highlighting our top 10 FAQs on how to plan for a corporate massage event.

Corporate Massage Event Planning Tips

Planning a successful corporate massage event starts with organization. At Body Techniques, we guide you step-by-step so you’re always ahead of the game. In your initial assessment, we’ll identify what kind of corporate massage you’re interested in:

Chair massage
Table massage
Reflexology

If you’re in the initial decision making stage and not sure what kind of massage would be best for your employees – ask them! Taking the time to add a benefit crafted around your staff’s specific wants and needs builds trust in their employer, which ultimately helps you avoid the fallout from a widespread resignation.

Now, onto our top 10 corporate massage planning FAQs.

1. How Soon In Advance Should I Book My Corporate Massage?

We’ve found clients have the best planning experience when they book a month in advance. Sometimes this isn’t possible, so we suggest a minimum of 2 weeks to plan your corporate massage event. Learn more about how corporate massage works here.

2. What Space Or Room Should We Use For The Session(s)?

Planning a one-time event at a health and wellness conference looks a little different than a recurring in-office corporate massage. Luckily, we’ve had plenty of experience with both and found the following works best:

Special events like conferences, fairs, and conventions typically have a designated area for the massage table to be set up ahead of time. This can either be around other vendors or in a quiet space to help participants tune out the bustling crowds.

In-office corporate massage – recurring or single sessions – ideally have a space or room that’s semi-private so the rest of your office isn’t distracted. Conference spaces, communal areas, or empty offices all work well for employees to trickle in throughout the day to receive a massage.

3. How Should I Notify Employees?

We all benefit from reminders. Blame social media or a world dependent on screens, but regardless you have to have a plan when it comes to marketing your employee event! Both single and recurring sessions can be included in your internal company newsletter or distributed by email. If you have a break room, create a flyer and hang it up! Bigger corporations can task department heads with relaying the who and what to help streamline communication.

All in all, there’s never a wrong way to notify employees about a perk like this.

4. What Else Can I Do To Host A Memorable Employee Event?

We love seeing employers going above and beyond for their team! If you’re looking to add a little something extra to your upcoming corporate massage, consider one of the following:

Company merchandise table: Think t-shirts, notebooks, tote bags, etc.
Refreshments: Set up a table with snacks, drinks, or go all out and get lunch catered.
Photo booth: If you’re hosting a big event, photo booths are a great way to encourage employee engagement and they’ll most likely share their pictures on social media! Two PR birds with one event.

5. Do I Need To Do Any Setup Preparations?

All you need to do is have a space for our certified Massage Therapists (MTs) to do their thing. On the day of your event, our MTs will arrive early to set everything up prior to the scheduled start time. Because each employee’s body is built differently, we take the time to listen to them and provide a comforting massage tailored to what they need. To make sure your event runs smoothly and as scheduled, you can utilize our proprietary booking software to keep everything on track.

6. What Can I Do To Promote Employee Attendance?

We already mentioned having special merch and refreshments to create interest in your upcoming corporate massage, but if you’re looking for something more, we’ve seen a lot of success when clients host raffles for prizes like full or have days of PTO. Other prizes we’ve seen include:

Preferred parking spots
Additional massage credits (recurring events)
Lunch
Technology like smart TVs and Apple products

If your organization decides to host a raffle, be sure to include it in your internal promotions of the event to create more buzz!

7. What If I Need To Cancel Our Corporate Massage Event Last Minute?

Even the most organized managers can’t plan for last minute schedule conflicts (hello COVID-19). If you need to cancel your event, notify your Body Techniques contact ASAP and we will help you navigate next steps. Never hesitate to reach out to us for additional support – we are here for you! Remember, this is all about showing gratitude for your employees. They’ll appreciate the event no matter what – even if it needs to be rescheduled!

8. How Can I Continue The Fun After The Event?

Keep the celebration going by sharing photos to your company social media accounts or add them in your next newsletter. Be sure to include any raffle prize winners should you decide to host a giveaway!

9. One-Time Events Or Recurring Corporate Massage Sessions: Which Is Better?

One-time events are great, but life happens. Deadlines creep and all employees may not be able to take advantage of this onsite benefit when the massage event is only hosted on one specific day. Instead, consider making this productivity-boosting benefit a regular occurrence in the office so that your team can all enjoy some rest and relaxation.

10. What If My Employees Cancel The Day Of?

If there are day-of cancellations, our massage therapists are able to fill those slots with employees who did not register in advance. If all appointments are filled, our MTs are able to put together a waitlist so that any last minute cancellations can be filled. We work hard to get everyone a session, and are always happy to return onsite if there are employees who did not get a chance to receive a massage.

If you do have recurring sessions and notice a large amount of employees are either cancelling or not RSVPing at all, we can support you in finding out why. Sending out an email survey or asking for direct feedback is always a great first step.

In the end, you can always rely on analytics to solidify the best next step. Body Techniques can provide you with analytics to gauge how many people received massages, cancellations, and how many people were on the waitlist.

Talk To Us About Your Corporate Massage Needs

Sometimes companies need an extra hand to manage workplace stress and show their employees they care. Body Techniques uses state-of-the art software and analytics tools to make your upcoming event a breeze. Talk to us today about how you can take your employee appreciation up a notch.

December 8, 2021December 8, 2021

Virtual Wellness Activities For Employees

If you haven’t considered expanding your benefits package to promote a healthy work-life balance this is your sign.

Why? Employees often struggle with feeling connected to their company culture and day-to-day business operations – especially remote workers. We don’t suggest dragging your feet on this one. If your place of work stalls on improving employee benefits, the fallout could be detrimental to your long-term success.

Enhancing your company benefits to include things like virtual wellness programs not only boosts employee morale and participation but gives your employees the well-deserved mental break they need! Read on for corporate wellness activities that unite your entire workforce including anyone WFH.

How Virtual Wellness Keeps Remote Employees Connected

Virtual wellness programs are ideal for corporations or organizations that have remote and hybrid employees. Not only can they help with stress management, but these kinds of activities help promote team bonding which is essential for successful project completion, communication between departments, and independent working capabilities. When your employees are connected to their work and the people they work with, the possibilities are endless.

Bring Your Team Together WIth Corporate Virtual Wellness

Mapping out a fresh benefits package brings up a lot of questions like, “What are the best virtual wellness programs?” or, “How long should each virtual session last?” Luckily, our trainers specialize in corporate wellness to ensure this investment exceeds expectations and can walk you through the process. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite virtual wellness programs that work best for remote employees:

The Daily 15: Make The Most Out Of A 15-Minute Break

Sometimes a quick 15-minute break is all you need to reset. The Daily 15 is our quick, yet impactful virtual wellness program that boosts energy and lowers stress for remote workers. The Daily 15 has a new activity every day from self-care to fitness and even yoga! Employees also have the opportunity to see classes ahead of time so they can pick and choose what activity works best for their bodies and goals.

BT Mindful: Build Stronger Minds & Team Chemistry

Empower employees to sharpen their mind-body connection while simultaneously strengthening team chemistry with BT Mindful. This virtual wellness program can be a single workshop or is also available in four, eight, and twelve-week series. The longer your BT Mindful series, the deeper we dive into meditation, work on building healthy daily routines, and learn how to manage stress levels on and off the clock.

Tip: Not sure what virtual series employees would like? Send out a survey asking them to submit their preferences and implement feedback directly from the source!

BT Engage: Online Group Classes For Everyone

Should you want a traditional corporate virtual wellness program, BT Engage is for you. These online group classes hit four essential core areas of stress management:

Fitness: Zumba, cardio kickboxing, or online bootcamp
Yoga: All experience levels welcome
Stretching: Twist and tone muscles to improve posture and pain relief that’s all to common with WFH life
Self Massage: Get professional guidance from our trained massage therapists on self massage techniques

Virtual Wellness Comes In All Shapes & Sizes

Just like no two businesses operate the same, no two employees have the same WFH routine. Add some consistency into the mix with corporate virtual wellness activities to keep remote workers grounded to their jobs and connected with their team. Even as little as 15-minutes can strengthen our stress management skills to become the best version of ourselves. If you’re not sure what virtual program would be best for your workforce, just ask! Odds are your employees will be thankful you’re taking their opinion into account as you improve employee wellness benefits.

Start Building Your Benefits Today

Looking to build on your benefits package? Body Techniques helps hundreds of businesses make the most out of their wellness dollars and get a major return on the investment. Reach out to us today to tell us more about your current setup and goals you’d like to achieve moving forward. We can’t wait to meet you!

November 23, 2021November 23, 2021

Meditations You Can Do At Work

How many times have you had to tell yourself to take a deep breath while on the clock?

No matter what profession you work within, simple meditation practices like deep breathing can provide the mental reset you need to make conscious choices that aren’t clouded by stress. When we take the time to practice different meditations at work, we become more equipped to respond to situations versus reacting.

Should you find yourself becoming overwhelmed keep these workplace meditation practices top of mind – the benefits they reap go much deeper than we realize.

The Benefits Of Meditation For Stress Management

Before understanding the benefits of meditation for workplace stress management, it’s important to have a grasp of what mindfulness at work actually is.

At its core, mindfulness is about being present. When you are in the office or working from home, this can be a challenge. Pings, emails, phone calls – did someone bring snacks? All of these things can pull you away from the task at hand and in doing so, heighten stress and anxiety.

Bringing mindfulness to work means you truly focus on the here and now. Whether that’s a project or a conversation with a coworker you work towards eliminating the mindless chatter and truly listen. There is no magic potion for achieving mindfulness. Instead, it is a constant practice and reminder to ourselves to be present and aware.

The benefits of mindfulness – especially at our jobs – reduce the stress that bog down our productivity and general happiness. It helps lower our heart rate and anxiety. We can make level-headed decisions without sweaty palms and tension headaches. While practicing mindful meditation at work isn’t rocket science, there are a few tricks to keep in mind as your workday unfolds.

Getting started is the hardest part but once you’ve finally found your Zen the rest comes naturally!

How To Meditate At Work

It all starts with finding a moment of calm. In the meditation world, we call this setting an intention. Why do you need to meditate? What brought you to this moment? Internally repeating a short phrase to yourself can help center your workplace meditation practice. It’s also beneficial to make sure the space you’re meditating within is free of clutter and distractions. Yogis refer to this sense of purity as Saucha. One of the Niyamas of Yoga, Saucha literally means cleanliness and/or clearness.

Your intention is set and your mind is clear. All that’s left to do now is choose your meditation method.

Tune Out The Chaos

If you’re able to bring headphones or earphones to work, finding a soft meditation playlist on Spotify can help you tune the world out from your desk. Closing your eyes is encouraged because you’re eliminating any visual distractions to really transcend into your meditation session.

Walk It Out

Ever heard of open-eyed, moving meditation? This is a great meditation to do at work if you’re able to get a few steps in during lunch or a 15-minute break. Taking a walk to meditate helps us connect with nature and builds a strong mind-body connection.

Practice Breathing

If the weather isn’t permitting you to take a stroll, you can always utilize breathing exercises that you can do literally anywhere – the car, desk, breakroom, wherever! A few breathing exercises that pair well with any level of meditation are:

Alternate nostril breathing – Inhale through your left nostril while holding your right nostril closed with your right thumb. At the bottom of your exhale switch nostrils by closing off your left nostril and continuing to exhale smoothly through your right nostril. Remove your finger from the left nostril and exhale fully. Continue alternating your breathing through each nostril for 3 to 5 minutes.
Ujjayi breathing – Also known as the “victorious” breath, Ujjayi breath work helps calm the mind and recenter your thoughts. To begin, take a big inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth emptying all of the air out of your lungs. On your next inhale, breathe in through your nose and keep the back of the throat slightly constricted. Imagine you’re inhaling through a straw if you’re having trouble getting started. As you exhale, keep the mouth closed and think about how you would breathe out to fog up a mirror in front of you. This controlled, steady breathing is known to create energy through the body and even lower blood pressure!

Participate In A Company-Sponsored Wellness Program

They say there’s strength in numbers. Practicing meditation with your coworkers is a great way to keep anxiety at bay and build team chemistry at the same time. Body Techniques offers a variety of both in-person and virtual meditation workshops that employers can incorporate into their benefits package. Group breathing and meditation exercises help you and your coworkers relax and feel refreshed once it’s time to get back to work.

There’s No Wrong Way To Meditate At Work

Meditation has been around for thousands of years – meaning there’s really no “wrong” way to practice it. Exploring work-friendly meditation techniques opens a door to a whole new world of stress management. You can do it alone at your desk, grab your coworker for a walk, or ask your manager about a monthly company-sponsored mediation program to help everyone stay calm, cool, and collected.

We’re Here To Guide You

Body Techniques has an entire staff dedicated to helping our clients find the perfect stress management solution for their unique office environment. Even employees working from home can benefit from guided meditation practices! Now more than ever, employees are demanding legitimate benefits and healthcare perks from their employers – let us help you create a wellness program designed to keep your team happy and healthy! Talk to us today to get started.

October 20, 2021October 28, 2021

Workplace Wellness: How To Avoid “The Great Resignation” Fallout

workplace wellness helps retain employees

In August alone, 4.3 million people quit their jobs. In other words, think about what would happen if half of New York City simultaneously resigned at once.

The Great Resignation of 2021 is real. And it’s happening right in front of us. While some would argue that people “don’t want to work”, that’s just not the case. Proactive employers should be doing everything in their power to avoid the harrowing fallout that comes with losing valuable employees – all at once.

Understanding why so many people are “no longer accepting the unacceptable” working conditions, lack of benefits, and overall workload can help employers create strong retention strategies that promote workplace wellness and sustain a healthy work-life balance.

Why Are So Many People Quitting Their Jobs?

People leave jobs for all kinds of reasons that are specific to the company they worked for. Any voluntary resignation should be reviewed carefully by Human Resources or higher-level management to improve the working environment and ultimately prevent future employees from leaving for the same reason.

The COVID-19 pandemic ripped the rug out from everyone – especially corporate organizations. It’s believed that so many people are resigning in 2021 for multiple reasons including:

A high-demand for mid-level employees who don’t need as much initial training. As the world shifted to working from home there was a lack of means to provide sufficient, hands-on training for entry-level employees. Mid-level employees who wanted to leave their current positions and find new jobs felt the risk of leaving a company they’ve built up credibility (and subpar benefits) with was too high.
Healthcare and technology industries were hit hard after “pandemic” became a part of our regular vocabulary. High stress work environments such as these caused excessive burnout. As a result, employees prioritized their mental and physical health and gave resignation notice.
People also experienced “pandemic epiphanies” and came to the conclusion that they’re ready to start fresh and pursue other passions instead.
Lack of recognition, hazard pay, increasingly long shifts, and mandated requirements to come to work during a global pandemic.

Taking into account why people are collectively deciding to leave your company should be a wake-up call that a change needs to happen – and fast. Implementing solutions to strengthen employee retention rates should be top of mind in a time like this.

How To Retain Employees During The Great Resignation

Giving people a reason to want to work for you shouldn’t be a burden. It should be an opportunity to become the place employees brag about to their friends and family. Avoiding mass resignation fallout starts by being ahead of the conversation, so there isn’t a confrontation.

So ask yourself:

Are employees quitting their jobs because the workload is too high?
Does my team feel like they have a dead end job with no advancement opportunities?
Are you requiring them to keep their cameras on all day if they’re working from home?

If you’re struggling to come up with a logical solution, never be afraid to simply ask employees what could be done to make their jobs easier and more enjoyable.

Workplace Wellness Promotes Employee Longevity

Helping employees find fulfillment in their day-to-day job responsibilities will help sustain (or grow) your retention rate. An often overlooked opportunity to create a healthy work-life balance is incorporating workplace wellness programs. Exploring different ways to equip employees with the right mental tools that keep stress levels low shows them you value their time and see them as humans rather than a means to a profitable end.

Virtual Wellness For Remote Employees

An essential part of loving your job is loving your coworkers. Body Techniques offers a variety of virtual wellness programs that keep your remote employees engaged with one another, as well as your business. Each program is designed to meet your team where they’re at, literally. From 15-minute mental reset sessions to meditation workshops and corporate fitness classes, virtual wellness is a giant step forward to improve the benefits and work environment within your company.

In-Office Corporate Massage

While there are many workplace wellness strategies you can use to strengthen your retention rates, corporate massage therapy is a client favorite. After all, who doesn’t look forward to the day they get a massage at the office? Our specialized massage therapists are able to bring your workplace wellness benefits on-site and provide a program based on your budget and office space.

Corporate massage helps employees take a well-deserved mental break from the daily grind. After the massage, they feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the next big project. All thanks to the benefits you provided.

Corporate Yoga & Meditation

Introducing corporate yoga to your employees sets the foundation to help them live a healthy work-life balance. Routinely practicing meditation, breathwork, and mind/body connection it’s easier to break up daunting projects and deadlines into smaller, more manageable pieces and lower stress levels.

Employees Stay When They Feel Valued

If The Great Resignation isn’t enough to convince you that it may be time to rethink the benefits you offer, the risk of losing valuable, multiple employees should light the fire. There’s never a bad time to invest in the perks you offer. In fact, your employees will appreciate that you’re making a move to prioritize their health and lower stress levels across the board. Show employees you care by offering – and encouraging – workplace wellness!

The math is simple: when employees are less stressed about their jobs they’re happier and efficient in their work. Not to mention they’ll be more likely to stay with your company because they enjoy what they do.

Schedule A Consultation Today

Adding workplace wellness to your benefits is the right thing to do. Body Techniques works with businesses nationwide to help employees stress less, work harder, and enjoy the lives they live. If you have questions about pricing or how to incorporate our stress management services we’d love to hear from you! Schedule your consultation today to get started.

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021

Corporate Wellness & Safety: Top Questions To Ask Your Workplace Wellness Vendor

Hiring a workplace wellness vendor not only promotes morale around the office, but shows your employees you care about their wellbeing. As you narrow down the right stress management program for your workplace, keeping safety top of mind should be a priority across the board. Knowing what questions to ask and policies to look for can make all the difference when choosing where to invest your wellness dollars.

No matter what style of corporate wellness you’re looking to introduce to your office, the vendor you choose should practice the latest CDC guidelines and evolve their safety protocols to meet new demands of the modern workplace.

In this article, our very own M.D. compiles a list of the must-ask questions to review with potential vendors that prioritize safety above all else. But first, it’s important to understand why now – more than ever – safety and wellness are one in the same.

How Safety & Corporate Wellness Go Hand-In-Hand

Every business in every industry needs safety and sanitation protocols. At Body Techniques, we understand the value of creating stress-free work environments. This starts way before we arrive onsite at your business. In fact, we developed an entire Clean Wellness Policy to preserve the integrity of our corporate wellness services. This keeps everyone – our staff and yours – safe, healthy, and comfortable.

In other words, safe and clean work environments help employees relax. Make sure you’re preserving the integrity of your new corporate wellness program by following up with these important questions to ask.

Communicate Openly About Corporate Wellness & Safety

Finding new methods to keep employees stress-free shows you care about their wellbeing. When exploring different stress management or corporate wellness programs, make sure to prioritize health and safety protocols just as much as you look at pricing. The best providers out there are already expecting you to ask and if they’re the real deal, they’ll have a policy in place that keeps everyone safe and comfortable.

Body Techniques Is Here To Keep Your Team Well

Studies prove stress management programs work – but only if they’re carried out properly. Our team of dedicated experts are here to help you find the best solution for your workplace wellness needs. Learn more about how we put health and safety first and contact us today.

August 6, 2020December 16, 2021

Being Present is a Present: Ripples Effects of Mindfulness in the Workplace

Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present and engaged at the moment. It lets us step back from unpleasant thoughts and emotions (aka stress) that arise because of challenging situations. Mindfulness helps us calm the mind, get in touch with our body, and gain perspective of the world around us. When we do that, it catapults us into the present. It makes us more sensitive to context and perspective. It’s the essence of engagement– it’s energy-begetting, not energy-consuming. And in our current climate, anything uplifting deserves some light and sure gets me excited. Kanye famously raps “My presence is a present” and I totally feel you Kanye, being present is the gift that keeps on giving.

The gains (as our fitness friends would say) from mindfulness are infinite. One of the most important reasons that companies all over the globe are incorporating stillness and silence to their daily routines is because of its direct impact on performance. Studies have shown mindfulness improves your performance on all types of tasks. Let’s not get it twisted, mindfulness isn’t catching fire solely based on people crushing their OKRs and KPIs out of the park, but it’s adding to the flame. Here are some of those fire-producing examples of how mindfulness uplifts the workplace environment.

Mindfulness is the Ultimate Stress-Reliever

Stress is more than a performance killer; let’s be frank, it’s a people killer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly two-thirds of all hospital visits are for stress-related problems, and 75% of healthcare expenses are stress-related. Stress can cause high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and more. Mindfulness is a great stress reliever because it takes us out of fight-or-flight mode and brings us into a relaxed state of mental clarity and calm.

Mindfulness Boost Creativity

Creativity hinges on our mental state. Mindfulness helps foster a creative frame of mind by defeating the negative thoughts that stifle creative thinking and self-expression. We are back to the facts from earlier, that mindfulness focuses us on the present and helps us all think freely and creatively. Think of it as the perfect balance between allowing the mind to freestyle and giving it some control. Mindfulness strengthens both but more importantly, aids in maintaining the balance of creative thinking and self-expression by deciding which is activated and when.

Improves our Ability to Focus

Mindfulness improves our ability to focus on one thing at a time. This focus carries over into everything little thing we do. Mindfulness teaches us to avoid distractions and bring a heightened level of concentration to our work. While some of us may have fallen prey to multitasking in the past, mindfulness will help to karate chop this productivity-squashing habit. A focused mind is a productive mind.

Strengthens our Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the “something” or the sauce as I like to say, in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. EQ is our ability to recognize and understand emotions in ourselves and others and to use this awareness to manage our behavior and relationships. It’s like our EQ is the operating system, and as we practice mindfulness we shut ourselves down, only to reboot with more functional features and way cooler emojis.

Improves us as People

Lastly, mindfulness just overall improves us as people. Many studies have connected mindfulness and prosocial behavior. Subjects who meditated showed compassion and kindness to others 50% more often than those who didn’t meditate. And all this time I thought it was the espresso and Beyonce that was bringing the best out of me. I guess there’s something about feeling present and calm that really gets the people goin’!

We're bringing mindfulness to work. Join us in building a better tomorrow .

July 1, 2020July 1, 2020

A Resilient Body through Massage

Maintaining a positive outlook and the ability to bounce back can be challenging in the best of times, but what about during times of high stress with competing demands on our time, energy, and resources? Layer in the stresses of Covid-19 and the potential of re-entering our places of work and it can start to feel more difficult to keep one’s thoughts and outlook positive. It can feel as though our reserves are depleted just when we need that extra bit of energy or spark of motivation to get us through the next challenging moment.

At this point, it’s likely that we’ve all heard the word “resilience” tossed about as an attribute that helps people face difficult and trying times. The question one might then ask is; how do we build resilience in ourselves, our families, communities, and workplace at a time when it is most needed and during a time of stress?

There are many ways to approach building our resilience, such as breathwork, mediation, and movement. At Body Techniques, we think a good place to begin building and maintaining our resilience is through the body. We view wellness as a holistic practice, eating thoughtfully, exercising, and taking time to slow down and receive massage are all components of building a resilient body. Below are three reasons massage therapy is an excellent first step towards developing our resilience toolkit.

Reducing Stress

Between Covid-19, ambiguous direction about states and counties reopening, and the possibility of returning to the office or having to find a new job, we are all stressed to some degree. Prioritizing our own well being and finding ways to reduce levels of stress are key to building our overall health and maintaining a positive outlook. Making time to slow down and tend to ourselves is a first step towards resilience. Whether it’s hands on massage in a safe and hygienic way (as counties permit) or enjoying a virtual 1:1 guided massage, the act of releasing tension through massage therapy is known to lower cortisol (a stress hormone), quite the mind, and soothe the body. By disengaging from the pressures and expectations of the day for even 15-minutes, we allow for the breath to deepen, the mind to relax, and the “pause button” to take the reins. Hands-on therapeutic touch gives us time and space to focus on our own relaxation so that we can return to our day to day in a more relaxed manner.

Relieving Physical Discomfort

Many of us are stuck at home working from the kitchen table or sofa, many others are taking on responsibility as essential workers and supporting our communities by delivering goods and services while working long hours. All of this can lead to our body feeling stiff, sore, and overworked. If our bodies are in pain or discomfort, it makes it hard to be fully present and it also siphons off our body’s resources. If we are busy thinking about the pain in our knees, neck, or back, we are more likely to further injure ourselves, miss workdays, or struggle to look after our kids. Scheduling time to receive hands-on massage therapy helps relieve injuries and muscle strain. When we feel able in our bodies, it allows us to have a more positive outlook, which can help us feel less stressed and more prepared to face challenges.

Better Sleep

When your head hits the pillow does your mind kick into high gear? Do your thoughts swirl and seem to be running on repeat? Do you start making lists of all the things you need to do the following day or didn’t get done today? If so, you aren’t alone! Lack of sleep is detrimental to our health and overall sense of well being. When we aren’t clocking a solid seven to eight our body takes the brunt in many ways; such as a weakened immune system, being more prone to accidents, weight gain, memory loss, and mood changes to name a few. In these hectic and uncertain times, it’s hard to shut off our thoughts and get the rest we need.

There are ways we can help ourselves power down, such as taking an epsom salt bath before bed, enjoying a calming herbal tea, or taking time to read something other than the constant newsfeed. And, because we are firm believers in the health benefits of massage, we definitely add it to this list of sleep resources.

Massage therapy is an excellent way to release the stress of the day and allow ourselves the time and space to relax. Expert guided massage or hands-on therapeutic touch is proven to be effective in helping people relax and restore the ability to sleep more deeply, which in turn supports our immune system and overall health status.

Let me see the science behind massage!

As we face the future, our health and wellness are a critical component in our ability to show up and build our resilience, as individuals and as communities. Making time for ourselves to destress and relax will help us be present for our friends, family, and coworkers. Remember to build into your day time for just you. Take a walk, stretch, do some jumping jacks, or meditate. Time for you is time well spent.