We have a major problem in our work force. You might think that the biggest impact illnesss has on our personal - and collective - productivity at work is sick days, and you'd be right - sort of. However it's not the sick days when we call in sick that are effecting our productivity the most, but the ones when we show up even though we're not well - known as presenteeism, as opposed to absenteeism. Research source suggests that there are a range of health issues ranging from depression, to allergies, hypertension, migraines, asthma, and others, are all contributing to this major problem, which is costing us hugely in terms of enthusiasm for work - and correlative productvity - on both the personal and organisational level. What we really need to be aiming for is not a reduction in sick days, but a reduction in illness itself, and a way of providing genuine healthcare solutions that are effective for physical and mental health issues over the long term. Enter yoga. How can yoga help prevent illness in a larger public health sense, as well as our personal everyday experience?

A perusal of the 'yoga as therapy' page on YogaHive will reveal many more specific examples of this, but here are a few examples of yoga's vast health benefits:

1. Physical health and immunity are improved through the opening and strenghtening of the body that occurs through yoga. Since yoga is one of the greatest methods of tedning to both physical and mental health simultaneously, it works on many levels to assist in the highest functioning of the body, from the immune system, to body density and blood sugar stabilisation.

2. Mental health. Since yoga is a practice of the mind as much as the body, it can help in the cultivation of focus, resilience, compassion, and has immense benefits through the reduction of stress that yoga practice induces. Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center, US suggests, “If the promise of yoga on mental health was found in a drug, it would be the best selling medication world-wide,”Read full article of research findings from Doraiswamy here.

3.Sustaining general wellbeing longterm. When we look at allowing presenteesi and absenteeism to become a personal and collective state of overall health, our ultimate goal is not to overcome specific issues of physical or mental health, but to live in a way that promotes sustainable wellbeing for ourselves and those around us. Yoga offers these kind of longterm effects in countless ways, making it one of the most valuable personal and public health strategies we can choose for ourselves, and our communities.