Meditation, breathing or chair yoga: which class should your team book?
Short answer: there is no single right choice, because meditation, breathing and chair yoga are three separate class types I run, not one blended session. Most HR leads I work with start with whichever feels closest to what their team already struggles with, then either stick with it or alternate between the three from month to month. Here is how I actually help a team decide.
The three class types, in plain terms
It helps to treat these as genuinely separate options rather than three names for the same thing. Each session is built around one of them, and a team can pick one, alternate between them, or combine all three across a month.
- –Meditation. A guided, seated session focused on settling the mind, usually working with attention, a body scan, or a simple point of focus. No movement involved.
- –Breathing. A guided session built entirely around breath technique, useful for teams dealing with a lot of pressure, deadlines, or back-to-back calls.
- –Chair yoga. Gentle, seated movement done from an ordinary chair, working through the neck, shoulders, back and hips that stiffen after hours at a screen.
How I help a team choose
When someone books a demo, I usually ask two or three questions before recommending anything, because the right starting point depends on what is actually going on in the team, not on what sounds most appealing on paper.
If the team is physically stiff and desk-bound
Chair yoga tends to be the better opener. Teams that spend most of the day sitting, especially in back-to-back calls with little movement between them, notice the physical difference fastest, and that early win makes people more likely to keep showing up.
If the team is under a lot of pressure or deadline stress
Breathing is usually the more direct fit. It is quick to learn, easy to apply outside the session itself, and gives people something concrete to reach for the next time a deadline or a difficult call spikes their stress.
If the team is scattered, distracted, or struggling to switch off
Meditation suits teams that are mentally overloaded rather than physically tense, particularly distributed teams juggling different time zones and a constant stream of notifications. It is the slowest of the three to feel dramatic, but it is the one people often say they miss most once it is in the calendar.
Why most teams end up mixing all three
In practice, few teams stay with only one class type once they get going. A common pattern is chair yoga most weeks, with a breathing-focused session in a particularly stretched month, or meditation added once the team has settled into the habit and wants to extend it. Because the format, live, seated, camera optional, recorded, stays the same across all three, switching between them does not disrupt the routine. It just changes what the session is training that week.
There is no requirement to lock in one class type from the start. Plenty of the teams I work with treat the first month as a trial of all three and settle on a rhythm once they can see which one their people actually look forward to.
What stays the same across all three
Whichever class type a team chooses, the surrounding structure does not change:
- –Same coach, every week. You get me, live, whichever class type is on the calendar.
- –Camera optional. Nobody needs to be on screen to take part fully.
- –Recorded every time. Anyone who misses the live slot can catch up later.
- –Flat monthly subscription, priced per team. Not per head, and not billed by class type.
- –Attendance and a short wellbeing check reported back, so you can see how it is landing.
For the exact pricing structure, see the pricing page rather than guessing from this post, since it depends on team size.
How to decide for your own team
If you are still unsure, the simplest approach is to think about which problem is loudest right now, physical stiffness, mental overload, or acute stress, and start there. You are not committing to it forever. The class type is easy to change from one month to the next once you see how the team responds.
Are meditation, breathing and chair yoga the same session?
No. They are three separate class types. Meditation is a guided, seated session focused on attention and calm. Breathing is built entirely around breath technique. Chair yoga is gentle, seated movement done from an ordinary chair. A team can pick one, alternate between them, or combine all three.
Which class type should we start with?
It depends on what the team needs most right now. Physically stiff, desk-bound teams often start with chair yoga. Teams under heavy deadline pressure tend to get more from breathing. Distributed teams struggling to switch off often prefer meditation. None of these are permanent choices.
Can we switch between class types later?
Yes. Most teams I work with do not stay with just one. Because the format, live, seated, camera optional, recorded, is the same for all three, switching between them does not disrupt the routine, it just changes the focus of that week’s session.
Do we need any equipment for any of the three?
No. All three run seated, over Teams or Zoom, with no mat or floor space needed. Chair yoga uses an ordinary desk chair for support. Meditation and breathing need nothing more than a quiet-ish spot to sit for the session.