Switch roles and repeat the pose again. Return to center and repeat. Most of the time, Simple Couple Yoga team members return to their desks and all the team problems that were there before the team building exercises are still there. Try to make organizing the barbecue a team building activity in and of itself. For example, try making the scavenger hunt a puzzle that the whole team can get excited about at the end. At the end of the exercise, each team can present their activity - if the other team members like it, you can try it out next time! Having so much time in our hands and no where to go and nothing to do, we turned to learning. When your team members are feeling good about themselves and the work they do, their outlook positively impacts how they communicate and relate to their team members. What worked and what didn't work? Make team building less about work and skills, and more about the team. A team barbecue on a nice weekend might do a lot more good to your team than a bunch of team building games.

This meta-team building activity can be a lot of fun, and it’s quite different than traditional team building activities. After you’ve divided your team members in groups two or three, each group is supposed to solve the problem of creating an interesting and fun team building activity, targeted at a specific team problem. Are there conflicts in the team that are creating divisions? The relaxed atmosphere can allow team members to be (more) themselves and to open up to the others. Once you’ve nailed those, gradually work your way to more challenging poses. Yoga can help your team members relax and approach their work in a fresh way. But perhaps the greatest benefit is that with time, yoga classes will not only help team members approach their work in a different manner, but also their work relationships. While this is one great benefit of practicing yoga as a couple, there are plenty of other reasons why you and your partner might want to join forces on the mat. Yoga classes benefit both body and mind, so your team members will draw lots of benefits from them.

Allow yourself these final moments of silence in your partner yoga practice to take in all the physical and emotional benefits of yoga as a couple. Consider organizing yoga classes a couple of times per week. You may fail a couple of times but you have to keep on trying until you achieve the pose. Couples yoga is unique because it allows both partners to practice yoga together and have fun doing it. The connection and intimacy fostered through partner yoga may not be for all couples in the beginning. When you think of couples yoga, the first thing that may come to mind is partners getting in touch with their inner feelings and emotions. Even if you don’t come in with a specific goal, simply moving your body in new ways with the person you love can be its own reward. When people come together to do something for someone less fortunate, their relationship is forged a little tighter. Yoga poses for two people can be performed by all levels of yogis and you don’t need to be an expert to get through this. Use this pose to improve your support for each other as beginner yogis.

For more experienced yogis, use this position to deepen your stretch. It's been one of my favourite ways to use my bumper crop of beetroot. Each team member can be responsible of one aspect of the gathering, so that everyone is involved in the success of the event. That’s why you can be more strategic about your team building activities. If each team member’s personal development needs are fulfilled, they can become more self-sufficient, tolerant and emotionally mature. Although you do want your team members to be a little competitive, you probably want to encourage team spirit and collaboration more. But you can also take a team effectiveness assessment if you want to validate any inkling you might have. Communication is key in every yoga pose you do with another person, so it’s crucial to have a foundation of confidence, openness, and understanding with each other so your practice remains safe and to prevent injury. If you jump right into complicated or demanding poses without any warm-up or practice then your chances of injury are greater.