Corporate workshops have a bad reputation, and for a reason: most are designed in a way that puts participants in an awkward position in front of colleagues.
Qi Gong does not have that problem. Nobody changes clothes, nobody lies on the floor, nobody sweats and nobody ends up in a position that looks ridiculous. Which is exactly why this format works in an office when others do not.
Three formats we run
1. A short session during the workday (20-30 minutes). In a meeting room or between the desks. Standing, no equipment. Aimed at unloading the shoulders, neck and eyes and at one shift of breath in the middle of the day. Most useful as a regular weekly slot.
2. A workshop at a conference or event (30-45 minutes). Between blocks of talks. People stay in their own clothes and return to the next session more attentive than they would after a coffee break.
3. An hour at a team day (60 minutes). On a lawn, in a hall or outside a hotel. Here a Kung Fu section with cooperative partner drills can be added - which tends to work better for a group than the usual trust exercises.
What it addresses
- Shoulders and neck. The most common physical consequence of desk work. Qi Gong has plenty of movements that target exactly that, without equipment and in three minutes.
- Breath. Eight hours in front of a screen means shallow breathing into the chest. One series of long exhales in the middle of the day is the cheapest intervention there is.
- Attention after lunch. Twenty minutes of movement does what a third coffee does not.
- Group dynamics. Practising together where nobody is better than anyone else affects a team differently from competitive activities.
The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.
What we need
Space: a meeting room, a canteen, a corridor or a lawn. About a square metre and a half per person - less than at festival workshops, because we do not travel across the space.
No equipment. No mats, no changing, no special shoes. Participants can stay in work clothes; the only thing we suggest is taking off heels.
A closed door. The one genuine requirement. A workshop other employees walk past does not work.
A realistic headcount. Up to twenty people without a PA, more with a microphone.
What works and what does not
Works: a regular weekly slot at the same time. After three weeks it sustains itself.
Works: voluntary attendance. People who have to be there spoil the atmosphere for everyone else.
Does not work: a one-off workshop as a whole year’s wellbeing programme. One hour changes nothing - though led well, it does lead a fair number of people to start something themselves.
Does not work: a slot straight after lunch in a room with no air. We have tried it and it was not good.
What it is not
It is not a motivational talk, it is not fitness and it is not spiritual content. It is a physical practice working with breath and posture that can be run in an office without changing anything about the room.
Nor do we promise measurable effects on productivity. What we can promise is that after twenty minutes people will be breathing better with less tension in the shoulders - and that some of them will carry it on at home.
Practicalities
We work in Ljubljana and the surrounding area, and elsewhere in Slovenia by arrangement. For regular slots we agree a day and time; for one-off workshops we need a week’s notice.
Write and tell us how many people you expect, what space you have, and whether this is a one-off or a recurring slot.
