Blog

Ahead of Time to Talk Day on 2 February, we wanted to share one of our favourite coaching exercises. ‘The Listening Wheel’ was originally devised by The Samaritans charity to help develop our emotional awareness and listening skills. We find it a really valuable tool in our workplace mental health workshops and in particular, our …

With the ‘mindful drinking‘ movement making momentum and so many delicious alcohol-free alternatives now available, it’s fair to say Mocktails are having a moment. Here, our favourite expert mixologists and cocktail makers, Nelson + Pops share their favourite mocktail recipes, one perfect to enjoy before dinner and the other perfect for a deliciously sweet dessert. …

Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s certainly not the most environmentally-friendly. With the festive period upon us, and Black Friday just around the corner, now is the perfect time to think of ways to reduce your festive footprint.  Best-selling sustainability author, speaker and leader of our corporate Sustainability workshops …

Why Stress about Stress? Stress Awareness Week 2021 We are living in a frantic, fast paced world where the ability to multi-task is a badge of honour. However, an adrenaline and stress-powered life has downsides and without care, can lead to variety of physical and mental health issues. With stress dubbed the health epidemic of …

Taking place from 10-16 May 2021, the theme for 2021’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘Nature and the Environment.’ If the past year has taught us anything, it’s the life-affirming benefits of being outdoors. During monotonous days when it felt like our worlds were standing still, the changing landscapes and cycle of nature were a comforting reassurance …

Taking place on Monday 8 March 2021, International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality and we’re proud to see awareness and momentum around the campaign build year-on-year.   Over the past few years, …

In light of the PM’s announcement this week, we wanted to share some of our tried and tested tips for those parents juggling work, childcare and home-schooling over these coming weeks (or even months).  As working parents ourselves, we are all too familiar with the work Vs parenting tussle and the effect this can have …

After the lull of lockdown, followed by the Christmas break, we’re banking on needing a bit of extra help to get going in January. Looking ahead to your 2021 workplace wellbeing strategy? See our suggestions for workshops and classes to get you and your team’s 2021 off to the best possible start. Be sure to scroll down …

It’s well known that in winter more people suffer with illnesses, and the cold and dark days can lead to lower mood and experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder.    December is also a period of stress and strain for many.  This may be because employees are burning out working towards year-end goals or planning for the …

As another lockdown looms for employees here in the UK, businesses need to dig-deep to find solutions and support to help their employees navigate the month(s) ahead.  The added blow of a cold, dark winter replacing the spring sunshine we were blessed with last lockdown will make this next lockdown a mental and emotional challenge …

World Menopause Day is on 18 October 2020. To mark the day we asked our menopause workshop facilitator to share her top 5 tips from our menopause training at work workshops. Julie is a menopause coach and trainer who delivers our ‘Understanding Menopause’ and ‘Menopause for Managers’ workshops. Develop a menopause policy Or guidance document …

After months of working from home we expect many of your employees will be crying out for long-overdue office massage to iron out tight shoulders and tense necks. However, we also appreciate and acknowledge there may be some trepidation around returning to your regular massages. Which is why, we’re sharing our best practice guide to …

With a work calendar full of awareness day and weeks, it can be overwhelming to plan for them all. But World Mental Health Day is one you don’t want to miss. This global initiative, taking place on 10 October each year aims to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world Drawing on our …

Nearly 5 months in to working from home and many of us are feeling the strain of our home office set-ups and a more sedentary working day. Drawing on our 10 years experience teaching office yoga, we’re sharing our top 5 desk yoga poses to keep neck niggles, sore shoulders and bothersome backs at bay. Office Yoga Pose …

Like many business, when lockdown hit we swiftly moved all our workplace wellbeing services online. Unsure how receptive our clients would be to replacing their regular ‘in office’ yoga class with an online alternative, we were overwhelmed (and super impressed) by their dedication to keeping up their regular classes, albeit via Zoom.   With online …

It’s half-term here in the UK, but for parents who’ve had their little-ones underfoot for the past 10 weeks, this week feels no different than others. Our ‘Wellbeing for Working Parents’ webinar has helped hundreds of working parents balance the juggle of work + kids + the C-19 crisis. The webinar is packed full of …

It’s been six weeks since transforming their business to a solely (hopefully temporary) virtual one. During that time, Stretching the City directors, Katy Chambers & Sally Lovett have now virtually taken part in over a hundred of their client’s wellbeing webinars. Here they share some of their key learnings.     Rituals and Routine are …

As a seasoned working-from-homer, Stretching the City founder, Sally Lovett shares her tips for keeping well whilst working from home. Like the rest of the world, here in London we’re in the grip of the Corona virus crisis and all adapting to a ‘new normal’ way of working. For many of our clients, a significant …

According to the CIPD Health and Well-being at Work Survey 2018, work-related musculoskeletal problems (such as bad backs, muscle strains,  carpal tunnel syndrome etc)  account for 50% of long-term absence. Whilst some work-related injuries are unavoidable, it’s no secret that sitting at a desk for prolonged periods (especially sitting with a poor posture) can commonly lead …

Lessons in Financial Wellbeing from Stretching the City’s Finance Coach “We often feel stress or anxiety about money….but it doesn’t have to be that way.” Stretching the City’s Financial Wellbeing coach shares his lessons on how to make money less a source of stress and more a means for empowerment and possibility.  No wonder we …