Five minutes of mindfulness can make a world of difference — especially for employees of a busy hospital like Emanuel Medical Center.

I Am Yoga recently partnered with Emanuel to offer meditation and yoga classes in a new “Zen” room at the hospital. The local yoga studio reached out to the hospital asking if they could offer low-intensive yoga classes specifically for cancer patients and their caregivers twice a week. From there, the classes expanded to include hospital employees on Wednesdays and one Saturday a month. The Zen room, however, is available to hospital employees seeking a little peace 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We’ve been in the Turlock community for 17 years and we offer all kinds of classes…we’re really working towards building deeper community connections,” said I Am Yoga owner Anna Eshoo about partnering with EMC.

“They’ve created such an amazing space for their employees. It’s like a little hidden gen in the hospital,” Eshoo said about Emanuel’s new Zen room.

I Am Yoga instructor Jacob Murry said that he designs the classes every week for the employees who show up and what their needs are that day, from doing slow meditative movements, to a full 30-minute yoga class and sometimes it’s just five minutes of breathing exercises.

“I have firsthand seen the positive results these practices can have for people’s lives. And you don’t have to sit cross legged under a tree for 30 minutes a day to get a benefit. You can literally sit down for one minute and I can lead you through a minute mindful meditation practice that would bring you to a point of feeling really good,” Murry said.

The Zen room has mats and headrests for regular yoga classes, chairs suitable for a low-intensive chair yoga class, and then relaxation areas including a message chair, humidifier, calming music and lighting. There’s a QR code available for employees to get self-guided five minute breathing exercises anytime of day.

“It doesn’t have to be hours on end to make a difference in your body. Five, 10, 15 minutes a day makes a huge difference. If we can plant that seed one person at a time…it just trickles into a bigger picture of wellness,” said Eshoo.

For more information on I Am Yoga, visit https://www.iamyogastudio.com/