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Vet’s Best Friend emphasizes mental well-being with company-wide yoga series
This free virtual weekly program launching next week will offer employees a chance to decompress and prioritize their mental health.
Vet’s Best Friend (VBF) will kick off its free virtual weekly yoga series available to all company-wide employees on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. The yoga classes will be broadcasted on the company's Facebook and will be led by Desiree Roussin, a Massachusetts-based veterinary technician at VBF, who was also the mastermind behind the initiative.
“Our mission ‘to take care of the people who take care of our pets’ means everything to us and now more than ever with the aftermath of the pandemic, we’re working with our teams to help combat burnout and exhaustion,” said Jeff Wilson, CEO of VBF, in a company release. “So working with Desiree to bring her passion to life while supporting our teams was a no-brainer.”
Roussin has worked with animals since age 15 and soon recognized the importance of engaging in hobbies outside of the practice. She discovered yoga years ago as a way for her to destress after a demanding day at the clinic.
According to the release, her passion for the hobby inspired her to complete a 200-HR Registered Yoga Teacher Training and now she instructs weekly classes at a local yoga studio. After witnessing the benefits yoga had on her life, she believes her coworkers could greatly benefit from it as well.
The company classes will consist of slow flow vinyasa style yoga available to all ages and levels. They will be live-streamed on the VBF’s Facebook page (@VetsBestFriendOfficial) on Wednesday evenings starting at 7:30 pm. This provides participants the opportunity to partake from the comfort of their own homes while also allowing them to replay the class if they cannot make it at the given time or miss a class entirely.
“By being able to take time for myself for things like yoga, I am able to show up to work as my best self for my patients and teammates,” Desiree said.
"I’m so grateful to work for a company like VBF that puts such an emphasis behind wellness and work-life balance. Everyone at the home-office was so supportive of this idea and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to introduce my peers to this amazing form of stress relief," she added.
Learn more about Vet’s Best Friend and its mission here.
Reference
Vet’s Best Friend prioritizes mental health with company wide yoga series. News release. Vet’s Best Friend. September 9, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2021. [email].
