Chocolate meets stress management
Google team leader Dajana was looking for a team event that would bring mindfulness to life and be fun at the same time. At the mindfulness tasting with Theyo, the team experienced how mindfulness breaks with and without chocolate can be integrated into the workday. Participants carried out guided mindfulness exercises, reflected on stress reduction and received tips for everyday work.
"A delicious and mindful sensory journey with fine chocolate that strengthened, motivated us as a team and brought us into the moment of mindfulness."
Dayana Stojchevska
Software engineer
Google
Mindful time out from digital everyday life
The Theyo team made a conscious decision to combine classic mindfulness exercises with a chocolate sensory break. Studies show that even brief moments of mindfulness can reduce stress and increase alertness. Chocolate can serve as a sensory anchor that motivates participants to pause and become aware of the moment. This approach combines mental calm with sensual pleasure and is easy to implement in everyday working life. The tasting began with a brief introduction to the practice of mindfulness with chocolate to awaken all the senses. This was followed by a mix of chocolate tasting and mindfulness exercises suitable for everyday use. The aim was to create a noticeable reduction in stress through these consciously designed mini-interruptions and to enable participants to directly experience how simple and effective such breaks can be in everyday working life. Finally, the participants reflected as a group on how their stress levels had changed and which rituals they wanted to introduce into their daily lives.
Small breaks, big impact
- Chocolate as a sensory anchor: activates the senses and creates positive emotions that deepen the mindfulness experience.
- Impulses for micro-breaks: Studies show that just a few minutes of mindfulness practice can significantly reduce stress responses.
- Combining theory and practice: The combination of background knowledge and sensory experience increases the acceptance and sustainability of the exercises.
The format was developed by Madita Best and Moritz kleine Bornhorst from the Theyo team. As trained stress and resource managers (TU Munich) and certified chocolate tasters (IICCT), they combine theoretical knowledge from stress research with years of experience in the sensory experience of chocolate.
This unique combination enables a mindful approach that will appeal to both beginners and advanced users - with chocolate as an everyday anchor for more effective breaks, better concentration and greater well-being at work.
Conclusion: A mindfulness event with a lasting effect
The Google team came away from the mindfulness tasting feeling revitalised, energised and with a delicious aftertaste! A team event with many new insights about chocolate, mindfulness and how to combine the two in a meaningful way.