Why is Yoga good for business?
Updated: Jan 8, 2018
I have found Bikram Yoga some time ago. I used to beat myself up for not being flexible enough to follow the instructions. And one day as I was twisting myself into yet another awkward position, I have heard the instructions in a different way.
She said: "Wrap your ankle around your calf... If you can't do it, point your toe in the direction of where it needs to go and one day you'll find that it's there... Do the best with the body you have... Observe how your body reacts, you may be doing the same thing in every session but what you bring with you from work, from home is different every day, so it's normal that you experience your body differently every time. Sometimes you will find that you can push yourself harder, sometimes you need to be gentle. The more you practice, the more often you will be able to push yourself harder."
Hearing the coach repeat the process exactly the same time over and over again, I have noticed that I paid attention to different bits of the instruction every time. The constant stream of minuscule details that I heard her chanting made my mind latch onto soldier-mode, easing the mind off of the constant worries and helping to breath into the moment and just enjoy the body relaxing as the mind was surrendering it to my breath.
The process was fascinating. My mind needed to hear the rationale of why it had to let the body do the exercises. It gradually I felt this need for control ease off.
In business, sometimes we are so attached to our goal, the end point we have to achieve as well as the tools that have always worked that we often don't see how many important factors have changed and alter our outcome:
People are never the same. Even the same people we are leading through change are not the same people every day.
Culture is different. Not only geographically. But as new staff enters the company, it organically changes with the people arriving. How many times have you heard: "this team/ department/ project used to be so different when I started..."
The economy and political structures impacting our company are different. Governments change, leaders impact the world, each organisation is adapting, so they are changing around us and our work and projects.
So yoga has taught me that it is essential to remember my tools, my motives and my goal. And while remembering, also forgetting the attachment I have to them and observe, reassess and surf on the now. And Breathe...