Business, yoga and spirituality are not mutually exclusive.
This is a lesson I learned by living it.
The following concept I very much agree with. It has repeatedly been brought to my attention by my wonderful meditation app Headspace:
Work life, love life, social life – there is no separation – there is just life.
This, for me, could not be more true. Especially when it comes to the living out of your personal values, morals, and compassion in every part of your existence.
It’s not possible to live authentically if you treat your family and friends with love and then stroll into work and proceed to passive aggressively engage with your coworkers.
It’s not possible to follow the Yamas and Niyamas of yoga on the mat, and then promptly throw them out the window as soon as you enter the boardroom. If anything – the business world is where the honesty and uprightness of the yoga practice is needed the most!
I’ve found if I allow the foundations of yoga to inform my approach to business i.e. be honest, do no harm, don’t covet what others have, don’t get attached to things or the outcome of a situation…oh… and don’t steal — I feel pretty darn good about myself.
The question really is – why the heck would you NOT apply these things to your business practices? If it leaves you with a clear conscience and a pure heart at day’s end, wouldn’t you want that? Especially when you’re left alone in the dark with the result of your decisions. I sure as hell don’t want my mind to be filled with the fear and regret of mistreating those I work with and for. I also firmly believe it is possible to be kind, generous and successful in business. Don’t believe me? DM me for examples.
So when it came to the concept of branding and marketing, I wanted to approach it from the place of SATYA – the Yama of honesty. By looking with unwavering eyes at who I was as a teacher, by asking myself truthfully what it was that I loved about yoga, I was able to collaborate with an amazing, professionally and spiritually aware woman to create some really incredible material!
At no point in this process did I feel fake or phony. At no point did I feel like I was forcing or projecting an image of what I wanted to be, or what I thought others wanted me to be out into the world.
I simply talked about who I was. I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the description that resulted from this analysis, and watched a very talented young woman capture that in imagery and web design.
Art is an expression of spirituality. The site she created is art. The site she created, contains spirit. (Launch date July 6th!!)
The letting go of many things being mutually exclusive has been a game changer for me in so many ways.
Not only has it allowed me to progress as a business woman, it has allowed me the space to breathe as a human.
I’m allowed to be strong and feminine. I’m allowed to be spiritual and logical. I’m allowed to be angry and grateful. I’m allowed to be present, distracted, hopeful, hilarious, upset, hungry, excited and exhausted all at once! It’s when we don’t allow ourselves the space to have this very human experience of being all over the fucking map that we end up feeling confined, suffocated and pigeon holed.
By allowing myself to be a spiritually, morally and a yoga lifestyle inspired business person, not only am I feeling very aligned and centered in my values, I feel so friggin’ content. I feel so…..at peace.
It’s not to say it isn’t a struggle, and that mistakes are never made. Whenever I feel uncertain, lost or unable to make a decision, I stop, sit my ass down and pray. When I do this, it’s not about getting a clear answer. It’s about getting myself into a clear head and heart space so I can see the forest for the trees. As a result, applying my spiritual practice to my business practice has left me feeling much more in line with who I am and what I believe in.
I’m still nervous AF, fearful of failure and making shit up as I go – but hey – having fear and having gumption? I am very thankful these two things are also not mutually exclusive.
So here I am, in all my bumbling, sarcastic, ridiculous glory. And yes, it is possible to be ridiculous and glorious at the same time. Welcome to the human race <3
