Guest Post by Kino MacGregor (learn more about Kino at the end of this post)
Running a business is not easy. As small business owners all over the world know there is always something that demands your attention. From clients’ quarreling to capital allocation to the endless need to reconcile the bank statement, work can easily take over your life, create emotional havoc and leave you feeling stressed, tired and worn out.
For women entering the business world there is no benefit to indulging an opulent display of emotions or any stereotypical feminine behavior. Instead the best avenue for success is through a calm display of power, grace and ease through good times and bad.
The best university degree will not necessarily give you the skills to handle the hardships of working in the demanding world of the entrepreneur. Instead good business is a combination of skill, character, endurance, talent and intuition. Every person has the industriousness and insight necessary to master their own business but not every person has found that place within themselves where their true power lies.
Yoga is a five thousand year old technique that brings students and practitioners into a greater connection with themselves and thereby their own reservoir of inner peace and spiritual strength. Yoga’s calm mind and strong body go hand in hand with daily practice uniting health and happiness in one dose. As your fitness levels increase so will your sense of peace and well-being and fittingly, so will your ability to remain calm in moments of great upheaval. Once your mind rises to a new level of awareness, your ability to ride out the stormy seas of life in the business world soon follows.
A small business owner once said to me that before she did yoga she felt like she didn’t have time for anything and that after starting yoga she felt like she had time for everything. What changed? Yoga doesn’t add more hours to the day or magically alter crucial aspects of stressful situations. But yoga does add more space to your mind and alter your perspective on the same stressful situation and thus literally change your experience of reality. Practice yoga long enough and a new level of emotional balance will see you through even the most pressing times.
By using the highly challenging physical postures of yoga’s bends and folds, students learn to remain detached from their pain and unease while cultivating compassion, clarity and strength of mind. In the space between body, mind and breath, practitioners begin to trust their inner guidance and keep their cool in all types of circumstances–a lesson easily applied to a hard day’s work.
Mastery over your own mind is essential the next time a client, competitor or your tax attorney gives you some really bad news. How you react to unexpected stresses can make the difference between sealing the deal and losing the trust of a client. There are things in life that cannot be changed where peaceful acceptance mixed with pragmatic problem solving is the best possible course of action. If you’re caught in a web of stress and you can’t see the path before your eyes, you won’t be able to see the way out. Whereas the clear, calm directed mind of a yoga practitioner will use the same tools cultivated in class to steer the way out of muddy waters.
There is nothing a well-trained mind cannot accomplish and with regular yoga practice you too can experience a new depth of being and a heightened ability to guide yourself and others to intelligent action and lasting accomplishments. Some of the most effective leaders guide with a calm, directed mind and in doing so inspire not just monetary success but a higher standard for humanity.
About the Author
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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i am currently enrolled in a Yoga class. the health benefits of Yoga on myself is great. I am more relaxed and i can sleep well at night.
i do Yoga at leat three times a week. It helps me calm down my mind and ease away stress.
I read your whole article and I loved your article. Yoga today is very important in people’s life. Yoga is gaining more and more importance as there is a lot of stress at workplaces. Yoga is the best and easy way to reduce the stress. And I have some good yoga tips at http://www.jiyohealthy.com/category/stress/
I practice Yoga at home mainly for the purpose of having a relax mind and body. Stress is really high on our workplace and yoga helps me relax.
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Many yoga classes are out there, and you may be turned off if you pick one that does not suit your personality and state of physical fitness. For most beginners, a hatha or vinyasa class will be most appropriate, depending on whether you want a slow or fast-paced class. These are basic styles, and you can always try something fancier later.
thank you for this great article, I love it.
Nice yoga tips you have given here. I hope you will post some more.
Thanks for sharing your Yoga with us. I truly appreciate people who are making a difference through their passion.