5 Lessons Entrepreneurs can Learn from Yoga

I love Yoga. I love business. At first glance there doesn’t appear to be much of a connection. Recently on my way home from my Yoga class the parallels started flowing…

1. Focus is a must
The keys to elevating your Yoga practice: It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. Focus only on yourself. When your mind wanders, bring it back to your mat. True Yogis cannot be distracted.

Don’t these seem like good business practices as well? How many times have your driven yourself crazy comparing your business to someone else’s? ‘Should I be doing that? Are my rates too high? Everyone’s on Pinterest, I should be on Pinterest’. How many times have you felt a competitor copied your design, your tagline, your program idea? Comparison, judgement and blame are distracting and do nothing to elevate your business game. Staying focused on your path is the best way to create your success.

2. Ego does not serve
Some days I can do everything my Yoga instructor throws at me. My mind, body and breath are in sync and I flow through the asanas (poses) like a true Yogi. It has happened more than once however, that the very next day, the exact same postures just don’t happen. These days can be SO frustrating. ‘I should be able to do this. I had this mastered yesterday? I checked it off my ‘can do’ list.’ During a practice like this when the Yoga gods are humbling me, trying harder to prove I am better than this at Yoga, is tempting, often an automatic response in fact. But, 100% of the time allowing my ego to invade my mat improves absolutely nothing.

Hard to imagine that putting in extra effort to prove how awesome we are could be a bad thing in business, after all isn’t that the name of the game? Maybe. But, gratitude for the opportunity, the ability and the learning does amazing things in the Yoga studio. What would your business feel like if you checked your ego at the door and in those moments of battle with the business gods you said ‘thank you, I am better for this challenge’.

3. An open mind is the only way
There are some crazy Yoga poses out there, combinations of strength and balance that seem impossible. I had been coming to the mat for a long time before I even attempted some of the more challenging postures, a few still make me hesitate. Turns out, that with patience, commitment and most importantly an open mind, each and every pose can be done. Even the really ‘crazy’ ones.

The same is true when it comes to your business. When you look around at the fellow entrepreneurs you admire, the ones making 6 and 7 figures, and you start to think ‘I can’t do that, I’ll never get there, I’m not meant for that kind of success’, open your mind to the possibility. When you find yourself in a place of self-doubt, stop and let your heart and mind be open to your potential. If you can see it in the world, you can be it in the world.

4. When things get tough… Breathe
Yoga can be overwhelming. It can be incredibly challenging, it can be emotional and it can be oh so humbling. In my experience being an entrepreneur is challenging, emotional and definitely humbling. In both scenarios, when you feel like throwing in the towel, remember to breathe. When you lose your breath you are lost.

5. There is no finish line
Just when I think I have tried every Yoga pose out there, a new pose, or the next step of a familiar one is revealed to me. Just when the 26 postures in my Bikram practice start to feel routine, something new clicks, my body or my mind responds in a new way. Yoga is continuous journey. Yoga is not a destination. Yoga cannot be mastered.

My journey as an entrepreneur has been much the same as my Yoga path – constant and never ending. Nurturing your business with an infinite mindset ensures you continue moving, growing and reaching. Celebrate your business successes, enjoy the bliss of each accomplishment, and then ask ‘what’s next?’.