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THE THIRD LIMB: POSTURES (ASANA)
You must learn to be still in the midst of activity
and to be vibrantly alive in repose.
Indira Gandhi
In the last stage of my journalism career, I was lucky enough to work for a newspaper that provided space in the office building for a weekly, hour-long yoga class and paid for a teacher. At 6 P.M. on Tuesday evenings, a dozen or so of us met in a designated conference room, then moved the furniture to create space for our mats.
The class was always in danger of being canceled if our numbers dropped too low. When I would troll my coworkers to look for recruits, I always emphasized the physical and mental benefits of practicing yoga postures. Knowing they were a cynical bunch, I would add, “Mark [Roberts, our teacher] sometimes talks a little woo-woo, but you don’t really have to pay attention to that part. Just let it wash over you.”
In actuality, I had no idea how thoroughly I was being soaked. I loved listening to Mark, most especially when he prepared us for savasana. He used exotic terms that I didn’t fully understand, such as pranayama and pratyahara and samadhi. The strange words fascinated me.
Because working for a daily newspaper calls for crazy hours, it wasn’t uncommon for me to return to my office after yoga, where the newsroom was busily engaged in creating the next day’s report. I usually felt reenergized, yet calm and ready to focus—and it was the best time to recruit. People who popped into my office to discuss a story or ask a question would sometimes say, “Wow. You are glowing.” I would reply with a smile, “Yoga. I am full of the life force!”
Mark’s classes were so meaningful and intriguing that I began regularly attending the other classes he taught around town. The spiritual approach he incorporated into the asana class lit a spark in me. I noticed a shift in my mental state, which affected the way I viewed my colleagues and my approach to work. The spark burned steadily brighter as I continued to practice with Mark and other teachers. I’m convinced yoga helped give me the confidence and courage to apply for a fellowship to teach in South America and then leave a career—as satisfying as it had been—to explore other possibilities that might better feed my soul.
Eventually, this burning yearning led me to the first yoga teacher training I did in 2005–2006. The physical practice became a gateway for exploring all the limbs of yoga, which, as I mentioned in the introduction, aligned perfectly with the philosophies underlying the work of the new career I was launching at the same time.
Historically, the Third Limb of yoga was not considered the most significant, although in the Western world it certainly has become the most practiced and familiar. Asana was intended to prepare the body for the long periods of focus and meditation necessary to achieve absorption—union with the ultimate reality, enlightenment. In the West, an on-the-mat practice is the typical introduction to yoga, another tool in the arsenal of fitness routines to help the body increase flexibility and balance. Some are attracted to the physical practice as a method of stress reduction. The beauty of an asana practice, however, is that it provides a window onto the rich landscape all eight limbs have to offer, should you choose to open your eyes.
Deanna, a development editor who lives in the Midwest, experienced this transformation as her physical practice took root and blossomed over more than twenty years. She says the yoga principle of alignment has helped her both on the mat and off. “Alignment is probably the thing I think about most in my practice, because it has so many layers and meanings. When I am on the mat, alignment helps me get the most from my body, ensures that I don’t injure myself, and keeps me healthy and grounded,” Deanna says. “It’s equally important for me to be aligned with my work spiritually and emotionally. When I take on a project, I have to know it is aligned with my values, both in terms of the content and the person I am working with.”
There have been times in her career when she wavered, taking on work she didn’t think was a great fit, because “everyone has to put food on the table.” But after yielding to that temptation a few times, the experiences led her back to her core values—alignment always come first.
Lawrence, a soldier serving in Afghanistan, says he appreciates the way his asana practice has kept him in good physical condition for his demanding work. “I am one of these people who was graced with a short, stocky stature, and I really abused my body physically as I was working and growing up. The stretching techniques I learned in yoga helped me regain a lot of flexibility and have increased my core strength. That helps a lot when you’re in the military.”
CORPORATE BENEFITS
An on-the-mat practice serves people in myriad ways, and companies are beginning to recognize this. Several well-known, multinational corporations—Apple, GE, General Mills, Forbes, Google, and Microsoft to name a few—offer on-site classes to their employees, recognizing the business benefits when employees are grounded, calm, and focused. The United States Department of Veteran Affairs offers yoga at more than forty of its locations.
Kenneth began his yoga practice at a twice-weekly class sponsored by one of his employers, a national educational services firm where he was working part-time. At the same time, he was concluding a career as a school psychologist, and remembers that period of double-duty as “a particularly stressful time in my life.” The pressure of the transition was eased by yoga, he says. He became more physically fit, tapped into the breathing practices to deal with stress, and developed close relationships with his new coworkers, who also were doing yoga.
“I was in far better shape to handle the demands of learning a new job, along with the familiar stress of working as a school psychologist—worry about troubled students, their parents, paperwork, and the repercussions of the law from unintended mistakes.” He found yoga so useful he wanted to share it with others, and eventually began teaching at a downtown community center once a week.
The physical and mental benefits of a yoga practice have begun to generate a lot of attention. The Mayo Clinic website recommends yoga as a method of stress release, physical fitness, weight management, and managing chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, cancer, depression, and insomnia. A 2004 Yale University School of Medicine study found that people who practiced yoga reduced their blood pressure, pulse, and risk of heart disease. A study published in a 2008 issue of Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showed that military veterans with chronic low-back pain reported a significant reduction in pain, along with improvements in mood, energy, and quality of life.
This may explain why employers are becoming more eager to sponsor or subsidize yoga and meditation classes for their employees. Who wouldn’t want a healthier, energized workforce that is less stressed out and more focused?
Adam, who works in technical support for a large county government, has taken advantage of the yoga classes offered there and says both he and the workplace have benefited. “Before I started yoga, I was exhausted from overwork and felt underappreciated. Doing yoga helped relieve some of the stress. Even though I still work in a less-than-hospitable environment, I go back to work after yoga with a more centered and peaceful mindset.”
Even the most stressful day is more tolerable since he began taking yoga classes, agrees Adam’s coworker, Savesh. The physical practice makes him mindful about how he treats his body at work, which he says gives him more energy and mental clarity. “I consciously adjust to a better position with my neck/shoulders/back when I’m sitting at the computer, and put my feet on the floor,” Savesh says. “I’ve noticed I feel less tired and sore at the end of the day because of it.”
METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING
While the physical and mental benefits of yoga include increased energy, ability to deal with stress, and work satisfaction, the asana practice is also rich in metaphors for the qualities needed to be successful at work: Intention. Discipline and focus. Stability and strength. Flexibility. Balance. Willingness to try something new.
The qualities that help you on the mat also serve when you mindfully incorporate them into an off-the-mat practice at work. Each quality has a role to play, and each works in concert with the others—as always, integration is key. Stability and strength are essential to achieving a yoga pose, focus is necessary to holding it, and without the cultivation of flexibility, the full expression won’t be realized. Consistent, committed practice is essential to making progress, and that needs to be balanced with rest and energy renewal. Burning out on the altar of “getting ahead” does not ultimately benefit you or your workplace. Refilling your energy stores by keeping reasonable schedules and incorporating breaks does. The powerful combination of aspiration and perseverance spurs you toward excellence, but these qualities benefit from the counterpoise of letting go of the need for perfection and being attached to outcomes. The key is to develop the wisdom to know what serves you when.
On the mat, increasing effort and embracing the “edgy ache” that comes with moving deeper into a pose honors your practice and moves you further toward your potential. At work, if you can learn to hang with the discomfort of change rather than backing away, it can take you to wonderful places of discovery and creativity. Serving customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders is important, and a firm focus on the purpose of your work will help prevent you from unproductive contortions that don’t really benefit the business you are in.
Just like on the mat, growth and improvement require consistent willingness to embrace the discomfort and disorientation that can accompany taking a leap—trying something new or going just a little bit further and deeper than you ever have before. To fully develop your potential, you need to stretch—taking on responsibilities that give you opportunities to grow. Strength and stability are foundational, but so is the flexibility to respond quickly to customer demands or a change in the marketplace.
Laura Karet, CEO of Giant Eagle, says she has learned to love falling out of a half-moon pose (ardha chandrasana) a challenging posture requiring strength, flexibility, and balance. “Yoga is wonderfully humbling. My practice is always reminding me that it’s okay to make a mistake. It gives you the ability to accept yourself for who you are.” That comes in handy in her leadership role, she says. “We have good days, and we have bad days. In order to be a good leader, you have to be okay with that. You fall down, but then you get up and try it again.”
Five suggestions for practicing asana
1. Take a few minutes and jot down some of the literal and metaphorical gifts of an on-the-mat asana practice. What applications do you see that could transfer to the workplace?
2. If you have an asana practice, make a list of the benefits it has for you on the job.
3. For one week, commit to doing a physical yoga practice every day, whether it is a class or doing one sun salutation first thing in the morning. How does it make a difference in your day?
4. Make a list of yoga postures or stretches you can easily do at your desk. At times during your work day when you feel sluggish, stressed, or unfocused, take two minutes to do one or two of the stretches, then return to work. What do you notice?
5. Consider building a business case for your company sponsoring or subsidizing yoga classes at work. What benefits could you articulate to persuade employers it would be an asset to the enterprise you serve?