FOREWORD

Lululemon is often described as a “yoga-inspired” athletic-apparel company because much of our business model is dedicated to serving the needs of yoga practitioners. However, that same phrase could apply to so much more than the products we offer. Yoga inspires the way we treat our employees, our customers, our investors, and our communities. Those who do not practice yoga might underestimate the quiet energy and focus that it can provide to individuals and companies, both. I can speak for my colleagues in saying that we do not view yoga as something that only happens in a class, after which we return to the “real world.” As Maren and Jamie Showkeir ably point out in this book, yoga is more a philosophy and a way of life than just another type of exercise. You do not have to be on a yoga mat to practice yoga.

Many businesspeople marvel at lululemon’s “decentralized” structure and abhorrence of micromanagement. Our store managers, for example, are empowered to make decisions for their unique stores and to take risks without “checking with corporate.” After reading this book, you’ll understand why such a work culture makes perfect sense for a yoga-inspired company. Does this thinking lead to a lack of responsibility, focus, or alignment? Absolutely not! We often speak of “relaxing into a pose” in yoga, or “creating space,” and yet find that we can achieve so much more when we do not try to establish rigid control over the body. I don’t need to tell you that yoga is not for the fainthearted or for those who are not interested in reaching their highest potential—one reason we emphasize yoga practice in our hiring process, often asking applicants to join us for yoga class! The discipline of yoga provides a wonderful framework for bringing our best selves and talents to work, yet also giving us the space to recognize our doubts and limitations.

Yoga never asks us to be somebody we’re not (how many of us stubbornly insist on competing with others in yoga class even so!), yet it does call us to be everything we can be. I can say exactly the same thing about lululemon as a workplace. I heartily commend Maren and Jamie for describing the wonderful gifts that yoga can bring to the workday. I believe, as they believe, that work is life, too. To paraphrase the lululemon manifesto, “This is not your practice life; this is all there is.”

Christine Day
Vancouver, British Columbia