Yoga and Leadership Presence

So Yogis have many beliefs and one that really resonates with me is that Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. Wow, how awesome would it be if our leaders today all focused on that sentiment.

The practice of Yoga helps us to quiet the mind, come from nothing, find acceptance in what is and resist judgment—in doing so you will live the life you were meant to live.  Being someone who is fully engaged in the world of self-development and a practicing leader, these are all terms we often refer to as ideal leadership qualities.  However, how many of us can say that we really know what quiet the mind, accept what is and resist judgment truly means?  Well, I decided to revel in the land of Yoga to see if the Yogis know something we leaders recite often, yet struggle with its execution.

I headed out to Wanderlust 2012 in Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, CA and was instantly in awe by the beauty of the environment both physically and spiritually. While I have done Yoga for many years by taking a class here and there, I clearly was not into a practice of Yoga.  Though I am active and in good physical condition, I had no idea of how hard it really is to work the mind, body and spirit simultaneously.  One of our teachers, while posed in an advanced Cow Face Pose – Gomukhasana —for what seemed like hours, but really was only 6 or 7 minutes on both sides, said that any pain we are feeling is nothing more than pent up fear and stress…we were urged to let it go and release it from our minds, and in doing so any pain we feel should fade away.  In that pose I learned what it was like to find acceptance and resist judgment. The more I was able to let go of my shadows which were all too willing to offer  me reasons of why I cannot do it, eliminate judgment and face the fear of the pain I was feeling in staying in that pose (and I swear there was pain), the more I found I was able to deepen into the pose and really begin my practice.  Imagine that—I relinquished all and suddenly had no more pain!  As Johnny Kest said in one of our classes ....when it is uncomfortable that is when the real work starts to happen.

Imagine how much more effective we leaders would be if we could learn to give up the fear of losing the omnipotent status, to accept others' differences, and to resist judgment—to silence the shadow from within. In my brief experience of living among the Yogis, I learned that silencing the mind, shirking the shadows and being in the present (and it is really hard) is ultimately easier than living in the past or living a default future based on the past. In letting go, our lives begin to flow -- or we begin to flow more into our lives. Once you are present and in the experience of the journey, you just might find that people want to follow.

Leadership With a Heart

Leaders come in different genders, shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and have different areas of expertise and life experiences.  What we all have in common is that we don't always have control of certain things that happen in our life.  Perhaps you know someone who has shared a heartfelt story about their life that leaves you wondering-- why such tragedy happens to innocent people?  While alternatively, it leaves the person harmed with a life of gratitude for the life they continue to have thereafter.

Last Thursday, I hosted a Salon for the American Heart Association.  The guest speaker inspired so many people with her story.  While we learned about strokes and how to recognize when you are having one, we also learned about how one’s determination and willpower can turn a tragic situation into such a blessed life.  Our speaker had a stroke at 45 and was told she would never walk and talk again. Four years later she is talking and has completed five marathons.  She is currently working on using both arms so that she can fully hug her children. A prior workaholic, with little time for anything and who undervalued the importance of the people in her life, today is now living a very fulfilled life despite her apparent disability. She is spending quality time with her friends and family and values life from a new and refreshing lens.  The speaker left the guests compelled to re-examine what’s important in life.  There were lots of tears, lots of conversation, lots of hugs and good ole home-cooked food.—courtesy Chef Ashly Fox.  

The Orange County American Heart Association team and all of the guests that night exemplified leadership at its best….leaders with a heart.