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Yoga changes not only our body, but also life through understanding the connection of the physical, mental and spiritual. It helps to build a successful career and develop leadership qualities. It is no coincidence that yoga is practiced by many successful businessmen and top managers of major corporations. How to practice yoga to succeed, says yoga teacher Irina Kuligina.
The main text of yoga philosophy is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. “Sutra” in Sanskrit means “chain” or “beads”, in which each bead is our knowledge, experience or memories. Everyone, reflecting on the book, can find reflection in their experience, “add their own bead.” There are four parts in the sutras, each of them is devoted to one stage in the development of a person as a whole person. Each of the parts can be compared with the stages of growth and development of a person as a professional, business leader, manager.
Study and contemplation
The first part (Samadhi Pada) is addressed to those who are just starting their journey. It teaches you to understand true desires and goals, to make decisions based on your values. This is an important spiritual aspect. The physical practice of yoga is needed in order to learn how to observe your reactions, mood, sensations, emotions. By connecting movement with breathing, developing concentration, we get the opportunity to listen to our body, to observe how our ability to self-knowledge develops. This stage can be compared with the stage of choosing a profession or field of activity in a new company. It is also important to listen to yourself, to understand what will bring pleasure and how to achieve your goals.
Overcoming obstacles
The second part (Sadhana Pada) contains some theory, it tells about what difficulties await us on the way. Let’s imagine that you have already received the first experience, it turned out to be successful – it was our conscious choice and we achieved the goals that we set for ourselves. What can take you aside and lead you to a permanent state of unhappiness and dissatisfaction? The sutras highlight the following obstacles:
- False values;
- Dependence on desires, wasting energy on achieving the desired, which will not lead to higher realization;
- Attachment to past experience;
- Fear of the future.
All these obstacles can ruin our best intentions. How can they be overcome?
Here are a few techniques:
- Positive attitude towards others;
- Understanding feelings and their role;
- Study of the mysteries of the universe and life;
- Using the experience of others;
- Explore your deepest desires.
Many people come to yoga practice in search of an answer to the question: “Everything went according to plan, what am I dissatisfied with, why don’t I feel the strength and desire to go further? And what, in fact, is next? People often face such problems when climbing up the career ladder. At this stage, yoga helps to become stronger internally and allow yourself to move in the flow of desires and opening opportunities.
Achievement and implementation
The third part (Vidhitu Pada) teaches through the application of knowledge to realize oneself. At this stage, we gain experience, confidence, strength and additional energy to achieve something greater. Very often, experts distinguish three states of mind: heaviness (a state of depression), high activity and clarity. The third part of the Yoga Sutra is devoted to how to achieve this clarity of mind. In this phase, you are able to observe, think, and act accurately and clearly, without wasting energy unnecessarily.
The fourth stage is the state when you can share your experience and help others achieve higher goals.
Despite the fact that at this stage we already know ourselves quite well, we are able to control feelings and emotions, some discipline in practice is still important. For example, regular practice removes value judgments about oneself and others. This is manifested in the fact that the human ego, from the manifestations of which we suffer so much, disappears and you begin to accept everything as it is. A conscious perception of ourselves is opened through practice, when we are able to feel strong and calm at the same time in any situation. Strength is not tension and aggression, strength in yoga is self-confidence, in the correctness of the chosen position and the decisions made. Indispensable qualities for a successful leader, right? Calmness is a state when our body, mind and soul are in harmony. We do what we think, and our thoughts are in line with our values.
Liberation and independence
The fourth part of the book (Kaivalya Pada) is the highest level of development. For those who have achieved it, there is nothing inexplicable. A person really understands himself, and the knowledge and experience that he conveys are devoid of a distorted meaning. This is the stage when the mind is in complete harmony with the senses.
Yoga is focus. When your mind is not focused, it has many thoughts and solutions to problems. When he is clear of destructive thoughts, the number of options for solving problems is reduced to one of the most correct ones. The fourth stage is the state when you can share your experience and help others in the realization of higher goals. The stage when you give more than you take and get additional pleasure from it, this is the stage of liberation from a specific goal and focus on your “I”.
Conclusion
The sutras are descriptions of the ideal path to the highest goal. It does not always overlap with our lifeline, the stages may not follow each other, and often we get stuck in one of them for too long. In this case, it is not so important what you have achieved in your practice, what is important is what you have learned and what positive experience you have enriched your life and the lives of the people around you. No matter how many hours a week you dedicate to yoga, it is important that you get satisfaction and balance in work and life outside of practice.
About expert
Irina Kuligina, director of open programs at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, HR expert, certified yoga instructor (more than 10 years of yoga experience, 5 years of yoga teaching experience).