YOGA FOR CHANGE: PART 2 »

THE CATALYST. Years ago I was complaining to a close friend about balancing a demanding job, a new marriage and life in New York City. Out of the blue I told her that I wished I could move back to Washington, DC and open a yoga studio. As if that would be the answer to all my problems. Without ever intending to act upon the wish I ended up doing exactly that a few years later.

The infusion of yoga into the American cultural landscape has fueled people fleeing high-powered jobs to seek fulfillment. In the last decade we’ve started to question workaholic values and “life balance” became a new buzzword in the workplace. Consider how many Americans try yoga as a way to exercise and reduce stress. While developing their practice they begin to recognize and address the imbalances in their bodies, minds and lifestyles. Many also start to evaluate how to make positive changes to eliminate these imbalances.

The first area that typically gets questioned is work. People want to know how they can get rid of work-related stress. *I love going to yoga class and how it makes me feel more centered – how can I extend that into other areas of my life?* Soon just going to yoga class isn’t enough and people feel the need to make bigger changes that reflect the benefits they are experiencing through yoga. I am one of these people, and this is the path I took to yoga.

Following a meticulously crafted education, complete with the requisite two-year first job in a related field and an MBA, I landed my dream job with cosmetics giant L’Oreal in New York City. Over the years my career progressed and so did my stress. Though it sounds like a dream job, in actuality it was a demanding, competitive career that didn’t leave a lot of room for the other things that were important to me. At just 30 years old I was wondering how much longer I could keep it up.

During my NYC career-girl days, I discovered yoga and journeyed down the path from ‘cool new way to exercise’ and ‘wow this makes me feel great’ to ‘this is a major priority in my life and absolutely necessary for my sanity so I will make whatever excuses at work in order to make sure I get to practice’.

THE TRANSFORMATION. A series of life events, including 9/11, led to an unexpected move back to Washington DC. I left my position with L’Oreal somewhat abruptly and was surprised to realize how much of my identity had been defined by my job. I believe this is why I chose to make yoga my “job”. If my identity was going to be defined by my work, then I was going to do something that I really believed in. I took a yoga teacher training program and set up shop in our basement teaching small groups of friends. Friends told friends and my clientele grew as did my confidence in my teaching skills. I loved sharing yoga with people and helping them discover a way to improve their health and well-being. I loved teaching. I had never imagined myself doing this and it was great!

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Amidst all these feelings of fulfillment, however, something was missing. I missed business. So I developed a plan to open a yoga studio in my favorite neighborhood of Georgetown in DC. Though I preferred the security of a big company, yoga is about self-discovery and it was taking me on a journey I had not anticipated. Now this was becoming a dream job!

Georgetown Yoga opened in the fall of 2002. I never worked as hard as I did during the start-up phase of my studio. But the rewards were unimagined. I saw the impact of almost everything I did and how it affected our yoga students, and later on how the efforts made as a studio affected our community.

I received cards that made me cry, telling me how yoga deeply changed students’ lives. I redefined the boundaries of what I believed myself capable of doing. Keeping a fledgling small business alive is incredibly challenging, but the creativity it requires is stimulating and energizing in a way that corporate life never was. James Brown from Yoga Works in LA (one of my favorite teachers) put it this way: “My favorite thing about my yoga career is that my work and my life are the same thing. It’s all living all the time. There’s no drudgery. It’s not all fun, but it is all real, good life.” I couldn’t agree with him more. (Prior to his yoga career, James had careers in the Navy and as a nightclub promoter.)

In 2006 when my family made the big move to Bozeman, Montana from Washington, DC,  I started a second yoga business; Big Sky Yoga Retreats. It isn’t always smooth sailing and happy blissed-out yogis at the studio or on retreat. Owning a yoga business has dramatic ups and downs. There have been times when maintaining momentum has been a struggle, and sometimes I actually miss being told what to do or the thrill of my former glamorous job.

Chrissy Carter from Yoga Works in NY used to be an equities trader on Wall Street before changing careers in 2004. She says, “I miss the stilettos. There was a thrill that came from working with so much money. To be a part of the big trades, the big people, and the big players in the world.” As someone who made the same switch and still loves the world of beauty and fashion, I can relate. But that’s when I remind myself how much of my previous life and career were based on appearances. Making yoga my work has cultivated a sense of the genuine and a real ability to recognize what is important in my life. And it isn’t the newest hottest handbag anymore. Chrissy adds, “I knew in my heart I wasn’t meant to work on Wall Street forever and that I wanted a more fulfilling career – I wanted to believe in what I was doing with my life… making your passion for yoga into a career is really about aligning your intention as a teacher into every business decision you make.”

A high-powered job has its own set of rewards, but how long is it sustainable? Making a dramatic career change is not without its risks and tradeoffs, but for me it feels much more comfortable and sustainable, and the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

YOGA FOR CHANGE: PART 2 »

MARGARET BURNS VAP is the founder of Big Sky Yoga Retreats, combining yoga and outdoor fitness in Montana Big Sky country. Her relationship with yoga began almost a decade ago as a way to balance her hectic New York City lifestyle and a corporate career with cosmetics giant L'Oreal... {more»}

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