I started doing yoga 10 years ago in a desperate attempt to combat burnout and stress. As an entrepreneur running a small business, I was working long hours, drinking too much coffee, and juggling demands of both clients and employees. It eventually affected my health, and I started having heart palpitations, at only 35. Something had to change.
I began practicing hot yoga and it changed my life, but not for the reasons you would think. What had a far greater impact than the physical exercise or meditation were the lessons it taught me about how to be successful in business and in life. The habits I learned helped me to work 50% less while doubling my sales and eventually achieve my goal of living in Europe.
Try these 5 simple habits to help you to achieve your goals faster with less stress.
- Focus Forward
You move in the direction you are looking. The instructor points out repeatedly that your body follows the direction of your eyes. If you are looking up, you will be lifted. If you are looking down or to the side, you are most likely to fall. Energy focused backwards disrupts your balance and slows your progress.
Look in the direction you want to go, and you are more likely to get there.
This principle seems basic, but we forget it quickly. We look around to see what everyone else is doing. We look backwards and analyze what went wrong, or wish for experiences of the past, rather than focusing on the future.
Don’t waste valuable energy looking around or behind you. Focus your attention and your effort on what is ahead of you.
- Stay in the Room
For those who are unfamiliar, Bikram yoga is done in a room that is 105 degrees with 40% humidity – on purpose! When a friend first told me about it, I thought she was crazy to exercise in that environment.
The first thing the instructor tells beginners is that your only goal is to do your best and stay in the room for the full 90 minutes. The first experience is overwhelming. I spent the entire time glancing first at the clock and then at the door, but the environment serves a purpose. The heat causes your muscles to be more flexible and allows you to reach positions that would normally be beyond your limits. This is critical for growth and progress.
As we are trying to achieve new goals, we encounter all types of challenges and situations which can feel overwhelming. It is easy to get frustrated and be tempted to give up on a goal or an idea when it is not going way you planned. You can only accomplish your goal if you stick with it – stay in the room.
- Be Uncomfortable
Just as the heat in the room is designed to increase flexibility, the postures are designed to build strength. For the last few seconds of each posture, students are told to push past the point of comfort. This is laughable, because I don’t think anyone is actually comfortable balancing on one leg with their other leg over their head.
The point is, your muscles only grow when they are pushed past the point you can already comfortably achieve. Each movement builds on the previous one and creates a tiny bit more strength. The same principal applies to growth in business or in other aspects of life.
Growth comes when you stretch past your normal boundaries and abilities.
You get the biggest results from being challenged and uncomfortable. When you think you can’t possibly do any more, do just a little more.
- Use Energy Wisely
New students in yoga expend a lot of energy fidgeting – straightening their towel, drinking water, adjusting their clothes, etc. Then they struggle to make it until the end of class. More experienced students have learned to save their energy and attention for the postures. This strategy not only conserves much-needed physical energy but it also focuses attention on achieving the postures.
We often make the new-student mistake as we are trying to achieve a new goal or launch a new business – we expend our energy on little things (email, social media, etc.) that distract us from the challenge. We could instead be using than using that energy toward activities that help achieve our goals. Our results improve exponentially when we conserve our energy for the activities that are most critical to achieving your goal – the rest is just fidgeting.
- Rest and Recover
One of the most important poses is “Shavasana,” also known as dead body pose. It is exactly like it sounds and requires lying completely still between each of the postures. Surprisingly, this pose provides some of the most powerful benefits of all of the 26 poses. This posture is so powerful because it provides the recovery phase. It allows your body to rest, rejuvenate and prepare for the for the next move. It is critical to getting the full benefits of the exercise you are doing.
It sounds amazingly simple, but it is actually one of the most difficult postures to do. It is almost impossible for students to lie completely still, even for 20 seconds. Most of us face the same challenge on a daily basis – multitasking or moving at lightning speed from one activity to the next.
If you constantly push your body or your brain without recovery time, it will eventually be less efficient or fail you completely. Remember, you have the greatest chance of success when you also take time to breathe, rest and recover.
These habits can have an immediate impact on your results. And, the best part is, you can implement them anywhere, at any time, without spending a dollar.
Which ones will you make part of your daily routine?