Business Yoga

Did you know that I'm also a yoga teacher? Yes, it's true! 

When I'm not snapping photos of pretty faces I'm telling people to stand on their heads and pose like a fish. It's a fun job :P As I get busier & busier with my photography I've been finding that I struggle more and more to squeeze in my personal yoga practice each morning. The self-discipline required is MASSIVE and my mat just doesn't compare to my bed! 

Of course, I can't skip the classes that I teach which means at least 3 times a week I am forced to slow down, put photography aside and focus on listening to my breathing. It's a time to care for myself —my priceless health that I take for granted all week long. It's been amazing seeing the before & after. I go into class all wound up and rushed...I emerge from class totally chilled out with all the time in the world! You seriously have to try this! It's so refreshing — I think I'd implode without it.

Now...did you know that I also work in a Crystal Shop? Yes, again...another fascinating fact about me!

I'm in the shop a couple times a week to help pay bills while my other businesses zoom down the runway eager to take off into the clouds. Again, as I found myself growing busier & busier with photography I resented the time I had to spend in the shop more and more. No internet, no computer in fact, no camera, nobody to photograph, lots of shelves to clean and customers to serve...all I wanted to do was run home and develop my business. Ahh... 

And then it struck me...I have the best side job in the world right now! If I were working as a waitress I would be running around constantly. If I were in a clothing shop, gym, grocery store or behind some bar I would be rushing about all day long — no time to even daydream about photography. My little Crystal Shop is so quiet and peaceful. People dribble in and out all day long while incense burns & Reiki music plays in the background. I have time to think! I have sooo much time to think. 

I can't have my computer or my camera in the shop but I've started bringing along business books + a notepad to work. I open the shop, read a paragraph, think about how it applies to my business while I clean some crystals, jot down my thoughts, read another paragraph, clean another shelf, think a bit more, jot it down...and on and on we go...

By the time I close the shop I've literally spent an entire day meditating on my business; developing goals, brainstorming strategies, dreaming of possibilities & outlining marketing campaigns — all things I would have had to set aside time for otherwise...time I don't have to set aside and even if I did have the time I would probably prioritise faffing about on my website design. 

The shop has become a bi-weekly yoga class for my business! It's a time when I have no choice but to slow down and focus on the health of my business — give it a chance to breath, stretch and grow. 

If you don't have the luxury of a quiet little shop job at the moment, look for another "business yoga" opportunity. Perhaps you could volunteer to stack bookshelves at your local library, take an early morning cleaning job, start a small dog-walking business or volunteer to mow the grass around your neighborhood once a week? 

Where do you practice business yoga?