How Yoga Made Me a Better CPA & Business Woman

For #WorldGratitudeDay earlier this week,  I reflected on the many things I’m grateful for --my family, my friends, my health…. But when I thought about a pivotal moment in my life that I’m grateful for, it is the day I discovered yoga. 

I’m not just talking about the yoga poses. I’m talking about how yoga taught me how to try something new and enjoy the learning process in both business and life. In particular, it taught me how to let go of trying to be perfect, reminded my how to enjoy learning something new again, and be able to create boundaries in my life to pause and enjoy moments with my friends and family.

I share this with you because I know that it can feel daunting to launch or make major changes to your accounting firm or business. I’ve been there myself when I started my own client advisory services practice -- not knowing if I would get enough clients to pay the bills or if I would know the answers to their questions. 

I’m now more willing to take risks -- albeit calculated risks -- in my job or business. Whether the risk pays off or not, in the end I always learn from the experience. I have failed many times -- believe me -- but I have always learned from these failures. And often these failures have helped me find the right path in accounting, business and as an entrepreneur.

I started to take yoga seriously more than 15 years ago. Before that, I had attended a couple of yoga classes here and there. But I didn’t understand what anyone was getting out of it. From my perspective, it wasn’t rigorous enough in terms of exercise. But this all changed when I became sick after having my second child.

With my doctor’s orders to lay low, my only option for any physical exercise was yoga. I immediately felt self-conscious and inadequate as I went to a beginners yoga class. I wasn’t flexible and couldn’t even touch my toes or do many of the poses. It was difficult for me to “not compare myself to the person on the mat next to me” -- words of wisdom that you often hear when taking a yoga class. Feeling ok with not being one of the best in the class wasn’t natural for me. Since an early age I always wanted to work to be the “best.” This applied to everything I did -- It wasn’t about enjoyment, it was about achievement.

I have often thought that learning yoga since this beginners class has been invaluable to the way I now approach life. I’m honestly now okay with not being perfect; no matter how advanced I get, there is always somewhere else to go or something else to learn. This gave me the guts to try new things at work, and not always striving to be the “best” and enjoy the journey along the way. Additionally, it taught me how to create the time for the things that fill my soul so that I could create better energy for the people around me as well.

If my story resonates with you, think about how to enjoy being a beginner again. Consider signing up for something you’ve been wanting to learn -- say a painting, sailing, poetry, sign language or yoga class -- whatever you have dreamed of trying. And then commit to the magical process of beginning something new and let yourself enjoy the journey.  Feel the experience rather than rushing through it. Let yourself experience the ups and downs, with no attachment to how good you are. You may just be amazed about what you discover.