Next Level Blog
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3 Things Injured Yogis and Injured Leaders Might Have in Common January 13 2012
For the last two weeks, an article called How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body has been one of the top 10 most e-mailed articles on the New York Times website. When I checked this morning there were 734 comments on the article on the Times’ website. With approximately 20 million yogis in the U.S., the article has definitely struck a nerve (pun somewhat intended).
As many of the commenters point out, there are flaws in the way the article was reported. At the same time, as the article illustrates, you can get injured doing yoga. (This just in, you can also get injured running, lifting weights, doing Jazzercise or just about any other form of exercise.)
As I’ve written here before, I’ve been a regular yoga student for a little over a year now. Happy to report that I haven’t injured myself. To the contrary, I feel a lot better than I did before I started. Still, I can see how you could injure yourself doing yoga. Interestingly enough, some of the root causes of yoga injuries are the same ways you can injure yourself “doing leadership.”
Here are three things that can get you into trouble both on the yoga mat and in your leadership role:
- Ego – In reading the Times’ article, a lot of the examples of injured yogis stemmed from people pushing themselves beyond their body’s capabilities. I’ve seen plenty of leaders do the same thing. Your ego can talk you into thinking you’re bulletproof and the normal rules don’t apply to you. The fact is they almost always do. It’s just a matter of time.
- Comparison – It’s tempting in yoga class to sneak a peek at someone a couple of mats over doing some sort of amazing pose and thinking to yourself, “I should be able to do that.” The next thing you know, you’re pushing yourself further than you should and you’ve hurt yourself. Likewise, one of the harder things to do in leadership is play your own game and not jerk yourself around by comparing yourself to others.
- Not Listening – The yoga version of this source of injury is not listening to your body. If you start to feel pain in a pose, that’s your body’s way of telling you you’ve gone too far and you need to back off. It’s important to listen to that. The effectiveness of many a leader has been injured by not listening – either to that little voice inside themselves or to the actual voices of others who have a different perspective.
So, for any yogis reading or anyone else who is a devotee of a particular sport or exercise, what have you learned about staying healthy and not injuring yourself? What have you learned from that experience that applies to the healthy practice of leadership?
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
I switched my practice to Svaroopa yoga about a year ago after I injured myself in Vinyasa. After practicing Svaroopa for several months, I am feeling better than ever. It is a practice that supports every pose with props and is wholly focused on opening up the muscles in the lower back. I am getting so much more out of it than other practices. Recently, I was able to set up a class in my workplace so that my co-workers can also benefit from it. Every Thursday at lunchtime we take a Svaroopa class together. As a manager, it makes me feel good that I am able to bring some of the principles of yoga and Svaroopa to our university advancement office — which is a high-stress environment.
How cool that you're sharing your practice with others at work Victoria. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Excellent points! I've learned a lot from yoga and leadership experience and you are right – listening is key. I also know that when I am keenly aware and conscious (not just going through motions or conversations) I don't injure myself or others. Developing the ability to really be in the present moment and really be able to going inside and be comfortable with yourself are both crucial to great leadership and the healthy practice of yoga.
Of course, people who do not want to go inside and be comfortable with themselves and very conscious of their own mind/body/spirit but instead nurture the constant outward focus and external stimuli at all times will always have trouble with leadership and yoga.
You're right, Bev, Not being present is a great way to get injured inside and outside of yoga class.
One subsegment of both the 'ego' and 'not listening' concepts is listening blindly. There are good teachers and leaders and there are bad ones. The key is to listen keenly enough to understand the difference. Say you aren't properly warmed up for a pose. Or the project team has the wrong talent or wrong research but tons of momentum and advocacy from the boss. That's when your ego has to develop the courage to say no.
Great to hear from you Tom. Nice point about the ego. Perhaps sometimes the alternative to saying no is to say let's slow down a bit.
Scott, Thanks for a great post! I've been avid yogini for 12 years and recently was certified as a teacher of power vinyasa yoga. During all the years of my practice, I've never been injured. Letting go of ego, focusing on MY practice and listening to my body are the three keys to my success. I hadn't thought of it until your post, but you're exactly right that these are 3 challenges posed by leaders as well. Much like yoga, leadership is a practice – so there is a constant need to remind oneself to let go, focus and listen.