The Yoga of Leadership

I’ve practiced yoga (on and off) for about 30-ish years now.

Long enough to know better, but apparently not long enough to resist the urge to compare myself to the person two mats over who must be missing some bone or muscle to stretch the way they do.

At risk of being declared the leadership nerd that … well … I am, I admit that most days after a good Savasana (a restorative pose that ironically translates as “corpse pose”), I reflect on how some of the principles and practices of yoga helped me stay grounded as a leader and help my coaching clients now.

That is, when we take the time to recall, reflect, and connect. 

Like any balancing activity, this requires some discipline and focus. Nothing interrupts a “quiet your mind” moment quite like remembering a board member you forgot to call back, an impending budget shortfall, or a presentation that might mean flying by the seat of your pants.

Even when I go through periods when I am less than disciplined, I feel a tug to get back to the mat. It starts with feeling a tightness in my shoulder when I reach for something, stress over a long line at the deli, breathing like I’m on a bike ride, not sitting at my computer writing about yoga and leadership.

I experienced firsthand and now see in others that same tug with the practice of leadership. Sometimes, we are just moving as fast as we can – the reflection, the flexibility, the stability – they all feel like there just isn’t enough time.  Other times, we are tipped off when we roll our eyes, cut someone off, or sit with a smile painted on our face while not taking in a word a direct report, board member, or donor is saying to us.

We are tipped off when our behavior doesn’t align with our stated values – you know those things we tell people about our leadership. We feel rigidity, separation, or imbalance. We need to get back into alignment.

For me, the tug back to yoga isn’t just about the desire for greater physical flexibility. It’s the full experience – taking time to focus on my own practice, the experienced guide offering subtle adjustments, and other yogis and yogi-wannabes sharing the journey.

It’s about the same benefits that leaders get from connecting with other leaders, their coaches, and reading (or skimming) articles on leadership and management that stuff their inbox most mornings (like those authored by yours truly). This is the practice of leadership – the mat, the guide, the community of leaders who don’t want to practice alone. You show up, you focus on your breath, you lose your balance, you learn, and you try again tomorrow.

Together, whether in yoga class or over breakfast with a few trusted colleagues, we learn the same lessons repeatedly.

Start Where You Are

Leadership begins with the version of you that woke up this morning, not the version you aspired to be in your journal two weeks ago. You might not be the serene, centered version you imagine your team wants (or it might take 15 more minutes on the treadmill to make that remotely possible).

You’re just the human being who will arrive on the Zoom or in your office — hopeful, tired, brilliant, stressed, caffeinated, imperfect.

Before you fire up the Zoom or open your office door, center in your leadership, like striking a Mountain Pose — that place where you notice your breath and see clearly what you need to let go of to show up fully — the dreaded niggling tasks, challenging call, or persistent employee issue.

Obsessing on how you should be today will steal your focus from doing the best you can in each moment.

Focus on What Actually Matters

A day in leadership is an endless stream of distractions, many of them disguised as urgent. As a leader, you can spend an entire day – heck – week or month chasing tasks that feel satisfying and accomplish almost nothing that moves your organization forward.

Dopamine hits from checking something off the to-do list are short-lived. Longer stretches of focused attention can be hard to prioritize (just like yoga) but lead to more satisfying and lasting results. You practice because experience tells you what the class or focused time will deliver – beyond the resistance to committing the time and that voice that says we are “just too busy.”

Time does not magically appear. You need to make it and take it.

Let Go of the Comparison Game

Few things knock us out of a leadership Tree Pose faster than comparing our sense of inner chaos to someone else’s polished exterior – or our day-to-day reality with a colleague’s last burst-of-pride-filled newsletter. We know deep down that polished LinkedIn posts with celebratory teams, smiling beneficiaries, and glowing boards aren’t reality, but they are hard to resist.

No matter what we choose to show the world, everyone falls out of their Tree Pose some days. And we are 100% certain to fall out of our pose if our eyes dart about the room to see if anyone else is falling – or not.

Our leadership is steadier when we focus on our own grounding, not others’. Their balance says nothing about yours.

Lean into Small Adjustments

Sometimes, leadership is about sweeping change – rebranding, expansion, new programs, and major reorgs – the new strategic directions that keep our organizations relevant. Most of the time, though, change comes from much smaller moves – the improvements to your team meetings, the unrushed conversation with a trusted board member, the new way to thank donors.

The small adjustments are the ones that help us go deeper and further than we have before. They make us able to take on the bigger moves – to assume the Warrior Pose that leadership sometimes requires. These changes are not dramatic, but they help you feel more connected to our practice and more confident in making some of the bold moves ahead.

Leadership is built one small shift in approach at a time, when you stay present and notice them.

Rest Before You Think You Need It

Rest – whether physical, emotional, or mental – is not a guilty pleasure. That pile of work is the definition of Sisyphean – never completed and always reappearing. Assuming a Child’s Pose reminds us that full rest will come and recharges us for the rest of class. The rest isn’t defeat; it’s strategy to ensure we show up fully for the leadership stretches ahead.

Your leadership becomes more grounded when we give ourselves permission to pause before the system demands it through sickness or fatigue.

Let Stillness Do Its Work

Leaders rush. A lot. We flip from Zoom to Zoom, apologize for being five minutes late all day, and eat what some marketing person claims is a nutrition bar (not a candy bar). Our assistants and colleagues “put time on your calendar” because they see you dared to have 30 minutes open.

Reflection is a fantasy that you imagine savoring after work when you get home (like you aren’t going to doze off on the couch). The Savasana of your workday isn’t intended to be sleep inducing. It is meant to be an active recentering and a moment of reflection before heading out of or back into your day.

Concentrated leadership demands moments when you stop producing and allow insight to land. A few quiet breaths between meetings or at the end of the day can make reflection a daily practice.

About Coaches and Community

One gift of yoga is the teacher who sees what you can’t. They notice the shoulder you always hike up or the time you are holding your breath. Their attention and cues – big or small – shift everything. That’s why coaches are so important to leaders – they help us realign, soften our approach, or lead into that situation we always avoid.

Coaches don’t create leaders; they help us fully inhabit our leadership by seeing the things we don’t see, helping us find a truer approach, and finding joy (or at least satisfaction) in the process.

Even as a coach, I’m here to tell you that a coach isn’t enough. You need a group of trusted colleagues. Leaders need a cohort and regular one-on-one conversations with people who remind us that we’re not the only ones balancing, stretching, and occasionally falling out of our pose. We need people who notice the days we are standing strong, stretching in new directions, and offering encouragement.

Leadership practiced in community is stronger, steadier, and infinitely more human.

Yoga and leadership share the same rhythm. You show up. You breathe. You wobble. You adjust. You rest. You try again tomorrow.

Whether your leadership today feels like a solid Mountain, a shaky Tree, a determined Warrior, or a well-earned Child’s Pose, remember this: you don’t have to practice alone. There is always a teacher, a coach, or a community ready to help you soften your shoulders, realign your spine, and release from the pretzel you’ve made of yourself.

May today bring you a Happy Baby Pose as you sit back and enjoy all of your hard work.

If reflections like these are helpful, feel free to email me at gary@garybagley.com or connect with me or follow me on LinkedIn. I share thoughts, tools, and the occasional leadership wobble there, too.

In case you're unfamiliar with any of the poses I mentioned in this blog:

Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

A foundational standing posture that looks deceptively simple. You plant your feet, lengthen your spine, relax your jaw, and remember that “just standing” takes more focus than you expect.

Adho Mukha Śvānāsana (Downward-Facing Dog)

An inverted V-shaped pose with your hands and feet on the ground and hips lifted. Part stretch, part strength-builder, and often the unofficial reset button of yoga classes everywhere.

Vṛkṣāsana (Tree Pose)

A balancing posture where one foot roots into the ground and the other rests on your ankle or calf (or higher when gravity is feeling friendly). Wobbling is not only normal; it’s encouraged.

Vīrabhadrāsana II (Warrior II)

A strong, powerful pose with legs wide, front knee bent, and arms extended in opposite directions. Great for building strength and discovering how much difference a one-inch adjustment can make.

Bālāsana (Child’s Pose)

A resting pose where you fold forward over bent knees, arms extended or alongside your body. The yoga equivalent of “I just need a minute.”

Ānanda Bālāsana (Happy Baby Pose)

A playful, restorative pose where you lie on your back, bend your knees toward your chest, and hold the outer edges of your feet. Gently rocks the lower back, opens the hips, and reminds even the most serious leaders that sometimes the most productive thing you can do is… well, look a little ridiculous and feel a lot better.

Śavāsana (Corpse Pose)

The final relaxation pose, lying flat on your back with eyes closed. Looks like nothing is happening. In yoga, it’s where everything actually happens.