Yoga Wisdom at Work by Maren Showkeir & Jamie Showkeir

Author:Maren Showkeir & Jamie Showkeir
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-04-22T04:00:00+00:00

INTERNAL FOCUS, OUTWARD GAZE

Laura Karet became the CEO of her family’s multi-billion grocery business in 2011, succeeding her father, David Shapira. “He was incredibly successful. It is a daunting thing when you’re following big shoes.” In addition, her father remains chairman of the Giant Eagle board, so he’s not just her dad—he’s her boss. “It’s truly a wonderful thing,” she says, “but it can also be frustrating.”

A longtime yoga practice has inspired her vision for the company, Karet says, and its practices help her stay grounded. She often uses connection to breath to inspire “mini-sessions” of svadhyaya when she finds herself responding instinctually to situations instead of taking mindful action. Karet recalls an incident where such a session helped her glean an important insight about not letting her emotions rule. She was on her way to give a speech to a group of business people when her assistant called to announce that her boss/dad had scheduled a board meeting at the same time she was slated to deliver her presentation. “I was mad! He knew I couldn’t be there, and I started fuming. If I had been a CEO hired from the outside, he never would have done that. How could I be a CEO who isn’t at a board meeting?” She called her dad, who apologized, but she continued to fume. Then she reminded herself to take a deep breath and think clearly. Was this who she wanted to be? “I realized he didn’t intend this to be an affront to me, and the topic of the meeting wasn’t even something I really needed to be there for.” While she was happy to have the insight, Karet said she’s committed to continuing svadhyaya to develop a self-awareness so keen that she can check her emotions before they cloud her perspective. “Having the ability to be conscious of where you are, what you are good at, and what you’re not so good at—and being okay with it—is a big part of being a good leader.”

The Yoga Sutras say that “study, when it is developed to the highest degree, brings one close to higher forces that promote understanding of the most complex.” Finding sources of inspiration, whether it is studying the effectiveness of leaders or coworkers, reading inspirational texts, or seeking knowledge that helps us stretch our abilities, are also practices of svadhyaya.

Susana says she receives abundant edification from her yoga teachers that inform her work. “In a place like Los Angeles, yoga is a great way to keep your ego in check. They never hand out trophies at the end of class,” Susana says. “The other thing is that even though my favorite teachers are very different, the one thing they have in common is that they are the truest versions of themselves.

“As an artist and human being, I find this really inspiring in my own work. When I am directing, there is a natural inclination to want to do everything myself. Really, my job is to help the crew to realize maximum creative potential.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.