The Yoga of Work: Finding Alignment and Purpose in Your Professional Life

I just finished six months of yoga teacher training.

You might wonder, what does yoga have to do with consulting work? How is yoga going to help you scale someone’s business, talk to leaders about confidence or high-achievers about leaning out a bit at work and setting better boundaries?

Yoga: The Practice of Connection

The definition of the sanskrit word yoga, is to join or unite. It could also be described as “connection”. Whether we like it or not, the work we do in the world is connected to who we are—the way we approach our work can feel like a struggle, or a battle, it can also be in flow, or a mixture of the two. But it’s always a choice how we decide to show up.

The philosophical teachings of yoga provide tangible tools—principles that bridge ancient wisdom with modern professional challenges. They offer a framework for aligning our actions with our personal and collective values.

The Three Paths to Alignment

1. When Work is a Struggle, Choose Gratitude

If we don’t love our work, we can still show up with gratitude that we have a paycheck to support our family. We can bring our full spirit to the work, and let it shape our connections with colleagues. We can actively listen to our co-workers to understand their hurdles and to be compassionate. Even outside of the work tasks, we can create connection on another level.

2. When You're Overwhelmed, Seek Alignment 

If we like the tasks but are feeling overwhelmed, where can we pull back to see where there could be more alignment? We often grasp too tightly to control or specific outcomes.

By letting go, we can ask for what we need. Does alignment mean doing the same work but shifting to becoming freelance? Does it mean asking to go down to four days a week? Maybe more days working at home? If you don’t ask for what you need, if you don’t readjust when you feel uncomfortable, then you are suffering for no reason. It’s not their fault if you get a strained neck from trying too hard to reach a goal. Slow down and ease up.

3. When You Seek Purpose, Drop the Ego 

If you are feeling the need to find more purpose in your work, pull back all of the ego tied to your role or position. This requires having honest conversations with yourself and others about what you are truly good at and what you need.

What are you good at and how can you make a more meaningful impact in the world with those skills? Do you feel comfortable asking for money? It is an unfortunate reality—we can’t always afford to give our time away. We still need to eat and pay for the roof over our heads.

Our Responsibility: Dharma in the Workplace

I spent the last six months deep diving, not only into the athleticism of the poses (thanks to my teachers—one who does Ironmans and the other who was a professional climber), but also into philosophy. I drew a lot of connections between our definition of work in 2026 and our dharma: our responsibility to each other.

In a modern workplace, this shared responsibility means creating systems and cultures that support individual well-being and collective success. Understanding dharma helps us talk to leaders about confidence, scale businesses responsibly, and inspire high-achievers about leaning out, because we recognize that true performance is rooted in mutual support and shared purpose.

New Tools for Harrowing Times

Stepping outside of my comfort zone to pursue this training—like learning to do a handstand at 50 years old—was difficult, but the physical accomplishment represents the mental shift required to gain new perspective. I am so grateful and proud to have picked up some new tools to share with my community.

These are harrowing times. The least we can do, as we continue forward, despite the chaos some people are creating, is to bring compassion and unity, wherever and however we can. At the water cooler, in the online meeting or when collaborating on a project.

Bring Alignment to Your Organization: Ready to help your team connect purpose with performance? Schedule a keynote presentation or executive coaching session with Jaime to explore how these principles can transform your senior team’s confidence, alignment and impact.