Yoga for climbing the career ladder

You can enjoy success in your working life and still be very much aligned with the path of the yogi; it just requires perspective, poise and finding your purpose.

- RACHAEL COOPES

“If you really wish to become successful in your personal life and business or in any walk of life, concentration on the mind through the teachings of yoga must be understood and mastered.” ~ Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati, Fundamentals of Yoga: A Handbook of Theory, Practice, and Application.

It could be argued that to really understand your purpose in life, to be truly successful from the perspective of yoga, we must give everything up, and, just like Buddha, walk away from the material comforts of our world. At the minimum, we must immerse in sadhana or conscious spiritual practices. Patanjali tells us in Yoga Sutra 1:14 that if we wish to walk the path of yoga, we must cultivate a steady practice, consistently, without gaps, over an extended period of time. Unfortunately, modern life has a way of preventing such a tall order. For most of us, giving everything away and living in a cave or forest for months, or even years is not possible for many reasons. But if we practice regularly, we can still obtain more joy, abundance, and success in our lives.

It all starts with concentration

In a world that is constantly pulling our attention in different directions, learning to consciously place our awareness on one thing at a time is a skill we need to develop. Where attention goes, energy flows. Once you learn how to concentrate, you foster your ability to place your attention where you choose to, and give yourself more chance of thriving in those areas.