Freelancing and Yoga Go Together Like… Nutella and Pound Cake

I can't even do the pose pictured on my shirt without falling over.

Those of you who have been reading Freelancedom for awhile may have noticed a shift in tone recently.

Part of this has been due to a shift in focus, and in changing goals. Part of it has been due to the emotional/mental shift that comes with improved work/life balance, and with more consistent income (alleluia!).

But a big part of that shift has come from the fact that I now hit up my local yoga studio four to five days a week.

Is that crazy? Maybe. But I’ve come to realize that freelancing and yoga go together like Nutella and pound cake.

Let me explain. When I go to my morning and lunchtime yoga classes, I’m simultaneously pumped up for productivity and made more relaxed despite freelance-related stress. When I go to my evening class, focusing on the poses and meditating in savasana help me turn off my brain before bedtime. Yoga also helps me stretch out the muscles that perpetually ache after hours at the computer. And I’m healthier: mentally and physically. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this good without the help of mood-stabilizing medication.

In fact, yoga has become such a big part of my life that I plan on entering a teacher training program in January 2013. Yoga won’t supplant writing and editing and coaching and singing, but it will become a big part of the mix.

But I know you came here to talk writing. And entrepreneurship. And the freelance life. [Read more…]