I took up yoga a year ago, and I’ve been trying hard to establish a practice, learn, and stay with it.  When I start something new, or want to work on something important to me, I tend to get a bit overzealous - reading, watching videos, and the like. With yoga, I took a few classes and then I tried to do it myself - reading and studying poses; rolling out the mat on my bedroom floor, propping up the ipad to watch a class on you tube, or simply practicing on my own. And here’s the thing: I think I understand how to do what I want to do when I watch and read about it, and some poses I can do with some ease, but a lot of the time, I know I’m really not doing it as well as I’d like. And oftentimes,  I simply quit, get distracted, and go on to other things. 

Today, I went to the studio. And at the end of class, lying gratefully in “relaxation pose”, I had an insight.  No matter how hard I try, or how experienced I am, I always work better when I have a coach or a facilitator. Here’s why:

I persevere, giving it my best effort and sticking with my class until I’ve finished, because having a witness to my work matters

I focus, because my yoga coach facilitates a carefully designed experience, and reminds me that yoga is not about right or wrong, it’s about exploring and deepening my practice where I am now

I improve, because just when I think I’ve mastered it, there is always a small adjustment to my posture or alignment from my yoga coach that makes me better

I reflect, because in the studio, my yoga coach talks with me about my work and supports my progress

When we enlist a facilitator or a coach for our work as leaders, teams and practitioners, we make a commitment to all four of these aims - to persevere, focus, improve, and reflect.  Seems to me these aims are relevant no matter the level of experience or expertise. When we have a talented coach or facilitator holding us to these aims, we raise our performance, we strengthen our impact, and we feel productive and satisfied. 

How often do you ask for coaching, or appoint a facilitator to hone your craft or get big work done? Consider how a colleague or an expert can be helpful wherever you are in your practice. And, don’t get me wrong, I still practice on my own, but there is no question I am practicing with greater impact because I regularly head to the studio to be coached and facilitated in my practice (and to have someone give me permission to be in relaxation pose).