Finding Balance in Leadership: How Yoga Practice Can Transform Your Leadership Style

An Interview with Simon Borg Olivier, Teacher Trainer and International Speaker

In today's fast-paced business environment, leaders are constantly seeking ways to enhance their effectiveness while maintaining their well-being. At the end of a two-weeks retreat, I sat down with Simon Borg Olivier, an internationally recognized yoga teacher trainer, physiotherapist and speaker, to explore how the principles of yoga can revolutionize leadership practices. What we discovered challenges conventional notions about spirituality in business and offers practical tools for immediate implementation.

Picture by Alessandro Sigismondi

Breaking the Spirituality Barrier: Leadership Through Connection

Q: Many leaders shy away from yoga because they perceive it as purely spiritual. Is spirituality necessary to benefit from these practices?

Simon's response was refreshingly practical: "You don't need to be spiritual to practice yoga. What we're really talking about is recognizing that we are connected within ourselves and connected to everything around us."

For leaders, this translates into a fundamental understanding that effective leadership isn't about isolation at the top—it's about recognizing interconnectedness. As Simon explains, "The shin bone is connected to the thigh bone, and actually let's make it work better." This physical awareness becomes a metaphor for organizational awareness: understanding how different departments, team members, and stakeholders interconnect and influence each other.

The science behind this is compelling. Simon notes that "blood vessels and lymphatic vessels circulate through the body, sharing energy and information." In leadership terms, this represents the flow of communication, resources, and influence throughout an organization. When leaders understand these connections, they can make decisions that enhance the entire system rather than optimizing isolated parts.

The Ripple Effect: What If Every Leader Practiced These Principles?

Q: What would be the impact if all leaders practiced even a little bit of what you teach?

Simon's answer reveals the profound potential for organizational transformation: "If everyone really recognized that they are connected within themselves and connected to everyone else, people would treat each other a lot better."

However, he also addresses a critical leadership challenge—the balance between recognizing unity and respecting individuality. "There has to be recognition from leaders that although we're all connected, everyone has their individual needs. There's the recognition of duality and non-duality at the same time."

This insight is particularly relevant for modern leaders who must navigate:

• Team cohesion while honoring diverse perspectives

• Organizational goals while supporting individual career development

• Global initiatives while respecting local needs

• Standardization while encouraging innovation

Simon draws a powerful parallel: "Leadership is like being a parent." Just as effective parents balance guidance with independence, leaders must provide direction while empowering their teams.

The 5-Minute Leadership Reset: A Practical Framework

Q: For busy leaders who only have 5 minutes a day, what would you recommend?

Simon's response provides an actionable framework that any leader can implement immediately. His three-step approach offers both immediate stress relief and long-term leadership development:

Step 1: Set the Right Intention

"Make the aim to share good energy and loving information inside a pain-free, functional body." For leaders, this means approaching each interaction with the intention to create positive outcomes while maintaining your own well-being.

Step 2: Stop the Blocking Patterns

Simon identifies four critical areas where leaders often sabotage themselves:

• Physical tension: "Let go of tension inside your body"

• Overextension: "Stop trying to stretch into funny positions—the worst of which is sitting on a chair"

• Breathing dysfunction: "Stop overbreathing; go back to natural breathing"

• Mental overwhelm: "Stop overthinking; instead of thinking a thousand thoughts, just think one activity"

Step 3: Encourage Flow

The practical 5-minute routine involves gentle, fluid movement in five key areas:

1. Arms and shoulders: Gentle, fluid movement from fingers to shoulders

2. Neck: Smooth curves, not stretching

3. Lower body: Movement from relaxed pelvic floor to toes

4. Trunk: Lengthening the lower back while relaxing the abdomen

5. Face: Relaxed jaw movement, gentle eye exercises, natural smiling

Real-World Application: From Corporate Boardrooms to Daily Practice

What makes Simon's approach particularly valuable for leaders is its universality. He mentions working with everyone from fast-food chain executives to corporate heads, demonstrating that these principles transcend industry boundaries.

The beauty of this framework lies in its immediate applicability. Leaders can practice these techniques:

• Before important meetings to center themselves

• During stressful decision-making processes to maintain clarity

• Between back-to-back appointments to reset their energy

• At the end of long days to transition from work to personal life

The Leadership Transformation Starts Now

The intersection of ancient wisdom and modern leadership isn't just theoretical—it's immediately practical. Simon Borg Olivier's approach demonstrates that effective leadership begins with self-awareness and extends naturally to organizational awareness. When leaders understand their own internal connections, they become exponentially better at recognizing and nurturing the connections within their teams and organizations.

Your Next Steps: Three Immediate Actions

• Start Tomorrow Morning:

Implement the 5-minute routine before your first meeting. Focus on releasing physical tension and setting a positive intention for your interactions.

• Practice Conscious Connection:

Throughout your day, pause to recognize how your decisions affect the interconnected web of your organization. Ask yourself: "How does this choice impact the whole system?"

• Lead by Example:

Model the balance between unity and individuality that Simon describes. Show your team that high performance doesn't require sacrificing well-being.

The most powerful insight from my conversation with Simon is that transformation doesn't require dramatic change—it requires consistent, mindful practice. In just five minutes a day, leaders can develop the physical awareness, emotional regulation, and systematic thinking that distinguishes truly effective leadership from mere management.

The question isn't whether you have time for these practices. The question is whether you can afford not to invest in tools that enhance both your effectiveness and your well-being. Your team, your organization, and your own leadership legacy depend on the choice you make today.

You can find out more about Simon Borg-Olivier and his work here.

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About the author:

Carmen Manea

Carmen is an ICF Certified Coach with over 3,300 hours of individual, team and group coaching experience, with talents from 70+ countries.

She is a trusted sounding board for leaders and their teams navigating high-stress, high-stakes challenges. In today's demanding environment, she sees too many leaders struggling with loneliness and burn out higher they get, and talented professionals struggling with stress, high self-pressure and sacrificing their well-being for success.

By listening, with calm, clarity, and compassion, Carmen creates space for her clients to improve their performance and well-being simultaneously. They regain their sense of humor, make tough decisions confidently and compassionately, build stronger relationships, and maintain sustainable success while actually improving their health and well-being - not sacrificing them.