head of yoga

I’m looking for a new kind of paid work — it is about obtaining the long-term model, not making incremental income adjustment. Going back to venture capital or investment banking is not an option for me — it will keep me separated from the product design and team culture building. Dealing with finances alone, I have to assume interest of “the Capital” first, people involved, besides the steak-holders, — last. And while everyone “wants” the guy who can help “getting funds” and “sell the company” — it’s a job paved in mediocre monetary success, but locked out of fulfilling life.

I am fiddling with an idea of becoming “the Head of Yoga at Google;” conceptually: perhaps not “the real”Google” (too big - too public, fewer risks, and little responsibility on a larger scale) and positively not the conforming definition of “Yoga,” but the psychological, physiological, and neurological facets of it. Yoga that renders empathy between team members who work remotely. Yoga that spotlights meaning in the small and repetitive tasks, mending the sense of being unappreciated and insignificant. Yoga that transcends gender, racial, and income inequalities, enhances creativity and productivity without “burnout” and re-introduces spontaneity back at the workplace. Yoga that creates sustainable work cultures and thriving environments, as a sensible alternative to the insane salary competition, “working for a unicorn,” vestings and options, compensation packages, and employee rankings.

Many best-selling books including “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, “Peak” by Anders Ericsson, “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work” by Jason Fried, and “The Culture Code” by Daniel Coyle embrace the new perspectives on the work culture, “flow state,” deliberate practice and pragmatic craftsmanship. Different authors came up with distinct ideas but resolutions similar to my own. None of them mentions Yoga at all, while I got most of insights, an intrinsic knowledge, from practicing asanas and performing movement arts alone.

Today I meet human resources professionals, life-coaches, and counsels that specialize in virtual team-building, psychological guidance for startups, managing mindfulness, and yoga programs for teams. The list will not be complete without mentioning biohackers, self-quantifiers, and all the endless products and gadgets aimed at enhancing physical and mental performance. When I visit busy tech hives in San Francisco, I can easily see, even quite physically feel the problem - stress, sadness, insecurity. And while I am not ready to offer a simple and elegant solution yet, I do not doubt my believe that the next big thing in Tech will have to do less with the technology.