During COVID, I started taking Zoom yoga classes to support a friend who was teaching them, and as it can be with so many things, I got more out of it than I initially expected. I became more curious, more fit, and more excited about my daily life.  Each class was different, and each class revealed something new to me that I couldn’t help relating to my personal and professional life. In yoga, each class is called a “practice” and, indeed, in life we are continually in a practice mode. We are working hard each day to get better, and the more we work, the more we grow and the more we see improvement. We combine the mindfulness with the physicality of the body and breath.

Many of my career coaching clients come to me for help during their job transitions. For some, they are choosing to make this transition. For others, it has been thrust upon them by their employer who has eliminated their position or terminated them for cause. Sometimes there’s another reason that they are thrust into a job search. Perhaps it’s a health situation, a divorce, a relocation, a need to have different hours to care for a loved one, or even a pandemic.

My help is often referred to as career transition assistance. Transitions in life and in yoga are important. In yoga, moving between poses in a way that makes sense and flows is called a transition. Just like the individual movements, the transitions have a purpose; they prepare the body for the next pose. Transitions help you stay present while maintaining balance and smooth breathing as you come into each pose.

In these transitions we are “In between space.”

These are the little moments in between the glorious ones.

Let’s face it, a career transition that we didn’t ask for or want doesn’t feel glorious, and it’s a major “in between space.” So, what can we do to make the best of it?

Here are 5 ways to be JoyPowered^® and get closer to glorious during your career transition:

1. Find help. You are not alone, and other people’s experiences can be helpful. Get a career coach who has been a recruiter. They know what they are doing and can help you. Join a networking group. There is power in numbers. You may meet your next best friend, too!
2. Find faith. You can do it. You will get through this transition. You will have a great story of triumph on the other side. The more you show up and do the work or “practice,” the more you will see results.
3. Find time to reflect. Be present in your transition. Use this time to reconnect with your faith, nature, your family. Go to morning mass. Take a yoga class. Run through the park. Pick the kids up from school. Paint a room. Do projects. Be present in the beauty of this time away from your work.
4. Find joy. Hate networking? Try a new perspective and make a game of it. How many people can you meet? How many things do you have in common with them? How many ideas can you come away with from that connection? Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes.
5. Find power. When you stretch yourself taller and push yourself beyond your previous self-imposed constraints, you realize your power. Yoga is a great way to find a sense of mindfulness and power, but there are other ways, as well. A superhero stance is well documented as having physiological changes that increase your power. Definitely do this before an interview!

It’s incredibly hard not to know what will happen to us. Where will I work? Will I like my coworkers? Will I make as much money and be able to care for my family? Our mind takes us to very stressful places, and getting our mind under control will help us get to the places we want to be.  As Ella Luckett says in this blog from Jai Yoga Arts, we often live our lives only relishing in the highest moments, and we need to be fully present through all of life. If you are currently in a great transition, be sure to breathe through each moment and stay present through it all, no matter how anxious you feel at times. If you aren’t in a moment of transition, make sure to fully take in the little moments from here to there and the small transitions from work to play and morning to night.

Breath is critical. In the inhale, we push ourselves a little further, grow a little taller, stretch a bit more, draw energy, and take up more space. In an exhale, our shoulders may drop, our backs and spine relax, and we empty ourselves completely. Transitions are like the end of an exhale where we completely let go and embrace the next breath. It is said that the pause at the end of an exhale holds wisdom and knowledge. Transitions are connectors or bridges to the bigger picture. Allow yourself to walk this bridge with joy and power to see the other side. Be open to where this journey will take you.