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The Cannon Classroom – Yoga for Entrepreneurs

The Cannon Houston • Feb 28, 2020

The Cannon Classroom: Namastartup –
The Importance of Yoga in Entrepreneurship

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We had an exciting and important new program kick off this week at our flagship location in West Houston – our first weekly yoga class in the health and wellness room! Thanks to long time Cannon Community member Kanthaka, we will now have weekly Yoga classes for Cannon Community members every Tuesday at noon. Houston-based Kanthaka, who has created a platform to find in-home personal trainers and yoga instructors, is one of many health and wellness themed startups that are revolutionizing the industry. But yoga itself doesn’t just have to be for experts; there are a number of both mental and physical benefits to breaking out the mats and diving into into the yoga universe, especially for a traditionally chronically stressed startup founder or team member.

Community

We know that entrepreneurship can be a lonely endeavor. Creating a community to support entrepreneurs is one of the main reasons why we launched The Cannon, and why we continue to explore new ways to create more resources and provide more support to entrepreneurs every day. The camaraderie and team effort of a yoga class creates community in even smaller and closer groups, especially when new participants are struggling and sweating through more challenging programs. Even if you are barely able to get through that first day, there is always going to be an instructor and community surrounding you to help you get over the hump.

A Sense of Progress

One thing we’ve noticed with many of our early stage entrepreneurs is the benefit of positive momentum. The ability to celebrate small wins and promote progress can be a huge mood booster for everyone on the team. Yoga is no different in this regard. Like most physical endeavors, each time you come back you are bound to see at least a small amount of progress. Day 1’s sweat-filled struggles just to get through one vinyasa turn into day 30’s domination of the entire sequence. As flexibility improves, the poses and exercises become easier and more natural, and progress is easy to see, adding a mental benefit in addition to the increased physical flexibility and body health.

Physical and Mental Health

This one is obvious, but yoga can be an excellent exercise for both physical and mental muscles. Entrepreneurs typically spend stress filled marathon days hunched over a laptop with few breaks and even fewer hours of actual sleep. This causes ailments up and down your spine, creating neck and back issues that can last a lifetime if not addressed correctly. Yoga both benefits overall flexibility while also strengthening back and abdominal muscles, which are key to overall spine health. Mentally, even just a 30 minute mental break away from your ever growing email inbox can serve as an important stress relief trigger, while consistent practice has been shown to improve a number of potential mental health issues.

These are just a few of the many benefits that yoga can bring. Kanthaka Founder and CEO Sylvia Kampshoff sums this sentiment up the best when describing why she makes sure to always make time for yoga – “It’s so easy to get trapped only thinking about your company 24/7, but that doesn’t always make you the better founder/CEO. Yoga (and fitness in general) helps me tremendously to put things in perspective and regain the energy to build something amazing and keep inspiring our team.” We hope to see you at our next class!

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