Since I recently hurt my back, I have started practicing yoga. As cliched as it is to say, exercise is good for you and yoga helps me to maintain balance in my life. Of course, this is also a great time for me to reflect on our business and the businesses we help.

Troubles with both time and stress management are common complaints we hear from our small business owners. Below are some of the things that yoga puts a focus on that are also hugely necessary for your business.

Flexibility So, you’ve got a nice quiet afternoon planned? Think again. If one of your clients needs to move things or change plans, so do you. Similarly, if an emergency comes up in your own life that requires your attention, you need to be able to switch things up to take care of it. Being too rigid limits the amount of success you can have.

Balance So, just because you need to be flexible does not mean you need to be a doormat. In order to get everything done successfully, you need to balance manic times with quieter ones. We’ve found that the times when we have a quiet period is a great time to revamp our business. Without this balance, our website would be a wreck, we’d never write a blog post and we’d likely completely lose our minds. Balance is crucial to any small business. Otherwise you would not be able to handle the workload.

Strength It’s not always easy to have an entire business resting on your shoulders. You likely have to do many things that are outside of your wheelhouse in order to manage your business. Small business owners manage their core business, accounting, marketing, website and more. You need strength to grow beyond your comfort zone and juggle the many things that your business requires. And once you’ve got that mastered, you’ll likely need to muster the strength necessary to delegate tasks.

It’s not all easy. But realizing that there are tricks and tools you can use to manage your time and stress can be the first step towards a management style that doesn’t leave you pulling your hair out. And in times of great stress, you can always break out the yoga mat for ten minutes.