From Corporate to Yoga - The Path from Excel to the Yoga Mat

When I left corporate life, I wasn't someone who said, "I want to listen to my soul now."

I was a workaholic white-collar worker. I loved to work, I couldn't stop producing, I prided myself on my pace. Until my body stopped talking to me and started screaming.

One day while working at the office, I suddenly fainted.

Then came blood pressure problems, persistent fatigue, stomach aches, vomiting… followed by crying spells. Uncontrollable, inexplicable. At some point, words were coined to describe what I was experiencing: depression, anxiety, anhedonia, dysphoria.

I left corporate life not because I "didn't want" it, but because it wasn't good for me .

Actually, "letting go" isn't even the right word; my body pulled me out of that life. It practically said, "If you don't stop, I'll have to stop you."

But I knew one thing very clearly:

I wasn't the type of person to sit idle, to create, to put effort into something. Even in that period of rest, when I was told to "take a break," my mind kept returning to the same question:

So what am I going to do now?

Yoga wasn't something new in my life at the time. It was something I'd loved for a long time, something that made me feel good, something that brought me down to earth a little. But for the first time, I looked at it from a different perspective.

"What if I built my life around this thing that's healing me?" I started to think.

This isn't the story of someone whose career was suddenly transformed by a romantic epiphany.

This is the story of someone who has reached their physical limits, had to stop, but is now searching for an honest way to get back on their feet .

And how that path led me to yoga, which I love so much.

In the fast-paced rhythm of work and city life, the time I set aside for myself had gradually diminished. It would have been easier to say "I don't have time," but honestly, I always put myself last . Resting, slowing down, feeling… it had all been pushed to the bottom of my to-do list.

There wasn't just one reason that brought me to this point. Long hours, endless responsibilities, the pace of Istanbul, the mental burden… And that invisible expectation that accompanied it all: “ You must be strong, you must keep going. ”

My body simply couldn't keep up with the pace any longer.

I felt guilty about leaving a life that wasn't good for me.

Because from the outside, "everything seemed fine." I had a good job, a career, years of hard work. I was only 32; too early to retire, far too young to "step aside." Moreover, I was someone who truly believed in women working, producing, and being economically and mentally independent.

That's why, when I decided to leave corporate life, this question kept echoing in my mind for a long time:

" Am I giving up? "

But over time I realized this:

This wasn't giving up. It was about exploring ways to work differently, to produce differently . It wasn't about forcing myself to stop completely; it was about finding a rhythm that didn't make me sick.

The idea of ​​yoga instruction sprouted right here.

From a place that can't stop working, but can't continue at its old pace either...

It's a way for me to slow down, reconnect with my body, and also create space for others.

Hatha yoga wasn't a practice I did very often. For me, yoga came into my life periodically, irregularly, but only when I needed it, primarily through yoga therapy and yin yoga. It was more of a support system than a "routine." During the same period, I was also taking small but enriching trainings in nervous system regulation, meditation, breathing, and the mind-body relationship, gradually developing myself in these areas.

When the idea of ​​becoming a yoga instructor began to take shape, one thing became very clear to me:

This wasn't a path to be walked with incomplete knowledge or just with love alone. If I was going to be an instructor, the foundation had to be solid.

I knew that to become a yoga instructor, I first needed to complete a basic Hatha yoga instructor training. This training would cover in-depth anatomy, the philosophy and history of yoga, the fundamentals of asanas (yoga poses), body mechanics, and safe alignment; it would transform me from an instructor who simply led poses into one who knew what they were doing… This had to be the backbone of my teaching journey.

At this point, I sought advice from one of my trusted yoga therapy teachers. Through her guidance, an acquaintance came about that I now look back on as one of my "greatest blessings."

And so my path crossed with Derya Çakmak – Berke Kolçak Köstendil.

Sometimes life brings you together with the right teacher at exactly the right moment.

Right at the beginning of our education, another major change entered our lives: we were going to move to Ankara.

This meant I had to continue my education as efficiently as possible, largely through online classes and occasionally traveling back and forth to Istanbul.

From time to time, I would laugh to myself and ask the same question:

" You were an incorrigible workaholic white-collar worker... look where things have gone? " 😄

But I haven't regretted it for a single day.

Over time, my body and mind began to recover. The number of antidepressants I was taking decreased, and the symptoms I was experiencing gradually left my body. My strength returned. My sense of balance returned. Most importantly, I was myself again.

Of course, my support system was very strong throughout this process. My husband, family, and close friends were always by my side. Nobody said to me, " What are you doing? You studied so much, worked for 10 years in big companies, what on earth are you doing yoga for? "

On the contrary, they looked me in the eyes and said:

" We're glad to see you doing well. "

And that was more valuable than anything else.

In January 2026, I completed my training and took my first step on my journey to becoming an instructor. My intentions for the future are very clear: to teach many classes, to take new trainings, and to improve myself both physically and mentally. And perhaps the best part of this process is that hatha yoga has become a real part of my life , and I derive great pleasure from it.

I realized this:

No matter how much you plan, you'll get lost in your daily to-do lists... Life somehow takes you where you're supposed to be.

I don't know if I'll return to corporate life in the future. Because I also know this: life is unpredictable; no matter how certain we are, anything can happen at any moment. But whatever my next job may be, it will be somewhere where I prioritize myself and my body, where I make space for my physical and mental health, my social life, and where I truly listen to myself.

This is not a story of farewell.

Not corporate life, not work, not production…

This essay is a story of the courage to break free from a rhythm that was making me ill and to build a life that could sustain me. Yoga instruction is not a destination on this journey; it's simply the right stop along the way.

I don't know where life will take me next. But I know one thing very clearly now: From now on, I will not stay long in any place where I disregard my body and mind.

And perhaps that was my greatest achievement.

This isn't a "everyone should quit everything and do yoga" story. This is a story about recognizing a life that wasn't good for me and finding a different path within the circumstances I had. This was possible for me. Another path might be possible for someone else. But the only thing we have in common is this: recognizing what's not good for us is a right we all have.

Derya GÜRCAN KÖSE

30.01.2026