An Interview with Kathy Bailey

YOGA AT WORK: How Spiritual Practice Affects Our Lives

Kathy Bailey 

currently serves 

on the CSE Board 

of Directors as the 

VP of Resource 

Development, just 

one of the varied 

volunteer roles 

she has experienced since finding CSE 

four years ago by googling “interfaith 

+ San Jose, CA”. Kathy began her CSE 

service by leading the hospitality team 

and from there she volunteered at 

the Tree of Life Bookshop as part of 

the CSE Press team, making Sunday 

sermon CDs. She is a Meru Seminary 

student and has earned her Hatha Yoga 

Teacher Training Certification. She 

currently teaches hatha yoga and leads 

morning meditation.

When asked about the role that 

volunteering plays in her spiritual 

practice, she says about the hospitality 

team, “I consider myself to have abso-

lutely no skill in the kitchen. However, 

leading the team was not about that. 

It was about being in community and 

allowing myself to experience being in 

the flow. Each person could serve in 

the way they were called. My role was 

to serve and allow the Source to flow 

through me.”

How have the teachings of Kriya 

Yoga affected your life, including your 

professional life away from CSE?

Every part of my life has been 

touched and transformed by the 

teachings. In my current role (job) as 

a Human Resources Business Partner 

I don’t bring scripture and teaching 

materials into my work. Instead I 

endeavor to live a life of integrity. As 

I coach executives and their teams, I 

encourage them to live a balanced life. I 

don’t tell them what to do. I encourage 

them to do what they are inspired to do 

and to do it with integrity.

By endeavoring to live the teachings 

in all aspects of my life, the quality of 

my work has also improved. I have 

let go of attachment to the outcomes 

of my work. I whole-heartedly apply 

myself and let the Source take it from 

there. As a result I am less reactive. 

I am more efficient and more effec-

tive and my work relationships have 

improved. I’ve stepped into experi-

encing a more sattvic (peaceful) work 

environment. By being less reac-

tive and allowing myself to connect 

personally with my colleagues, new 

doors have opened for me.

The thing that created that opening 

for me was hearing Rev. O’Brian say 

that Kriya Yoga is something that we 

can each try on for ourselves. I didn’t 

have to jump in with blind faith. As 

I began to try things on—like medi-

tation, joining seminary, and hatha 

yoga—I could see the benefits in my 

life. This has now transformed to what 

could be called faith because I no 

longer question. I know that Source 

provides. 

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