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Integrating yoga into software development — transferring skills for career success

March 7, 2025

Featuring
Rebecca H., Senior Associate, Single-Family Technology — Software Engineer

If you’re looking for skills that can bring positivity and power to your work abilities, you may want to reflect on learnings and tactics from your other interests.

Rebecca, a Senior Software Engineer in Single-Family Technology, has been practicing yoga for over 15 years. Twelve years ago, she became a yoga instructor. Since then, she’s been integrating yoga disciplines into her software development career with great success — for herself and in helping advance Fannie Mae’s mission.

Read on to get ideas from Rebecca, or Becca, as she’s known to teammates, on how hobbies can inform successful work strategies. Maybe you can even borrow a few from yoga.

Using a yoga mindset to manage stress — not a stretch at all

When tackling challenging work tasks, Becca says that yoga techniques like breath work and visualization help her refocus and maintain a calmer, more resilient state of mind. “Balance and flexibility and the ability to keep showing up are also yoga skills that really help during high-stress situations,” Becca recalls.

“Yoga gives you a built-in mindset that you can handle difficult things. It comes from disciplines like holding a really challenging pose that you thought you could never do,” says Becca. With her yoga training, she can transition more easily into solution mode when a problem arises or when facing an unsettling situation.

Breathing fresh perspective into creative problem-solving

Becca shared instances when using her yoga skills kept her thinking flexible and creative in high-stress situations.

She remembered one time working on a software release: “When I’m working on a deadline and have to spend time coming up with answers, I always come back to my breath work. Alternate nostril breathing, triangle breathing, or deep belly breaths.” Becca adds that it is nice she can utilize quiet rooms at Fannie Mae offices, where she can have her own space and take a few moments to recharge.

In another instance, she recalls, “We were in a problem-solving session and I consciously tried to bring flexibility and balance into my thinking process. I was able to see things from a different angle, and it helped us find the perfect solution.” Yoga gets you so flexible, it often aligns with a more creative way to go.

Leading with focus and clarity — and overcoming shyness

Teaching yoga has also helped Becca enhance her leadership skills. Her director once suggested that she use the same kind of clear, concise language when working with teammates as when she instructs yoga students. Today, she’s more comfortable leading during a project, knowing that she can simplify communications to be purposeful and easy to follow.

But the real gift, Becca explains, is how all this has alleviated her natural shyness. “Before, I would have never volunteered to do this interview. But between being mentored by my manager and years of teaching others how to gain life balance from yoga, I’m more comfortable being my authentic self.”

Yoga has given Becca a broader perspective on her work, helping her stay resilient and focused on the bigger picture of Fannie Mae’s mission and how her personal efforts can make an impact.

If you’re looking to incorporate your life skills in a role where you can make a difference, check out our open positions.

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