Working in Yoga

Another bonus episode with my friend Pooja is up this week.

Pooja and I talk about yoga’s moral superiority complex, which essentially that means we often think are more moral, perfect, or virtuous than other people.

This will come up several times in our perfectionism season, so stay tuned and subscribe!

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Pooja’s Website

This week is a conversation from the vault that didn’t make it to the podcast feed last year because sometimes life gets to be a lot.

But the conversation is so good, and so relevant that I am re-airing it here at the end of 2023, so you can hear my friend Pooja Virani, and I chat about all things money in our pants.

It is a fun conversation with some stats, trends, and more.

RESOURCES:

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Pooja’s Website

Grandview Research Article.

Self-Care Weekend 2024

This week on the podcast I have the founder of the Original Hot Yoga Association, Val Sklar Robinson on the podcast.

As a lot of you know, I love organizers, and I love people who hold ethics and standards for a community—so Val checks a lot of boxes for me. She shares how she started her own trade organization, OHYA (oh-yeah), and we talk about professionalism, organizing, Bikram, grief, corporate yoga studios, bust down some myths, and chat about boundaries.

That’s our new word for 2024, friends. Boundaries.

Take a listen and be inspired.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*What do you think about regulation within our industry?  Val talks about how in the 90s there was a lot of talk about the yoga industry regulating itself before the government stepped in to regulate us.  Thus the rise of the Yoga Alliance.  What are your thoughts on this? 

*We absolutely can organize in our own communities.  Val started OHYA with a website and a logo, and now runs retreats, organizes gatherings and trainings, and holds a standard for her community.  If that is your passion, consider finding out how to do that too.

*Grief for loss is ongoing.  Especially in a community like hot yoga where Bikram is still out there teaching and doing potential harm, the rest of yoga should be looking at how we can support and lift up those who have been hurt by his actions.  

*Corporate yoga has absolutely gone after hot yoga studios first.  But there is a fever pitch for people to support our local studios and teachers since COVID, so now is the time to make sure that everyone in your local community knows who you are and what you are about.  Take advantage of this time of “local” support.

*Bikram Yoga was never a franchise.  I know–I thought it was too, so if you did I get it.  I am glad to be educated to know what it was really like. 

*OHYA has no affiliation with Bikram yoga or the new organization KPC Life.  So if you are looking for a non-Bikram affiliated hot yoga teacher for your studio, go to their website www.ohyassociation.com

*Imagine being a part of an organization that stands for ethical business practices, like Val and OHYA.  I am going to be honest, my key takeaway from that is that this attitude is refreshing as hell.

*Finally–BOUNDARIES!  Can we spend 2024 talking about how to make better boundaries with our students, in our lives, and in our businesses?  Val is right, we need a huge dose of this medicine.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Val’s Info:

Original Hot Yoga Association Website

Hot Yoga Pasadena

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Have you mapped out Your Yoga Business?

This week we talk to Ava Taylor, founder of Yama Talent, creator of so many things within this industry, and author of the new book Your Yoga Business—which tells you how she did it and you can to.

My favorite part is that she is the true Queen of real talk about the yoga industry. She talks about how long it takes to make yoga a full-time gig, how to market your retreat, and how to build the life you want as a yoga professional.

And there is no shame here. We deserve to make sustainable incomes. Ava tells us how.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: (there are lots in this episode)

*Our brains tell us garbage about our businesses sometimes.  Running numbers and making spreadsheets (or downloading them from online) is a great way to manage your emotions, and understand how to achieve your goals as a pro.

*No one skips the groundwork for being a yoga professional.  There is truly some wisdom in understanding that having a room of only a few people, having a workshop or retreat that doesn’t go forward, and putting lots of work into a small outcome is normal.  Nobody skips this stage.

*Now is the time to build the business of your dreams.  If you have a plan in place, then run.  Don’t walk towards your goals.

*The landscape of yoga changed so dramatically from COVID, and it is important that we acknowledge and grieve, but also plan.  If not us, there is no doubt that chains will move to take up the slack that we aren’t taking.

*In your community there are opportunities to capitalize on based on the loss the yoga industry experienced.  If not you, then who?  Can you identify those opportunities? Can you create collaborations and build something new in your area?  These are conversations worth having, especially now as we plan for the new year.

*Radical wealth redistribution.  That is the name of my game and the game of all of us who are looking to take the money of the few and redistribute it to the many.  As I have said a thousand times, nothing bad happens when good people have more money.  Don’t believe me?  Go looking for good people doing good with their money.  You won’t have to search far.  

*Conflating your fear of growth and change with yoga philosophy is a huge challenge we have as an industry.  I used to do this too.  Your fear of failure, of success, of trying something that might not work out–that can be hidden by our yoga philosophy.  Be careful to make sure you know your core values as a person, as a yoga practitioner, and as a human, and then identify when fear is getting in your way vs. when something doesn’t line up with your values.  Honestly, this is one of the best things you can do for your heart, your nervous system, and your bottom line.

*If you don’t need to hustle, don’t hustle unless you want to.  But please don’t knock those of us who need to make a living at this job.  We need your help to lift all of us up.

*And finally, Please don’t price based on what other people price.  You need to gauge your own expenses and financial goals and then price based on that.  Not what other people charge.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

AVA’S LINKS:

Ava’s Website

Her damn good book, Your Yoga Business

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

This week I am covering the first of what I feel like will be many episodes about yoga teacher training programs.

I have long thought this was the absolute very last subject I wanted to talk about, and after this podcast I am sure it is. But here we are. Talking all things yoga studios and YTTs.

I think you will be surprised.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

This week on the podcast we chat with yoga misfit, Nyk Danu.

I love our conversation about alternative spaces, marketing, and mindsets when we talk about all things in the yoga landscape.

Because here is the thing: we don’t need to teach at the same studios, with the same social media accounts, and have the same “manifesting” mindset.

We can host spaces in alternative locations, with gorilla marketing tactics, and take a both/and mentality with our businesses. We can be both true to ourselves and make money while doing it.

Take a listen and find out how.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Yoga has a long history, especially in the late 90s and early 00s, of having classes in alternative spaces, like those that Nyk hosts.  Church basements, back rooms of cafes, attics, and parks, we started in those spaces.  It wasn’t really until the mid-10s that yoga moved as an industry solidly into the studio spaces we see today.

Gorilla marketing does still work.  Nyk mentions this, and I do it too–I love a good poster or flyer for local events.  Don’t necessarily put all your eggs in the social media basket.  Especially if you are looking for a diverse group of students in your classes–your marketing needs to be diverse as well.

”the market is saturated” is a complicated but true sentence.  As Nyk said, the hot/power/vinyasa teacher market is quite full–but for those who have a more therapeutic leaning there is a true need for what we offer.

We got very little relief as businesses during COVID, anywhere.  So for those of us who are still standing as businesses, we should be proud of ourselves.  It will probably be another five years before someone asks me how my studio/apothecary is doing and I say something other than “Well, we are still open”, which folks feel is me being pessimistic–but to me is a reason to be proud.  I am proud to still be here and you should be too.

When you see students who have fallen off of their practice time with you, make sure you give some grace and support to them.  It is often harder to get back to a practice than to get started.

Grief is something we need to talk about.  I know I have said it before, but We have suffered so much loss as an industry in the last 3.5 years–maybe you too lost a legacy studio in your area that meant something to you.  We should pause and continue to acknowledge that loss. 

Finally, as Nyk said, “You should be able to feed yourself, chuck money in the bank, eat organic whenever possible, and help people in the world”.  Yes, you absolutely should, and I truly hope we all dig in and build that industry together.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Nyk’s Website

Nyk’s Instagram

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

You’ve heard of Accessible Yoga, right?

The movement started with the term, which was coined around 2007 by today’s guest.

Jivana and I talk all about our current ambitions for the yoga teaching and industry landscape, and discuss how we can make yoga accessible to all folks.

We also discuss where we go from here—how is our future more accessible, more non-profit focused, and more dedicated to the tradition and practice of yoga.

Take a listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Covid definitely made us more accessible as an industry.  the ability to find a welcoming community aligned with who you are is also much easier now that more of us are online.  So don’t forget to be your authentic self as you interact with others in the online space–it makes a difference when you are working to find your people.

- Making training accessible is something that is at the forefront of Accessible Yoga’s work.  How we train has always been a system for the privileged, especially when training existed only in person.  Seeing this change is exciting, and it allows us to share our yoga community with even more amazing humans with new and fresh ideas.  This diversity will only make us better and stronger as an industry.

- Online teaching has leveled the playing field for yoga teachers.  Often times before Covid you had to become incredibly popular before you were able to travel and teach.  The internet now allows us an entirely new pathway to build careers as yoga pros.

- The lack of yoga non-profit organizations, is a big red flag for us as an industry.  Full stop.  Non-profits are a sign of a thriving ecosystem–where we have built an industry stable enough to not only provide for ourselves but also to address the needs of those who are not thriving.  

-That said: Here are the names of some other great non-profit organizations in the larger yoga space.  Casa de Paz, SLV, Flow For Black Lives, and Mimi’s Yoga Kids all do work in their respective communities–and you can go back to previous episodes with their founders Gina Barrett, Osiris Booque, and Mimi Felton to get more info on those organizations.

-Empowering folks from all communities to become yoga teachers is really important.  The more we see not only a diverse range of yoga students but yoga teachers as well, the better off both ethically and financially we become.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Accessible Yoga Organization

Accessible Yoga School

SEVA article

Sunlight Streams Sponsor Blog

So what if that came across your feed?

>>

Independent Yoga Professional looking for the right match.

Warm, welcoming, and inclusive are a must.  Neat and tidy are needed in order to make everyone feel safe and comfortable.  Offering all aspects of yoga, not just movement.  You choose your own path, I am just here to help guide you.  Creative and science-based, always ready to support whatever truth you find for yourself.  

Looking for students who might vibe with me, but all humans are welcome.  Ready to make an impact in your life, but at your own pace.  Silver bullets aren’t a thing, but dreams can happen.  

Swipe right if you are ready for a fun and safe adventure, I promise to give you options of where we go.  

>>

What do you think? Is it a match?

Listen and find out.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Have you ever called yourself “trauma-informed”?  Have you ever wondered what it means to be a trauma-informed yoga teacher?

This episode is an evolving conversations episode, where  we take conversations we been having within our industry and push them forward to new places. “trauma-informed” is definitely one of those conversations, so I’ve called in the expert of all experts…Joanne Spence.

Take a listen, friends. She drops some serious wisdom on us.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*PTSD and trauma are common words that we like to throw around in our culture.  Making sure that we use the correct language when defining what you are speaking about is important.  So many of us have experienced trauma, but calling everything “trauma, or PTSD” isn’t always helpful for us or the people in our rooms.

*Hospitality and choices are two big parts of being a trauma-informed teacher, and if you go back to the red flags podcast, these two things are the biggest red flags listed by students of the practice.  Be welcoming.  Give choices.  If you only do two things, do those.

*As usual, thinking deeply about how, when, and why we touch are students is in the forefront of how we can be trauma-informed.

*Trauma-informed teaching can happen in any space.  Accessible yoga spaces, hot-power-flow spaces, and everything in between.  

*The practice that is the best for you is the one that you do.Thank you Joanne for that lovely quote.  We, as yoga professionals, need to hear that as many times as our students do.

*And finally, Intentionality matters in how we practice for ourselves.  We have to show up for ourselves with the same vigor and dedication that we show up for other people.  

Also, Joanne mentioned that I do have an article published in the current issue of Yoga Therapy Today on building SEVA into our business models.  If you want to take a read, the link to that article is in the show notes.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Rebecca’s Article in Yoga Therapy Today

Joanne’s Website

Our Sponsor, Sunlight Streams

Let’s really push forward this conversation about online learning, shall we?

So many times we either vilify training to be a yoga teacher online or we act like all online learning is the exact same.

Both of those things aren’t true, as we discussed with my guest today, Zaria Rochester.

Zaria has trained to be a yoga pro in many spaces, both in-person and online-only training, so she offers the unique perspective of someone who has actually trained in both modalities—not just taken one and punched down on the other.

Take a listen.

KEY RESOURCES

*We are often really snobby about the value of online learning vs. in-person learning.  We tend to make people who learn online feel like they are less than those of us who trained in person

*Online learning makes our industry entry point much more accessible.  This is one of the huge benefits of online learning.

*It is uncomfortable to learn the skills to teach well in an online setting.  Especially for those of us who never thought we would be teaching online, it is easy to say that “online” is not as good as in-person learning.  But really, we are saying we need to sit with the discomfort of learning a new skill set in order to share our teaching with more people.

*Teaching online requires us to be much more prepared than we need to be in person.  This means that the “read the room” technique of teaching that many of us use–myself included here, doesn’t apply in an online setting.

*Synchronous vs. Asynchronous learning matters.  Typically we need to have some sort of synchronous learning in order to ensure that quality teachers are coming out of training programs–but the Yoga Alliance requires very little of this.  If you think that should change, make sure you tell them by reaching out at help.yogaalliance.org

*Having a teacher who can guide us as we sort through yoga is critically important, be that teacher online or in person.  If you don’t have that kind of relationship with someone, it will behoove you to seek that out.

*The current Training model within the industry is a lot like learning to swim on the side of the pool.  Making sure you lean into mentorship after your training is over can make a big difference in your first couple of years of yoga teaching.

*Finally, an important quote Zaria repeated from Ava Taylor.  It may take up to seven years to really get a handle on building a career as a yoga pro.  Be prepared–the more we repeat this the more we have realistic expectations for our entire industry.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Zaria’s Website

Sunlight Streams Blog