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The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

Helping yoga teachers to stay connected to information, entrepreneur advice and a community of supportive yoga teachers and professionals.
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Now displaying: September, 2017
Sep 30, 2017

Kathryn Bruni-Young is a mover, educator and creator. She grew up studying yoga with her mother (Diane Bruni) which organically shifted into teaching yoga classes and workshops together.

 

Kathryn Bruni-Young has been a yoga and movement teacher for the last 10 years.  She suffered from repetitive strain injuries and turned to physiotherapists, personal trainers and other experts from other movement disciplines to create her own teaching style.

 

Inspired by all she gained from her strength training education. Kathryn founded the Mindful Strength Center, (formerly known as the Cornwall Yoga Studio). Mindful Strength blends strength, mobility and mindfulness. Kathryn leads teacher training, online courses, and workshops throughout Canada and Europe.

 

Kathryn is being drawn to the world of Trauma Training and has been influenced by those doing research in this field. She is truly a woman with many facets who is excited to share all she has learned to enrich the lives of others.

 

7:45 Kathryn's Yoga Journey

 

10:00 Benefits of strength training

 

12:05 Balance of flexibility and strength training

 

15:15 Do we need to go to the gym? “Sensory sensitivity”

 

17:55 Examples of strength training at home

 

19:00 How to modify push-ups

 

20:15 Does Kathryn still call herself a yoga teacher?

 

22:05 Rotator cuff injury

 

25:30 Kathryn's library of IG posts

 

26:50 Strength training for repetitive strain-totally different movement

 

28:25 Muscles and fascia and their response to load

 

28:55 Variety of strength training options

 

29:45 How should a yoga teacher start incorporating strength training into their lives?

 

31:20 How to find a strengthening mentor, even as a kickstart to your training

 

31:50 Working on your own using YouTube videos, books starting with simple movements

 

32:45 Working with various professionals (physios, trainers, etc.) even a couple of times to get the ball rolling, get some basic information

 

33:25 Importance of having variety in strength training so it is well-rounded and balanced so you’re not doing repetitive movement in this area

 

33:55 Practice movement on your own before incorporating it into your classes

 

35:00 How to work with Kathryn- new online courses available

 

37:40 Kathryn's mindful strength class layout

 

41:55 How to add strengthening to a more traditional yoga class

 

44:45 What she calls her classes and how her students reacted to the introduction of strength training into her yoga classes- key slowly building strength into the class

 

50:10 Your unique yoga offering cannot be replicated

 

51:05 Her first certified training with Ito Portal -not beginner friendly but lots of great insight

 

52:00 Trauma training (somatic experiencing) in the strength building field-

 

53:20 Kathryn's Yoga Teacher Training offerings and an Online Mindful Teacher Training is in the works!


Links

 

Kathryn's Website

 

Kathryn on Instagram

 

Yoga Journal Article: The Future of Yoga: 15 Millennial Yoga Teachers to Watch

 

Trauma Healing Training founded by Peter Levine

 

Trauma Center at Justice Resort Institute founded by Bessel Van Der Kolt

Life coach - Barb Elias

 

Personal trainer - Miranda Smit

 

Gratitude to our sponsor Schedulicity

Sep 23, 2017

Amanda Bond, “Bond” as she is known, is an expert when it comes to Facebook ads. With a fiery, authentic spirit she guides her clients so they can get the most of this marketing tool. Always an entrepreneur at heart, she started her career as a social media manager and has taken on such positions as the VP of marketing for The Toronto Yoga Conference and Show.

Bond chose to take the wealth of knowledge she gained in her over 12 years of experience in corporate sales and marketing to focus on ad marketing creating her business The Ad Strategist.

Bond’s down-to-earth manner simplifies the sometimes overwhelming task of marketing yourself on Facebook. In this episode she breaks down the elements of creating an ad and shares such wisdom as:  money doesn’t necessarily mean more results, the difference between your personal and business Facebook page (it’s an important distinction), and the recommended percentage of sales based posts to non-sales based posts that focus on your message.  

5:20 Amanda's journey

7:10 Connection to Toronto Yoga Show

8:40 What to do before spending anything on Facebook ads

11:45 Sharing yourself vs. selling yourself-  sharing what you do, what journey you’re on, who you are

12:50 What percentage of posts should have a call to action (sales) and what percentage should be about sharing your message? How telling stories about your clients and directing your services to a specific client can bring more sales

17:20 Difference between personal Facebook profile and yoga business page? What you can include on each page without signalling to Facebook you are selling yourself on your personal page.

19:20 How do you get people to like your Facebook page? Consistency and refinement of your message as you go will attract loyal followers.

21:05 Bond’s first Facebook ad expenditure

21:40 Keep in mind we are not our businesses, that we don’t become that product or service.

23:15 First step when we are ready to advertise on Facebook and why boosting is not THE answer and referring to the Facebook marketing platform “Facebook Blueprint”

25:00 3 Cs Framework that Amanda and her team use

  1. CONNECT - how do you get people to know, like, and trust your brand
  2. CONVERT - asking for a micro-commitment (subscribe to email list example, newsletter,subscribe to podcast, etc.) - enters them into sales process, they give up something of value- like time, their email which allows you to see them more often, they will see you in a storytelling capacity and it will enable you to guide them toward a purchase
  3. CLOSE - "close the sale" - where they become a customer by purchasing a service or product

27:35 Overcoming the objections that our customers have when they buy from you

28:20 What are the benefits your audience will miss out on if you are not selling your product or service?

32:20 Meet your audience at the beginner level

33:35 What stories are powerful to share the benefits of yoga e.g. transformation stories, encourage them to be a curious beginner, don’t have to be perfect

34:35 Being vulnerable and relatable - show up as yourself, encourages them to be human because you present yourself that way, put yourself out there consistently not constantly, “a messy journey of consistent action”

36:05 Facebook live is scary! Remember that you have a piece of knowledge, a nugget of wisdom to share with others, being fearful prevents you from sharing knowledge with those who would benefit

37:50 What Amanda would do with Facebook if she was a full-time yoga teacher:

  1. Journal publicly about life, journey, as messy as it is
  2. Look to improve what I know about the tech side and business side (even a few minutes every day)
  3. Create connection with those you admire, reach out to them, “be a sponge” to discover your own voice

39:30 How to work with Amanda- changing gears to work with those getting started in their businesses that don’t necessarily have a big ad budget

Links

Bond’s Website: The Ad Strategist

The Ad Strategist on Facebook

Facebook Blueprint

The Toronto Yoga Conference and Show

The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook Group

The Connected Yoga Teacher YouTube channel

Sep 16, 2017

Puja Madan was living in India on a 12+ year ritual journey with yoga and meditation when in 2009, she felt intense abdominal pain while attending a yoga class. Following up with a doctor, she discovered that she had a large fibroid tumour. Puja says this was her “aha moment”. Her medical issue was a catalyst for change as Puja determined her work life was less than fulfilling.  Feeling drawn to another path, she moved from India to the US. She went from using her MBA to work for tech startups to creating her own coaching business.

With warmth and humour, Puja shares her vision to teach women in leadership positions.  She wants women to know that they hold value beyond what they accomplish in a tangible form. Puja wants women to stop measuring themselves against the expectations of society in order to nurture and appreciate their complex selves. Puja believes that beginning and end of day rituals can be a powerful means of honouring your many facets.

As Puja says on her Puja's Wild Radiant Woman Website: "I spark the unseen potential and feminine power of visionary women to be the change agents the world so desperately needs.” She believes strongly in a balance of yin and yang energy in leadership positions and is pleased to see the old values and systems designed for men are evolving to incorporate feminine values such as mindfulness and collaboration.

Puja is currently living in Orlando, Florida, holding in-person retreats and playshops. She also coaches women from around the world via Skype and does talks, inspiring many. Additionally, she is the bestselling co-author of Unleash Your Inner Magnificence and 365 Ways to Connect with Your Soul and the author of articles in several publications such as MindBodyGreen, The Huffington Post, and ElephantJournal.

8:10 Puja's yoga story

11:10 Embracing a new value system as entrepreneurs based on mindfulness, collaboration, and self-care

15:30 Rituals and mindfulness while you grow your business- personal energy and boundaries are deeply rooted in

17:00 Start of day self-care ritual

Every being is made of 4 rooms: step into your 4 Rooms each day to at least air them

  1. Physical e.g. smoothies, quick workout
  2. Mental e.g. gratitude, thinking about priorities
  3. Emotional  e.g. text a friend, connecting one person to another
  4. Spiritual e.g. meditate, nature, pets, connected to something bigger than you

Setting intentions for the day: a word or phrase that guides you that you can return to

19:15 Daily word / intention / mantra, Puja likes to do it right after meditation, awareness to it and

Today's top priorities- top 3 things and do these first

22:30 If you feel like you don't have time to fit in self-care- where are you leaking energy non-revenue generating activities, 23 minutes to come back in zone, it is possible to re-organize your business and personal priorities to create more time

25:10 How a personal practice can impact our relationships - at home and at work

26:55 End of day rituals:

  1. Clear the desk
  2. Make a list to acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments
  3. Meditation for closure of day
  4. Set intention for tomorrow

Reducing forms of clutter- emails, computer desktop, etc.

34:05 How to connect with Puja

34:55 Middle of workday - regular check-ins: Are you feeling grounded? Holding onto any stress?

35:25 Running a yoga business with the entrepreneur mindset, seperate mindset from teaching yoga.

“Be the change you want to see in the world” -Ghandi

Links

Gratitude to Our Sponsor Schedulicity

Puja's Wild Radiant Woman Website

Puja on Facebook

Puja on Instagram

Puja on Twitter

To purchase Puja’s books: Unleash Your Inner Magnificence and 365 Ways to Connect with Your Soul

The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook Group

Sep 9, 2017

Today’s episode is a consultation call with Trevor Parks, who is a yoga teacher from Covington, Georgia. He teaches classes that are inspired by his Ashtanga teacher training and weaves philosophical themes, pranayama, meditation, chanting and music through his classes.

Trevor’s introduction to yoga did little to inspire his now deep connection to the practice.  He was deterred by the very aspects that he now embodies such as abstract spiritual thought and poetic language. In time, Trevor returned to yoga when looking for answers about himself and the world around him.

Trevor shares that yoga is everything to him. He is either studying yoga philosophy, sequences, or doing his own practice.

After over 7 years practicing and over 3 years teaching, Trevor is at the point where he’d like put himself out into cyberspace in order to attract students compatible with his teachings and has asked Shannon to help him with his ‘About Me’ page for his website.

Trevor has so much he wants to say and needs some help putting all his thoughts into words that will connect with his potential students.

Shannon discusses:

  • imagining your ideal yoga student and directing your message towards them
  • allowing yourself to be vulnerable and authentic in telling your story and what led you to yoga
  • giving potential clients a really good sense of what to expect in your classes, including language that you use in your classes
  • creating a unique tagline that draws others in form of a sentence or even just a few words
  • limiting the write-up to a few paragraphs
  • including testimonials and how to ask for them from your students
  • if there is more you want to say but don’t want to overwhelm your “About Me” page you can always include it in a blog post on your page

 

Links

Episode 21 of TCYT: Refine Your Core Message with Carol Cox

Book that inspired Trevor to pursue yoga: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

Trevor on Instagram

Set up a consultation call with Shannon

Would you like to create or update your ABOUT ME page?
Click here to receive Shannon's worksheets.

Gratitude to our sponsor Schedulicity

Sep 2, 2017

Dr. Ariele Foster, based in Washington DC, has been teaching yoga for 16 years. She was inspired by her grandmother Lilo Foster, who taught yoga until the age of 87. Lilo was one of the few Jewish survivors in Germany from World War II and became re-acquainted with the healing power of yoga after her immigration to the US.

Ariele, finding herself enamored with anatomy, became interested in physical therapy after a profound experience as a physical therapy patient. She studied hard to become a doctor of Physical Therapy, becoming a licensed physical therapist in 2011.

Ariele has had many yoga teachers approach her about making the same transition- from yoga teacher to physical therapist which led her to create Yoga Anatomy Academy. As Ariele says “... [it] has been popular beyond my dreams. It’s really organically attracted so many students.” Yoga Anatomy Academy also provides anatomy courses for yoga teachers.

Ariele kindly shares with us her incredibly rich and informative 10 Principles of an Anatomy-Informed Yoga Practice (available as a PDF download,) which covers a range of considerations for yoga teachers such as; when to refer students to other professionals, re-thinking asanas and the importance of functional movement, and the balance between flexibility and movement.

This multi-tasking, multi-talented woman has founded a forum for discussion- Yoga for the Planet, inspired by her interest in environmental concerns,continues to teach yoga classes and also offers private sessions, workshops and courses, yoga retreats all while practicing as a physical therapist.

 

Note: Physiotherapists, Physical Therapists, ‘physios’- all the same profession. Different areas use different titles.

 

9:10 What sparked Ariele’s interest in anatomy

11:50 From teaching yoga to becoming a physical therapist

12:30 Advice to yoga teachers interested in becoming a physical therapist

16:30 The importance of referring your yoga students to a physical therapist when experiencing pain

21:00 Cost can be a hurdle when one is considering physical therapy- how to put that in perspective

23:30 Ariele’s position teaching anatomy to yoga teachers, belief that there needs to be a baseline of understanding

24:20 Principle 1 - Any Pose Can Harm. Any Pose Can Heal.

25:05 Principle 2 - Every Body is Unique.

25:45 Principle 3 - Think Critically “Don’t emphasize the alignment of the pose higher than the individual”

27:35 Cueing Warrior 1 using critical thinking

28:45 What is functional movement?

28:05 Principle 4 - Most Yoga Asana is Specialized, Not Functional Movement

30:55 Principle 5 - Flexibility is No Good Without Strength

33:25 Principle 6 - Variety is the Spice of Life

34:30 Principle 7 - Safe Strength Building Comes from Progressive Loading

37:25 Principle 8 - Listen to Your Body Works 50% of the Time

41:20 Principle 9 - Readily Refer Out

44:20 Principle 10 - Honor Both the Science and “Mystery”

45:35 How to study with Dr. Ariele Foster

 

Links

Email: ariele@sacredsourceyoga.com

Yoga Anatomy Academy

Yoga Anatomy Academy on Facebook

Yoga Anatomy Academy on Instagram

Ariele’s Personal Teaching Website: Sacred Source Teaching

Sacred Source Teaching on Facebook

Ariel’s Youtube Channel

PDF: 10 Principles of an Anatomy Informed Yoga Practice by Dr. Ariele Foster

Podcast: Heal Your Shoulder with Dr. Ariele Foster on the YogaBody Talk Show

Article: 7 Things to Ponder Before Going to Physical Therapy School: for yoga teachers, massage therapists and other holistic practitioners by Dr. Ariele Foster

Gratitude to our sponsor Schedulicity

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