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The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

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Now displaying: April, 2019
Apr 29, 2019

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

114: Compassion Fatigue with Diane Liska

 

Description:

 

As yoga teachers, we come across people who come to yoga in search of healing, and we help to guide their experience and help them in their healing process. But this can take a toll on us, and lead to burnout and compassion fatigue over time. Diane Liska has some strategies for how best to develop resilience to compassion fatigue and evolve in our own professional practice as healers.

 

Diane is a Registered Psychotherapist with over 10 years of experience in the mental health field, specializing in the areas of trauma, attachment and neuroscience. She became a Certified Yoga Teacher in 2015, and now focuses on combining her expertise in the two fields to help her clients navigate personal challenges and connect with their inner resources to cultivate wholeness, resiliency and a strong body-mind connection.

 

In yoga-informed psychotherapy, Diane uses yoga and other somatic or body-based therapy practices to weave into her work of psychotherapy. She shares more about the differences between burnout and compassion fatigue, and some of the symptoms to look out for. Based on her experience, Diane suggests some exercises and strategies that increase resilience against compassion fatigue, and some tools you can use to overcome it.

 

If you’ve ever experienced times when you fall away from your own personal practice, or if you’re looking for tips on how to avoid compassion fatigue, this episode will give you the tools to build resilience against and overcome compassion fatigue.



Key Takeaways:

[3:15] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Diane Liska.

[5:13] Which came first for Diane, psychotherapy or her yoga journey?

[6:25] Why do we suffer from perfectionism?

[8:40] What propelled Diane forward in her yoga-psychotherapy journey to where she is now?

[10:17] What does Diane do?

[11:21] What kind of clients does Diane work with?

[11:47] What is compassion fatigue, and how is it related to burnout?

[16:04] Shannon shares a personal anecdote of working with victim of trauma.

[18:11] Diane briefly explains polyvagal theory.

[22:33] What are the symptoms of compassion fatigue?

[26:00] Diane shares some of her recommendations on how to prevent compassion fatigue.

[31:50] Diane gives an example of what co-regulation would look like when working with a client.

[32:38] Diane touches on the concept of compartmentalizing, and why it's not an effective method.

[35:49] Another suggestion to combat compassion fatigue is to maintain your own personal practice.

[38:11] Responsible healing that can also protect against compassion fatigue comprises of two aspects: self care and self awareness.

[40:55] Shannon and Diane talk about the scope of practice as yoga teachers, and how compassion fatigue factors into that.

[42:48] How many roles of care are you taking on? That plays a part in compassion fatigue as well.

[45:43] What are some other tools that can be helpful?

[48:38] What are some things that are not helpful if you are suffering from compassion fatigue?

[51:10] When is it important to reach out outside of ourselves for help?

[54:23] Get in touch with Diane via her website to learn more about her work and to work with her.

[55:51] Shannon highlights her biggest takeaways from this interview with Diane.



Links:

 

Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity

 

Quotes from this episode:

 

"I found yoga really helpful for me at that time to address and help soothe some of my perfectionistic tendencies."

 

"I find that burnout and compassion fatigue very often get lumped together, and they're actually different. They can co-exist at the same time, but they are different."

 

"Compassion fatigue is different [from burnout] in that it's actually a form of trauma."

 

"As healers, we are holding space for and bearing witness to a lot of pain."

 

"Compassion fatigue is a result of healthy working physiology in the body."

 

"Serving ... is supporting an individual to fill their own needs and to heal themselves."

 

"We need to have this dual awareness of both of our experiences at the same time, to combat against compassion fatigue."

 

"The beauty of the nervous system is that it's extremely resilient."

 

"Connection is medicine."

 

Apr 22, 2019

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

113: Pinterest to Promote Your Yoga with Kate Ahl

 

Description:

How important is Pinterest to your yoga business? If you’re like some of our yoga teachers, a significant portion of your website traffic may be coming from Pinterest - but it’s not the same as other social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook. That’s why we have Kate Ahl of Simple Pin to share more about how you can use Pinterest to promote your yoga business.

 

Kate Ahl is the Owner and Founder of Simple Pin Media, a Pinterest management company that helps business owners manage their Pinterest accounts and presence so they can focus on running their business. She also hosts the Simple Pin Podcast, where she shares useful actionable tips and strategies that can help you DIY your Pinterest marketing.

 

Shannon and Kate dissect how often to pin, what kind of content to pin, and even the kinds of images and fonts to us. She also answers some of Shannon’s questions around personal vs business accounts and resharing pins to other social media platforms. Kate also reveals why Pinterest functions as a powerful search engine, and why it’s such a great platform to tap into new markets.

 

If you’ve been wanting to create more awareness for your yoga business, or have been wondering how to connect with people across different generations, Pinterest may be your answer - and this episode is just what you need to dive right in.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:24] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Kate Ahl.

[3:36] What does Kate do and how did she get started in this business?

[5:09] Pinterest is not so much of a social platform like Instagram or Facebook, but it's more of a search engine. Kate explains what this means.

[7:40] What is Kate's suggestion for the workflow on Pinterest?

[9:34] Is there a ratio of your own pins to someone else's pins?

[11:20] Kate breaks down the idea of pinning daily on Pinterest, and some tips on pinnable images.

[14:47] How much text is too much text?

[18:30] Kate comments on the practice of creating 10 pins for a particular piece of content.

[19:21] What is Kate's advice for people who want to pin images that are not from your article? She walks us through an example.

[21:47] What are Kate's thoughts on re-sharing pins to Instagram and Facebook?

[23:49] What are Kate's tips for the beginner who wants to use Pinterest to grow their yoga business?

[27:40] When it comes to websites and Pinterest, should you be creating images on your website with Pinterest in mind?

[30:27] If you are into DIY and want to learn more about Pinterest marketing, check out Kate's podcast, Simple Pin Podcast.

[31:10] What are some things to consider before hiring out your Pinterest marketing?

[32:20] What is Kate's intake process for taking on new clients, depending on where they are in their Pinterest journey?

[35:06] What are Kate's packages priced at?

[37:02] Shannon and Kate discuss what the different generations are using Pinterest for.

[39:23] Kate leaves us with some final thoughts about Pinterest.

[41:25] Shannon shares the actions she's taking as a result of this interview with Kate. Share your Pinterest strategy with Shannon in the comments.



Links:

 

Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity

 

Quotes from this episode:

 

"We often refer to Pinterest as a search-and-discovery platform, and the joke is that it's the introvert's platform."

 

"You're building awareness of your company through your knowledge, through your articles that you're writing."

 

"If somebody comes to your Pinterest page or profile, do they understand who you are and what you represent?"

 

"You want to see your Pinterest boards as a curated resource for your audience."

 

"Consistency is best."

 

"I think the biggest problem when we're doing Pinterest images and we're not graphically-inclined, is we spend hours overthinking it."

 

"Just jump in with both feet, play around, and don't overthink it."

Apr 15, 2019

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

112: Niche Down to Market Your Yoga with Amanda McKinney

 

Description:

 

Picking a niche is something that can be scary to a lot of us. Particularly as yoga teachers who believe that yoga is for everyone and that we can help everybody, we feel that picking a niche excludes people we want to help. But have you ever thought that specializing is the best way for you to bring yoga to more people? Amanda McKinney is a Marketing Coach for Yoga Teachers, and on this episode, she explains exactly why niching down is the best way to market your yoga.

 

Amanda provides online courses and group coaching to help yoga teachers market themselves authentically, so that they can earn a living sharing yoga with others, without the burn out that comes with catering to everyone. She has some great information on why it’s so important for you to specialize, and some practical strategies to help you discover your niche.

 

In this episode (which was also a Live Q&A session!) Amanda tackles difficult questions from yoga teachers, like how to decide which topics to blog about, and how much time you need to market a yoga retreat. She also offers advice on dealing with mindset issues around niching down, and some tips on marketing yourself as a yoga teacher.

 

Whether you’ve been a yoga teacher for years, or are just starting out on your yoga entrepreneurship journey - Amanda’s insights and tips on niching down and marketing are sure to help you in your business. Tune in to also find out more about the 3-day content challenge and joint group coaching by Amanda and Shannon!

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:43] Shannon introduces her guest - Amanda McKinney.

[3:35] Who does Amanda work with, and what is the work that she does?

[4:41] Amanda explains the story behind why her website focuses on yoga teachers as business owners.

[7:33] Why do yoga teachers need a niche?

[9:03] Amanda shares her journey of how and why she niched down in her own business.

[9:43] How specific does a yoga niche need to be?

[11:47] What are some of the roadblocks that stop people from niching down?

[14:39] Having a specific niche helps people give you referrals.

[16:50] How can you discover your yoga niche?

[19:30] Listener question from Valeria: How do you identify the topics that clients want to hear about if you host a yoga-focused blog?

[25:20] Listener question from Sue: If I'm marketing a retreat in September, how soon do I start putting the info out there to market it? How early is too early?

[29:32] What does marketing mean as a yoga teacher?

[35:50] What do you do if you can't decide between two or more really good niche ideas? How do you pick?

[37:52] How can yoga teachers combat the feeling of 'Who am I to do this?' when picking their niche?

[40:56] What is Amanda's advice for yoga teachers who feel like they need to be ready or perfect before they start on their business journey?

[44:26] Listener question from Kristen: I'm having a hard time describing trauma-informed yoga in a way that makes sense to other people.

[47:59] How long does it take to develop or find a niche?

[52:05] What's Amanda's response to people who say that niching down has been a challenge?

[55:10] What is the work that Amanda is really excited about right now?

[58:34] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this episode.

 

Links:

 

Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity

 

Quotes from this episode:

 

"So many yoga teachers are not told and informed, they are a business owner once they graduate with their Yoga Teacher Training Certificate!"

 

"I will have walked the path that my clients and students walk, which I think is the best way to get to know your target audience."

 

"Yoga is for everyone, and that actually makes the point of niching down more important."

 

"As soon as you narrow down and focus on one particular thing, it takes away that competition."

 

"For every $500 that the retreat is, you need 90-days lead time."

 

"Knowing that there is no other one like you out there, that you will attract the people who will learn best from you."

 

"The more you can say it, the clearer it's going to be."

 

"Knowing what you don't like is just as important as knowing what you like."

 

"Attracting the right person to work with you is important, but repelling the others is just as important."

Apr 8, 2019

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

111: Teaching Children's Yoga with Shakta Khalsa

 

Description:

 

Have you ever shared yoga with children? If you have, you might have realized that teaching yoga to adults, and sharing yoga with a room full of children are completely different. Shakta Khalsa is a leading expert on children and yoga, and on this episode the “fairy godmother” of children’s yoga shares tips and strategies for teaching children’s yoga more effectively.

 

Shakta is the Founder and Director of Radiant Child® Yoga,  an internationally-known training program for teaching children’s yoga and working with children consciously. She is a parent, Montessori educator and a yoga professional recognized by Yoga Journal magazine as one of the top five Kundalini Yoga teachers in the world. She has also authored multiple books, and produced  albums and award-winning DVDs

 

On this episode Shakta shares her journey to yoga through Kundalini yoga, and explains how that formed the basis for her to start sharing yoga with children. She explains the differences between teaching yoga to adults vs children, as well as her unique strategies and tips for working with children. She reveals the inspiration behind some of her books, shares tips on how you can go about writing your own book, and talks about her own challenges in running and scaling a yoga business.

If you are involved in children’s yoga in any form or fashion, or if you need some tips on running and scaling a yoga business, or if you need inspiration to write a book, you will surely get lots of great nuggets of wisdom from this interview with Shakta.

 

Key Takeaways:

[3:47] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Shakta Khalsa.

[5:55] Shakta shares the experience of her first yoga class in 1972.

[7:39] Who was Shakta's first Kundalini yoga teacher?

[9:11] What was Shakta's journey of becoming a yoga teacher?

[11:52] What did Shakta's friends and family think when she went down the path of being a yoga teacher?

[13:51] Shakta was also a Montessori teacher. She explains how she realized she should be sharing yoga with children.

[18:31] Shannon and Shakta discuss how to share yoga with children - what works with adults, doesn't work with children!

[19:42] What is the basis for the book Fly like a Butterfly?

[22:45] Shakta explains how she uses yoga to control the class when sharing children's yoga.

[24:48] How does relaxation in a children’s yoga class, for example, look different from the adult Savasana?

[27:18] What made Shakta think that children can begin yoga?

[30:08] When children go through a phase of resisting yoga, Shakta has a set of yoga warrior cards she uses.

[31:44] What are some of Shakta's biggest tips for teaching children's yoga?

[35:08] What are some things to consider when deciding which children's yoga teacher training to take?

[38:23] Shakta teaches a 200-hour Radiant Child Family. She explains more about the course.

[40:45] What is Shakta's advice for someone who is struggling with mindset issues around treating yoga as a business?

[45:17] What has Shakta learned about marketing and scaling up her yoga business?

[50:41] What helps Shakta to write a book?

[57:42] Learn more about Shakta's work and check out her training sessions on her website.

[58:36] Leave a comment to stand a chance to win Shakta's book or the Yoga Warrior Cards.

 

Links:

 

Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity

 

Quotes from this episode:

 

"I don't know any paths of yoga that had a formal teacher training like that. It was basically you lived your yoga."

 

"The yoga that [the child] had been doing for those five years, that that yoga was the crowning glory of her Montessori time."

 

"For [the children], it's just fun. But they're using all the yoga tools."

 

"We use the yoga to control the class."

 

"You can try to stop a rushing river, but you aren't going to stop the rushing river very easily, so why not go with the flow of it?"

 

"How do you playfully, and still honoring the child's desire to move their bodies and be joyful, how do you take that enthusiasm and then organize it and we do that all through the yoga."

 

"When you start early, [yoga meditation] is just as normal as brushing your teeth every morning. It just becomes normal."

 

"It's important to have form to it, structure and form, and then bring in the fun element as well."

 

"Inspiration, information - those two things together make a really good book."



Apr 1, 2019

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

110: Create a Yoga Proposal Package with Lisa Zaehringer

 

Description:

 

If you’ve ever wanted to share or promote a unique yoga class or workshop, I’m sure you have wondered how best to convey your offering to the yoga studio owner, or even where to begin in reaching out to studios. Lisa Zaehringer, after having to go through this process every 2-3 years, shares more about what goes into the yoga proposal packages she sends to yoga studios, as well as her 7-step process for reaching out to studios.

 

Lisa is a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, whose work as a yoga teacher complements her profession as a mental health counselor. In her yoga business, she supports mothers of all ages as they reconnect with themselves, reclaim rest, and practice compassionate self-discovery. Her unique workshops and courses include the Sacred Motherhood Restorative Practice, Sacred Baby 8 Week Course, and Sacred Pregnancy Weekend Retreat.


As part of her transient military lifestyle, Lisa was having to move every few years, and she had to find an authentic, creative way to be able to approach yoga studios in her new hometowns where she had zero credibility - a yoga proposal package. She explains the different elements that make up the package, and also reveals step-by-step, how she reaches out to studios.


Whether you’re wanting to create a yoga proposal package to get some clarity about your yoga niche, or you just want to be prepared to take advantage of any new opportunities that may arise, this episode is full of great tips you’ll be able to use.

 

Key Takeaways:

[3:34] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Lisa Zaehringer.

[4:39] What is Lisa's background, and what is the work that she does now?

[5:18] What prompted Lisa to develop her mini-retreat for mothers, Sacred Motherhood Restorative Practice?

[8:09] Shannon and Lisa discuss how she found her purpose in her motherhood journey.

[9:29] What does Lisa's workshop look like?

[11:49] What motivated Lisa to create her yoga proposal package?

[13:25] Lisa shares more about the challenge she faced in getting yoga studios to understand her unique offering.

[14:11] What is in the package that Lisa provides? The first element is the Proposal.

[16:43] The second piece is the suggested schedule and themes.

[18:03] The third document Lisa includes in her package is a personalized flyer.

[18:59] The next item in the package is the Sequence of Events.

[19:40] Where does Lisa get the images for her package?

[20:55] The last piece of the package is A Gift of Gratitude.

[22:06] Where does Lisa begin to approach a yoga studio? She walks us through the 7-stage process.

[27:32] If multiple places accept Lisa's offering, does she then have to choose between them?

[29:40] What stands out is that throughout this process, Lisa is the one who is choosing, and she has been able to do this because of her clarity in her niche.

[31:27] Lisa shares some of her struggles around marketing her yoga offering.

[33:42] What are Mama Projects?

[37:03] Lisa has some final words of wisdom about creating packages for your yoga offering.

[40:47] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this interview.


Links:

 

Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity

 

Quotes from this episode:

 

"I believe that that's where connection happens - when vulnerability is met with compassion."

 

"I wanted to find an authentic, creative way to be able to approach yoga studios in the new hometown where I had zero credibility."

 

"There's some doubt and fear that bubbles up each time [I approach a yoga studio], like, is anybody going to get this? Is this going to make sense to anybody?"

 

"[It's] just those little things that say I really care about the time you're putting into reading this."

 

"Where ever this is meant to happen, is where it's going to happen."

 

"The universe is always conspiring in our favor."

 

"I felt like it's a mutual interview, so I'm interviewing [the yoga studios] as much as they're interviewing me."

 

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