The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
300: Celebrating 300 Episodes! with Shannon Crow
Description:
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast celebrates 300 episodes! In this milestone episode, host Shannon Crow talks about some of the things that have helped her stay consistent with putting out the podcast and answers some questions from listeners!
We are so grateful for your support through these 300 episodes and look forward to bringing you more episodes that will help you stay connected to the information and inspiration that will support you as you build your yoga business!
Key Takeaways:
[2:25] Shannon celebrates 300 episodes of the podcast!
[4:15] Aruna sent in the first question. What was the first thing Shannon outsourced to help her stay consistent and get to 300 episodes and what would she never let go of?
[11:30] Shannon gives a shout out of thanks to sponsor, OfferingTree and shares a conversation she had with a fellow yoga teacher, Sarah Villamil, about her experience with OfferingTree.
[14:45] Renee has another question for Shannon. What were the top three things that Shannon has learned from all her guests?
[25:54] What are the top three things you have learned from this podcast?
[30:59] Thank you dear listener for all your support through these 300 episodes!
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"Two things have helped me get to this point of 300 episodes. That is feeling the fear and doing it anyway. And also letting my message be louder than my doubts and my fears."
"If there is something that you're doing over and over again and you're not getting a lot of joy out of it and it's an automated task, that is something to look at to pass on to someone else."
"Communicate and listen to understand, not to be understood."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
299: Yoga for Menopause with Niamh Daly
Description:
About half the world’s population experiences menopause at some point in their lives, yet it is still not very well understood and people at this stage of their life may not get the support they need. Niamh Daly fills in some of the gaps we may have in our understanding and knowledge of menopause.
Niamh teaches and supports women in navigating life changes, especially menopause, whether medically, surgically, prematurely or naturally induced, through adapted yoga and nutrition. She trains yoga teachers worldwide to understand menopause and the stages immediately preceding, and after, and how much support they can give through additions to, and enhancements of the canon of yoga.
As yoga teachers who are working with people who are in this peri, menopausal, menopause, postmenopausal phase, we need to understand how we can better support them. Niamh explains the fluctuating nature of peri-menopause, how nutrition and exercise requirements may change for people at this stage, and why yoga is beneficial for them. She also questions why prenatal yoga and pregnancy is covered in many YTTs but not any of the menopausal stages, despite that being something more relevant and applicable to many people.
Key Takeaways:
[3:29] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Niamh Daly.
[7:53] What does Niamh do and who does she do it for?
[10:52] How do we know when we or our students are in the perimenopause stage? Niamh explains that there is actually a stage before perimenopause that isn't often talked about.
[16:50] People in the late reproductive stage can have symptoms that mimic perimenopause or even conditions related to thyroid function. How can people get a definitive answer about what is really causing the changes in their body?
[19:58] Shannon pops in with a snippet of a conversation she had with Ashley Hagen about OfferingTree.
[23:51] How does yoga help with perimenopause?
[30:29] Shannon and Niamh discuss the research supporting the idea that yoga is beneficial for menopause.
[32:17] There is a huge lack of education around this topic despite the fact that half the population goes through menopause and a large number of yoga teachers are also in this demographic.
[33:38] Where can yoga teachers learn more about yoga for menopause and how to better serve this segment of the population?
[38:03] Niamh shares a bit more about health at every size and how that impacts perimenopause.
[43:02] Language is also a big part of the education that Niamh offers.
[44:36] Reach out to Niamh to connect and learn more.
[45:52] Continue the conversation! Shannon shares some of her key takeaways - what are yours?
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"There has been research in yoga for serotonin, yoga for oxytocin, yoga for bones, yoga for heart health, yoga for brain health, yoga for sleep, all of which coming together, create a very convincing pool of evidence to support the use of yoga to help women through menopause."
"Women spend more time in the perimenopausal transition and post menopausal then they do pregnant and yet there are no first line yoga teacher trainings that really even mention menopause in the training."
"I'm really in the business of trying to help women befriend their changes and their body through menopause and beyond and before menopause."
"We need to learn to embrace the changes because otherwise, we're fighting ourselves till the day we die."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
298: Photo Shoot Stories (Listener Emails) with Shannon Crow
Description:
When Shannon sent out an email about Episode 294 with Gabriela Fearn about how to plan a yoga photo shoot, she received a lot of emails from listeners! It is such a highlight to get emails from listeners sharing their experiences. Shannon reads some of the stories Connected Yoga Teachers have shared with her about their experiences doing photoshoots for their businesses.
Have a listen if you are feeling alone and isolated as a yoga entrepreneur and connect with the wonderful community of Connected Yoga Teachers in the Facebook group as well.
Key Takeaways:
[3:54] Shannon invites you to share your questions, thoughts, and comments about the podcast. There are a few ways you can do this!
[5:37] Shannon received a lot of emails from listeners about episode 294 - How to Plan a Yoga Photo Shoot with Gabriela Fearn.
[5:37] Shannon shares some tips to get better engagement from her community in emails.
[8:24] Shannon shares Beth's email reply about photoshoots.
[10:40] Jenay writes about her experience with photoshoots.
[12:04] Shannon pops in with a bit of news and a shout out of thanks to OfferingTree.
[14:32] Reneé Clair, who was a guest on the podcast in episode 167, wrote in about her photoshoot experience not doing yoga poses.
[16:03] Another listener, Helen, did a photoshoot in a park with a photographer who offered a unique arrangement.
[18:01] The last email is from Gail. Shannon and Gail have both used the same photographer and had similar experiences.
[21:14] Hang out with Shannon on a live call in Pelvic Health Professionals!
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
“I let go of fancy or challenging poses and played. She was able to capture these sweet, inward-focused moments of me practicing.” - Email from Beth
“It's not the poses that were important but, rather, the energy depicted.” - Email from Jenay
“I felt more confident though when not striking a "pose" - yoga pose that is!” - Email from Renee
“I think you need someone to have a sense of who you are to bring out the best.” - Email from Gail
“The photographer talked about how a fancy camera was not needed. That anyone could do this work – with an iPhone and some imagination on how to capture the shots.” - Shannon
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
297: Yoga Philosophy & Business with Rebecca Sebastian
Description:
As yoga teachers, we can feel like making money and running a yoga business is out of alignment with yoga and the philosophy of yoga. This can cause us to struggle with marketing and charging for our services. Why does this happen and how can we overcome it? Rebecca Sebastian shares her insights.
Rebecca Sebastian has been teaching yoga for 20 years and working as a yoga therapist for a decade. She is also a yoga studio owner, yoga non-profit Founder, and the host of the Working In Yoga podcast. She isn’t afraid to stand up for human rights and yoga - and she also isn’t afraid to talk about making money as a yoga teacher.
In this conversation, Rebecca shares her thoughts on why yoga teachers are struggling to make money and be okay with making money, and why we all need to double our prices (today). She explains why making our offerings more accessible doesn’t necessarily mean lowering the price and how we can help increase access to yoga while still making a sustainable living. Rebecca gives tips on what to do when you don’t feel comfortable “selling” yoga and explains how yoga philosophy fits in with running a yoga business.
If you are struggling to make money as a yoga teacher and feeling like marketing and business isn’t in alignment with yoga, this episode is a great pep talk.
Key Takeaways:
[0:38] sponsors - OT, PHP
[2:45] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Rebecca Sebastian
[7:41] What does Rebecca do and who does she do it for?
[8:30] Why do yoga teachers struggle to make money and feel comfortable making money?
[11:25] Other than doubling our prices, how can we as yoga teachers reconcile how we view yoga philosophy and making a sustainable living with yoga?
[16:33] Rebecca speaks about why many people have relationships with money that are rooted in shame and guilt.
[18:31] We put a lot of judgements on wealth, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the way - we are positioned to radically redistribute wealth.
[21:38] Rebecca reflects on how some of the conversations we may be having around cultural appropriation and whitewashing in the yoga world may not be shifting the needle but merely adding shame to the conversation. We need to have these conversations and find ways to make a sustainable living in alignment with the teachings of yoga.
[23:02] How does Rebecca help yoga teachers with pricing?
[26:59] Shannon pops in with a shout out of thanks to the team at Offering Tree.
[29:15] Shannon and Rebecca discuss some other ways to determine pricing for yoga offerings.
[31:34] Rebecca invites us to unpack any of our thoughts that are laced with shame and guilt around money.
[32:45] What advice does Rebecca have for yoga teachers who are feeling resistant to marketing and the business side of teaching yoga?
[35:25] What are some resources that Rebecca recommends for unpacking money stuff?
[37:30] How can we tackle that competitive mindset that may come up?
[40:37] What does Rebecca wish yoga teachers knew about how yoga philosophy goes well with business?
[44:21] What final thoughts does Rebecca have for yoga teachers as they start to get comfortable with unpacking money stuff and increasing their rates?
[48:49] Connect with Rebecca and learn more from her on social media or via email.
[50:02] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this conversation with Rebecca.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"We've taken it to the point where it's not okay to want a sustainable living and that's just silliness... It's okay to make money as a yoga professional."
"The truth of the matter is that if you want to be of service, you have to make enough money to not be the person who needs help."
"If good humans have conscious moral effort to make money and do good with it, we can change how this works."
"Yoga is this amazing tradition, the spiritual discipline - stop selling it. Sell something else and charge a premium price for it."
"I want you to find your humans and I want you to charge them enough money for you to make a living."
"I believe that you can make money and create impact and do good things. It's not an either/or, it can be a both/and."