The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
397: How to Suck at Marketing with Brea Johnson
Do you feel overwhelmed by marketing your yoga? It is something that many yoga teachers struggle with - especially when it feels like the world often prioritizes being polished over showing up authentically. Brea Johnson shares her insights about how to suck at marketing – and why that can work for your yoga business.
Brea Johnson is the founder of Heart + Bones Yoga, a globally recognized online platform for anatomy-informed yoga, mobility and inclusive practices for both yoga teachers and everyday people. She has been teaching yoga, anatomy and movement since 2003 and regularly teaches workshops and trainings around the world. At Heart + Bones, Brea offers online yoga, education and teacher training where functional and inclusive practices are celebrated and encouraged.
In this episode, Brea shares what inspired her to start talking about marketing and what we can do when we suck at it. She highlights some common marketing practices that do not align with her values and belief systems and how she navigates the changing social media and online marketing landscape. Brea and Shannon also discuss showing up honestly, imperfectly, and authentically, what motivates them to keep posting about topics that may bring pushback, and much more.
If you feel like your marketing is not "enough" to make a meaningful impact, this episode is for you.
[1:59] Shannon introduces her topic for this episode, marketing, and her guest - Brea Johnson.
[3:45] This episode is sponsored by OfferingTree.
[5:37] What does Brea do and who does she do it for?
[8:07] What inspired Brea to start talking about marketing and what to do when we suck at it?
[13:38] What are some things that Brea doesn't do in marketing because they don't align with her?
[17:29] How does Brea turn things that irk her about the yoga world into playful content that educates?
[20:46] How has social media shifted for Brea in the past few years? What are some new trends and changes she is noticing?
[27:10] Shannon and Brea discuss how social media can be a place to let your authentic self shine through.
[34:44] Shannon gives a shout out to sponsor, OfferingTree.
[36:08] What is Brea's advice for when your inner critic shows up to discourage you from marketing your yoga?
[45:54] When we show up and share our values and opinions online, we might get back a lot of hate or pushback. How does Brea deal with that?
[55:27] What keeps Brea posting about "controversial" topics or social justice issues?
[58:42] Shannon and Brea discuss the importance of small actions, even when it feels like those actions may not be making a difference.
[65:49] Learn more from Brea via her website and social media.
[67:08] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this conversation with Brea.
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree
"How do I promote what I share, what I do, how I know I can help people, and how my business can help people without falling into that trap of playing to the algorithm?"
"There's something about the consistency and letting go of The so-called vanity metrics and seeing that more broad view of how social media can help connect us."
"What is my why? Why am I even doing this? What is my who? Who am I helping? And what is my how? How am I helping?"
"How can you show up in the way that works for you?"
"This isn't about you. You've got to see the fear and the imposter syndrome and the insecurity and do it anyway.”
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
396: Yoga for Abortion Care with Sasha Sigel
We live in a time when access to abortion care is increasingly under threat and attacks on reproductive health are intensifying. What does yoga have to do with abortion care and how can yoga teachers support people going through abortion care before, during, and after the process? Sasha Sigel shares her insights.
Sasha Sigel is a pelvic floor yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and abortion doula. Sasha is also a cofounder of a queer yoga collective called Be Queer Now, which offers virtual and in-person programming for the queer community. In her work, Sasha focuses on folks in the LGBTQIA+ community seeking pelvic health support as well as offering trauma-informed, gender-affirming practices. When Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, she trained to be an abortion doula where she supports folks going through abortion care with accurate information and practical, emotional, and physical support.
In this episode, Sasha shares more how how yoga intersects with reproductive justice and how we can lean on the foundational values of yoga to guide us in supporting people through their reproductive choices. Sasha also explains how yoga is more than just movement – it is a liberatory practice that can offer space for validation, rest, and healing, especially for those who've experienced abortion or miscarriage. Tune in to learn more about the barriers many people face when accessing care, how community doulas and yoga teachers can safely show up, and why normalizing abortion as a part of human healthcare is a crucial part of our work as compassionate spaceholders.
[2:20] Shannon gives a shout out to sponsor, OfferingTree.
[2:46] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Sasha Sigel.
[4:51] What does Sasha do and who does she do it for?
[8:37] What does abortion have to do with yoga?
[10:03] What are some quick-bites that Sasha shares with people who may not have considered that abortion is healthcare?
[15:43] How does yoga help people through the journey of abortion care?
[21:42] How can yoga teachers support their students going through an abortion or post-abortion emotionally and with their language?
[23:38] What are some words or phrases that are unhelpful to a person after abortion? What are some ways yoga teachers can reassure them?
[27:51] What has Sasha's experience been with yoga offerings that support people who have received abortion care?
[30:05] Shannon pops in with a message about OfferingTree.
[32:09] What is Sasha's advice about looking up information online and resources for people who live in a place where abortion care isn't available?
[36:45] How does Sasha approach marketing her services as an abortion doula and making sure that people know support is available?
[40:09] Does Sasha have to deal with online hate or misinformation?
[41:32] Where does Sasha suggest a yoga teacher start if they are wanting to get more involved in offering abortion care and support?\
[45:06] What would Sasha say to someone who has gone through abortion care or are considering it?
[47:24] Shannon shares a book that has resonated with her on the topic.
[48:48] Learn more about Sasha and her work via her website or social media.
[50:26] Sasha shares some final thoughts for yoga teachers about abortion care.
[54:29] Shannon and Sasha discuss how people might think that certain things would never happen in their country or state and that's an assumption worth challenging.
[56:52] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this conversation.
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree
"Yoga is a liberatory practice and reproductive justice and healthcare is something that's under attack right now in terms of folks having agency over their own body."
"Use non-assumptive, non-judgmental language. We don't know why this person got an abortion. We don't know what their experience was. So our main role is going to be listening to whatever information they do give us."
"How people report their experience after an abortion is often mixed and complicated, but very seldom is the main emotion or experience regret."
"This is not new. This is something that we have the right to, and our bodies have been doing since the beginning of humans being alive."