The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
286: Yoga Around the World with Lily Allen-Duenas
Description:
Have you ever wanted to teach yoga around the world but weren’t sure where to get started? Perhaps you have wondered how the yoga community differs from country to country. Lily Allen-Duenas shares her insights as a yoga teacher who travels the world and also as a podcaster who has interacted with yoga teachers and students from all around the globe.
Lily Allen-Duenas is an international yoga and meditation instructor, a holistic health and wellness coach, and a Reiki master healer. She strives to help people reduce their emotional overload, and find balance, breath, and space for self-care. Lily is the founder of the Wild Yoga Tribe and the host of the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. She has taught yoga classes and wellness workshops all over the world.
In this episode, Lily shares some of her tips for getting started with teaching yoga while traveling the world and the different things she has learned about different cultures in different countries. Lily offers suggestions on how to find and secure yoga jobs abroad and what to look out for to avoid scams. As a writer and marketer, Lily also has some great strategies around her podcast marketing strategy and navigating social media.
Key Takeaways:
[1:11] Shannon shares one of the resources she is learning from about social justice.
[4:07] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Lily Allen-Duenas
[7:34] What does Lily do and who does she do it for?
[10:17] What are some differences Lily has observed in talking with yoga teachers around the world?
[12:06] What is something surprising that Lily has learned about different cultures as she interviews different yoga teachers?
[15:54] Interacting with people from different cultures or backgrounds can challenge out preconceived notions.
[17:37] What is Lily's advice for people who want to travel and teach yoga? How can they do that?
[24:06] Lily walks us through some of her podcast marketing strategies.
[29:24] Shannon pops in with a message about OfferingTree.
[31:33] What are Lily's tips for staying on track with her marketing strategy for her podcast?
[35:16] Lily shares her biggest tips to make marketing on Instagram easier for yoga teachers.
[40:28] Shannon and Lily discuss having boundaries on social media and showing up authentically.
[47:01] Find out more about Lily and her work via her podcast, website, and social media.
[51:52] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this episode as well as some other resources for listeners.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"How do I find work and especially if I want to do it in a different country, it can seem really difficult."
"I think we're in a smaller world than we've ever been in before and ... I just love the possibilities."
“[For marketing,] I think it's important to have that routine and the rhythm and then of course to do it in a way that feels mission aligned."
"Sharing anything and everything you can think of related to your niche and then doing that in a way that really serves your audience will help of course grow the community."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
285: Mental Health Aware Yoga with Dr. Lauren Tober
Description:
Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness and 1 in 3 Canadians will be affected by a mental illness during their lifetime. Globally, there is an upward trend in the number of people living with and impacted by mental health conditions. This means we may have students in our classes with mental health conditions that we don’t know about. How can we best support these students within our scope of practice? Dr. Lauren Tober shares more.
Dr Lauren Tober is a Clinical Psychologist, Yoga Teacher and certified iRest Meditation Teacher with a passion for health, healing, happiness and awakening. She is the founder of Awake Psychology, an online Australia-wide psychology practice, the Centre for Mind Body Wellness in Mullumbimby (Australia) and teaches Yoga Teachers around the world about mental health with the Mental Health Aware Yoga training. Lauren has also created several acclaimed online courses, and her work has been featured in many publications.
Lauren explains what is and isn’t in our scope of practice as yoga teachers when it comes to mental health, and how we can support people with mental health conditions without overstepping our boundaries. Lauren also offers tips on what to do when someone cries in a yoga class, how to create a safe container in a yoga class that may have students with mental health issues we don’t know about, and how we can support students outside of yoga.
Key Takeaways:
[2:13] Shannon shares a book she is learning a lot from - One Native Life by Richard Wagamese.
[4:44] Shannon has a few announcements to share about upcoming events and offerings.
[8:16] Shannon introduces the guest for this episode - Dr. Lauren Tober.
[11:36] What does Lauren do and who does she do it for?
[13:23 - 13:24] Lauren reminds us that we may not know when our students are going through mental health challenges.
[15:55] What lies within the scope of practice for yoga teachers when it comes to helping people with their mental health?
[18:41] Lauren works with yoga teachers around mental health to give them enough information to help their students.
[21:17] It is common for people to break down and cry in yoga classes. What should yoga teachers do in that moment?
[26:34] What might Lauren say to someone who cried during the yoga class to check in with them at the end of the class?
[27:39] What should yoga teachers do if students start to open up about their struggles or mental health challenges?
[30:06] Lauren recommends having a list of professionals you can refer people to - e.g. doctors, naturopaths, psychologists.
[34:13] What is something related to mental health challenges that Lauren wishes yoga teachers knew.
[38:12] What are Lauren's thoughts on using touch in a yoga class?
[43:49] Shannon pops in with a warning about strong language.
[45:12] Shannon gives a shout out to sponsor OfferingTree.
[48:42] There is a common misconception among yoga teachers that if you do enough yoga, you don't need any mental health support. Lauren shares her thoughts on this.
[54:01] Find out more about Lauren and her work on her website and check out her special website around yoga for mental health.
[56:09] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this interview.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"We don't necessarily know someone is going through stuff, [or] going through some mental health challenges."
"You need to really get clear on what your scope of practice is and make sure you stay within that and if you feel tempted to do some counseling or offer massage or whatever it is, … go and get some training in that area so you can broaden your scope of practice and include that in your offering."
"Yoga has an amazing role to play in terms of supporting mental wellness and supporting people who are going through mental health challenges."
"Supporting somebody going through mental health challenges is creating a space where someone can come and feel safe. "
"To be present with someone else, from one human being to another human being, to be really present is such a gift."
"Having conversations about consent and touch is really powerful."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
284: Beyond Pronouns and Pride Month with Shannon Crow
Description:
How can we make our yoga classes more inclusive and accessible? The truth is, sometimes we can mess up and make mistakes even when we try to create safer spaces in our yoga classes. We may cause harm without realizing it - that’s why it is a huge gift when someone points out how we are causing harm.
The work of continuous learning goes beyond simply using the right pronouns and extends far beyond Pride month. These are complex and nuanced issues - we have to strive to continuously educate ourselves. In this episode, Shannon Crow shares the email from a listener that inspired this conversation as well as resources for you if you are keen to continue learning how to create safer, more accessible yoga spaces for people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Key Takeaways:
[3:24] Shannon shares a book she has been enjoying and learning from recently.
[6:56] This episode was inspired by a brave email sent by a podcast listener in response to Episode 275 about being kicked out of yoga class.
[9:00] Shannon shares the email from the listener.
[10:44] Even when we want to create safe spaces, we may not succeed. We may also cause harm to others and it is a huge gift when they communicate that with us.
[11:58] Our continuous learning journey goes beyond Pride month.
[13:03] We can spread our learning and collaboration requests out to span the entire year, instead of just in Pride month.
[14:12 Shannon has some resources for you if you want to create an inclusive yoga space in all months of the year, not just in June.
[20:54 - 20:59] Shannon shares what OfferingTree is putting together for yoga studios.
[22:43] Shannon highlights some of the podcast episodes listeners can learn from as well as trainings available.
[27:50] We can all learn from each other if we're willing to share and be vulnerable about where we messed up.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"This continuous learning journey, I really think this goes beyond Pride Month."
"Please don't be the business that sticks a pride flag on their website in june only to then take it down and forget all about the social justice issue the rest of the year."
"It is very nuanced and it's like we don't know what we don't know and in the meantime we might be causing harm."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
283: Teach Yoga Without Demos with Francesca Cervero
Description:
Do you demonstrate yoga asanas when you teach? Do you wish you could do fewer demos in a class but don’t know how? How can we start doing that in our classes? Francesca Cervero explains how she teaches yoga without demos and how other yoga teachers can too.
Francesca Cervero has been teaching yoga full-time since 2005. Inspired by her foundational training at OM Yoga Center, the years she spent as a dancer, and subsequently in physical therapy, Francesca’s teaching is also influenced by her love of Buddhist teachings and a constant curiosity about anatomy and biomechanics. Francesca offers private 1:1 yoga classes, mentors yoga teachers in The Science of the Private Lesson™, hosts the podcast The Mentor Sessions: Support & Strategy for Yoga Teachers, and is the founder of the adjoining community, The Mentor Sessions Sangha.
Francesca explains the benefits of teaching without demos and how we can start to teach without doing demos in yoga classes. She shares her tips like sitting on your hands while teaching and how to cue effectively as well as how to ease the transition if you currently rely on demos to teach. Francesca also shares how she counters pushback like “people are visual learners” and what to do when accessibility is a factor and we need to share demos.
Key Takeaways:
[2:13] Shannon shares a podcast she is learning from.
[6:13] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Francesca Cervero.
[10:05] Shannon gives a shout out to the sponsor, OfferingTree.
[12:48] What does Francesca do and who does she do it for?
[14:18] What does Francesca do in terms of demonstrations vs no demonstrations as she is teaching.
[16:43] What are some of the benefits of not doing demos?
[19:58] You might feel inclined to demonstrate because you're feeling nervous. Francesca addresses this and shares some tips that can help.
[25:16] The only way to gain the skills to teach without demonstrating is to practice them.
[27:29] Recording yourself teaching with just your voice can be a helpful technique to get better at teaching without demonstrating.
[30:40] How does Francesca deal with that awkward moment when people in the class are waiting to see a demonstration because that's what they've become used to?
[36:15] Teaching without demonstrating isn't black-and-white. The key is to focus on the student and what cues might help them.
[40:14] Shannon and Francesca discuss the difference between teaching yoga and doing yoga for your own practice.
[41:26] What can yoga teachers do when they're teaching online and their students want to have their video off?
[49:02] Find out more about Francesca and how to work with her via her podcast, mentor sessions, and her community.
[49:34] Francesca addresses two scenarios that yoga teachers may have questions about - teaching beginners without demos and teaching in situations with a language barrier or to people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
[53:01] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this interview with Francesca.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"It's obviously not sustainable to need to constantly use our body to share information about movement."
"When we exclusively use our body to share information about movement, I think that it puts the emphasis or the focus on the aesthetic of the shape rather than the experience or the potential benefit, which will look radically different person to person."
"I prefer teaching with my words because I think it places the emphasis for the student more on what they're experiencing as opposed to what their body looks like."
"The only way to gain the skills to teach without demonstrating is to practice them."
"The real heart of teaching is in relationship. If you can't see them, then that's not there."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
282: What's Missing? Yoga Class Notes with Kathryn Anne Flynn
Description:
Have you ever been to a yoga class and noticed that something is missing? Perhaps it was the cues given, or the postures practices, or even the sequence of the class. There are certain key elements that we need to have to make a well-rounded yoga class and we might be missing some of them! Kathryn Anne Flynn shares her expertise on this topic and how we can make our classes more accessible to all.
Kathryn Anne Flynn is a teacher and student of yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, and psychotherapy in Ottawa, Canada. She is known for weaving together her fields of study and practice tools to meet life with a compassionate presence. Students of many generations call her their teacher and they are drawn to her inclusivity and authenticity. Kathryn is also the host of the Intelligent Edge Yoga Podcast, author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga, and offers online practices as well as trainings, workshops, and retreats.
Kathryn shares her insights about some of the key elements missing from yoga classes (especially with newer teachers) such as silence, little joint care, and music and playlists, and gives us tips on how we can effectively incorporate these into our yoga classes to become better teachers and create a better environment for our yoga students. This is a really motivating episode to get inspiration about how to improve on your classes and create a better environment for our yoga students.
Key Takeaways:
[0:00] Shannon addresses the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
[1:45] This episode is also sponsored by the Accessible Yoga Continuing Education Program.
[8:33] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Kathryn Anne Flynn.
[11:55] You can win one of Kathryn's books simply by leaving a comment in the show notes!
[13:04] What does Kathryn do and who does she do it for?
[14:37] What got Kathryn interested in her work around psychotherapy and trauma therapy, from being a yoga educator?
[17:29] Kathryn is the author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga. What was her motivation for writing the book and what feedback has she received about it?
[19:31] There are often trends in things that are missing from new yoga teachers' classes. Kathryn reflects on how she made this observation.
[22:14] A reminder for people going through their yoga teacher training: Teaching yoga is never going to be as hard as it is in your training.
[24:01] Something that is often missing even from experienced teachers' classes is silence.
[26:09] Another element often missing in yoga classes is little joint care.
[28:53] There is value in simplicity and repetition.
[32:33] A tip for new teachers - if you are nervous when teaching yoga, you can use music to support your teaching and create atmosphere in your classes.
[33:54] Shannon pops in to share a conversation she had with Sara Villamil about OfferingTree.
[36:11] Is music essential to a yoga class or can we teach without it? Shannon and Kathyrn share their perspectives.
[43:07] Kathryn shares some tips around what to consider when sequencing your yoga class.
[48:33] You can bring creativity into sequencing your yoga classes.
[50:16] Kathryn developed her own personal style of yoga because of the communities she worked with and paying attention to their needs.
[53:05] Kathryn highlights two types of postures that are often missing from yoga classes.
[59:30] What are some final thoughts Kathryn has for a yoga teacher who is feeling like something is missing from their class?
[60:39] Get Kathryn's book and connect with her via her website and social media.
[62:24] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this interview with Kathryn.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Accessible Yoga Continuing Education Program.
Quotes from this episode:
"Teaching yoga is never going to be as hard as it is in your training."
"Reviewing your teaching can remain uncomfortable and it's worth it."
"If you design your classes in a way that folks are safe doing the practice, you can have faith in the resilience of the human body - which means you can have faith in the potency of silence and restrain yourself to offer more space because people need silence so badly if their lives are super busy and loud."
"I think it's important to be able to teach and practice both with and without [music]. It's just another tool that you need to know how and when to apply it."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
281: Yoga Teaching Tips with Gabrielle Harris
Description:
Whether you’re fresh out of a yoga teacher training or have been teaching yoga for years, there is always something new to learn about becoming a better teacher. Gabrielle Harris shares actionable tips for yoga teachers that you can start implementing in your classes and using right away.
Gabrielle describes herself as a writer at heart and a yogi in mind and body. Her aim is to inspire students and teachers from all disciplines to keep falling in love with yoga each new day. Gabrielle has over 1000 hours of training in various disciplines and traditions, and through her written work and yoga classes reminds us to start living a full life through the toolbox of yoga. She is also the author of The Language of Yin and The Inspired Yoga Teacher.
Gabrielle talks about her journey in writing these two books, how to teach yoga to beginners, and why language is so important and powerful in yoga. Gabrielle also shares her thoughts on what makes a good yoga teacher and why our job is to watch, listen and observe, rather than centering ourselves in our teaching. She offers some tips on the different types of cues we might use, how to practice nonviolent communication, and encourages us to reflect on our responsibility as yoga teachers.
Key Takeaways:
[0:00] Shannon addresses the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
[2:30] This episode is also sponsored by the Accessible Yoga Continuing Education Program.
[5:58] Shannon shares one of the resources she has been learning from - Buffy on CBC.
[9:06] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Gabrielle Harris.
[12:31] What does Gabrielle do and who does she do it for?
[13:11] Gabrielle shares more about the two books she has written.
[14:24] What has helped Gabrielle get through the long process of writing books and teaching yoga?
[15:26] Gabrielle has teaching experience outside of yoga. She explains how that has shaped how she teaches yoga.
[18:07] How can yoga teachers cut out the fluff and get to the very essential parts of yoga when teaching beginners?
[19:53] How does Gabrielle apply what she learned in teaching a language to a yoga teacher training?
[23:15] It can be tempting to try to fill space with words, but it is important to be intentional instead.
[25:14] How can we practice self-editing?
[27:05] Why do we often feel the need to fill silence with words?
[30:02] As yoga teachers, sharing parts of your life can be very powerful, but only under certain circumstances. It can be useful to become the listener instead.
[33:22] What are some things that can help improve our teaching technique?
[35:43] Timing and pace are also very important for a yoga class.
[38:37] Shannon pops in with an update about OfferingTree, sponsor of the podcast.
[41:30] How can yoga teachers manage the timing of their flow and sequence?
[44:03] Gabrielle shares some tips around different types of cues you can give in a yoga class and examples of what that may look like.
[49:44] Using questions in teaching is a great technique to center the students instead of the teacher.
[52:15] How does Gabrielle handle questions from students who ask where they should be feeling a pose or how to be experiencing a movement?
[56:21] Gabrielle shares some thoughts around the responsibility we have as yoga teachers.
[59:58] What does Gabrielle wish she had known as a newer teacher?
[61:04] Find out more about Gabrielle and her work by checking out her work and the links below.
[62:46] You can win a copy of one of Gabrielle's books!
[65:27] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this interview with Gabrielle.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Accessible Yoga Continuing Education Program.
Quotes from this episode:
"It is much more difficult to be precise and concise and essential." - Gabrielle
"If you want to know what the essence of what you're trying to teach is, you need to go back to what your intention is for that class." - Gabrielle
"There's different types of cueing and there's a place for all of them." - Gabrielle
"I want the teachers out there to assume that everything that we're saying, everything that we do in a yoga class has a propensity to change or to harm or to heal." - Gabrielle
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
280: Get Paid as a Yoga Teacher with Shannon Simmons
Description:
As yoga business owners, we may feel conflicted around making money and getting paid for sharing yoga and helping others. However, being able to get paid for the work that you do ensures that you will be able to continue serving others with your yoga. So how do you make sure that you can pay yourself a consistent salary? Shannon Simmons shares how to organize your finances and get paid consistently as a yoga teacher.
Shannon is the founder and CEO of Fit For Profit. Her goal is to remove the stress that wellness business owners often feel around finances, by helping them implement simple systems around money management. By helping them create financial systems in their business that allow them to pay themselves a consistent salary, Shannon enables them to worry less about paying bills and focus on building a sustainable business.
In this episode, Shannon S. addresses some of the concerns yoga entrepreneurs have around making money and getting paid, and encourages us to shift our mindset and thinking about our businesses. She explains how the Profit First system helps yoga teachers make a profit in their business and build a more sustainable business that is able to deal with emergency expenses and taxes while paying yourself a consistent salary. If you are ready to start making profits in your yoga business, this episode is for you.
Key Takeaways:
[0:00] Shannon addresses the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
[3:54] Shannon shares some of the resources she has been learning from.
[6:09] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Shannon Simmons.
[12:12] What does Shannon S. do and who does she do it for?
[13:19] What is the Profit First system of accounting?
[15:15] Setting up multiple bank accounts can be a challenge! What are Shannon S's thoughts around that?
[16:07] Shannon S. has a list of banks she recommends for people wanting to implement Profit First.
[16:31] How does Profit First differ from the typical way of managing finances in a business?
[20:04] Apart from the account for profit, what are the other accounts we should have in this system?
[22:04] Paying yourself as the owner is separate from your profit! Shannon S. explains further.
[24:09] How does Shannon S. respond to wellness professionals or yoga teachers who think that they shouldn't be making their business about profit?
[25:48] What are some of Shannon S.'s tips to implement the Profit First system?
[27:29] Shannon S. recommends raising your rates annually.
[31:15] Get your bank statement and start looking at all your expenses. Which ones can you reduce?
[33:09] Shannon C. and Shannon S. discuss how useful it can be to have someone on your team to have eyes on your finances.
[33:59] If you only have one account for income and expenses, Shannon S. recommends making the transfers every time you get a deposit. How often should you pay yourself profits?
[36:20] What happens to the other half of the profits that you don't pay to yourself?
[37:29] Shannon C. pops in with tip about using OfferingTree for memberships.
[40:27] Many yoga teachers and entrepreneurs don't have a separate business bank account and they aren't paying attention to their finances! Shannon S. shares some tips on that.
[43:45] Don't wait till it's time to do your taxes to figure out if you made a profit or not!
[44:52] What are some of the roadblocks that come up for entrepreneurs?
[47:10] Shannon S. shares some percentages that people can start off at to implement Profit First in their business.
[50:42] What are some tips to get to being able to pay ourselves a salary of 50% of revenue?
[53:45] Get support from Shannon S. in setting up Profit First for your business. Connect with her via her website.
[58:17] What is your biggest takeaway? What action step will you be taking from this interview? Shannon C. shares how she's applying insights from this interview to her business.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"You are your own best employees. So you need to be paying yourself as if you were an employee." - Shannon S.
"The only way to help people is to be profitable and the only way that you can truly be profitable is if you're really helping people." - Shannon S.
"If you have any resistance to five [bank accounts], you don't have to do five. Just start with one. That's the very basic process to get started." - Shannon S.
"Most people aren't profitable before they implement Profit First. That's the dirty little secret." - Shannon S.
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
279: Bowel Health and Yoga with Shannon Crow
Description:
Bowel health and function is an essential part of our lives, yet something we don’t discuss often. We all (hopefully) have bowel movements regularly and if we are not, it can impact our pelvic organs, pelvic floor and overall health. Yet, conversations about pooping are not normalized and we avoid talking about this topic! Why?
In this episode, Shannon Crow, host of The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast and founder of Pelvic Health Professionals explores the topic of bowel health. She explains how yoga and bowel health are connected and some of the common things that can go wrong with our bowel health and function. Shannon also shares snippets of a live call from the Pelvic Health Professionals membership with Michelle Lyons, a physiotherapist, yoga, pilates and mindfulness teacher, and nutrition and health coach specializing in pelvic health with a whole-person approach.
This episode is a must-listen for everyone - because bowel health and function affects us all!
Key Takeaways:
[4:38] Shannon's getting personal on this episode to talk about a topic not many people are comfortable with - poop!
[5:52] How are yoga and bowel health connected? Shannon shares a clip from an interview with Michelle Lyons who spoke about bowel health in Pelvic Health Professionals.
[11:01] Shannon invites you to bring your awareness to your bowel health in your next yoga session. She walks us through a couple of yoga poses to help with that.
[13:32] The kind of toilet you use may impact your bowel health. Shannon shares some tips on how to bring ease to pooping.
[15:13] Shannon pops in with a conversation with a fellow connected yoga teacher about OfferingTree.
[17:56] The breath can have a huge impact on bowel health!
[19:00] Hormonal changes can impact bowel health and bowel function as well.
[22:59] Yoga helps with stress management and brings people into a state of rest and digest. This can impact bowel health positively.
[23:54] Michelle covered a lot of different aspects of bowel health and function inside Pelvic Health Professionals!
[26:34] Shannon highlights some of the upcoming topics for calls in Pelvic Health Professionals.
[28:52] We need to normalize talking about bowel health!
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"One of the ways that yoga can really help is by bringing attention to the breath. And we know that breathing is absolutely essential for good pelvic floor muscle function." - Michelle
"Yoga and breathing and mindfulness and gentle movement in general, all of these have the ability to tone the vagus nerve." - Michelle
"Good bowel health is really when you don't have to think about it." - Michelle
"Generally bowel dysfunction, we can break down into three categories: either you can't keep stuff in, you can't get stuff out, or it hurts." - Michelle
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
278: Religion & Cultural Respect in Yoga with Emmy Chahal
Description:
How are yoga and religion connected? Why do some people, depending on their religion, feel like yoga is evil? What does spiritual bypassing look like and why is it harmful? These are the challenging questions Emmy Chahal tackles in this episode.
Emmy Chahal is a trauma informed yoga teacher, bodyworker/energy healer and workshop facilitator based on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Territory (in the place now known as Vancouver). Emmy works at the crossroads of business, social justice, and spirituality. Emmy has experience of more than 19 years of steady yoga and meditation practice, and over 10 years of teaching. She integrates her educational background in Cultural Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies to offer tailored workshops for workplaces around wellness topics, cultural education for yoga teachers and practitioners on topics like cultural awareness, ancestral healing, and uncolonizing yoga, as well as intuitive healing sessions. Emmy also offers mentorship for yoga teachers and semi-private or family yoga classes.
There’s no denying that yoga and religion intersect at some points - yet they are different. Emmy explains how colonization shaped our understanding of religion, the impact of that, and why it is important to learn about other faiths and belief systems to avoid causing harm and violence. Emmy also shares more about how yoga can strengthen your faith practice, and how to be respectful of other cultures we partake in while also learning about and connecting to our own culture. This is a rich discussion answering a question many yoga teachers and practitioners have no doubt encountered - is yoga religion?
Key Takeaways:
[3:28] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Emmy Chahal.
[8:20] What does Emmy do and who does she do it for?
[11:16] How do yoga and religion intersect and how are they different and similar?
[15:05] Shannon and Emmy discuss how people in North America may not have had the experience of interfaith exploration or learning about other faiths different from their own.
[18:03] Emmy shares her thoughts on the idea that yoga is not religion and addresses the idea that people have that yoga is against their religion.
[22:46] How are things like colonization and residential schools tied to yoga and religion?
[28:10] Shannon reflects on her ancestors' history.
[29:08] Understanding your ancestry and history can help you avoid something Emmy calls "hungry ghost syndrome".
[34:27] Learning about whose land you are on and the history of that land can be a healing practice.
[35:18] Emmy shares her experience of a Kundalini awakening.
[38:08] Shannon shares a short conversation she had with Sara Villamil about OfferingTree.
[40:31] What are Emmy's thoughts on Christian yoga?
[44:45] Yoga is a great system to have difficult conversations through.
[46:14] There is a lot of ignorance about the history of yoga and lack of cultural awareness among yoga teachers, particularly white yoga teachers in the west.
[48:23] What actions can yoga teachers take to make a difference in how yoga is treated?
[54:07] Do not turn to South Asian yoga teachers and expect them to tell you what to do.
[54:52] Research your ancestors and learn about your own spiritual, embodiment, and earth-based practices.
[55:26] Is yoga religion?
[60:14] Emmy has found that yoga can help people in their faith practice.
[63:18] Find out more about Emmy's work and learn more from her via her website.
[66:08] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this episode with Emmy.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"Yoga became a way of connecting to a collective consciousness, but also connecting to our own personal spirituality."
"[Yoga] is a mind body spirit practice and that it can help you in your faith practice."
"Yoga is about union. It's about finding that connection between your mind, body and heart and really connecting to yourself."
"There are really interesting links between yoga and Christianity that if we dig deeper, we could see some deep connections about the mystical quality."
"There has been a denial of the roots of yoga and this is something so common in the yoga industry. ... Something is lost here because we're not recognizing, we're not acknowledging where the practice comes from."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
277: Yoga and Land Acknowledgement with Jessica Barudin & Emmy Chahal
Description:
What are land acknowledgements? Who needs to do them, and why? How is it relevant to yoga, and how does this fit into the larger context of deepening our connection to the lands we occupy? Jessica Barudin and Emmy Chahal answer these questions and more in this episode.
Jessica Barudin (she/her) is Kwakwaka'wakw, a member of the 'Namgis First Nation living in Alert Bay, BC. She is a proud mother, Sundancer, yoga student, and trauma-informed yoga teacher. Jessica is the co-founder of Cedar and Gold, and collaborates with Nations and organizations across Turtle Island. Additionally, she is completing her doctoral studies focusing on developing a culturally-rooted, trauma-informed yoga for First Nations women and two-spirit folks. Jessica's classes weave in Indigenous embodied practices and teachings as well as honors Yoga's roots through sound, mudra, and a variety of forms made accessible for all bodies.
Emmy Chahal is a trauma informed yoga teacher, bodyworker/energy healer and workshop facilitator based on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Territory (in the place now known as Vancouver). Emmy works at the crossroads of business, social justice, and spirituality. Emmy has experience of more than 19 years of steady yoga and meditation practice, and over 10 years of teaching. She integrates her educational background in Cultural Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies to offer tailored workshops for workplaces around wellness topics, cultural education for yoga teachers and practitioners on topics like cultural awareness, ancestral healing, and uncolonizing yoga, as well as intuitive healing sessions. Emmy also offers mentorship for yoga teachers and semi-private or family yoga classes.
Land acknowledgment is just a tiny but important step within a much larger journey. Emmy and Jessica share why emotions like pain, guilt, fear, and anger are high for everyone with this topic and how we can deal with them. They also explain why deepening our connections to the land we inhabit is important and how we can learn about and honor different traditions, including yoga and indigenous healing traditions.
Key Takeaways:
[3:14] Shannon introduces her guests for this episode - Jessica Barudin and Emmy Chahal
[11:26] What do Jessica and Emmy do?
[15:07] Shannon shares why she was nervous about approaching the topic of land acknowledgements.
[17:12] Why is it important to share land acknowledgements and who needs to be doing it?
[23:23] Many people may start to feel defensive when talking about land acknowledgements. Why is that, and what can we do instead?
[29:20] Jessica highlights the importance of continuing these conversations even as we may feel hesitant or uncomfortable about them, and how we can move forward from there.
[32:54] How can we strengthen this practice of giving land acknowledgements beyond just paying lip service? Where can we start with this, especially if it may feel uncomfortable?
[37:38] Shannon shares a clip of a short conversation she had with a yoga teacher about OfferingTree.
[43:13] Jessica shares some insights about her particular geographical location and the history and connection she has to the land.
[50:38] There may be no easy way to wrap up land acknowledgement and lineage acknowledgment into one or two sentences that encompass the entire history.
[54:36] One key thing Emmy would like to see is people of European descent remembering their ancestors and going back to their earth-based embodiment and spiritual practices.
[56:44] How has yoga helped indigenous communities? There is a lot of cross cultural learning, rather than blending or merging traditions and systems.
[65:02] Jessica and Emmy share more about how you can work with and learn from them.
[70:46] Shannon shares her reflections and takeaways from this discussion with Jessica and Emmy.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"Land Acknowledgments - I feel like it's the tip of the iceberg. It's one tiny tiny gesture that is an invitation for people to really look at their complacency, complicity in colonialism." - Emmy
"Emotions are always part of this conversation and I think it's really important to be gentle with yourself and forgiving and to sit with the complexity and the pain and the guilt and all of that." - Emmy
"When we acknowledge the land, is it just a token gesture or is it something that we're deepening our relationships with where we are and what time in history." - Jessica
“It has to be heartfelt and it has to be honest and it has to point towards deeper action." - Emmy
"When people tell me they're nervous or they're scared or hesitant to say the wrong thing, I always take that as a good sign. That means that you care, and have the courage to make mistakes and try and try again. I think that's really important." - Emmy
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
276: Caring for Yoga's South Asian Roots with Susanna Barkataki
Description:
A topic the yoga community has been quite hesitant to approach is that of caring for yoga’s south Asian roots and re-centering South Asian yoga teachers and practitioners. In this episode, Susanna Barkataki shares her insights on why this is important and how to do it well.
Susanna Barkataki is an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition. Her work is dedicated to supporting practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. As the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute, Susanna runs Yoga Teacher Training programs and offers other trainings and courses designed to create a fully inclusive and diverse yoga community. Susanna is also the author of Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice, and a renowned speaker and trainer on topics like diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE).
Susanna shares more about yoga’s roots and how it has changed and evolved over time, the two criteria for cultural appropriation, and the current practice of yoga in white communities around the world. She explains why it is important to re-center South Asian yoga teachers (and teachings), and guides us to finding our own answers about whether white yoga teachers should be teaching yoga and how to do so in a way that uplifts the yoga community.
Key Takeaways:
[2:21] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Susanna Barkataki.
[6:16] Susanna shares a little about her background and how she came to do the work that she does.
[9:37] Shannon and Susanna discuss what her parents went through as a mixed race couple in the 70s and how those experiences shaped Susanna.
[14:27] What does Susanna have to say to yoga teachers who are just starting to learn about cultural appropriation?
[19:01] Susanna outlines the two criteria for cultural appropriation to be present.
[23:00] Susanna explains a little about using the term South Asian yoga teachers or practitioners to refer to the people from the lands where yoga originated.
[27:54] Why is it important to center South Asian yoga teachers if yoga doesn't belong to anyone and has moved around and spread to different parts of the world?
[34:22] Shannon gives a shout out to the sponsor, OfferingTree.
[36:21] Susanna shares a story from Indian mythology about why only understanding or focusing on one part of yoga is insufficient.
[39:47] Shannon speaks to the fear that white yoga teachers may have around re-centering South Asian yoga teachers. What actually happens when we re-center South Asian yoga teachers? Why and how should we do that?
[50:09] What are the benefits of collaborating with others and lifting others up, even if they do similar work to you?
[53:43] Shannon and Susanna discuss how being in a position of privilege is not actually beneficial to the people at the top of the hierarchy either.
[58:09] Should white yoga teachers even be teaching yoga?
[62:31] Susanna shares her final thoughts around caring for yoga's roots.
[65:08] Find out more about Susanna and her work via her website and on Instagram.
[67:06] Shannon reflects on her conversation with Susanna and shares her key takeaways.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"There's so much to this practice and being a humble student is a great place to start, even if you're already a teacher."
"There is a diversity in this tradition [yoga] and an openness and kind of an agreement to disagree civilly and to have a different perspective from one another but to be on this path together."
"Should you be profiting from this practice that comes from a people who have been held down oppressed, marginalized and not centered?"
"When we look at power and balance, we can utilize our power when and where we have it to continue to empower ourselves, but also to lift up others."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
275: Kicked Out of a Yoga Class!? with Shannon Crow
Description:
Have you ever been kicked out of a yoga class, or made to feel unwelcome, excluded, or shamed? It may feel shocking to hear if you have never had this experience, but sadly this is something many people in The Connected Yoga Teacher community have experienced.
In this episode, Shannon shares comments from members of The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook community describing their experiences when they were kicked out of a yoga class, or felt uncomfortable, ashamed, and rejected from the class, both because of yoga teachers and other students.
This episode invites us to consider how we are showing up in our yoga classes and in the world with empathy, compassion, and understanding – and encourages us to think about how we can disrupt harm when we encounter it to create safer and more welcoming yoga spaces for everyone.
Key Takeaways:
[2:55] Shannon explains the topic for this episode - how we don't want our yoga classes to go and how we don't want yoga students to feel.
[4:25] Shannon shares the inspiration for this episode - the experience of Shannon's friends who were kicked out of a yoga class based on their gender.
[7:50] One of the things that people shared was not being allowed to leave or drink water or modify something in a yoga class.
[14:05] Shannon shares an audio message from Aarti about not feeling welcome or feeling excluded from yoga.
[19:19] Shannon invites us to think about Aarti's experience and to reflect on our own actions in yoga spaces.
[20:42] Shannon shares experiences from yoga teachers who have been turned away from yoga or discouraged from practicing it because of their size or age.
[22:35] Shannon shares a comment from community members who felt unwelcome for needing visual cues or modifications in a yoga class.
[25:23] Shannon shares an article Sinead wrote for OfferingTree.
[28:02] A community member shares two stories of not feeling welcome in a yoga class.
[33:17] Shannon reads a comment from a community member about their experience with non-attachment.
[35:35] Clique behaviors is another common theme that has made people feel unwelcome at yoga classes or studios.
[38:16] Trigger Warning: The next section of this podcast deals with sensitive topics like intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
[38:45] We may also make people feel unwelcome based on things we cannot see or know about them or their experiences. Shannon shares a comment and an audio clip from a community member talking about survivors of intimate partner violence.
[44:39] Shannon shares a comment and a clip from a male community member who felt unwelcome in his class of all women.
[50:10] We have no idea what people are dealing with as they walk into a yoga class with us, which is why it is important to have empathy, understanding, and compassion for others.
[50:42] Shannon shares a few more comments from people who have felt excluded in yoga classes.
[56:21] Shannon invites us to call out harmful practices we may encounter and reflect on our own practices as well.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"How often do people not feel safe or included in a yoga class due to gender?” - Shannon
"Why are we not allowing students or yoga teachers, yoga practitioners to modify?" - Shannon
"Why do we feel the need to control other bodies instead of letting them choose what they want to be doing, and not only choose what they want to be doing, choosing what they need to be doing?" - Shannon
"When we just pull out a tiny piece [of a culture] and place it on merchandise for sale or change the meaning, that's cultural appropriation. That's harmful." - Aarti
"We can learn from this, we can definitely take a look at how we are showing up to teach yoga to share yoga and look with a bit of self compassion and reflection as well." - Shannon
"We have no idea what people are dealing with as they walk into a yoga class with us." - Shannon
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
274: Self-Care for Caregivers with Jo Bregnard
Description:
One of the things every yoga entrepreneur needs is self-care. As yoga teachers, we are caregivers in some form. To care for others, we need to care for ourselves first. If you are thinking you don’t have time for self-care, or don’t like bubble baths or spas, this interview with Jo Bregnard will shed new light on the idea of self-care.
Jo Bregnard offers self-care for caregivers through online movement and mindfulness classes, retreats in Vermont, and free selfcare resources. Jo became a yoga teacher in 2014, after a personal journey with caring for others, and then needing to be cared for. Through her experiences, Jo found ways to incorporate bite-sized self-care practices into her life from the different modalities she has studied over the years. Today, she helps other caregivers cultivate their own self-care practice and sustain themselves in the work they do.
In this episode, Jo shares her personal story of caregiving and receiving care, the difference between a sprint versus long-term care, and how yoga teachers are caregivers too. Jo explains what self-care can look like for different people and how to find time for self-care in our busy schedules and hectic lives. Jo also offers suggestions on how to take a retreat for self-care when you can't travel and more.
Whether you’re in a caregiving role or not, this episode is a perfect reminder for us about the importance of self-care and how we can carve time out for it.
Key Takeaways:
[2:32] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Jo Bregnard.
[6:18] What does Jo do and who does she do it for?
[7:07] What is Jo's response to people who say they don't have time for self-care?
[8:06] What led Jo to start doing the work that she does?
[14:13] Jo addresses the shame or guilt that people may feel at not being able to do a dedicated hour of yoga practice instead of a quick breathing technique.
[16:17] Why is it so important for us to refill our tanks through self-care?
[18:41] If you are wanting to build a self-care practice but are struggling, Jo has some tips for you.
[23:01] Shannon gives a shout out to OfferingTree.
[25:00] It can be easy and tempting to jump right into doing things when you first wake up in the morning, but it is immensely beneficial to take a few minutes for yourself first.
[26:58] What are some things that Jo recommends for yoga teachers who are in the midst of a sprint to work in some self-care?
[28:38] When we're talking about self-care to other people and doing it for ourselves, how can we ensure it is accessible?
[33:29] Jo offers a five-day mini self-care retreat. She shares how it works.
[35:43] Jo shares some final thoughts for caregivers.
[37:32] Shannon invites you to share a short self-care practice.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"At some point, you have to start refilling your own well in order to have enough to share with everybody else."
"What can I do and build [self-care] right into my day?"
"Your body knows how to take care of itself."
"The thing that I learned from the people that I work with is hey, we still need connection."
"You have permission for those quiet moments and to slow down. you have permission to take care of yourself too."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
273: Yoga is a Revolution with Jivana Heyman
Description:
What is the ultimate goal with your yoga practice? How does yoga tie in with social justice and activism? How is yoga a revolution? Jivana Heyman is back on the podcast to answer these questions and to share more about his new book, Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion.
Jivana Heyman, is the founder and director of the Accessible Yoga Association, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings. Through his work with Accessible Yoga, Jivana offers conferences, community forums, a podcast, and a popular ambassador program. He is also the co-founder of the Accessible Yoga Training School, and the author of Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body.
In this episode, Jivana explains his perspective on how yoga relates to social justice, and how our personal practice of yoga helps us show up and serve. Jivana and Shannon also discuss the power dynamic in teacher-student relationships, why we struggle with failure and how we can normalize it, what to do when the world feels overwhelming, and more.
Tune in to also find out how to win one of two copies of Jivana’s book as well!
Key Takeaways:
[4:28] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Jivana Heyman
[8:35] What was it like for Jivana to write his second book?
[10:51] What does yoga have to do with social justice and activism?
[14:29] Shannon and Jivana invite you to consider what is the goal of your own practice.
[17:19] What are Jivana's thoughts on how some people view speaking out as unbecoming or not aligned with being a yoga teacher or the teachings of yoga?
[22:05] A live listener, Jessica, shares that for them, the ultimate goal of yoga is connection.
[24:06] Another listener shares about how yoga has helped them with patience and building community.
[27:07] Shannon and Jivana discuss a personal experience he shared in the book about how he dealt with his yoga teacher being accused of abuse.
[33:45] Shannon pops in with a message about a new update from OfferingTree.
[35:51] Jivana explains what he means by 'my liberation is tied to yours'.
[42:04] If we're all connected, we need to work on our connections to people we disagree with as well.
[47:51] Jivana talks about failure as a practice, and the impact of our internal self-talk on ourselves.
[51:40] Shannon shares some comments from listeners.
[54:09] Going back to the theme of failure, Jivana reflects on how we should approach failure.
[55:58] What is the rainbow mind?
[59:11] How does building your personal practice tie in with being able to deal with the world when it feels overwhelming?
[63:29] How can you support someone in your life right now?
[66:37] Jivana's new book is available for purchase and Shannon is also giving away two copies to listeners!
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
“I’ve always always really found those connections between yoga and social justice and I wanted to share them.” - Jivana
“To me, social justice is wanting justice for others, actually just having compassion for others and caring about other people other than myself. To me that's directly aligned with the yoga teachings.” - Jivana
“What do you think the ultimate goal for you is with your own practice?” - Shannon Crow
"We are all intimately connected, and that's the point of yoga actually is to find those connections." - Jivana
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
272: Mental Health for Entrepreneurs with Shulamit Ber Levtov
Description:
Building a yoga business and being an entrepreneur in general can be stressful and it can take a toll on our mental health. Despite the benefits of being able to set our own schedules and having more flexibility, many entrepreneurs deal with feelings of anxiety and isolation - things not often talked about. Shulamit Ber Levtov (she/her) is an expert in this area and shares more about mental health for entrepreneurs in this podcast.
Shulamit is the Entrepreneur’s Therapist and co-founder of the Business Therapy Centre. She helps women-identified entrepreneurs uplift their mindset and pilot their emotions so they can overcome the anxiety and isolation of running a business, using both coaching and therapeutic tools. With over 27 years experience as an entrepreneur and more than 20 years of professional experience supporting women's mental health and personal growth, Shulamit is an expert at helping entrepreneurs with this. As a licensed trauma therapist, retired Yoga teacher, trauma survivor and award-winning entrepreneur, Shulamit brings a unique perspective and approach to supporting women in business.
In this interview, Shulamit talks about the importance of truth-telling around stress, trauma and mental health. She also shares why we are stronger with support, where to find that support, and how yoga and meditation can amplify (but not replace) therapy. Shulamit also explains why some advice we may commonly hear (like "relax" or "take a breath") may not be helpful for some, especially trauma survivors, and why having structures can be helpful for our nervous system instead.
This is a great episode for any entrepreneur and for humans dealing with the stresses of navigating life in general.
Key Takeaways:
[2:49] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Shulamit Ber Levtov.
[7:06] What does Shulamit do and who does she do it for?
[7:53] Anxiety and isolation are common feelings entrepreneurs may have to deal with. Shulamit explains why talking about these experiences truthfully is helpful.
[11:33] How much should we normalize sharing about mental health and sharing the personal aspects of ourselves?
[16:01] Shulamit explains more about the nuances about sharing about the process and transition vs the details of an incident or difficult moment.
[16:57] It can feel really tough to ask for or seek out professional help like therapy. Remember - we are stronger with support!
[22:11] There is a myth that if you're doing yoga properly, you won't need therapy. What are Shulamit's thoughts on that?
[23:56] What other things does Shulamit wish that entrepreneurs and yoga teachers knew about caring for their mental health when they're struggling?
[29:47] Shannon pops in to share a bit of news about a new OfferingTree update.
[32:44] What is Shulamit's recommendation when we are dealing with moments of anxiety?
[38:49] Shulamit highlights the fact that taking a deep breath may actually cause more anxiety in trauma survivors.
[43:00] Structure helps the nervous system. It helps us trust and when we can trust, then we can relax.
[43:16] Shulamit reminds us that being an entrepreneur is hard and there's nothing wrong with you if you feel isolated and anxious.
[44:24] Find out more about Shulamit and her work via her website and Instagram.
[46:16] Shannon reflects on her conversation with Shulamit.
[48:40] Shannon gives an update on Yoga Teacher Conf that she attended recently.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"I think truth telling is really important, especially around mental health because of the stigma that's associated."
"We are stronger with support."
"It's also important to bring in discernment around what kind of support and where do I ask."
"The antidote to isolation is to find a wide variety of different kinds of support and to use your discernment around what support is best for when."
"Structure helps the nervous system. It helps us trust and when we can trust, then we can relax."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
271: Yoga and Bone Health with Barb Elias
Description:
About 10 million people above the age of 50 in the US have osteoporosis, and 43 million have low bone mass, putting them at risk for osteoporosis. What exactly is osteoporosis and how can we improve our bone health with yoga? Barb Elias (she/her) is an expert in Bone Health and Yoga, and she has some answers.
As someone who was diagnosed with low bone density herself, Barb has had to navigate her condition with her healthcare team and has learned much from the experience. Today, she teaches yoga to students with concerns about low bone density and pelvic health. In her classes, she weaves in all of the information she is learning to create a really unique yoga practice.
In this interview, Barb shares more about low bone density, osteopenia and osteoarthritis, who it can affect, and what she discovered in her own research. She explains some of the strength practices she has found to be effective for her and talks about the importance of rest in bone health. Find out how we can teach yoga in a way that is safe for these students and in a way that doesn’t promote fear around movement, but instead offers ways to strengthen.
Key Takeaways:
[3:22] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Barb Elias.
[6:42] How did Barb get into studying bone health and yoga?
[8:51] What did it feel like for Barb when she was diagnosed with low bone density?
[11:48] What did Barb discover in her research about movement, bone density, and how yoga could support her in this.
[17:17] What are some of the contributing factors for Barb's condition with low bone density?
[19:57] What are some strength practices that Barb has found to be effective that do not involve going to the gym?
[26:22] Shannon pops in with a quick message about creating a membership and how OfferingTree can support you in that.
[29:23] Why is rest important to bone health?
[33:33] What kind of progress did Barb see in the work she was doing personally to improve bone health?
[36:52] Barb shares some surprising statistics about common bone health diagnoses and how that has changed how she leads her classes.
[43:53] What are some changes Barb makes when doing a forward fold?
[47:12] What is Barb's advice to people who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and think they shouldn't move out of fear of causing a microfracture?
[49:54] Find out more about Barb's work and connect with her via her website and check out some of the resources she mentioned .
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"The way our bodies process and use calcium relates to the energy cycle, to our breath. Every single time we take a breath, we use calcium. Calcium is part of the whole breathing complex."
"Parties that have strong muscles have strong bones because muscles or what reminds the bones to build and grow and remodel."
"The stronger I get in my body, The stronger I feel emotionally."
"Coming into menopause because of the changes in our hormones, for women especially, the degree of loss can really ramp up, up to 8% of our bones a year."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
270: Hypermobility & Yoga with Libby Hinsley
Description:
The yoga we see in magazines and online often depict a contortionist style of yoga and it can give people the idea that only flexible people can or should do yoga. But what comes first – are more flexible people drawn to yoga or does yoga make us more flexible? Where does hypermobility come into all of this? Libby Hinsley answers these questions and more.
Libby Hinsley (she/her) is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Certified Yoga Therapist. She has extensive experience with yoga and physical therapy and in her clinical practice, she specializes in treating hypermobility disorgers and yoga-related injuries. Libby also teaches about anatomy in her membership program, Anatomy Bites. Recently diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Libby has a new book coming out on the topic called Yoga for Bendy People.
In this interview, Libby explains more about hypermobility and how it can affect people with this condition. She also shares why people with hypermobility often have tight muscles, how they can benefit from yoga, and some steps they might take to recognize if they have this condition and get it diagnosed. Libby gives yoga teachers some tips on being mindful of their verbal cues and some other things to be aware of with regard to hypermobility in a yoga class.
Key Takeaways:
[4:02] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Libby Hinsley.
[6:40] What does Libby do and who does she do it for?
[8:19] What is hypermobility?
[10:02] Libby was diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. She explains what it is and how it differs from Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder.
[12:08] What are Libby's thoughts on the idea that bendy people should do yoga?
[13:54] Flexibility and hypermobility are two different terms that are often used interchangeably.
[15:31] Why do people with hypermobility often have tight muscles?
[19:40] Shannon and Libby discuss the common message people with hypermobility get around needing to strengthen their muscles.
[21:18] What should people who might be hypermobile do? Libby describes some of the common symptoms people might face with hypermobility.
[25:24] The prevalence of hypermobility may be around 20% of the population and this number may be overrepresented in yoga.
[29:16] Shannon shares some feedback from a yoga teacher who is using OfferingTree for her website.
[32:01] Libby shares some of the main aspects of her book on what yoga teachers should be aware of in working with hypermobile people.
[38:44] How does Libby approach her clients dealing with hypermobility to convince them to change the way they practice?
[41:10] What are some things Libby has learned in the process of writing the book that she wishes more people knew?
[47:45] Shannon reflects on what could be happening in yoga classes with very bendy people.
[49:33] Libby's book also helps people reflect on what our verbal cues are encouraging or emphasizing.
[50:37] Find out more about Libby, her work, and order her book via her website.
[52:05] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this interview with Libby.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"What we consider it means to be good at yoga is very much tied to an aesthetic that glorifies hypermobility and it's a problem."
"Everything about yoga so commonly pushes people to go as far as they can in a posture as if that's the goal and that is not going to be helpful for a hyper mobile person."
“Let's make the practice about the practitioner. Instead of trying to push this practitioner into this certain type of practice, let's just build a practice that is actually for this person, that's about this person and that really supports that person."
"Momentum is easy. That's not a problem. It's the control that's hard."
"I remind people your yoga practice is actually for you and that usually really kind of wakes people up a bit like, oh, you mean this isn't a performance for someone else."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
269: Yoga Philosophy & Colonialism with Shyam Ranganathan
Description:
As yoga teachers, we learn a little bit about yoga philosophy in our YTTs, but yoga philosophy is much more than just the 8 limbs, or the brief summary we may have come across in our studies. Dr. Shyam Ranganathan (he/him) is an expert in yoga philosophy and in this episode, he shares more about this topic, as well as how colonialism has influenced what we understand as yoga philosophy.
Dr. Shyam Ranganathan is the founder of Yoga Philosophy, and a field-changing researcher on the study and translation of philosophy, especially South Asian philosophy and Yoga. He holds an MA in South Asian Studies, and an MA and PhD in philosophy, and is a member of the Department of Philosophy, and York Center for Asian Research, York University, Toronto. Shyam is a translator of the Yoga Sūtra, and founded his organization, Yoga Philosophy, to provide support for those interested in answering the question - What makes something yoga?
Shyam explains how learning about philosophy helps us to get along and why not all opinions are equally good or right. He also shares more about how Europeans misunderstood things when they studied the communities they colonized and how that showed up in the yoga sutras and how they are translated. This continues to influence how yoga is taught and practiced in the world, today, especially in the West. He also gives us insight about the yamas and social justice, choices and responsibility, ahimsa, dharma, self-governing and Ishvara Pranidhana. This is a really rich conversation that all of us can learn from.
Key Takeaways:
[3:48] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Shyam Ranganathan.
[6:45] Shyam shares his pronouns and explains how to pronounce his name.
[7:36] What does Shyam do and who does he do it for?
[8:46] What got Shyam interested in the work of studying philosophy?
[10:48] Shyam was born in Toronto, yet felt that he didn't fit in. He talks a bit about that experience.
[13:00] Shyam believes that philosophy enabled him to get along with people without having to agree with them.
[15:06] There are several polarizing issues in the world right now. Shyam highlights the fact that just because we are okay with disagreement doesn't mean there are no right answers.
[16:07] Where did Shyam's journey with yoga philosophy start?
[22:14] Shyam clarifies the role and impact of colonization in the interpretation of yoga sutras.
[31:49] Shyam shares an example of the two different ways of relating to what you contemplate.
[37:00] Shannon and Shyam discuss the linguistic model of thought and how that has influenced different situations and scenarios in history and in the present day.
[40:26] Why is it not yoga when we go in and try to make other people conform to our systems?
[44:08] How does the idea of choice and responsibility connect to the eight limbs?
[49:18] Shannon gives a shout out to OfferingTree.
[51:04] One of the three kriyas is ishvara pranidhana. Shyam unpacks what this really refers to.
[56:10] What are the other two kriyas?
[58:43] How is yoga connected to social justice? What do the niyamas have to do with social justice?
[64:48Shyam explains that fear is trauma and it's the result of a bad decision based on people's experiences.
[67:41] Where do the eight limbs of yoga fit in?
[72:21] What does Shyam mean when he talks about sovereignty?
[76:51] Find out more about Shyam and his work around yoga philosophy on his website.
[77:29] What is something in terms of yoga and philosophy that really has Shyam's interest right now?
[80:00] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this interview with Shyam. What were yours?
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"What I loved about philosophy immediately was that it was a way to get along with people without having to agree."
"Just because we're okay with disagreement doesn't mean that there are no right answers. Disagreement doesn't mean that everybody's opinion is equally good."
"The actual practice of yoga is something more basic and the eight limbs are there to help you practice. "
"After that colonial moment, people have to identify with imposed religious identities in order to find a place in a colonized world and that's where we are today."
"Whereas the external world (nature) can be explained in terms of causality, persons have to understand themselves in terms of choice and responsibility."
"When you meet up with people who advocate violence, you have to appreciate that that's a result of trauma."
"There's no yoga practice that isn't informed by trauma."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
268: Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault with Nikki Adams
Description:
Content Warning: This episode contains mentions of sexual violence and may be upsetting for some listeners.
Sexual abuse is a huge crisis around the world, directly impacting a significant portion of the global population, and more broadly speaking, affecting everyone. Nikki Adams is on the podcast to share with us more about this topic and how yoga, particularly trauma informed yoga, can be an option and entry point for healing for survivors.
Nikki is a trauma-informed yoga teacher, and owner of Beauty for Ashes Wellness Cultivation. She helps survivors of childhood sexual abuse empower themselves to trust love and heal their bodies. Through wellness and yoga, Nikki creates an inspirational, safe space for survivors to naturally breakthrough the stigma of childhood sexual abuse. She draws on her own personal experiences and the healing techniques that have helped her in her healing journey to help others.
Nikki shares how yoga helped her as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and explains why all yoga teachers (and humans) need to be trauma-informed. She also offers advice on what poses help and what ones may be triggering, how to hold space with compassion for everyone, why giving choices and the language we use is so important, and how we can re-assessing our yoga spaces from a trauma-informed lens.
If you have ever taught a yoga class for humans, this episode is for you, because we have all experienced some form of trauma in our lives.
Key Takeaways:
[4:31] Content Warning: This episode contains mentions of sexual violence and may be upsetting for some listeners.
[5:04] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Nikki Adams.
[7:30] Shannon gives thanks to OfferingTree for sponsoring the podcast and shares about a new article they posted!
[11:24] What does Nikki do and who does she do it for?
[11:44] How did Nikki realize that yoga fits really well in helping survivors of childhood sexual abuse?
[14:20] Nikki firmly believes that every yoga teacher should be trauma informed. What is the importance of that?
[16:00] How can yoga teachers respond if a student tells them that they are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse? What should they know in that moment?
[18:28] How does yoga help survivors of sexual abuse or trauma?
[20:35] What has Nikki learned through her work with survivors and using yoga as a way to heal?
[22:21] How did Nikki decide that she wanted to focus on serving survivors?
[25:50] How can survivors start to find healing through yoga?
[28:34] What does Nikki wish all yoga teachers understood?
[30:56] How can we hold space for the people coming into our yoga classes?
[32:07] How does Nikki work with groups of survivors and what does that look like?
[36:58] Find out more about Nikki and her work on Instagram and via her website.
[38:32] Shannon reflects on her conversation with Nikki.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"Being able to not have to speak about what happened to me and being able to process through my body - It was very important, a very important part of my healing journey and I wanted to share that with other survivors."
"Healing and starting the healing journey through yoga is possible."
"Start with yourselves. We've all been through something and maybe starting to use more gentle cues and think about how you want to be treated… Show yourself grace, show yourself compassion so that it can come out into your class."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
267: Thoughts on Belly Breathing with Shannon Crow
Description:
As human beings, we are always learning new information. Sometimes, this new information conflicts with our current beliefs or knowledge, so we need to be willing to dig in and explore this - and if we are wrong, to admit it and change our beliefs. This happened to Shannon Crow (she/her) with belly breathing.
You may have learned about the benefits of belly breathing in yoga class or yoga teacher training or even taught it to your students. However, it may not be the best practice for everyone. In this episode, Shannon reflects on how she came to change her views on belly breathing and how she now teaches breath to her students instead. She shares her own experiences as a yoga teacher and a yoga practitioner from what she has learned and then unlearned. If you have ever taught breathing in a yoga class, this episode is for you.
Key Takeaways:
[3:14] Shannon introduces her topic for this episode and why she was inspired to share about it.
[4:58] Shannon shares a little about an upcoming online workshop she is hosting with OfferingTree.
[6:39] Shannon learned about belly breathing in yoga classes and in yoga teacher training. Eventually, she realized that what she knew or believed about belly breathing may not be correct.
[8:54] The more research Shannon did into belly breathing, the worse she felt for teaching it the way she was. She reflects on how she felt at that time.
[10:04] What happens when we take a breath? Where does the breath begin?
[13:24] What do we really mean when we say belly breathing?
[15:38] Some things associated with belly breathing can put additional pressure on the pelvic floor, and this may not be desirable for some people.
[20:46] We are always going to be learning new information, and as yoga teachers, we need to explore how we can move with grace to explain to our students why we have shifted certain things we teach.
[23:28] What are your thoughts on belly breathing? Share them with Shannon!
Chart that shows what happens when we breathe:
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree and Pelvic Health Professionals.
Quotes from this episode:
"The more research I did into this, the worst I felt for teaching the way I was teaching belly breathing."
"Something that we all need to embrace as yoga teachers is that we are responsible for how we're guiding our students."
"As long as I continue to listen and learn and grow as a human, I'm on the right track."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
266: Social Location, Power & Privilege with Raudhah Rahman
Description:
What is social location and what does it have to do with teaching yoga? Many of us don’t often think about our identities, how they intersect, and how they afford us privilege and shape our life experiences. In this episode, we learn more from Raudhah Rahman (she/her) about social location and how it is relevant to yoga teachers.
Raudhah Rahman describes herself as connecting people with their voices whether that's through web design, teacher training or a yoga class. As a yoga teacher, Raudhah practices disruption as a way of creating conditionas of wellness for all of us. She is a self-taught website designer whose business, Wellness + Websites, was born after she lost her job as a yoga studio assistant because of the pandemic. Her main focus is providing websites & branding services to folks who want to embrace all of their identities and share their value driven work with others.
Raudhah explains what social location is, and where we use this as yoga teachers. She also shares more about the importance of recognizing and questioning our privilege and the responsibility we have when we hold privilege. From a yoga philosophy lens, Raudhah sheds light on how the 8 limbs of yoga intersect with social location, how we can deal with mistakes when we make them, and continue to learn and grow.
Key Takeaways:
[3:46] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Raudhah Rahman.
[7:21] Shannon gives a shout out to OfferingTree and to one of the podcast listeners.
[11:19] What does Raudhah do and who does she do it for? She shares her social location and how that led to the work that she does.
[16:27] What is social location?
[18:24] How does social location come into the yoga world and how can yoga teachers use it?
[24:26] What are Raudhah's thoughts on the pushback people sometimes have on discussing privilege or specific identities?
[30:59] What are some different identities we can think about when considering our social location?
[34:59] Citizenship is another element of the social location wheel that can play into a person's experience of the world.
[37:50] Shannon and Raudhah explore this idea of fighting for privilege vs. fighting for freedom.
[40:56] How can yoga teachers share these ideas or start to look at incorporating this into their messaging? It's not as simple as tacking on something to your website.
[46:16] Some of this work can feel shocking as we learn about things we didn't know but it is important to do. What are some tips that can help make this practice easier?
[54:34] What's the difference between being called in and someone just lashing out? How can we handle both?
[59:41] What are some other things that Raudhah wishes people knew about social location?
[63:00] Shannon chats with Raudhah about how she can ask podcast guests to introduce themselves with their social location.
[65:46] Shannon reflects on her takeaways from this conversation with Raudhah.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"Social location is a practice used to reflect on the groups you belong to because of your place of position and history and society." - Raudhah, quoting Michelle Johnson
[21:38] "If I don't begin to question that privilege that I have, because I've internalized it as normal, I may not realize the harm that I'm doing by normalizing certain actions I've taken or normalizing the actions that institutions have taken that marginalize those further away from power."
[23:45 - 23:53] "I think personal power really comes from disrupting the identities we've internalized."
[26:40 - 26:44] "Are we fighting for privilege? Or are we fighting for freedom?" - Raudhah quoting Alok
[49:49 - 50:00] "The way to practice is to start. And when you start, give yourself grace and start small."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
265: Teach LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Yoga with Gabi Parkham
Description:
We all want our yoga classes to be welcoming places for everybody, but sometimes, we unintentionally make some people feel excluded or unwelcome. One of those groups of people is the LGBTQIA+ community. Gabi Parkham shares how we can teach LGBTQIA+ inclusive yoga and create safer yoga spaces.
Gabi was born in Brighton (UK) and started practicing yoga during early childhood. She is passionate about finding equity and justice through yoga, consent in all aspects, and sharing yoga free from assumptions. Alongside teaching yoga, Gabi is an LGBTQIA+ equity educator and consultant helping yoga teachers and studios to make their classes more welcoming for the LGBTQIA+ community. Gabi runs regular online workshops about LGBTQIA+ "inclusion" and a 6 month online course for LGBTQIA+ yoga teachers to come together in community, learn from one another, and support each other. Gabi also co-founded Laviot, a social and supportive community LGBT+ Jewish non-binary people and women.
In this interview, Gabi explains what LGBTQIA+ means, the importance of sharing pronouns, and why creating spaces for this community is important. Gabi shares more about why it’s so important to get educated, then teach like there is a trans or non-binary person in your class all the time, and how to include that in marketing your classes. This is all part of a lifelong learning journey, and the work is always ongoing. Learn more about how to start creating safer, braver, and more inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA+ folks in your yoga class in this episode.
Key Takeaways:
[3:15] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Gabi Parkham.
[7:28] Shannon gives a shout out to OfferingTree.
[12:43] Gabi introduces herself and gives her social location.
[15:22] What does Gabi do and who does she do it for?
[19:16] Why is it important for yoga teachers to have LGBTQIA+ awareness?
[23:30] How does Gabi handle conversations about setting limits on offerings dedicated to LGBTQIA+ people?
[25:02] What does LGBTQIA+ stand for?
[27:07] Gabi isn't too keen on this wording. She explains why.
[28:29] How can we center the voices and experiences of people who have historically been marginalized?
[30:35] Shannon and Gabi explore what the world could be like if cisgender and/or heterosexual people took the time to explore their own gender and sexual identity and expression.
[33:40] What are Gabi's thoughts on pronouns?
[38:23] How can yoga teachers make it evident that they've been doing the work to learn about creating safer spaces for people in the LGBTQIA+ community?
[43:18] Gabi shares some examples of language that we can use and some steps we can take to make spaces more welcoming.
[49:15] Gabi and Shannon discuss a little about the use of masculine and feminine in the yoga setting, and why it's so important to be clear about what we mean with certain words we use.
[54:21] Gabi shares some final thoughts around creating braver and safer yoga spaces.
[57:01] Where can yoga teachers learn more from Gabi or other resources?
[60:44] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this interview.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"We want our classes to be welcoming and inclusive and as safe as possible."
"What I really would rather do is shift the focus and center the marginalized voices center the people who have been historically marginalized and minority sized"
"Learning about other people's experiences is a great place to start."
"Start teaching your class as if there is always a queer person, a trans person, a non-binary person in the room"
"Again, it's not easy, it's really hard to change this language and it takes practice and time and you will mess up and that's okay."
"Just because that's their intention doesn't mean that people inherently feel safe coming in."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
264: Solve the Problem for Your Students with Danait Berhe
Description:
As a yoga teacher, do you think of yourself as a problem solver? In fact, our yoga offerings are solving a problem for our students, and we need to talk about what problem we’re solving to attract our dream students! In this episode with Danait Berhe, learn more about why it’s important to talk about the problems you solve, and how it ties in with your messaging.
Danait is the founder and messaging strategist of The Asmara Agency. With her award-winning full-service agency, Danait helps mission-driven companies craft compelling business, brand, and messaging strategies. She brings a unique perspective to her clients, integrating her background in analytical research, marketing, and branding to help her clients soar their profit and their impact. The Asmara Agency is also committed to making sure that more women, especially Black women, enter the world of entrepreneurship and not only survive, but build brands they can leverage as an asset in order to build + create generational wealth.
Yoga teachers are often hesitant to talk about problems in their messaging, but Danait explains how you can do so with empathy instead of agitation, and without having to resort to sleazy sales tactics. She shares how we can think about our yoga offerings as solving problems for people, the importance of finding a niche and getting specific about who you help and how, and more.
If you’ve been struggling with getting clarity on your message, this interview with Danait is a must-listen!
Key Takeaways:
[2:38] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Danait Berhe
[8:27] Shannon and Danait share a little about the sponsor, OfferingTree, and how they got connected because of it!
[10:04] What does Danait do and who does she do it for?
[11:20] What do people most often struggle with when they try to create their website or share their message in some way?
[14:39] A lot of yoga teachers don't want to focus on the problem. How does Danait address that?
[21:31] Shannon shares an exciting message from OfferingTree.
[23:06] How can yoga teachers talk about the problem they solve in an authentic way, without seeming to be poking the problem more?
[28:36] What can yoga teachers do if they are struggling with their message? Danait has three questions to ask yourself to get clear on your message.
[35:47] You have to keep sharing over and over again, not just once and be done with it.
[39:54 - 39:54] Asking questions and getting to know your audience is a great way to get content ideas, but also to find people.
[40:58] The length of time it takes for someone to decide to buy something from you depends on the price of the offer.
[41:30] A quick message from Allison from the Yoga Teacher Conf.
[43:29] Timing is everything when it comes to promoting and selling an offer.
[46:45] What are some things that might make the process easier for yoga teachers who are putting together their website?
[53:29] It's important to get extremely specific with what you do and who you help, and why.
[56:40] What is your approach to yoga? Talking about your process helps to build trust.
[59:35] Danait helps a live listener get clear on her message.
[63:33] Find out more about Danait's work on Instagram or check out her website.
[65:48] Messaging is something that is always evolving and changing. That's normal.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Yoga Teacher Conf.
Quotes from this episode:
"Pricing can be solved by determining what is the problem we're solving and then how, how big of a problem is it for someone to pay and what are they willing to pay for that."
"What things do they need to know for them to be able to see that I am at the solution to that problem?"
"I believe that there is an empathetic approach to being able to solve problems without necessarily poking at the problem."
"We just want to call attention to the problem and then paint the picture of what's possible for them."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
263: Optimizing Your YouTube Videos with Victoria Levitan
Description:
Are you using YouTube as a way to get people to sign up for your offerings? YouTube is a powerful search engine, and with the right strategy, you could be growing your audience, getting new students, and really leveraging this platform to increase your visibility. Youtube and Video Coach Victoria Levitan tells us all about how to set up and optimize YouTube videos for your yoga business.
Victoria has over 4 years of video marketing experience, and currently teaches small business owners how to create videos, use Youtube to grow their business, and what to say on camera so that it converts their viewers. She aspires to help people film videos that cultivate human connection and stand out with ease.
Victoria explains why yoga teachers should be on YouTube, and how to get started - beginning with how to set up your own channel on YouTube! She also shares tips on setting up lighting, what to include in the video description, and how to get people to go from watching your video to signing up for your offering. Victoria has some advice on including a call to action in your videos, and promoting the video after you’ve created it!
If you are new to YouTube and have been wondering how it could fit into your marketing strategy, or are looking to jump back into creating optimized videos on YouTube, this episode is made for you!
Key Takeaways:
[3:53] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Victoria Levitan.
[8:38] Shannon gives a shout out to the sponsor, OfferingTree.
[9:49] What does Victoria do and who does she do it for?
[10:32] What would Victoria say to someone just starting out with YouTube?
[12:12] Why is YouTube a powerful tool for yoga teachers to try to get students?
[14:47] How can yoga teachers start their YouTube channel? Victoria walks us through the steps.
[16:59] What are some lighting options for yoga teachers when natural lighting is not an option?
[19:34] What is Victoria's recommendation for the video description on YouTube? What is most important there?
[21:33] What are Victoria's tips for having good audio?
[21:55] What does Victoria think that yoga teachers could be doing to really get people to watch their Youtube video and then sign up for a paid offering?
[24:09] How often should you be talking about your paid offerings on YouTube?
[24:50] What are some calls to action that Victoria finds to be effective in building a business?
[26:04] What other things convert people from watching a free YouTube video to signing up for something?
[27:41] When recording a video, is it better to record on Zoom and upload it to YouTube or record directly in YouTube?
[28:37] Setting up a YouTube channel and figuring out the tech of recording, editing, and uploading videos can be really overwhelming. What are some of Victoria's tips for people who are just starting out?
[30:45] What is Victoria's preferred editor for editing videos?
[31:51] Victoria shares more tips on getting people to move from watching the video to signing up for something.
[33:20] How can yoga teachers figure out what keywords to use in their YouTube videos?
[33:57] How important is it to put a legal disclaimer in a YouTube video, especially when leading movement and breath?
[35:16] How often does Victoria end up copying part of her video description for each video?
[36:11] What should yoga teachers know about artwork for YouTube?
[37:48] How can yoga teachers check to see what's working with their videos on YouTube?
[39:19] How important is it to regularly put out content on YouTube?
[40:11] Shannon and Victoria discuss batch filming and scheduling as an option to get consistent with creating content for YouTube.
[41:26] How long should YouTube videos be?
[42:53] Shannon shares about the upcoming Yoga Teacher Conf. There's also going to be a virtual option!
[44:24] What are Victoria's suggestions for music that can be used in YouTube videos?
[45:27] How can yoga teachers create a paywall on YouTube so only certain students can see our videos?
[47:51] How can yoga teachers get more views on YouTube videos?
[51:45] How should yoga teachers think about their YouTube strategy?
[55:17] How can you get your YouTube channel monetized?
[57:21] Victoria shares some final tips for people feeling like putting out videos regularly is a challenge.
[59:14] How do YouTube ads work?
[60:43] Find out more about Victoria and her work at her website.
[61:37] Shannon reflects on how The Connected Yoga Teacher Channel has grown in the last few years.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Yoga Teacher Conf.
Quotes from this episode:
"From a more strategic level, YouTube ultimately is a search engine...uploading to YouTube is going to help grow your search engine optimization. "
"You want to start with a call to action at the beginning section of your video."
"You should promote your videos more than once because it goes back to that repetition. People need to hear it or see it a couple of times before they realize, oh, I should probably check this out."
"I think people really enjoy and resonate sometimes with the less polished versions of videos."
"You have to look at Youtube and video in a way that will work for your business."
"We've got to fully optimize what you already have created and give your audience the time to take action on it."
The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
262: Run a Successful Yoga Membership with Allie Van Fossen
Description:
How can yoga teachers successfully leverage the membership model in their business? In this episode, Shannon chats with Allie Van Fossen about how she built and grew her membership to 1000 members, and what it really takes to manage a membership fo that size.
Allie leads the Body Mind Soul Studio, an online yoga studio that helps people leverage a holistic yoga practice to create transformation in their lives, both on & off the mat. Her mission is to empower yoga students with on-the-mat tools so they can confidently lead an off-the-mat wholesome, fulfilling life. At Body Mind Soul Studio, Allisson offers quarterly courses, weekly live events, and a variety of yoga classes and teachings, all via a yoga membership program.
Allie shares the nitty-gritty details about what it really means to run a yoga membership. She candidly shares about the challenges in her latest launch and how she dealt with them, as well as her strategy to retain members. Allie explains how she uses YouTube as her main marketing platform, and gives us some great tips on what elements to include in our membership program, and how to decide what to charge.
If you've been thinking about starting a membership or if you have a membership and are thinking about how to improve it, this interview with Allie Van Fossen is going to help you along this journey.
Key Takeaways:
[3:17] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Allie Van Fossen.
[6:20] Did you know that OfferingTree makes it really easy to set up membership sites? Shannon gives a shout out to sponsor OfferingTree.
[9:11] What does Allie do and who does she do it for?
[10:20] Allie has a large following on YouTube, as well as a large membership. What was the process like building these platforms?
[14:15] Allie shares some of the things she loves about YouTube.
[17:08] For many yoga teachers, YouTube may feel like more of a challenge than Instagram. For Allie, it's the opposite.
[18:51] What is Allie's membership like?
[21:34] What do Allie's members have access to within the membership?
[25:35] For many yoga teachers teaching online right now, sign ups are lower than they have been for the past couple of years.
[27:07] The Yoga Teacher Conf is coming up soon, 22-24 April in Denver, Colorado. Shannon shares some details about the event.
[29:07] Allie recently had a launch that didn't go as planned. What happened and what was that like?
[33:48] What were some of the reasons why Allie's most recent launch saw only 50% of the usual rates?
[35:32] From a different perspective, people are also in an in-between zone and may not be emotionally in the right place.
[38:46] The third thing that contributed to Allie's disappointing launch was a collection of smaller factors.
[41:02] Allie's next launch is coming up in spring, and she's prepared for it.
[44:27] What does Allie's team do to help retention in the membership?
[51:39] Allie shares some of her tips for starting a membership.
[54:00] What is Allie's advice for people who are new to the idea of having a membership?
[59:34] Find out more about Allie and the work she does by visiting her website.
[62:41] Shannon shares her key takeaway from this interview with Allie.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree and Yoga Teacher Conf.
Quotes from this episode:
“YouTube is the primary traffic source that feeds our other revenue streams and I love it."
"It's been a massive learning lesson and ... being an entrepreneur, just putting yourself out there, letting yourself be seen and heard and be so visible, really requires you to go through your own metamorphosis."
"I started the membership really out of that desire to go deeper with my community."
"You can spend a lot of money getting people in the door, but then if they all leave just as quickly, you've got this really broken, leaky system."
"People say they want one thing, but they actually need something else."
"I'm finally embracing that entrepreneurship is experimentation and it can be joyous and fun, even when you've got tens of thousands of dollars invested."
"Go inward, connect with what has worked for you and been most moving for your own yoga journey as a student and let that be your springboard for creativity."