It was 6.30 in a Monday night and the studio was peaceful, sunny and ready for class.
Why were my palms sweating and my heart racing?
Well, what if no one turned up? What if I was about to have another class that ended up costing me more than I earned? What if I had two brand new beginners and three advanced students?
The truth was I was dreading the start of my class. And here’s why…
I had been in love with Yoga for such a long time. Way back at the beginning I had started yoga classes to help me with stress. It was a ‘get medication or get Yoga’ type diagnosis. And this crazy thing called Yoga had been a selfcare touchstone ever since.
I’d taken my teacher training five years earlier. It had been gruelling, and taken me relentlessly to my edge… and I’d stuck with it nonetheless.
I lived, breathed and with all my heart felt called to share Yoga.
And yet I couldn’t fill a class to save my life!
And the few students who did show up were such a mixed bag. Sure, I’d plan my class ahead of time but then I’d have to radically shift it as I taught, desperately trying to give everyone something that they could manage.
And by the end of it I felt dissatisfied with my efforts, and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that they did, too.
This was NOT what I had signed up for.
The truth was that I was rapidly falling out of love with Yoga. And I was terrified.
So (for this text book Pitta dosha woman) I took a risk.
I allowed myself 20 minutes to really let go. To break down. So cry. To feel the shame. The disappointment in myself.
And the real fear that maybe I was going to have to give up my Yoga teaching path and go back to my J.O.B.
And then, as Siva Nataraja reminds us, the wheel turned and I had that Kriya. That minute ‘in the moment’ Moksha from my fear and drama.
And in that moment I decided that enough was enough.
I headed to the bathroom. Splashed some water in my face. Looked at myself firmly in the mirror.
Yes, enough was absolutely enough.
I was done… feeling scared that not enough people would show up to my classes.
I was done… feeling icky about how much and who I charged.
I was done… finding myself calculating the gap between my overheads and my ‘income’ as students were arriving for class.
And I was totally done… trying to be everything to everyone and failing us all.
I was ready to be an abundant Yoga teacher.
And there was no way I was going to risk this deep love for my craft a moment longer.
By admitting that I wasn’t happy and allowing myself to feel my sadness (rather than beating up myself over it) — I was able to see light at the end of the tunnel.
While I didn’t know the specifics of what I needed to do to shift my stagnant energy and attract the abundance I knew I was meant for, I did know that what I was doing wasn’t working.
(Fast forward and I’ve distilled what does work into 7 short videos that you can access free right here.)
Looking back my career crisis taught me 3 key lessons:
1. It was my job to take the role of the teacher.
This meant to have as much conviction about my class pricing, scheduling and leadership as I did about the practice of Yoga itself.
· No more squelching or weirdness about taking class payments.
· No more indulging people that came late or ‘forgot’ to bring their money.
· No more pretending not to notice weirdos who insisted on doing random pushups in between poses (Yes, really!)
2. To heal my money story and drop the ‘wounded healer’ identity
This meant recognising that I was a householder, not a mendicant! Being broke did not make me more spiritual, but it DID keep me in struggle.
· No more under charging born from codependence and people-pleasing.
· No more undervaluing myself or the incredible panacea that is Yoga.
· No more denying myself ongoing support and professional development because I ‘didn’t have the money’
3. To learn the things I didn’t get in my teacher training
This meant understanding that while my teacher trainings had been comprehensive, they hadn’t taught me anything useful in terms of being a Yoga business owner.
· No more pretending I knew how to market myself (when I didn’t).
· No more hiding and being terrified of promoting myself.
· No more trying to figure it out alone!
Today my mission is to help you become more aligned for abundance in your Yoga business so you can really celebrate what you love most about our craft and change the lives of your students, too.
(Access a 7-part short video training program to do exactly that right here.)
I want you to be able to share your gifts widely, with the people who really need what you have to offer.
And I want to support you to:
· Get out of any struggle or misalignment when it comes to promoting and marketing you and Yoga
· Welcome students AND their payments in a way that feels good for everyone
· Feel confident and comfortable charging your worth, never feeling icky about it again!
I’ve made ALL the mistakes you can imagine while fine-tuning these lessons.
Since charging by ‘gold coin’ donation (hint: that’s $2 in Australia) and attracting aforementioned weirdo pushup dude (and others!) I’ve studied with all sorts of industry leaders, from our field and far wider, to become masterful at the business of Yoga.
And I’m ready to shine a little light on it. (Get it, that was a bad Iyengar joke. I’m unapologetically nerdy when it comes to Yoga ;)
I’ve curated seven things you can start doing right now to generate abundance and ease in your Yoga business, whipped them up into short videos and would love you to have them.
If some free Yoga biz training could be of service, please take a look.
ACCESS YOUR FREE VIDEO TRAINING HERE
Along with the free videos themselves, you’ll also find access to my free weekly Yoga Biz podcasts and some extra bonuses and personal support from me.
You’ll also receive a personal invite to my Yoga Teachers only Facebook group, where you can network, ask ‘silly’ questions and feel really supported with other trailblazers who are also working to drop being broke and embrace being brilliant.