As yoga teachers we need stability more than we need flexibility in our yoga practices and in our yoga businesses.
One of the aims of yoga practice is to cultivate balance. Asana practices that focus solely on building flexibility, without regard for strength and stability, risk creating joint instability over time.
Beyond asana, we need stability in our lives. Teaching yoga is inherently unstable as a profession. Income varies, sometimes drastically. Classes change, sometimes seasonally. Studios close. Clients move. When we work in a profession that is about helping others cope with change, there has to be a foundation of stability in our own lives to help us manage our energy. With a stable foundation we can show up as a calming, balancing force for those whom we wish to serve.
Beyond implementing balancing, strengthening asana, grounding meditations, and calming breath work into our personal practices, professional stability can be achieved through proper reflection, planning, and strategizing.
This is the piece that eludes many yoga teachers.
Far too often, yoga teachers are quick to jump on Instagram, build websites, and develop online programs before getting clear on what it is they really want to offer, the message they really want to share, and the ways in which sharing feels most authentic to them. This results in ineffective, confusing, and sometimes annoying, marketing messages that feel desperate, sales-y, and inauthentic. Students of yoga are notoriously wary of unrealistic and inauthentic promises of life transformation.
Fortunately, reflecting, planning, and strategizing is inherently part of yoga practice!
As we work hard to gain focus and clarity in our life through the practice of yoga, we must remember to also spend the same amount of time looking for focus and clarity in our work.
Developing plans may sound boring and restrictive, but they actually allow for greater freedom and a more abundant flow of energy exchange. When others are clear, we are much more likely to want what they have to offer. If we ourselves are unsure what we want to offer and uncertain about how we want to tell others about it, how can we expect our students to want what we have to share?
Rather than spending all our time on Instagram, it may be wise we spend more time reflecting on our unique value and how to share our passion with our tribe.
Mindful Colouring Yin
Have you ever been afraid to chant in class?
On Being Brave
