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How to Practice Yoga Off the Mat

June 21, 2017 Filed Under: Teaching Tuesday, Tips Leave a Comment

Practicing yoga ON the mat is a pretty easy feat to imagine. That’s the breathing, postures and relaxation you do when you unroll your mat in a class at a studio (or at home).

But so often you hear the phrase in yoga circles about practicing yoga OFF the mat.

Is this some new way of practicing postures bare-footed and standing in the grass? Does this mean breaking out into bridge pose when you’re at work? What does it mean really?

When someone says YOGA, the initial image is someone doing downdog (or some other cirque de soleil pose), but yoga is so much more than “just poses.” It’s an entire system of well-being with general and specific guidelines for achieving a STATE of yoga.

A state of yoga exists when the feel-good contentment of your one-hour asana practice permeates into all the other areas of your life in a 24/7 sort of way.

There comes a time for many as they’re practicing yoga ON the mat, questions begin to arise. Why do I feel so much better? Why do I feel more content and calmer? Why does this crazy one-hour of poses seem to untangle everything in my life, not just my body?

When you start having those questions, it’s time to introduce the 10 Pillars of Yoga.

The 10 Pillars of Yoga are what I call the yamas and niyamas; what some think of as the 10 commandments of yoga. These are the ten ways in which people who practice yoga can live their lives in harmony with others and themselves.

The yamas and niyamas show us how to live in harmony with others and ourselves. Click To Tweet

There’s so much goodness in the yamas and niyamas that I couldn’t appropriately capture it all in a single blog post (or ten). So I hosted a live training on them, and now I’m sharing that video with you.

Instant Access to The 10 Pillars of Yoga Video

In this no-fluff, no sales video, I explain the 10 Pillars of Yoga (aka the yamas and niyamas) in depth and provide real-world examples of how these pillars can be implemented (easily) into your life right now. Actually the 10 Pillars are easier to get into than Sage pose.

(If you’re already on my VIP list, you’ve already received the link to the video. You know what’s also cool for those on my list? They get invited to the live trainings.)

When you’re finished going through The 10 Pillars, come back and share with me which one resonated the most with you.

Benefits of Children’s Yoga

February 6, 2017 Filed Under: General, Tips Leave a Comment

By Purple Lotus Yoga Children’s Lead Trainer Michele Monaghan

“Yoga has helped me to feel peaceful and be more patient with my little sister,” said one of my seven-year-old students when I asked her why she liked yoga.

Having taught many young people over the years, I’ve heard countless stories similar to this that provide obvious proof of the benefits of yoga for children. And it doesn’t stop there; when children practice yoga, the benefits radiate to parents, families, teachers, and communities.

1. Improved Strength & Flexibility

The deep stretching and breathing during yoga poses improves range of mobility. Despite appearing to be a low-impact activity, yoga requires great muscular strength and concentration.

Yoga helps prevent injuries to growing bones and muscles, the perfect complement to repetitive motion and/or extra-curricular activities.

When children practice yoga, they learn ways to exercise that don’t involve winning or losing.

2. Listening & Self-Discipline

An enormous plus from the position of a parent or teacher is that yoga builds listening skills and improves self-discipline (yay!). It also allows children to be independent and embrace their differences.

Rather than being pressured to look and move identical to the person next to them, children are encouraged to pay attention (or “listen”) to the messages their own body is sending them about how it feels and move accordingly.

One of my favorite things about yoga is that it helps children learn how to control their emotions. The calming techniques learned in yoga help them to manage emotional melt-downs. In fact, studies show that yoga can be therapeutic for children with special needs like ADHD, Autism, Down syndrome and many other conditions.

3. Stress Management

One of the most important benefits is how yoga aids with stress-management. I once had a grown man laugh at me when I told him I am a Children’s Yoga Instructor. “Are kids really that stressed out?” he said

YES! Yes. They. Are.

Children are often over-scheduled and pressured to succeed, causing a healthy amount of stress to rise to toxic levels. When this happens, children are at risk for significant physical, emotional, psychological, social, and behavioral changes.

Unless they learn to achieve balance in their lives, this pressure will take its toll. This is why rest and relaxation is imperative for a balanced, healthy life.

In my Kids Yoga classes, we explore rest and relaxation through guided meditations, colorful stories, art activities, pranayama, and savasana. In doing so, not only are children learning that it’s important to chill every once in awhile, but they are also developing creativity.

4. Develop Coping Tools

Through a fun approach to breathing exercises (pranayama) children learn how to develop awareness and control of their breath. The ability to calm the breath, and in turn calm the whole body, is an important skill that can reduce test anxiety at school.

I’ve had several students report back to me about how they practiced specific breathing exercises they’d learned in yoga before taking standardized tests (a particularly stressful event in public schools).

And the application of controlled breathing can be helpful for children in many other situations, not just at school.

One of my favorite stories to recall is when a former five-year-old student proudly told me how he used “Flower Power Breath” during a doctor visit. He used this calming breath to “make it through the shots without freaking out.” His mom was especially thankful that he had acquired the knowledge to help him through what was previously known to be an anxiety-inducing situation for them both.

The Mindfulness Jar

A super simple and super easy craft we do in Children’s Yoga Training, and that you can do at home with your own child, is making a mindfulness jar. Kids love to shake the glitter and watch it settle to the bottom, and while they do, peace and quiet happens.

And the adults are known to enjoy the swirling glitter too!

Free instructions for making your own mindfulness jar.

Fun for the whole family.

That’s a lot of benefits! How can this be?

The short answer is this: because yoga teaches mindfulness. Instilling mindfulness in a young child is a priceless gift that they will be able to use throughout the course of their life. This applies to the physical, as well as mental and spiritual choices they will have to make along their journey in this world.

Actually, I can’t think of one situation in life where mindfulness wouldn’t act as a positive reinforcement. From healthier eating habits to the application of qualities like compassion and empathy, mindfulness has you covered.

Becoming more mindful doesn’t happen by accident; it is a practice, a lifestyle. I believe yoga is an all-encompassing component to a mindful, purposeful life. When we plant the seeds of mindfulness for younger generations the future begins to blossom and bloom into a beautiful, friendly place full of love and light.

Vinyasa & The Cycle of Life

September 14, 2016 Filed Under: General, Modern Zen, Thursday Threads Leave a Comment

*This weekend, my family and I will lay my 92-year-old grandmother to rest. I wrote this a little over five years ago when my other grandmother passed away. Still rings true.*

One concept I teach in training is called vinyasa krama which means a logical sequencing, and it usually applies to designing yoga classes. Krishnamacharya defined vinyasa simply as a beginning, middle and end, and taught birth, life and death was the ultimate vinyasa…

With thousands of tiny vinyasas in between.

As we laid my 81-year-old grandmother to rest, I rubbed my ever-expanding belly with a growing life inside. I, at 40-years-old, was the middle. I was experiencing a beginning, middle and end all in one moment.

I wish I could tell you I appreciated the profoundness, however I could only grieve the passing of a wonderful, caring, loving woman.

I think about the little attention we pay to the cycle of life….and if we’re so blatant in our disregard for the ultimate vinyasa can we truly honor the cycle of a yoga class?

A great example of this is our avoidance of the term “corpse” as in corpse pose. In our politically correct times, in our attempts to be sensitive we gloss over it by referring to it in Sanskrit because it sounds better and prettier.

We describe it as resting, relaxation and beach pose because we don’t want people to have to think about death. Someone explained to me that corpse pose does signify a death–an ending–and upon rising out of corpse, we arise a new being.

We honor births with flowers and celebrations. We acknowledge death with eulogies and sympathy, but what do we do about the middle?

On our tombstones, the middle is represented by the dash between the date of birth and date of death– a full life summarized by one little typographical character.

We acknowledge the beginning of a class with a quiet centering and celebrate the end with relaxation and meditation. But what about the dash of your classes? Has it been boiled down to a typographical character?

My challenge to you is to make your classes (and your life!) more than a typographical character, barely remembered. Allow the middle to be as important as the beginning and end because that is truly where the richness lies.

5 Stages of Yoga Teacher Training

August 31, 2016 Filed Under: Teaching Tuesday Leave a Comment

Congratulations! You’ve officially enrolled in yoga teacher training. You did your research, paid your tuition and bought your books. Woo-hoo! As you’re prepping for your first training class, I want to share the five emotional stages you’re likely to experience as you go through training.

Stage 1 | Nervous Excitement

Occurs pre-training and throughout first session

The stars aligned and you’re taking teacher training. Yippee! You fell in love with yoga and are ready to learn more. You know it will deepen your practice, and take you to the next level. Plus, there’s been this whisper to teach, and you’re finally heeding the call.

But you’re also secretly doubting your decision. The timing, the investment, will the kids blow up the house while you’re gone. Then the normal mind-litany: What will training be like? Can you really do this? Will anyone like you? Will you like any of the other teachers? What the hell have you gotten yourself into?

It’s a see-saw. I’m nervous-I’m excited-I’m nervous-I’m excited.

Stage 2 | Deer in the Headlights

Occurs somewhere between first and second training session

Holy crap. It’s the end of the first session and your brain is fried from new words, new ideas, and just how far your comfort zone is going to be stretched. The day after your first training, you’re exhausted and hung over. (Oh yeah, training hang overs are a real thing.)

You get a glimpse of the effort and homework (homework?!?) it will take to complete the training. And now you’re seriously questioning your sanity. Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe you’re not meant to be a yoga teacher after all.

This is my favorite part of teacher training and one of these days I’m going to snap some Before & After pics. Those wide-eyed stares of terror, like sitting at base camp after you’ve agreed to climb Mt. Everest.

Stage 3 | Overwhelm

Occurs somewhere between 25-50% of training

Whoa baby, this is when those doubts really rear their ugly heads. The requirements feel a bit like you’re in school again, and you were never a top-notch student. Words are rambling in your head and you’re not sure the difference between updog and downdog anymore.

You’re going to have to get in front of people and actually–gulp–teach. Who the hell are you to be teaching anyone? Clearly you don’t know enough–that’s why you’re in teacher training. Who’s going to take yoga from you? No one’s going to be interested, no one’s going to show up.

And you still have so.much.homework left to complete. There’s no way you’re going to finish everything. You have a life outside of yoga, damn it, and if you hear your teacher say “trust the process” one more time you’re going to go berserk.

Stage 4 | Acceptance

Occurs somewhere toward last 25% of training

You want this, and you’re going to do it. It’s been hard, but you put your head down and kept checking off requirements one by one. You’re not there yet, but you’re closer than you were two months ago.

You’ve taught a few classes and you don’t suck as badly as you thought. You received some nice compliments and most have come back for another class. One or two have shared how much better they’re feeling or how well they’ve slept. ::Squee:: That’s exactly why you wanted to become a yoga teacher.

Stage 5 | Bittersweet Joy

Occurs at the end of training

OMFG. You did it. You completed training and you were pretty good at it. You still have a long way to go and so much more to learn, but you completed the first major step. You proved to yourself you could do it. It was everything you imagined it would be–and so much more.

You’re a different person at the end of training than you were when you started. You’re surprised at the personal growth you experienced and are extremely happy you went through the entire process. You understand the process and why it was necessary.

When you get your picture snapped with your certificate–pure joy.

The cozy cocoon of training is over. You won’t be seeing your training buddies on a regular basis. Your mentor won’t be there to ask questions and calm your crazy fears. This is where the bitter comes in.

But you can continue the post-graduation high…CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.

Yoga Sutra 1.20

I’m not sharing anything new because thousands of years ago, the Yoga Sutras addressed these very stages.

“Through the faithful certainty in the path and directing energy towards the practices, repeated memory of the path and the process of stilling the mind, training and deep concentration and the pursuit of real knowledge, by which higher samadhi is attained.” –Swamij.com

10 Qualities of a Yoga Teacher

June 27, 2016 Filed Under: Tips Leave a Comment

Have you ever been on a job interview where they asked you to list three qualities that make you the ideal candidate for the position?

I HATED that question, and usually I pulled something random from my tush, depending on the job and person interviewing me. Thank goodness (and knock on wood) I don’t have to do formal job interviews anymore.

But now I’m on a crusade. I want to save you from having to pull random qualities from YOUR tush, and share with you the top answers I receive from students when I ask them what they look for in a yoga teacher.

And I bet they’re not what you’d expect…

What are some of the top qualities YOU believe make a great teacher? Share with me in the comments so I can add it to my unofficial list.

Are you the next great yoga teacher? The next session of the 200-hour training starts in 12 days. Find out why Purple Lotus Yoga is the choice for non-traditional yoga teachers.

10 Places to Start Teaching Yoga

May 31, 2016 Filed Under: Business, Teaching Tuesday, Tips Leave a Comment

This, by far, is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients who are talking to me about starting teacher training or who are already in teacher training with me. Where can I go to teach yoga? How can I find a place or a space to teach yoga?

And what I tell my students is, if you’ll get creative, think “non-traditionally” (not a yoga studio or a gym), you really have a wide open space. I’m sharing 10 of those places today.

#1-Go Outside

If you live in a place that has warmer weather and shorter winters, then you really have a longer period of time in which you can take advantage of this free outdoor space. You can look at your neighborhood park, if you’re lucky enough to live by a beach, you can offer a yoga class there. Or you can do it easily in your backyard.

You don’t have to have a fancy backyard. You just have enough green space to lay out some mats. And some people really do have excellent backyards. I had one teacher whose backyard looked out onto a lake, and so she always did her classes there. Another student who had a really cool deck in her backyard, so she offered yoga classes on that deck.

#2-Office Buildings

Not necessarily corporate buildings, but small business, smaller offices. If you live in a city that has a great downtown area where they’re renovating buildings, go check those out and see what’s already there, what businesses already exist. Perhaps they have a conference room, or a business room, a meeting room. Or maybe they have off hours the space isn’t being used.

Look at dance studios, or martial arts spaces. They do have times in which these spaces are open and available. People are always happy to collaborate and bring others into their space.

#3-Churches

Many students are members of churches, so they’ve gone and talked to the people who are in charge of the facilities or in scheduling activities. Churches always have out-buildings, they have classrooms, they have basements, they have meeting rooms, and those spaces aren’t being used all the time.

#4-Schools

Now I recommend that you approach schools in one of two ways –

If you’re just getting started, look at possibly teaching to teachers, because they’re so stressed out too, and they would love to have somebody come in after school, while they’re wrapping up, before they have to go home to the hecticness of their own families. Come in and use their classroom or use the library in a school.

Other side of that is if you’re interested in teaching kids, this is a great way to go in there and test the waters with kids in schools. School districts may be a little tougher, but, look up Montessori schools, look at home schools. Those spaces are always looking for additional activities that they can expose their kids to. Preschools, mother’s day out, those are all great “school-type” places that you can check out.

(If you’re interested in teaching kids, we have a Children’s Certification coming up soon.)

#5-Parties

Number five is a fun one. This is another kind of out of the traditional space, but to look at possibly offering your services at birthday parties. Again, you can look at kids. Kids are always having birthday parties. Moms are always looking for cool, new, fresh ways to host a party, and this is a great opportunity – a birthday party.

If you’re thinking about adult parties – girls night out. Those are amazing opportunities. Pour a little wine, offer a few yoga classes – I recommend the wine after the yoga, not before, or you might not actually get to the yoga. But girl’s nights are so much fun to do.

#6-Community Centers

Most cities and towns have community centers. There may be someone already established in there doing yoga, there may not. But unless you look into it, you’ll never know. Summer might be a little bit busier because they have kid’s activities, but they may be open, they may be looking for somebody.

Again – you can come in and offer something a little bit different than what they would typically offer in the past. Go check out those community centers.

(This is how I started my yoga career.)

#7-Senior Centers

I know that in my town we have community centers and, specifically, senior centers, so go check those out. Senior centers and assisted living – they are always on the hunt for people who are willing to come in and teach classes. Whether its yoga classes, pottery classes, and painting classes – this is an amazing thing. Untapped space to go in there and talk to the people who run community centers and senior centers.

#8-A Spare Room

Do you have a game room or media room that you could take advantage of while your kids are at school? While your house is empty? Or maybe something you can do on the weekend. So this kind of goes a little bit with your own backyard. If you don’t have a nice yard, maybe you have a room that’s not being utilized. Maybe you have a spare guest room that you could rearrange and bring in 3 or 4 people to do yoga.

#9-Non-profit Organizations

Some non-profits might be a little harder to get started with because they have different protocols in place, so if you wanted to teach at a domestic violence location, you might have a few more things that you have to do in order to teach at that space. You might have to go through a background check, or something like that.

But again, non-profits, like senior centers, like Montessori schools, they are always looking for people who can come in volunteer. So if you’re looking at a non-profit, you might have to volunteer your time, but it’s a great way to build your experience or to get back into the swing of things, or to give back to your community.

#10-Hobbyists

I can think of two students, that, not only do they love yoga, but they also love cycling. They’ve offered to talk to people who organize their cycling activities, and say, do you think the group would be interested in having a yoga class after a ride. And they have really been met with resounding affirmation – yes, come on in.

Think about some of the other hobbies you do – a book club or painting – there’s just so many different hobbies out there, that they might be interested in being exposed to something different with yoga.

Getting People To Attend

The last part of this vlog that I want to share with you is how to get people in there to actually take the classes from you. You have to start talking to people. Start letting them know, “I’m a teacher, I’m going through teacher training, I need to practice, I need to get out there and dust off my training wheels.”

If you’re on Facebook, put a message out there on Facebook and let people know, I am going to be teaching here, and at this time, and at this date, so come on over.

If you’re not on Facebook, look at your email list. I know that you probably have plenty of people that you could email – friends, family, acquaintances, people that you’ve worked with, your hobby friends. Put an email out to them, ask them, and get their interest.

Also, you have that old-fashioned way – pick up your phone and call and invite people directly to come in and take classes from you.

Part of getting out there and teaching yoga is that you have to be active and you have to put yourself out there. You have to let people know that you’re doing this, and you have to give them an opportunity to participate with you.

If there is a space that I didn’t talk about, that you’ve had great success with, or you’ve heard about it, I would love for you to share that in the comments, because we’re always trying to help each other find places and find people who can benefit and who we can share our love of yoga with.

Purple Lotus offers a Children’s Yoga Certification–ideal for teachers, moms, therapists, counselors, anyone who’s interested in sharing this practice with the kiddos.

5 Ways to Blow it as a Yoga Teacher

February 17, 2016 Filed Under: Teaching Tuesday, Tips Leave a Comment

I’ve been around the yoga block. Several times. I’m not new to this game, and I try to diligently follow my path as its laid before me without getting overly worried about what others (teachers) are doing.

When several articles popped up with variations around a central theme, I had an itch to throw in my two cents. Haha…which is how these blogs usually come about.

The overarching idea of the articles was what a yoga teacher “should” or “shouldn’t” do during class, followed by an arbitrary list.

I’ve practiced for almost 20 years. I’ve attended my fair share of workshops. I’ve taught a lot of classes, and trained a lot of teachers. And there are so many ways a teacher can create a moving experience for their clients.

I’ve seen it done with and without:

Using Sanskrit
Chanting OM
Saying namaste at the end of class
Sun salutations
Assisting
Music (whether it’s rock, indie, flutes or rap)
Using mirrors

Now it’s true, as a teacher, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. It’s nearly impossible to teach a class that everyone likes every single time. (But it doesn’t stop us from striving for it.)

However I’ve pinpointed 5 ways in which a yoga teacher can totally blow the whole experience for their clients.

Using the time you teach to get your own practice

If someone asks you how many times you practiced this week and you count the two times you taught, then you’re using your teaching time as practice too. The reality is your personal practice can only be as good as you’re present for it, and if you’re trying to teach AND practice, you’re not really doing either one. You and your client are both losing out, and you’re doing your clients a disservice by not being present with them.

If you need to “practice” while teaching, then perhaps you need to carve some time to do a personal practice at home, or recommit to attending classes when you’re not teaching. It’s important for teachers to refill their cups because they give so much. But do it some other time than when you’re teaching.

Trying to “impress” your clients

As in showing off. As in popping up into a handstand (or some other “impressive” pose) when you’re teaching a gentle class, or introducing yourself, or generally doing a handstand anytime you’re not actually teaching a handstand.

This goes for trying to impress other teachers too. There’s usually little to no need to do the splits or lift into a headstand AFTER you’ve taken an hour long class.

If you find yourself doing this, stop and ask, what is the purpose? Why do I feel the need to do/show this pose at this particular moment in time? If you’re in the middle of an inversion workshop and need to demonstrate said inversion, you’re probably doing/showing it for reasons outside of your ego. Otherwise, be there for your clients, not your ego.

Using your clients

Think Bikram. Yeah, I went there. He’s a douche. No matter how great a yoga teacher he may be (or have been) he’s a douche because he used his students, particularly the female ones.

Your clients are there to fill in the missing pieces of their lives, not yours. You’re not on a pedestal above your clients because you still have your own shit to work through. But you’re doing it on your own time, outside of teaching your classes. You’re not teaching classes because you desire the accolades and adoration.

Breaking your clients’ trust

Vulnerability is a part of practicing yoga, and when someone shares that raw part with you, as a teacher it’s your responsibility to respect it. There is nothing worse than learning that something you told your yoga teacher in confidence got blabbed to other teachers, or worse, other students.

As a teacher trainer, I use stories to highlight teachable moments. However when I tell a story, I never use names, and I may change one or two facts. If I have a teachable story but someone in training may know the person in the story, I skip over it all together.

Don’t cheapen that reach out by gossiping it to the next person you see because once that bond of trust is broken, it’s rare to regain it.

Skipping savasana

I can usually overlook the four previous teaching mishaps (unless all four were committed in the same class by the same teacher). BUT if I wander into a class and there’s no final relaxation, I can promise you, no matter how great the other fifty-five minutes might have been, the class sucked because I was jipped out of my savasana.

And I’m not the only person who feels that way. So don’t do it.

If you’re running late, cut out poses, but keep in savasana.

Have you had a teacher blow it? Share it in the comments!

Become a Hippy Chick | 5 Poses for Your Hips

January 29, 2016 Filed Under: Anatomy Leave a Comment

Oh the illustrious intention of “opening our hips.”

If you’re active, your hips may “feel tight” because of overuse due to repeated motion or repeated contraction of the muscles.

For those of you who sit for many hours a day, your hips may “feel tight” because the muscles are weak and shortened from under use.

And “tight hips” cause other issues as well such as lower back pain because when the hip muscles are weak and shortened they “pull” on the lower back muscles.

Did you know?

The hip area is a powerhouse of bones, muscles and ligaments.

The pelvis and femur–your two heaviest bones–meet up to support your entire upper body’s weight. This meeting point happens at a ball and socket joint.

The deep socket (the acetabulum) supports the weight of the upper body, your lower limbs and allows for the greatest range of motion. Movement through this joint allows the hip to flex, extend, abduct, adduct, internally and externally rotate.

In a typical yogasana class you flex by lifting one leg straight off the ground in utthita hasta padangustasana. For abduction, take the lifted leg and swing it out to the side in supta padangusthasana. Adduction occurs when you pull the leg toward your body in marichyasana. Garudasana internally rotates the joint while baddha konasana externally rotates.

And that’s not all. . .

There are more than 20 muscles that cross the hip and aid in the proper functioning of hip movement: gluteals, adductor, illiopsoas, hamstrings, quadraceps and lateral rotator muscles.

(Never fear, in future posts we’ll talk about some of these muscle groups like the iliopsoas, gluteals and the quadraceps.)

But wait. . .there’s more. . .

The hip joint is reinforced with four major ligaments: iliofemoral, ischiofemoral, and pubofemoral ligaments and the ligamentum teres. (That’s for you anatomy geeks out there.) These ligaments help prevent excessive range of motion.

The first three ligaments become taut when the joint is extended, stabilizing the joint and reducing the demand of the muscles when standing.

(And if I write and say it enough times, I’ll remember ligaments attach bone to bone.)

Hip specific poses

Now let me address the idea of hip-opening.

To clarify I think what most participants would prefer is greater range of motion, increased circulation to their lower limbs, more stability and balance (because lack of these last two is what causes most elderly to fall).

A well-rounded hip-focused yogasana class addresses all three elements: range of motion, stability derived through strengthening, and balance.

The following five poses address one or more elements at a time.

In seated forward bend, you strengthen the piriformis and adductors while stretching (increasing range of motion) your hamstrings and back. A seated forward bend creates flexion in the hip area.

In bound angle, your iliopsoas and adductor muscles are stretching as both joints externally rotate.

In pigeon, your gluteals are strengthening while the quadraceps of your extended leg and the inner thigh of your bent leg are stretching. The forward leg is externally rotating while the back leg is in an extension.

In eagle pose, the standing leg creates strength through the adductors and piriformis of the standing leg, and the quadraceps and gluteals of the wrapped leg. Eagle poses has the dual honor of internally rotating the joint while also rotating the pelvis.

In warrior two, your gluteals are strengthened as well as the quadraceps of your bent leg, the adductors of your extended leg are stretched. The front hip is in flexion while the back leg is in an extension.

As you design your next “hip-opening” class, instead think in terms of range of motion, strengthening and balance. By combining these elements your participants are more likely to walk out of class feeling more ease and stability in their hips.

Niche is a Bitch | 5 Tips for Taming Yours

January 13, 2016 Filed Under: Business Leave a Comment

In my 2015 Year in Review I shared some wins and lessons, then I teased you about my biggest A-HA. As promised in the first post for 2016, I’m sharing my GREAT BIG A-HA that changed ~~everything~~ almost everything.

Usually when I’m coaching yoga teachers, it’s around business.

And the number one focus I stress is to find your people. Your tribe. Your niche.

(FYI if you’re from the South, people tend to pronounce that as “nitch.” If you’re a Yankee or Canadian, you’re more likely to pronounce it “neesh.”)

Find the ones you love

Regardless, the point is to find the people you’re meant to help. Those only you are uniquely designed to guide and serve.

Yet no one….and I mean NO ONE…wants or likes doing this. It feels counter-intuitive. It feels constrictive and limiting. It’s like choosing only one crayon to color with.

I’ve been hanging out in enough small businesses (online and brick/mortar) and can tell you, it doesn’t matter what industry, biz owners do not like to “niche down.”

But in all the biz classes I’ve taken, guess what’s the very first lesson (usually)?

Find your nitch.

The struggle is real

I hadn’t ever really struggled with this concept. Until a ~~couple of~~ few years ago.

In 2003, I started conducting yoga teacher training and loved-loved-loved it. I thought, “here are my people!” When I sold my studio, I retained the rights to continue training. When I went back to the corporate world for a few years, I continued teacher training as my side hustle until I returned to it full-time in 2010.

In early 2011 after I got pregnant, I decided to add online into the mix, and since it was in my wheel-house, I leaned toward taking teacher training online. Unfortunately I let a couple of negative comments and a stink-eye letter from the Yoga Alliance derail me from my idea.

Thus began my search for a new demographic. People I could dazzle with my knowledge and expertise. First it was women going through divorce. Then it was women in transition. Then it was women who practiced yoga.

And every shift in my focus, shifted all the surrounding components:

Oh I need to update my website.
Oh I need to edit my content and offerings.
Oh I need to join a different group.
Oh I need a different skill set.

With all the shifting, changing and morphing, I never got any traction. No traction equated to doubts. Lots and lots of doubts.

Most times it’s pretty obvious

Then two different mentors, at two different times asked me, “Why don’t you continue working with yoga teachers?”

Bum-bum-bummmmmm

But I’m pretty stubborn.

For most of 2015, I denied this obvious answer; a demographic I was more than familiar and comfortable with; where I had hours (and hours) of knowledge and expertise; where I was already training and coaching.

But the acceptance of my nitch was slow. It took the Universe a few round-about coincidences and signs to show me, hey, your work is with yoga teachers. In late October 2015, I fully bought into the notion (that was there all along at the beginning) and BAM!

Looking back, the last few years have been Exhausting. Expensive. Depleting. And I’m pretty sure it’s been exhausting and confusing for my tribe who’s been patiently loyal, patiently waiting for me to see what everyone else already knew.

Now please, let me save you some of the same Frustration. Heartache. Exhaustion.

My 5 Tips for Finding Your Nitch

PAY ATTENTION. Start listening to what people are asking you, complimenting you on, coming back for. Sadly, you’re not everyone’s cuppa-tea, but those you inspire, they share similarities. Find them. Write them down.

DREAM CLIENT. Grab a piece of paper and write out 10 qualities your dream client possesses. My list looked something like this: yogis, mamas, into health & wellness, spiritual, possibly in transition.

GO DEEPER. Keep digging. Go against the urge that says to stop at number two. Those few descriptions are still too vague. What kind of yogis? What age are the mamas’ kids? What kind of health and wellness?

ICED TEA TEST. As you’re identifying qualities and quirks, would you invite them over to your house for iced tea? Would you hang out with this person outside of yoga classes? If the answer is NO, you’re not there yet.

ASK. Sometimes the answer is painfully obvious to others. While you’re hem-hawing, thinking “I don’t know,” others may be ready to give you a gentle two-by-four against your head. And don’t be stubborn like me.

Whether you only teach yoga classes or own a yoga-business, finding your nitch-people-tribe will make you MORE valuable, not less. Because when someone goes searching for a business or a teacher, they’re putting very specific terms into the search engine.

Tell me. . .what’s your nitch?

Behind the Scenes | 2015 Year End Review

December 30, 2015 Filed Under: Business, Review, Uncategorized 2 Comments

For many, the holiday season marks a slow-down in business and school activities. Not for me. Since I shared my last post Behind the Scenes, the flurry has continued (on top of the usual busyness this time of year brings).

This is going to be my last post for 2015 and with it I’m going to (again!) peel back the curtain and share my wins and lessons, then how I plan to move forward in 2016.

Oy, that word. Plan.

That’s how this whole she-bang started.

I thought I did a damn good job of planning. But let me get real–I do it in my head (rarely writing anything down) and then forget about it six weeks into the new year. Kind of like New Years Resolutions.

My biggest win: I joined an online mastermind group where I could get accountability and business guidance, and hopefully EXPAND (that was my 2015 word of the year) my biz.

I loved every moment I was part of the mastermind and the other women I met, but my year didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned.

There’s that word again.

Part of the mastermind group includes PLANNING. As in, write that shit down. Put it where you’ll see it #everydamnday. But not just broad yearly planning. We had to break down into quarters, then into monthly and weekly goals, and finally into daily tasks. I thought my head would explode the first quarter.

I had some DAMN GRAND PLANS for 2015.

Some of my GRAND PLANS did not come about.

My biggest lesson: The truth is I was not in the right space–literally or in my head–to make some of them a reality. There was too much of a gap between what I wanted and what I was capable of achieving. And many weeks and months of the year were spent in resistance, denial, and some “but I don’t want tos….”

I wonder where my kiddo gets it. . .

When I shared my Behind the Scenes in early October, I had begun the process of acceptance and was working on embracing the white space of life especially with the holidays around the corner. But with acceptance–the absence of resistance–came momentum, and it was like I jumped on the autobahn of meaningful productivity.

My biggest A-ha: Actually my big A-ha is a whole other blog post because it’s mind-blowing, and obvious, and so freaking important. As in, if you’re in business (and if you’re a yoga teacher, you’re in business) this could be a life-changer for you.

I suck. I know. But I’ll unveil it in my first post of 2016. I promise.

For now, let me share a few more wins and lessons:

Win AND a Lesson: I’m shifting my reality (and focus) to Purple Lotus Yoga. It’s the love of my biz life and I’m embracing it fully. If you’re a regular, you’re seeing the small tweaks that are bringing me back to my first love.
Lesson: I realized Southern modern zen is more of a philosophy for me. It’s the way I teach yoga, it’s the way I train teachers. It’s the foundation I use when coaching. It’s my attitude, it’s my mantra. Laid-back, realistic, adapting age-old concepts for busy, modern women.
Lesson: With the first two realized, I must now embark on some kriya, cleaning out the distractions, clearing out what doesn’t speak to you.
Win: I’ve got a list of topics to share with you, more content to create, and a couple of regular features I’m starting on the blog. Plus another avenue to share my love and knowledge with teachers.
Win: Consistent planning and staying on target, even when my targets needed to change.

This is in addition to expanding the teacher training offerings (Win, Win, Win).

No, I didn’t achieve all my grand plans

But I achieved a lot of my grand plans, thanks in part to having my yearly, 90-day plans (see below) and weekly tasks always where I could see them. Without the constant reminder of what I wanted, I might still be frustrated and in denial, or worse, spinning my wheels. (My apologies, I could only find 2 of my 90-day plans.)

I believe the planning and work I did this year set the foundation for 2016. The more solid the foundation, the stronger the structure.

So what are my honest thoughts as a Reluctant Planner?

I’m still reluctant, but I’ll be continuing with Yearly, 90-Day and Weekly goals because I’m ready to burn some rubber in 2016.
Accountability is key. Without the support of my mastermind group, I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did.
I believe there are more Reluctant Planners out there who could use a little help and a little accountability.

If you want to stop spinning your wheels, create a meaningful plan for 2016 (personal, professional or both), and have accountability for setting and meeting your goals, I’m hosting a live, virtual planning party.

You’ll receive a 25-page 2016 Planning for Abundance workbook, a spot on the webinar where we’ll walk through the Planner together and create your first 90-day plan for 2016. No worries if you can’t make the live party, I’m recording it and will send it to you.