Limited Spots Open for 1x1 Mentoring
Last week I wrote to you about yoga teacher burnout. We looked at some of the causes, and some small but meaningful solutions.
Have you tried any of the things I suggested? I’d love to hear what you are noticing.But...I have a confession to make... as common as teacher burnout is, I almost never get burned out myself. When I wrote that blog last week I had to ask around to my community to hear from them what burnout feels like. No, I’m not special or different. No, I don’t have it all together. Not even close. Please picture me sobbing to my fiance last week about what a failure I am as an entrepreneur while he’s trying to cook bacon. {The bacon burned and set off the smoke detector.}Even so-- I do always feel energized by my teaching, not drained by it.
My teaching always fills me up, and makes me betterat everything else I do in my life.
And if I could point to one reason my teaching has been a dependable source of happiness and energy {not to mention income} it is this:I ask for help. All the time. I ask for and receive support, and I never feel like I’m doing this all alone. Some choice examples...In 2013 I found myself in a very challenging romantic relationship I was sure I was destined to be in for the rest of my life. I felt cut off from myself and couldn’t see what I should do, or how I could be happy. I invested in a 6 month mentorship with one of my spiritual teachers, and she quickly helped me reconnect with myself and see the truth that was right in front of me. Leaving that relationship was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself and one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. Her support made that possible. The fall of 2016 saw a contentious presidential election that had catastrophic results. With my physical proximity to the political upheaval in Washington, DC I was teaching a lot of very upset people. Teaching dharma in this place and time felt so challenging. I reached out to a brilliant friend, activist and Buddhist teacher and I committed to at least 6 months of once monthly meetings with him. Our sessions, and the homework I’m doing in between, has made my teaching feel much easier and more enjoyable! Because the intimacy of a 1x1 mentor relationship is the way I personally learn the best, and I’ve gotten so much benefit out of 1x1 work with MY teachers, the 1x1 mentorship program I am going to tell you about is one of my very favorite offerings. :)But first I have to say this...Another important reason that teachers get burned out is that they struggle to hold space for themselves as well as they do for other people. Do you feel like you take care of everyone else and never make time to take care of yourself, even if what you are teaching your students is how to take better care of oneself??It might seem ironic and I’m sure you think you are the only yoga teacher who fakes being well taken care of every time you go to teach. {You guys. YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE!!}
Can we please release some of the shame we have about this? I actually think this is totally normal.I think the hardest person to hold space for is ourselves.
And the only way we can learn to hold space for ourselves is to watch someone else do it. We need someone else to model what it looks and feels like to be deeply taken care of.On this note...I have some questions for you:Do you feel unsure about how to best help your private clients? Are their needs and wants in total opposition to each other? {That’s really common actually.}Do you spend hours creating thoughtful and intelligent group classes only to have two students show up to class? {I know how frustrating and defeating that can feel...}I know that building a career teaching yoga can feel overwhelming. There are so many teachers, and there is so little monetary payout in the beginning of a teaching career. {You’ve also got all these “business experts” telling you to do a million different things if you want to be successful.}The self doubt running through your monkey mind can make it feel like teaching yoga isn’t worth all this stress!
Are you thinking that you just aren’t cut out to be a yoga teacher?
That could be true.
Or
You just need more support.
Because here’s the thing:
I bet you know more than you think you do. I bet you have more to offer your students than you realize. I’m guessing that what you really need is to be empowered to hear and trust your intuition. When you are more connected to your inner wisdom, your teaching will feel easier, more fun and more helpful. I bet that with the right kind of support, and a little push, you could figure out how to teach more people and make yoga teaching a more sustainable career.Helping teachers do just that, with my signature brand of tough love, is my specialty.I would just love to work with you, and help you find more clarity and confidence in your teaching. I want to help you be a better teacher, and I want to help you enjoy your teaching more.I’m opening up six spots, by application only, for six months of private mentoring with me, starting in June. All the details and the application are right here, but here are the basics of the Six Month 1x1 Mentorship:
- No more feeling like you have to figure it out all alone...we will figure out together how to apply what you have already learned in your trainings to your real life clients and students.
- You get six months of unlimited access to me via email...it will be like taking an experienced mentor into every yoga class you teach (Something came up with a student this morning that you don’t know how to deal with? Email me!)
- We will meet once a month for 90 minutes via video conference...this format allows us to work together, and have an intimate connection, no matter where you happen to live.
- I only take on six teachers at a time {and three of these spots are already filled} so you can be sure you have my full energy and attention.
- You’ll get a recording of our sessions so you can be fully present for our conversations without having to frantically take notes.
- My availability for calls is usually on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 8am and 5pm Eastern US time.
- The cost for the program is $1800, to be paid upfront.
Attention DC Area Locals:
For the first time I am offering a Local In-Person Option to the 1x1 mentorship program. In that, you get everything from the virtual mentorship...PLUS:
- I’ll attend one of your yoga classes each month. We’ll meet right after, or a few days after, in-person and I’ll be able to give you real time feedback about your teaching and you’ll be able to ask any questions that arose for you during the class!
- The cost for this program is $2400.
Someone reached out to me last week and asked if this program was geared towards people who teach mostly private lessons. Here is my answer,“I work with people who want to grow and enjoy all of their teaching more; this is definitely not just geared to people who teach only private lessons. Actually, I think because so much of my group trainings {in-person and online} is specifically about working 1x1, many of the people who do mentoring with me have a different focus. Last year I worked with a prenatal teacher/ doula and helped her revamp her business model and create a website that supported her business goals, with the help of a web designer! You can see the results here. I also worked last year with a yoga teacher who had just opened a small studio, a pilates teacher who had just relocated to a new town and an alumni from my in-person training who wanted to shift the way she taught her group classes.”As I was thinking about these lovely people I worked with last year, I searched through some of my emails and found this note a teacher sent me after her very first mentoring session with me...“After our call Thursday I had a REALLY good teaching day. I was engaged, inspired, and protected by my shiny new "prana bubble." The day still came at me with it's challenges, but I felt like I made the decision to be in charge of the appointments- as well as how I let them affect me emotionally. I had my most difficult client first thing in the morning and so it went very well as I was still deeply rooted in my intention of being present and commanding with her, helping her to connect to moving in her body. You mentioned that she was desperate for me to take charge and help her get into her body...sooooooo right. So right. Even though it took more energy to commit in this way, by the time I got home I felt fueled instead of depleted, as I most often do.”