Why are we doing this and why it’s important work?
This project originated from a Yoga Assets retreat on the island of Kauai. The retreat was themed, ‘Expand and Explore’.
As you’ll come to learn from me (and this workshop), I’m a marketer and I’m big on giving things a name. When we give “it” a name, we are creating a distinction for it. “It” becomes a thing that’s set apart from the ordinary. It means something.
In this case, the Expand and Explore retreat was a peek into the possibilities of what it would entail to become a Yoga Leader.
For my part, I chose to facilitate a conversation around the book Start With Why by Simon Sinek. Hopefully you’ve taken the time to view the original Ted talk that inspired the book (link). It’s a book about how great leaders inspire others to take action. At its core, it’s a book about the personal power that comes from discovering your WHY.
Notice that our use of the term Yoga Leader is a distinction as well. It’s a term that we use to describe a person who is taking their yoga off the mat and into the world, for the purpose of serving others.
In a blog post titled “Do You Consider Yourself a Yoga Leader”, I acknowledge that many people are uncomfortable with the term Leader, including a Yoga Leader.
Calling yourself a Yoga Leader could come across as presumptuous to “real” yoga leaders. That is, the people you read about in Yoga Journal or pen their thoughts in the Elephant Journal. It’s understandable that one could have an underlying fear of being called-out as a naïve YTT student who lacks the depth and breadth of a real yoga leader.
Well, I’m not one to avoid a healthy wrangling of words. I have little patience for pretentious people in and out of the yoga community. In my opinion, if you are a servant leader, you are the most valuable leader of all!
At Yoga Assets, we use the term leadership in a Stephen Covey sort of way – leading and communicating to people their worth and potential so that they are inspired to see it in themselves.
This type of leadership can be life-changing. Better yet, it can be world-changing.
Now, as I’m sure you’ve all experienced, this type of leadership is rare and does not come cheap. To lead at this level, you really must have your sh** together.
This is the type of work we are doing at Yoga Assets. This is the reason for this workshop.
Finding your individual WHY will become the cornerstone of your yoga practice, your yoga teaching, your relationships, your business/career…and your marketing.
To borrow an expression from Covey’s Eighth Habit, we are here to help you “find your Voice, so that you can help other find theirs”. Your WHY is the bedrock of your Voice.