Building a life as a yoga teacher is so much fun because it is all about relationships: building them, nurturing them, and being present for them. All my favorite activities! {Tweet this one!}

This means that growth of a private teaching practice can ONLY happen in a really slow and organic way. Last week I told you about my new clients and classes and how those relationships came to be.

After that post this question came in, and I wanted you all to benefit from the answer. Here is an excerpt from the Q and A:

“….I’d be curious to hear more about what you’ve done that hasn’t worked, especially if you’ve tried strategies in the past in NYC that did and haven’t played out here in DC. It sounds like most things are working for you and that is so great to hear. It was important for me to remember that it’s important to strike a balance between business building and intuitive universe trusting ”

So to start I said…

“Thanks for this great question Ashley! This brings up something that I will address on my blog here in the coming weeks…I wouldn’t say there is anything in particular that I have tried that hasn’t worked, but there are many many contacts I have made that haven’t turned into regular clients YET. So much of this business is about relationship and community building, and all of that takes an incredible amount of time. The regular sessions I have on the schedule now are eight out of probably hundreds of potential seeds I have planted. You never know where your next client or class is coming from, that is why staying open to the teaching that is most important to you is all that you can do.”

I didn’t mean to give y’all the impression that EVERYTHING is working out. Of course that’s not even close to being true. I just told you about the clients I have found so far. That is partly because I see the contacts that haven’t manifested into regular sessions as not working out, YET. I see all the little seeds I have planted and I continue to water them with love and attention. I am so excited and curious to see what comes next!

In supporting teachers who want to build a career as a private yoga teacher, or any kind of yoga teacher at all, I often hear teachers express how quickly they feel defeated. I hear teachers lamenting that they feel stuck, unsure of their path, or afraid that things won’t work out. I feel so lucky that I don’t often find myself suffering with this affliction…I think this is why:

I am not worried that things won’t work out because I don’t feel like a victim. I know that I can make conscious choices that will support me, make me a better teacher, and allow me to feel safe and happy. {You can too!} I am in charge of my life, as much as one can be. I trust myself. This is one of the greatest gifts I ever received from my parents; they always made it clear they trusted me {to make good choices and take care of myself}, and that taught me to trust myself. That trust makes me excited about uncertainty and change, not afraid of it. {Sidenote: I get frustrated, depressed, lonely, embarrassed, anxious, and sad like everyone else. I’m not immune from uncomfortable feelings. It’s just that insecurity about my path as a teacher is not something I often struggle with…}

Hear me say this: I am not special. You can and should trust yourself also. You have to. It’s the only way this can feel good. It takes practice, attention, and presence, but the ability to deeply trust yourself and your choices is within you. It is within all of us. {Tweet it…}

Do you want to hear about some of the seeds I’m currently watering?

• Kallie from Willow Street She is a regular student in my group class, and while we were chatting one day after class I said, “You  know what would be so fun?! If we got to meet for a private session for your birthday!” And she said, “It doesn’t have to be my birthday to do a private session! I would love to work with you 1X1, I think that would be so good for me. Thanks so much for offering!”  And we are just working out the schedule and the finances now 🙂
• Jamie’s sister Jamie was a student of mine in one of my first group gym classes in NYC 10 years ago. We became friendly and are friends on social media. I guess she had been following my journey, because she messaged me to say that her sister lives in Takoma Park {my DC ‘hood} and she wanted to buy her 5 private sessions with me as a birthday present. How sweet is that??
• Mary, Cynthia’s trainer One of my current regular private clients has a trainer that she sees regularly and she has been telling her about our yoga sessions. Mary reached out to me and said she wanted to get together, she thinks she might have several clients for me…awesome, right?

There is also….

• a fellow teacher from Willow Street interested in private lessons
• Hillary, found me on my website
• Equinox {four potential group classes getting worked into the sched!}
• Mollie’s husband {she’s working on him now 🙂 }
• Lacy and her friends might want a small private group class
• an eating disorder support group through a participant in my online training
• my Feldenkrais teachers has passed my info on to her teachers

…and countless teacher friends have offered to connect me with the yoga studios, gyms, government offices, and law firms they teach group classes at. I know I will create enough work to sustain myself because I am doing the work of planting and watering all my seeds! 🙂

My journey continues to unfold day by day. What questions do you have for me? XO