Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Monica (00:00):
In this first episode of
the new year, let's talk about
setting goals and why they'revital to your teaching career,
whether you're an intentions,resolutions, or goal setting
type of teacher.
That doesn't matter.
What does matter is that youhave a vision for what you want
to put in place this year, somegoals you want to reach and some
(00:22):
outcomes you'd love to conquer.
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
podcast with me.
I'm Monica Bright, and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you ifyou're a yoga teacher, you're
(00:43):
looking for support, you love tobe in conversation, and you're a
lifelong student.
In this podcast, I'll share withyou My life as a yoga teacher,
the lessons I've learned, myprocess for building my
business, and helpful ideas,tools, strategies, and systems I
(01:04):
use and you can use so that yourbusiness thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you want to dive deepand set yourself up for success.
I'm so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
(01:28):
some laughs along the way.
Now, let's do this together.
Happy happy new year, first.
I don't know where 20, 24, whenit feels like January of every
year lasts forever and the restof the year just flies by.
(01:50):
I am so excited for thisupcoming year full of podcasts
episodes made, especially foryou.
I've received some requests forepisode topics ranging from
sequencing questions to teachingfor a specific populations.
More injury and anatomyepisodes.
(02:12):
And as always answeringquestions from you.
In this first episode of the newyear, let's talk about setting
goals, whether you're anintentions, resolutions, or goal
setting type of teacher, thatdoesn't matter.
What does matter is that youhave a vision for what you want
to put in place this year, somegoals you want to read and some
(02:35):
outcomes you'd love to conquer.
But first let's answer thequestion.
Why is goal setting?
Essential.
And the answer is that goalsetting is a powerful tool that
helps you create an intentionaland sustainable career.
It helps to provide claritydirection and a sense of purpose
(02:58):
so that your teaching alignswith your values and aspirations
and helps you avoid spinningyour wheels and the dreaded.
Burnout.
So let's talk about why you wantto set goals for your teaching
career.
Think of it as defining clarityin your career path.
Teaching can be a diverse anddynamic field with opportunities
(03:21):
ranging from studio classes andworkshops to retreats and online
courses.
Your teaching schedule can, andprobably does look very
different than mine.
And that's exactly how it shouldbe because we have different
interests, differentbackgrounds, different
populations that we may want toserve without defining your
(03:45):
goals.
It's easy to feel scattered.
Or overwhelmed by all of thepossibilities.
For example, if you set a goalto specialize in yoga for
seniors, This gives you a focuspath for choosing the type of
training you want to invest in.
The marketing that you createand how you go about building
(04:06):
your student base.
Goals act as a compass and helpyou prioritize opportunities
that align with your longtermvision rather than chasing every
new idea or every new trendsomatics has become popular
lately.
And before that mobility, butwhat if you are an Iyengar.
(04:27):
And guard teacher, or you loveto teach power Vinyasa classes.
You need to be clear on that andset goals that align with your
interests.
Get in alignment with your corevalues, learning your core
values involves time, deep selfreflection, and exploring what
(04:48):
truly matters to you.
Your core values are the guidingprinciples that shape your
decisions, your behaviors, andyour goals.
Not really sure what your corevalues are.
Well, first you've got toreflect on significant life
experiences, identify moments ofpride.
(05:09):
Take some time to think aboutthe times.
In your life when you felt mostproud or fulfilled?
What was happening at that time?
Who was there with you?
What values were important inthose moments?
Then reflect on the challengesin your life.
Think about the times when youfelt upset or frustrated, these
(05:34):
moments can often reveal some ofyour core values as well.
For example, if you feltfrustrated by someone's
dishonesty.
It might mean that integrity isone of your core values.
Next, when you reflect on yourlives, a significant experiences
reflect on your role models.
Who do you look up to?
(05:56):
What do you admire about themand why?
For example, if you admiresomeone's kindness and empathy,
then compassion could be one ofyour core values.
Also think about what brings youjoy?
What makes you happy?
What activities people or placesmake you the happiest?
(06:16):
For instance, if teaching yogabrings you joy because you love
helping others grow, thenservice, growth or connection
could be among your core values.
You could use a core values listto identify your core values.
and highlight or circle thevalues that resonate most with
(06:37):
you.
Then narrow your list down tofive or 10 by contemplating,
whether you would feelunfulfilled if each value were
absent from your life.
I want you to think aboutmotivating yourself towards a
specific goal.
Teaching yoga can be physicallyand emotionally demanding, and
(06:57):
it's easy to lose motivation,especially if you have a busy
schedule.
Defining a specific goal givesyou something tangible to work
towards.
All you have to do is set asidethe time to work towards getting
it done.
For example, when I waspreparing to launch this
podcast.
I knew I needed to set asidetime to come up with ideas for
(07:21):
episode topics.
Plan for recording and editingAnd promotion.
All of that thought went intothe development of the podcast
before I launched, because Icould have easily let life get
in the way.
Did you know that somestatistics say that 90% of
podcasts don't get past episodethree.
(07:44):
I think that's crazy and Ididn't want to be part of that
statistic.
So it was imperative for me toplan ahead of time.
I've also got other big goalsfor this year and I'm currently
in the planning stages of how towork them into my schedule as
well.
So, what is it for you?
(08:05):
Do you want to launch an onlinebeginner yoga course by June,
maybe.
Make that a specific goal, thenstart to work backwards from
there.
What should you be doing now inorder to have it ready for June?
Defining this specific goal willkeep you motivated and focused
(08:26):
on progress even when your lifegets busy.
Then focus on sustainablegrowth.
One of the biggest challenges ofteaching is balancing your
classes.
Your personal practice.
And self care.
You probably know, I am not abig believer in adding more and
(08:46):
more classes to your schedule inorder to increase your income.
For one, there are only so manyhours of the day and days of the
week.
You'll burn out fast with thismindset.
Instead, I believe you should bediversifying your teaching,
whether it's one-on-one or smallgroup, private yoga classes.
(09:09):
Corporate classes, specialtyworkshops, retreats, or online
options.
There are so many routes you cantake.
And each of these pieces of thepuzzle, add to the whole.
Help you create a schedule thatwon't burn you out and also
gives you variation in what youteach, keeping you interested
(09:32):
and helping your career becomemore sustainable over the long
run.
But you don't have to do thisall at once.
Sustainable growth will helpensure that you can maintain
your energy.
And your passion for teachingover the longterm while you add
to your offerings.
This will help you avoid burnoutas well.
(09:54):
If you take on too many classesor say yes to opportunities that
don't resonate with you, youmight find yourself in a state
of resentment setting goals canhelp to act as boundaries and
help you say no.
To what doesn't serve you oryour vision.
Have you ever experiencedimposter syndrome?
(10:16):
I have teaching yoga often comeswith periods of self doubt, but
when you consistently work toachieve your goals, no matter
how small it'll help you buildconfidence and help you measure
your success objectively.
So instead of comparing yourselfor your growth to someone else's
(10:36):
compare your growth to the goalsyou have set, it's kind of like
that saying that you onlycompare yourself to your prior
self and not someone else.
Are you growing?
Are you getting closer to yourgoals?
Are you putting the necessarysteps in place to build your
schedule and offerings?
(10:58):
It doesn't matter what someoneelse is doing.
You have no idea.
If they have a team of peoplehelping them, if they have
children or not, or what theirpersonal life experience is.
And if you remember anything,please don't go by social media
standards.
People typically don't post andshare the challenges they're
(11:21):
facing on social media.
I was in conversation with ayoga teacher sharing that.
It had finally happened to me.
Someone came into my zoom classand was, we'll call it
misbehaving.
Uh, to the point that I had toremove that person from class.
And I was sharing with thisteacher, how it affected me
(11:44):
emotionally.
And what updates I was puttinginto place in my live classes.
So it wouldn't happen again.
I did share this experience onsocial media also, but the
teacher I spoke to said, ah,this just happened to me too.
And I was like, what?
First off.
I thought we had a closerrelationship than we actually
(12:06):
did.
But this was proof again, thatpeople are not sharing the
challenging stuff that they dealwith.
So you have no idea.
So please.
Don't compare yourself to otherpeople.
Think about how goal setting canhelp you serve your students
better setting goals.
(12:26):
Doesn't have to just be aboutyour own personal growth.
It can also be about improvingthe experience for your
students.
if you set a goal such as I wantto learn three new sequencing
techniques this year.
It demonstrates a commitment toyour ongoing learning and
development so that yourteaching remains fresh and
(12:49):
engaging.
As you continue to learn newsequencing strategies and
incorporate them into yourclasses, you'll be offering your
students a more diverse.
Enriching and interestinglearning experience in your yoga
class.
As you continue to learn andevolve as a teacher, your
(13:09):
students will reap the rewardsof your evolving skills and
deeper knowledge.
They'll benefit from youexpanding your teaching
techniques, your increasedcompetence in the yoga room and
your passion for lifelonglearning.
By investing in your ownprofessional development.
You're ultimately investing inthe future success of your
(13:31):
students as well.
This leads you to evolving yourcareer over time as your
teaching journey evolves.
So do your interests andaspirations.
Goals, provide a framework forcontinuous learning and adapting
to new opportunities.
For example.
If your goal is to get certifiedin trauma informed yoga.
(13:56):
That's going to open the doorsto a variety of new niches and
teaching environments.
What I was interested inlearning has evolved over the
years.
This is a natural progression.
As you realize the type ofteacher you want to be, and the
types of populations you want toserve.
(14:16):
When you get intentional aboutsetting goals with your teaching
career, you'll find that youcreate a roadmap for a career
that's not only successful, butalso fulfilling and aligned with
your core values.
Goals, keep you focused,motivated.
And adaptable So that yourpassion for yoga can thrive for
(14:39):
years to come.
So, what are your businessgoals?
Do you want to launch an onlinecourse?
Or create passive incomestreams.
Or maybe build a stronger socialmedia presence or email list.
It could be that you want tofocus on offering workshops
(15:00):
more.
Or seeking out the populationsthat you want to teach.
Take a little bit of time towrite down the goals that you
want to set for this year in thelast round of the business of
yoga, 2.0, I worked one-on-onewith a teacher who wanted to
begin hosting yoga retreats.
(15:20):
But had no idea where to start.
We worked together and now shehas a solid understanding of how
to find a retreat location planfor it, promote it, and get
students interested in signingup for it.
I love retreat.
So this was a super funone-on-one working relationship.
(15:40):
In the past, I've offered thebusiness of yoga as one-on-one
and group coaching and havefound that I really enjoyed the
one-on-one model, the best, Ybecause we're working on your
specific interests.
So the next round of thebusiness of yoga, 2.0, will most
likely be a one-on-one VIPoffering.
(16:03):
Okay, this is what I want you todo.
I want you to write down.
Three goals for your teachingcareer.
I started journal for your goalsetting this way.
It's out of your head and downon paper.
And finally you share your goalswith me, someone in your life
(16:23):
you trust or on social media.
And tag me if you like.
My Instagram handle is in theshow notes below.
Remember being accountable tosomeone goes a long way.
Having a strategy and settinggoals helps you stay deeply in
love with teaching yoga andgives you a clear direction on
(16:45):
where you're headed.
It's so important for us to havethese conversations so that you
remember that there are so manyopportunities for you in the
teaching world.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life
and allow it to be fulfillingand rewarding.
And as always, it takes somework and some time, and maybe
(17:08):
some conversations to get there.
If you loved this episode, letme know.
I've added a link in the shownotes for you to send me a quick
text message about your thoughtson this episode.
If you want to be heldaccountable for your 2025 goals
or any topics you'd like me toconsider for 2025.
(17:30):
I won't know your phone number.
It's just a neat addition to theplatform I use that allows for
this new and super easy way foryou to communicate with me.
Once you click on it, it'll takeyou to your messages, but don't
delete the code.
That's how your message will getto me.
And I would love to know yourthoughts on this topic.
Subscribe to the podcast.
(17:51):
So you're always in the knowwhen a new episode drops and
share it with another yogateacher who you think would love
to be in on these conversations.
Thank you for helping to spreadthe word about this podcast.
And if you've been taking notesin your journal, as you listen
to these episodes, I'm so gladyou are.
And I would love to hear aboutit.
(18:12):
Don't forget to download theebook sequencing for different
injuries.
The link is in the show notes.
I promise you it will help youform a foundation for teaching
students with injuries.
And it'll be a great resourcefor you to return to again and
again.
When you download the ebook,you'll be joining my newsletter.
That's just for yoga teachers.
(18:34):
I've got more exciting teachingscoming soon.
So I want to tell you all aboutthem.
The link is in the show notesbelow, and I would love you to
join it so we can always stayconnected.
All right.
That's it for now.
Happy new year.
Bye.
Mhm.