Being a full time teacher did not end up anything like I thought it would. I assumed that with experience and training (like with other job) that I would make more money and have a bit more freedom with my time. Fast forward 12 years and I was still fighting to be paid my worth and running around the Denver metro area teaching at multiple studios. I still didn’t have health insurance nor could I afford to be sick or take time off. I was still at the mercy to studio owners and managers and I still felt stuck.
The feeling of “stuckness” had been going on for years and it was causing me to feel sad and hopeless. I knew that I needed guidance and I didn’t know where to look for it.
One day I was listening to a podcast and the woman being interviewed was a coach for entrepreneurs. I felt like…she was speaking my language! She had mentioned an upcoming business coaching course and when I looked into it, I couldn’t believe the cost. I kept listening to her personal podcast for inspiration and after a few days, I decided that SHE was the person I wanted giving me advice and I decided to pull out my credit card.
I always had heard that it’s important to invest in yourself and that coaching can be incredibly powerful for people and I decided that I wanted to have that experience. I started the training without having a clue of what I wanted to do, but I kept hearing to “have faith” in the program and it will work for you.
After the first week of thinking about what I love and what kind off things come naturally to me, I figured out what kind of business I wanted to start: a retreat building business for teachers.
Retreats have been the thing that have kept me going as a yoga teacher. Retreats have not only gotten me out of some serious financial ruts, but they have been a means of travel for me and something that I’ve loved putting together from the very beginning. I love the planning process, all the front and back end work and the retreat itself. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years and I’ve learned what makes retreats sustainably successful. I love being the catalyst for teachers providing their students with the best retreat experience possible. I intimately understand what it’s like to be in the shoes of the student AND the teacher and that gives me the ability to provide excellent service to everyone on both sides.
Hosting retreats is something that has become incredibly natural for me and I want to use these skills to help other teachers discover the gift of a retreat! So many teachers don’t even consider leading a retreat because they don’t know where to start or they don’t want to do all the work that goes into creating one. It doesn’t have to be stressful and it’s possible for you to simply show up and teach, while feeling completely supported.