Today is Island Flow Yoga’s 4th birthday! It’s been such an honor to serve so many incredible people through yoga and fitness, and I feel blessed to be writing a post like this today.
Early on in my career, I knew teaching was my Dharma, my calling or purpose. I didn’t know how exactly my work would grow or evolve into what it is today, but here we are.
I tried a lot and failed a lot of different things in my life. In fact, this isn’t even my first business venture. I started my first company fresh out of business school (entirely unrelated to fitness or yoga) and I started coaching jumps and teaching yoga around the same time. My first biz failed for a lot of different reasons, but mainly because it was not truly my passion.
I found myself more and more drawn to my concurrent teaching/coaching endeavors. The more I grew in my own practice and in my ability to teach others, the more fulfillment I felt from my work in the wondrous world of movement.
In college I majored in business Marketing and minored in sports Coaching, yet I wasn’t clear on how I would leverage or combine the two. As a young achiever, I tried to “do it all,” I’m fairly certain I bragged about having 8 jobs at one point. I said yes to everything and everyone. Sure enough, I hit burn out in about 3 years. I was hustling hard for other people, but never actually for myself. For me, this kind of lifestyle was not sustainable. I couldn’t work until 2am and then wake up to teach 6am yoga and 2-3 more classes in the same day.
I had many interests and a lotta drive but lacked focus. I was smart but still had to learn the hard way that I’m not invincible. I needed to experiment, and eventually I learned what types of things I didn’t want to do. I learned a TON from working for many different types of businesses, but my entrepreneurial angst was no secret. I’d bet most of my past employers would say it about me too.
Why continue to hustle so hard for someone else’s brand where I feel limited in my career potential? It would be a disservice to not spread my wings and take the leap!
I was afraid of failure, but I overcame it by failing many times. I learn and I persevere. I’m not perfect and I never will be but I’m always striving to improve.
I was afraid of saying no to people, but I finally learned to value my time and sleep.
I learned to ask myself what I wanted to do instead of looking for someone else to tell me what to do.
These are skills—just like yoga and strength training—that take practice to develop. I still feel like a fledgling and I still make mistakes. I just keep going.
Island Flow Yoga has evolved greatly since my first class, especially in this past year. My community and reach has expanded around the world in a way I didn’t even imagine.
Thanks for being a part of this journey. Your presence, ideas, and support mean the world to me.
I’m optimistic about a better year ahead of us. Let’s go, 2021!
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