Meditations and Yoga: Promotions, Hype, and Yoga -- YBJ #77 Sept 2011

Has this email arrived all mangled?
Click here
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=qqoxszn6&v=001OuIQBzTwSHmZypmzVntIugEEgGWMkTVOjcVXQ2o8hxi3VvLOyqfFJDrBNp5OdANk96HNTuFSGHw8e-Ozmrt94Ob4tJ-TdCFuiiH8u4FsRNjamfI0Eeh169e-ARQbxqLMfpV7fvOntmbDvqRGp-EdaW1L3ILUzHTNHnl5owVuSbLvH1ZtQwe8DQ%3D%3D

Issue 77 October 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is Yoga Business Coaching?

Yoga Business Coaching is a partnership of deep communication -- an empowering dialogue
designed to serve your success as a yoga entrepreneur.

This is not a typical consulting scenario. In an on-going relationship, we will
develop a trust that will allow me to serve as your advisor and confidant, helping
you envision and achieve your business and personal goals.

As a sounding board and catalyst for creative thinking, we will ensure that you
make good choices for your business and your life. Together, we will co-design projects,
marketing campaigns, and implement systems that will make your venture grow and
flow smoothly.

My program is tailored specifically to your unique situation, regardless of whether
your business is in start-up phase or already established. We will look at your
entire life as your yoga, with your business as an extension of who you are. We
will fit your business into your life in a way that will support your highest goals,
and your highest good.

This program works -- but don't take my word for it, read what clients around the
world are saying about their experience. Just click here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAuu82SE7R3A1j8nZtLLhH8dXdEXRu4nPftApz2VTfOMVKBd82boV_DIdMtAMZV5JikGHUpa-fIR8HtMlOn9-0oZ3APwB473NbAL-82xNwKClVJWgq6Y63MRoklCBLgNAgDg=].

Namasté.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And I Quote
Quotes [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAuu2B4qkCxtbfw4uFpqUp5b5rMF_vXq6B_izKywtggyS_ixFDssaYRmOhxBwPjjc4doDzpmQpMLbesYsLoI5yFFKlSOHX63cXrZ4v6KwfhUksUEbAscPH8kArSznNYmZyis=]

A few days ago I was driving through Silicon Valley and saw a sign on the front
lawn of a church that read:
"Google can't satisfy every search."
Brilliant. I just love that. ~Alón

---------------------------------------------------

Have a favorite quote? Write to me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please Share this Newsletter, If You Dare...

what? [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAutVXG5XpuSuZE4WShJ_TkbtOkMehywejbbTMVc90KQcpBcq1k_bDS-qR6NyJ_ZYFn6532WuvHjx58EuaLabQBaJdo-HLsFb4GNjQgRl1VmNL_4HnlzvRxuQznEswSLk_2U=]

"I can't believe you sent me that!"

Forward to a Friend [http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1011249560080&a=1107860671621&ea=m_david_yusuf.yoga%40blogger.com]

Want to subject your friends to my rants? Click the box above to test your friendship.
By clicking you agree to not hold me responsible for their reaction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subscribe to The Yoga Business Journal(TM)
labyrinth [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAutVXG5XpuSuZE4WShJ_TkbtOkMehywejbbTMVc90KQcpBcq1k_bDS-qR6NyJ_ZYFn6532WuvHjx58EuaLabQBaJdo-HLsFb4GNjQgRl1VmNL_4HnlzvRxuQznEswSLk_2U=]

Your privacy is assured... Really, I can't stand spam either. I promise not to give
your information to anyone, especially those selling cheap prescription drugs from
overseas, alerting you to an inheritance from a long-lost uncle, or offering the
enlargement of

anything.

And, if I ever bore you, just ask and ye shall not receive! (actually, you don't
even need to ask, there's an unsubscribe link at the very bottom of each issue.
So if someone forwarded this newsletter to you, go on, click the image for your
very own subscription.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestion Box
ideas [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAusbtkMleuID-uqv_sKljaVb3Z0nZ2HCp2PCdj4gXHaAz9eTlEFKSm_kx9ZRizNxvOV-GbhV9K8HYJJiO_Q0yXDrIfue7lAnuJurhL7L2yZEK-lvJui3S0mvK9viJmcb3wI=]

Have something brilliant that you believe will help the yoga business community
prosper? I'm all ears! Click on the light bulb to send me an email.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Awards

Thank you for making this newsletter one of the most consistently opened and read
online publications in the world!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoga Classifieds

Yoga Mat For Sale
Bellevue, WA

Yoga mat for sale. Used once at lunch hour class in December 2009. Usage timeline
as follows:
11:45a
Register for hot yoga class. Infinite wisdom tells me to commit to 5 class package
and purchase a yoga mat. I pay $89.74. Money well spent, I smugly confirm to myself.

11:55a
Open door to yoga room. A gush of hot dry air rushes through and past me. It smells
of breath, sweat and hot. Take spot on floor in back of room next to cute blonde.
We will date.

11:57a
I feel the need to be as near to naked as possible. This is a problem because of
the hot blonde to my left and our pending courtship. She will not be pleased to
learn that I need to lose 30 pounds before I propose to her.

11:58a
The shirt and sweats have to come off. I throw caution to the wind and decide to
rely on my wit and conditioning to overcome any weight issues my fiance may take
issue with. This will take a lot of wit and conditioning.

11:59a
Begin small talk with my bride to be. She pretends to ignore me but I know how she
can be. I allow her to concentrate and stare straight ahead and continue to pretend
that I don't exist. As we finish sharing our special moment, I am suddenly aware
of a sweat mustache that has formed below my nose. This must be from the all the
whispering between us.

12:00p
Instructor enters the room and ascends her special podium at the front of the room.
She is a slight, agitated Chinese woman. She introduces me to the class and everyone
turns around to greet me just as I decide to aggressively adjust my penis and testes
packed in my Under Armor. My bride is notably unfazed.

12:02p
Since I do have experience with Hot Yoga (4 sessions just 5 short years ago) I fully
consider that I may be so outstanding and skilled that my instructor may call me
out and ask me to guide the class. My wife will look on with a sparkle in her eye.
We will make love after class.

12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises
for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual,
you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other's body odor, expelled carbon
dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don't worry, I'll mention them later.)

12:26p

It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about
90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her.
She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior
to attending this class. We bond.

12:33p

It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other
leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last
time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I'm in this for the
long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming
down her face. Well, "for better or worse" is what we committed to so we press on.

12:40p

The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least
I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since
we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.

12:44p

I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.

12:52p

It is now 140 degrees and 100% humidity. I am covered from head to toe in sweat.
There is not a square millimeter on my body that is not slippery and sweaty. I
am so slimy that I feel like a sea lion or maybe a sea eel. Not even a bear trap
could hold me. The sweat is stinging my eyeballs and I can no longer see.

12:55p

This room stinks of asparagus, cloves, tuna and tacos. There is no food in the room.
I realize that this is an amalgamation of the body odors of 30 people in a 140 degree
room for the last 55 minutes. Seriously, enough with the asparagus, ok?

1:01p

140 degrees and 130% humidity. Look, bitch, I need my space here so don't get all
pissy with me if I accidentally sprayed you with sweat as I flipped over. Seriously,
is that where this relationship is going? Get over yourself. We need counseling
and she needs to be medicated. Stat!

1:09p

150 degrees and cloudy. And hot. I can no longer move my limbs on my own. I have
given up on attempting any of the commands this Chinese chick is yelling out at
us. I will lay sedentary until the aid unit arrives. I will buy this building and
then have it destroyed.

I lose consciousness.

1:15p

I have a headache and my wife is being a selfish bitch. I can't really breathe.
All I can think about is holding a cup worth of hot sand in my mouth. I cannot remember
what an ice cube is and cannot remember what snow looks like. I consider that my
only escape might be a crab walk across 15 bodies and then out of the room. I am
paralyzed, and may never walk again so the whole crab walk thing is pretty much
out.

1:17p

I cannot move at all and cannot reach my water. Is breathing voluntary or involuntary?
If it's voluntary, I am screwed. I stopped participating in the class 20 minutes
ago. Hey, lady! I paid for this frickin class, ok?! You work for me! Stop yelling
at everyone and just tell us a story or something. It's like juice and cracker time,
ok?

1:20p

It is now 165 degrees and moisture is dripping from the ceiling. The towel that
I am laying on is no longer providing any wicking or drying properties. It is actually
placing additional sweat on me as I touch it. My towel reeks. I cannot identify
the smell but no way can it be from me. Did someone spray some stank on my towel
or something?

1:30p

Torture session is over. I wish hateful things upon the instructor. She graciously
allows us to stay and 'cool down' in the room. It is 175 degrees. Who cools down
in 175 degrees? A Komodo Dragon? My wife has left the room. Probably to throw up.

1:34p

My opportunity to escape has arrived. I roll over to my stomach and press up to
my knees. It is warmer as I rise up from ground level - probably by 15 degrees.
So let's conservatively say it's 190. I muster my final energy and slowly rise.
One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Towards the door.
Towards the door.

1:37p

The temperature in the lobby is 72 degrees. Both nipples stiffen to diamond strength
and my penis begins to retract into my abdomen from the 100 degree temp swing. I
can once again breathe though so I am pleased. I spot my future ex wife in the
lobby. We had such a good thing going but I know that no measure of counseling will
be able to unravel the day's turmoil and mental scaring.

1:47p

Arrive at Emerald City Smoothie and proceed to order a 32 oz beverage. 402 calories,
0 fat and 14 grams of protein -- effectively negating any caloric burn or benefit
from the last 90 minutes. I finish it in 3 minutes and spend the next 2 hours writing
this memoir.

3:47p

Create Craigslist ad while burning final 2 grams of protein from Smoothie and before
the "shakes" consume my body.

4:29p

Note to self - check car for missing wet yoga towel in am.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namasté david,
After seven years of active duty, my trusty blue website has been retired. My new,
updated website is brighter, more accessible, easier to read and ultimately, reflects
how I've grown along with the communities I've served as The Yoga Business Coach
since 2004. Photos are from the lush forests that grace my neighborhood, making
the term Home Page feel so very right.
homepage [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAusjg5tX2SYV0UsQ_d7o47vM5i0Krq32i_IHAMNje_50qn6tjwhEFymutodN2pAyrGiNQ0wQeYD001PDvusSVzGTEBttZ6_ikMC20ryvYk0_Yg==]
The What Clients Are Saying page, which is by far the most important on the site,
is much easier to navigate - which is really good, because it has now grown to 60
pages long (I know, crazy, right?).
Indulge me as I celebrate two amazing professionals who helped me transform this
site. Thanks to my long time web designer and friend, Michelle, at Minima Designs,
for doing such a wonderful job and putting up with me through it all. A link to
her site is on the footer of each page of my site.
Also integral to this site's quiet appeal is the artistry of photographer Jack Gescheidt,
whose work with natural settings is nothing short of stunning. Find him on my Photo
Gallery page. Thank you Jack, you inspired this project from its inception.
If you have some time, come visit by clicking the home page image above.
This month, I present to you another wonderful and fun client story which once again
has me asking how did I ever get this lucky? I'm honored to have Lori's story as
the first to be added to the new website. To find it here, scroll down and look
for the happiest photo in this issue.
Also, in the sidebar visit the brand new Yoga Classifieds section, which debuts
with the longest yoga-related ad ever (I charged this guy a lot for all that space,
but he seemed determined and didn't care at all). It's a bit too detailed, but he
obviously wants to sell this item fast!
As always, in gratitude... Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Promotions, Hype, and Yoga
For a vendor offering warm clothing on a foggy summer day in San Francisco, or
those selling umbrellas during a torrential downpour in London, not much promotion
is necessary to move product... the need is obvious and immediate.
While yoga has made tremendous inroads into western culture -- attracting students
is not yet as easy as selling cold lemonade in the Sahara. Until yoga becomes a
need to the masses (like it is for us), we'll continue to use promotions to build
our businesses.
Promoting your business can be fun, if you get creative. Here in North America,
we've all laughed at ridiculous late night TV promotions that shout "order before
midnight tonight to get an extra super special wizbop absolutely FREE!" Admit
it, there was a time you saw those Ginsu knives cutting through copper pennies
and thought they might do a pretty good job on broccoli.
Wherever you find yourself in today's fast-paced culture, certainly you've experienced
the feeling of thousands of offers and promotions vying for your attention. With
yoga's dramatic growth, the yoga business community has doled out its share.
You've heard them all:
First class Free; Second class free; Bring a friend; Refer a friend; 10 Days for
$10; 20 Days for $20; 3 Classes for the price of 2; Unlimited Plan Sign up specials;
Intro packages; Summer specials (fleece included); Mother's Day sales; National
Fight Procrastination Day sale (which I never do get around to preparing for...
It's on June 6th, if you must know). And then of course, there is the method of
delivery: Will you send out a postcard? Put up flyers? Advertise in the paper?
Put brochures on cars in parking lots?
So many questions. How far should you go to promote your business? What works? What
doesn't? The clear answer to all these important inquiries is a definite maybe.
The frustrating thing is that a promotional program can succeed wildly at one studio
and fail miserably at another. Why is that?
Making a correct choice of how to promote depends on your studio's personality,
your community, the way you, the owner, think about your business, what the self-talk
tapes running in the background of your mind are saying, and so many other factors
that have more to do with your attitude than any cookie-cutter formula for successful
promotions.
The most important issue is resonance. Does the promotion you are considering
feel like something your community will gravitate towards naturally, or will they
consider it a cheesy annoyance? Will it support the feeling and philosophy that
drives your business or detract from it?
Once again, the answer to this tricky business question lies in knowing your audience.
Just because a yoga studio somewhere had success with a particular promotion does
not insure you the same results.
Yoga entrepreneurs have asked my opinion on many promotional ideas. Before even
assessing the merits of a particular idea, I ask: "Would you participate in
this yourself if you were the student?" It's amazing how many times silence follows
that question.
Make sure that every promotion you think of implementing is something that YOU
would feel good about if you were the student! Never expect good results with
an idea you yourself could not get excited about. Then, once you're sure it's
something that would feel good to you, ask some of your students. Make sure what
you have in mind matches your audience and only then spend the time, energy and
money to implement it.
To help you make good choices, our next Yoga of Business teleclass will explore
this issue in more depth. With the help of many yoga entrepreneurs from our global
community who will share their wisdom, experience, and stories of success (as
well as outright disappointments), this should be a fascinating and informative
class. Read the next section on how to join us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Next Seva-Driven Tele-Class
TClass [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAuug7cmobbZUluzfA_0vmmknSeRe-sfKUUJqrlZRlliyWUTFpstKUxly0D4buJ5lj1WLpB7EGGUkL8KidHaTljEiCnaHMg-Bltv76CqCnmL_qXX6LLqo-rmobR87Hb2F-Em5AyMaa-rqRw==]Join
us on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at Noon Pacific Time/3:00PM Eastern Time for our
next seva (selfless service) or donation-driven tele-class.
On this call, we will discuss the art of Promotions, especially the yoga-friendly
kind.
As usual, this will be a lot of fun and, you never know, you might even learn something
valuable!
Please join our community of yoga entrepreneurs (who call in from as many as a dozen
countries) in this lively interactive discussion.
To join this month's class, I ask you to donate the usual $30 admission cost directly
to Doctors Without Borders or any cause that reaches you. If $30 is difficult for
you, donate what you can, or do some seva in a way that feels right to you.
Since space is limited, please email me your desire to participate and you'll receive
a confirmation approximately one week before the call, if there is room. Please
only request a spot if you are certain you will be available for the call!
All current clients and guests who send in an email request will receive a return
email with instructions for this tele-class. Click here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAutuTsl30Xd_bSxWGwYWnEEzauuGjjZgzvgz6EBwsGC_-1FsC6cevtn_b2xlf_u_I5J1yAq7kuOM6goNr-SW20QuxATbxR3U55VSsYMy4C1kQiXhKWBb5cpvWzaw7iIY8feebVMxU83QEQ==]
to convert 12:00PM US Pacific time to the exact class time for your location. Just
enter the time and date and location (San Francisco, CA) and add your location.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Client Spotlight
Lori Snyder
Although we've never met in person, it feels like Lori and I have been on a journey
together. In a relatively short time, it became clear that she needed to dramatically
shift her work and home environments to align with her truth... and that is exactly
what we did.
With a plan in place, big, fast, sweeping changes were executed with the courage
and focus of a SWAT team - except for the laughing out loud part - SWAT teams are
so serious. We laugh a lot in our sessions, and instead of it being a distraction
to the work, it serves as a catalyst for creative thinking, helping us arrive at
solutions not just quickly, but with a smile. Working with Lori is so much fun
that it feels effortless. And the work we've done together? Just mahvelous!
Here's her story. Enjoy. ~Alón

Coming Home to Herself

Alón won me over with the power of five words.

"I don't waste anyone's time."

And boy, was he right.

By the time I called Alón, our studio had been open about a year and a half. We
were doing well for a new business that opened in a struggling economy, but not
well enough. We opened big, building our studio from the ground up with two practice
rooms, massage, a boutique, sauna, showers, 25 teachers and 40+ front desk people
and cleaners. I was working 80 hours a week managing it all and teaching, and was
past exhausted in body, mind, and heart. I had no personal life and was living in
a town where I didn't feel at home. My own yoga practice was suffering, and I wasn't
able to devote any time at all to my other calling, writing. Basically, I was pretty
miserable.

Like every business owner in the world, I had a list five pages long of all the
things I knew we had to do...but I just didn't have the time. My experience with
people I hired as "experts" was that they would tell me to do things that were
already on my list, which wasn't helpful. I had a decent amount of previous business
experience, had run other yoga programs, and done tons of research before we opened,
so I was pretty together on that end. What I didn't have was time. What I needed
was someone to tell me how to make that time, so I could do the things I knew we
had to do. And-although I didn't realize this until I started working with Alón-I
also needed someone to kindly point out that the way I was working just wasn't sustainable.

Alón and I immediately clicked, in the way I suspect he does with everyone. He has
a remarkable and rare ability to see who you truly are, and to tailor your work
together accordingly. He somehow manages to be fluent in everyone's language. It's
astonishing what you can pack into 45 minutes with someone as brilliant, witty,
fun, and compassionate as Alón. He led me through a series of opening exercises
that clarified who I was and who we were as a studio, and began to show me how to
use that to make my life and my business shine. I not only looked forward to our
sessions every week; they pretty much held me together when things were crazy.
His insight, sense of humor, experience with business, and deep understanding of
yoga as a practice and a business are nothing short of extraordinary.

Working with Alón, our classes began to grow. We increased our prices with little
to no unhappiness from our students, and our community grew even stronger. And then...Alón
somehow managed to make it seem possible for me to take my first vacation since
before we had opened. A real vacation, one where I didn't work. At all.

Shortly after my vacation, some unexpected and, shall we say, shocking events with
my business partners transpired, and for the first time ever I thought about selling
the studio and moving home to Los Angeles. Another piece of the puzzle was that
I was incredibly homesick, and had been for years, missing my home of Venice Beach
with every ounce of my being. While I knew that going home was what was best for
me, I had never thought I could. I agonized over how to make that work with my
commitment to the studio and the community I had built over nine years.

Alón's clear understanding of who I am made it possible for me to make the right
decision for me. He saw me through every painful moment-and it was a terribly difficult
time, because of the nature of what was transpiring between my partners and myself-with
great intelligence and compassion. He became a much-needed cheering section as well,
able to convince me that selling the business, moving home, and finding a teaching
and writing life in LA would all happen easily and smoothly, because it was where
I was supposed to be. He helped immensely in making the transition exciting rather
than terrifying. Not only that, he helped me find the best possible way to frame
it to my community, which resulted in them being overwhelmingly supportive of-and
even inspired by!-my decision to move on.

Best of all, he agreed to keep working with me to develop my personal businesses
once I sold the studio, something I was so grateful for. I already had an informal
side business where I edited yoga-related writing such as books, teacher training
manuals, and websites. Working together, Alón and I turned this into a full-fledged
business by creating a brand with a logo I adore, a website with copy that truly
reflects who I am and what I do, and a newsletter that melds my two loves: yoga
and writing. What could be better? We also needed to reposition me as a solo teacher,
as opposed to a studio owner, in the fabulously crowded yoga market that is Los
Angeles. I developed my new yoga "brand" with Alón as well. My yoga website, which
includes another perfect logo and all of my playlists linked to iTunes (yay!), just
went live.

In every sense of the word, I'm now at home. Once the difficult decision to sell
the studio and move was made, everything else seemed to fall into place. I found
my dream apartment in the Venice canals, was offered teaching jobs at Santa Monica
Yoga and Bam Bu Lah (a new studio that opened literally around the corner from my
new apartment a week after I moved in), launched Yoga:edit and Lori Snyder Yoga,
and am finally finishing (well, almost) my novel that's about two years late to
my agent. (As a side note, no, I haven't met the love of my life yet. Know anyone
in LA?)

Most importantly, I feel as though I'm back to joy in my life, back to feeling like
there's something exciting around every corner. I'm not sure I would have been able
to see my right path with such clarity had it not been for Alón's continual guidance
and kindness. He is an incredible human being. If you get the chance to work with
him, grab it. It will transform your world.

Lori Snyder

Venice, CA

www.YogaEdit.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAutNPSbHj26JEEYuV6GbhHiv3H2p8ufF-zBP1G62KN7qS_XJzU3mK22YR3m_YnGIfySj1b9pqNH6BwCuowF7ml5WnZUH2QnGSfU=]

www.LoriSnyderYoga.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAutJ42yD5-jRpkVcUi0-QNV4o0tx1SKH20U6Io0e_3vmLhlPxKbw55Y81_V5j-j59bqrP4Xba8QmC03XBTkHHoHq0Sr0BnqK1evyVjQtt7h-ug==]

Click here to read lots more client stories... [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAuu82SE7R3A1j8nZtLLhH8dXdEXRu4nPftApz2VTfOMVKBd82boV_DIdMtAMZV5JikGHUpa-fIR8HtMlOn9-0oZ3APwB473NbAL-82xNwKClVJWgq6Y63MRoklCBLgNAgDg=]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Et Cetera...
scary trail [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAutAR1FN4A0Rmy9IizrhQJhVP0zgNVUjWoD7_ObCvihgwznBSps3NF82Dat1JEvHXzhrTl9PDB2okY9y1bFOYcX5kMr61PK8GGCDrSBpOXb7OZLolX4VtLpXSDcNeK_SQ6yrmoN4S1OWHV_aBVlp05LkYbt6i3hxUic=]

World's Scariest Trail

You simply have to see this insane video. Does six minutes of shouting OMG! at your
computer screen sound like fun? Definitely go for it. This cameraman is so calm
he's got to be a yogi. Wait, are there calm people who don't do yoga? Doubt it.
This guy is probably chanting mantras the whole way.
Click the photo to watch. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoga Business Coach(TM) publications reach thousands of studios and teachers in
over 150 countries around the world. Thank you for spreading the word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contact Alón
800.399.2977 From the USA
+1 415.294.4717 International
alon@yogabusinesscoach.com [mailto:alon@yogabusinesscoach.com]
http://www.yogabusinesscoach.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&et=1107860671621&s=4418&e=001UUaVLF_qAuu7ckKuzd2BqtRPm5-j91mN32QfIBCnmU41bwmOqCQTC2r0J8SjRYhY5tm0g1rGM2FkSM-ZpzULwvDrs2GbIxJnOUnidlvh5i5zfRp3Alc9sg==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2004-2011 by The Yoga Business Coach(TM) All rights reserved. You're
welcome and invited to share and forward this publication to anyone, but please
do not excerpt or copy the ideas or text without proper attribution.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forward email
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=qqoxszn6&m=1011249560080&ea=m_david_yusuf.yoga@blogger.com&a=1107860671621

This email was sent to m_david_yusuf.yoga@blogger.com by alon@yogabusinesscoach.com.

Update Profile/Email Address
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&mse=001nYvF8TS7VbKJKY8Ew_BsJPr_4i5vd3X5&t=001G_RX-7cDC1M4q9OlWhtQog%3D%3D&lang=001FCSs65SMrsI%3D&reason=001y5KaVlBn7_Y%3D&llr=qqoxszn6

Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM)
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&mse=001nYvF8TS7VbKJKY8Ew_BsJPr_4i5vd3X5&t=001G_RX-7cDC1M4q9OlWhtQog%3D%3D&lang=001FCSs65SMrsI%3D&reason=001y5KaVlBn7_Y%3D&llr=qqoxszn6

Online Marketing by
Constant Contact(R)
www.constantcontact.com

The Yoga Business Coach | 35 Miller Ave. | #171 | Mill Valley | CA | 94941