2020 My Year of "Less"
Changes seem to be the theme of my 2020. In January at my Vision yoga retreat I set a word for myself that I felt the Lord was leading me to. The word was Less. 2020 has been anything but “less”. When I set this word as my intention it wasn't with the thought that I would actually be doing less. It was from John 3:30, “He must increase, I must decrease”. This year I wanted to do my best to make it more about Him and less about me. Boy has that been a struggle! Each new hurdle I face I have gone back to what I set for myself in January. No matter the situation less me and my wants, more Him and His plan.
Which brings me to this current place. I have stepped back from a few things I had my hands in the past few years. Not to do less but to look at filling a much bigger need. I have noticed over the years a big hole in the christian yoga instructor community. It all started right after my first christian yoga training. I was one of 140 people to become a certified christian yoga instructor. We all went home from our immersion with this brand new certification… but then what?
I was in a very rare position and fortunate to have a very supportive church that allowed me a space to teach, immediately. In that space I muscled my way through so many obstacles just trying to figure out what I was doing. The entire time having this underlying feeling that I was missing many important pieces to this puzzle. After wrestling with my pride, for some time, I decided to retrain with a different school. I registered to retrain through my 200 hour program with Yogafaith because I felt I needed more.
After completing my second program with Yogafaith I noticed they tried very hard to keep us in community with each other. Yogafaith is a training school with a very good 200 hour training. The training teaches you how to be a yoga teacher and how to view yoga through a biblical lens. Those two key components I was missing and was thankful it was provided by Yogafaith. Yet, thoughts still lingered in my mind, “How do you do all of the other things that come along with business and or ministry?”.
That is what impressed me the most about Yogafaith. The founder Michelle recognized the same piece missing among the instructors. The, “Then what?” was missing. Some would say if you want to know business, hire a business coach. Well that sounds great but most have just invested thousands of dollars into training. Yoga instructors are not paid very much in the beginning. It takes time to find your field in this industry. Who can afford to hire a business coach? And even then is Teaching Yoga from a biblical lens common? “No”.
So again, you find me in my current place and I would like to share how I am investing my time. Through many talks with Michelle and Derek, praying for direction and praying the Lord would allow me to use my gifts to show people Him more, Yogafaith University was born. Yogafaith University is filling the missing link within the Christian Yoga community. Yogafaith has recognized a need their graduates and long time instructors were experiencing and has stepped up to fill that need. Not only does Yogafaith have superior training in christian yoga but now offers an affordable way for their instructors to get step by step coaching and mentorship with regards to their yoga business / ministry. Each month YFU members will receive life giving resources, live coaching, mentorship and accountability to foster growth in their yoga business, live Q&A sessions, and powerful podcasts from mentors in the industry. YFU has also recognized the challenge students are having with CEC's due to Covid and have made a way for all founding members to receive 20 CEC's for FREE as a YFU member through the end of the year.
I get the honor of being the Creative Director for this platform. Any person that knows me knows one thing about me: Helping instructors is my passion! I never want an instructor feeling the way I once did. I never want an instructor to feel left out, not a part of a community, or just not having a place to ask questions and seek guidance.
So, has taking on this position as Creative Director of this platform allowed me to stay true to my intention set for this year? YES it has. It is so much less about “me, me, me” and much more about helping others.
The light in me is the light of Jesus Christ. That light prays many blessings over each of you!
Sally