In this episode, I’m joined by the host of the Curious Monki podcast, Veronica Thai.
We talk about how using your energy as a marketing tool can up level your authenticity and sense of fun.
There are many marketing tools you can have in your tool belt as a yoga teacher, but the number one tool you have is your energy. The energy you bring to your marketing efforts will determine how you show up to other people.
Today I’ll share how Veronica helped me feel fired up to do even more of what I love and tap into that positive, confident energy!
Market in a way that’s energetically right for you
Are your marketing efforts working against your personality?
If you're introverted as a person, you draw energy from alone time. If that’s the case for you, it doesn't make sense that you would go out to large networking events back to back. It doesn't mean you never go, it just means that you are paying attention to your energy and you're not going to deplete yourself.
If you're going to a big networking event, make sure that you have some downtime, and space the events out in the month.
Take whatever you need to recover; a bubble bath, or read. Avoid dinner with friends after, or going on social media.
Be playful - stretch your way to success
Veronica talks about a playful mindset helping us to challenge ourselves to reach the next level… if we can get past our own fear.
“Play isn't mindless… when you watch children or animals play, they try to stretch themselves, for the challenge.” - Veronica
Know yourself - find the sweet spot
In yoga, we call it ‘finding your edge’. Only you know when you can go a little further and challenge yourself, and when your reluctance is telling you to stop for good reason.
It’s the same principal in marketing yourself, authentically--it affects everything.
For example, you need to be confident and strong when you communicate your class prices to somebody. If you’re apologetic, or you lack excitement about what you’re offering, your energy is telling you (and the other person) ‘this isn’t the right path to follow’.
When that happens, take a step back, and watch what lights you up. What are you excited to pursue? The answer to that question is the game changer.
“Your energy is different when you're teaching something that you're passionate about.” - Amanda
Listen to your intuition
Veronica has worked with Oprah’s life coach, Martha Beck, to learn how to better use her intuition. She describes intuition as a kind of magic that happens when you dive deep into the layers of your own internal world.
Some of the ideas Veronica uses come from Byron Katie, who she discovered when she was doing her yoga teacher training.
The basic idea is this; our thoughts are what causes our suffering.
So your thought of ‘Oh my gosh, no one is going to show up at my class’ is the thing causing the suffering. And at the heart of this is a fear that you will be rejected. Your fear may be so strong that it stops you putting the posters up, and even trying to start the class in the first place.
Veronica suggests a way out of this fear is to flip it around and question ‘why wouldn’t people reject me if I started a new class?’ She suggests to ask your brain to find answers which challenge your fear - and support your growth.
“Your original logic might completely reject it. But play around and just allow it. Maybe it's something that their people would be interested in, and it just shows that they support the community.” - Veronica
Let your body make your marketing decisions
You need to discern between the energy of ‘this isn't for me’ and ‘this is fear holding me back’. It feels different, and you can start to tune into how it feels for you.
For Veronica, if she feels like she is sinking in quicksand, she knows it's fear holding her back.
On the other hand, when she is certain that something is not right for her, there's no cringing or constriction. It's feels like truth, and there’s simply nothing else to it.
If you are struggling to decide between two things, use the simple trick of writing it down, and see what your body is drawn to. Why not give it a go and see if it can help you decide your next step. Here’s an example to explain:
An activity to allow your body decide
Write down on a piece of paper: ‘I will put the poster in five yoga studios this week’
On a second piece of paper ‘I will send an email to those five studios’
Next, stand on one piece of paper and imagine if that is true. Imagine walking into five yoga studios and talking to them about this workshop you want to put on
What does it feel in your body? Maybe journal about it to gain clarity
Then step on the 2nd paper. Imagine writing the emails, and staying in the house to do the job.
By pretending you’re doing the two different activities, you’ll be able to notice which one feels better. Act on the one that feels better.
Become a magnetic yoga teacher
You recognise a fantastic yoga teacher when you experience a class. They take you through a series of movements that are so seamless that you forget what poses you were in, because everything flowed so well.
You can do this too, by focusing on what lights you up.
“Those amazing yoga teachers are able to do that because they have found exactly what lights them up, and what their niche is. This concoction creates a kind of magic, one of a kind. Be yourself.” Veronica
It’s easy to look at others and try and emulate their success, yet if you do this you will be betraying yourself, and denying your own gifts.
When you catch yourself falling into this trap, feel free to firmly remind yourself of the fundamental wisdom... STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE!
Use your practice to surrender
Another important thing to remember, is that you can’t control what’s happening in the other lanes. Veronica mentions the Tao Te Ching, and how it can help us to know what our job is, and know when we need to let go of control.
“It comes back to that letting go, and that non-doing. If he acts without action order will prevail, because life is guiding you and life is taking you where you need to be. Your job is to stay open and do the work that feels open. You know what feels closed when you hop over into someone else's lane. It doesn't feel right. That's not your job. It's life's job to guide you where you need to go.” - Veronica
For those of us who like to control all the things, we have work to do here! Don’t forget, I’m here to help you learn how to market yourself, every step of the way.
Your Next Step:
What is something you’ve been thinking about doing or making a move on? Identify one thing that you’ve been trying to make a decision on.
Carve out some time, and ask yourself what you want to do
Use Veronica’s advice and the activity in the post to allow your body speak to you
Do you want to host a specialty workshop?
Do you want to start a YouTube Channel?
Do you want to cut 3 classes from your schedule to make more space for your family?
Tell someone what you’ll do next
I’ll leave you with a final thought from Veronica…
“We gotta get out there. You gotta face your fears and learn the ebbs and flows of your energy.”
Until next time, give yourself permission to follow your energy while marketing, and grace along the way. Talk to you soon.
More about Veronica
Veronica is a life coach, yoga instructor, licensed Desire Map Facilitator, and host of the podcast Curious Monki. As a humble (and curious) explorer of this life journey, she focuses on understanding the barriers that hold us back from living as our truest selves. Using a blend of mindset tools, yogic principles and The Desire Map theory, she specializes in helping others connect to their own unique truth and ignite a life bursting with vibrance, radiance and color.
Veronica’s story
One of the biggest lessons that Veronica learned in starting a business is how to avoid becoming bogged down by the crazy lizard brain thoughts that we all get; self doubt, not good enough syndrome, and paralysis due to fear.
Before Veronica learned how to manage this energy, she felt overwhelmed and afraid to act. It didn't matter how much knowledge and know-how she fed herself, as soon as she entertained thoughts such as ‘who are you to do this’ or ‘you're going to do it wrong’, Veronica became paralyzed. When she learned how to manage her energy, Veronica’s clients sensed that too, and her teaching changed for the better.
How to find Veronica:
Veronica's website: veronicathai.com
Veronica's Curious Monki Podcast - veronicathai.com/curious-monki-podcast
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