Greener Printer for your business cards!

Cards I created using Greener Printer's system.

I found a greener printer! And they are called... www.greenerprinter.com
They are a certified Green Business company in the bay area offering business cards brochures, postcards, etc. printed in 100% recycled paper, chlorine-free, using soy and other vegetable-based inks. Oh, and in case you are wondering, they do offset the carbon emissions of our shipments through purchases with Carbonfund.org and they are 100% wind-powered. Don't you love them?
Here's how Greener Printer (GP) compares to www.overnightprints.com (OP), which is my choice of traditional printer:
Price
OP charges $19.95 for 100 cards and $24.95 for 250 cards.
GP charges $29.95 for 200 cards (their minimun)

Turnaround time (time it takes from card approved to ready to ship)
OP: overnight or 3 days if using ground shipping
GP: 7 days (5 days available for $10 more, 3 days for $20 more)

Shipping
OP ships from Santa Ana, CA. $9 for ground, $12 for 3-day, $15 2-day
GP ships from Berkley, CA. $10 for ground, $13 3-day, $15 2-day

Design
Both will let you submit your own design as a PDF file and offer template based designs for you to create your own.
OP has more options to choose, and in general I like them
GP has few options and I don't love them. They offer design services for $20 additional.
If you are going with a template, remember that other people might have a card that looks just like yours, especially if there aren't many templates to choose from.
OP offers rounded corners which I like and UV coating which makes the cards look much better.

So all in all, GP is a bit more expensive, but probably not more than $15 for an order. Worth giving it a try!
Note: I am not affiliated to either GP or OP and I am not receiving any incentive to promote them....

Surviving or Thriving? Strategies for Teachers in Times of Uncertainty

The big picture: Kali Yuga
I can't talk about current times without referring to Kali Yuga, which is how the yogis called the time we are in. Kali Yuga, the dark age, is characterized by materialism and both crisis and destruction are needed in order to create space for the new. All seekers will find resistance in their path. In general, the environment will be more conducive to numbing ourselves through TV, overating and overconsuming, than to sit and meditate. Around us, we may find more examples of selfishness than generosity. And teaching yoga, especially meditation and pranayama will probably be harder than to teach pilates or be a personal trainer. So we should expect resistance, even if we are following our bliss, even if we are aligned with our dharma. The Universe is still supporting us, and the more we practice, the more we experience that.
To learn more about Kali Yuga, I recommend the Prophecy of the Sages book, but it's almost impossible to get it, unless you are willing to pay $200 for a used copy (does that tell us something about the dark ages?)

So what can you do when business slows down?

Practice.
In times of uncertainty, as yogis (I like to think that we are yogis, yoga teacher is what we do), our first duty is to remain a harbor for peace ships. People come to your class wanting refuge from darkness, so you better be shinning very brightly. So what would it take for you to show up radiating love, even if your class is now half of what it used to be? What would it take for you to feel protected, guide and safe, even if your bank statement is sogged with tears (this is why I prefer to get them on line)? The sages have the answer: silence. Silence cures it all.

There's no better time to rely on your own practice to find the strenght and the inspiration to be the best teacher you can be.

Find ways to stay connected with your students.
If they are not coming to the studio, go to them. Choose a medium that you feel confortable with (Facebook, email, newsletter) and share your goodness. Short and light tends to be more accepted than long and serious (though I rebel against my own advice too often). Link it to your blog, if you have a blog, where you can take more freedom both in terms of content and lenght.
Also, stay available. Continue showing up early for class and staying a few minutes after. This makes a difference, even if no one comes to talk to you. Some students need to see you iddle many times before they decide to ask a question.

Continue growing
Even if everything around you may look and feel stuck, you can create inner movement. Use the extra time you are having in ways that create value for yourself and others. Be resourceful. Travel to places where you can stretch your money. Volunteer - give and you shall receive. Weren't there times you wish you could do more karma yoga? Study - consider work/study programs and apprenticeships. This NY Time article talks about how hard times are jamming the ashrams. That's exactly what I am talking about! Create and nurture your community - either on line or in person. Stay in the company of like-minded people who can remind you of all that you already know.

Adjust to the situation
The power of now. Be here now. Can you temper the expectations that things will get better with a radical acceptance of what's going on right now? So that you can live it fully and complete whatever needs to be completed?
Find out what this means for you. Maybe is a shopping embargo. Maybe it's falling in love with cooking. Maybe it's creating a personal budget. Whatever it is, find a way to acknowledge and honor the fact that it's time to conserve resources.

Be practical and the philosophical
A student in California asked me if one really had to go that deep into philosophy before going into practicalities. My answer was that I don't know about other people, but for me, I really do need to go back to the philosophy. And that is probably going to be the case for most yogis, that's how we make sense of the world. Besides, in my case, I don't think I have anything better to offer to the world than a business perspective steeped in tantra and yoga. Hope you agree with it!

Rhythm of Life, Rhythm of Business

Moving... Again... (note wood crates that are used in Uruguay)

It's been eight months since my last newsletter. It's a bit embarrassing, given how much I emphasize the importance of consistency in my trainings. At the same time, the truth is that the Yogi Incubator, like any other small business, has no rhythm of its own. It rides on the rhythm of my life, and it will tend to stop when I stop, and flow when I flow. My personal definition of success includes being financially and emotionally able to slow down projects at crucial moments of my life. You may find it hard to believe, but the financial part is often easier than letting go of ingrained productivity standards.

Though I sincerely missed working with Yoga teachers, my energy was focused in getting really established in another country. This started with postponing to the next decade the idea of living in an eco-house in the country and quickly evolved into buying and renovating a house, starting a
business as well as network of local contacts. After packing and unpacking 150 boxes for the second time in a year, I am writing this newsletter from my new office, in my new house. It's a clear, sunny winter day. Our solar panels have silently heated the water to 130F. My feet happily receive the heat from the radiant floor while I sip my ginger tea. In a few hours I will drive into town to celebrate Guru Purnima at a yoga studio. Life is good.

In addition to all this moving, my 2009 started with some serious traveling: I joined a group of 100 people on a 3-week trip to India. You can read more about it here

It feels really good to be back. This July will be full with two teaching engagements in Los Angeles (LMU) and Chicago (Moksha), as well as ressucited teleclasses to keep us all in shape till the end of the year.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

In gratitude for this reconnection,

Clara

Advice for the current economic times: Combining Schumpeter's Creative Destruction, Shiva and the Doshas.

"(this process of) mutation-if I may use that biological term-that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. This process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has got to live in."

Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950), Austrian economist who popularized the term "creative destruction" amongst economists.

Was Schumpeter talking about Shiva?

Acknowledging that the messy, painful way that capitalism and free markets use to regulate themselves is part of their essence is hard, especially when going out of business, job losses and unbearable debt become personal. Yet, yoga reminds us that birth-decay-death is the nature of everything in the material world, so how could banks and business stay out of it? Through this imperfect process called crisis, the economy will evolve, the fittest will survive, new business will emerge, some old will thrive and some will die, becoming food or fuel to something new.

So what can we do? Well, if we oversimplify reality, and that's what all models do, there are only two strategies:

1) sit and wait, conserving resources for when the recovery/renovation begins;

2) go out and find opportunity within the chaos.

Sit and wait is a good strategy, as long as you can really wait patiently. You have to have enough resources, material and non-material, to endure the dark night of the economy, and you have to be able to really stay relaxed even if you are in the path of the storm. Otherwise, rather than saving energy for new beginnings, you are draining yourself with worry that is not even getting expressed as action.

Finding opportunity within the chaos is also valid, and the caveat is that you have to truly believe this is possible. Your sense of adventure has to be greater than your risk aversion. Your faith has to be greater than your fear. And if that does not sound like you, don't feel frustrated. Instead, take it as a sign that there's a better way to use of your energy.

I can't think of anything wiser than finding what your natural inclination is and working with it. Treat it as wisdom, as guidance from the forces that always accompany you. One starting point is to look at your dosha, your body-mind type from Ayurveda.

Can you see how kaphas can sit and wait? It's the best thing form them to do, given their patience and stability. The same choice would make vattas space out and pittas spin on their wheels. Vattas and pittas will be drawn to taking risks, vattas because their essence is change, and pittas because their fire makes them go-getters.

Whatever your strategy is, as yogis, we know that power is made available to the extent we can remind ourselves of our nature, our purpose and our practice, specially as we go through turbulent times. How do we manage ourselves when there's a gap between what we want and what we are getting? Isn't that what we practice yoga for? The more I read the media, the more I turn to yoga and my tradition for guidance and inspiration. And in case you need some of that too, here's a message from my teacher Rod Stryker.

This reminder may not be very practical and yet, it's really the most valuable thing I can offer you. My endless curiosity for the convergence between practical and mudane aspects of life and the mistery and power of spirit leads me to think that, at this very moment, it's inspiration, more than specifics, what we all need.

Clara Hori is interviewed by Kris Ward of Abundant Yogi by Trikaya

Kris and I are birds of a feather. We are both yoga teachers and entrepreneurs, with a serious passion for supporting yogis who believe that a full, rich and abundant life is part of the promise of yoga, and our ability to manage money and business is not only a tool or a means to that, but a powerful mirror of how we are living our yoga.
She is the creative force behind Trikaya, a funky combination of Yoga and Lifestyle Design that doesn't fit into any standard descriptions. Abundand Yogi is one of Trikaya's offerings, and for its soon to be released comunity pages, Kris is producing a series of interviews.
In our 50 minute conversation, we talk about how the Yogi Incubator was born (and incubated) and about the very contemporary challange of making a living while being a spiritual leader (i.e. yoga teacher).

Soon to be posted in the Yogi Incubator Website.

My pilgrimage to Kamakhya, India

From my recent trip to India:(1) Havan, fire ceremony, (2) best saree at Kamakhya, (3) Panditji’s lecture at the Allahabad Campus, (4) Kumari Puja, traditional of Kamakhya, (5) The Ganga in Allahabad, (6) Koti Lingam cave where Parashurama did his practice, (7) Kamakhya main temple, (8) Ganga seen from Allahabad Campus, (9) Eco-cottages at the Allahabad Campus.

View my photo album here

I am just back from India.

I've joined a group of 100 people on a 3-week trip to India. It was a pilgrimage to the shrine of Kamakhya, combined with a week long study of Sri Vidya with Panditji Rajmani Tigunait. Kamakhya is the wish-fulfilling goddess and Her shrine is the most active and esoteric seat of the Divine Mother, Sri Vidya. Panditji is the guru of my teacher Rod Stryker, the successor of Swami Rama and the head of the Himalayan Institute. He's a sage glowing with charisma, wisdom and unbeatable pragmatism.

It's my second time in India and I really think that it's not worth to go to India if you are only planning to go once. Your first time is completely dedicated to being overwhelmed, surviving the excessive noise and stimulation, learning how to ask and receive help without being explored, and accepting the almost absolute absence of conventional structure in the traffic, communications, etc. Your second time, you don't stop your conversation just because your driver is speeding on the wrong side of the road and there's a car coming in the opposite direction. You don't suffer because you really must go to the temple bathroom barefoot. You learn how to order food. You enjoy shopping whether you bargain or not. You make peace with being uneasy when approached by beggars. In summary, you can choose which parts of the experience you will save, and which parts you will let go, either because you can't understand them, or because they cause inner conflict.

I though I was a hard-core backpacker who would never fit into organized trips. Because of the purpose around which this trip was organized and who was organizing it, I decided to give it a try. I don't think I am ever going to India by myself again. The India of the Yogis is not easy to experience on your own, you need a guide. Not a touristic guide, but one that knows where the treasure is hidden, and how to reveal it. Any dedicated traveller can visit Kamakhya, not everyone will gain the experience that it's known for. Panditji and the Institute organized the trip in such a way that we were gradually prepared to understand what we were about to see, to absorb as much of the energy of the place and to integrate it, gradually and skillfully.

I look forward to sharing more about this enchanting and profound experience. Knowing that it can be a while till I actually do that, I will leave you in the meantime with Sandy Anderson's blog , a senior teacher at the Institute and a dedicated blogger.

Namaste, Clara

A message from my teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker of Para Yoga

Rod sent this message on his year end newsletter. To subscribe to his newsletter, go to www.parayoga.com

Dear Friends and ParaYogis,

Some final thoughts to close out a historic and, in many ways, ground shaking year....

Everywhere I've travelled, its impossible not to notice the palpable sense of fear and uncertainty. Our global economy is in peril, many are suffering as a result, and the great majority of us are facing questions about our basic security.
Is there anything to be learned? What can the teachings provide in the way of solace and a solution?

These times and these questions are exactly what yoga is meant to prepare you for. This is exactly why you have been practicing. Taking time for stillness and awakening the kind of discriminative knowledge that allows you to navigate through times like these is precisely what practice is meant to be giving you. A lot of you know that, but it's helpful to be reminded. However, that is just the first step.

It's time to collect yourself and determine what you want your future to look like. The Gita reminds us to, "Reshape yourself through the power of will, never let yourself be degraded by self-will. The will is the only friend of the self and the will is the only enemy of the self". Swami Rama said that, "On this path you must first awaken your Samkalpa Shakti, the power of will and determination. Never say that you cannot do it... Instead, overcome your resistance, and expand your capacity. You must order your body and senses to function under the leadership of your mind".

To my dearest friends and ParaYogis, the vows and promises you hold the closest to your heart speak directly to the universe, compelling it to act on your behalf. When you choose the ones that point to a worthwhile and fulfilling future that naturally embraces the best of you, you will surely create a life worth having. If enough us were to do this, and exemplify fearlessness and centerdness, then we will collectively create a secure and more promising future.

"Cling to a certain thought with dynamic will power, it finally assumes a tangible outward form. When you are able to employ your will always for constructive purposes, you become the controller of your destiny", wrote Yogananda.

What will your future look like? It depends upon you, more accurately on the world you want and choose to commit to see. When your Samkalpa bears fruit it will bring with it feelings of contentment and joy, it will make you stronger and, by helping to make you better and more powerful, it will help to improve the world we live in. That is a yogi's job. The world needs you to be strong and committed. This is the time to prove to yourself that Yoga works (thoughts from The Four Desires to be released in 2009).

Wish you and your family the very best for the coming year. May God bless you.

With love,

Yogarupa

Is there resistence in a dharmic path?

It's better to perform one's duty imperfectly than to master the duties of another.
Bhagavad Gita

I am again back from 2 weeks traveling with my beloved teacher Rod Stryker. I was first at the Himalayan Institute, participating in the Akhanda Japa meditation and taking Para Yoga's master teachers training on the Koshas. Then I went to Miami, where I've assisted Rod in his Yoga of Fulfillment training and offered a Business of Yoga intensive.

Though tired and homesick, I came back recharged, inspired by my teacher and the teachings he embodies, and looking forward to integrating the new tools I've learned and the insights my practice has bestowed on me.

One of the things Rod presented with unequaled eloquence is that the age we are living in is one where you will find a lot of resistance to bring light to your life and to other people's lives. It will be easier to open another strip club or a gun shop than to be a yoga teacher and to open a retreat center. Resistance is not an indication you are in the wrong path.

The yogis see resistance, both internal and external as karma, and the way to overcome it to increase the energy behind your determination (your shakti) as well as the resources you have (prana in many forms). Rod offers this teaching as a formula, called The Creation Equation

F = S + P > K

Where
F = Fulfillment
S = Shakti, desire to fulfill
V = Prana, resources/processes used to fulfill your desire
K = karma, resistance

So whenever the sum of your desire and your resources is greater than your karma manifested as resistence, voilá, you have fulfillment. So resistance is always there, the key is to ensure it's not the greater of the forces.

The scriptures promise that fulfillment comes from acting in accordance to your purpose and not from any other way of measuring success, including numbers and how easy it was to get what you wanted. If that was true for Arjuna, who had to go to war in order to fulfill his duty, I am sure it applies to us as well.

Yep, that's the type of stuff we talk about in the Yogi Incubator. And then of course, we share practical tools so that you can become not only more determined, but more resourceful...

Every time I see Rod it humbles me. I realize how much I owe to him and what a blessing and joy it is to have a teacher. If you want to experience him in a non-commital way, you can listen to "Fearlessness and Joy: Yoga's Vision of Your Best Life" by Rod Stryker, a closing talk at the 2008 San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference.

On a very practical note, I have three more teleclasses for this year. I hope you can join me!

To the light and strenght that dwells in your heart,
Clara

Fire Transformation

This afternoon I've put off a fire. Literally.
This afternoon the caretaker from our ranch called us to say that there was a fire in the back of the property. We had so little experience with the theme that we wondered if we should we go, and if we were to go, what should we do? I quickly realized that I had to go, even if I couldn't "do" anything. Remembering that is subtle first, then it materializes, I was clearly I could make a difference, subtle, yet very real.
And talking about real, I wondered then how should I get dressed, it was hot, but clearly my tank tops could be too fiery for the occasion. Not to mention that I should wear something that would protect me from the heat, in case it was really bad, right?
I got to the ranch sporting my red rubber boots, a camouflage tshirt with an OM and the word love on it, jeans and cap. I was ready to anything, from chanting mantras to invoke water to putting the fire of, if anyone was kind enough to tell me how on earth would I do it.
I ended up doing both, and in case you are interested, the way you put off a fire is with a tree branch. You hit the fire hard with it, in places where the flames are low, and you beat until it respects you enough to retract.
The yogis say that fire is alive, and I can tell you that that's VERY true. And the most amazing thing is how it responds to momentum. If you let it spread, you can't possibly catch up with it. We fought for 3 hours, 7 people. There were moments were I thought I was just doing a gesture, that the fire was so overpowering that there was no way we would be able to control it. But we did. We did control it. And that felt like such a feat, a gold medal of fire-fighting.
How do we find energy to go beyond what we think our limitations are? Can you imagine me beating fire with a tree branch for 3 hours? Can you imagine my silky hands, the ones I treat with ridiculously expensive Jurlique organic rose cream, all cut and bruised by torns?
So many things went on my mind while I was madly fighting fire. I remembered my teacher talking about fire, and how we worship it in yoga, particularly in the tradition I follow. As transformation, as purification, as Divine Mother herself, she steps out of the fire. A mantra for agni kept coming to me, and I wasn't sure if that was going to help or hindered, so I pushed it away and brought on the bija mantra for the water element. I felt tired and helpless, but then I remembered of the samurai blood that runs on my veins and knew that I could do that and much more. And that how you handle these simple, yet multo-layered moments in life, define your character. I certainly wanted that definition to be a warrior.
It also brought me true appreciation for the great people we have in our lives, who we can count on. In addition to Adan, a strong and incredibly reliable guy that walks our dog and is willing to do anything we ask, and who by himself, put off a good 1/2 acre of fire, I had lots of people responding to a rushed email to send light and prayers, and I know that this makes a difference.
Now that the fire is off, in the midst of ashes and smoke, I stand trying to figure out what is the meaning of it. I will certainly leave some reflection for tomorrow, but a few things I already have clear:
1) What you don't use it, nature claims it back. We have not been to the ranch since May. This fire is a way of nature taking it back and transforming it into something else
2) What you are capable of when you are really present with what you are doing is amazing. I hope I won't need another fire to remember that.
3) Thank God for Neti-Pot and the ashes it will wash away...

It was a long day, time for bed...

Should we talk about the economy?

I was lucky to be in LA for the Global Mala Project, 2008,
photo by Martin Herrera.

Should we allow ourselves to worry about the economic situation? Can we focus on your practice and invite your students to do the same or is that "alienation with a halo on"?

Read my other post "What if Krishna was our financial advisor?" for my opnion. Though I am often in the States, I am living abroad, and somehow, I am an outsider. You tell me if that disqualifies my opinion, or if it enriches it with a fresh perspective.

I am just back from 2 weeks in the US. I went to NY where I assisted my business partner Tevis Gale in a Corporate Yoga Teacher training at the Omega Institute. The program was so great we are already booked for May 2009! Then I crossed to the other coast and did my second Business of Yoga program at the Loyola Marymount University in LA. This was also very well received and I'm in their calendar for July 2009. In the meantime, I am busy here in Uruguay, offering corporate meditation and stress-reduction programs. There's so much to do here! It's both inspiring and frustrating, depending on the day.

I look forward to an opportunity to see you (or hear from you) soon.

While my 2009 calendar is still being cooked, I have a few more events for this year, including 3 teleclasses. Do join me!

To the light and strenght that thrives in your heart,
Clara

Creating a samkalpa for your teaching business

Click here to listen to this 60 minute teleclass.

What we talk about: what is a samkalpa (resolution) and how to use this ancient yogic technique to achieve meaningful business goals using the power of resolution (samkalpa shakti).

The Business of Yoga - Level II For experienced Full Time teachers

Clara explaining that wealth is just another form of Shakti to her a very young student. Photo by Martin Herrera

“Clara is a knowledgeable and effective teacher. This course is vital for anyone in the healing arts interested in making a conscious living doing what they love. It will help launch you into the next level of your business.”
Hala Khouri, M.A., Los Angeles, CA

This program is designed for teachers who are ready to work on the business aspects of their careers. What’s beyond teaching full time and paying bills? What inspires us to grow as a teacher and how can we use business as a sacred art of fulfilling one’s vision?

Demistifying ideas such as “if you’re spiritual you can’t be a businessperson” or “really good yoga teachers don’t need marketing”, business of yoga expert Clara Hori will encourage teachers to embrace the business side of their teaching and offer superlative tools and strategies to enable their growth.

Topics include:
• Using purpose and vision to guide your business. Creating meaningful business and personal goals.
• Finding the intersection between what you love, what you do well and what the world needs.
• Creating your own definition for success (better schedule, teaching more of what you really like, taking time off, continuous learning, having more money as means to do other things, etc.)
• Understanding Marketing as what enables you to be of service and upgrading your tools:
using an email blast tool for newsletters, improving your website, networking (including social networking sites), “guerilla marketing”, word of mouth, referral system.
• Preventing burnout.

Teaching methodologies will include lecture/theory (50%), group discussion (20%), hands-on work (30%).

Founder Bio:
Clara Hori - Following a successful 10-year career at Microsoft Corporation, Clara has worked to build bridges between the corporate world and Yoga. She is the creator of the Yogi Incubator, a Business and Marketing program that helps Yoga teachers thrive doing what they love. Clara is also the Managing Director of Balance Integration Corporation.
Clara teaches The Business of Yoga at Loyola Marymount University. She cites her teacher Rod Stryker as her endless source of inspiration and guidance.
The Yogi Incubator has been featured in Yoga Journal, Yogi Time and Natural Awakenings. Clara’s articles have been published in Yogi Times Business.

Recent Testimonials:
“Clara Hori made a subject I find quite dry into something with “rasa” and made it easier for me to contemplate the union of yoga and business. Thank you!” (Arun Deva Das)

“Great concept, definitely helped to integrate the ideals of yoga with the nitty gritty of manifesting it and earning a living.” (Steve B.)

Upcoming dates:
What: 5-hour workshop on The Business of Yoga with Clara Hori
Event Location: Fort Lauderdale FL
Date: Friday, 11/07/2008, from 12:30-5:30pm
Event Organizer: Red Pearl Yoga
Event Cost: $108, $90 in advance
To Register: www.redpearlyoga.com

What if Growing your Business was your yoga practice?

What if Growing your Business was your yoga practice?
Empowering steps to transform your view of business from necessary evil to sacred art of materializing our purpose.

By Clara Hori

Ever struggled with the idea that “if you’re spiritual you can’t be a businessperson?” Or that “if you are really good at what you do, you should not need marketing?” Well, you are not alone. For many of us spiritual practices like yoga and meditation have revealed an inner source of happiness that changed the way we see money, name and fame. It’s almost inevitable to start seeing making a living and taking care of practical aspects of life as empty of real meaning. Our desires and aspirations are now binding weaknesses and we overemphasize contentment over action and change. But is that yoga? Do we really have to renounce the material in order to conquer the spiritual? As Linda Johnsen explains, “It is true that expansion of awareness is the primary goal of yoga, but as consciousness expands, so does our ability to deal effectively with the concerns of everyday life, and a host of subsidiary forms of yoga have evolved over the centuries to help us live healthfully and happily right here in the mundane world.”

Over the last years I’ve helped empower hundreds of talented yoga teachers and healers to make a comfortable living doing what they love. The steps are quite simple, which is not the same to say they are easy:

1) Embrace growth. “Aspiration is the wings of human kind”, says Rumi.
Start by observing your own thoughts regarding growth. Are you clear on why you want the things you want and how will that help you become a greater force of good in the world? How can growing further serve your dharma (purpose)?
It’s worth spending a good amount of time here, as once we confirm our life is a balance between contentment and aspiration we allow very exciting possibilities to unfold.

2) See business as part of your practice.
As Gandhi said, spiritual law works “expresses itself only through the ordinary activities of life.” Let your business express your spirituality. If that idea makes you shut down, ask yourself why.
On the mat, we practice not being a slave to preferences and maintaining our equanimity through our favorite and least favorite poses. Sometimes with tears, we realize the least favorite “anything” (pose, task, person, day) can teach us what we’ve been avoiding. What would happen if you applied that to business and work? What if you approached doing your tax return with reverence? What if cold calling was a sacred ritual of facing the unknown and being grounded in what is unchanging?

3) Redefine marketing/business
Unload negative impressions associated to marketing/business. They are just impressions. Everything is empty from it’s own side and appears according to how you see it, says the Yoga Sutras (Chapter IV, 15). Promoting oneself is your duty – if you have something great to offer, something that will improve people’s lives, how can you keep it a secret? It does not have to feel like selling yourself and manipulating others. Find a way to do it that is authentic, joyful and true to your Self. Challenging? Of course! And yet, very worth it!
This is also a good opportunity to process self-confidence issues. Yes, we hate to admit it, but for all of us, at some level, the fear of failure keeps us from trying.

4) Execute impeccably, authentically and assertively
After these three steps of inner work, it’s time to act. Create a list of everything you need to do for your business to thrive: website, press releases, referrals, newsletter, you name it. If you don’t know, look for help, by books, take classes.
Plan and have goals, learn to love it, it will serve you. Yoga is the union of two opposite things, it’s AND and not OR. Practice having goals AND being in the moment AND flowing.
Initiate every action from your sense of purpose, from your desire to serve. Create rituals to avoid it becoming mechanical – use yogic tools like mantras and pranayama, but most importantly, stay present to your own discomfort.

Lastly, right now, notice if you are getting yourself off the hook, “it’s interesting but not for me” or “I don’t have time.” How would you feel if you could experience business, work and making a living as an authentic expression of who you are and how you serve the world? If that inspires you to take action, I will see you down the path.

What if Krishna was our financial advisor?

"Why this timidy, Arjuna, at a time of crisis? It is unworthy of a noble mind; it is shameful and does not lead to heaven. This cowardice is beneath you, Arjuna; do not give in to it. Shake off your weakness. Stand up like a man."

dialog between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita

Yoga is a balance of action and introspection, of practice and surrender. It promises a life of freedom, where through practice we find ways of acknowledging what's going without being sucked into a downward spiral of bad news. The realization that we can be responsible by being present brings us back from a sojourn into worrying land. "Only the very wise and the very fool do not worry about things". Considering ourselves very wise is usually a sign we are not; yet, if we have to choose a direction, isn't there where we are leading?

I encourage you to find ways of remembering that this is precisely what our practice has prepared us for: being a force of peace and goodness in the midst of chaos. Like Arjuna, we must fight! And that means being an unshakable source of joy and peace. If not you, then who? We need to counterbalance the negativity we receive from the media by practicing random acts of kindness, gratitude and whatever makes us happy. Sing, dance, get on the mat, make love, laugh, play with kids...

And yes, this IS business advice! Can you agree your students will be looking for something or someone who can reflect beauty for them? We are all receiving enough gloominess from other sources.

There's not much more you can do about the current situation. If all stress is either something that requires action, clarity or a change in attitude, what would you say this is? Even if you work at the FED or as a Bloomberg analyst, chances are it's the change of attitude that will lighten your heart.

Worth mentioning: look for the subtle distinction between being joyful and yet aware of what's going on, and being joyful at the expense of ignoring what's going on. Though it's "just" another manifestation of maya/cosmic illusion, overemphasizing that can feel really dishonoring to someone who has just lost a house or a job.

Last but not least: raise your hand if you have you ever criticized how materialistic and consumption obsessed our society is. Now raise your hand if you can see Kali, the benevolent destroyer behind this recession (or however you want to call it)? Throughout human history, that's how space for change is created. Let's go dig gold inside folks!

To the infinite source of prosperity within you!

Future Events - 2008

On Going Free Teleclasses - August to October
~ Aug 27th, 2008 - Marketing 101: 3 things that can benefit any teacher intending to grow.

~ Sept 26th, 2008 - Using a Samkalpa (Resolution) to invigorate your teaching business.

~ Oct 08 - Language Matters: how to describe what you do without feeling like you are selling yourself.

From:11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Pacific Time (12:00 PM Mountain Time, 1:00 PM Central time, and 2:00 PM Eastern time). To check other time zones please visit www.timeanddate.com
Free Registration

September 14-19: Corporate Yoga Training at Omega, Rhinneback, NY

This 5-day immersion in Corporate Yoga is designed for those who want to teach at corporations. It explores the challenges of authentic teaching while considering language, legal aspects, and spirituality that are appropriate to corporate culture.

• The yoga/work connection
• Legalities and liabilities
• Communicating and applying yoga philosophy and tools on and off the mat
• How the workplace needs an adaptive process to WORK where people WORK

The course will be taught by Tevis Gale, Balance Integration's founder and my business partner. I will be assisting her. Tevis is a yoga teacher, former corporate executive who has grown Balance Integration from a kitchen venture to an global company that serves clients like Google, AOL, Yahoo, MTV, American Express and Disney, and has trained 360 teachers.

Omega Corporate Yoga Training Details


September 27: Business of Yoga Workshop at LMU, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
the 5-hour intensive version of the Yogi Incubator, especially designed for new teachers and part time teachers wanting to go into full time. This program will discuss the nitty gritty of the business of teaching Yoga. We will cover different ways to get started, tools and techniques to support growth, how to avoid burnout and how to reconcile marketing and business with yoga. Practical information on how to get a website, start a newsletter and generate word of mouth will be provided, as well as basic tips for personal finances, taxes and liability insurance.

When: September 27th, 2008
Saturday, 10:00am to 3:30pm
Costs: $190 for the entire weekend
Includes Sunday 5-hour module on Teaching Methodology, taught by Ramaswami. Registration for the Business of Yoga only is available upon request (e - mail yoga@lmu.edu or call Amparo at (310) 338-2358)

Program Details
Registration

November 08-12: The Yoga of Fulfillment with Rod Stryker, Miami, Florida
The Yoga of Fulfillment is the seed of the Yogi Incubator. I am incredibly proud to be assisting my teacher Rod Stryker in this 5-day workshop.

The Yoga of Fulfillment is a deep and practical approach to help you truly embody the highest principles of Yoga: find meaning and purpose in your life and shape it from the wisdom and calling of your highest self. Combining the enlightened wisdom of Yoga, Tantra, ancient methods of self-inquiry and self-actualization, the Yoga of Fulfillment guides you toward recognizing your soul's calling to greatness and empowering you to fulfill it.

Where: Prana Yoga Miami, Coral Gables, FL
More info and registration

Tantra & the business of yoga

Morning Light in Park Roosevelt, Uruguay, photo by Martin Herrera

"Worldly success is not an obstacle to spiritual growth; on the contrary it is the ground for spiritual success, because those who are without worldly means and resources have little time and energy for spiritual endeavors"
Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Tantra Unveiled

It finally happened. I reached a point where I forgot why I loved the Yogi Incubator. For the last two months, with permission from my "inner boss", I haven't even tried to write a newsletter or update the website. I only responded to inquiries and put on hold all my efforts to seed and continue developing my business. And I redirected my energy to establishing roots here in Uruguay, beautifying our new home and starting a corporate mindfullness consulting company here.

Was it worth it? Absolutely yes! Though I could have forced myself to keep going, what's the point of getting things done if you are not engaged? Why would I want to share anything that is not soaked in love and enthusiasm?

I have recently returned from a trip to the US East Coast. I went to New York to work with my business partner and to Pennsylvania to take part on the Himalayan Institute year-long Akhanda Japa meditation. I came back with my business, action-oriented side, fully recharged, my suitcase full from too much shopping and my soul soothed in ways that I can't find language to describe.

And slowly but surely, it came to me why I love this job: because the Yogi Incubator is not only my business, it is who I am. Steeped on a tantric world view, in which material success is not only compatible with your spiritual quest but an integral part of it, I offer tools and techniques to help yoga teachers thrive while making this world a better place. It's the best possible use for all I learned while traveling 1 million miles and working long hours for one of the most successful enterprises in the history of mankind (though I am a Mac user today, I cannot deny Microsoft's contribution to the massification of technology).

To celebrate I invite you to join me in one of my future events. In addition to the teleclasses, I will be in the US teaching or assisting in 3 different opportunities. I would love to see you.

It's good to be back.
To your thriving,
Clara

Is teaching yoga a business?

Villa Serrana's sunrise, Uruguay, photo by Martin Herrera

"Happiness is not the ultimate goal. Living life with purpose is the ultimate goal."
Rod Stryker

I recently met a yoga teacher who was quite shocked when I told her that I helped yoga teachers with business and marketing skills. "Why would teachers need that? Teaching yoga is not a business."

Most people become yoga teachers because they feel drawn to it, because they feel it's their purpose. It's almost as if you can't help it. So calling it a business doesn't really feel appropriate. Yet, if that's how you are going to make a living, how should you call it?

And is business a bad word? Is it contradictory to passion, meaning and service? There are different ways of doing business, as there are different ways of doing anything. I believe in empowering yogis with business and marketing skills so that they can step up and embody A BETTER way of doing things.

If you are reading this blog, I imagine you are already open to this idea. So take advantage of the resources we offer, our teleclasses, trainings and articles, and let's move out into the world and make it happen.

To your thriving,
Clara

Free Teleclasses - they are back

June Teleclass: Marketing Fundamentals - the 4 Ps.
When: Friday, June 27th Time: 12:00 Noon Pacific Time (1:00 PM Mountain Time, 2:00 PM Central time, and 3:00 PM Eastern time). Click here to convert to other time zones (yes, we love global participation).
Click Here to Register - it's free

After a frustrated attempt to lead a teleclass last May, let us try again. I am dusting off my virtual tele-meeting room and will be ready to lead you all in an exploration of Marketing Fundamentals - the 4 Ps.

Any idea of what the 4 Ps are?

a) Pizza, Panini, Pasta and Provolone
b) Puppies, Pigs, Panthers and Primates
c) Parsvokanasana, Prasaritta Padotanasana, Purvotanasana, Paschimottanasa (please never mind the spelling)
d) Product, Place, Price and Promotion

I know most of use experience marketing as a nasty, inconvenient and annoying form of soliciting. But it does not have to be like this. Understand how marketing can be a process of creating and sharing value that you may, why not, even enjoy engaging with!

Defining an offering that leverages your strengths and serves people's needs is 2/3 of the way to success. While many people get to it intuitively, there's a simple process that can help everyone, from yoga teachers to dentists.

These classes are open to all past, current and future participants, these calls cover a different topic every month. Whether you want a refreshment or a sample, be sure to check it out. These classes may be recorded and used in future trainings/offerings.

Welcoming Fall in the Southern Hemisphere

Fall in Villa Serrana, Uruguay, Photo by Martin Herrera

"The secret to happiness is very simple: find out what you are supposed to do and then learn how to love it". Swami Rama.

South American Greetings to All!
As most of you are experiencing nature blooming in fullness, we have the opposite season here in Uruguay. I am again getting ready to hibernate and conserve vital energy.

It's great to be reconnecting after a 3-months hiatus. I missed writing this post and planting seeds of growth in the yoga teachers community. On the other hand, there was too much going on in my life and I decided to honor that. Recognizing my work as an extension of who I am is a fundamental value that makes my business a conscious and meaningful endeavor for me.

Is it ok if this is not a very business oriented post? Is it ok if I don't give a magical and secret marketing tip? Can I just share where this big wave of change has led me since my last post? Great, because I am doing just that!

As most of you know, in March I moved to Uruguay. I haven't exactly dreamed about it all my life, in fact, I had huge resistance to the idea. Being a Brazilian entrepreneur, I never thought I would adjust to the sober and sometimes backward looking Uruguayan culture. But when I realized it could offer me a more serene lifestyle, a strong support network (my partner's family) and lots of people and companies eager to hear what I had to offer, I decided I was going to learn how to love it. So here I am - reinventing my life, aligning my will with Universal will and claiming a space that I know has been reserved for me.

And how has it been? Well, very full! Full of moments when I forgot why did I think it was a good idea to come here. Full of moments when I just wish I could go to Whole Foods. And moments in which everything fell into perfect order.

I am tempted to tell you the details of all the repairs we had to do in the house to be able to inhabit it, or about how we need to coordinate calendars so that our recently bitten dog does not stay by himself. But I will skip so that I can share my most precious AHA.

Whatever we have embodied through practice transcends any language, culture and context. It radiates in silence and everyone around you will feel it and be drawn to it, without even knowing why. That's how we grow as teachers, healers and service people. Yes, marketing helps, it amplifies your message and allows you to project yourself in full size. But it's really your ability to access creativity, courage and peace that draws people to you.

I was reminded of this powerful truth when I was able to close two very meaningful local projects, with high profile companies, in less than 2 months. I don't have a very vast or relevant network here nor a crisp strategy, but I do know what I am passionate about, how to share my talents in unique ways and where I can make a difference. For those of you who took the Yogi Incubator, you may remember we talked about how to balance these 3 aspects using a pyramid.

It was that clarity (with some help from good marketing and sales skills) that got me in front of clients who were deeply interested in something that I know too well: how to help corporations and their employees become better in what they do by finding their own source of balance and renewal. You can learn more about this work I do in addition to the Yogi Incubator by visiting Balance Integration's website.

So that's it, there's a lot more to share, but life is short so let's go enjoy it. I am myself getting ready for a holiday, May 1st is Labor Day here and everything is closed, so you can't even be tempted to go shopping!

I hope you can join me in the wires for our May tele-class.

Warmly,
Clara

Creating Meaningful Goals - Teleclass Recording Available

Happy New Year!
We are still setting up a good infrastructure for podcasts and teleclasses recording and in the meantime, feel free to listen to our first, semi-improvised offering.

Click here to listen this one hour class on Creating Meaningful Goals.

Do let us know what you think! We welcome your feedback at info@yogiincubator.com

Seeding for 2008

Practicing with Marc Holzman and the Guerilla Yoga in LA. Photo by Martin Herrera

I hope this email finds you fully enjoying the Holiday season. I have decided to make year-end resolutions for a change. Here they are: I am celebrating life and love with food that is good for me, I am enjoying parties and gatherings or I am not attending them at all, I am planting trees on people's behalf rather than buying gifts, I am turning off my computer after 8pm and I am staying healthy throughtout the season. Amen!

Aren't those great seeds for 2008?

And talking about 2008, I am very excited to share that in February I will be teaching The Business of Yoga at the Loyola Marymount University Yoga extension program.

Last but not least, get ready for the new year with our last free teleclass on creating a vision for 2008.

With heartfelt gratitude for the many opportunities you give me to share and serve you. I look forward to another year of growth, joy and light in your company.


Warmly,
Clara

Marketing for Yoga Teachers - as featured on Yogi Times Business

We are on the press again!

YOGI TIMES BUSINESS | OCT 2007
THE TEACHER’S EDGE
Marketing for Yoga Teachers
By Clara Hori

Empowering Steps That Will Launch You to the Next Level

Eighteen million Americans do yoga and spend $2.95 billion on classes and yoga-related products and services. With stress reaching epidemic levels and an aging baby boomer population, these numbers will inevitably grow. There’s no question that all teachers have an opportunity to thrive and have a fulfilling life. Empowering yourself with marketing and business skills is allowing the tide to take you to sea.
In this article, I’ll share three fundamental steps, some more practical than others, to infuse you with the clarity and determination this journey requires.

1. Embracing Growth as Part of Your Spiritual Path
If you want to grow as a teacher and get to the next level, the very first step takes place right where you are—it’s a reflection on your mindset. Are you aspiring to grow or are you overemphasizing contentment? True or false: Yoga says that happiness happens when we renounce the material universe, as our desires and impulses to “be in the world” are the cause of our suffering. The answer is both true and false. In one path of yoga, called nirvritti, or contemplation, this is true. That’s the path of the ascetics. But if you are a householder, your path is pravritti, the path of action. In this path, you don’t renounce your obligations and relationships—you embrace and honor them. You find happiness when you live and act in accordance with your purpose in life. Most modern yogis are householders. We may have very dedicated practices, but we also have families, credit cards and a preference for organic food, among other things. The understanding that expansion is the nature of the path we are threading allows us to embrace growth and overcome our own resistances, fears and limiting behaviors.

2. Redefine Marketing
Is teaching yoga today easier than it was 15 years ago? It’s certainly different.
Yoga’s increasing popularity is fact, but unless you are able to be at the right place and at the right time, conveying a unique message that resonates with people, you will not be benefited by the tide. The set of processes that allow you to leverage, or sometimes create, such a tide is marketing. Here’s a simple yet powerful exercise: Quickly write down what you usually experience when you engage in marketing activities as a yoga teacher. If things such as “I feel exposed,” “I feel like I am selling myself,” or “I sound
desperate” come up, take a step back and reflect. Is my perception tinted or clear? Is this helping me? If marketing is not your comfort zone, it’s very likely that it will trigger fears and insecurities. On top of that, we cannot deny there is bad marketing that is empty of meaning and encourages people to buy what they don’t really need. But if we can isolate what we experience as consumers for a second, and process our self-confidence issues, marketing is naturally released from its negative charge. It evolves from a necessary evil to an authentic expression of who you are and how you serve the world, in which we take price and rejoice.

3. Taking Action—Baby Steps
Let’s get practical. The right action confirms and completes the inner work. There are four things that are beneficial for every teacher. Although they are practical and relatively simple steps, they can be indefinitely procrastinated if we are unaware of our resistances. I encourage you to keep it simple and approach it as your version 1.0, one that you will have plenty of opportunity to refine and improve on as you moving forward. It’s a better way of managing your energy, as only after completion we can start reaping the benefits and free up energy to apply elsewhere. Leave long and complex projects for later in the journey, when such a commitment of energy will not be overwhelming. How you do things is as important as what you do. Establishing a deep connection with the task at hand and infusing it with meaning is a key part of the process. Let your marketing embody the qualities you cultivate in your practice and teaching. Let it be graceful, whole and established in awareness. And before you know it, it will empower you to grow and expand, for the highest good.

Basic Tools for Marketing

Auto signature. This turns every email you send out into a way of presenting
yourself. Why not tell everyone you’re a certified yoga teacher and teach groups and privates? Make your contact information easy to find. You can keep it subtle or make it bold, depending on where you are in your teaching career. You can include a quote to add
personality and elegance. It’s easy to do and costs nothing.

Business cards. If you already have them, make sure you carry them everywhere—and most importantly— give them to everyone you meet. Every touch counts and helps you build your image and your network. If you are on class building mode, consistently
pinning cards in bulletin boards of places you like is a great habit that costs you almost nothing. Web sites such as overnightprints.com offer quality cards ranging from $15 to several hundred dollars.

Mailing list. To build it you need a subscription scheme that is permission based and complies with a strong privacy policy. The simplest way to start a mailing list is to take a clipboard to every class and invite your students to join. Give people a reason to join it, because if you don’t, your list will not grow. Beyond the standard of sharing news, class schedule, workshops and retreats and, what else can you offer? You can start with your own email account and then upgrade to a newsletter. Some good newsletter engines are constantcontact.com and namasteinteractive.com (costs start at $15/month).

Web site. This should include: bio, photo, class/events schedule, contact info, and a way for interested people to subscribe or unsubscribe from your mailing list. You can start with a free basic blog site at blogger.com and move on to a more professional (and expensive) site when your business is ready. Web site templates are affordable and easy to implement on your own. The downside is that your look and feel won’t be unique and customization will be very limited. Webflexor-yoga.com has an interesting package for yoga teachers, including a logo, Web site, business card design, domain, email addresses,and a newsletter service for a one-time fee of $479 + $24.99/month. You’ll have to invest more for a professional web designer—about $500 to $1000.

Is it time to upgrade to a newsletter system?

If you are sending emails to your students, congratulations. This is one of the most powerful tools to establish, grow and keep a strong connection with your community.

How are you sending those emails? If you are using your email program (i.e. Outlook, Entourage and web based .Mac, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc...), I always say that it's a great way to start, but probably not be the best way to stay.

Here's how you know if you have outgrown improvised newsletters and should consider upgrading the way you currently communicate with your students to a newsletter service such as Constant Contact:

1 - Your list of contacts has grown. You now have to break it down into multiple emails, which is not fun. Also, you want to make it easier for people to subscribe and unsubscribe, so that you don't have to spend time doing. Did you know that if you don't offer a simple way for people to unsubscribe your email can be considered spam? Did you know that if you ever forget to put names in the bcc line you are violating people's privacy rights?

2 - You want your newsletter to look nice! In the beginning it was the word, and the word was out. Ok, now you want the word to look as beautiful as you are. You want pictures of you, you want inspiring images, you want formatting, you want links. Right?

3 - You have lots of things going on and you want to promote them - new classes, new schedule, workshops, retreats, downloadable classes. If you are not there yet but want to get there, then this class is for you as well. A newsletter is the most affordable and most effective tool available to yoga teachers. Period!
If you are interested in trying out Constant Contact, we hold regular teleclasses to help you get started. If you are ready to try it on your own, there short tutorials on the basic functions as well as a 1800 technical support that is fairly decent.

You can sign up for a 60 day trial with Constant Contact for up to 100 contacts/names. If you would like to get a $30 credit, email us before signing up to the trial and we'll send you a special link.

Full disclosure: we are not affiliated with Constant Contact but we do get a referral fee of $30 for every person that signs up to the program after the trial period.

New Offering: The Business of Yoga Module for 200 hr Yoga Alliance Teachers Trainings

At the request of yoga studios offering Yoga Alliance Teachers Trainings we have developed a 5 hour workshop on the business aspects of teaching yoga.
It fits right into the Teaching Methodology category of the Yoga Alliance standards. Our goal is to encourage teachers to embrace the business side of their teaching and offer superlative tools and strategies to help them thrive, from day 1.
The program explores different ways to get started and gain experience. It emphasizes the importance of aligning action and purpose and it supports students in getting clarity on their unique talents and aspirations.

Here's the program outline.

1) Setting up the context: Purpose and Vision

• Teaching as dharma, teaching as business.
• Creating your own definition of success.
• Spontaneous specialization: What’s unique about you?
• Teaching Continuum – start where you are: Getting started -> Part-time teaching -> Full-time teaching -> Beyond full-time teaching.

2) Getting Started and Navigating choices

• Phase 1: the whatever, whenever and wherever period.
• Phase 2: becoming the teacher you are meant to be.

3) Practical Aspects: Getting the word out

• “True to self-promotion”. New ways of looking at marketing.
• Great beginnings: first business card, website and newsletter.
• Networking and “guerilla” marketing.

4) Practical Aspects: Finances

• Safety net: Liability insurance, health insurance, emergency fund.
• Taxes and Bookkeeping basics.
• The Yoga of Wealth.
• Support Network: Who needs a CPA and attorney?

5) Preventing burn-out

• Self-care: practicing, recharging, community.
• Mentorship and continuous education.
• Prioritizing and creating boundaries.

Yogi Incubator Teaches at the Loyola Marymount University Yoga extension program

I could not be more excited to share that in February I will be teaching The Business of Yoga at the Loyola Marymount University Yoga extension program. It will be a 5 hour workshop, offered as part of Srivatsa Ramaswami's 200 hr Vinyasa Krama teachers training. Ramaswami was the longest standing student of the legendary T. Krishnamacharya outside the Master’s family. It's a great priviledge to co-teach with such a luminary, in one of the best schools in the country.

The program is open to anyone, so if you are a beginner teacher or have students that just completed their teachers training, this can be a great way to start the year cultivating the business aspect of your teaching.

The Business of Yoga – 5 hour workshop

When: Feb 9th, Saturday, 10am – 3:30pm

Where: Loyola Marymount University*

Costs: $370 for the entire weekend (includes Sunday 5 hour module on Teaching Methodology, taught by Ramaswami). Registration for the Business of Yoga only is available upon request.

To register: email yoga@lmu.edu or call Stephanie at (310) 338-2358

*Module within Srivatsa Ramaswami’s 200 Hour Vinyasa Krama Yoga Teacher Training Program

Click here for Program Outline

Free Tele-Classes - topics and schedule

Want to experience us? Then join one of our free tele-classes. Open to all past, current and future participants, these calls cover a different topic every month. Whether you want a refreshment or a sample, be sure to check it out.

Here's the schedule for the remainder of 2007:

October: Can I learn to love Marketing?
Wed, Oct 24th
12:00 Noon Pacific Time (1:00 PM Mountain Time, 2:00 PM Central time, and 3:00 PM Eastern time)

November: Creating a vibrant referral system
Thu, Nov 15th
12:00 Noon Pacific Time (1:00 PM Mountain Time, 2:00 PM Central time, and 3:00 PM Eastern time)

December: Creating a Treasure Map for 2008
Thu, Dec 27th
12:00 Noon Pacific Time (1:00 PM Mountain Time, 2:00 PM Central time, and 3:00 PM Eastern time)

To register to any one of the calls click here. You will receive the conference calling number and code and a courtesy reminder 24 hours before the call date.

Aligning business calendar with nature: time to replenish!

Fall Leaves from http://www.northshorefallcolors.com/

I am guessing you have already received a handful of newsletters welcoming fall, the crispiness of the air, the winds of change and the many things we should fall back to. So I am not going to talk about that. Or am I? I can't help but share what I think is the season's greatest wisdom: it's time to replenish. Just look at nature around you. With the end of Summer, the season of growth and extroversion, the trees are getting ready to hibernate, letting go of their leaves to conserve energy so that they can endure the hardships of winter. What about us? Are we finding ways to do the same for ourselves? Or do we keep inviting more?

While many businesses boom during fall and throughout the winter, our body and mind have evolved to be in tune with the seasons. As I write this post, I find myself half way through Fall's Yogi Incubator program here in L.A., taking four profound and provoking trainings and riding (or creating?) big waves of change in my personal life. Much thought and dedication is going into taking good care of myself so that I can be as grounded and present as I can, while gracefully embracing all that is unfolding.

I hope you can too, take care of yourself while growing your business in harmony and getting ready to wrap up the year.

Warmly,
Clara

Is marketing bad versus bad marketing

an example of bad marketing from the past, from http://blogs.citypages.com/amadzine/2008/01/

In the Yogi Incubator program we spend a good time reflecting upon our resistance to the idea of marketing, "unloading" the word (removing negative energy that we have attached to it) and filling it up with new, inspiring meaning.
When I ask people I work with what has been keeping them from embracing marketing, here's what comes up:

• Marketing myself sounds desperate
• I feel like I am selling myself, it's degrading
• Marketing is too expensive
• Fear of rejection comes up, I feel vulnerable
• Why should I do it in the first place? A good product should sell itself

Clearly, any marketing done from this space will not feel good and will carry out negative energy, which compromises its effectivity, reinforcing the negative pattern. Everyone nods when I say that. But how do we shift?

Like any other change, acknowledging we are stuck in a paradigm that is limiting, and wanting to transcend it, is an indicator that we are already half-way there.

The other half entails creating a new, expansive and freeing definition of marketing that works for you. Let's say that marketing is still to be invented, and you are the person inventing it. Can you define it in a way that feels valuable, meaningful, authentic? Recently, in Asheville, a participant defined marketing as "an extension of who I am and how I share my story." I am thinking of inviting her to work with me!

Once you have that definition, you will also be able to understand how to stay in integrity when you are marketing. Whenever you are marketing yourself and you feel a contraction, chances are you are violating your own law. It stopped being an extension of who you are and became "please love me and validate me by signing up to my workshop". It's no longer a way to share your story but an attempt to fit into what you think the client/student wants.

Sounds too simple? It is. Truth is simple. Not necessarily easy, but simple. And practice makes perfect.

More on the topic: join our monthly free tele-class!

Are you open for Business?

Are you? Do you t think of yourself as a business? Could that be a good thing?

Some people find businesses a "necessary evil". Others find it an "unnecessary evil". But businesses are really just as good or necessary as the purpose they serve.

Businesses are structures organized around a vision and a mission. If your mission has anything to do with serving others, teaching out of love and overflowing joy, I say it's one of the businesses that the world needs most so don't you dare hide yourself! If you don't step up and thrive who will?

Here are some examples of soulful business and business related initiatives that are enriching our lives with their success:

Patagonia is a leading Triple Bottom Line company that measures its success in terms of Profit, People and Planet. I am always happy to give them my money knowing that they've already donated $29 million dollars to environmental causes.

Ladies who Launch are unstopable women who rebelled against the traditional and heavily rational model of doing business. Leveraging intuition, non linear thinking and relationships, they celebrate launching and growing business as a life-style and way to express creativity. Sounds good? Visit their website and check out their new book.

Balance Integration offers yoga based corporate programs for a less stressed workforce and workplace. It's a lot to aspire but isn't yoga the most powerful system for personal transformation? Visit them on-line or in real life. They will have a booth at the Global Mala LA event at the Convention Center. Full disclosure: I am proud to be part of this company, representing them on the West Coast.

What are your examples? Could your own business be your example?
Food for tought!

Yogi Times Business Reviews the Yogi Incubator

Out of the Incubator, Into the World

Yogi Times Business, August 2007

by liz hage

a breeding ground for success

Meet Clara Hori, an inspiring individual who is working diligently to bridge the gap between the corporate sector and yoga. After spending 10 years as an executive at the Microsoft Corporation, she left her career to study yoga and contemplate her direction in life. During this break from her corporate career she immersed herself in the Los Angeles yoga community. As she studied and developed her own practice she also became aware of a real need and demand for business and marketing knowledge and guidance from the yoga teachers and studios she encountered. Through this recognition, the idea of the Yogi Incubator, her seminar workshop for yoga entrepreneurs, came to her during meditation and was partly inspired by the influence of her yoga teacher, Rod Stryker.

Picture a group of yogi's comfortably sitting in a circle on meditation cushions, three ring binders in front of them on the floor. A paper flip chart and markers set up next to Clara, dressed in yoga clothes, smiling sincerely. This is the setting in which Clara helps lead her students onto the path of success and prosperity, melding corporate and yogic structure in the course.

To begin, Clara grounds the group with her clear presence, a mantra and some om's and prepares everyone for what would be covered over six, 3 hour sessions. Instead of diving directly in to marketing 101, she begins working with the students' mindsets. Everyone is invited to reflect on questions such as, why am I here (meaning the planet, not the Yogi Incubator )? And what are my goals? After several unique exercises focused on goal setting, the class becomes more clear on their life purpose and path. This proves to be a very effective way of leading the group into the marketing section of the program.

Clara is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the variety of ways one can market them self and has a fantastic network of connections she offers to each participant. She also encourages all participants to share their skills and offerings with one another, a unique idea and again a tie in to the idea of seva (selfless service) in yogic tradition.

By the end of the program it becomes apparent that one's path and business savvy are inextricably linked. Not only do Clara's students become more clear on the direction they are headed, the Yogi Incubator shifts perspectives around self, money, and business in one way or another for the better.

Students who leave Clara's program take with them creative tools to market themselves, a deeper understanding of their path and purposes here on the planet thanks to her well thought out curriculum and vast business and yogic wisdom.