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.

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.

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

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

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!