This past weekend I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer at the first ever National Kids Yoga Conference. I don’t teach kids yoga, nor do I truthfully have much interest in it, but what I witnessed at this conference inspired me nevertheless.
The conference founders’ initial vision was to create an experience for kids yoga instructors to come together to communicate, collaborate, and celebrate. Their goal was 100 people for the first year. They far surpassed that goal, with well over 100 participants showing up to learn more about creating kids yoga programming in schools, the challenges of teaching kids at all ages, and the joys of sharing yoga with the next generation.
What I saw in the room all day as I helped move chairs, find speakers, and of course listen to what everyone had to say, was a room full of people incredibly passionate about teaching youth. Seeing that passion helped reignite my own fire.
Helping the Helpers
In a room full of women (and a few men) so committed to helping children I couldn’t help but wonder who was helping them. Being around passion is infectious, but it can also be exhausting. No one at the conference was shy to admit that teaching kids yoga and starting kids yoga programs in school districts is hard work. Teaching yoga full-time in general is hard work. No matter what your profession, if you’re passionate about what you do, there is no escaping hard work.
With all that hard work comes the possibility for burn-out, exhaustion, fatigue, chronic pain, and so many other ailments that we often ignore. Have you ever started coming down with something only to think to yourself, “I don’t have time to be sick?” I know I have.
Who is helping the women working so hard to help others?
Call it a conicidence, but I also saw the recent speech gone viral from Emma Watson on feminism and the UN’s new He for She campaign. Watch it here if you haven’t had the chance to see it.
The inner feminist in me woke up after seeing that speech, and combined with what I witnessed on Saturday, lit a fire within that has been burning for a long time but finally found the kindling it needed to catch.
Welcome to My Niche
At the conference, participants were reminded of the wise marketing advice to niche yourself. Not just kids yoga, that’s not the niche anymore, but something more specific. You want to be known as the woman who teaches the Girl Scout classes or the woman who teaches the after-school program.
I want to be known as the woman who teaches the stressed out women.
Specifically, I want to share the practice of yoga and Ayurveda with stressed out female business owners, stressed out female executives, and stressed-out stay-at-home moms.
This speaks to me for several reasons.
- I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to be so stressed out you’re in pain. I know what it feels like to get anxiety attacks. I know what it feels like to feel so incredibly overwhelmed and tired that you feel like you can’t go on but you still have projects to finish and things to take care of at home. I know. I feel it. And I continue to heal.
- I believe in the power of women to help change the world. I believe women, and everything they bring to the table with them, can help change the course of politics, business, the economy. There aren’t enough women’s voices out there and oftentimes it’s because of the very real challenge of starting a family or dedicating your life to your career. It’s still viewed by many as an either/or choice and the thought of it being an “and” choice is stressful in and of itself. Of course it can be done, but it’s not easy.
- Moms have just as tall a task running a household as any executive or business owner. They’re essentially managers, except that they’re managing people who can be a bit more volatile and needy at times. It’s tough work. I don’t know this firsthand, but I do know that if I can help teach moms how to handle their stress and find peace in chaos, the kids will benefit as well. That’s my contribution to shaping America’s youth. You can teach the kids directly, or you can make sure the parents set a good example.
If women can’t have the freedom and confidence to make career choices based on passion and skill and instead are constantly taking other factors into consideration, then the world chances to lose out on the real power and wisdom a woman can bring to any career field. If women can’t learn how to find balance in their lives, how to relax, unplug, retreat, rejuvenate, on a consistent basis, the world loses out on what they have to offer (and the same can be said of men).
If we as women can’t learn to take care of ourselves, we can’t set a good example for the generation of women coming up behind us. If women (and men) continue to perpetuate the stereotype of “work hard, play hard” the entire world loses out on productivity and real wisdom. Stressed out, chronically fatigued human beings incapable of listening to the cues from their bodies to rest and relax are not healthy productive citizens. They’re ticking time-bombs for destruction.
The New Lemon Cucumber Water Cooler for Working Women
It’s my passion to help the working women. I want to help these women reconnect to themselves.
I want to help these women find peace.
Turns out, the working women are hard to find. They’re everywhere! Which is great, but it’s also hard to pinpoint them in one spot. The lawyers are in their own groups. The business owners are in their groups, and the moms have their play-groups. But there really isn’t one place for stressed out working women to come together to find peace.
That’s why I invited you to join this community. You’re here because you’re ready. You’re ready to come back home to yourself. You’re ready to take self-care more seriously. And if you’re not ready, you’re at least curious how this might be a game-changer in your life moving forward. You already work way to hard. You know that. You already take care of everything and everyone. We know that. It’s time to take some time for you. I know that, even if you don’t.
It’s my vision to create this incredible online studio community of working women ready to say yes to themselves. Ready to relax. Ready to succeed by dialing it down a little while at the same time making leaps and bounds professionally and personally.
Imagine this site as your day spa – that place you go to unwind. The best part is you don’t have to go anywhere (except to ashleyjosephine.com). You don’t have to have an appointment (unless you want to work with me privately). And you don’t even need to get dressed up. You’re welcome here, flaws and all.
I invite you to relax.
Know someone who’s stressed out, overworked, and needs some me-time? Invite them over to the community, have them sign up for the Wellness Wednesday newsletter and we’ll all change the world together, one deep breath at a time.
Please send me a note on Facebook or send an email to ashley
Namaste!
