Yoga Therapy in Cancer Recovery Rehab

Hello Dear Friends, I have been a bit absent writing on the blog due to having many projects this year. I was working on contributing to a book but had to resign today due to one to many time constraints on my time and energy. I have decided to share my article with you here. I have two and this is the one I originally posted. I will post the other shorter one soon. I hope someone finds this helpful.

With Love,
Courtney

Courtney Robinson, C-IAYT Stress Management Specialist Ornish Reversal Program, E-RYT 500 , RCYT, RPYT, Y12SR, POLY-500, U.C.I. Solution Focused Coach

I see clients in my private practice and at Saline Heart Group (private medical practice) in Benton, AR, under the guidance of Dr. Allan Hatch, Cardiologist.

Title: “Empowering Through Treatment and Remission”

Stage:
Cure and Remission Intervention: Though I see small groups of patients in many stages of cancer recovery rehab, I have the same main focus with an individual: to bring the nervous system back into homeostasis or balance through the parasympathetic nervous system or PNS. The treatment looks at a variety of other underlying factors such as anxiety, depression, fatigue and reduction of lymphatic congestion. There are many facets to treatment and remission. Many tools are needed in the mental and physical toolbox. The main focus is to bring the body into the PNS to assist in the body’s ability to begin healing through rest and digest by engaging the bodies own self regulation process.

I teach a gentle practice to engage the PNS which include: ● Relaxation techniques ● Visualization ● Meditation ● Affirmation or positive internal dialogue ● Safe asana or postures ● Breathing techniques (pranayama) two part or diaphragmatic, three part, and when appropriate alternate nostril breathing

We (myself as a facilitator with the client) utilize these techniques to induce a positive hormonal (reduction of cortisol, increase in serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin) response to reduce pain, decrease depression and anxiety, reduce lymphatic congestion, decrease heaviness in the limbs, increase cognitive ability, and reduce fatigue.

The Practice:
1. Centering: We begin with centering to bring the mind and the body into the same place. The mind is often filled with worry about the future or concerns about what one could have done differently.
 2. Pranayama: Work with the breath to slow the breathing response and begin to bring the body into the parasympathetic response. Two part and three part breathing allows for more oxygen in the blood which is needed to heal organs and prevent a recurrence of illness. If appropriate, at the end of class I will add alternate nostril breathing if the client is comfortable. Due to some issues with the nostrils and tenderness from treatments, this is not always possible. Breathing is continued with the entire practice with an emphasis on inhaling and exhaling on the movement or action.
3. Body Scan or Progressive Relaxation: I go through a body scan or relaxation process utilizing the peripheral nervous system, relaxing from the feet to the hip joint, then the fingers to the shoulder joint, one limb at a time. We move on to the base of the spinal column, working up the neurological tree utilizing the planes of the torso, front, middle, and back. Each breath brings awareness to the point of focus and the exhalation relaxes the body part we are focusing on, ending with the neck, face, and head relating to the brain. This is a journey inward from the outer areas of the body into the brain. This format that we follow also follows the pancha maya kosha model. I tie these together with breathing, body scanning and work on cognitive function as we begin to add meditation, positive thinking, and affirmation to fit the clients needs that day. We end up with the mental and emotional focus, wisdom and intuition towards the end and deep meditation focused on brain, mind or consciousness in final mediation. Then, work back out through breath and physical body.
 4. Transition meditation, cognitive work with affirmation or mantra: After centering and focusing on pranayama and relaxation, we come to meditation and affirmation. There is a period of quiet focus and then a focused affirmation or positive thought in the positive present tense, such as an “I am” or “I have” statement. The focus is on the clients needs that particular day. For example, “I am strong”, “I am brave”, “I am capable”. It can be what the client chooses. This is the major cognitive portion before moving onto the somatic or movement portion.
5. Postures or Movement: Postures and movement begin to carry information from the brain down the spinal column through the body or through the neural pathways, which helps to address moving the cognitive work through the body by means of postures, and carrying the work of the mind through the body which also is another way of working though the nervous system, in the yoga world we relate this to samskaras or patterns. We follow a posture process of working from the head and neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, spine, hips, knees, and feet using small movements of each joint to address all the lymph chains and lymph glands in the body. These movements have been shown to reduce lymph congestion, increase artery flexibility and circulation, which supports a healthy immune system and increases oxygen carried throughout the circulatory system. These movements have been shown to reduce pain and increase awareness in the body and further the relaxation response. Typical movements include moving the joints in the way in which they are meant to be moved such as a hinge joint moves like a door. Shoulders are a ball and socket so they have a large range or motion such as shrugging the shoulders back, up, and forward. Common postures you will see are simple seated spinal twist, seated forward fold (head kept above the heart for safety) , and gentle cat cow. There always has to be an awareness of devices the client may have. Commonly, there will be a port. Inversions can aggravate the port so I tend to stick to modified versions.
6. Final Meditation: Once postures have been completed, the client is then placed in an appropriate supported position for final meditation. I will go through the pancha maya model. We will focus on relaxing the body again from the feet to the head (Annamaya), breath awareness (Pranamaya), and belly region (Manomaya) for checking in with self. The client will look at themselves like looking at beloved friend and check in. A question may be “How am I doing today?” Self compassion and non judgement are encouraged. We then move onto the solar plexus area and heart (Vijnanamaya). Ask “What do I need for self care today?” or “What is it that I need to pay attention to?” with a focus on inner intuitive listening or the inner guide. We will stay here in the heart area and focus on gratitude and finding the good in each day. We will use visualization through this process: seeing what we are grateful for and naming it. Moving on to the head and brain, we will focus behind the eyes, between the ears, or the middle of the mind as we center on breath and meditate quietly (Annadamaya). We will come back out as we focus on bringing this all to a cellular level: breathing in, bringing light, or positive thoughts down through the body filling every cell. I may use a visualization like sunshine pouring through the body, removing anything that doesn't need to be there and leaving only health or wellness. It could be emotional or physical. We wrap this up with breathing, focusing on the middle body or trunk, arms, legs, wrists, ankles, and feet (moving from the inside back out).


 Case Study: My client is Mandy, a 42 year old who is a wife and mother. She previously worked in social work and had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Mandy was feeling scared, and she was trying to navigate treatment for herself with the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis. Her concerns were for her family and not only their worries and fears, but also finding help for all their needs and her own while she was in treatment. Mandy and I met when she called me about attending my yoga teacher training. She reached out to me a few months later to let me know of her diagnosis. We switched gears to focus on her health together rather than schooling. She would see me in my office at least one to two times a month depending on her treatment schedule. I often try to make sure that sessions work with the treatment schedule. For instance, scheduling a few days prior to treatment rather than after a treatment when the client may experience more negative symptoms such as digestive issues and severe fatigue. Our focus was to give her the tools in her mental toolbox to regulate her nervous system so she could manage her health and assist her body in doing the hard work ahead of her. I shared with her the dietary guidelines from Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease because of the analysis that has been shown on the improvements of breast cancer patients who participated in the research. Each session included a time for her to talk and for me to listen. I would allow her to express her feelings openly. She was feeling a lot of frustration and some anger at the situation. Others would say things to her such as “It’s all going to be okay” when truly no one knew if it would or not. Our sessions included centering, pranayama, two and three part, and alternate nostril breathing. For Mandy, she was familiar with alternate nostril breathing. I added it to her practice because of its calming and balancing impact on the body and mind. We would then do a deep relaxation to activate the PNS to a deeper state or relaxation to bring balance (homeostasis) to the body and mind. Postures were used to assist with reducing fatigue, keeping the muscles supple to keep up her range of motion, and reduce lymph congestion to allow her circulation to remain healthy. Working in cardiac rehab I also knew that if I could help her learn to regulate her PNS, the impact to her heart from treatment may be reduced. We would also do some chanting of Lokha Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu to mentally bring a sense of peace, but also to activate the PNS through cranial nerve No. 10 or the vagus nerve since studies show that chanting or humming is very relaxing to the nervous system. She enjoyed chanting, and it helped soothe her mind and body. It became a default mechanism for her when under stress. We would often use the guided meditation in the above protocol working through the pancha maya model. Sometimes we would use other visualizations like envisioning the future with perfect health. One particular day, she told me that all she could see was sitting on her deck with her boys doing normal life things. Recently, she told me that she was getting some pressure from people to go back to work or figure out her passion. She told me, “I want to be a wife, mother, friend, and do what I am doing.” I felt strongly that her image from her previous visualization had come to be true, as she was doing exactly what she envisioned. Mandy had many rounds of chemo, a double mastectomy, and subsequent reconstruction. She is doing very well now. Her hair is growing out, her appetite is back, and she is fully enjoying life. She expresses deep gratitude for the practice and shares her experience of what she learned in yoga therapy with others.


Ancient Text that inform the practice.
1. Taittiriya Upanishad (2:1-5). The five sheaths (pancha-koshas). 1. Annamaya kosha, "food" sheath (Anna) 2. Pranamaya kosha, "energy" sheath (Prana) 3. Manomaya kosha "mind" sheath (Manas) 4. Vijnanamaya kosha, "discernment" sheath (Vijnana) 5. Anandamaya kosha"bliss" sheath (Ananda)


2. The Yoga Sutras 3:9 Nirodha parinama, the transformation of the bounded state, occurs when the attention moves from the rise and fall of the minds impressions to the silence that pervades when it’s activity is settled. Through practice the mind is settled and the PNS is engaged. One experiences a sense of peace and well being. A state that does not associate with illness or disease but with a sense of oneness and joy.

Research Sources
Breastcancer.org. (n.d.). Yoga. [online] Available at: https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/comp_med/types/yoga

Katuri, K., Dasari, A., Kurapati, S., Vinnakota, N., Bollepalli, A. and Dhulipalla, R. (2016). Association of yoga practice and serum cortisol levels in chronic periodontitis patients with stress-related anxiety and depression. National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Krishnakumar, D., Hamblin, M. and Lakshmanan, S. (2015). Meditation and Yoga can Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety-A Modern Scientific Perspective. [online] National Center for Biotechnology Information. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769029/ [Accessed 29 Aug. 2019].

LI, S., SUN, Y. and GAO, D. (2013). Role of the nervous system in cancer metastasis. [online] National Center for Biotechnology Information. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3629128/

Narahari, S., Guruprasad, M., Thernoe, L., Bose, K. and Ryan, T. (2016). Yoga protocol for treatment of breast cancer-related lymphedema. [online] National Center for Biotechnology Information. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4959325/

NJTV News. (2018). Could practicing gratitude have health benefits? | Video | NJTV News. [online] Available at: https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/could-practicing-gratitude-have-health-benefits/

Ornish Lifestyle Medicine. (n.d.). Ornish Lifestyle Medicine | TIME: For Breast Cancer, It’s Not Nature vs. Nurture—It’s Both. [online] Available at: https://www.ornish.com/zine/time-breast-cancer-nature-vs-nurture

Patanjali, & Shearer, A. (2002). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. New York, Bell Tower.

Publishing, H. (n.d.). Yoga for anxiety and depression - Harvard Health. [online] Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/yoga-for-anxiety-and-depression

 San karācārya, Sureśvarācārya, Mādhava, and Mahadeva Sastri, A. (1980). The Taittiriya Upanishad. Madras, Samata Books

The Zen of a "No Buy" Challenge.

I am in a constant struggle to explain this to people "IT IS LITERALLY ALL YOGA" and what I mean by that is yoga  translates to "yoke" or to connect the mind and the body. How the mind thinks the human goes. Asana or postures is only one small part of yoga. If you don't think it you don't do it. The state of your mind and your perspective is often the state of your life. Now I am not saying that everything that happens to you is because of how you think, however much of the way our life looks and how we respond is because of how we think.
If I like a bohemian aesthetic and I'm a bit of minimalist about having to many possessions and I desire a simple life, I am probably not going to care to much if my cups match or if I have extra sets in the garage.If I value exercise and good health then I will likely make time for those in my schedule.

In a "No Buy" year you start off thinking "Well this will really save me money". This is why "No Buy's" often happen. For me the "No Buy" was more because I moved to a smaller home after raising four kids after a divorce in a big rambling 1930's house and I was sick of stuff. Even though not a collector or hoarder I had the stuff of six people (my new husband included) and tons of storage to not deal with it. It was a major pain to move and I wanted less, far less. So here comes the "No Buy".
I was already frugal, and good with money but I desired more and this is what I could think of. I decided no "new" clothes, no shoes, no purses, books or jewelry. I had some caveats to replace things. So not buying kept me from shopping and not shopping gave me time. And having time gave me time to read, workout, and spend time with family and friends. You don't realize how significant this is until you aren't doing it, even if you think you are not a shopper now...trust me on this one.
Here are 10 things I discovered on my "No Buy" year that gave me a new sense of simplicity and a feeling of peace (there is the mind body).

To see more on my No Buy Year you can look at the VLOG here.

Contentment, self care, discipline is all in the first limb of yoga.

1. When you don't shop online or at the stores you have more time to spend on exercise or yoga practice.
2. You have more time to spend on reading.
3. You have more time to spend on hobbies.
4. You have more time to meal plan and cook.
5. You desire less because you are not looking. *This right here is in the Yoga Sutras!
6. You realize how much you don't need to be happy.
7. You realize how much you don't need period and how stuff weighs you down.
8. You have to deal with not filling that void that shopping filled. You have to ask yourself the hard questions and getting through that is really enlightening. It makes you realize what really adds value to your life and what doesn't.
9. You become more resourceful. You find new and creative ways to do things, this strengthens your mind and creativity.
10. You become creative with what you have. I came up with all kinds of clothing combinations once I had less, I felt better dressed this year than any.
11. I realized my perceptions of what I thought I needed actually were only perceptions, on a daily basis I could get by on so much less and that felt amazingly freeing.


If you feel like you would like to try a "No Buy" then some guidelines might be to try a week or a month. You will need necessities but that depends on you. Maybe you buy the basic foods and toiletries you need for a week and get by on that budget.
Maybe you want to try to budget for a month. Set up a minimal budget for what you need, food, bills, and gas and if you know you have something coming up like a date night then set a budget for that or make a plan to do it free. You set the rules.

What I will be doing after I close the school.

So I have been announcing that I am retiring from owning the school after 10 years. To be honest that was my plan from the beginning. Own a school for ten years. Why 10 years...I'm just weird with numbers, I figured ten years was a nice round number, and 200 plus teachers was my goal, I'll end with 225. I've done the work, time to pass the torch.

I love the school, well I love the people and I love teaching. What I don't love is for 10 years I've worked two weekends a month plus taught about six workshops a year. That totals to over half the weekends of the year I'm gone plus working five days a week. I'm tired y'all.
But I'm not really going anywhere. Rena Wren will be taking over the school mission which is to bring this type of holistic classical yoga to everyone who wants it. My goals have always been to reach those who don't have access to yoga and also to make it available to everyone who wants to learn.

I will still teach full time at Saline Heart Clinic in the Ornish Reversal Clinic. I still need to work on marketing my book "The Mud & The Lotus: A Guide and Workbook for Students of Yoga", that never ends, you must work after the book is published. I have a couple of ebooks I need to get finished and published. I have some courses to publish and another book or two in the works to write. I'll assist Rena for at least two more years as well. On occasion you will see me teaching a workshop or at a conference.

If you want to work with me or you are interested in the work I am still doing here is what you can do or how you can reach me or study with me.
1. Ornish Clinic:
 If you need Intensive Cardiac Rehab call Saline Heart Group and ask for Tara. This will get you into the Ornish program if you qualify which will give you access to Stress Management Yoga with me.
2. The Book:  If you want to learn more about yoga for yourself or to teach it, or to open a school and use my curriculum you can buy the book for a bargain price of $29.95. You can use it for your own learning. https://www.amazon.com/Mud-Lotus-Guide-Workbook-Students/dp/194452892X
3. Book a workshop or have me present at your event: If you want me to ]'come teach a "Yoga for Health Care" workshop or present  then email me to set up a conversation cdb120@gmail.com 
4.  Book a consultation over the phone or in person: Need help with your yoga,  yoga therapy, consulting or coaching in your personal life or for your health, need help teaching yoga, opening a studio or school, need help with your yoga business or anything more? I do personal and financial consulting and coaching in the field of yoga therapy and personal finance.  Click the link or email cdb120@gmail.com

I appreciate your taking the time to read this. If I can be of service to you please contact me. I look forward to knowing you.

The Critics

I would like to share a personal experience about "reviews", "critics" & "trolls" (as I understand them). Also I would like to discuss the bravery of putting yourself out there for rejection.

Today someone told me about a nasty comment on my Facebook page, while searching for it I found one on another page I am an admin on, the person was being hateful to someone who used to work for me. I promptly hid them both (they were of the crazy kind) and went on about my business not giving it to much thought.

I am reviewed on Facebook, have a public page on Instagram, have 3 meditations on Insight Timer, have a published book out there (most reviews on Amazon), and my work on Yoga Alliance (my business accreditation home) has a "Student Review" Page. So in the past 5 years I've been reviewed about 3000 or more times, mostly good but a few nasty ones, and a few with helpful feedback. The mean one's hurt but now a days I actually have become thicker skinned. Here is how I deal with it. This video by Brene Brown helped me greatly.

WHY YOUR CRITICS AREN'T THE ONE'S WHO COUNT

1. Putting yourself out there opens you up to critics. You can't ever and I mean ever please everyone. There is a saying that says "You can be the juiciest peach in all the world and someone won't like peaches". Truth.

2. People are often jealous. Often people will see you do something and it magnifies their insecurities. Who knows why or how but it does and there are those who by being happy for others they feel it takes away somehow from their own worth. That has nothing to do with you. Miserable people try to make others miserable.

3. What's the worst that can happen. I used to think "God blessed me with the ability to say "What's the worst that can happen? They aren't going to kill me". However the more I put myself out there, the more work I did, the more public I became, I found people more than willing to tell me how to do my job and it often really hurt. Sometimes it was helpful such as a dear friend and student who told me to quit apologizing. Actually several people told me this, it was very helpful. Was I a bit mortified? Yes, a little but I survived and it helped me over come it.
On several occasions people gave my business a bad rating based on a problem they had with one of my contractors, never giving me the option to fix it before they went public. *That happens a lot to business owners. I survived all of it and continued to thrive.

4. Consider the source and have some self compassion. A few years back I had a student who for whatever reason latched on to one of my teachers and decided the best way to handle that was to berate me. I was going through a horrible court battle with my ex that had been on in court for years, raising four kids by myself and my now husband (whom I was dating) had to have open heart surgery. I wasn't my chipper self. I was quite and did my job but charismatic I was not and somehow she wanted me to be charismatic like this other teacher and I'm just me and at that time "me" was struggling. Her hatefulness was like salt on an open wound.

5. The people in the cheap seats..ignore them. They aren't putting themselves out there like you are. They live in fear or laziness or whatever, but they don't know how brave you are. They don't realize the fear you face in putting your work out there and sharing it with the world. They aren't brave, they are weak and weak people hide behind a mask or a screen and try to bring those who are brave down.

6. Ask yourself the question "Is this true?". So I will often say "Is this feedback helpful and true?" If the answer is yes then I make a change. For instance on Insight Timer two people out of 600 reviews told me my audio could be improved so I purchased a new microphone and sound screen because I knew they were right.
When someone said on my Facebook page today "OMFG get lost"..well that's just a sour and miserable person. So I thought "Wow, what a miserable person" and got on with my life. Hide that stuff on your feed, get rid of the mean people if you can block them.

7. It only takes one yes. In some cases, not necessarily reviews but putting yourself out there to be published or to present you are going to be rejected. And I mean you are going to be rejected a lot! This is normal. Let me say it again this is normal. I have applied to countless events and was rejected and even asked "Who do you know associated with this event?". I got the picture right there. It was about who you knew. This year after 18 years in business I got a lot more of "YES". Please read this carefully, in 18 years I tried and tried and finally I got a book published, I spoke at a large and respected conference, I got the great job, I was interviewed on a well know podcast, I was featured on a well known app. Things started clicking but you know what? Just the other day I got rejected, one of my articles got rejected by a magazine. I was able to laugh about it because I know 90% of the time it's rejection and 10% acceptance on this end. Then when you get out there 90% of the time it's acceptance by your audience and 10 % rejection.

8. Find your people. Literally all of the people I am close to are business owners. They are publishers, writers, teachers, and own brick and mortar businesses and they are as human as you and I. We talk about the ups and downs, we share the mean thing someone says on our Facebook page and the rejections and we encourage each other. We say "Me too, but you know it only takes one person to say Yes." Find your people. Join a group of like minded people. Take someone in your field to lunch. Join online business groups to find support. Reach out and ask for help.

9. Keep being brave. Put yourself out there. If you feel passionate about something it is likely a God given gift. It is likely your purpose. That passion comes from somewhere. So keep being brave.

10. Ignore it. I used to want to respond to every comment good or bad and it's hard to do at a certain point. My recent Insight Timer meditation had over 600 reviews and a 4.5 rating which is great for this app. I read a few of the reviews and stopped. You don't have to read every single one, you can send out a general "Thank you" but you don't have to allow the negativity in. At some point when people are buying your work and you are making a living at it, it's okay to quit reading all the reviews. It's also okay to stop doing surveys. Yes you heard me right. I ask people to please share any positives they have with the world (whatever format is asking their opinion such as Facebook or Yoga Alliance) and please if you have a problem or need me to help send me an email or give me a call. I quit doing surveys because overall 1 our of 20 complained. Once you build a circle of friends and trusted business confidants you can trust they will tell you what you need to change or fix.
One of my dear teachers who is in the top of our field once told me (our group) in a training that he quit doing surveys because he was so sensitive to the negative ones. He was in his mid 70's and at the top of our field, he is very well respected. His openness and vulnerability gave me permission to accept myself more and to know that we are all human, even those of us who put ourselves in the public arena.

All my love and I wish you the very best. Courtney Butler Robinson

Asking for Help & Getting It.

This information really could be for anyone, however I generally address yoga teachers and yoga business owners since this is the field I service. One thing that happens to me on a weekly basis is someone ask me for help. I actually love helping others and it makes me so happy when someone actually gets what they need and it improves their life and they tell me about it. It makes me feel useful.
On the other hand one thing that really frustrates me and it is becoming a real struggle is people calling and asking me for favors that create a lot of work for me.

Here are some tips (and examples I deal with) on how to promote yourself and your career that are actually more likely to get you what you want and be beneficial to the other person as well. Consider the fact that when you ask for help one of two things need to happen.
1. You need to also be benefiting the person you are requesting help from.
Or
2. You need to benefiting someone else in the process and let it be known your goal to help someone else by being helped yourself.

See below for an explanation.

Examples of request I get and when and how I am willing to help.

1. A call to put a link of my website. It generally goes like this "Did you know yoga is good for xyz, and we offer this service. Could you put our link on your website?" Well "No", I would have nothing but links clogging up my web page. What would work is this "Hello, my name is xyz and I offer this service ______. We see that you are a professional in your field and would love to work with you. Would you be interested in having us submit a blog post and if it meets your standards would you please post it on your blog page. We will then share it with our clients via email and social media. Hope to have the pleasure of working with you."
2. People ask me to have meetings all the time and give me examples of their work then ask me to promote them. I simply do not have time to do this. I have a busy life and business and can barely keep up with my marketing plan. My goal is to support my family through my work so I need to promote my business, however if it's a win win I'm happy to help. Here is what does work. "Hello my name is ____________, I am a yoga teacher specializing in __________. I hear you are the go to person for yoga in this area and I am offering such and such. I would love to give you a free ticket to my event and if you will share it with your clients I will gladly share your events on my page as well with my clients." By the way it would be good if you attended the persons class, buy and read the book, read over the webpage etc... before you meet with them. I actually had a person ask me to promote them on a day of my big workshop in the same town. Had they read my webpage or looked at my social media they would have known this and probably thought better of it. 
3. If someone is already my student and has spent countless hours training with me and spent money to work with me then I am going to promote their work because it is dear to my heart to help those people. I do not mind doing this. If someone calls me looking for a restorative yoga teacher and my student has a passion for this I am going to promote them. If you are my student and reading this know that I don't mind helping you, especially if your request takes me 15 minutes or less to handle. If you have not been a client of mine and you want to work with me please read my book, my blog, my web page or look at my You Tube Channel for the answers you are looking for and if you want to work with me give me a call or email me and we can book a consult. My rates are very reasonable. 
4. Can you help me plan a retreat? Did you go to school with me or are you already a client of mine ? If so yes I can spend about 15 to 30 minutes giving you some pointers. No worry, no cost, I am happy to help you because you are already a client of mine and I appreciate you choosing to work with me. Do you need additional help? Then please book a call with me for a consult and I will give you a detailed plan. OR even better,  I wrote a book on the subject and you can buy it for $14.99. If you need more after that then book an appointment and we can build a detailed plan. I know the cost of my time will save the person more than they spend with me. I've spent a ton of time and money honing my skills and I love to help people be successful.
5.  My student has severe pain in this area and I want to help them. Are you my student, client? Have you spent time working with me in the past and paid me to train you? Absolutely, you want to help someone else I will help you help them as long as we can figure it out in a reasonable time frame. Do you know me but are not my student? Is this going to take more than 10 minutes? If so then please book a phone call with me to do a consult. 
6. Would you come talk to my group about xyz for free? I spent enough money on training to pay for 6 years of college and have worked countless hours to do what I do. If you want me to take time out of my day there is a fee, on the rare occasion that I can volunteer my time like this it is going to be for a cause I truly believe in and or I have no one else I can send you. I'm often going to send you one of my student teachers who is working in the field you are requesting because they are building a career and it would benefit them. I recently was asked to speak to a group that is likely not going to be able to afford even to pay me a small fee,  because it is a cause dear to my heart I said yes. 

The bottom line. When you are asking for help think about the other person. This is their career. They are making a living doing this. If you want to be on their podcast how are you going to promote them? If you want them to promote you how can you help them. If you want them to come speak to your group tell them what you have budgeted for this.  If you are are afraid you don't have the money to pay then ask them how much they charge. Be considerate of their time and consider if you were being asked to help someone what you would feel good about.

Hope this helps you be successful in asking for help.

Love,

C

Courtney is Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), long time yoga teacher with all registrations with Yoga Alliance, She owns two schools (RYS 200/300), is a published author with the "The Mud & The Lotus, A Guide and Workbook for Students of Yoga" and her ebook "Hosting Successful Yoga Workshops, Retreats, and Yoga Events", she also has published meditations on the app "Insight Timer" . She teachers workshops and does public speaking online, for podcast, webinars and conferences. 

Hosting Yoga Events

Hosting Yoga Workshops, Retreats and Events

Are you a yoga teacher who wants to start offering workshops but you are not sure how? Would you like to offer a weekend retreat to your students but don't know where to begin?

I've spent countless hours on the phone over the years assisting others in doing just this. In 2007 I started with a series of small workshops on certain topics like yoga for sciatica and yoga for foot pain. These were quite successful. From there I grew organically opening a school, then gaining the knowledge to host larger events like retreats. At the same time as I was working on my career in the field of yoga I was also working about twenty hours a week in the field of sustainability. At that time I was Vice President of a group called the Beautification Commission. We had grant money to do work to clean up our environment in my local community. That work led to me helping and leading organization of large community events that often attracted upwards of 7000 people. We rented large spaces, found sponsors, made schedules, attended other events and generally did all the things you do with event planning. After about 5 years of doing this I gained enough skills to put on day events, then weekend retreats.

Why am I telling you this? Because I have spent a large part of my career hosting successful yoga events and have made many mistakes and had many successes which I have learned so much from. I love to help others be successful, being of service makes me happy.
I've published a 24 page e book that is in the form of a download. The e book contains links to assist you in your journey as well and a list of other resources.

To order this book for only $14.99  go to http://www.balanceyogaandwellness.com/how-to-host-yoga-events-booklet.html

5 Tips from the book
1. Start your search for a location a year to six months prior to your event if you can.
2. You will need to have the down money for a deposit. 
3. You will not be able to please every persons dietary needs.  Have a back up plan (I give tips for this in the book). 
4. Pick a place with plenty of room for all the yoga mats. Look at floor space carefully. 
5. Put in place a detailed financial policy and keep your options limited on pricing to avoid bookkeeping headaches. 

Signing Non Competes, Competition, and Ethical Practices as a Yoga Teacher.

I am weary of this conversation and it's a constant topic of discussion in the yoga world. I keep hearing that some yoga teachers think that the studios are living in fear of competition and yoga studio owners (who were once teachers out there working often in many locations) are worried about their sub contractors teaching for the competition as they struggle to keep the doors open.

What if everyone started putting themselves in the shoes of the other person? How about the Golden Rule?

We have to get back to thinking about others. Even when it's not easy.

This is my current response to a FB group called  "Yoga Teachers" I am in.
Honestly this kind of negativity I am responding to in this post is one reason I am backing out of the public yoga world to some degree.

Full Disclosure: I owned a studio for 2 years (after many years of working as a teacher and yoga director) , closed it when my building was sold and decided not to move. I traveled and taught for a few years and came back to teach in a shared space I rented to offer classes where I made as much money teaching as when I had my studio without the headaches. I have no stake in my opinions as I now work in the corporate world as a contracted yoga therapist, I'm in charge of me and I like it. I still own a very successful school that has been in business for ten years and has trained over 205 teachers to date. I will retire from school ownership in 2019 by choice to focus on my work as a yoga therapist, writer and presenter. 

Courtney Robinson So I've been in the business nearly 20 years and I've been on all sides of this. I've been the teacher, I've been the administrator, and I've been the studio owner. Legally if you're an independent contractor then they do not have the right to tell you where you can and cannot teach. However, when I was working for the health clubs and a large nonprofit and hiring and firing people as employees, general practice that is not spoken about is to not hire people who work for competing businesses. This is in the corporate world where they aren't really concerned with your feelings, they see business as business.  We were instructed in both places where I was the administrator do not hire yoga teachers that work for the competing business unless we were desperate. When I opened my own studio I had been training teachers for some time so 90% of the teachers in town had been trained by me, and I had actually hired them in the nonprofit and the gym where I had worked. I simply asked them if they came to work for me to please not offer a competing class at the same time. I also talked to them about the circumstances in which I would be okay with, I had a right as a studio owner to run the studio as I felt was best practice for the business.  I requested that they make working for me a priority over taking jobs elsewhere if they decided to take the job. For example if they were already teaching at the local gym on Wednesday morning fine, but if they were looking for another class I requested that they ask me first and give me a chance to offer them something (at the same or better pay) before they go out and offer something down the street. Because I had been in charge at the other places I knew what they were paying and I offered competitive pay with benefits. As a Studio owner it is very difficult to keep the business afloat if the teachers that work for you are teaching for your competitor. There are often jobs in the studio where you're working if you get creative. You can do admin jobs for the studio or you could offer intensives or workshops or work privately with the clients. You simply would pay a percentage to the studio. This is how I became a "yoga director, then a fitness director" where I taught classes. *I have had teachers go out and open competing businesses with mine while working with me or within a short time of leaving and I've heard back that they had no idea how hard it was going to be. One told another teacher if she had to do it again she wouldn't. So think about both parties before you rush to decisions. What a lot of yoga teachers who don't own businesses don't understand is that the yoga studio is paying for marketing to get people into your classes, as well as insurance on the building which is huge (mine was $1250 for a year in a midsize town in  Arkansas), not to mention overhead that you're not seeing like bookkeeping, accounting, rent, toilet paper and supplies, the cost are endless. I am fanatical with numbers and tracked every dollar that came into our studio for two years and I can tell you that 73% on average that comes into a studio for a class goes to cover expenses. I was often paying double to my teachers over what I was taking out to pay myself. After paying all of the expenses and my teachers I was lucky to make $600 a month. My teachers on average where taking home more for classes than I was. I had low overhead with a family-owned building that I had no rent on. I also had built a clientele as I was one of the first teachers in my community. I write about this extensively in my book in the business section. You can find extensive information out there in my book and for free by putting Courtney Butler Robinson yoga in a Google search bar.
I think it's high time we all consider each other's position what the other party is going through. A lot of yoga teachers decide to open a studio and figure out the hard way how incredibly hard it is to compete when you're dealing with a lot of subcontractors. Yoga teachers often don't understand until they get out there and open a brick-and-mortar. It can be done ethically but it takes both parties considering the other person. Have conversations with each other. Talk it out. Think of all sides of the equation. 
One last example,  for years I worked in a gym, and I worked at a studio that I helped open, as well as working at a local college for 10 years for the health science division as their yoga teacher. The gym and the studio often shared students. I would not teach a class at the gym or vise versa that was in direct competition with the studio time. This may sound unrealistic but I felt that it was ethical. For instance if the gym had a 10 a.m. Monday morning class I would not teach at 10 a.m. class at the studio. I know this sounds crazy to some people but I always considered if that would cause the owners of both places a hardship if students had to choose between the two. I had a large following and I knew that it impacted both places.