Weekly Newsletter

Sara Has Flown The Coop!

Hi everyone. Just a few minutes ago, Sara sent me a text message before her flight left for India. She will be joining her teacher Shiva Rea there and will spend some time touring afterwards. Her text message extended her best wishes for each of you for a Happy New Year.

How Sara Prepared Her Clients For Her Trip

As Sara is taking an extended trip to India coming back to the States for one day (!) and heading for a retreat in Costa Rica with Wah! she was concerned about leaving her clients for such a long period. Here's what she did before she left. You should keep it in mind before you go on a retreat or extended trip.

First, she alerted her clients well in advance of her trip. But before she did, she asked them if they had any winter vacation plans. Many of them did. So when she let her clients know, nearly six weeks go, that she was traveling, no one was concerned or upset.

Second, she offered to set up all of her students with another yoga teacher while she was gone. Only one student accepted and she hooked him up with Valerie, my Ashtanga teacher.

Third, and this is quite novel, Sara filmed a DVD for her clients taking them through a 60 minute yoga lesson. Following the lesson, she did a 15 minutes Savasana for them. (The Savasana will be included on this month's DVD for our print newsletter subscribers.)

By giving them the DVD, Sara showed her clients that even though she was traveling, she cared about them to make sure they continued their practice.

Of course, this locks them in as clients for the future.

You may want to keep this strategy in mind in the future. Filming a DVD is easier than you think and the cost is extremely low.

Here's a hint: go on to Craigslist in the Video section and post a job offer. You'll find people charging $20 an hour for the video, editing, and producing the DVD. Expect to pay about $100-$150 total.

And of course, once you have the video. You can use it for many years.

Special Update:

In next week's newsletter there will be a special announcement. I can't tell you yet what it is but for just 20 yoga teachers, there is going to be a new way of reaching more clients, assisting them in their lives, and helping to spread yoga's message around the world.

Yoga Site Critique:

The Worst Teacher I Ever Met...

That's a pretty bold statement.

When I came to a school as Headmaster, there was a teacher who had been there for years.

There were two kinds of students in her class: very bright students thrived because they didn't need her and very weak students who drowned because she wouldn't teach them.

Her philosophy was simple. The bright students are going to get the topic the first time gives a lesson on it. Therefore, they never need to review.

The weaker students were never going to get it so there was no point in reviewing it.

So since there was no point in her instruction, kids sat with the textbook and worked from the book.

She was available to help the children who wanted to go further.

She was resistant to change and when I changed the textbook line to one that encouraged homework and practice, she resigned in protest.

Now I've been taught by some of the biggest names in the yoga world.

Some of them may be on par with this teacher. They are doing their thing and it doesn't matter to them if anyone is present.

Have you ever experienced this in a yoga class?

On our forum there have been a lot of interesting posts on this topic. I invite you to join in and share your views.

Here Is Where You Join The Discussion

Sara and I wish you and your families a joyous holiday season.

To find out how to post and use the forum go to:

http://www.buildyouryogabusiness.com/register.html