Shannon Crow started her podcast, The Connected Yoga Teacher, in 2017. She did so after taking multiple teacher trainings and finding herself disconnected from her fellow trainees right after the training ended. This disconnection was something she also found as she started getting to know yoga teachers out in the world: From competition to cults, she found that teachers were not able to discover their true selves in teaching. So, she decided to help teachers feel more connected and to define their niche which, she says, gets rid of the competition because a) niching helps you do what you are most interested in and passionate about, and b) it enables you to be more collegial with other teachers as you refer students to the teacher you know works best for them. Shannon is also now deeply engrossed in pelvic health, which is why she has started the organization Pelvic Health Professionals. In this inspiring conversation, Shannon and I explore how yoga teachers can teach to their passion, and she encourages listeners not to give up.
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Terms:
1. Bhakti yoga: yoga of devotion; a path containing practices to unite the practitioner with the divine
2. Mantra: a sound formula for meditation
3. Sadhana: spiritual practice
4. Mula bandha: the root lock located at the base of the torso
5. Endometriosis: a condition in which endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus
6. The eight limbs of yoga: the eightfold path described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, including yamas (abstinence), niyamas (observance), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing practices), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (mediation), and samadhi (contemplation)
7. Ahimsa: non-harming or non-violence
8. Koshas: the five layers (or sheaths) of the subtle body
9. BKS Iyengar: the founder of Iyengar Yoga
10. Guru: spiritual guide
11. Shishya: succession from guru to disciple
12. Baddha konasana: lying down bound angle pose
13. Savasana: corpse pose
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References:
1. Shannon Crow Yoga and Consulting
2. The Connected Yoga Teacher podcast
3. Pelvic Health Professionals
4. Anatomy of Hatha Yoga: A Manual for Students, Teachers, and Practitioners, by H David Coulter
5. Kathryn Bruni-Young's Mindful Strength
7. Hatha Yoga Pradipika, by Swami Muktibodhananda
8. Amanda Kingsmith on the Weeks Well podcast
9. Shelly Prosko of Physio Yoga
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Episode credits:
Original music by Kim's band Governess.
Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.
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