Imposter Syndrome as a New Yoga Teacher with Andrei

0:00 Hey there, before we get started on this week's episode, I would love to ask for your support by reviewing this podcast. We want to share yoga with as many people as possible and this free resource, this podcast is one of the ways that we can do that. And the best way that you can help support us is by giving us a review.

0:16 So if you go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify or whatever podcast platform you use, Scroll down until you find that star review and then give us some love. Thank you so much, and let's get started with this week's episode. You have to realize who your audience is.

0:31 Your audience is the studio owner. What they want is for you to be professional. Like come prepared, know what you're going to teach. Make sure you have clear cueing. I think I mean, from my personal perspective, you don't have to be the best yoga teacher in the world in order to nail that audition.

0:49 You have to be professional. You have to know where you're heading with the class. Usually the audition is like 2020 minutes, 25 minutes. So it's not a full class. You're showing them a sample of your cues, a sample of your voice, a sample of how you carry yourself in class.

1:04 And so be professional, prepare, and then just try your best. Welcome to the Going Pro Yoga podcast. If you love yoga as much as I do, then this podcast is for you. We talk all things yoga related for teachers in order to supplement and complement and even support after a 200 hour yoga teacher training.

1:27 Or if you've never done a training before, this podcast is all about just learning more about yoga in an authentic way. Together with Paul Teodo and Byron De Marseille, we put together this podcast to provide you with a free resource to learn more about yoga. Whether you want to share yoga or teach yoga or just practice yoga, this podcast is talking all things yoga related. And we're trying to talk from the teacher's perspective and also the student's perspective

1:50 to make sure we get a full 360° angle on what yoga is all about and how it's evolved in the modern world. Welcome to our podcast. Hello, and welcome back to the Going Pro Yoga podcast. Michael here, your host, and I'm excited to invite another guest to the podcast.

2:09 See if I say this right, Andre Niv Novikov. Yes, Andre Novakov. Novakov Yeah, Awesome. So I'm gonna tell a little bit about who Andre is, but otherwise, welcome to the podcast. I'm excited to have Andre here to be able to share his story.

2:27 So first of all, welcome. Thank you and thank you for having me. Thank you for correcting me. That's OK. It's a common thing since I was very little. Yeah, yeah, that my last name. It's phonetic, but people have a trouble with it, so I'm happy to help. Yeah, I appreciate that.

2:42 So Andre and I met, I want to say three, maybe three to four years ago. It was a while back, it was in 2020-2021, actually 2021. We went on met on an island here in Noosapanita, a mutual friend, Kiara, if any of you know, Kiara and Andre was interested in doing a training, 2200 hour teacher training and he was a regular Ashtangi still is, but he's like, I want to, I want to do a training, you know, learn some, some, some of the structure and stuff like that.

3:10 So I invited him to to join in our training with Byron and Paul, of course. So then we got to really know each other and, and since then, you know, we've had a, an intermediate friendship where we've seen each other when we cross over on the islands and stuff like that.

3:24 And, and now Andre's a little bit more on the mainland of Bali, teaching more regularly. And we'll get into some of this story. But yeah, I'm just really excited to have him here to share a little bit about how his journey has been over the last, you know, three years or so with regards to teaching yoga and bringing in another unique perspective for the audience. You guys to, Yeah, be inspired from, learn from, you know, and there's always stories that we

3:49 can learn from when we, when we hear someone's journey when it comes to teaching yoga and getting inspired to possibly share more yoga. So Andre, why don't you share a little bit about who you are, where you're from to help the audience kind of connect with you?

4:04 Thank you for that introduction, Michael. A little trip down memory lane, I kind of forgot that we met on Panita with Kiara, but yeah, that was pretty good. I'm Andre. I was born originally in Russia and then my family family immigrated to the US when I was young. So that's why the difficulty with the last name is nothing new for me.

4:26 About five years ago, I came to Bali and initially I came to Bali. I was a scuba diving instructor, so I was already in the teaching space, but just teaching something a little bit different. And I was pretty happy doing that until COVID hit.

4:40 And here in Bali, if anybody knows the, it's mostly tourism industry. And so my industry shut down. And so all of a sudden, all of the work that I've been doing for the past three years had come to a halt. And during that time, I was at first looking for things to do and a little bit lost. But I came back to my yoga practice, which I've had since I was maybe 23 years old, which was on pause when I became a scuba diving instructor.

5:13 And so when I had all that free time during COVID, I came back to my practice and I came back to my practice a little bit older. So I was 28 at the time and the practice hit me completely different. And so I think when I was practicing Ashtanga when I was like 2223, I wasn't really responsible kind of guy.

5:34 And so it was mostly like a physical practice. I wasn't really worried with life or anything like that. So later on, especially during the pandemic, I came back to the same practice. And then you start to get a lot more of it. You start to realize that the practice can help you get through challenging moments in life. And so as I was practicing, our mutual friend Chiara kept on mentioning the training with Paul and Byron. And initially I was like, no,

6:04 no, no, I'm an Ashtangi. What is power yoga? I don't want to do that. But she was persistent. And eventually I met Michael. I was on the phone with Byron and somehow ended up doing the training, the power yoga training. And I'm glad that I did because since then I've been teaching here in Bali, slowly at first, but recently it's been more and more and my kind of yoga journey really as a yoga, not yoga journey, but I would say journey as a yoga teacher started from that point.

6:43 So yeah. Perfect. So thank you for that. So I'm a little curious before we get into some of the nuances of like, OK, So what happened during the point of the training to now and like, you know, some of those lessons and stuff like that, You started yoga around the age of 2223. Power yoga, a Shanga.

7:03 Yeah. So I was introduced to yoga at 17. My mom became a kundalini teacher. And so at 17 I was doing kundalini, which for anybody who's done kundalini, it's definitely not a Shanga. And so it's a different vibe. And I was doing that pretty regularly.

7:20 I even took a kundalini class at the University of Oregon. So I was doing it regularly for six months. But something didn't click until my mom introduced me to Ashtanga when I was 22 or 23. And that's when I started to develop a personal practice. So a more personal relationship.

7:38 Something resonated with me and the physical asana practice, right? So just curious to hear what your perspective is, but like, what was Kundalini yoga for you? Like what? Like what would you even describe Kundalini yoga? Just in case someone's like, what is that? I don't even know what it is.

7:53 Sure. OK, let me think. I would say Kundalini yoga is more about working with your energy. And so you're not necessarily relying on your physical body so much. I mean, you do do some, there are physical aspects of it, but it embodies meditation and breath work and working with through Crias to work through different energy centers in your body, ideally wanting to find alignment between those energy centers. So I think possibly how I view Kundalini and Ashtanga, we have similar goals, but the road that

8:33 we take to get to those goals is slightly different. Yeah. OK. So kundalini you're introduced to at 17, I'm so curious like how that went were you were pretty receptive and open to it. I mean, coming from your mom, it must have been helpful.

8:49 I think that was the thing that was the most helpful thing because my mom, her background is that she's a molecular biologist, and so kundalini in general can get a little bit airy as a practice. And the way my mom introduced me to it was very grounded and in a very realistic way.

9:08 And so when I would talk to my mom about some of these concepts, about energy and breath work and what we were doing on the mat during the Kundalini practice, the way she explained it to me felt real. It felt grounded. And so even at 17, I had a sense that it was a legitimate practice that could affect you in some sort of way.

9:33 And also the feeling I experienced it myself after kundalini class, you feel slightly elated, like you feel like you're kind of a natural high that's going on. And so I personally felt that. So I was interested by it, but not interested enough to have a home practice or regularly do it on my own. OK.

9:54 And you did do that like from the age of let's say 17 to like around 22 or so. Was that kind of like intermediate when your mom was doing it or like how did, how did it unfold for you over those years? So I was doing it with my mom. So I at the time I was living in the US, going to university, my mom was living in Singapore.

10:14 I would see my mom maybe a month out of the year. And then when I was with her, I would go to classes with her. I also took about six months of kundalini that was offered at the University of Oregon. And so I did do some of it on my own, but it didn't really resonate.

10:32 And I think at 17, kundalini might not resonate. I think you're just in a different headspace. So yeah, it was for it was a kind of a slow start, I would say in yoga. I wasn't really like in love with yoga. From the very first moment, I respected it. I did it periodically, but I wasn't really interested at 17. Yeah, yeah, I had other priorities. That's fair.

10:55 I mean, yoga wasn't officially introduced to me until I was like 3233, so. You know, I feel grateful though. I mean, I honestly, I feel grateful that I was at an early age and from my mom that that was my beginning into yoga. So I think in a way, even that kundalini, it planted seeds, and I don't think those seeds grew.

11:16 But at that time at 17, but then later on in life, I was already introduced to certain tools. So somebody showed me like, these are tools that are available to help you. And at 17, maybe you don't require the tools, right, Right.

11:32 But you know of the tool's existence. And so later on in life, perhaps when you're dealing with stressful situations of your own and you're seeking tools, those tools, you try them out and maybe they resonate, maybe they don't. Cool.

11:50 And then from there, you know, you got introduced to power Ashtanga style yoga, which you resonated strongly with. You're like, I love the structure, I love the discipline totally. I love the the strength building. So tell me a little bit about that until right up until like the COVID like experience.

12:07 So like the the yoga experience from there? OK, So yeah, I remember my mom was also periodically doing Ashtanga, and one of the times I was visiting my mom in Singapore, she took me to a Mysore class, which is for anybody who doesn't know what Mysore is, it's a style of practicing that is used by in Ashtanga yoga, where you follow, it's the same set sequence, and you arrive at the studio and you lay out your mat and you start the sequence on your own.

12:43 So there's no guide. The instructor comes around and he offers you assistance, but in a way, you follow your own breath and you're doing your own thing with other people in the same room. And so this is what I was introduced to. And my mom brought me to this space. And immediately, I mean, after that first class, I was like completely covered in sweat, feeling a little bit physically dead, but at the same time something like there was a spark, which I really enjoyed

13:12 the way I felt. And I think at 22 or 23, it really resonated with something fiery. And that energy, I was very energetic. I still AM. And it was a place to put a lot of my energy. And after the class, you feel, I think perhaps because it takes so much energy to practice Ashtanga, you feel more calm, you feel more grounded because you're not so up in the clouds kind of flying around with that energy. And so after that, I think on that trip, I went to Ashtanga multiple times.

13:48 And then I went back to the US to live my life work. And there I found a Ashtanga studio. And so then for a long time I was going to the Ashtanga studio. I think at first it was like two or three times a week, you know, I was working and living my early 20s lifestyle, but it stayed with me.

14:09 And so I kept on going to the studio and it kept on practicing. And then eventually when I was 25, I decided that I wanted to switch my life up. I decided I wanted to be a scuba diving instructor 'cause that was another passion of mine. So I moved to Singapore and that's where I was gonna that was gonna be my launching pad into Asia, into the world of scuba diving.

14:34 But I stayed in Singapore for a year before doing anything else. And in Singapore, that's when I developed my own home practice. At the time in Singapore, I was working in a bar, so my working hours were like 5:00 to 1:00 in the morning.

14:47 And so it's really difficult to go to a 5:00 AM or 6:00 AM Mysore class when you're finishing work at like 3:00 in the morning or, you know, you're coming home. And so my only option to practice yoga was to practice at home. And so during that time, I think I started practicing up to like five times a week.

15:06 And it was around noon. So I would like, wake up, you know, kind of like start my day. And I would practice yoga four to five times a week. And I continued doing that for about a year or so. And then my scuba diving career started to take off and I moved to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, eventually landing in Bali.

15:29 But work of a scuba diver requires so much energy and it's also kind of particular hours. So the yoga practice fell off for about two to three years. I didn't practice so much yoga arriving in Bali, working in Bali for about a year.

15:46 Then, as everybody knows, we had the pandemic diving stopped. And so the thing that was kind of fulfilling me up until that point was no longer available. And so you stop and you reassess, you feel lost for a little while.

16:04 And that's when it's interesting. You reach for the tools. And so you have the tools that you were kind of introduced to earlier and some of the tools that you spent sharpening your early years, like you sharpen those tools for a little bit, you reach for those tools and it's interesting, those tools. That's what I'm saying.

16:22 When I came back to the practice after having stopped for a while, I found such solace in practicing yoga. And again, because I'm thankful for Ashtanga, it was a home practice. I just started to practice at home. And sometimes with Chiara, we practice together too. Some like Deserted Beach Club on Noosa Panita, we would get together and practice the half primary Ashtanga series. So yeah, where did you want me to go up until that? Was great.

16:52 That was perfect. Yeah. I feel like I got the full picture there. Right. And in Case No one's been to Nusa Panita before, Nusa Panita is a smaller island just off the coast of Bali. It's part of Bali, but it's a separate island. And during the pandemic, you know, Bali was quiet. Nusa Panita was like a ghost town. Totally, Absolutely.

17:11 So very, very quiet. But yeah, that's when that's when we met and that's when Andre eventually did the training and stuff. So, yeah, so thank you for that story. I actually learned a lot of things as well. And I liked how you kind of structured the tools aspect. It was really like very much so Like often times we're practicing, we're doing the practice, we're doing the practice.

17:29 And while the tools might not necessarily be needed at this time, you are still sharpening that axe, that at some point you might need to pull out that axe, so to speak. But sharpening the axe in preparation for is always going to be easier than once the thing happens and then you pull out the rusty axe and you're like, oh crap, how do I use this thing? So I like that analogy metaphor to some degree, at least. It was very helpful for me.

17:53 So now I'm curious about when you did the training. From my understanding, from what I remember is you were pretty keen to probably teach yoga. Is that how you felt when you were doing the training? Like you were thinking like I'm I'm probably going to teach yoga.

18:07 Yeah, I was a little bit lost. I wasn't sure what I was doing next. I just knew I wanted to stay in Bali. I knew that I was already questioning scuba diving and my work as a scuba diver. I love scuba diving, but the lifestyle, the work, the pay, it just kind of wasn't lining up for me.

18:29 Especially like as I approached 30, I was like, OK, I don't know, maybe I can see more into my future of like, what do I want to do the next 5-10 years? And I wasn't sure scuba diving was it. And so I was searching and it was a big possibility that I wanted to teach yoga.

18:47 I had examples in my life. My mom taught yoga. Kiara as well was a great example for me as somebody who was teaching yoga. So I did have an idea to teach when I entered the training, Yeah. So after the training, you know, there's obviously a period of integration and thought. So just tell me maybe like what happened over like six months to 12 months after doing the training with regards to your feelings towards yoga, possibly teaching whether you did or didn't?

19:17 So again, I'm, I'm going to be like the biggest Ashtanga fan during this, but I'm grateful for the Ashtanga practice because after the training, I returned to Nusa Panita from Bali and I just resumed my Ashtanga practice.

19:31 So I continued practicing my own yoga and I would teach whoever would listen at the beginning. So my housemate, I taught her, I taught my mom, who was also a yoga teacher who showered me with compliments that I did not believe.

19:47 And then I would teach people here and there, but I was kind of in the space of teaching and let people around me know that I was teaching yoga. And so that happened for about 6 months where I was kind of not really working at any studio, but trying my best to share yoga, but also personally staying in the space of keeping to my own practice.

20:10 And so I'm in the yoga zone. And I think that was beneficial for me because after about six months, I have a friend now. Friend I didn't know hurts too well at the time, but a woman named Yuvgenia was opening up a studio called Tiche.

20:27 On Nusa Panita, and I mean, I just so happened to run into her at the NUSA Panita Harbor and she came up to me and she introduced herself and she said, aren't you a new yoga teacher? I said yes, and she invited me. She told me that she was opening up this new studio and she said that she was interested in having me teach there. And so I think I don't know how long the timeline may be, like a month later or something.

20:55 I came and I did a sample class at her new studio and she enjoyed the class thankfully. How to So just tell me a little bit about the sample class cuz I feel like that's something that we could just. It was so it's her and her two friends who did not do very much yoga.

21:10 And so I did the exact same sequence that I learned during the training. And so it was good because up until that point, I had like taught my mom a little bit and I had taught some friends. So I kind of like, knew what I was gonna say. I mean, looking back now from my own perspective now, I'm like, OK, that class maybe wasn't like a class I would teach now. But I think the audience was beginners, and I think Yevgenia was.

21:39 She appreciated my professionalism and my cueing, and those are the things that I learned from my own training. And so I think the class went fine. I, I got them from beginning to end. We didn't do anything too crazy. I mean, it was like sun A, sun B, some other poses. I think it was maybe like 45 minutes or an hour, but I think I set an intention before I joined the class. So my intention was kind of like, I want to share like something with these people.

22:08 And I, when I arrived to the class, I noticed that these people aren't regular practitioners. And so it was just about sharing movement and sharing space with those people. So yeah, it went well, although it's interesting, I wasn't sure how it went in the moment.

22:25 And then Evgenia liked it. She was kind of like, I have no notes come teach at my studio. So yeah, something like that. That's great. That's great, 'cause I can imagine, like auditioning or providing a sample class can be intimidating. Yeah, for people, you know, and that is somewhat part of the practice of, you know, becoming a yoga, not even becoming a yoga teacher, but actually, you know, putting yourself out there to teach at a studio is, you know,

22:50 someone's gonna be like, OK, show me what you got kind of thing. So that can be a little bit nerve wracking. But yeah, going back to the structure, going back to your training and trusting in that sounds like what you did to some degree.

23:00 And then also just being yourself and being of service really allowed you to show up and it panned out. I think when you're auditioning for these things, I've done a couple now, so you have to realize who your audience is.

23:11 Your audience is the studio owner. What they want is for you to be professional. Like come prepared, know what you're gonna teach. Make sure you have clear cueing. I think, I mean, from my personal perspective, you don't have to be the best yoga teacher in the world in order to nail that audition.

23:29 You have to be professional. You have to know where you're heading with the class. Usually the audition is like 2020 minutes, 25 minutes. So it's not a full class. You're showing them a sample of your cues, a sample of your voice, a sample of how you carry yourself in class.

23:45 And so be professional, prepare, and then just try your best. And most of the time that will be good enough. Mm hmm. Yeah, that's great. Thank you for that share. So again, so then you started teaching at Tisha. Yeah, so then I was teaching a lot. The Evgenia was so wonderful.

24:02 I mean, it's a new studio, so I was teaching I think like eight classes a week, like power yoga or vinyasa or whatever, evening, morning. And I did that for about a year and a half to two years. I was on that little island teaching classes and it's a blessing because I was teaching mostly to tourists. Some people on the island were came to my classes regularly, but mostly it was people who were visiting the island. And so sometimes my classes had

24:32 one person, sometimes I had five or ten, but not very big classes. And so at the beginning I didn't really feel, I felt it's a little bit of pressure, but not an overwhelming amount of pressure, but I just was able to put in a lot of time. So a lot of classes, a lot of queuing, a lot of figuring out what do I say, how do I say it?

24:58 Finding your voice in the space and also making small mistakes and learning from those little mistakes in a very comfortable environment I think was very, very beneficial to the start of my yoga teaching journey. And I, I remember you saying one time that because you were teaching, you know, so regularly, you were able to kind of almost just see what was working and what wasn't working. So you, you, you said mistakes.

25:24 I don't know if that's what you meant, but just from different bodies, someone coming in and like, you know, oh, I have this plan. And then you teach this thing and you're like, oh, that's not working. And then you're needing to shift it in the middle and then having, you know, smaller class sizes, whether it be one person, sometimes two people versus 10 people, sometimes no people, I'm sure. And just navigating that whole psychological battle. It's just saying like what that

25:48 means, if it even means anything. But often times I can imagine there's a certain amount of oh, shoot, like no one's showing up today or oh, there's only one person. Like do it. You know, it's like, how am I gonna, you know, but also recognizing and, and I'll let you speak for it, but obviously recognizing like you still need to be of service to that one person at least. Yeah.

26:06 OK, So the first part of adjusting your class, I think yeah, it's interesting when you have a plan set in mind, especially when you're teaching at a small studio. So you have like not 20 people in a class where you can kind of stick to your plan mostly I think if one person you, I mean, you don't adjust the entire class, I would say.

26:27 And I group of 20 people, if you have one person coming to your class and you have this like power yoga class prepared where you're like, I got bacasana and we're going to do like head stance, your shasana and somebody comes into your class who's never done yoga, you have to adjust immediately.

26:42 And so in those moments you just kind of break it down. And I would teach very simple. So I wasn't trying to impress anybody. And you have a clear intention before you enter the class and you enter the space of like, OK, so I'm here to be of service to this person.

26:59 And what I want is for this person to feel better after my class. And so you just adjust your class based on the person. And sometimes that adjustment is like an extra long warm up, sun A, a little bit after sun A, sun B and warm down. And it's simple as that.

27:16 But then the person is happy and satisfied leaving your class and they've learned something about yoga. So that's a little bit about adjusting. And as far as having one person show up to your class, I mean, it's something I think many yoga teachers probably still struggle with. It's an ongoing struggle of like class numbers and you want people to show up and constantly working on it, not being a reflection of you as a yoga teacher. I will say this, and this is

27:46 very, very beneficial to me starting out teaching yoga, I had a second income. So I had a right after my teacher training. Somewhere around then, I started to teach English online. At the time it was during COVID, so it helped me have more money. But my point is that you have other money coming in. And so I remember clearly thinking during those times, one person would show up to the yoga studio. I just thought, great, I get to practice teaching. I wasn't relying on that student

28:18 for money. And so I think for the first couple years of you teaching, you need to have another income that is sustaining you. And so that when you're teaching, you're able to focus on the teaching only. And so whether you're teaching one person or 10, you're not looking into the pocket of your student.

28:38 You're able to just evolve or grow as a teacher organically without necessarily money or like the thought of money creeping in, you know, because I feel like that feeling, it can be perceived by the students. And so if you're like one student shows up, but you're feeling like, I wish there was more of you, you don't want that to be anywhere near when you're molding yourself as a yoga teacher.

29:06 And so I had a second job. And so I remember thinking if one person showed up, I was just like, OK, great, I have another like 75 minutes of practice teaching yoga. If no one showed up, I was like, great, I get to rest, you know, 'cause I was like working another job.

29:20 I had my own practice. I was like exercising. So I would just go home and chill. And so you kind of have, you're OK either way. Yeah, something like that. That's great. And during that time I also remember you mentioning to me, 'cause I've I came to the island, didn't practice a few times with you, also came to the island and went scuba diving with you as well. So I thought I wanted to throw that in there. You're great scuba diving instructor also also a great yoga teacher.

29:48 And I remember you, you're from the beginning like the, the training that we, we did together, your queuing and your, your, your specific guiding was very good. Or you had a very good kit to start, let's just say. And then obviously it evolved and got better over time.

30:05 And I knew that one of the things that you were working on or one of the things you shared when you're working at Tiche on Nusa Panita was infusing a little bit more of beyond just the physical practice, like, you know, elements of what might have been happening that day for you or just things that have come through. And then you're like, OK, I'm going to, I'm, I'm going to teach more than just the yoga asanas. I'm going to try to inspire and, and bring a little bit more of the, the other parts of yoga

30:30 into the room. So can you speak a little bit to that and how that evolved for you? Yeah, it's during the training. I remember it's a lot happening inside your mind and so like I had the queuing down, but that's all I could fit into my brain at that time.

30:45 So you're like queues. And so you almost, I, I mean, I, how I perceive myself to be as like this, like queuing yoga robot. And so it's like so much you're just trying to keep it all in your mind and remembering the sequence. Once you are finished with the training and you start to teach and you get more practice, you start to relax a little bit and then the sequence becomes not so primary focus in your mind. And some of the queues like you're not reinventing the wheel.

31:12 The cues for warrior two, I mean they're the same. You, you know them and at some point you start to know them like the back of your hand. And so you're not focused on the cue anymore. And so then other things can come into your teaching. For me, and this is personal, but it has been very fundamental to have my own yoga practice and yoga journey. And that yoga practice and yoga journey is kind of separate from my teaching of yoga.

31:44 And so having my own human experience and everything that comes along with a human experience with the UPS and the downs, stresses, and then having yoga as a tool to help me feel strong or get through my human experience, that and being an active participant in that will influence my teaching.

32:06 And so there are Times Now when I teach and it's important for me to have my own regular practice. Something will come up in my own practice or a shift or a thought or how the practice has helped me. And so I'll try to weave that into what I'll teach in class.

32:22 Maybe the next day or the next week, I'll kind of sit on that thought and let that thought kind of grow. And then I'll try to infuse my teaching with that. So for me, in teaching, it's all about speaking from not personal experience, but how yoga has helped me and how what I've experienced in my own practice. And for me that feels like the most authentic thing rather than I mean, sometimes, you know, it depends. Like if a part of my own yoga practice or thoughts led me to some sort of piece of yoga

32:55 philosophy, I could weave that into my teaching. But I it would feel inauthentic for me to kind of try to emulate somebody else or try to bring in like concepts that don't feel real inside my own body. And so I have my practice, and my practice effects my life, and then the way my practice effects my life will affect my teaching. And then bringing that into the room, sharing that and hopefully, you know, I'm sure not even hopefully, but by you authentically sharing truth

33:29 about your experience, there's going to be people that are going to resonate with that and they're going to feel connected to you and they're going to notice that authenticity, that realness. And that is going to help to infuse their experience for the practice, I would say, which is a beautiful add on to the, you know, the great queuing and the sequencing and the structure. It's like, OK, but how do we color this up a little bit more? And you had an opportunity to

33:51 really dive into that more. And what I'm hearing you say is your own practice help to infuse that? I think we're all having a human experience and like, you know, every yoga teacher that you know, like in front of the class, sometimes they seem like inhuman.

34:06 But believe me, every single person is having their own ups and downs and thoughts and stresses and this and imperfections. And I think you teach from a place that you know, And so being authentic to your own experience and trying to put that into your teaching, I think is very important. And it's the, I mean, for me, it's like the easiest way to teach rather than try to copy what somebody else does. Yeah, basically like that.

34:41 Yeah, that's great. OK. And then after kind of getting your reps in, so to speak, getting a lot of the reps in and this was about, I don't know, I'm gonna say like a year, year and a half, something like that. And you had some plans or you still have plans actually to, I think you, I don't, well, maybe you can update me on how that's going. But I know that you've evolved into now teaching a little bit more on the main island.

35:05 So kind of like fill in the gaps for me. Yeah, so eventually me and my mom have plans to open up our own yoga space in Nusa Panita. We have land there, but currently as it, it seems like my journey has really evolved here on the main island of Bali. I would say in the last maybe six months or so, opportunities have presented themselves to me at different studios in Ubud, studios in Uluwatu just surround Bali. And so it's been a great experience recently to be able to take my knowledge that I was

35:47 kind of fostering on noose of Panita and be able to apply it to now a bigger audience or more people, I would say. And it's a new challenge. And so I feel like it's been making me grow as a yoga teacher quite quickly and then eventually. So right now it seems like I'm working on my expanding my professional growth as a yoga teacher and eventually then I hope to come back to opening up my own space on new Supernito with mom.

36:21 Yeah, that's great. Exciting. Yeah. So the process of getting these opportunities, did they just fall into your lap or did you seek them out? How did you, how did they like, what kind of steps are things like, did you just come to the island and ask around? Like how did they come to you?

36:39 Both, I would say, I mean, you have to be open and kind of, I had people in my life that knew that I was a yoga teacher and that knew that I was wanting to find work. And so I had some people give me some emails of contacts to send or emails to send my CV to. I reached out to some other studios, sent out emails of my own.

37:04 So yeah, it's a, it's a combination of both. I think it's important for people to know what you want. And so if you're a yoga teacher that's looking for yoga work, tell people. So let the people around you know I'm teaching yoga, teach them maybe, and then make sure that they are aware of your goals and intentions because opportunities will start to find you because people around you are aware of kind of your trajectory or of where you want to go. And so that's kind of what

37:33 happened to me. People knew that I was teaching yoga and people not friends of mine. It kind of pushed me in the right direction. And then it was like a snowball effect. So then I started, I found one studio, then another studio reached out to me, and then another studio reached out to me again. And so you kind of stay open and you take the opportunities and, yeah, let the people around you know what you want. That's good.

37:59 That sounds like very Paul, Paul like advice as well. He's like, in order for in order for you to get what you want, you need to tell people what you want. Right. Yeah, You never know. You can't just assume. Yeah, you can't just assume people are going to know what you want and you can't just hope for things that just happened. You need to take a certain amount of action, even if that action doesn't come with a result right away, putting putting the energy, that

38:20 intention out there. So that's great. Thank you for that. And then the other element we talked a little bit before we actually hit record was the, the support with accountability, the support with, I want to use the word mentorship, but having someone in your life that kind of kept, I don't want to say pushing you, but kept kind of like supporting the, the, the journey, supporting the path, kind of encouraging that ongoing growth and drive into the

38:48 direction or a direction which you said your mom was a big advocate for that. Yeah, my mom and I have a friend named Astora who's also a yoga teacher here on the island. And I'll be honest, like when you said the thing about what Paul said is like, you know, you have to like, advocate for yourself or, like, go after what you want.

39:06 I'm not that kind of guy. Like, it's such a challenging thing for me to send somebody an e-mail and be like, give me a job, you know? And my friend Astora, he kind of pushed me a little bit. I went, he's a yoga teacher, too. And so he was like, OK, I gave this person, I told this person, you would e-mail them.

39:24 And so then I felt like I had to e-mail them. But sometimes it's just about sending the e-mail. And it might feel uncomfortable to talk about yourself or to ask somebody for something. Just click send. Just put that CV, attach it to the e-mail, write some nice words about yourself, click send.

39:40 And then forget about it. And then you don't know what's gonna come back. And sometimes nothing comes back. Sometimes they don't want you, but sometimes they do want you. And so you never know. You just click send and don't really overthink it too much.

39:54 But yeah. And my mom was, she's been incredibly supportive in what I'm doing and a lot of advice. So she's given me a lot of advice along the way that's been really helpful. Advice before I chose the training and advice after I started training, so I think.

40:16 I think your question was about mentorship or having somebody there to support you. Yeah, it wasn't so much a question. It was more so just wanting to share that experience that you had. And then maybe it's like thinking of someone who's like, oh, well, my mom's not into yoga or I don't have an Astoria friend, or maybe I do, but it's a different name.

40:34 But I, I think it's important to acknowledge that, yeah, the path is sometimes challenging. You know, facing this all. There's only one person in my class. There's no people in my class. I'm not making enough income. Can I actually make this into a career?

40:44 All these stories in these little, you know, the little person on your shoulder that's kind of speaking into your ear, but then having someone else who believes in you, who supports you, who knows, maybe they're a step ahead or a few steps ahead that can, you know, acknowledge like, I get it, Like I know what it's like. I but you know, keep going.

41:04 You're doing great kind of thing. I think there's a lot of value in finding someone or, or acknowledging someone that maybe already exists in your life that can be that source of support, accountability, mentorship, whether they know it or not, looking up to them for them to be able to to inspire your journey to continue forward like you started with your mom. And so, yeah, I'm just thinking, you know, just wanted to talk about it because it came up as,

41:32 and I think it's something that's important for people to look for. I think making other like like having the people around you, if they're doing similar things to you or if the people around you are like like minded also are into yoga, are also yoga teachers.

41:50 I think that'll that's really helpful. So if you're going to yoga classes or if you kind of enter into any yoga community, I think it'll be very beneficial to your own personal yoga journey to have the people around you share some interests with you. And so then they can support you or they can help you. And so you're kind of in that space, right? You're not living in a vacuum in your own little yoga world, but you have like other friends who are maybe interested in yoga or maybe teach yoga who can support

42:19 you and help you. It's something that Paul said, I think maybe at some point toward the end of our training, it stuck with me. So he said about having two mentors. And so I have kind of mentors of like Paul and Byron who seem like these big mentors, like mentors where it's like it's hard to imagine yourself in their shoes because they're already so well established as yoga teachers. And even their teaching style and the way they teach, it's so authentically them that it's

42:51 almost unrelatable to the students. But he said to have a yoga teacher friend or a mentor who's a couple years ahead of you. And so somebody who is closer to you or who you can kind of see yourself, you can put yourself into their shoes, who can give you advice and who can support you more on like a day-to-day basis.

43:10 And I think that was really helpful advice. And so for me, I've had multiple, I've had Chiara was one for sure. So I saw Chiara and I saw kind of the things that Chiara was doing with yoga. It inspired me. Although Astoria I think has been teaching yoga for a long time, but me and him had more of a friendship rather than like a mentorship.

43:32 So just seeing him and seeing his success and how he was teaching it was inspirational to me as well. And so I think, yeah, you can curate the people who are around you. You get to, you have a choice of like who you surround yourself with.

43:47 And so I think if you surround yourself with people who are on a similar path or have similar interests, it'll be beneficial to you. Yeah, that's great. Amazing. This is super helpful and I can imagine that some of the people listening can definitely pull a lot of Nuggets out of this. So I appreciate you sharing your story. And now you're teaching here so I get to see you more regularly. You get to come and do a podcast. So I'm very thankful for that

44:10 and I'm excited to continue to see how things evolve for you and eventually the the studio in Noosa Panita as well or retreat center or whatever it will be. Yeah, we'll see what happens with all of that. I don't know. I'm just kind of putting 1 foot in front of the other, to be honest. If you would have talked to me prior to COVID and asked me where I'd be now in 2024, I wouldn't have said I'd be where I am.

44:33 But you put one foot in front of the other and you have a good intention and you kind of follow some sort of intuition or feeling and you go with the flow. And then you it leads you in the right direction, I would say. So yeah, hopefully I continue doing that and then good things will come. Yeah, absolutely.

44:54 Awesome. Thank you. Thank you for sharing and teaching on the island. So if you are on the island, you're listening. I know there's a lot of listeners that live on the island and you want to take Andre's class You're teaching where? OK, it's recently it's been a lot, so let me try to like. So I teach at Radiantly Live.

45:12 I teach in Ubud. In Ubud. Yeah, Radiantly live in the only one. So I teach at Radiantly, Live in Ubud and I teach RA Vinyasa there currently on Thursdays and Sundays in the morning. I also teach at RA Radiantly Alive and Ubud hands on adjustments and alignment class which is more breaking down asana, taking it a little bit slow, getting to know different asanas a little bit better. I teach that there as well.

45:44 I teach at Ubud Yoga Center, I teach vinyasa there as well and also Ashtanga. And then recently I started teaching at La Tribou in Uluwatu, so I teach there on Tuesdays, two classes, also vinyasa. So yeah, my classes are usually kind of my niche, and what I like to teach is very sweaty, asana focused, tough classes.

46:09 But that's the way I practice at the moment and it feels authentic to teach that. So yeah, if you're in Bali, come join my class. Yeah, totally. And they're safe. They're hard, but they're safe. Totally safe. Yeah, they're super safe.

46:20 I don't know who he was trained by, but he might have learned a few things. That's right, yeah. Now that I'm trying to take any credit because he's already had it all, but yeah, if you're interested, definitely I'll add some of this into the show notes so that it's somewhat there if somebody wanted to reach out and connect with you.

46:36 Is there a way to do that? If they want to ask questions or they're like, I like this guy, maybe he'll be my mentor. You can reach out to me. I think the best way is through Instagram. So my Instagram handle is Aqua dot Andre. Still my Instagram handle from being a scuba diving instructor. Thinking of changing it but kind of like it so it is what it is for now.

46:56 Yeah, well, we'll add that in there as well. Thank you. Cool. Any final thoughts? Any final ideas, shares that come to mind for our audience before we finish up? The thought I had before coming in and recording this podcast and something that like I just wanna say and something that's been that I've dealt with, especially starting to teach at bigger studios and, and before I had it as well.

47:23 So at times during my teaching, I've dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome starting at teaching and Nusa Panita teaching to one or two people. At the beginning, I had imposter syndrome starting at radiantly alive. I also felt like I had imposter syndrome.

47:40 And then at some point you kind of make friends with that imposter syndrome and you realize that having that feeling or feeling like, am I? Who am I? What am I doing? Is this too big for me? It's a good feeling to have. It means that your goals, your aspirations are quite big. And so you're wanting to do something, you're wanting to change and to grow.

48:04 And so now I embrace having impostor syndrome. If I feel like maybe I'm a little bit unsure of myself, I'm like, OK, that's fine. What I'm wanting is to be better or to like, it's something bigger. And so you just kind of have to manage that feeling.

48:22 And what's helped me manage it is just especially, I mean, on a practical level, prepare for your classes. And so now, especially with Radiantly Live and other studios I teach at, I prepare my classes for a couple hours before.

48:37 If it's a new class, I'll prepare two to three hours before I have a process. So I feel prepared. I know the sequence, I know what I'm gonna talk about. I kind of know my cues and then show up and try your best, right? So don't let that impostor syndrome stop you from doing anything.

48:56 Know that if you feel impostor syndrome, it means you're on the right path. That's great. Thank you. Thank you, Andre. Thank you, all of you who've tuned in this week. And yeah, if you have any questions, you can reach out either to Andre or of course, us podcasts like goingproyoga.com.

49:14 Otherwise, thank you again. Thank you. And we'll speak to you next week. Take care for now. All right, before you go, let me just tell you about the going proyoga.com platform. So right now you can go to goingproyoga.com and check it out for free for seven days, where you can actually learn more about yoga in the ways of alignment, queuing, sequencing, yoga anatomy. So that if you've done a 200 hour teacher training and you want to continue to learn,

49:40 practice and grow, this platform is definitely for you. So I definitely suggest checking it out goingroyogacom right now. You can try it out for free for seven days.