Finding Your Purpose Through Yoga with Lisa Flynn

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 podcast 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. They're two really intelligent sides of us, and both of them have a really good point. So if I'm not honoring both parts as you're speaking about and having them actually collaborate, because that's where, OK, if these two powerful entities, intelligent and wise, are working together, imagine

0:49 how much faster I can succeed. I can take action like this is what I'm trying to come into alignment with. This is why welcoming all of our parts is so valuable so that we can all of us can move forward in the same direction so powerfully, so effortlessly. It becomes like another reality that I want everyone to experience.

1:12 Like, you know, I can give you a little taste through this small example, but to really feel that would be like, that's how shifts can happen so quickly and you can start taking action in a from a completely different place.

1:26 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.

1:43 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 teachers perspective and also the students perspective to

2:07 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. Welcome to the Going Pro Yoga podcast. Michael Henry here your hosts and another special episode because we have a new guest this week, Lisa Flynn. Woo, woo.

2:28 Hi, Lisa. How are you? Hi, Michael. It's so good to be here. Thank you. Yeah, welcome to the podcast. I'm excited to have you here. So Lisa is a friend of mine who I've met many years ago. And you actually initially I met you through Christina, actually through the Contentment Foundation, which has been mentioned a few times before.

2:46 But you're basically a Co founder to some degree of the Contentment Foundation. And that's where Christina, my partner now is working. But you know, not to get too much into that. I mean, you've lived in Bali for quite some time and then you kind of moved and went to Hawaii and I think that's where you are now actually.

3:03 That's right. And you happen to be here now, which is really exciting. So I, I jumped on the opportunity to have you come in and just to share a little bit about you. And then I'll so you just your journey having done a yoga teacher training and infusing a lot of what yoga is into your life.

3:19 And I'd love to just kind of like deconstruct that a little bit. So before we kind of get into all that, in order for people to kind of understand who is this person behind the mic, maybe just take a few minutes to just introduce who you are, where you're from, these kind of things, whether you're, you know, a beach person or a mountain person or whatever it is, right?

3:38 Just an idea. Yeah, so I'm Lisa. I'm a heart centered leadership coach and most of my clients are like super self aware professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs who just feel like there's a little bit more that is out there. There's a next level of my purpose. There's a next level of my relating that is available to me and they're just ready to step into that next level of authenticity.

4:06 And I really love to help people with getting clarity on their inner truth and also having the confidence to actually live that out, to speak it out, to share their passions and gifts so that you can actually live the life that's meant for you, that you feel you're here for and actually have a joyful and beautiful existence with everyone that you're connected to, but also having impact and being of service to humanity.

4:35 And I think you embody that very well. Thank you. Yeah, when I'm around you, I feel that wholeheartedly. And so like where are you from? Like what's your background? Like where did you know that's that's you now or that's what you're you're embodying now, But like what, what was the previously?

4:49 So like where are you? Where are you from? So I'm originally from San Francisco, CA in the heart of the city and I have always been really interested in health well-being. I actually started yoga there at the Funky door yoga studio, if anyone's from the Bay Area at a hot yoga studio, Bikram yoga. And it was at a time where I was transitioning from being in my senior year in high school and I'm leaving my swim team. I'm sort of, I'm very active and

5:22 I am transitioning to go to college and I'm kind of in this, I've leaving school behind. I'm stepping into new identity. And I found yoga and this room where I could just be so present and so embodied and the vitality, like I walked out of that room for the first time, like what just happened.

5:44 I've never sweated that much and I've never felt like this before. So it really sparked a seed of inquiry in me about there's other ways to experience the world and my body and people, and it really led me down a a fun path in life. So you were what age you're like late? When I was 18.

6:05 Wow, OK, Late teens. That's that's great. That's so early. Apparently like started practicing yoga like seven years ago when I was like 32. That's crazy. That's awesome. And so then kind of what happened after that, it started to infuse, you know, maybe this is kind of how we start the conversation, a bit like yoga started to come in.

6:25 And how did that influence your What was life moving forward? Yeah. So what kind of Fast forward I was, you know, on this path of seeking like, what's a really fulfilling life? I'm looking around and I'm seeing, I mean, my family and the people around me are working really hard and doing their best, but I'm not seeing a lot of like joy and inspiration and something that I really wanted to model my life after. So it was upon me.

6:53 And fortunately, I had a lot of conditions in my family system that that supported me to study abroad in India for six months when I was 20 and to eventually join the Peace Corps. And I thought I could find myself in service.

7:08 I really wanted to. I lived in East Africa and I thought, if I'm with people, if I'm helping underserved populations and empowering them, then maybe that's the way I can give. And I I kept shifting into finding deeper and deeper levels of what my purpose was and what I believed. And eventually I found myself seeing that yoga, there was a personal responsibility that I could work within myself. There's a lot that I can do to serve, but at the very baseline, I need to know who I am and what

7:44 is what are my values and then how can I be at a state that is so overflowing that I can actually give. And so that's where yoga kind of came into my life and eventually coaching. So I'm really interested in this breaking through some of the patterns that I had personally around people pleasing. I really wanted to belong.

8:06 It was so important to me. I'm half Japanese and half Irish American, so there's this deep seed of just wanting to fit in and belong and so understanding myself worth. It's been a, it's been a beautiful journey. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people who can relate to that people pleasing self worth. So OK, cool.

8:28 So then that allowed you to. And I also like how you said like, you know, you're basically started to like, you know, call it work on yourself or just like start to inquire inwardly before you started to think about outward service, which I think a lot of people do want to be of service, especially in this space and, you know, people listening to this podcast.

8:50 But I also think it's there's a lot of value. And I think most of the people understand that is like, you know, we do our own inner work so that we can share that. And usually sharing the work that we're doing is also inspiring as well. So was there a particular point where you kind of started to transition into more of the service or did you spend a lot of time just like self inquiry and trying to figure out your own purpose, like inwardly, like

9:10 how did that kind of go for you? I'm a step into the fire. Try it out, feel into it and see. And I think I really encourage people to, if you have this little burning feeling or just this impulse like, wow, this person or this space, you know, for me, there were dance spaces that I was interested in and I was pulled to.

9:31 There were yoga spaces, there were meditation retreats. There were just a number of different places where I physically put myself to experiment and then find out. And it each step led me to the next step. So eventually I moved to Bali and this was a dream of mine and I got hired to teach yoga retreats full time.

9:53 Like I couldn't have imagined stepping into this five star hotel with 30 people every week from all over the world, guiding them in meditation and yoga. Like from, you know, looking back it, it all makes sense. But I, I can never know.

10:11 And I'm continuing to explore this journey and being in that yoga studio, you know, the beauty and the joy of living out that dream also helped me refine where I am today. Because I remember, you know, I would teach these classes, but it was actually at the end of class and someone would come up to me and they would ask me a question, a personal question, just share something about their relationships or something that they're really going through. And we would sit there for an

10:40 hour and just one to one have a conversation. And after those one to one conversations after class, that was when I felt the most energized, the most fulfilled. And so I started to pay attention and that was for me the next crumb in or the next like little breadcrumb to show me where I'm meant to be and how I can be of service.

11:02 And yeah, I guess this conversation is kind of becoming about purpose, but I believe that there are different stages of in this stage, my purpose really truly was to be a yoga teacher in a very formal way. And and then that gave me the insight into the next step and I needed the courage to step forward, which is. Yeah, is another interest.

11:28 That's why I love people in transitions, because they're so open and available for possibilities. Right. Yeah, you said so many good things. And just to kind of circle back to like the, the progress or the the process, I guess, of getting to the place of like coming to Bali, having this opportunity.

11:46 I heard you basically say say that you said yes to a lot of things and put yourself in situations for the opportunity for things to show up for you. Yeah. So that you could say yes or no or you could start to inquire. Not really necessarily knowing like I'm assuming you didn't really know where you were going.

12:02 You were just kind of trying some things out. That's right. Yeah. And then certain things would present themselves. And then you would either be like Yep or Nope or yes, but maybe now a Nope. And I would just kind of change.

12:13 But then you kind of got to a place where you came here. And then what I heard was teaching classes and, you know, feeling into that and then all of a sudden recognizing and it's kind of like segueing into your coaching, imagining this, this one-on-one experience that you're having after the classes with like, you know, 2530 students.

12:30 But then having this extra moment afterwards where you felt really connected or aligned. And that's probably what kind of evolved this, I suppose, a little bit into what you're doing now. Correct. Yeah, yeah. So it was very much just like a take action and see what happens kind of thing.

12:49 Yeah. And I would say some of those leaps were, let's say, larger than others. And so maybe the leap from teaching yoga to coaching was a smaller leap. And yeah, I'll say I have, I've skipped a few steps. Some of the steps were that I worked at Yale, I was in academia, and it was really important to me to have grounded evidence based work that could be brought into the world. And that for me was after.

13:22 I'm kind of zigzagging the story, but that's OK. I felt like it was really important not for things like the development work that I was doing in East Africa was coming from, let's say, a community based approach that was beautifully led by what the community wanted.

13:41 And I think that was extremely important. And I saw this gap of, well, there must be research that can inform some of the community based thinking. So stepping out of that's and, and into academia again was really a beautiful step in and then stepping out of academia into teaching yoga and then being in my chief people officer role. So I've made many, many leaps and I, some of them, you know, they're like different identities that have shifted and have had to die in order for me

14:17 to open up and step into the next level of who I'm meant to become. And trusting my inner guidance that, wow, something's not energizing me anymore. And I, that's problematic. That feeling, I know that feeling so well where this thing that brought me so much joy is no longer sparking me into life and I'm waking up and just dreading going on my computer or stepping into the classroom or responding to this message. And that's a sign.

14:48 So yeah, I'd listen and their their ways forward. There's another path that might be available. So allowing yourself to feel heard by yourself, yes. And also, I mean, it's great that you did those things and then like kind of you had a path and then you, you allowed yourself the opportunity to say like, actually, maybe this is no longer in alignment with me. It was at one point.

15:17 And the, the, the idea of changing the mind or like of, of making a switch. I think some people have a hard time with this because of whether it be routine or, or consistency or familiarity, moving away from that and then also the risk of making a change.

15:34 And there's also probably this subtleness of like self worth of like making a mistake of starting this path and like, oh, I don't want to like admit that this was the wrong path and go over here. But I think the language there is that it's not necessarily the wrong path.

15:47 That path might have just led you to the new path, which leads you to the next path. And you know, you would never know that if you didn't take the first step to begin with. Exactly. And I think like you're saying that there's it's like a gift you get to keep opening up this gift of who you are in different spaces and at different times and to discover like, wow, I'm I can be a teacher, something I never thought that I would want to do or be confident enough to

16:14 like step in front of a room and guide a whole group of people in these practices like that. That was terrifying for me. That literally brought my stomach was queasy thinking about that. And no, you learn and you step into it and see, OK, the queasiness goes away and it actually becomes fun and amazing and what an impact I can have.

16:40 But oh, what I wanted to say to the point of there are no mistakes right in in the path and and we we contain multitudes. So welcoming more and more of myself has been a really important part of the journey that I'm not just someone who's very structured, organized like systems. And you know, I'm, I'm, I can be very conventional. I like, I like those kind of rules. I love being in organizations that are, are large and helpful. And there's also a more fluid

17:18 healer, spiritual loving presence. Like all of these things, these are just two and I kind of cringe when I kind of dichotomize them. But anyway, there's this whole spectrum of who I am and different emotions that I experience.

17:34 So I'm really passionate about welcoming more of myself so that I get to experience more of myself, but I get to experience more of other people. I want to feel that richness of who you are because you're not just a physio and podcast host like you have, you're a musician and you have these like, you know, there's so many things about you that are just like incredible and such a gift to this world.

18:01 So I'm selfishly interested in like, witnessing and being able to experience that in my relationships with the people I love and care about. Thank you. I'm hearing and I'm feeling the word curiosity, self curiosity about yourself, about what you think you might be interested or what you are interested or you're, you know, somewhat curious of. And kind of like what we were saying before is like trying something.

18:29 It's like, I'm curious, let's try it. It's like, oh, this is great. Or, oh, this isn't quite what I was thinking it was going to be. But, you know, staying open and curious has allowed you to explore more of you. That's what I heard you're saying, Yeah.

18:41 Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I I get curious about you and if there are places in yourself that you're getting curious about or exploring in this moment that you'd you'd be up into sharing. Oh my God, it's the music thing.

18:58 You kind of hit the button there. Yes, I've definitely been. I don't think, I don't know if a lot of people know this about me, but I have a family of musicians. My background, not my background, but my family on my dad's side, which is my French side, all my aunts are either like a singer or a music teacher or they play instruments or like their husband, like fixes instruments or something connected to music.

19:23 But then into my immediate family dynamic, you know, my brothers, sisters, my dad and my mom, they're not really in the music space, so to speak. Like I was in the choir when I was younger and I just kind of got put into it, but like I would sing and I was like, oh, this is cool.

19:38 And then hit puberty and, and that kind of changed things. And then I, you know, started to get more self-conscious and all these things and I kind of moved away from it. And more recently I've started to get curious about it again, Not just music, but actually singing as well.

19:55 I've been really like thinking like, OK, well, I used to sing and you know what's in me? I may not sound as like beautiful as I once was when I was 1213 years old singing. But you know, I also know that people can like, learn these things, right? You can kind of develop the muscles and stuff like that to kind of have some sort of voice and being someone that's funny, being someone who, and I know a lot of people can relate to this is the throat shocker being

20:23 limited or blocked, which is why I thought it was funny that I had to clear my throat there, especially as teaching yoga or, or standing up in front of people and expressing and sharing. And that's, you know, that's a big block for a lot of people. I'd say there's a universal pain that people experience with like public speaking and being able to express and share because of, you know, trying to follow social norms and to be like, you know, proper and, and, you know,

20:48 not having outbursts and these types of things. So having worked on myself, there was moments where I've been advised like maybe you should think about singing or like, that'd be really good for you. Not not so much that like you're gonna make a career out of it, but like it would be really good for your soul.

21:04 It'd be really good for your flow in your body, your energy to kind of just allow things to be more natural. So I've been kind of tinkering with that and bringing in the music, which I actually think is going to inspire the singing, but the music playing like the flute, for example, which helps to stimulate the throat chakra, of course.

21:23 And then more recently, the hand pan has been my, my jam. But yeah, just getting into the music space and just allowing that rhythm and that feeling to kind of move through me has been my my current curiosity, I'd say, as of late.

21:37 Beautiful. I, I hear this, this part of you that, that identified and, and got to experience this younger version of you that was very naturally talented and maybe praised and celebrated as a singer. And this turning point in your puberty where then your voice changed and your identity, identity around being a singer had to change without maybe your consent or desire.

22:04 But this, this happened. And so then there was a, a moving away. And maybe there are other things that you got interested, I'm sure. So it's nice to see this full circle where the the fire is sort of sparking and the curiosity is is coming out.

22:20 Is there something that you're afraid of that let's say you start singing and you know, you're you're able to do this with joy and you're maybe out in the garden and singing songs or creating songs. I don't know what the vision is, but what Yeah, is there? What would be your fear if you imagine actual actualizing that and stepping into your singer such a good. Question.

22:49 I think I've kind of worked through some of the fears, which would be like what people think and what it sounds like and stuff like that. But I'd still say there's a lingering aspect of that. Like, you know, what I feel when I sing might not be necessarily what people feel when they hear me sing. You're nice.

23:03 So does that matter or not? Well, that's another question, but it would be more so like I sometimes I feel like when I'm in the right tone anyway, or the right note, I feel like this is right. This is the right frequency for me to be at right. But, you know, if I'm singing a song and they happen to go to another note and then I and I follow, then it doesn't quite feel aligned.

23:24 And then, you know, my voice might crack or, you know, might feel a little off and like, that's OK. But part of me feels like, why not just explore what is possible for me and kind of allow that to be. And if that end up ends up kind of turning into something more where it's, it can be shared with other people.

23:43 Like I'm open to it. I just, I think there's a confidence thing there of like, I mean, let's be honest, like anything that I can do and if I'm going to share it with other people, it's nice to feel like a certain level of appreciation for what that is and for people to enjoy what that thing is.

24:00 Not that I'm doing it for those reasons, but you can feel it if you're, you know, singing and you know, you know, you're not, it doesn't sound great. And other people are like, Oh, this sounds really good, right? And then there's like this, you know, this people pleasing kind of happening for people to not want to make you feel bad. And so kind of all these little stories and things that are playing through.

24:20 But part of me is like just talking about it. Like, for example, you asking the questions. And I appreciate that for me to be able to like, I think even talking about it allows the energy to flow through a little bit more for the possibility for me to just explore it.

24:34 So right now I just kind of, you know, when I'm on my motorbike and I'm driving to like Chengdu or Seminyak, which is like 45 minutes to an hour, I'll just be like singing. And you know, I'll try to stay anytime the note gets a bit too high, I'll just skip that note. Like I don't need to strain my vocal cords. I'll just kind of stay there and then it goes back down again. Then I'll just start to sing and just play there. And I'm just imagining that I'm

24:54 exercising this like it's, it's almost like fun, like I'm playing a little sport, right? But I don't try to overextend myself, just like I shouldn't overextend myself if I'm playing a sport that I haven't been training for, I am not equipped to be able to do yet. So that's kind of where I'm at is like just playing and enjoying it, just for enjoying it. And you know, maybe at some point it turns into something more and maybe I'll start singing with the handpan or something.

25:17 I don't know. I'm hearing so much kindness as you speak about this with yourself that you know I'm never overextending. If I miss a note or I can't hit a note, it's not me. It's not my voice. I'm going to stay in the range that feels easy and playful and fun and and like matches is alignment for me.

25:42 And so there's no, I don't hear any kind of judgement. Oh, I should be or this is wrong or right, but just a like such a kindness and and I get to do it on my scooter and I'm, you know, when I drive to these 45 minute places that I can actually go and just practice and let it be easy and not I'm making a record and it's going to go on Spotify and all this pressure.

26:04 But I, I really appreciate that lightness and kindness that you're bringing to this nurturing this new passion and, and space to play. Thank you. I think that if we were to relate it back to like, you know, other people with, you know, whatever they might be inspired to be curious about for themselves, which let's just say it's teaching yoga or something related to, you know, being of service. I think the two aspects, and I'm sure you have things to talk about it are because like right

26:36 now, I don't feel like I have expectations, like I need to be a certain way. I need to sing a certain way. I'm just like, I'm just doing it right. I don't feel a certain amount of pressure to be able to show up and and perform kind of thing, right.

26:49 That being said, if I'm someone who is doing a teacher training and thinking of teaching and wanting to teach, there's probably now a story of like, oh, you need to be a certain way. You need to teach a certain way. And therefore creating these expectations, which therefore creates this pressure, which then starts to create more of this challenge on being kinder to yourself because of these outside stories or maybe real expectations that exist that

27:17 start to hinder that, that ability to be kind to yourself when you get this like negative self talk, so to speak. So I think for me in this situation, I don't feel like I have like I'm not, I'm just doing it for fun, right?

27:31 I'm just doing it for the joy of it, for the love it. It's kind of like what I used to do when I played basketball. I would just do it for play for fun, right? Eventually it turned into a competitive thing. And, you know, there was what felt like purpose at some point, but there was a certain core foundation of like, I'm doing this because I'm enjoying it. And I think what I see with you is you do things because you enjoy them.

27:52 And once you don't enjoy them anymore, maybe you're just like, I'm going to do something different or try something else. Or at least that's kind of what I've been kind of hearing from you to some degree is a certain level of trusting that inner like guidance of this feels right for me right now and this feels good. I am really interested in helping people move there faster because I have been stuck and not trusting my inner voice. And there were spaces like

28:24 where, yeah, I was just wanting so much to be the best. I was like the chief people off chief culture officer of the Contentment Foundation. And there I, I loved the work that I was doing in the impact that I got to do and.

28:40 So what was that? The What was the feeling? No, no. What was what was your role? My role, yeah, I got to, I was really interested in creating a safe environment for all of our team and for us to all be able to do the work that we're here to do, but also be in a cohesive, safe environment to also be ourselves.

29:05 And some of that was creating events so that we could come together and have retreats and external events that could support that. Some of them were internal events. Some of that was just how how do we communicate? I put a lot of pressure on myself. You know, I had a lot of stories of, well, I don't have a lot of experience and am I doing this right? Am I doing it good enough?

29:31 Lots of self worth around imposter syndrome. Like I, you know, I'm doing my very best, but it didn't ever feel like I was doing enough. And I put a lot of pressure on myself that was not coming from the outside. And I realized through my own inquiry and some guidance and support that, wow, there's this this part of me that's really just scared of getting called out or, you know, getting kicked out or not really belonging there.

30:01 And so a lot of that pressure turned into a feeling of stagnancy within myself and not really voicing how I felt and just putting on this like, I've got to be really perfect and I have to make sure everyone is OK and we can't have conflict.

30:18 And I was really just wanting from a deep place of care and learning, OK, this isn't working. And so we're starting to, you know, like there's I would have people tell me certain things that they would need to talk to somebody else around. And I was just saying, OK, we need a way for us to feel really allowed to be and feel what we truly feel without the repercussion that this is going to get you fired or you're going to be punished or any of that,

30:52 just like a free space. And I needed that because I needed to admit like, I'm, I don't know if I'm doing a good job. I need, I needed space to breathe and be myself, which was so healing. So some of what came out of that were heart circles.

31:07 And we just had a space to speak openly, which has been really transformative for the culture and the space that we have cultivated. And I'm really proud of of that and all the people who've contributed to building that.

31:22 But I continue to feel this inner knowing of I have contributed what I can like sort of what I would call a foundation of, of a culture that this is as far as I can take it in this role. And there's maybe somewhere else that I can serve and, and a different way, a different role for me to be of service in, in our foundation.

31:45 So I, that was tricky. That's like a really tough place to be because it's tied to my community. It's tied to my, my marriage, my relationship, my identity, my sense of purpose and how I, you know, invite, tell people what I do. And all of these structures were intertwined. So I know how it feels to say you can't just give up and like, Oh, yeah, I'll move to Bali and, you know, switch your job and become a yoga teacher.

32:15 Like, I get it. I've, I've, I know how important some of these. Yeah. The transition can be to do it with care, to like, do it slowly, do it with joy and play because that's how it can actually be sustainable. And that's what we ultimately want is to build a sustainably joyful existence and sustainable relationships and deep, meaningful connections.

32:47 Yeah, I love it. I love that you created a culture or you wanted to create a culture and you did, I would say successfully. I mean, I'm not in the Contentment Foundation. But Christina being in, you know, she expresses how she loves her team, she loves the dynamics, she loves how she, you know, how people are interacting with one another. And I think that's part of what you're saying. There's a certain culture that's created within the company that is ultimately safe to express,

33:14 it's safe to share, it's safe to have conflict, but like, you know, conscious conflict, right? And that is something that definitely exists in some places, but not a lot of places. So infusing that I think was something extremely powerful.

33:31 So great job on that one. And yeah, I also think that it's almost kind of reinforcing people's ability to be real and authentic, which is kind of like, I would say a very important part of being a yoga teacher is to be you, to be authentic and to express and to share in a way that feels real for you. And try not to be like this other teacher who, you know, is very successful, but like, maybe that's not your job. Maybe your job is something different. But like, who are you?

34:03 What do, what do you want to do? And if you don't know the answer to that question, it's kind of going back to like be curious and trying some things and stuff like that, right? Absolutely, yeah. When I think about curiosity of like self discovery and then I think about kind of allowing ourselves to be who we are authentically and real.

34:24 And then also thinking about like, OK, I do want to, I want to try these things. But there's like risks or there's like, I would call them fears or some sort of limitations that's stopping them from wanting to to take these leaps or to move into these places to change certain things.

34:38 Like I want to, you know, maybe change this job or move away from this place or maybe end this relationship or, you know, change friends circles or whatever it is, change jobs. And then the scariness behind that. It sounds like for you, you've, you've you've had a lot of courage to be able to take some, some leaps, bigger leaps and stuff like that. And I mean, I think I know what you would probably say to that, but I'm sure you've felt pretty safe and you felt supported enough to be able to jump.

35:08 So it's almost like your platform to jump was solid, you know, metaphorically speaking, No, Maybe. I would say it was. It was, but in my mind it was not, and I only could find out that I was safe, at least in my own experience. And I don't say these are blueprints, but in my experience, taking the leap helped me see just how safe I was, how loved I was.

35:38 When people are like, we want you to be happy. I want you to, you know, follow your passion. I want to see you thriving. How can I support you in your next venture? Only when I got that, because my biggest fear was, am I going to lose everybody that I care about? Am I going to lose my connections to them? My, you know, my reasons for being in relationships with them, you know, like this is my colleagues and friends. And I mean, there's my fear.

36:10 My lens was like, no one, I'm going to be alone, right? Which saying it out loud, I, I laugh, but I mean the deeper part is that like that's a real deep seated fear. And I think it's so. And, and I, I really like, tend to that part of me everywhere I go, even stepping into this podcast and feeling like, OK, are people going to like this?

36:33 Am I going to say the right things? You know, all of that, that chatter that's just wanting me to be safe and to belong and feel loved and cared. And I'm just like, bring her with me. So I didn't know all of this at that time, but I took that leap and I, I discovered, wow, these I do, I have an amazing life and amazing people around me and I get to continue to live life with all of them. It just takes different forms and what a gift to to do it brave like I was.

37:04 I did a lot of things very shakily. Or, you know, in my first yoga classes, I was like quivering or I was moved to Bali and started teaching really for the the first time because I was like, who's going to? I was just in a an office a month ago, you know, in at Yale and now I'm in a five star hotel.

37:28 Like how did this the the transitions can happen so fast, which I also want to remind people that some things aren't slow. Like, yes, some things takes time, but other parts of your life can dramatically change when you're following that truth and alignment.

37:47 So the key part of this is the curiosity and the courage to hear your own truth. And that, I think takes the most courage. That's the place where I have to meet myself every single day. Like what is true for me that nobody else can hear. I can ask you a lot of questions, I can be curious, but at the end of the day, you're the only one who can hear and feel that alignment, authenticity and truth. So that's that's where meeting that and then actualizing it and taking action from that

38:26 empowered place made all the difference. That's good. I like that a lot. What about people who feel like they don't actually have a lot of support? You know, maybe they do, maybe they don't. But I can imagine there's people listening that feel like, you know, I do want to do this thing. Or maybe I do want to teach yoga. Or maybe I want to, you know, I did all this education and I was working this job and I kind of want to leave it. And like, you know, my parents

38:56 or my certain, you know, peers or someone, they don't, they don't see the vision. They don't necessarily support it or they don't seem to be supporting it, which could make it challenging. Obviously, like, you know, maybe they they will at some point. But like I can imagine someone's state of being might be like, well, that sounds great, Lisa, like you sound like you had a lot of support.

39:16 Like I don't feel like I have that. Like what does that mean for me? Does it mean that I shouldn't take action or like, you know, like what would you say to someone who feels that way that they might not have that support? Yeah, I would say that.

39:31 I hear that and I I know that, you know, our dreams are so precious and they, they do require some tending too. And if you feel like, first of all, I would say you don't need a whole community. You don't need 10 people. It's one person, literally one person.

39:54 And they might just love you and believe in you. And maybe if it's indirect, but really TuneIn and maybe it's a supportive. Yeah, it might. I mean, it could be nature and you just connect and you feel supported by stepping by the ocean or in a forest or wherever or in a public park if you're in a city and just feel that connection to nature. And that could be one that kind of is coming to mind. But also, so it's one person.

40:25 If that one person doesn't exist in your life, and that's OK too is like look for examples of people who you may not know directly. So if they're not in your immediate world, look for an example of someone who's living the life that you want, because there are so many examples of people doing exactly what you care about.

40:46 And let them be your, your kind of Unicorn, your, your North star, someone to, to let you know that it's possible. And that could be, you know, that could be through biographies or even movie characters or social medias.

41:03 I mean, I'm trying to think of like really grounded, but just so your mind can start to see that it's available and possible. And, and yeah. And slowly, as you start to shift your mindset around that you deserve what you desire and you, you get to live whatever crazy, wacky life that is inspiring you and then start to, yeah, seek those people out. Yeah, that's great.

41:34 I loved it. I I, I wanted to throw a little bit of a of a thought there and I think you answered it really well. Like, you know, there, there usually is probably at least one person, I'm sure everyone here listening can probably think of one person that they know will support them. No, no matter what, you know, most of them will probably default to the mom, I would imagine. But, you know, there might be other people if your mom is not that person for you.

41:57 But yeah, I would, I would agree with you. I think one person is. It's almost like you just don't feel alone. Having that one person would be great. And if not, it's like you are your one person, right? You said nature, but nature we're, you know, talking about yoga, we're all connected.

42:11 We're all the same. Nature is part of you. And connecting with nature is your ability to connect with yourself. And if you are feeling supported by that, then you are supported, right? To make those those changes, those steps, those leaps.

42:24 Yeah, And picking up on that thread, sometimes what I'll do is almost write out two versions of me, the part of me that feels like I feel unsupported and I don't know if I can do this and I'm afraid. And then another part of me that it's like if I tune into my higher self or, you know, the the most supportive, unconditionally loving presence that I can imagine, whatever that means to you.

42:50 And I'll write from that perspective and respond to the fear. So I speak from love. And I am amazed. I'll just put a pen to paper and start, like, write a letter or start journaling from that perspective and going back and forth as if they're having a conversation. And so there can be the possibility of that within you. Yeah.

43:12 That's actually a great little exercise. I've recently read a book actually. It's about making decisions. And one of the exercises is similar actually. Instead of a journaling, you take 2 chairs. You go in a room by yourself, close the door so you have your safe space private.

43:26 You sit in one chair and you advocate for the one side fully uninterrupted, like express whatever it is, you know, swearing, yelling, whatever needs to be done to feel heard. And then you sit in the other chair and then you advocate for the other side of you that feels differently.

43:41 And then you just let it hash out. I thought it was such an interesting exercise, right? It's kind of like a debate team because some, I don't know if anyone's had to go on a debate team before. I feel like I was forced to do that when I was younger.

43:53 But sometimes it's like I I agreed with the opposite side, but the exercise was like, yeah, but try to advocate for this side. And then you're, there was always things that would come up. You'd always come up with a few things.

44:05 So we even though we do have preferences, there's always like opinions or, or certain points that we see on each side. But oftentimes I think we're not allowing that one side to be heard or we're suppressing it or, you know, we're not allowing it to be expressed because we're worried about what other people might think if it's, if it's recognized that we believe that to be true. So I like the journaling thing and having a vacation for both sides or this little chair

44:32 exercise, which I think is pretty funny as well to allow you to listen to you like what is, what do you have to say? Right? There's multiple parts of you that have multiple angles and perspectives. And I think that sometimes it can get confusing on what part of me is real and true and like what is actually what do I really want? And I think that can get skewed if we, if we, we've suppressed a certain part of us and our emotions might start to bubble around that particular thing,

45:05 which might make it feel more powerful than it actually is. But allowing it to actually come out and be expressed, allow it to flow and now allow it to move, whatever it is, can often reveal certain truths. Like I thought I felt really strongly about this and, and now that I've kind of expressed it, I actually think I don't anymore, right.

45:27 But you wouldn't know that if you didn't actually allow it to kind of come through. It kind of goes back to this action taking thing, but in a different context. Yeah, yeah, I, and this is something I love guiding people through is actually literally moving them through the different chairs. So I love that Like there's a third option. You can do it with somebody who's guiding it and not being witnessed and listened to.

45:48 So it might be, you know, if I was in the seat and I was saying, you know, I'm, I really want to step into my yoga career And I, I know there's something deep down inside of me and there's a, there's a passion burning. I know I have a message that's worth sharing and I, I need a larger stage and I want to share with people because this has impacted my life so much. And then I'll step into the other's chair and I'll be like, well, how are you going to pay

46:15 the bills? What do you, what do you, who's going to give you? You know, you've got a, a great salary, there's a even working towards, you know, your legal career for the last 10 years. Like how can you just step away from something that is giving you stability and community?

46:33 I know, I understand, but I also feel like there is, you know, there's more. And I, I, I trust that the money will come and, and like you like have faith, like let's go, we got this. And you can step on the other side. That's crazy.

46:49 Haven't you seen? And just going back and forth and like you're saying, at some point both sides can meet each other and they can say, well, OK, I understand you want to press on the gas. What if we do classes on the weekends? And would you be willing to stay full time for the next year so we can build savings?

47:10 And then, you know, there there can be this negotiation so that they're not fighting against each other and you're not staying stuck because I think that this is the unconscious where they're two really intelligent sides of us.

47:23 And both of them have a really good point. So if I'm not honoring both parts as you're speaking about and having them actually collaborate because that's where OK, if these two powerful entities, intelligent and wise are working together, imagine how much faster I can succeed.

47:42 I can take action like this is what I'm trying to come into alignment with. This is why welcoming all of our parts is so valuable so that we can all of us can move forward in the same direction so powerfully, so effortlessly.

47:58 It becomes like another reality that I want everyone to experience. Like, you know, I can give you a little taste through this small example, but to really feel that would be like, that's how shifts can happen so quickly and you can start taking action in a from a completely different place. Yeah, very quickly.

48:19 Very quickly. Yeah, it can happen very quickly, which is also scary to be like, oh, already, yeah. Well, there's a lightness like I see people's eyes, they're just like wow, I didn't even see this third possibility. It was always A or BI didn't see that there was a 1/3 path or BCEFG like many opportunities cuz the lens is no longer so close. There's a the aperture gets to expand and you're like wow everything is possible.

48:51 It's such an amazing feeling. Yeah, that's great. And I think that's the thing that is so powerful for people to recognize is we don't know what's possible. We only, we can only just allow ourselves opportunities to see what's possible and recognizing that there's endless possibilities. And the only reason why we can't access those possibilities is if we limit ourselves or we stop ourselves from, you know, finding those opportunities by just, you know, allowing parts of us to kind of come through

49:26 and, and putting ourselves in situations and, and just, you know, kind of allowing things to come to you without actually necessarily seeking them out. Like you can seek things out and that's great, like action and you know, all that stuff.

49:40 But oftentimes opportunities and possibilities are presenting themselves and every little micro moments, which I, I hope for people recognize that there's a certain level of expansion that is capable for every person, right?

49:57 No matter what your mindset is, if you feel like you only have this, you know, a dichotomy of this or that, it's like, no, there's actually probably a third choice or a fourth choice or a fifth choice as you described. You just might not see it or know it.

50:11 And obviously the ego would very much like to know what it is in order for you to feel comfortable to take action on it. But trusting that there are other possibilities and trusting in yourself, possibly trusting in your future self to allow things to kind of unfold how they need to unfold is a challenging thing.

50:31 But what I would say is one of the best things to do is like, what's the next step? What's the first first step? The step that you need to take now? Because that step will probably reveal possibly new possibilities or other opportunities or maybe more clarity, right? And often times I think a lot of us want to know the next 10 steps, 20 steps, 100 steps, five year plan, 10 year plan, 25 years.

50:57 Like what if, what if, what if? And it's like, that's all great to contemplate and think on, but it's like, but what if you take the first step and all those other things change, right? So often times, and I like that about you as it seems like you would take steps and then things would kind of come your way and they're like, oh, cool. And then you would either take it and make an adjustment or you would, you know, continue on the same path or maybe switch paths. But that's what I'm hearing is

51:22 one of the things that you love about helping people is basically just like, start moving. Yeah, start moving. Yeah. And I would say I'm, I can be reckless and I have a side that is very timid. And so sometimes I would take these reckless. I would just jump in and it would be very intense. Like I suddenly I'm in front of everyone before I even, I don't know.

51:47 Yeah. So I would be reckless. And then there are times, yeah, that I would be safe. And what I've learned is that there's a way to for the the reckless side of me and the safe side to meet and for me to then, like you're saying, take the next intelligent step that is, that has both. And that actually can be more effective, faster, easier. And so much of that starts with my, my inner world, like understanding, being honest with myself and having the space to really work that out first and,

52:26 and, and take action. So it's not just I'm doing all of this reflection and all, all of this therapeutic work, which is amazing. But I want to see my life change. I don't want to just know and have clarity and have all this self-awareness.

52:42 I want it to reflect in how my, my, the people in my life are reflecting that level of integrity and inspiration and the, the spaces that I walk into and the, the kind of work that I get to do. Like all of that gets reflected back. And so there's this beautiful feedback of inner work and then outer action.

53:06 Inner work, outer action. I love it. This is super fun. So I have one question. We never really talked about it and I'm wondering if some people might have a question or we're getting closer to the end of the podcast, but what is the Contentment Foundation?

53:23 I have, I noticed this as you asked that like, wow, this interesting older part of me that is I don't get asked about that the contentment Foundation very often anymore, which is wow, yeah. I can feel my face kind of flushing. And so I'm being gentle.

53:46 Yeah. And I, what I'm going to say is there's a, a part of me that is still kind of differentiating from, let's say, an older identity that was very tied to the work and the foundation, the contentment Foundation, which I'm like, so proud of and just receive so much from the community and the work that we get to do in the world.

54:13 I also feel this sense of I should answer the question and I, I can, I can give you an answer, but there's another part of me that isn't, that really wants to speak right now. That's like, I don't want to answer that question.

54:26 So I think I'm going to honor that right now and let that lead because I think this is one of those moments where I'm getting the perfect life. Life is teaching me to to really, am I really in the integrity of honoring all of my parts. So you get to see this in real live action. And as I say that, oh, I'm going to take care of myself in this way by not answering that question, I can feel my whole system relaxing.

55:04 And that's more important to me than getting the answer right or following the instructions. So that's where I'll land. That's great. I love it. I love it. I love it. You're authentically allowing yourself to create basically a boundary. Yes, right.

55:26 You feel safe enough to be able to create this boundary, or at least you know, to some degree you felt safe enough to express that or work through it with me, which was a beautiful experience. So thank you for that and know, of course, that I honor that for sure, but I love that part of you is because you kind of went through the like self inquiry, like why do I want to handle this?

55:45 Like do and you kind almost had this like two chair thing happening in your brain. I can kind of see it. It's like you're both like, no, no, no, no, right. And you know, whatever it, it doesn't really matter who, who needs to speak up. But at the end of the day, what you felt is like kind of saying, yeah, actually, you know what, I'm, you know, Google it kind of thing.

56:07 Like you figure it out for yourself if you want to. Like, I don't really want to answer that question. And you feeling good about that, I think is something that is really powerful that oftentimes people might take the other path because they feel like they should.

56:21 Like, oh, I'm on a, on a podcast. I asked the question. It would be rude if I didn't answer it. So I have to answer it. But even though my answer is going to be like, well, I don't know how you know what I mean. Exactly.

56:31 But it's like, cool, then honor that other side of you and like, you know, there's a cost and benefit to everything. And oftentimes the cost is not as bad as we think it's going to be, right. So I love that. Thank you for for honoring that. Part of you, yeah.

56:45 Thank you for witnessing me and receiving me and holding a space that I feel I can be all of myself and share it in real time. Like, yeah, there's a little part of me that's so delighted, Like wow, that's, that was interesting and fun. And I feel grateful for people like you in my life where that is so honored and welcomed.

57:12 That's I think the most powerful experience that I can have is just genuinely being accepted in exactly the place that I am. So thank you. You're very welcome. I feel I kind of want to talk to you forever, but we're going to we're going to wrap, we are going to wrap it up.

57:33 But just to talking about this boundary piece because it made me just think of like, you know, my journey for 2024 has been very much like focusing on boundaries, personal boundaries, professional boundaries. And I was working on it in 2023, but not like super actively, like I wasn't.

57:48 I was kind of like thinking about it and like trying it, but not actually doing it this year. It was like, I'm definitely doing it. Like I've been working through it a lot. In my experience with this kind of a thing is it sometimes it's really hard to kind of like you were just experiencing. It's really hard to like do that thing that you think you're you're you're not supposed to do and do the thing that you think you're supposed to do, which is

58:10 like answer the question, for example. And like I have an example that happened like a couple days ago of like, not to get too much into it, but it was something that I didn't want to do. Give us the. Details felt like I had to do it and then I just went straight into, I actually think I'm not gonna do this right because I just don't feel like I'm in the place right now to answer the question or to meet with this person.

58:32 It was like to have a conversation and I just had a lot of things going on. I was like, I think I need to create a boundary here. Even though they may be upset with me or they may not respond well to that. Or at least that was the story in my head.

58:44 Just like, I don't know what story you had, but maybe, oh, Michael is gonna be like a little flustered if I don't answer the question. Whatever it is. What I'm trying to get to is often times that fear of us creating the boundary and the the consequence of it is often worse than what actually does happen.

59:00 In my experience, when you set boundaries, most of the time people are going to respect them and they're going to be like, OK, cool, no worries. You know, not always, but most of the time. And even though we can't know that ahead of time, sometimes that logical, rational, call it statistical, not even really statistical, but just more, from my experience, can allow us the opportunity to like, yeah, sometimes set those boundaries and just say no or, you know,

59:27 these types of things, and it's going to be fine. And you'll actually feel, as you described, empowered. Definitely, I have some I get asked questions, you know, casual questions and I one time someone asked me like what do you do? And I just didn't really want to answer. I like, I felt it in myself and I had a similar moment like you just witnessed and it was really, I just said, I don't want to talk about that.

59:52 How about we talk about, you know, something else And that conversation setting that boundary, it was totally accepted. It shifted into something much more present and profound and meaningful. And I realized, wow, this is a gateway like I could sit myself through this and I can experience myself like gritting through and giving a canned response, which is what I was wanting to avoid because I could feel the impulsive.

1:00:18 I can give you my canned response that's not coming from my deepest, let's say, aliveness and inspiration to fulfill and check the box, which. But do I want to live like that? And every time I do that, I'm betraying myself.

1:00:33 I'm not really living my life. I'm filling some arbitrary box that you may or may not care about. But this is the the offer and only I can tune into living in that alignment. So, yeah, by saying no, I get to, I can also redirect it like, OK, maybe in your case, how about we meet in a week when I have a little bit more space and I would love to do that. Or yeah, for me, it's I don't want to have that conversation. Let's talk like something that I'm really inspired by is what does confidence mean to you and

1:01:11 how do you cultivate or whatever it is? It's really juicy. In that moment, I feel like I can honor my relationships better because I'm not pretending. I'm not pretending. I'm just sharing exactly what's real for me. And that's what I want with other people too.

1:01:27 And that's why I think relationships purpose, like your whole life, the all these, both of these things are really intertwined. How we communicate is how we use our voices is so critical to living the most fulfilling, joyful, alive life that we can. Wholeheartedly agree.

1:01:48 And I think by setting boundaries, even though it's scary and sometimes feels very unnatural, eventually may feel a little bit more like, Oh my God, that was actually nice. I also think it inspires others to do the same, even though at first they might get sometimes people might get a little jolted like, oh, I didn't realize that they weren't going to answer that question. I didn't realize that they were going to say no to that, right. That's a little bit of a

1:02:10 surprise. Often times they might actually be like, I respect that they did that. And then it almost kind of like plants a seed for them. At least this is what I've noticed is that other people kind of, it's almost like a little mirror neuron thing like, oh, other people do this so maybe I can do this too kind of thing. So, you know, another reason to possibly explore these boundary things.

1:02:32 But let's kind of let's wrap this up. Do you have any final thoughts or anything that comes to you that you'd like to share to our audience relating to kind of all the things we've been talking about? Maybe some sort of key thing that just kind of comes into your mind right now? I feel inspired to gift to free sessions to your audience because I think that what you're doing in the world and what your community is doing to share their gifts and you know what all of this in the world is like

1:03:08 really deeply meaningful to me and it aligns with what my life has been. So it would be amazing like to offer like the first two people who reach out to give them a free session also because it's one thing we can talk about how it goes, but it's another thing to actually experience it and feel it and receive some sort of transformation, realization, clarity around your life. So this is completely like no strings attached, just a gift really for our relationship and

1:03:42 everything that you've given me in my life. And I would love to just extend that to your community. So that's what comes to mind. Amazing. Wow. Thank you. I love that. So what would be the best way to go about doing that? To connect directly with you?

1:03:56 Or you want them to connect with me and then I connect with you? What do you think? We could do, yeah. They could go directly to my website, thelisaflynn.com or another way as I could hand over those two to you and you can choose two people that you think would be a good match for this.

1:04:15 OK, so we can. Cool. I'll sort it out a little bit and I'll put something like that in the show notes. Whatever it is, it'll direct. OK, great. Cuz I feel like I'm on the spot now. Yeah. I'm like, I don't really know. OK, so directly just go directly to my website and you can apply there.

1:04:29 Yeah, cool. Yeah. All right, let's do that. That sounds great. Thank you so much, Lisa. Thank you. I appreciate you. I appreciate you. What a joy. What a fun journey to go down. And thank you. Yeah. Of course, thank you everyone for tuning in this week.

1:04:45 If you do have any questions and you want to connect with Lisa outside of, you know, these this offer, what would be the best way to do that? Like if they wanted to just kind of reach out and say, hey, this is cool or I have a question or anything like that, What do you think?

1:04:56 Yeah, please send me a DM on Instagram or reach out on my website. I'll be in touch directly through there. I have a wait list for my clients right now, but if you reach out then I can see where you are in the list and we can be in touch.

1:05:11 I'd love to meet you. Cool, awesome. We'll put Ted in the show notes so it's easy to find. Otherwise, thank you again. Thank you. Thank you, everyone, 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.

1:05:26 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, practice and grow, this platform is definitely for you.

1:05:43 So I definitely suggest checking it out. Going proyoga.com right now. You can try it out for free for seven days.