Conscious Leadership in Wellness Business with Paul Teodo

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. All right, welcome back to the In Movement podcast.

0:34 Yay. So this is Michael Henry, your host, and we have Paul Teodo in the house today. And this episode is going to be about interviewing Paul about some of the changes that have been happening over the last several months, almost years, it seems like to just kind of give a little recap of what's been going on from Paul's perspective. So I'm pretty excited to have Paul here. Welcome, Paul.

0:55 Thank you. Thank you. So my first question for you, Paul, having this new studio development, this brand, this mission, this vision of what's kind of progressing and growing for you, was there a pivotal life moment that influenced your approach to this yoga created space that is being developed currently?

1:22 Yeah, I think it, it came in 2022, just speaking to the owner of Yoga Barn actually, and just mentioning to her they were doing some expansion and Byron and Leia and I were looking to also expand because things were, things have grown really wonderfully for us very, very organically and also very fast.

1:48 So spoke to her and the idea of originally it was just the idea of renting out long term some space at Yoga Barn to offer just exclusively our trainings and our program. And then it manifested itself into our own space, which is going to be opening April 2026, which is crazy.

2:14 Four years later, it's four years of deals and getting the land and securing the land from 1 owner and then an extension on the land from another owner and then all the permits and all of the processes and finding an architect and building and all of it and it's been a beast. So my next question, you kind of already answered a little bit, which is more about the spark behind starting the studio. So maybe from more of a less of a practical perspective, but maybe more of a your where you

2:45 are in your life and with yoga and what you're ready to maybe deliver in a different way possibly. So I'll read the question. What was the spark behind starting your own studio and what made it clear that this needed to exist now? Well, first and foremost, I would never want to start my own studio alone.

3:07 The reason why I wanted to do this project is because I have a amazing team, you and Byron and my wife Leia, and the fact that we've all been working together for a while, We've been working together very well and people seem to really resonate with what we're doing. Just gave me the the confidence to kind of want to take something to the next level and to try and find maybe an angle within the Wellness community that that is lacking in Baldy. Bali is sometimes known as the

3:44 the Wellness capital of the world. And Ubud is the capital of the Wellness capital of the world. But I think that there is a certain degree of at least from my and it felt like something, something was a little bit missing that we that we felt like we could truly provide.

4:00 And then my angle of providing it and Byron's angle of providing it and Leia's angle, your angle. But to be able to do something that echoes a lot of the yoga that I fell in love with in Los Angeles. But then mix that with my nine years of having lived in the East, living in Asia, and the influence that I have of Asian philosophy, not just Indian, but Asian philosophy and Bolognese philosophy, To try to create something that is really special and really going to set the bar high.

4:39 At least that's the goal. So is there anything in particular because you kind of tease that a little bit of this like unique something that's different, What makes this so special for you compared to other things that are currently available? Well, when when we talked about what, what we wanted to create, at least my perspective on it and my angle of it is, you know, Baldy's very feminine, especially Ubu, it's very feminine.

5:04 And to me, a feminine is amazing. And feminine is all about love. And you know, so a lot of the, the yoga and the spiritual offerings are all geared towards helping a person learn to love themself, which is so essential and so beautiful and so important and, and feminine, very feminine. And I think the, the other side of that is the, the Yang or the, I would describe it as a, a masculine drive to find a purpose.

5:39 So to be willing to serve something bigger than yourself, to work really hard at something that you care about, to dedicate your time and energy towards building something and to to show up for other people and to give back to the world with your time, your energy and your gifts.

5:57 And I think that that at least on my perspective of what the in movement is, it's for me, it means to be in, to be all in, to be committed and to be really wanting to be a part of something where a person is going to connect to a purpose.

6:16 And I love your perspective on it. And I've, I've kind of known this to some degree. It's nice to hear from your own words because like you said, like working with a team, you know, you get different personalities, tendencies, perspectives on the world that come together and can complete somewhat of multiple perspectives, which can be more attractive to outside viewers or or people who are just interested in it.

6:39 Because, you know, some people might be needing a little bit more of the phenom and a little bit more of the masking and so on. So a balance between the two I think is great. And obviously the other two have their their perspectives on it as well.

6:50 But I love and I appreciate your perspective, which is very much that little bit more driven energy. And I think that is needed in a lot of cases. Some cases first different people, not so much they might need the other, but I think both are important.

7:03 And two, sway too much one way, which kind of sometimes happens a little bit, especially like you said, in this particular climate or location. I think there needs to be a little bit of that push, which I very much appreciate you for that. Yeah, I think that like a lot of it is, you know, comes from some of the the work that I've been doing in my yin Yang classes for the last year and asking provocative questions that really throw people off.

7:27 You know, a question that that is often times asked is where's an area where you're being too hard on yourself? And that's great. But then sometimes what I'll ask is where is near you, where you're being too soft on yourself? Where are you being too easy?

7:41 Where is something where you know you're weak and you're avoiding getting stronger Because getting stronger in this area is going to force you to look at something or to be uncomfortable or to work harder than you've worked in a long time. And I kind of like being the provocateur of that. And I do feel like it's something that is lacking in Ubud is, is a voice for that.

8:06 And I do think it is an area of my life where I have a certain degree of expertise or certain degree of skill in that area. Like I am very disciplined and I do, I do look at my weaknesses and I try to improve them sometimes too much.

8:24 But I do like that. So I feel like it's something that I can offer and contribute to this community that is not quite features as much, right? Yeah. And just to dive a little bit more into that before I go to my next question is just like your experience of that for you in your own journey, Because I know to some degree that you haven't always been this like fully driven way.

8:47 There was ways where you had swayed the other way because you at one point needed more of that, let's just say, nurturing feminine energy. So just to kind of give that perspective that you're not, you know, if people have only met you in the last few years and they think, I call it Paul's intense and he's got this like strong masculine energy.

9:02 It's like, yes. But that hasn't always been the case necessarily, right? Yeah, and I'm not intense all the time. And so if you take my yin class or if you take my meditation class, it's it's you know, I do have an access to that, that softness inside of me.

9:15 And and you know, I have, I have a five year old son and you know, especially the first two years of his life, it'd be very gentle with him all the time. So definitely not losing touch with my my softness. Don't, don't, don't want to do that, but also not losing touch with my edge.

9:37 And I think becoming a father really made me look at what type of a healthy example I want to set for my son, both as a a vulnerable man, a vulnerable father, but also a father who is willing to work for something and stands for something and is isn't afraid to come home exhausted but fulfilled at the same time. I want my son to see that.

10:03 I want him to see me come home from work tired but fulfilled from doing something that's benefiting the world. Did you all agree immediately on the direction of the studio, or was there some, let's say, alignment needing to happen over time? I think I kind of actually have have stepped back from that in terms of branding and the, the, a lot of the mission for the studio that's really been you and, and, and Leia and Byron more than me.

10:34 I kind of look at it as like, I know what I doing. I know what I have to offer and I don't really know much about that. It's not really been something that's ever been a focus to me. Like I don't buy things online. I don't really check out websites.

10:49 I don't notice like the coloring of a menu or a brand logo or things like that. It's not never really been something that's really been upfront for me. So for me, I kind of, I know what I'm good at and the things that I'm not good at. I kind of staying out of the way because I try to trust you. Again, this is part of like I, I'm not going into this, this collaboration with people that I don't know well. You know, I've known you for six years, almost seven years now, and you're the shortest

11:22 relationship. And I've known my, my wife for 11 years and I've known Byron for 15 years. So I, I trust them and this is not a strength that I have. So it feels nice to be able to defer responsibility to somebody that you trust, you know? How has your relationship, your partnership, shaped the way that you lead the studio?

11:43 So particularly with Leia being a, you know, having that personal relationship and then kind of going into business together. Yeah, we again, we've been doing that for a long time. We've been running retreats together for eight years and we've been running a training together. Well, she's, she's been a part of all of our 200 hour trainings and and she created her own meditation training, but I'm a big part of that and we've been running that for multiple years. So we've worked together a lot

12:08 before and we've had to learn how to work well together. There were times like she's likes to be very planned and very organized and then she can't, she has a harder time relaxing until she has all these plans. And for me, it feels like if things are over planned, then I feel a little bit constricted. So having to find a balance and then she can do things her way and I can do things my way.

12:32 And if I'm in charge, she has to let me do it my way. And if she's in charge, I have to let her do it her way. And we've, we've learned that and I and learning that with her really helped me learn with you and with Byron as well going into this big, deep multiple year project.

12:52 Yeah, I mean, thank you for being so polite and delivering that response. I feel like there was, you know, there wasn't any drama responses of like, oh, you know, there's moments where there's friction, but obviously there's moments of. Friction, tons of friction.

13:04 Yeah, yeah, we, we've had, we've had disagreements and a a lot of a lot of times actually like we'll have a disagreement about work and then it'll manifest itself into like a disagreement at home that really isn't about the disagreement at home.

13:18 It's about not feeling respected or not feeling understood earlier, you know. So we have multiple roles that we play with each other and it's very challenging sometimes to balance those roles out. We know we're Co parents, we're husband and wife when we run a business together.

13:34 So we have had to had to set boundaries. Like we have a rule, like we don't talk about the project before 8:00 in the morning And and you know, I'm actually better at enforcing that than her. She likes, I mean, she's very excited and and and it's beautiful. There are times like, no, we're not talking about it. I do not have a business partner. I have a wife right now.

13:53 I'll say that like I don't I don't have a business partner right now. I have a wife and then at night, like same thing with her. And so setting boundaries around that and then also recognizing, OK, like right now is a is a chapter of our life where we're going to be very focused on being business partners and husband and wife is still there.

14:10 But to put too much pressure in this extremely important part of our life is like, OK, like just let it be how it is. And then when things start to calm down and we go back to, you know, that that that rule or that relationship that we have and the the being Co parents is super important.

14:26 So that's very important to both of us that we, you know, I always say I can't be a great yoga teacher and a shitty father. I would wake up in the morning and just or go to bed at night just resenting myself. So like, I have to still be the father that I want to be while doing this massive thing. And if and Leia feels the same way, I know she does like we want to accomplish this massive task, but we still want to be the parents that we want to be,

14:53 which is hard. It's all it's tiring for. Yeah, a lot to juggle. That sounds like just the balance is kind of moving as it needs to move. And you know, there might be more energy in One Direction because of, you know, just the the nature of what's happening.

15:07 But it sounds like you're constantly aware of that balance between all apart all things that are kind of rolling out for you. Yeah, which is great. And that's something that I've learned from you as. Well, or or a temporary imbalance, of course, those are those friction, everything in moderation, including moderation. Like this is a time where work is not moderate, it's a lot of work right now.

15:28 Yeah. So then this isn't one of my questions, but I it just kind of came through to me, which is like when there's those moments where, you know, things are out of balance, there are these friction things. What is it that helps to bring it back home for you?

15:43 Usually getting some alone time, getting some time to myself to to meditate or go sit in a sauna or exercise. I'm big exercise like right now because we're under a lot of stress. It's very important that I'm exercising a lot. So between yoga and going to the gym and walking the dogs a lot and meditating like I'm doing, a lot of that really helps my mental health is to exercise.

16:10 Yeah, that nervous system as regulated as possible so you can respond in those challenging moments. Absolutely. Yeah, taking my magnesium at night, which helps me sleep, helps my my brain and my muscles relax too. It's a big difference too.

16:22 Yeah, that's great. OK, So moving on. Was there a moment where you thought this might not happen or it almost didn't happen? Yeah, it still, it still hasn't happened yet. Let's be real, it hasn't happened yet. Yeah, there's been multiple times. It's, it's, you know, is the land deal going to happen? So first we had to get the land, we had to get the land from the owner of the land.

16:47 But the owner of the land only had seven years left on that land, land lease. So then we had to find the Indonesian owner and to get the an extension on the land. So one piece of land and the other and neither of them were valuable without each other. So the extension is worthless because it doesn't start until 2032.

17:06 And the land itself is worthless because seven years is not enough time to recuperate your money. So you need both. So we had to figure that out. Then we had to, you know, get some of the permits and find our architect and then find the money.

17:23 And yeah, it's, it's been a beast. It's been. But part of me feels like the universe or whatever, the dentist on Tucci's like it. It feels like it it's supposed to happen. And the right things are showing up at the right time and the right people are showing up and the funding is showing up.

17:45 And so it's I do feel like it's going to happen. I do feel like it's destined to happen. Yeah, like an inevitability. It's just a matter of how you get there is a little uncertain. How many years of my life are taken off from the stress? Yeah, it all culminate to a particular point where hopefully you'll feel a little bit more like at ease with those things. I'm sure there'll be new stressors and things that will come in exactly.

18:11 So let's just kind of transform or should I say transport ourselves a little bit ahead of time in the and the perspective that everything is kind of come together. You know, a lot of these, let's say, stressors or decisions have now been made or put aside or have at least balanced out.

18:29 And now there's an operations happening. And now there's people who are actually coming to the studio, you know, participating in whatever event, whether it be classes or things that are going on there. What do you hope someone actually feels after kind of being within this community, within this world of the in movement? Yeah, I think for me it would be a beautiful sense of community, a bunch of people that help me or the the the student feel supported and held to a high

19:04 standard as they decide how they want to use their time and energy to impact the world positively. So for me, it's about like figuring out, all right, I, I want to spend my time and energy doing something that I care about, something that's going to help people.

19:21 And I want to do it at a high level. And I want to be surrounded by other people who want that for me and will help me even when sometimes helping me means not cutting me any slack. It means holding me to a high standard. It means forcing me to be disciplined, calling me out of my bullshit, all that.

19:41 So like that type of a community where it's like we are all here to to elevate, to elevate ourselves and then but not just for ourselves, for something bigger than ourselves. So what is this space asking of you now as it comes into the world? I think it's asking me to grow into a leader in a role model that is slightly intimidating for sure. Like to, to really be, to set an example for what the potential is for yoga and meditation and conscious living to, to transform a person's life, to be

20:30 a leader, to be a leader in that area. And, and not to not to be the only leader, but to empower other people to find their own leadership and to help other yoga teachers find their own power. And for all of us to grow together because we're going to have such a great crew, teachers joining, being movement, not just the three of us, obviously. And to support all of them in becoming the the best they can be.

20:58 And and for people all over the world to see our studio as a place where a lost person can come and find themselves. Use the word empowered a couple times, which makes me just think of how we actually got to this point. Yeah. Which is, I mean, if you don't know a little bit, which is that there was a studio that was called. Empowered.

21:19 Yeah. Shangu. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was meant to be a little bit of a kind of stepping stone into where we are now. But, you know, things have evolved and changed. But I think the essence of the end movement is about empowering the individual. Absolutely.

21:31 In multiple ways, whether through the men of feminine, masculine, but ultimately creating that space for people to find more of that authentic truth. Within themselves, yeah, yeah. Amazing. Cool. Well, I feel that's pretty good.

21:44 Me too. Yeah. Is there anything else that you'd like to add, anything else that feels just kind of coming through to you that you want to share to anyone that's listening before we close off? Now just come visit us. Come visit us as soon as you can. It's going to be beautiful.

21:57 We open in April and be running classes and trainings. First training will be May 15th with with Leia actually. And then 200 hour training. July, July 6th. Awesome. Well, thank you, Paul. Thank you. For coming in, I appreciate you.

22:12 And yeah, well, I'm sure we'll have you back on again at some point, whenever the time makes sense. Perfect. Otherwise, thank you everyone for tuning in and listening this week and have yourself a beautiful day. Big love.

22:24 Take care.