Leadership and Yoga

This is how yoga healed my relationship with God, what spirituality is without religion, and overcoming religious trauma. I used to have a huge aversion to the word "God." Growing up with a religious background left me carrying so much guilt and fear that when I stepped away from church in college, I unintentionally shut down my spirituality and creative spark altogether. It took over a decade of yoga, deep philosophical study, and unexpected everyday encounters to reclaim what that connection actually means to me.
How yoga healed my relationship with God and helped me move past religious trauma

Why so many of us feel triggered by the word God or resistant to traditional religion or spirituality without religion

What texts like the Bhagavad Gita actually teach about divine energy

How to find sacred meaning in everyday moments, soil, and simple presence

Whether you consider yourself agnostic, deeply spiritual, religious, or completely unlabelled, this episode is an invitation to think for yourself, drop the rigid rules, and step into the sweetest feeling of all: knowing the divine within you.

Social media workshop on Patreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, join monthly workshops, meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. 
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Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠

⁠Shawna’s website⁠

OfferingTree is an all-in-one business platform for yoga teachers and studios. It handles your website, scheduling, payments, and marketing in one place. Try it free and get a discount with my link here⁠⁠! (My sponsor) 

Sign up for Yoga Trade’s passport: https://join.yogatrade.com/membership
(My sponsor)

Here is the complete, consolidated set of timestamps for Part 1 and Part 2, filtered so that every section is spaced at least 3 to 5 minutes apart for optimal YouTube video chaptering:

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Praying to the Sun with a Stranger (Yoga Poetry)
03:59 - Who Today’s Episode Is For
06:03 - The Search for the Divine Within (Swami Vivekananda Quote)
08:29 - What Does God Really Mean? (Episode Agenda)
10:52 - Sacar Las Piedritas: Sponsor Announcements (OfferingTree & Yoga Trade)
13:13 - Is Yoga a Religion? Breaking Down the Definition
18:09 - Rethinking Worship, Devotion, and Power
22:50 - What the Bhagavad Gita Teaches About God
27:21 - Experiencing Nature as the Divine
32:01 - Returning to Presence & Unpacking Religious Guilt
36:49 - The Osho / Young Life Land Connection & Dogma
39:07 - The 6 Systems of Indian Philosophy (Shad Darshana)
41:33 - Social Media for Creators & Patreon Workshop
44:27 - Reclaiming Your Inner Power: Talking to My Uber Driver
47:12 - "Take the Word Back" (Guest Insight from Ben Kalra)

This interview with Deepika Mehta, one of India's most prominent yoga teachers, is all about creativity and devotion within the practice of yoga. Deepika is a Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga teacher, trained directly under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, is a global speaker, and has also worked in television and media. We talk about her creative process, spiritual practice, movement as expression, embodiment, and about the essence of yoga, which she describes as "arriving at stillness through movement." She also shares about a serious rock climbing accident that changed the course of her life, and how she found her way back to movement and yoga after being told she may never walk again.

Deepika’s Instagram @deepikamehtayoga

Practice with Deepika (Retreats and Offerings)

Patreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, to meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. 
https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru 

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠

⁠Shawna’s website⁠

⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠

Try OfferingTree for free⁠ ⁠with my link here⁠⁠ (My sponsor) 

Sign up for Yoga Trade’s passport: https://join.yogatrade.com/membership

(My sponsor)
Time Stamps:
00:00 intro
03:01 Yoga Trade & Offering Tree
08:52 childhood memories 
11:50 spirituality growing up
13:18 spirituality now
16:59 archetypes
19:16 early impressions of yoga 
20:55 rock climbing accident
26:01 creative expression 
29:45 what is your creative process?
32:55 first ashtanga practice
42:04 qualities of a yogi?
46:11 working in media and television
55:44 how do you prepare to teach or lead?
01:00:36 rapid fire questions
01:02:01 billboard question

Today’s episode is a lifeline and wake up call to stop fighting change (or wishing for it but procrastinating it) and a reminder that often the miracle is already in motion. 
Change isn't a sign that you failed or that life is falling apart; it’s proof that life is making room. Before any miraculous manifestation or quantum leap occurs, the universe clears out what can no longer fit in your next season. The right help, the right people, and the exact resources you need are already on their way to meet you halfway.

My guided journal: 
https://www.ritualofwritingjournal.com/ 

Original writing by Victoria Hutchins I mentioned: “For the ones who left” from MAKE BELIEVE. 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBwWfhQv4kU/?igsi=MTY2ZmIxNzZmYXhlZA== 

People I’m enthusiastic about writing of mine: 
https://www.instagram.com/p/Db_JM3Dm9M4/?img_index=7&igsi=YTV5ZWs3Z242c29m 

Yoga Teacher Roundtable application:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OLW6ewNcsIy8OX7rjlWOTvCNavZ3U9uHgYgcyj1RfGI/edit  

Patreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, join monthly workshops, meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. 
https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru 

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠
⁠Shawna’s website⁠

OfferingTree is an all-in-one business platform for yoga teachers and studios. It handles your website, scheduling, payments, and marketing in one place. Try it free and get a discount with my link here⁠⁠! (My sponsor) 

Sign up for Yoga Trade’s passport: https://join.yogatrade.com/membership
(My sponsor)

This roundtable episode brings together three yoga teachers from around the world to share stories of their most memorable yoga teachers. Those who have, in some way, made a real impact on their practice and their lives. These anecdotes offer valuable insights into meaningful leadership, along with a peek into some moments that have shaped their yoga journeys.

Šárka Bobotová’s Instagram @sarka.bobotova and podcast

Elle Minty’s Instagram: @iamelleminty and Elle’s Teacher @annekluit.respace

Samantha Mora’s Instagram @samanthacmora and Substack

Patreon: Leadership and Yoga CLUB. To support my work on this podcast, join monthly workshops, meet fellow listeners, and more… Join below. 
https://www.patreon.com/cw/shawnakru 

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠

⁠Shawna’s website⁠

OfferingTree is an all-in-one business platform for yoga teachers and studios. It handles your website, scheduling, payments, and marketing in one place. Try it free and get a discount with my link here⁠⁠! (My sponsor) 

Sign up for Yoga Trade’s passport: https://join.yogatrade.com/membership

(My sponsor)
Time Stamps:
00:00 intro
08:55 making mistakes while teaching (Elle Minty)
14:45 music & the yoga of service (Sam Mora)
23:20 teaching from presence & devotion (Šárka Bobotová)
32:10 Sam Mora: message & offerings
34:52 Elle Minty: billboard message & offerings
37:32 Šárka Bobotová: billboard message & offerings
44:34 closing thoughts

“Releasing the need to look like you "made it" unlocks your deepest creative freedom.” 
“Sometimes the most impressive thing you can do is to not be impressive at all.” 
Today we talk about the difference between the yoga "celebrity" mindset (focused on status, polish, and external validation) versus the "artist" mindset (focused on process, raw expression, and internal truth). This episode explores why the era of the polished, untouchable "yoga celebrity" is coming to an end, and why the world is starving for authentic artists instead. From overcoming social media comparison traps, to understanding Rick Rubin’s philosophy of decoupling self-worth from output, to true style is actually a quality of your consciousness (inspired by The Gene Keys), and details on the upcoming live Social Media Workshop inside the Patreon community.
Join my social media workshop on Patreon
Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠
⁠Shawna’s website⁠ - mailing list
OfferingTree is an all-in-one business platform for yoga teachers and studios. It handles your website, scheduling, payments, and marketing in one place. Try it free and get a discount with my link here⁠⁠! (My sponsor) 
Sign up for Yoga Trade’s passport: https://join.yogatrade.com/membership
(My sponsor)
Time stamps:
00:00 intro
06:54 animation 
09:25 yoga celebrities inspired me 
10:20 confidence is not a “look”
14:00 Jeff Foster - Spiritual Zombie
23:50 art helps us feel emotions 
26:30 step 1: light
28:25 step 2: nothing to hide, nothing to prove
29:30 behind the curtain
37:00 step 3: subtle feeling body
41:00 step 4: be okay refining
44:00 step 5: style is quality of consciousness 
51:00 step 6: numbers 
53:30 social media workshop
56:52 the creative revival