Leadership and Yoga

Hey fellow underdog. Did you know that the world loves an underdog? Let’s talk about why, and what that means for you. If you feel stuck, behind, or like an underdog in your life, business, or creative path, this episode will show you how to turn that struggle into your greatest advantage. We break down the underdog mindset, the biggest mistakes keeping you stuck (like comparison, shiny object syndrome, and self-doubt), and practical steps to build momentum, confidence, and long-term success as a creator, yoga teacher, or entrepreneur. Whether you're growing a podcast, building a brand, or chasing a dream, this episode is your roadmap to stop feeling behind and start winning.
It’s a 3-part episode: 
1. Reasons being an underdog is a blessing. 2. Major underdog mistakes that will keep you flailing, stuck and hopeless. 
3. Instructions for living as an underdog. (For now. Because this is just an era.) 

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠
⁠Shawna’s website⁠
Try OfferingTree for free⁠ ⁠with my link here⁠⁠ (My sponsor) 
Join YogaTrade Council & take workshops with me (Try it free) And check out jobs on https://yogatrade.com/ 
⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠

Time stamps: 
00:00 intro
04:28 3 part episode
08:30 Yoga Trade
10:00 OfferingTree 
12:00 join the podcast! 
13:55 PART 1: underdog blessings
17:50 nothing to lose
22:18 days of “trying” train you
26:00 you don’t want a one hit wonder
30:50 the danger of starting when things are easy
33:55 PART 2: underdog mistakes
36:20 envy 
38:20 blindly leaping on a shiny object
41:00 not looking at what you create critically
45:40 “this is my only chance” 
47:50 judging yourself too soon
49:20 expert positioning when you’re not
51:15 PART 3: underdog instructions

In this yoga teacher roundtable, yoga teachers from around the world share stories from teaching and practicing yoga: their "goosebump moments," unexpected lessons, synchronicities, and their very own billboard messages. See the link below if you're a yoga teacher and would like to participate in the next roundtable!

⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠

Thank you so much to the participating yoga teachers! Links to connect with them:

Chelsea Forte: @fortechelsea, https://www.embodiedsoul.art/
David Marquez Hincapie: @Davidinbalance
Aakash Shah: @djkash_official
David William Pearce: @davidwilliampearce, https://sexprayers.online/davidwilliampearce
Izzy Martens: @yoga.humans, yogahumans.substack.com
Rachel Larsen: @racheology, rachellarsenyoga.com

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠

⁠Shawna’s website⁠

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

30-day trial: Join Yoga Trade Council & take workshops with me (my sponsor)
Get a job teaching yoga abroad? https://yogatrade.com/ 

⁠Ayurvedic consultation with Art, TEND ⁠(My sponsor) 

Time Stamps: 
00:00 intro
01:46 yoga trade 
02:57 mini-lesson from art (TEND)
05:04 cueing 108 sun salutations (rachel)
7:48 you never know what someone’s going through (david marquez hincapie)
10:02 full circle: from the first class to teaching (izzy)
13:28 learning to slow down & find stillness (aakash)
16:57 synchronicities (chelsea)
21:03 finding yoga community & a magical savasana (david william pearce)
26:48 izzy marten’s billboard message
29:39 rachel larsen’s billboard message
31:16 chelsea forte’s billboard message
33:26 aakash shah’s billboard message
34:27 david marquez hincapie’s billboard message
36:45 david william pearce’s billboard message
39:32 closing

So much of the wellness world has become busy work to keep up from focusing on the bigger problems in the world. But our own selfish pursuits don’t bring happiness anyways. So can we take more accountability for what’s happening around us? 
In a season of world politics and wars that feels like spiritual wintertime, let’s talk about ignorance and neutrality vs standing up, jumping to conclusions vs thinking for yourself, and how we can stay informed while not losing our power and sanity. 
Who is the bad leader? Is it them, “up there?” Is it you? Is it me? Let’s find out. Today’s episode is a combination of poetic interpretations of the current state of events and its effect on our state of being. 

My substack piece mentioned “What’s going on up there”
Piece by Jeff Foster “Behind the Curtain”
Video about meditation mentioned
Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠
⁠Shawna’s website⁠
Try OfferingTree for free⁠ ⁠with my link here⁠⁠ (My sponsor) 
⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠

Time stamps: 
00:00 intro
03:30 the mental whirlwind of being in a season of winter
06:00 who this episode is for
07:30 my turn to answer: can yoga change the world?
9:30 OfferingTree
11:00 my story: burnt out on news
15:58 we create what we consume, but that doesn’t mean..
17:23 what does this have to do with yoga?
22:00 2 steps for better democracy 
25:20 beliefs are tea steeping in your water
26:30 desire to “belong” to a group
28:00 being a real activist means
31:30 the 3rd option
36:00 when is it enough?
40:00 survival mode does not gift the privilege of contemplating 
43:50 news 
48:50 bad leaders characteristics 
50:00 just trying to get through the week
51:20 Jeff Foster “I saw behind the curtain”
56:00 spiritual bypassing
59:30 “it’s all divine plan” 
1:00:00 take accountability, you are not a hamster
1:05:00 how to make real change

DJ Taz Rashid is a DJ and music producer creating music with a deeper mission to awaken, uplift, and empower humanity with music. His work lives in yoga, breathwork, dance and wellness spaces around the world, and you’ve likely already heard some of his tracks in a yoga class or added them to a playlist of your own. In this episode, we explore the power of music, how a carefully curated playlist can completely shift the energy of a yoga class, the practice of creating with intention, and more.

DJ Taz on Spotify

DJ Taz’s Website

Find DJ Taz on instagram @djtazrashid 

⁠⁠Shawna’s website⁠⁠

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠

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

30-day trial: Join Yoga Trade Council & take workshops with me
(my sponsor) Get a job teaching yoga abroad? https://yogatrade.com/ 

⁠Ayurvedic consultation with Art, TEND ⁠(My sponsor) 

⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠

Time Stamps: 
00:00 intro
1:31 yoga trade
2:43 offering tree
4:00 TEND & mini-lesson from Art
08:20 starting to create music with intention
14:38 expectations in the creative process
16:43 music is energy and emotion
19:55 music is a powerful portal
24:17 the mission to awaken & empower humanity with music
26:49 study your own story
30:15 did you ever doubt your music path?
37:54 creating with intention
41:17 consistency & finding a focus
45:50 understanding music as a yoga teacher
48:21 tips for yoga teachers on making an intentional playlist
50:12 yoga classes without music
52:30 festivals
57:20 collaborating in art
01:01:17 current inspirations?
01:06:01 getting aligned then taking action
01:09:31 rapid fire questions
01:10:44 billboard question

Here’s me telling the truth about how stuck I’ve felt over the last 4 months and what finally set me free. Feeling stuck, living at home, my parents are selling the house that raised me, and all our excuses. We paint reasons in our minds about “why we are stuck” or “why now isn’t a time that I am capable of breaking a cycle.” Which is NOT TRUE. Today is the day you get UNSTUCK: motivation with a side of humor and funny stories. What’s the point if literally everything we do makes us stressed and negative? Let’s talk about how to experience true JOY. Being stuck is the grey area in which you are holding some part of yourself back, not fully allowing yourself to feel or see what is right in front of you. 

Find Shawna on instagram: ⁠@shawnakru ⁠
⁠Shawna’s website⁠
30-day trial: Join YogaTrade Council & take workshops with me
(March 13th - “Find Your Voice part 1” w/Shawna live, my sponsor) 
⁠Yoga Teacher Roundtable free community events & mailing list⁠
Substack I mention on feeling stuck by scarcity and lack

time stamps:
00:00 intro 
03:00 you cannot wait on anything external
05:50 indecisiveness 
07:00 revealing my earnings on substack
09:30 i woke up “paralyzed” physically 
12:20 slipping back into my old self
16:50 yoga trade!! find your voice workshop with
19:00 number 1: how much room for the unknown do you have?
21:00 toxic algae 
23:30 how i unstuck myself
25:30 joy, actual JOY. experience it. 
26:35 number 2: what are you not seeing?
28:30 a total fail
33:00 hoping and wishing implies that you DON’T have it
34:20 gratitude, what it means really
38:00 musical send off :)