Shannon Crow started her podcast, The Connected Yoga Teacher, in 2017. She did so after taking multiple teacher trainings and finding herself disconnected from her fellow trainees right after the training ended. This disconnection was something she also found as she started getting to know yoga teachers out in the world: From competition to cults, she found that teachers were not able to discover their true selves in teaching. So, she decided to help teachers feel more connected and to define their niche which, she says, gets rid of the competition because a) niching helps you do what you are most interested in and passionate about, and b) it enables you to be more collegial with other teachers as you refer students to the teacher you know works best for them. Shannon is also now deeply engrossed in pelvic health, which is why she has started the organization Pelvic Health Professionals. In this inspiring conversation, Shannon and I explore how yoga teachers can teach to their passion, and she encourages listeners not to give up.
____
Terms:
Bhakti yoga: yoga of devotion; a path containing practices to unite the practitioner with the divine
Mantra: a sound formula for meditation
Sadhana: spiritual practice
Mula bandha: the root lock located at the base of the torso
Endometriosis: a condition in which endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus
The eight limbs of yoga: the eightfold path described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, including yamas (abstinence), niyamas (observance), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing practices), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (mediation), and samadhi (contemplation)
Ahimsa: non-harming or non-violence
Koshas: the five layers (or sheaths) of the subtle body
BKS Iyengar: the founder of Iyengar Yoga
Guru: spiritual guide
Shishya: succession from guru to disciple
Baddha konasana: lying down bound angle pose
Savasana: corpse pose
____
References:
Shannon Crow Yoga and Consulting
The Connected Yoga Teacher podcast
Pelvic Health Professionals
Anatomy of Hatha Yoga: A Manual for Students, Teachers, and Practitioners, by H David Coulter
Kathryn Bruni-Young's Mindful Strength
Abhijata Iyengar
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, by Swami Muktibodhananda
Amanda Kingsmith on the Weeks Well podcast
Shelly Prosko of Physio Yoga
____
Episode credits:
Original music by Kim's band Governess.
Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.
____
Subscribe to the Weeks Well newsletter and to our latest regular content community, Substack. For more info on Kim Weeks, visit www.weekswell.com.
Follow Kim on Instagram (@weeks.well), Facebook (@weeks.well), Twitter (@weeks_well), YouTube (@weekswell), Patreon (Weeks Well), and TikTok (@weekswell).
Copyright © 2023 Weeks Well®.
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-weeks-well/support