I've spent a lot of years building businesses, teaching yoga, and helping women turn their ideas into something real.

And lately, I've been questioning something about the way we teach women to become successful.

Because the more women I coach, the more convinced I become that one of the biggest mistakes we make in the yoga industry is teaching everyone the same definition of success.

Build your audience. Grow your following. Create an online course. Launch a membership. Scale to six figures.

And somewhere in the middle of all that advice, a woman who simply wanted to share the practice that changed her life starts believing she needs to become an entirely different person to make a living doing it.

I know how easy it is to get caught up in that.

I've built things because I thought they were what a successful business owner was supposed to build. I've spent time figuring out strategies and systems only to realize I was creating something that didn't necessarily support the life I wanted to live.

And I've had to ask myself some uncomfortable questions along the way.

Do I actually want this?

Or have I just gotten really good at chasing what success is supposed to look like?

And I don't want you to build my dream.

I want you to have the courage to build yours.

Somewhere Along the Way, We Started Confusing Success With Sameness

I see it happen all the time.

A woman finishes her yoga teacher training feeling inspired. She's experienced something meaningful in her own life, and she wants to share it.

Maybe yoga helped her find her way through a difficult season. Maybe it taught her to listen to her body for the first time. Maybe she discovered a kind of peace she didn't know was possible.

She knows what the practice has given her.

And she wants to give some of that back.

But then she starts looking around.

Other teachers have beautiful websites, full classes, retreats, podcasts, courses, and thousands of followers.

Suddenly, what began as a desire to help people becomes an exhausting comparison of everything she hasn't accomplished.

She starts collecting more certifications, researching platforms, changing her Instagram bio, and wondering whether she needs a signature method before she can even begin.

And the part that breaks my heart?

She starts questioning whether what she already knows is enough.

Not because she's incapable of helping someone.

But because she's measuring herself against a business she never actually decided she wanted.

Three Women. Three Different Dreams. None of Them Wrong.

One of my favorite things about coaching is getting to sit across from a woman and discover what she really wants.

Not what Instagram tells her she should want.

Not what her certification program suggested she do next.

What she wants.

Recently, I've been working with three women whose businesses couldn't look more different.

One wants to create meaningful experiences for women who have spent so much of their lives caring for everyone else that they've forgotten how to care for themselves.

Another wants to build something that works alongside motherhood and a busy life. Something that creates income, connection, and room to breathe without requiring her to become a full-time content creator.

And another is taking her own experiences and the work she's done to heal and turning them into a way to help other women feel less alone.

Different women. Different experiences. Different definitions of freedom.

And not one of them needs the exact same business model.

That's where our work gets interesting.

Because when we stop trying to fit someone's gifts into a predetermined business formula, we can start creating something that actually makes sense for her.

Her life. Her energy. Her experience. Her people.

And yes, her financial goals too.

I want the women I coach to make money. I want them to be paid well for meaningful work.

But I also want them to enjoy the lives they're working so hard to create.

What good is building a successful yoga business if you have to abandon everything you love to maintain it?

Here's Where My Opinion Gets a Little Unpopular

I don't believe every yoga teacher needs to become an entrepreneur in the way the online business world defines entrepreneurship.

Some women are going to build thriving local communities.

Some will teach a few classes each week and create beautiful supplemental income.

Some will build retreats, private practices, memberships, or digital experiences that reach women around the world.

And some will discover that what they really want is a small, deeply connected business where they know every single person they serve.

I love that.

I don't think one is more evolved, more spiritual, or more successful than another.

And I certainly don't believe a woman needs to turn every gift she has into another revenue stream.

But I do believe that if you're going to build a business, you need to be willing to make decisions about what you're building.

Because freedom doesn't come from having endless possibilities.

At some point, freedom requires choosing.

And that can feel uncomfortable when you've spent years believing there's a perfect path you're supposed to discover before taking your first step.

There isn't.

You get to create your path by walking it.

What Yoga Has Been Teaching Us All Along

This is where I think our yoga practice has something important to say about business.

In the Yoga Sutras, svādhyāya invites us into self-study.

Not self-criticism.

Not another opportunity to analyze everything we haven't figured out, Self-study.

The willingness to look honestly at ourselves, our patterns, our desires, and the beliefs influencing our choices.

And I think we need more of that in entrepreneurship.

Because it's easy to say you want freedom while building a schedule that leaves you exhausted.

It's easy to say you value connection while spending every waking hour trying to satisfy an algorithm.

It's easy to say you want to serve others while convincing yourself that you need another certification before you're qualified to help anyone.

I know. I've had to examine my own versions of those contradictions.

And I still do.

That's the thing about practice.

It doesn't end when you become the teacher.

It becomes even more important.

Every time you choose alignment over comparison.

Every time you tell the truth about what you want.

Every time you create something meaningful without knowing exactly how it will turn out.

That's practice too.

But Please Don't Confuse Alignment With Avoidance

Now, there's something else I want you to consider.

Because I've watched women use the idea of being aligned as another reason to keep waiting.

Waiting for the perfect idea.

Waiting for a clearer vision.

Waiting until their schedule opens up, their children get older, or they feel more confident.

And I understand the desire to make the right choice.

But here's what I've learned.

You have to participate in it.

You have to share your ideas with real people.

You have to create something, invite someone to experience it, listen to what they need, and allow yourself to learn.

Sometimes the thing you create won't work the way you imagined.

That doesn't mean you chose the wrong path.

It means you have information you didn't have before.

And now you get to make another choice.

This is why I talk so much about creating a rhythm of action.

Not because I believe we should always be doing more.

Quite the opposite.

Because a few meaningful actions, practiced consistently, can teach you more about your business than months of researching what everyone else is doing.

Confidence doesn't need to be your starting point.

It can become something you build along the way.

So What Does Your Dream Actually Look Like?

I want you to forget about what a successful yoga teacher is supposed to look like for a moment.

Forget the follower count.

Forget the fancy funnel.

Forget what everyone else is launching.

And imagine a perfectly ordinary Tuesday in the life you've been dreaming about.

Where are you?

Who are you helping?

How many hours are you working?

What kind of conversations are you having?

What does your business make possible for you and the people you love?

Maybe you're teaching in a small studio where everyone knows your name.

Maybe you're leading women through meaningful transformations from your home office.

Maybe you're hosting retreats, creating a community, or finally earning enough from your teaching to leave a job that no longer fits.

Or maybe your dream is simpler than you've been allowing it to be.

A few clients you adore.

Work that feels meaningful.

Enough money to support your life.

And time to actually live it.

Whatever your answer is, I want you to pay attention to it.

Because that vision deserves more of your attention than someone else's highlight reel.

And then I want you to ask yourself one more question.

What is one thing I could create this week that would bring me closer to that life?

Not the entire business.

Not the five-year plan.

One thing.

A class. A conversation. A simple experience that helps someone. An invitation to work with you.

Something real.

Something you can share.

Something that allows your dream to begin existing outside your imagination.

Here's the Best News, You simply Need to Believe You Can Build Yours

I've spent more than two decades helping people learn, grow, and recognize what they're capable of.

And one of the things I love most about the work I do today is watching a woman begin to see herself differently.

Not because I've handed her the perfect formula.

But because she's starting to recognize that she already has experiences, wisdom, and gifts worth sharing.

She doesn't need to become me.

She doesn't need to become the yoga teacher with 100,000 followers.

She needs to become willing to use what she already knows to help someone who needs it.

And then keep learning. Keep creating. Keep practicing.

I still have dreams I'm growing into. I still change my mind. I still find myself questioning whether something I'm creating is the right direction.

But I've learned that I don't need to have my entire future figured out to take the next meaningful step.

And neither do you.

I want you to build something that makes you proud.

Something that serves people well, supports you financially, and leaves room for the things that make your life beautiful.

Not because it looks impressive from the outside.

But because it feels like yours.