Compassionate Leadership: Resources for Yoga Teachers (revised & updated)
'Business' and 'service' are not opposites.
As a yoga teacher, perhaps you’ve encountered the idea of seva, selfless service, in your studies and practice. While it’s common to hear these words in relation to volunteerism, an expanded understanding might make living a life of service more accessible. It is possible be of service while earning an income and even becoming a leader within your community.
Below, yoga teacher mentors Pamela Stokes Eggleston and Amina Naru share some of their favorite resources to help you lead with compassion and center service in your work.
Top 5 Books
- Ritual: Power, Healing, and Community (Malidoma Patrice Somé)
- Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage and Compassion (Jivana Heyman)
- Transforming Ethnic and Race-based Traumatic Stress with Yoga (Dr. Gail Parker)
- Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World, 2nd Edition (Michelle Cassandra Johnson)
- Black Women’s Yoga History: Memoirs of Inner Peace (Stephanie Y. Evans)
Top 5 Videos
- bell hooks & john a. powell: Belonging Through Connection (Othering & Belonging Conference 2015)
- Cultivating Compassionate Leadership
- How to Stay Calm When You Know You’ll Be Stressed (David Levitin)
- How to make stress your friend (Kelly McGonigal)
- The Privilege of Well-Being (Kerri Kelly)
Top 5 Articles
- Reclaim the Art of Deep Listening (Naz Beheshti, Forbes, January 2020)
- Compassionate Leadership in Yoga: The Skills We All Need Now (Pamela Stokes Eggleston, Yoga Therapy Today, Summer 2019)
- Stronger Together: When Self-Care Becomes Community Care
- Social Distancing Doesn’t Have to Disrupt Mentorship (David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson, Harvard Business Review, April 2020)
- Mentorship, equity, and research productivity: lessons from a pandemic (Mallika A. Nocco, et. al)
Top 5 Teachers
As African American women in the field of yoga, which is predominantly skinny and white, we have often felt a lack of authentic teachers of quality and integrity. Through our studies and travels, we have had the pleasure knowing some dynamic teachers along the way. We would like to share with you a list of our top 5 teachers who have impacted us as yoga teachers and informed our leadership style and practices.
Amina Naru and Pamela Stokes Eggleston are the co-founders of Retreat to Spirit, and deeply passionate about their work in assisting the paradigm shift that is taking place on our beloved mother earth. As internationally recognized leaders in the field of service and yoga with over 30 years of combined experience, their unique leadership style provides people who are seeking more joy, peace, and happiness with tools, mentorship, education and compassionate spaces for growth. Their collaborative work with Retreat to Spirit is based in yoga teachings, social justice and helping others find the right balance of self-care, business strategy, and service in these spaces.
Interested in learning more?
Join Pam and Amina for their upcoming Retreat to Spirit Mentorship: Connect your yoga business to heart-centered service. This three-month online offering will support you in jumpstarting and refreshing your yoga business, offering, or training.
March 3 - May 24, 2022
Live, online
Monthly 3-hour intensives
3pm-6pm PDT // 6pm-9pm EDT
Weekly 90-minute mentor circles
Tuesdays 3pm-4:30pm PDT // 6pm-7:30 EDT
(Australian-friendly live session times)
Recordings of every session will be available for those who register!
