Have you ever felt like self-care wasn’t for you, or at least the way it’s sold by the beauty industry? If you’re looking for a way to take care of yourself so you can be more present in your life, thrive, and be able to give and be of service, this episode is for you.

For today’s episode, I sat down with Mado Hesselink. Mado helps yoga teachers integrate their heart-centered mission with practical business & teaching strategies so that they can make both a living AND an impact.  As a business owner and parent, Mado has learned that self-care is an essential skill for staying sane in this crazy world. Putting self-care into action through a personal practice is one of the core themes of Mado’s podcast, the Yoga Teacher Resource. Through the podcast, online courses, and her membership The Impact Club, Mado supports yoga teachers to find their voice, live their values, and build a sustainable business.

Listen to the full episode here

SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW! BECOME A PREMIUM MEMBER TODAY

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe, rate and review this podcast anywhere you listen. Find out how here.

We recently transitioned our Premium Membership to this new platform: www.withribbon.com/u/erikabelanger. As a member, you can get a ton of exclusive audio and video content. We added a new library of almost 200 recorded full-length yoga classes in a Netflix-Style Membership. Finally, you can sign up for any live-stream class I offer! Everything yoga-class-related is now in the same place! If you’re new to With Ribbon, here’s a walkthrough video I recorded to help you find your way around.

Know that as you become a Premium Member, your contribution ripples to thousands of people every week, allowing me to offer accessible quality free content to a wide community of yogis. This podcast is one of the away I contribute to the community, and this membership is a way you can too. It allows you to share everything yoga offers with the world by supporting me in the creation and production of this podcast while I choose to keep it ad-free. 

RETREAT / GO FUND ME

I’ll be leading an Eco-Luxury Yoga Retreat in Mexico, in November 2021. I heard you, you’ve been craving to immerse yourself in yoga, nature, and community again so you can feel renewed and re-enliven. Many of us are suffering from zoom fatigue. So I’m offering you to hit the beach and the reset button so you can let go of this last year. You’ll find all the info for that retreat at erikabelanger.com/yoga-retreat-mexico.

In parallel, I have launched a Go-Fund-Me campaign. I know yoga retreats are an investment and I know how hard the last year has been. Yoga retreats were in my personal growth, so I wanted to give back. I’m raising money while investing alongside the community to make the experience of a yoga retreat available to students who wouldn’t be able to participate otherwise. If you’re able to donate anything you could transform someone’s life. And if you’re in need you can apply for the scholarship. And either way, I’d love for you to share it with the people you love and on social media. That’s a simple way you can directly impact others’ lives in a positive way. Find the Go-Fund-Me Campaign here.

100TH EPISODE GIVEAWAY

We are at episode 99, so getting close to our 100th episode. For the occasion, we have an incredible bundle of gifts for you! From yoga props to clothes, to classes, and so much more. We have joined forces with brands we love to celebrate the occasion: Athleta, Liforme, Ajna WellBeing, Yoga Tune Up, Spritz’s Wellness London, and some guests from older episodes for some books, including Jason Nemer from our episode on Acro-Yoga. To participate in our giveaway you have to vote for your favorite episode and you can do so here.

About our sponsors:

1. Athleta. They make yoga and fitness clothes, athleisure and so much more. Their mission is to ignite a community of active, healthy, confident women and girls who empower each other to reach their limitless potential. Instead of using fitness models, they have diverse women athletes of all ages, sizes, and backgrounds in their ad campaigns. They are a B Corp focused on fair trade practices, sustainable materials, and production. So Athleta has generously offered to give a $100 gift card for our giveaway.
2. Ajna Wellbeing is a sister-run company committed to creating holistic lifestyle and wellness products that are eco-friendly, sustainable, and beautifully designed. Their mission is to create a holistic health movement based on a mindful and intuitive way of being, healing, and thriving. Which is where the name stands for. They are gifting you an Ajna Wellbeing’s Eco Yoga Bolster which is handstitched from recycled materials into this eco-suede-luxurious bolster. But that’s not all. They are also adding an Eco-Lite Acupressure Mat & Pillow Set. This therapeutic acupressure kit harnesses your body’s natural healing powers. It’s also made from eco-friendly, non-toxic, plant-based materials, making it just as good for the Earth as it is for you so you can create a simple and effective way to find a moment of calm in your hectic day.
3. I personally am giving a free membership to my live online yoga classes and class library for 1 month (worth $100)
4. Our guest Jason Nemer from Episode 22 – Acro Yoga is giving a copy of its new book Move, Connect, Play.
5. Spritz Wellness London is giving you a beautiful eye pillow! Spritz Wellness embodies a balanced lifestyle of wellness, yoga, exercise and living with purpose. All eye pillows, eye masks, atmosphere mists and yoga mat sprays are lovingly crafted in the UK with all natural ingredients. All products are made of glass with very minimal packaging can be reused or recycled. They are committed to keep the oceans clean and a portion of proceeds from products sold are donated to Surfers Against Sewage. They also regularly partake in beach cleans to keep the coastlines of Britain clean and safe.
6. Liforme‘s mission is to support and encourage the practice of Yoga while bringing the values of Yoga to the business and beyond; and to unite a global community of people around their common goal to ‘Live For More’. They believe in giving back to their community and the planet as much as possible by being eco-friendly, ethical, and socially-just is in everything they do. And that includes supporting many charitable causes. They have recently surpassed $500 000 in donations. Today, they are giving you one of their Truly Revolutionary Liforme Yoga Mats. The ultimate grip for your practice, featuring their unique and original alignment system. Truly Planet Friendly – biodegradable, non-toxic and PVC-free. Good for you, good for the planet.
7. Tune Up Fitness is a health and wellness company that offers products and embodied education focused on helping people alleviate physical pain and stress, improve athletic performance and move better in their body.They are a leader in Self-Care Fitness, sometimes “Regenerative Fitness”, “Conscious Fitness” or “Prehab & Recovery.” They have 2 fitness formats, Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model® Method. And have more than 500 certified teachers around the globe including me. They are giving you a Roll Model Starter Kit and a class pass for one of Jill Miller’s classes on union.fit. This starter kit includes 1 pair of Roll Model® Therapy Balls in Tote (, 1 pair of Therapy Ball PLUS in Tote, 1 ALPHA Ball and air-filled Coregeous® Ball, all packed in a mesh shoulder carry tote.

MY 5 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

1- Self-care is beyond self-preservation, it’s what allows you the space to move from surviving to thriving. Self-Care does not equal beauty practices and services. It’s available to all. Its goal is to give you the tools and resources you need to have the impact you feel inspired to make.

2- The most important way to practice self-care is to be in a deeper relationship with your nervous system to recognize when you are edging towards depletion, so you can put extra strategies in place before you are burned out. These strategies can include yoga, physical activities, breath, meditation, diet, sleep, and more.

3- Boundaries are another way to practice self-care: recognizing what you can say yes to, sustainably, and learning to offer an honest no when it’s not sustainable for you. Get in the habit of saying I’ll get back to you, so you can truly feel into it.

4- Organization is another tool that will help you manage your life, schedule, and energy input and output. It will show you a clear picture of where and how you need to create spaciousness in your life.

5- Find the choices you have available to you within your current circumstances and make the choice that supports you to show up the best way you can.

QUESTIONS SHE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE:

• Self-Care is a buzzword. Why do you think we still need to have this conversation… to continue to talk about it?
• What is self-care for you?
• In contrast what is promoted as self-care, that might not really be it?
• What are some examples of self-care practices that would be availible to all?

About Our Guest

After teaching yoga for ten years, Mado met her fairy godmother business coach. She appeared in her life just long enough to plant the seeds that good business and good yoga can co-exist. Now, Mado helps yoga teachers integrate their heart-centered mission with practical business & teaching strategies so that they can make both a living AND an impact.

As a business owner and parent, Mado has learned that self-care is an essential skill for staying sane in this crazy world. Putting self-care into action through a personal practice is one of the core themes of Mado’s podcast, the Yoga Teacher Resource. Through the podcast, online courses, and her membership The Impact Club, Mado supports yoga teachers to find their voice, live their values, and build a sustainable business.

If you want to find out more about her approach, the best place to start is the podcast. 

Mado on IG – @yoga.teacher.resource 

Website – https://teachingyoga.net/