Liz Owen, E-RYT 500 Wins FREE Flight to #YogaBiz!
May 9, 2014
We are excited to announce the winner of our first Business of Yoga Conference giveaway. Liz Owen was randomly selected to win free round-trip airfare to The Business of Conference because she was among the first to register by January 31, 2014.
A past conference attendee, Liz confessed that after hearing she won she was so excited that she almost fell out of her chair. We followed up with her to learn what she’s looking forward to most at this year’s conference:
YA: Tell us about your yoga business.
LO: I've been teaching in the Boston area since 1990. I started with one class each week at night because at the time I was working full-time as an architect. As our center grew I picked up more teaching slots, and in 1994 I gave up the architectural profession and made the leap to be a full-time yoga teacher. I learned some of the ins and outs of the business of yoga as the administrative director of our center for the next four years. I now teach classes, workshops and teacher trainings at a number of different venues in the Boston area and beyond, and I enjoy the strong community of yogis that 20+ years of teaching has created. My passions are yoga for lower back health and for mental and emotional well-being. I am co-author of Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back, Shambhala 2013 and the lead yoga instructor on two NIH-funded studies on yoga and depression.
YA: What is the biggest challenge that faces your yoga business?
LO: Marketing my business brand in the most time- and cost-efficient ways possible! It's a joyful task, yet a constant one that can easily take over the free time I enjoy, and as a "non-business" person, marketing decisions can present a challenge. I'm always on the lookout for ways to expand— what are the new yoga markets that I can tap into with my skills and where can I learn new skills to broaden my reach?
YA: Why did you register for the Business of Yoga Conference?
LO: I attended and presented workshops at the 2011 and 2012 Yoga Alliance® conferences in Indian Wells. After foregoing last year's conference in Washington DC, I realized how much I missed it! Besides the new skills I learned, I loved building a new community, making new friends and networking (especially in the heavenly outdoor pool with crystalline blue sky above and lavender mountains beyond!) YA chooses excellent venues for its conferences, and I know this next experience in LA won't be an exception— I'm excited about meeting even more colleagues and opportunities for the future that it creates, and I love California!
YA: What are you hoping to learn at The Business of Yoga Conference?
LO: To keep current on the yoga market. Specifically, what the up-and-coming opportunities are for yoga teachers and what skills are needed to maintain a sustainable business in today's fast-evolving yoga industry. Oh...and the yoga market is such a fun and inspiring place to hang!
YA: From your experience at past Yoga Alliance® conferences, what differentiates them from other conferences and events?
LO: It's all about community. The YA conferences celebrate the diversity, strengths and talents of its members. YA reaches inward and draws from within its membership to provide a well-rounded offering of workshops— this recognizes and honors its membership. And its business vision reaches outward to bring new talents and skills to the community, expanding our knowledge. Over the past two years, I believe that YA has transformed itself into a very dynamic organization, becoming so responsive and responsible to the needs of its members. These are the actions that build, strengthen and sustain community.