Three years ago I filmed my very first yoga DVD in the rainforest in Budderim on the Sunshine Coast. While I was filming the class I had this euphoric feeling come over me and I knew that this was what I wanted to be doing, that this was my mission- to share yoga with the world. The music that accompanied the yoga flow was a beautiful song by local musicians Sacred Earth called ‘Dancing Shiva.’ Not long after, I went along to a Sacred Earth concert where they shared the story behind this particular song. It was a song about them finding their purpose, discovering their true gift in life and sharing this gift with the world.
From this initial DVD, I started to do more filming, and there was a rising demand from my clients around the country for more classes that they could enjoy from home. The thought to offer live classes came to me, and basic technology allowed this in a limited form, yet I wasn’t quite sure how to tackle this new goal. It was on my birthday a couple of years ago now that I decided to film a morning yoga class at my Zenko Yoga studio in Buddina. The class agreed and while it was a lot of fun, it was the feedback that amazed me- people had tuned in from all over the country and were asking me when the next class would be! For weeks afterwards, I kept getting requests for more of these live classes.
The final push for me came one day in meditation and the strongest word just kept coming to me. I could see this word in my mind’s eye, in capital letters, and it was LIVE. It kept repeating itself to me, LIVE – LIVE – LIVE. I immediately knew that it was time to start taking live online yoga more seriously and I started a private Facebook group where I began to teach live classes every week. Not only was it a lot of fun for me, but the feedback was so encouraging. People loved the fact that it was raw, real, and alive. I simply worked with the energy of the day and it didn’t matter that no one was in the room with me- I knew that people were practicing with me and tuning in from all over the globe and we were connecting through the practice of yoga.
Through my meditations at this time I kept visualising pyramids. I wasn’t sure what these pyramid signs were alluding to, yet I kept being open to their message, waiting for it to unfold as it always does. A retreat I was facilitating took me to the magical land of Ubud in Bali, and it was there that I heard that some very special pyramids had just opened right by where my retreat was being held. Intrigued, I visited the pyramids and met the lovely Australian couple who owned these magnificent structures. Like my own story, the dream for these pyramids had been a great calling to the couple, and they manifested the investors, followed their path, and opened up the very same time I happened to be in the country. Before entering a sound healing in the pyramids, the owner pulled me aside and said to me- ‘Lauren, be careful of what you ask for, as most likely, it will come true.’
I wrote down on a scrap of notepaper, ‘to create Australasia’s largest online yoga studio’
In the sound healing, I had a meditation about death and birth. And later I knew it was a very clear message about endings and new beginnings.
I came home from Bali more determined than ever before to make this vision a reality. I knew I needed an investor and I knew that I wanted to keep this investor in-house, someone who was already part of my inner circle and yoga tribe. Almost right away, I was fortunate enough to join forces with my accountant and one of my senior teachers, and within 24 hours of our first meeting, the vision was a done deal.
We have created A Live Yogi from what my clients have asked for for years. Many people are seeking short flows that they can fit into their busy day, so there are 5 and 10 minute flows, and then there are some longer 60 and 90 minute flows that allow people to enjoy a longer practice when time allows. The idea is to offer something for everyone. With stress, anxiety and mental illness on the rise, A Live Yogi helps people to tune in, become present, and let go of that which doesn’t serve them. Through yoga, we become better people, we learn how to manage the things that create anxiety in our lives, and we establish a deeper connection to ourselves, and those around us. Yoga is for every body, and A Live Yogi offers people the ability to tune in and practice from anywhere in the world, to find that deep stillness and presence at any moment of the day.
While there are plenty of yoga classes already online, it is the live element that really sets A Live Yogi apart. As Australia’s first online yoga studio, this is a brand new arena for everyone, and I still get nervous when I am about to teach! Teaching live online takes real courageous and the jitters are part of what creates the dynamic energy and keeps it exciting and captivating.
The journey to this point hasn’t been an easy one. For many years, so many barriers presented themselves to me; equipment would play up, cameras would break, staff would come and go, and technology would fail. I discovered what was challenging was doing it alone. As soon as my business partners joined me, the process began to flow with joy and ease. I discovered that I had to let go of my strict time frames and my desire to have everything happen immediately! The universe had its own plan. And when we launched on a super blue full moon eclipse, it was all in divine timing.
So, what’s next?
Now my goal with A Live Yogi is to reach our first 10,000 subscribers, which I know will happen. From here, we will start to expand, to invite guest teachers to join us from around the world, to offer workshops and to unleash new ways to connect through the digital realm. Yoga means union, and whatever way we look at that, uniting the ancient practice of yoga with the capabilities of modern technology, allows yoga to take on a whole new dimension and to reach even more people. I often say that for me, yoga saved my life. I hope that A Live Yogi can do the same for many more people out there.
So join me, let’s flow. Become part of my online yoga community.
