Amber Thielen From Juice Bar to Yoga Mat: the Yogalebrity Podcast

Welcome to the Yoga Lebri Podcast. Today my guest is Amber, and she is going to be telling us about how she became a yoga teacher. She'll tell us her origin story and the struggles that she went through to get where she is now. I'm super excited to have her on the podcast today because she has made some major changes in her life at not, not being 20 years old, but having a successful business and then making a massive change, not just changing her business, but changing where she lived and changing everything in life. And so I'm super excited because I think her story is going to be very inspirational for everyone. Let's get into it. Welcome, Amber, to the podcast. Hello.

I can't believe I'm actually here talking to you.

Well, what's weird is that you found me through my podcast and then took my teacher training, and now here you are, a guest on the podcast.

I know. And I— yeah, it's crazy, like, how life happens. I remember it was only 2 and a half months ago I came across your podcast, and I was like, I love this woman. Like, I want to be on her podcast. I want to be her friend. Like, The people you were interviewing, I just was, I was getting so much out of it and it's crazy. I never would have thought like I'd, I'd be here talking to you now. So it's like a, you know, dream come true in this virtual cafe.

If you're listening to the podcast, you can't see our virtual cafe, but if you check it out on YouTube, you can see us in the virtual cafe. Uh, which is very funny. Uh, so tell us about your, um, your old business that you sold. Um, before you moved away and before you decided to become a yoga teacher?

Yeah, so I was running an organic juice bar, and we, every morning, my husband and I, we ran, we ran the juice shop. We would get up and we would make fresh organic juice for the community. And in addition to juicing, we also were very popular and well known for our authentic handmade açaí bowls.

I love açaí bowls. I thought about opening an açaí bowl shop, but I couldn't find a good location.

Yeah, I mean, it's— they're one of my favorite foods.

Yeah, me too. I love them. I love them. Do you— what's your favorite? I mean, now that you don't own the juice bar, you can share. What's your favorite açaí bowl recipe?

So I like to make my açaí from frozen. Make sure you have a frozen açaí, a frozen banana, a scoop of peanut butter, some almond milk, blend it up, and put whatever toppings you want on it.

What are some good toppings?

So I love granola, just a little bit though, not too much. And, um, And bananas, I like to put honey and almond butter on the top.

Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm into that.

That sounds good.

Like a little drizzle. I'm coming to your house. I'm coming to your house and having some. So you were running the juice bar and did you like it right away? How long did you do that? Was there like a time where you were like, oh, I don't really like this anymore? And how did that happen?

Yeah, so I would, you know, we were into it 2 years and COVID happened. So literally our anniversary, our 2-year anniversary, COVID hit and they shut the restaurants down. So that was, you know, we were just starting to take a turn, you know, from, you know, year 1 and then going into year 2. COVID happened and that just totally set us back for about a year. And then we came off strong once everything opened back up the following year and things were going really, really well. But our lease was coming up. Up, I was also struggling to get out of the juice bar. I felt, you know, I was in it just so much, and so I didn't have like a lot of creativity. I felt like I was, you know, kind of chained to this, to this, you know, juice bar. And so started to think about, you know, what is it that I want to do next? And I'd always had like in the back of my mind, like, I loved yoga, and that voice like was getting louder and louder, like you need to teach yoga. You need to take yoga teacher training.

So you have this, like, successful business, right? And you were running it. Did you sell the business or did you just close the doors?

No, we ended up selling it. So our lease was coming up and it just made sense. You know, it was kind of a point in time in our lives where, you know, kids are out of the house and, you know, I was ready to make a big change. I love to make, like, big moves. Every 7 years or so. And so it just kind of was all coming to a head at once.

Okay, okay. What did you like most about running your own business at the juice bar, and what did you like least?

I loved the community and just seeing the same people coming in every day, healthy people. Um, and people just appreciated us because we were 100%, we were the only 100% organic juice bar in town. So, you know, we, our costs were really high, and so, um, You know, we were just so grateful that people would come and support us. So that, that was— and then also I love my team of employees. I had a really, really great group of girls that worked, that I worked with, and they were just awesome. I learned so much from them. That was fun. The least favorite, I think, was just being in— you know, I had gone from— I was working in corporate, and so I was used to having 5 weeks of vacation a year, having every weekend off, and I was just at the point where I couldn't get out of the juice bar to take to take a vacation or, you know, to just drop for the weekend and go somewhere. And so that was really where I was like, okay, something's not aligning here. And that's when I started to look into, you know, what are the next— what is the next phase in my life?

That's how I felt about owning the studio too, was that it was just like I was just owning this studio and I never could do anything. I could never go anywhere. And I always felt like punished. Like, I remember, like, I was like, I went to present in California or in Hawaii at Wanderlust Festival, and I landed in Hawaii and there was a phone call that somebody flushed a tampon down the toilet again and we needed to get the plumber. And I was like, I'm just trying to be in Hawaii. And my assistant's like, can I pay for this plumber? Yeah.

Ironically, that same thing happened to us. Like, we did try to take a trip once. Got a call. Oops, bathroom's backed up.

Yep, like another $200 literally down the toilet. Please don't flush your tampons in a business, or, you know, get a cup.

Maybe a cup.

Honestly, the Diva Cup changed my life. Like, same. Maybe not that brand. Like, I like the Flex brand better because it has a pull tab, and the Diva Cup you got to really get up there and get it out. But something I wish I knew when I was younger was that they had those, because first of all, tampons have all kinds of toxic stuff inside of them, even if they're organic, whatever. You're putting cotton inside of your body. So those filaments and those fibers are going to get in there. And of course it's causing cramps. It's causing you to feel painful and bloated. The cup doesn't do that. It just holds it in the cup. There's nothing offing into your body. And then the pads, I don't like those because then you're kind of just sitting around in it. Yeah, it's just so gross. But the cup, the cool thing about it is that you deal with it twice a day and that's it. That's it. You do it in the morning and you do it at night and you're done with that. It's almost like you're not even having a period, right?

And you save so much money. I mean, so much money.

It's $40 once, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

You just rinse it out in the sink and go for it again. Like, it's just like, oh my gosh. Well, I'm done with all that. I don't have that anymore. Thank God I'm through the menopause, which also wasn't difficult. Like, they told, they told us that that was going to be so hard and you'd have all these hot flashes and blah, blah, blah. And, um, I mean, I felt like there were times that I wasn't as sharp as what I was when I was younger, like might have a little bit of brain fog. Um, and I didn't have hot flashes, but the, my body temperature increased. So like like, not, not actually, but it felt like I ran a bit warmer than what I used to. So, like, I didn't have to have the heat on as high and stuff like that. But, um, but I didn't have, like, hot flashes. But I think that honestly is because I eat primarily vegan.

Definitely. I think it makes a difference for sure what you're eating as you're going through it. I've read that.

Yeah. And açaí bowls. And also I hiked every morning. Every morning I hiked 45 minutes. So. Okay.

How old were you when you went through it?

I am 48 now. And that was last year.

Okay.

Was it like a 1-year-long thing? It was about like a couple-year thing. Like a couple years. Yeah. It took me a couple years. Like it started with like spotty periods where I would like get my period and then I wouldn't for like 6 weeks. And then I would 2 weeks in after having one, you know.

Sure.

And it was really irregular, which I'd never been like that. So that was the one thing that was different. That's how I knew that something was happening. But it's really wonderful. I never wanted to have children, and I always was like, I don't understand why I'm having a period. I don't want to have one. So, yeah.

Is it nice then not having it?

Like, fabulous.

Feel different.

Wonderful. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Not constantly ruining underwear, which also with the cup, you don't— like, it doesn't leak. It never leaks unless you put it in wrong, which in the beginning there's a little bit of a learning curve, right? That's how it is with everything in life. There's always a little bit of a learning curve. When you figure out how to get that suction in there, it doesn't leak, right?

Exactly. I will say I did— I wanted to give up using it several times, but I, I stuck with it. And yeah, like with anything, eventually, finally it just clicks and you're like, oh, okay, just click.

So we went into that whole conversation, which has nothing to do with the juice bar. So you're like, but an important conversation nonetheless. Someone needed to hear that, I'm sure.

Exactly.

I feel so, you know, I think people really under, like, do not understand the impact of closing small businesses and how just like how tragic that was for so many people. And how, like, in a small business, you're really just, you're really just getting by a lot of the time. And, you know, I, I had sold the yoga studio just before all that happened. Thank God. And luckily the people who bought it were— they were able to get a lot of resources to keep it open. But I'm not— I don't know if I would have had the know-how that they have. You know, like, one of the people is an attorney, so she was, like, really well-versed in that kind of stuff. But I just think, you know, like, they— here in Nevada, they had these businesses closed for, like, 5 months. You know, that would have used all of my savings.

Yeah.

You know, and you, you're like, you build your whole life to create this business and then have it closed down. But, but Burger King can be open, you know, your açaí bowl place has to be closed, but they can go to Carl's Jr. You know, like, it doesn't make any sense to me at all. You know, that whole, none of it made sense, like where you could and couldn't go, you know, it's like being healthy is more important than You know, I'd rather have an açaí bowl than, you know, an Impossible Burger every, any day. Right.

It's real food. You know, it's real food. It's real food. It's micronutrients. It's plants.

Thank you. Um, so, uh, you, did you get certified to teach yoga while you still owned the juice bar or did you sell the Juice Bar and then do your yoga certification?

I had— it was kind of like right at the tail end. I actually started it probably about maybe 8 months before I sold it. And at that point when I had started it, I didn't know that I was going to be, you know, selling the business. I was just looking for something else. I'm the type of person, I love to keep learning and keep adding skills and knowledge to my tool belt. And so I just you know, I had some extra energy to, you know, go at it. And so I started, um, yeah, it would have been right at, you know, before I sold. But then when I was listening to your podcast, that is really what prompted me to, you know, finish my 200, and then I started working with you on my 300.

So yeah, so you took your 200 from somebody else. So tell us a little bit about your experience, because you did Yoga Renew which is a discount program, and they do, like, really inexpensive yoga teacher trainings. One of the things that I found about those types of trainings was that they were really, um, when I first started online yoga teacher training, I set it up kind of that way where it was like, go at your own pace and do, you know, do whatever, whenever. And I found that people really were not motivated to finish. And that they didn't have the support that they needed to actually get through the course. And so that's why I shifted to private one-on-one training. But share a little bit about your experience. Like, why did you choose them and what was it like in their training? And would you or would you not recommend that style of training?

Yeah, one of the things that You know, I— maybe it was like, maybe COVID is what prompted this, but I always thought you had to do yoga teacher training in person. So when I saw that you could actually do it online, I was like, wow, I can make this happen because my schedule is, you know, kind of erratic. And it was like a self-paced, so I could work, you know, on my own at it. Um, the one thing that, you know, I felt myself doing is just like memorizing everything and then going to take the test to move on to the next. Lesson so I could get on to the final test and just take that and pass it. Um, I struggled with— I would have questions and I didn't know who to ask. There weren't any resources, like, you know, someone that I, I could just like call and have a conversation or, you know, email. So that part of it. And so when I was done, I just, I felt like I, I felt like I didn't have enough that I needed to go start teaching yoga. So that's what prompted me to— I was going to hire you just as, like, a coach to help me get my business going. And then when I realized I could do the 300-hour with you and also get that coaching at the same time, I was like, wow, this is, like, amazing.

Right? And then we talk a lot. Actually, we were just messaging this morning about not using Wix. Yeah. When I saw that, I was like, don't use Wix, dear God, no.

That's why I asked you.

With— I'm like, self-hosted WordPress. We can talk about that, uh, the next time we meet. We can definitely talk about— get you on track with that because it's pretty easy to do. And blogging is a great way to make money. It— like everything else that, um, we have done, um, and I have done, it's work, right? Everything's work. You just decide like what is it that you want to work on and what I think, like, people look at online, like, working online and teaching online, and they think, like, that they have to do it all. And what I've realized is that you kind of have to choose, right? So, like, your primary— you're on Instagram. What's your Instagram handle?

Yeah, @therealambermarie, right?

So you, um, you've primarily been working on Instagram and honing in your skills on being Insta famous. And, and you're doing really well. You're having, like, a really great growth rate, success rate on Instagram, even though you didn't realize it. And that, I think that's the thing, too. Like, we, you know, like, Amber's growing at, like, 6% on Instagram, which is huge. But we look at the, the, the number and we're like, oh, I have, you know, 500 followers. I don't have thousands yet, you know? And But having, like, on Instagram, anything bigger than a 1% growth rate is astronomical. Like, it's so difficult to grow on Instagram now because it's such an established platform. So anytime somebody's growing more than 1%. So that's why when I told my friend Lisa, who truly is Instagram famous, she has like 135,000 followers, that you had a 6% growth rate, she was like, oh my God, that's just amazing. And when I saw that too, I was like, whoa, put my 4.4% You put me 100% to shame.

I wasn't trying to.

I love it though. I think it's great. I'm so like— it makes me so happy to see you really doing well on there. And even if you don't realize just quite yet how well you're doing, like, I can see like that you're really blowing up on there. And that makes me feel good because I'm like, oh, what I'm doing is actually working, you know. It's really helping somebody. And I think for me, like, I look back and for years— I started my online journey like 5 years ago, and I started with blogging because I was like, okay, people say they can make a lot of money on blogs, I'm gonna do a blog.

Mhm.

But I realized right away that it's a lot of work. And because I at that time felt really, uh, burned out from the yoga studio, I didn't really want to do work. And so I didn't. And so I have a couple of blog posts that rank on Google, and I think now, like, wow, if I would have just written one a month or one a week, like, imagine how much affiliate money I could be making now. But I didn't do that. I just wrote 5 blog posts, you know? So, like, everything just takes work. But now, like, my focus entirely is, like, TikTok is my first one. So I make, like, 90 TikTok videos a month. You know, you make, you like 90 Instagram Reels a month.

I mean, I'm, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's 3 times 30 is 90.

I never, I never did the calculations.

You're putting in the work. Yeah. It shows. So when you put in the work, it like shows. And I think that that's really the difference between taking these teacher trainings that are work at your own pace and you don't have anybody to touch base. And, you know, I've looked at their program. I purchased their program. I looked through it. It's not a bad program. Like, they give good information. There's a lot in there. But I just find that people need the personal touch. They need someone to say you're on the right track because you can't know, you know, like, if I didn't tell you how freaking amazing it was to have a 6% growth rate on Instagram, you would have still been like, well, I only have— I'm still under 500 followers, so it's— I'm not doing well. Mm-hmm. But it's like, it takes time to grow. And then the more you grow, the more you grow. So like, I grow anywhere in between 20 and 100 followers a day, right? But I'm at 10,000 followers on Instagram, right? And then when I get to 25,000, I'll grow at a different rate. But the other thing is that it ebbs and flows. So there's times when you're growing more and times when you're growing less. Like Lisa was telling me that oftentimes she has negative days where more people unfollow her than follow her. And that, you know, people don't follow you forever too. Like they'll unfollow and refollow and, you know, depending on what their goals are, their lives are, you know, like, and people aren't thinking about us. Like, I know you're thinking about us. I'm like, what can I— videos can I make today, you know? But nobody really cares what I'm doing, you know? Right.

Yeah.

So, um, I really care though.

Yeah. And also too, I think, you know, back to it, like some of those, like, you know, it's good maybe some of those like least lesser expensive programs if you're not like really super committed to it. But I feel like with anything you get what you pay for. And when you really invest like in yourself like, you're going to get that back tenfold.

Right. A little bit of coffee. I totally agree. We're at a coffee shop here. We're in the virtual coffee shop.

So I have lemon water and— or lemon juice and spring water.

Okay. I'm having coffee. It's organic.

Awesome. Well, it is still morning where you are.

It is. Yeah, it is. It's, well, it's 11:03, so it's not too morning-ish. Um, so if you could impart any like wisdom on people, what would be the things that you want people to really know about your journey from moving away from the juice bar and then moving into this whole new thing? Of teaching yoga full-time?

I would say that it's more about the journey than it is the end goal. And, you know, in life, like, nothing is ever gonna be, you know, always great. Like, we have to have the lows so that we appreciate the joys. And so I just feel like, um, you know, you really have to kind of like ride the wave.

Yeah, yeah. I think that's really, that's really helpful because I think we get so, we get so focused on how can I, like, it's not happening fast enough, I'm not making enough money, I'm, I don't have the results, right? And we forget that the whole journey part of it, the process of learning all the different things, is really the joyful part. The end part is actually death. Right. The end part is the end of our life. Why are we all just rushing to get there? Like, why not just enjoy everything along the way? The learning process of figuring out how to get to the next step. Yeah, I love that. That's really insightful.

Yeah.

So you got your 200-hour and then you signed up for my 300-hour. And how has your journey been? Um, through the 300-hour and how has your goals changed? Um, and what are you really trying to offer to the world?

Well, my experience so far has been awesome. I mean, I feel like, you know, I said I went through the 200 hours and I just didn't, I didn't feel prepared at all. And your program has really held me accountable. It's, you know, there's no excuses. It's like, get it done. Like you just gotta get it done cuz you, I know that, you know, You're gonna be there, you know, next week waiting for that video.

I know your videos are getting so good. Yeah, they're really great. They're really doing well.

Yeah. So, and that's what's, you know, I feel like I'm learning so much. I think since I've started doing the, like, the Instagram Reels, and when you're going through yoga teacher training and then you're reteaching it right there, you're also like learning it yourself, how to teach it, and it sticks with your muscle memory. So then when you go to do it next time, you're like, oh yeah, I remember when I demoed this pose for my Instagram Reel, you know, that muscle memory kicks in. And so that has been awesome. I'm, I'm so happy. As far as my goals, I'm, you know, I've been able to hone in and, you know, I know what my niche is. So, you know, I'm getting there.

Yeah. What is your niche? Who are you trying to help?

So I want to help women that are looking— that haven't ever done yoga in their life before, that are looking to get into yoga and, you know, experience all aspects of it, from the physical, uh, all the way to the spiritual.

And what are you currently offering now that people can get from you that, um, will— that those people who want to experience yoga for the first time, what can they— what can they grab from you?

You can download my free ebook. It's called Yoga for the Uninitiated: A Beginner's Guide to Discovering Your Inner Yogi.

And, uh, where can they find that?

And they can find that at my— on— if you follow me on Instagram, The Real Amber Marie, if you click on the link in my bio, it's there. It's also at sociotap.com. Forward slash Amber Thielen.

And, um, what about your YouTube?

My YouTube is Amber Thielen 7450 on YouTube.

And what, uh, what do you share on YouTube?

I am sharing my reels also, the beginner yoga. You know, if someone is looking to get into yoga, they can watch, look through the shorts where I'm demonstrating the postures and techniques. I I'm going through your training, so I'm putting out all of the education that I'm learning, making videos on that, and then I will continue to put out videos, um, as my journey continues to evolve.

Yeah, and Amber's long-form videos are really good. She has really good editing and her personality is really vibrant and they're really fun. I think that you really shine on your long-form videos, so definitely do check those out. Um, thank you. Is there any other words of wisdom that you would like to leave everyone with? Is there anything that you haven't shared that you'd really like the world to know?

That if you can think of something that you want to do or dream it, you actually can make it happen. Manifesting is real, and I just encourage you to chase your dreams.

You can dream it, you can do it. I love it. I love it. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Thank you for having me.

It's been awesome. Um, definitely check out Amber on Instagram or on YouTube. I'll put the links below to connect with her. And, um, I look forward to seeing you all in the next podcast. If you're watching this on YouTube, make sure to like, subscribe, and share. It helps the podcast to grow and reach more people. We do, um, people, uh, my theme this year is origin stories. So I'm going to be interviewing a lot of different yoga teachers about how they became yoga teachers, what it is that, um, drew them to becoming a yoga teacher, their struggles, their triumphs. And so you'll definitely want to subscribe to the podcast if you want to hear more about how other people did what you want to do or what you're doing. And reach out to me if you would like to join any of my yoga teacher trainings. I am hosting a yoga teacher training in Costa Rica, so I would love— I have some spots available that's still early bird tuition pricing. All you have to do to lock that price in is to put down your deposit. The link to that information will be below. So I would love to see you in Costa Rica or virtually. I do a 200-hour and a 300-hour online yoga teacher training as well as virtual coaching on Zoom. So you can join me here at this virtual cafe and, and do yoga teacher training. I would love that. Thank you so much for being a guest, Amber. I appreciate you. Namaste.

Namaste.

Okay, cool. We finished.