156: Social Media and Vulnerability with Yoga Girl Rachel Brathen

Namaste. It's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest development. This episode is brought to you by Uveda Uva is a modernized ayurvedic supplement company that takes certain issues that we have, such as mood, joints, immunity, digestion, and creates these custom little packets exactly for us, infusing ancient Ayurvedic herbs with modern vitamins and minerals. I take the mood formula daily. It is great if you work a stressful job, had adrenal fatigue, ever suffer from anxiety or even depression, and it really heals you from a fundamental and holistic level. So if you want to try it out, head over to uveda y-o u v e d a.com use the code Sahara and you'll receive 35% off your first order. And they now ship to almost every country globally. So check it out. If you live internationally, they may be shipping to your country too. And they just added India. Guys, are you interested in having a career focused on health and wellness? Well, if so, then the universe is calling you to become a holistic health coach. I am offering this incredible deal, a discount of $1,500 off my Alma mater, Institute Integrative Nutrition, which is the world's largest nutrition school with guest teachers such as Deepak Chopra, Chris Carr, Dr. Hyman, Dr. Andrew Whale and so many others. It is split between six months of health coaching programs teaching you hundreds of nutritional theories, including Ayurveda, as well as six months of business coaching. And as an additional bonus, I am offering a webinar where I will teach you how to use social media to create a thriving career as a health coach. On top of that, I have created a private Facebook community just for the Highest Self podcast listeners who are becoming health coaches to connect with each other, meet up with each other and support one another on this journey. So if you're interested, send an email over to Sahara S A h a r aatfeelfresh.com with subject iin again, saharaetfeelfresh.com with subject Iin and I will personally send you back the email that will allow you to get a $1,500 off discount as well as my business coaching webinar and the private group. I'm so excited for you to begin your journey as a health coach. I am so excited to have Rachel Brathen, AKA Yoga Girl here on the Highest Self podcast. So Yoga Girl is someone that I think most people who practice yoga and are into social media have Heard of. She was essentially one of the first people doing yoga poses on Instagram. And now it's shifted into so much more than just that. In fact, you'll rarely ever find her taking a picture of a yoga pose and posting on her Instagram. And her. Her journey is really, really unique because she's someone that began really in that culture of, you know, you take a picture of yourself and you edit it and you put it up and. And she realized that she was left feeling really depleted like that she wanted to talk about real life. She wanted to talk about sadness and pain and joy and business and all of these other aspects of herself that she felt like these perfectly staged yoga pictures was not totally encompassing. So yoga Girl left just taking yoga pictures of herself, and now she shares all about her daughter and her move to Aruba and her organization, all about ending child abuse, especially on the island of Aruba, where child abuse is actually very rampant. And in this episode, we talk all about social media and vulnerability and how can you be so real on social media without having that vulnerability hangover that so many of us have experienced? So if you're interested, social media authenticity, being true to yourself, you're going to love this episode. Without further ado, let's welcome Rachel Graffan to the Highest Self podcast. Welcome Rachel to the Highest Self podcast. It's so great to have you here.

I'm so excited to be here.

Oh, yay. So the first question that I would love to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

What makes me my highest self? Wow. I think I would answer that question differently depending on where. Where I am in life right now. It's definitely the balance between self care and motherhood. I have a one and a half year old, so I want to spend 24 hours a day with her. But if I balance that out with work and with taking care of myself, I get to live my highest self. Yes.

Beautiful. So a lot of listeners know you and a lot don't. So I'd love for you to talk about your journey and how you became yoga girl and how that's not even focused on the physical practice, but really more teaching love. So can you share with us sort of the transition and your journey as the yoga girl?

Yeah, of course. For sure. Yeah. So I came from a kind of a traumatic upbringing and had a few really, really difficult childhood and then a few really dark years as a teenager that I was drinking a lot. I was super unhealthy. I was in really destructive relationships. Total party girl on a really not A great track and sort of hit a wall. And ended up going on a meditation retreat when I was 18, which completely blew my. Yeah, completely blew my mind, my heart, my whole life wide open. And from there I decided to leave Sweden, which is where I'm from, and my family and I moved to Costa Rica and completely did a 180degR. Just changed my entire life, became vegan, found yoga, meditated every day, and started healing the parts of my. Of my past that really needed healing. And then I'm giving you, like, the fast version of the story now, but a couple of years later, I started teaching yoga. I fell head over heels in love with the yoga practice. Merging that with my meditation practice, and meditation and asana for me is just such a good combination. And then I started teaching and I eventually moved to Aruba, which is where my husband is from, and somehow along the way, picked up social media sort of as a fluke, I think. I don't know. I chose the name Yoga Girl from my Instagram account because I'm a girl and I love yoga. I didn't have any plan with that at all. And things kind of sort of, yeah, blew up from there.

Beautiful. And you did a TED Talk. And in the TED Talk, you speak about how a lot of your relationship with social media shifted when you started to be more vulnerable. And I know a lot of people are having the same issue. They feel like they're supposed to put up, like, beautiful curated content and make their lives look perfect, and they're having trouble, you know, even creating this content because it's not the truth. So can you share with us sort of your findings on social media and how authenticity has played a huge role?

Yeah, and I mean, I can really relate to that because it's so much of what we see in social media is that, you know, perfect life. It's how social media is used, I think, almost by everyone and far and wide. So, you know, I'm having a great day or look at my beautiful meal or my awesome vacation, and people tend to sort of, sort of share the highlight reel of life. You know, it's very rarely the look at me eating toast in my sweatpants watching Desperate Housewives. You know, it's always the highlight of the day that we share. And I was very much doing that in the beginning because I just, I didn't know any better then. And I just wanted to inspire through healthy living and yoga. So I would share yoga poses and I would combine it with, you know, the names of name of the pose and Sort of contradictions and benefits and, you know, how to enter and exit the pose. Like, I was very specific in wanting to share, you know, some, like, quality information about yoga to inspire people and a lot of, you know, green juices and sunshine and all of that. And then I remember I had a really specific experience where one morning I woke up and I had a huge fight with my boyfriend. And we were going through a really rough time at the time, and I hadn't shared anything for Instagram that day. And I remember feeling kind of pressured and a little stressed, like, oh, I have to find something, you know, inspirational to share. And I was just faking this caption on, like, I don't know, having a beautiful day or wishing people love and light or some bullshit, I don't know, and just decided, you know what? Like, this does not feel authentic. And I just scrapped it and I ended up sharing a piece of what I was going through instead. And, like, you know what? I wish I could share something inspiring with you, but truth of the matter is, I'm having a really shitty day and going through a really hard time in my relationship and feel completely alone in that. And immediately the response I got was just so different from anything I'd had before that. Not just in terms of more people responding and having, like, more, but more that the quality of the response I got was so much more heartfelt and interesting and genuine. So I started feeling like I'm having a. Like I had a connection with my community rather than I was just a person that they followed in social media. Which, yeah, for me, changed my. Yeah, it changed everything. So I just. I started. I started doing more and more of that, and then the more I find the more vulnerable you are, the harder it is to do anything else. And then at the end of the day, it's just becomes impossible to fake it.

So true. Yes. And I think that we. It's interesting because I feel like with social media, we're at this place that everything was very curated. The food, the brunch, and then we started to get more vulnerable. But now, and I'm sure you've seen this too, sometimes when hard emotions come up, the first thing we do is then now go on social media. And now it's almost like, where is the line of privacy? So have you experienced that as well?

No, because I. I try to never share the drama of whatever might be happening in the moment. So I'll share the vulnerability of something, but after it's clicked with me, so I'd be, you know, oh, in the middle of a huge fight with my husband, and I can't believe he said this and that, or screw that person or, you know, it's never that in the moment, sort of venting. But as soon as it's click, which I find the point of hardships and challenges and difficult days for something to land and for us to grow a little bit, and as soon as it clicks, then I'll share the story, because then I can usually share it without drama and also without. Without feeling like I'm sharing too much of my. Of my interpersonal life. So it's more of the. Yeah, I share the epiphany or the realization of what was hard.

Totally, yes. And I think it's good for us to take that sacred pause and that breath and let it sit. Learn the lesson and then teach the lesson instead of maybe the specifics on what was said.

Right, right, right. Yeah. And I mean, there's a balance of that too, you know, because it can't just be. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know where the line is. I think it's different for different people.

Totally. Yes. And I'd love to talk about sort of your transition. I remember I saw your post, maybe this was a few years ago, and you said that you wanted to focus on less on teaching physical practice of yoga, but teaching love and really seeing that as your calling. So a lot of people also feel transitions in their lives, but they're afraid to voc it because they're so known for something. So can you share with us any advice you have for people who are trying to transition into something?

Yeah, I think it's funny, I was doing. Just yesterday, I recorded a podcast with Snow Patrol with the band, and they played for 60,000 people in LA. And I had this massive question of, oh, my God, how do you do this without completely losing your nerve or feeling nervous? And he shared something so beautiful with me, which was, if you ever find yourself at a place in life where you lose the butterflies or where you lose that. Yeah, the butterflies. That little flutter in your stomach of excitement, of nerves, of maybe a little bit of fear, that that's a sign that it's time to move on. So. And I had that experience where I was teaching. I was teaching asana. I became sort of known through social media for inversions and handstands and all of this, but actually, at the depth of it all, I really wasn't resonating with it anymore because I had moved on. My personal practice didn't look like that. Anymore. And I was teaching these sort of handstand workshops and super phys practices that I wasn't even practicing anymore. And I lost that butterflies, you know, that. That excitement of stepping into a class and just knowing I was in the exact right place and the right time. And I took that as a nudge of, okay, I'm getting bored with what I'm doing. I need to transition. I need to focus on finding what's actually the depth of this teaching right now, because this is not it anymore. So, yeah, I think the first thing to do is just to recognize that. And then once you have, is to sit down and ask for help. So I'll do that in my meditation practice or at the end of a yoga practice, asking for divine help if it's through prayer or through writing out your wishes or like, I'll do ceremonies with the moon and go outside and sit in my garden just to feel a connection to something that's greater than just me and the thoughts that I have in my head, you know, because sometimes we need that sort of divine download to put us in the right place. And then, of course, you know, finding the courage to take the action of whatever transition it is we're moving toward, which for me was inviting totally different types of practices into my own teaching, which was really scary because I didn't know how people would resonate or. But it turned out to be the.

Best thing always, I think always when you take that shift towards what's authentic to you, even if it's not what you were known for before, it will always take you to a better place.

Right, Right.

And then you had another massive shift, which was motherhood. And now when you look at your Instagram feed, it's so much with your beautiful daughter. And, you know, family is so important to you. And I think a lot of people also fear that maybe people will unfollow them if they share other parts of their lives or they're, again, supposed to keep it really professional. So can you share advice for mothers or people who want to become mothers and interweaving that with your career?

Yeah, I mean, I think it's. Again, it's returning to that authenticity that's sharing what's real in the moment. And for me, I mean, since I had the baby, it's just she takes up so much bandwidth of my heart, my mind, my life, my time. So, you know, making it look differently in social media just wouldn't be real for me anymore. So, I mean, it is a tricky balance to nail, but I don't think about social media like that anymore. I just. If I, you know, have a beautiful photo of something or a beautiful moment that I want to share, I just. I don't think twice and I just share it. And usually it ends up being a lot of family stuff, which has been interesting because, I mean, I've been doing social media for six, five, six years, and a lot of my community have also, you know, had kids or found a serious relationship. And we're kind of on this path together. So there's definitely a lot of moms in my community now, which I love, because then I have people to ask advice and, you know, to make that connection with Switzerland both ways.

That's so beautiful. And a lot of people, they may feel like, well, if I just posted pictures of, like, my kids and my family and all these things, people don't care because they don't know me. So do you think that it's because you've built a relationship and you've been doing this for so long, or do you think that people who even just started off doing social media and stuff right now would kind of have the same, like, results?

I mean, of course, if you've had, like a, you know, a different type of social media presence where all you share is something totally different, then, yeah, I don't think people are gonna resonate really well with a sudden transition to, you know, only motherhood or a bunch of baby photos of a journey that maybe they didn't take part of, you know, before that. But so much of what I share is that personal. I mean, I shared my whole pregnancy, so it became sort of the opposite. Like, people were so excited to meet this baby. It's kind of absurd. If I don't do an Instagram story with her in like, a day, people will email me or DM me like, where's the baby? Where's the baby? Can you say, what's she doing right now? Oh, that's.

That's so, so sweet. And it's. And it's amazing because I've spoken to so many different mothers and how they approach social media and motherhood. And some mothers, they don't even share that they're pregnant. They don't want it on social media at all. They don't want to show the child's face. And then with other people, it's just, this is what I'm doing all the time, and this is what you're going to see. So it's amazing how. Yeah. How really individual the decision is.

Yeah. And I knew I Mean, I'm so public with everything. My whole family were, so we sort of put everything out there. So I didn't hesitate. But yeah, I have friends who never share a photo of their social media, of their kids in social media ever. So I think it's just a personal.

And do you ever get the vulnerability hangover when you're like, oh, I feel like I may have shared too much, or do you just kind of roll with it?

I've never felt that in my life.

Wow. Amazing.

Ever? Ever. No. Yeah. I feel so. Such little judgment in my community and sometimes I get that, like I'll. Oh, yeah, I did have one when I had the baby and I brought up the conversation of vaccinations, which for me was totally new. I mean, I hadn't like, totally new. And it was just like a rabbit hole of dark, dark, dark things that I wish, I wish I didn't open that. Yeah, I wish I didn't go down that path, I guess, because it just brought so many complicated and some sort of vicious comments and people up that actually weren't really part of my community in the first place. But when it's just me speaking to the people that follow me on social media, I never feel like there's such a thing as too much vulnerability.

Totally. Because it kind of weeds out the people who aren't really there for you and are just there for arguing. And I feel like these days everyone has an opinion, which is great, but sometimes people just kind of are using social media as a way to fight instead of a way to support. And if you don't agree with someone, just keep scrolling. There's no need to argue with them on their post.

Some people, I don't know, I think they use social media for that, you know, because they, they enjoy the drama and they want to discuss and yeah, it's. It's definitely a hard place to. To navigate.

For sure. Definitely. Well, that's amazing that, you know, you're able to just stand behind your posts no matter how vulnerable you share. I know that there have been times that I've shared things that are like, you know, you're not on your phone and you're like, oh my God, I wonder what people are commenting. I wonder where people are commenting. But it's always been when, when I've had major growth in myself and I've had to put something out there that maybe I would have shied away from because it doesn't look perfect. And then when you trust and surrender, that becomes easy and then something else becomes Hard, right?

I mean, yeah. And that's probably how it's always going to flow.

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I mean, it's very different these days. It's more. I realize now just what a luxurious life I lived before I had the baby in terms of my time management. I mean, I could do anything at any time, like, whatever I wanted to do. If I wanted to do three hours of yoga in the evening, like, I would make space and time for that. Whereas now it's just. It's just not possible to. To keep that freedom anymore. So I realized I have to get my practice in first thing in the morning when I wake up. Or usually it doesn't happen at all, totally intentionally. Like, I have good intentions, but it's just the time just flies away from me. And when the baby's awake, I want to be with her. I don't want to. Yeah, if I'm gonna leave, like, I'll leave for work and things like that. But no, like, I want to be with her almost all the time. So it's hard. But also it's. It's so even more important now than what it was before because it's. It's the one time I have that's just for me, where there's no one else and no work and no family and no one asking me for anything. And it's just the time when I. When I give back to myself. And if I don't get that, things kind of go. Yeah, off balance pretty, pretty quickly.

And do you incorporate? Do you do like yoga with your daughter or do you kind of need this as a solo like filling up your cup practice?

Both, Both. I mean I love doing it with her. I'll do every, I mean every morning no matter what, I'll roll my mat out in the kitchen or where we have breakfast and then she kind of floats in and out of my mat. She loves to be on my mat, but she doesn't like it when she can't see my face. So if I'm in a down dog or a child's pose, she starts shrieking and she' like pull my hair. It's not a very peaceful, you know, it's more like playtime merged with practice. So it's a different. I enjoy it so much, it brings me so much joy. But it's different from the time I have on the mat alone. Of course.

And I'd love to know more about what your self care practice is like.

I mean, yeah, now it's sort of become this religious thing. Right. I didn't do that before. For me it was, it would be like little things I sprinkle in through the day or getting on my mat or having a glass of wine at the end of the day or making sure I get a massage once a week. Like I didn't think about it that much. I would just sprinkle some things in to make sure that I took care of myself. But now it's become this urgent thing which is really strange I think because maybe I give so much of myself and motherhood is really demanding and it's all the time. I mean it's all the time. Like if I look away for four seconds, you know, she has her hand in the toilet bowl. Things get really crazy really fast. So just the level of presence and kind of high alertness you have to have with a toddler all the time can be really draining. So every morning I have to get up before sunrise. She wakes up at 7, 7:30. So I try to get up at 5 or 5:30 every day. And if I can have, you know, 30 minutes with a cup of tea alone to watch the sun rise like that for me is, yeah, it's become almost this religious thing. It fills me up for the whole day and then, you know, I'll get an hour at least of physical practice in and I meditate and I have a couple of almost like physical therapy things that I do for my Shoulders and upper back. Like I do my stuff and then I get to shower and get dressed and then when she wakes up, like, I am done with my part. So I can be really, you know, not stressed the mornings, not rushed, not feel like I have want to be somewhere else so that I can get to my practice. It's just, it's a great thing to do it first thing in the morning.

I totally agree. And even for people who don't have kids, life can just get in the way. And then it becomes this conscious thing. Like I realize if I don't do yoga or some sort of practice in the morning, the rest of the day I'm thinking, oh, I need to go to that Pilates class I need to go to. And that just mental stress of having something on your to do list is way harder than just getting up in the morning and getting it done.

Right. And then it's done. Yeah, yeah. Plus it just sets the tone in such a. For the day in such a great way.

And I'd love to know, as do my listeners, if you practice Ayurveda, any Ayurvedic rituals.

I used to more in the past. I mean, I do oil pulling. Still not every day. Like, I've had phases where I've done that every single day. Sort of not every day anymore. But if I, if I have a second before the baby wakes up, I'll do that. Hot water with lemon is sort of my travel. Go to like the breakfast place of whatever hotel I'm staying in. If I could just grab a lemon from the kitchen and then I have it set in the morning. But other than that, no, not so much.

Do you know what your dosha is?

I cannot remember. I think I'm vata.

Okay, yeah, that's the airy one like that.

But I've had, actually I've done two consultations. It was a really long time ago now, but I had different responses, so I'm a little unsure.

Well, your current dosha can change. Your vikruti changes with your diet, lifestyle, where you are in the world. So vata generally comes out of balance, like when you're traveling a lot, really on the go, which would totally make sense for you. But the dosha that you were born with may be something different. You may just have a vata imbalance going on.

Ah, okay, okay, interesting. Okay, so that could be why I had different responses.

Yeah, totally. Yeah. I'll send you my book. It will cover all of it. Yes. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, we're at this time where yoga is so much more than moving asana practice. And we're seeing it as, you know, bhakti yoga and the love and the devotion and the Ayurveda and the karma yoga. And we're seeing all facets of yoga and it's a beautiful. We all have different kind of entry points, but it's all leading us to the same place.

Absolutely, absolutely. And I mean, we have so much of this, you know, the dynamic doer in us. I think we have a lot of expression for that in our day to day life as it is. So I mean, it's important to get even. I mean, if you're already practicing yogi, but it's important to get another type of energy in on the mat as well. So that quiet, the slowing down, being of service, you know, there's more limbs of yoga than one.

Totally. And some listeners also had the question of what advice do you have for people who are just starting today? Maybe they are just starting their yoga teacher trainings or they completed it and they don't really know how to, you know, begin their whole yoga teacher practice.

Yeah, that's a great question. I talk about this in my teacher trainings a lot, of course, but my number one kind of most important piece of advice is to not imitate, which is a really hard thing to do as a new teacher because we tend to sort of imitate the teachers that we've had and the teachers that we love. But once we're able to really infuse our own unique personality and spunk and the excitement that makes me me, when I'm able to infuse that in my teaching, that's when classes will start to grow because we'll attract the right type of person. So being again, authentic and genuine with who you are and as a teacher is a really important thing, rather than trying to just teach exactly the way you were taught or the way someone else has taught you in the past.

Totally. And I think what happens is at the beginning we are kind of not sure because we haven't cultivated our own unique practice. So we don't really know like, like what makes me different from my yoga teacher or all the places that I've taken yoga before because these all become influences. But I think what's hard is to take those influences and then create something of your own with it.

Exactly. I mean, it takes practice. So once you're done with yoga teacher training, that doesn't mean that you're, you know, that's just literally the first step. And after that you have to practice teaching, and it takes time to really find your own voice and all of that. But it's important to. To try to focus on that early, especially in terms of aligning with the right places and studios and students and have classes grow.

So if you had just right now finished your yoga teacher training and you were starting from the beginning, what would you be doing now or maybe what would you have done differently?

I mean, I had an experience actually, and I share this in my trainings also, that the teachers that I had very early on were people that were very, very different from me. And sort of the type of classes where, you know, you walk in the room and there's total silence and kind of the teacher has this almost stoic kind of holy vibe. You know, there's no laughter, no talking before class, just this kind of very, very serious setting. So when I first started teaching, I thought that that's what I had to be, that that's what a yoga teacher had to be, this very serious kind of holy type person. So I spent, I mean, some time in the very beginning kind of faking it, putting a little my personality and trying not to be so bubbly, trying to not, you know, bring too much of my own personality in because I thought I had to be this special, specific person to teach yoga. And I had a really hard time filling classes, of course, because it wasn't, you know, that type of teaching just wasn't authentic to who I am. And then as soon as I started relaxing and I started inviting music into my classes and, you know, like, it's okay to fall over and fart and sometimes I curse and laugh and, you know, it's just we should be the same person. We already are when we step into the role of the teacher, of course. And I mean, that's how people know what to look for in a teacher as well. I like to think of a really good teacher for me is always going to be a person that I could envision having a cup of tea with, having a great conversation with, not someone that I'm a little scared of or someone that we vibe with on that personal level.

So true. Because, yeah, the yoga classes that I also love the most are the ones that they allow for that freedom. Like, maybe I want to stay in this pose longer or do this. And I've definitely been in those classes where it's very much you're doing what the teacher says or they're going to come up to you and call you out in the middle of class. And some people love it, because I think it makes you feel like you are being trained harder or you're being trained in a more traditional way. And for some reason that could be better. But I think yoga's changing and our lives are changing and our lives are so disciplined already that maybe inviting that playfulness in your yoga practice because most of us don't have it anywhere else.

Exactly, exactly. No, yeah, so true. And I mean there's so many different types of teachers, so there is a way to just, you know, align with the person that's the right fit for you.

Yes, for sure. And what do you think? Because I know there's a lot of controversy around can we call these more fitness focused yoga classes with like loud hip hop music playing, can we still call that yoga or should we just call that a fitness class? So I'd love to know your take on that.

I mean, again, I think there is that balance. Definitely. And I always say, you know, you know, for me it doesn't matter what brings you to the practice as long as you find it. And I think that even the people that, you know, maybe they are attracted by, by yoga because they want to learn how to handstand or they want to get fitter or more flexible and maybe they have that more sort of physical starting point which is totally okay. You know, go to that crazy hip hop yoga class. Like if that's how you begin, if you continue practicing, inevitably you are going to make your way to a place of depth. I mean that's just, at least in my experience, that's what I've seen. So I think most yoga is good if it's taught with intention and with respect for history and for its origin. And you know, there is a way to really balance that personality of who you are and what you want to bring forth with the history of the practice. Definitely. And if it's taught with love, with intention, with respect, it's going to be a good class.

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I am actually not a huge fan of yoga and social media. I mean, yeah, strangely, strangely enough, I would question, you know, what is the, what is the reason for having that longing in the first place? Because there's always something that sits behind it. Do I want commercial success, material success, or I'm looking for my classes to grow? Is that why I want to use social media? Or am I looking for fame or for money? There's something behind that. So figuring out what that is, if it's just, oh, I have an amazing message to share and I want to spread that far and wide, then I think that would be a good idea. Or I want to change the world with something and I need a bigger tool to do that. If you have something that's really genuine that you want to share with the world and it feels easy and organic and natural, then yeah, knock yourself out. But I don't think necessarily that merging yoga and social media just for the sake of it or because everyone is doing it is a good idea. I think there's a lot of really, really bad stuff out there right now.

Yeah. And I see also a lot of times we think maybe the best yoga teachers are the ones who have the yoga photos. But oftentimes these people, I see them more as yoga models. Like they travel around the world and they Take beautiful yoga poses. But a lot of them are actually not yoga teachers. Like, they aren't certified or they've never taught a class. And it's not that that's a bad thing. It's just a different career.

I think it is a bad thing, actually. I definitely do. I mean, I've heard these stories of these sort of semi, you know, yoga influencers, celebrities that had an Instagram account that grew and then they went and took a teacher training and now they're doing like, ebooks and selling this stuff, but they've never taught in their lives, which is just downright dangerous. I mean, really, really dangerous. I don't think social media is a place to teach yoga at all. It's a great place for inspiration. It's a great place to source motivation, to practice, to get your ass to class, where you have an experienced teacher with years of practice teaching. Not just a personal practice at home alone or doing yoga on YouTube or in front of a camera or whatever, but practice of teaching so that you can learn how to do these things the right way. Because, yeah, you can injure yourself. Absolutely. And also it just holds a completely different energy. So I, and I've been pretty vocal about, you know, I'm not a big fan of these sort of yoga liberty movements. And I think it's, you know, if you want to take photos of yourself and poses and do that and travel the world, like, knock yourself up, but just don't teach them. You know, it is more of a yoga model, if there is such a thing. Not a yoga teacher for sure.

Yeah. And I think that. I think how you use it and how a lot of people are using it is you're using social media as a way to get people to come to your yoga class or yoga retreat or yoga festival. It's to use it to see them in person. That's the goal. Whereas for a lot of people, that's not a goal at all. It's just for it to kind of end on the social media.

Exactly, exactly. So what's the point of it? And this for me was. I mean, it was a struggle in the beginning, and I had at least like a year or two where I just. I didn't know what the point of everything was. I knew. I just. I just wanted to continue teaching. I'd already been teaching for a long time, but if I could travel and teach, that was amazing. But it still wasn't the point of it all. And it wasn't until I started anchoring my business in service that I Started feeling really purposeful and then all of a sudden all the social media just made total sense.

Totally. Yes. And yeah. And I think that a lot of times we see someone who is really flexible and we assume like, oh, if I just like try to throw myself into that pose, I'll eventually get it too. But maybe, you know, I see some people are just naturally like double jointed and some are more stiff and we all have different levels of natural flexibility though. You can work on it, but not, I don't know, do you think everyone can get to that point where they're like Cirque du Soleil flexible?

What's the point of that?

Right?

Yeah, be the purpose, right? Is it so that I can, you know, post fancy advanced looking photos of myself and get more likes and comments like, what is the purpose of that? There's no physiological purpose or reasoning behind being that flexible and that bendy at all. You know, you need that balance between Sthira and Sukha and the solidity and the rigidity of strength, consolidating the body with the space of flexibility. But you can't just go one way. And yeah, it looks fancier for photos and all that stuff. But that's also why I'm just not a huge fan of that type of sharing in social media because it gives people this totally skewed view of what yoga should be. First of all, it's this thin, young, white, flexible woman. I mean, yeah, 99 times out of 100, that's what we see. Also it kind of gives people this idea of, oh, if I practice enough, I should be able to do that. So that's what I'm going to go for. And I'm gonna push myself a little harder or maybe not feel adequate in my practice because I've been practicing for 20 years and I still can't do that. And it's just not what the practice is about.

So true. I remember a few years ago I was really trying to work on getting the scorpion pose, which for people don't know, it's this kind of like back bendy thing on your forearms. And I was trying and trying and falling and I was actually really hurting my back because I was really arching my back to get that pose. And then eventually it hit me, I was like, wait, why am I doing this? It's like all my efforts and thoughts are like, to get the scorpion pose, I'm like breaking my back over it, like, for what? And when I really sink into it so I could get a picture and show people that I Can do a scorpion pose. And then I just gave up after that. And I still have never done one.

See? No. So, I mean, so every has a purpose, but that's why. So social media can become a really dangerous thing. And people tend to do things different. Like my practice, I sometimes share, like, little snippets of a practice. If I'm consciously putting a phone up so that I know, hey, I'm going to film something now, that's not what my practice looks like. I mean, it might be the same. It might be the same poses, but I am going to be very aware that there's this outside thing happening now. I'm not going to maybe relax all the way into my breath the way I do when it's a practice. Because in my real practice, I can't have a phone present. I can't have. One exception to that is, like, if I'm with the baby and I'll put the phone down and she's climbing on me and all that stuff. But if it's me really flowing through poses, it's never going to be the same if there's a camera there.

Totally. Yes. And I think that sometimes when we're doing our own kind of yoga practice at home, it's like weird moves. At least for me, I'm doing weird neck cracks and stuff. Whereas if I was to film a yoga sequence, I would totally not do that. But maybe it would have been some really juicy inspiration for someone. Like, oh, that weird shoulder thing you're doing. Feels like it might actually feel good on my body too. Yeah.

And I think that's a good thing. Like, if you can just be weird and be normal with it. And I feel like I'm able to do that when I'm with the baby, but not if I'm like, oh, what a beautiful sunset. I'm gonna put my phone down here and do a little flow. Like, that's different for me if I know it's. The purpose is social media. So I just very rarely do that.

So true. And I'd also love to talk about. You live in Aruba now and you have this children's initiative going on, and you really care about giving back. So can you share with more about the initiative that you're doing?

Yes. So this is actually a fairly new thing. We have three nonprofits or three nonprofit organizations, and the newest one, it's called Yoga Girl foundation, and we haven't had an official launch yet. I've spoken about this in social media a fair amount, and it actually was brought on by a really terrible situation that happened with child abuse here on the island. And it's just just very recently became public knowledge that it's a really big issue in Aruba. So through that, we decided to open an orphanage here, which is a huge endeavor, massive, massive thing to take on. And I decided to use social media a little bit for marketing and for ads for the first time in six years with a specific reason of raising funds for the orphanage that we want to build here. So I'm kind of involving the global community, but in a very local issue to where I live. And if we can help one child, I mean, I know it will have been worth it. So I'm really excited to do more good, which is, I think, the point of it all at the end of the day.

Totally. Yes, absolutely. And it is part of yoga, the karma yoga and giving back. And I think it's really the reason why we do all these poses and have lemon water and the ayurvedic practices. So we can be embodied beings that care about other embodied beings.

Exactly, exactly. And I mean, in those first steps have to be, you know, the self awareness and listening to the body and using all these tools that we have, like yoga and meditation and everything. And then once we've filled our cup, I think it will start to overflow and that giving back will become a really natural, organic thing.

Yes. And also I think what happens sometimes is we wait. We're like, oh, I still have more healing to do. Oh, I still have this. I have. And it's like, guys, you never get to a point that you have, like zero problems. And you're like, oh, now I can help other people. And I think Marianne Williamson, she's like, sometimes you have to put your tears on a shelf, go out there and save the world, come back home, cry some more, and do it again the next day. And I think we, like, wait for this moment to like, oh, I'm still healing. I'm still healing, so I can't help others. And there's so much healing in the helping.

Absolutely. Oh, wow. Yes. So much.

Yes. And sometimes in that process of when you're. I can only imagine starting an orphanage and dealing with child abuse. That happens. And a lot of that is really heavy stuff. And I'm sure sometimes you've maybe had the thought, I don't know if, oh, my God, why am I doing this? Why am I stressing myself out? Why am I putting all of this on my plate? But then you remember that, that this is really why you're Here on this planet.

Yeah. And I mean, and you have to kind of. Sometimes you have to seek out those reminders too, which has been another one of our foundations. We have an animal shelter here with the. We have, I think now 160 rescue dogs and cats in our care. And we do so much work in this field. And sometimes I have to just go to the shelter and lie on the floor and play with puppies. Like, what is the, you know, the reason behind all of this? Because it's easy also to sort of zoom away too far and lose sight of the day to day. And, you know, there's a beating heart here that I want to. That I want to support. And I know that just stepping into that space is gonna. It's gonna come back to me. There's nothing more fulfilling than being of service and sharing your heart with others. So, you know, it always goes back around.

Oh, my gosh. I really believe animals are the greatest teachers and dogs are gods. And every time I'm with my dog, it's just such a reminder to just, like, be happy with the things. And, you know, I, like, sometimes he just sits all day. He's not reading a book. He's not, like, working. He's just sitting and he's still happy. And I'm like, why am I. Why do I have all these lists of things that I feel like I need to do to be happy? And he's just happy.

He's just happy. Yeah. The challenge of being human.

Yes, totally. So I'd love to know what is next for you and for Yoga Girl and more about your retreat treats that you have coming up as well.

Yeah, so we have. Oh, God, we have so much going on. I have a book coming out next year, which I'm really excited about.

Congratulations.

Thank you. Yeah, it's been a long time coming. I'm in the midst of editing now, so it's a little crazy. But, yeah, next fall it will be out. So still some time away, but we actually have a secret little launch coming up fairly soon on yoga and diversity and being of service and also a mental health initiative that I. I'm really excited about. But yeah, I teach, you know, retreats every other month. I do two yoga teacher trainings a year. I have this yoga studio in Aruba, so anyone in Aruba should come visit us. Always. Always. I always love meeting people and getting new people to class.

That is so beautiful. And, you know, and also really inspirational. I feel like a lot of people. Because you're from Sweden, right?

Yeah.

And, yeah, And, I mean, you're from, like, a cold, northern European country, and a lot of people think, oh, I wish I could live on an island one day. I wish one day I could live on a beach. But you actually went and you did it, and it just shows that, why wait, you know? Make it happen. You can make anywhere your home.

Absolutely. And I always say, like, you know, what's the worst thing that can happen? Like, probably the worst thing that will happen is maybe you'll try moving somewhere and it won't work out and you move back home.

Did you meet your husband in Aruba? Because he's Aruban, right? I don't know.

What? Yeah, I lived in Costa Rica a couple years before I was here. So I actually came here on vacation and met him here, and then after five days, ended up moving.

Oh, my gosh. So the universe was like, this is your island. We're gonna give you a nice guy, and you're good. I mean, it's so beautiful because, again, we put ourselves in these boxes of, well, I'm not from Aruba. I don't know about Aruban culture, and they're not gonna accept me there or whatever our stories are. But you're now not only a part of the culture and you're married to an Aruban person, but you're also really giving back and getting to the parts of the culture that people don't see on the surface level when they're just there on vacation.

Yes. And it's such an important thing to do. And, I mean, our studio is in a pretty local part of the island, so it's not in the touristy district. And I love getting people, you know, out of their hotels. If you're here on vacation, go see the local spots, eat at the really local restaurants, like, get out of your, you know, know, American branded hotel and support the local community because it's so important that we do that wherever we travel.

That's amazing. And do you ever have, like, volunteering yoga retreats where people volunteer as well?

So we do mission trips with the shelter here where we'll bring in, like, a big retreat, and we just practice once a day, maybe not twice, and then do some physical work, like if we need to renovate something or, you know, we have a lot of dogs on our hands that we need transported or supported. We do things like that. But not for volunteering at the studio. No, we'd be used to. But we just. It got really hard to manage logistically.

Totally. Yes. Because it's sometimes when A volunteer is just there for a week and they leave. It's not, you know, it's more just work to train than to do. I remember all the times I volunteered a lot of places. Especially when you're working with kids, it's like a three or six month minimum.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, especially with children. Yeah, that's. That's hard with animals. It's. We do, we do one month minimums here for the, for the animal shelter.

Well, that is amazing. For anyone who's listening who wants to go to Aruba and deepen their yoga practice and play with cute animals and help orphans. Rachel is your girl.

Yes, for sure.

So where can listeners connect with you?

So I am yoga underscore girl on Instagram. You can find me on rachelbrathan.com like, yeah, that's it actually. Perfect. I mean, I'm on all the social media.

And you have a podcast as well?

Instagram, yes.

And you have your yoga girl podcast also, which people can tune into.

Also. I have a podcast also.

She has a podcast. Yes.

The Heart. And it's. Yeah. Everywhere you find podcasts, it's right there.

Perfect. Well, thank you so much for sharing your advice, your transitions, your vulnerability, and for also inspiring us to give back. And I think that this is a really, really, really important part of the spiritual yoga personal development conversation that people shy away from or wait for the perfect moment to dive into. And I am so glad I that you not only have dove into it, but also are inspiring others to do the same.

Thank you so much. And thank you so much for having me on the show. I'm so excited to be here. I can't wait to read your book.

I will. I will send them both right over to you. Namaste. How awesome was that episode? It was such a pleasure for me to be able to sit with Rachel to learn more about her journey and to just see how. How full of light she is, how modernized she is and how she really marches to her own drumbeat. And she doesn't laugh. But haters on the Internet or people's other opinions hold her down. She really just stays true to who she is. And that's something that is super inspiring. So be sure to check her out at YogaGirl. And if you loved this episode and you'd like a little gift for reviewing it, I would love to send you the first half of my unreleased book. It's called Eat right for your Mind Body Type. It is not available for sale anywhere, never will. So as a free gift for reviewing this episode, write a nice review. You take a screenshot of it and email it over to me before you hit submit. My email is Sahara S A H A R-AatFeelFresh.com and I will send you back the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind body type. I hope you loved this episode and I'll see you on the next one. Namaste.

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