We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Crystal Moon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Crystal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
When you’re a kid, everyone tells you to be yourself. But as we get older, we learn that being yourself—showing the world who you truly are—filter free—is one of the scariest things you could ever do. In fact, to me, being yourself and dreaming up the life you truly want is quite risky business. When I was 21 years old I asked my friend if she wanted to jump out of a plane. My friend, being the crazy good friend that she was, agreed. I remember waiting…and waiting. Finally going up 10,000 feet above the ground. I remember the tatted, beefy bald-headed gentleman in front me—rocking back and forth to the count of 3 and then disappearing out of the plane, almost magically, into the vast blue sky. I remember landing—the pull of the straps and gear. I remember the excited yelps of my friend as she came down behind me. She was lit-lit. Like stoked. And although I’m sure I appeared excited on the outside, something inside was missing.
I didn’t remember the view from the sky. The feeling of riding the wind from up high. The privilege of seeing the earth with a bird’s eye view. I don’t remember that. I missed that. The feeling of it. Partially because when I jumped, I forgot to close my mouth like the safety crew on the ground told me to, so I spent the first few seconds out of the plane gasping for air, but mostly I didn’t feel the skydive because there was a part of me, at that time, that had learned to detach…from myself…as a means to cope. With expectation. With disappointment. With life.
Over the next few years, I jumped out of more metaphorical planes, and as the reality of my numbed condition became more and more evident, I decided to explore myself—removing layers bit by bit as I was determined to uncover exactly what was blocking my connection with life. This was around 2015.
I became more serious about my mental health and began to consistently practice yoga and meditation.
Fast forward to 2020. The awakenings that came from yoga and meditation were shaking my life all the way up. I had changed my career field from mental health to education, much to the dismay of my parents. I had divorced a great man who just so happened to not be the right great man for me at the time, much to the dismay of my deeply traditional southern family and friends. And at that time I was teaching. And although I loved my students, I wasn’t loving teaching, and quite frankly, the stress around teaching and dealing with the aftermath of a divorce was making me sick. Literally. I was definitely feeling like this jumping out of planes business was bad business. However, I knew that one day I would be able to somehow merge my love of education with my life’s purpose of being a healer, and that was keeping me going.
And although I was making the most out of my situation, I can’t lie, I felt much relief when in the Spring of 2020 we got word that we would be having classes remotely due to some highly contagious virus. Phew, a time for rest. And what happened over the next few months would change my life forever.
Incubation. Or quarantine. Summer.
Given the time and space to feel and heal was so, restorative. But really it was the anger that bubbled up in me during this time that ignited my transformation. The killing of George Floyd and reflecting on all the Floyd’s that came before made me feel rage. This rage was heightened by the realization that someone else had the power to control what I put into my body and what I exposed my body to, because they had the power take away the check that paid my bills. I felt powerless in all this talk of vaccines, masks, and hybrid classrooms. But I was training to become a yoga teacher at this time, and my swami taught us that we should use our anger as fuel for transformation. And thus, that anger, that fire, set me ablaze, and rapidly more and more layers were shed until I was left with myself.
Then came clarity. Then came courage. And thus, Butta Dream was born.
The new school year started.
By the end of 2020 I was mentally and physically burned out—what with trying to navigate a post-CO-VID classroom full-time and upstart my yoga and candle business. I remember pulling into work each day…in tears.
So in 2021, I decided to jump out of yet another plane, but this time I was not numb. I felt everything. I had decided to take the risk of working my business, and my business alone, full-time. And every blow, bruise, and bump, I felt. I’d plan yoga events and 1 or two or no people would show. I ate plenty of PB&J sandwiches. Loss possessions and access to the luxuries that I had taken for granted and learned many tough lessons on the cost of freedom. It was rough. A rough, but necessary year. (Sometimes to know who you are you have to be stripped of everything you are not.) 2022. Restoring balance.
Eventually, after struggling with a smile for a bit, I decided to take a part-time job at a lovely, small, but growing private school that has since allowed me to continue to reach children while also tweaking, polishing, and enhancing my dream.
The dream, that is Butta Dream, has grown phenomenally since 2020 and I’m very proud of my baby and what it is growing into. However, I’ve realized that there’s also the dream, which is one that is not solely based on entrepreneurship, but more so, more deeply, it is a dream that I have of creating a life that is balanced, free, healthy, abundant, loving, happy, and true to me.
I’m not exactly sure what’s next for me and my dreams but all signs say that I’m on the right track. The person I am today is much different from the person I was 5 years ago, 2 years ago, or 1 year ago, and I believe that my hunger to grow and expand will continue to light my path.
I feel freer now than I’ve ever felt in my life because of my courage to grow.
And so yes, being yourself and pursuing your unique path is quite risky business, but the rewards that come from betting on yourself and trusting the Universe are priceless…timeless.
And for anyone who is feeling numb, or afraid, or trapped in a burning plane, I encourage you to jump! Explore. Uncover. Heal. Fly. Show the world who you are and what you can do!
Once upon a time we were in the garden—naked, unafraid, and unashamed—with the bounty of life at our fingertips. And that power that was bestowed upon us at the dawn of creation is still with us now, and no one can take that away from us.
Have courage and know that you have the power to create the life you want.
Life is Butta Dream.
Crystal, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a small town girl with big dreams, who loves nature and connecting with people. I decided to start a business in the wellness industry because I saw that people around me were suffering, and I wanted to share with them the tools and practices I’d discovered that kept me balanced, calm, and well. One of the most gratifying experiences as a yoga instructor is being able to physically see tension leaving someone’s body. I’m allowed to witness and take part in their healing. And some of the most satisfying things I hear as a candle-maker is that someone burns my candle every day, or that my candle is their favorite candle, or that a a new fragrance I selected reminds them of some pleasant experience from their past. Each aspect of my business allows me to connect with people on a deeper level and I know that through these connections my life is enhanced so much more. My business is special because everything that I produce is made with love and comes from a true place. When I teach mindfulness and yoga, I’m myself, and my goal is to make my clients feel as though they’re learning and exploring with a really good friend. And with my candles, I sing over them and fill them with as much good energy as possible, because I don’t believe that I’m just gifting customers with a candle, I really feel as though I am gifting them with light–something positive. And as I continue to add services and products to Butta Dream, I know that fundamentally my goal will always be to help, heal, and inspire people to feel good about who they are…right now…in this moment.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
When I first started my business, I feel that I did not have the mindset of a business woman because subconsciously I was still attached to the identity of being the poor righteous teacher. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that running a business requires smart thinking around money, resources, and opportunities. Also, it didn’t take me long to realize that although I feel that business can’t be anything other than personal, many people stick to the mantra, “it’s not personal, it’s business” and that has given me quite a few reality checks on how I operate versus how others operate. I couldn’t move throughout the business world expecting everyone to treat each other as yogis. If anything I had to learn how to practice discernment, and I had to get really clear about my values so that the integrity of my business was not lost. So, to anyone looking to start a yoga business, I’d say think about who you would truly like to be as a yoga-business(wo)man, because it is very easy to lose yourself in the chase for money. Ambition, love, and integrity can exist in the same space.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Get out there and meet people! Although I know we live in a time where social media can be used as a tool to draw in millions of customers, I quite enjoy the organic feeling of going to community events and getting to know people, face-to-face. I make it a point to go to events that I myself would go to and by doing this, I know that I”m going to meet people with similar interests, which will therefore help me reach my target demographic. It’s simple, but it works! Not to mention, people get to feel your energy and see your smile, and from there, word-of-mouth will do it’s job.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.buttadreamyoga.com
- Instagram: buttadream14
- Facebook: buttadream14
Image Credits
Patrick Anderson