We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Czarina Alberto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Czarina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
It has always been my dream to take my yoga teaching from teaching classes to teaching students to become yoga teachers. For me to able to achieve that, it needed to take for me to create my school, put a manual together and submit all requirements needed to Yoga Alliance to be a Registered Yoga School. Easier dreamt than done, that’s for sure. One day, after class, one of my students came up to me and asked me what it would take for me to teach them and have them certified to be yoga instructors. My first reaction was, I cried. Well… I always cry, but this time I cried because I was humbled and grateful and felt proud of them all at the same time. I was proud that they responded to the calling in their hearts to deepen their practice and share their gifts with the world. The world needs more yoga and that means the world needs more yoga teachers! I said to them I have been wanting to go back and complete my 300 hours certification to sit next to my 200 hours that was completed 5 years ago. I never got around it because I dove right into teaching and really self taught myself to continue learning after completion of my first yoga program. But deep inside I knew I wanted to get this under my belt for me to teach a 200 hour program. I felt I would short change them if I were to teach only what I have learned so far. I knew I needed more knowledge as a teacher and needed more practice as their leader. I decided to go to India for a whole month to complete my 300 hour course. After a month of intense daily training in Ashtanga and Hatha, immersing myself of yoga philosophy and history studying Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and The Bhaghavagita, practicing pranayama and meditation and learning a more enlightening approach to anatomy focusing on yoga therapy and how each pose benefits our bodies… (not to mention, gave up meat for 30 days! Ok, some days I cheated and had chicken)… I knew I was ready to take this back home and share what I’ve learned with my students. After months and months of perfecting the manual, late nights and early mornings, no weekends off, I finally got approved to operate as a Registered Yoga School. March 6, 2024, Shakti LA Yoga School was born.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My background is in the garment manufacturing industry. I went to college for Fashion Design, Manufacturing & Merchandising. For 18 years I developed product for the RTW Market specializing in Junior, Missy & Kids. I managed the entire product lifecycle from ideation to completion beginning from sourcing materials globally, sourcing vendors local and overseas, negotiating terms and price, on boarding and managing vendors, traveling overseas and managing production until completion and overseeing delivery of goods. My recent program I worked on was the Subway LTO Football Jersey in Black and Green. This entire 200,000 units program shipped in May of 2023. Shortly after that, I decided to move to Washington. In Los Angeles, where fashion was my 9-5 and yoga was my 5-9, moving to a different state allowed me to focus on taking my yoga teaching to a whole different level and turning it into my 9-5. I decided to create my own Yoga Teacher Training School and focus on training students to become well equipped certified yoga teachers. I trained in India for a month so that I can embody the principles and techniques that can only be learned studying from where yoga originated. I always say, you can’t teach what you don’t know. With the West focusing on yoga as a work out, I vowed to bring my practice and teaching back to how I fell in love with yoga… it was always and will forever be a work-in for me. It isn’t and will never be just a workout. All the asanas (poses), as fancy as they look, only comes after you have mastered yourself from the inside. Once you’ve done that, then your light beams on the outside as well. But that light and flame is something you fan from within. It’s not the other way around. Moving to Washington allowed me to shift and focus on providing yoga not only to yoga studios, but also to private 1:1 students, private groups and even corporate companies looking to find balance, reduce stress, and improve performance on their own, community and professional lives. I am still in the fashion industry but it’s now turned in to my 5-9 since our industry has taken a major deep dive ever since COVID and the rise of tariffs- but let’s save that for another interview. 😊 This move has allowed me to build my career in yoga focusing on corporate wellness, leading workshops, retreats and teacher trainings. You’ll still find me teaching at some of the top studios in the greater Seattle area when I’m not doing everything else I just mentioned. 😅
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I am so big in helping people. Extending help to anyone that needs it. Although this is admirable, this can’t be done regularly when you are trying to run a business and expect it to be profitable. I used to lead events where everyone in my team got paid, except for me. Although attendees left saying they had the most amazing and healing time, doing this left my cup empty – spiritually and financially. I’ve also had to teach at studios that were either just starting out or weren’t established enough that it required for me to look for clients for them. One, this took away from just focusing on my love of teaching, and two, because they still needed to grow, I was compensated less (some I won’t even discuss how low because it might prompt you to create a gofundme for Shakti LA Yoga 🤣). While this may be a great way for new teachers to gain experience, the more seasoned ones will be left feeling burnt out. I believe that what we do is an energy exchange. I used to find it difficult to put a price on my services, but then I thought… I show up with 💯of me at all times. So why shouldn’t I charge how much I’m worth? I am not after just getting through teaching a class, I am after giving each student an experience and creating a safe and healing space for them. I believe I am given a gift, and that’s to be able to deliver a transformative experience to my students each time they practice and learn with me. I put in time, lots of practice on my own, continued education, and dedication to perfect my craft… my time is valuable because instead of finding another Director level in my corporate world, here I am, putting all my energy and resources into making sure each student leaves my class feeling balanced, empowered and renewed. No one is capable of always giving back without their cup also being filled in return. Energy exchange. So I learned to be stern with my pricing. My clients are those serious about deepening their knowledge and practice in yoga and transforming their lives, not just learning fancy poses (although that comes with it) – it’s about finding balance, healing and transforming their mind, body and soul. Those are my people and those are the ones that I focus on. I love being a part of their growth. The true meaning of yoga is to unite. If you leave my class and you only got a workout, I’ll be happy for you, but if you leave my class and you feel balanced in all 3 – mind, body and spirit- then I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing I did what the higher powers called me to do.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
If I haven’t already mentioned enough, my background is in the fashion field. I was able to start a clothing line once I started teaching yoga. I thought why not marry the two – my first love and my true love. I currently have a few studios in Seattle carrying my line and a few stores and studios in LA as well. I mentioned that the apparel industry took a major hit since Covid and the rise of tariffs. I’ve seen companies either down size or completely shut down. I still have friends in the industry that I speak to on a regular who I know are struggling to stay afloat. I had to pivot from Shakti LA Yoga being a teacher that carries its own clothing line, to becoming a Registered Yoga Alliance approved School and being a Corporate Wellness Business that provides wellness programs through yoga to individuals, communities, businesses and organizations. And of course. we still carry our own clothing line. 😊 You can learn more about our offerings at www.shaktilayoga.com or if you need a word to remind you, just think SLAY. Shakti LA Yoga = SLAY.
Love to all!
NamaSLAY 🙏🏽
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shaktilayoga.com/
- Instagram: @shakti.la
- Facebook: @shakti la
- Linkedin: Czarina “Shakti LA” Alberto
- Youtube: @shaktilayoga
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/EHo5cgCVU1
Image Credits
Lana Gurey