Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Denver Clark. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Denver, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve always been someone who wanted to make people happy. In a way, this was a wonderful trait and yet unfortunately, also over the years it’s caused me to make many choices based on what I thought would make others happy.
I chose a FL college over a NY theatre trade school because it was what my parents wanted. I kept businesses in the past open long after I was ready to move on because I didn’t want to let my students down. As I’ve grown older, the responsibilities of my life have increased. I now have two kids and am on my second marriage, having made many choices as a single mother that were very scary and also liberating.

After my second child was born in December of 2022 (and thanks to continued therapy with an incredible practitioner), it began to become clear to me that I was remaining in my position at work, simply to support my family who I was working with and for at the time. I loved my job training yoga teachers from all over the world, but it was becoming increasingly clear to me that my position did not provide opportunity for growth or even a future where I could take over the family business, as I had thought for the past 8 years. I had been a part of building an incredible school, yet I had virtually no control over the direction of the business, or the choices made that impacted the students and staff. I had been supporting someone else’s dream, thinking one day I could bend it into my own version if the owner of the business one day thought I was “ready.” But it became clear that the business owner would never make that call, and I grieved. This was not just a job to me, it was my life’s work and I felt completely out of control over it.

So I took a risk, and I stepped down as the manager and director of the internationally accredited yoga school I helped build. I was ready to simply act as a teacher. Perhaps traveling and expanding my reach to other schools in the country and beyond. However, In response to my request to step down as a manager, I was let go from my job completely and 1 week before Thanksgiving, I was without a job, without my community of students who have breathed life into my work and even more painful, I was without the family support I once thought I had.

And yet, through this transition I’ve realized that the opportunity to build a new school from the ground up that resonates entirely with my own voice is exactly what I needed. Yes, it’s very difficult to begin again with no money, no beautiful space and without someone else presenting me with a paycheck, allowing me to only focus on the quality of my work. But the fulfilment I now have from creating a syllabus, writing a manual, finding and building my own beautiful space and making connections with my students knowing that I am in full control of the experience has awakened a power in me I never realized I had.

I’m so grateful that I took that risk and asked for change, both from my job and from the universe.
We often don’t realize that when a big loss happens, secretly we have been asking for it for many, many years.
In our suffering, it’s difficult to see that the freedom, the change, the transformation we have been craving is happening in that very moment. Just like a butterfly, transformation is often scary, dark and even painful. But the result is always something completely new that moves us forward and upward in life.

All we have to do is take a breath and take the risk.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Through my work at Embodied Health, I am a Certified Yoga Therapist and Massage Therapist, working with private clients and also training yoga teacher and yoga therapists. My work in Ayurveda, Anatomy, Movement therapy and philosophy helps me support others with education and self-reflection through yoga, breathing, meditation, bodywork and lifestyle recommendations based on the ancient practice of Indian medicine called Ayurveda. Yoga therapy and massage are designed to keep people in their healthiest, most balanced state of being – BEFORE pain and illness can intervene and support them through the unavoidable discomforts of life.

I also recently founded yogateachersupport.com, an online platform offering resources, community and continuing education for yoga teachers and therapists.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The most impactful thing I have done to build a social media following is offer relevant content that improves the lives of others. Through my short, informative videos of postures, practices and self-massage I can show people it’s possible to spend just 3-5 minutes of your day on your yoga practice.

We often think we need to set aside an hour or more to drive to a studio, unroll our mats and invest money in order to practice yoga. The reality is that yoga is a lifelong practice, designed to fit into our lives. This means it can be done anywhere, anytime, for any length of time and we still benefit – perhaps even more because it fits US instead of us moving our lives around to make it fit.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe that my superpower as a teacher and a wellness professional is authenticity.

I don’t claim to be perfect. I’m not someone who meditates or practices yoga on my mat every day. Sometimes my yoga is simply breathing through the difficulties of getting two kids out the door in the morning. Sometimes it’s weightlifting to remind myself of my inner and outer strength. I work to eat and move my body in a way that is balanced, but you’ll also see me eating ice cream or drinking a glass of wine occasionally because that’s part of my cultural history as an American too. I don’t claim to know everything when I’m teaching, and I share all of what I know freely without “gatekeeping” or saving information for myself.

I happen to be a cis-gendered, able bodied white woman who has made a career out of teaching a practice that comes from a culture and tradition that is not my own, so whenever I can, I try to acknowledge that culture, credit my teachers and show gratitude and humility for all that I do and do NOT know.

By showing my students that it’s ok to be human, to make mistakes and to live a life that’s real, I give them permission to do the same. THAT, in my opinion is the most important work I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.embodied.health & www.yogateachersupport.com
• Instagram: embodiedhealth_ & yogateachersupport_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553610515372
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdVQ8VKYMbSP90Ikgr3mEug