We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erica Mather a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica , thanks for joining us 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?

In 2008, things changed in New York City, people had less cash on hand, and I lost many of my private clients. I was new to my business, and felt certain that there MUST be a way to make the numbers work out. So, despite being on my back foot and also having less cash on hand than I felt comfortable with, I invested in a business coach.

Although I had a prior history of working for myself, I had no formal business training. Very few yoga teachers go into teaching yoga because they want to learn how to be in business. But the fact of the matter is, if one intends to support themselves through teaching yoga (and very few independent yoga teachers actually do), they will have to learn a little bit about the ins and outs of business.

Spending money to learn a business skill felt like a big risk when I had very little disposable income to spend. But I understood that if I didn’t get the skills I needed, there would be even LESS money, and I would be forced to find something less risky to do.

Fortunately for me taking this risk was the right decision. I learned a few basic business concepts and skills, and still am working with the mentor I took the leap with back in 2008. I attribute much of my success to investing in some foundational business education and ongoing mentorship.

I am constantly astonished by how very little people generally know about economics. I firmly believe that everyone should be taught the basics of cash flow, margins, debt, and investment in school. Our citizens would be able to make better financial decisions for themselves and our economy would be stronger as a result.

Erica , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a certified yoga therapist, with over 10,000 hours of practice and training in the field. The long and the short of it is I help people suffer less with a focus on the body.

Ouchy back, or shoulder, or neck, or wrist, or…? I’ve got you.

Feeling “uncomfortable in your skin”? I’ve got you.

Whether it’s the “hardware” (bones, muscles) or the “software” (thoughts, emotions, beliefs) that are causing you to suffer, I can help.

We engage in a 1-2-1 therapeutic relationship where I guide, reflect, support, cheer, commiserate.

I don’t really know anyone who does what I do.

I work with my “software” clients on:

+Realizing that the injuries and illnesses and crappy aging realities they’re experiencing are the result of how they’ve treated their body. Feeling shame and guilt. Wondering how to move forward
+Food-related wins: taking the time to slow down and cook one’s own meal. Realizing the connection between how they were raised (ancestral inheritance of world views) and how they live unconsciously as adults and deciding to do things differently (freedom!!!)
+”Feeling fat” and wanting to get to the bottom of that existential quagmire and get rid of that feeling once and for all
+ Learning to live with chronic illness in a way that is free of self-beratement for perceived failures, allows for rest, and charts a path forward to handle grief for what’s been lost to illness and learn to live in joy
+Generalized existential angst over getting older, how the body changes (balding? weight gain?), and how to make sense of our lives as time elapses

As you can see, these are very complex topics.

I work with my “hardware” clients on:

+ reducing back pain so they can enjoy activities they like
+ learning to breathe more spaciously so they can feel more freedom
+ increasing core strength so that the back, neck, and spine are strong and stable, reducing injury potential
+ exploring balance and the ability to stand on one or two feet with utmost confidence and stability
+ reducing neck pain to help with clarity, and vision

Often we suffer more than is necessary because we do it alone.

Just knowing there is ONE person in the world who understands, can listen, and potentially even help can provide immeasurable relief.

So whether it’s literally a pain in your neck that you need help with or a pain in your soul, I can help.

How to get started?

In a “discovery session.”

It is LITERALLY a session where, together, we discover what’s ailing you, if I can help, and if we even like each other enough to engage in a therapeutic relationship.

This is important. You gotta like me and I gotta care enough to get in there with you and be IN it WITH you.

That’s how healing works.

You invest. I invest.

I have two basic tracks:

1. Yoga Therapy Discovery Session, or
2. Adore Your Body Discovery Session

They are conducted online, unless you’re in New York City and want to meet up in person.

And, if you’d like to learn a bit more about me and my work prior to taking the step to meet up live, please check out my book: “Your Body, Your Best Friend: End the Confidence-Crushing Pursuit of Unrealistic Beauty Standards & Embrace Your True Power.”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

“Money is the root of all evil.”

This, and other wealth wounds are beliefs that will stand in the way of any business related successes.

As a person in a “spiritual” discipline, the idea that money is dirty, bad, is one that is deeply rooted. We’re taught that to be good and enlightened means that money isn’t a focus.

But, money is just energy.

It doesn’t care who you are, or what you do.

Learning to skillfully create, handle, save, and spend money is at the heart of business and actually learning to do it well is crucial to doing good deeds in the world.

Wanting to have money is fine. Learning about that want, and directing the energy of desire in benevolent ways is the work of a spiritual entrepreneur.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Doing fantastic work, always showing up consistently, never speaking ill of anyone else in my field, ever.

I teach my business students that these elements are essential: polite, patient, persistence.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ericamather.com
• Instagram: @Erica_Mather
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erica.mather/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-mather-a282b24/
• Twitter: @Erica_Mather
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stuffilearnedatyoga