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

Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. The more we talk about good leadership the more we think good leadership practices will spread and so we’d love for you to tell us a story about the best boss you’ve had and what they were like or what they did that was so great?

I have a history of bad bosses. I’ve been hit on by a sales coach, called names by a Chef, and had a boss that tried to pay me in IOU’s. I thought working in the yoga industry would be different but quickly learned these bad apples can be employed in any kind of business. So soon after I began teaching yoga, I found a woman who was everywhere, working hard, professional resume, sponsoring community events, doing things against the norm to better society. I still remember asking her to sit down with me and begging her to mentor me. She very casually said “I can probably find something for you to help with, let me get back to you.” And it started my favorite job of six blissful years as the studio manager of True Love Yoga.

At our second meeting, Lauren Leduc, my new mentor, had a list of ideas she wasn’t sure how to execute. They were brilliant, big, bold ideas. To this day, she’s that creative and inspiring. Her spirit is really unique, in the way she can craft a community out of strangers. Her leadership was always confident and authentic. It was everything I needed to see and soak up so that I could learn to harness my own power. Women in business don’t get where they are from anything less than sacrifice and hard work. She shared her processes so generously, and was never shy to reward honest effort. Having someone so special believe in you can truly emphasize the best parts of yourself.

I never considered myself creative or intuitive but rather than giving me the answer she taught me how to find it within, and then rely on my decisions. Lauren was so good at reminding me that perfection doesn’t exist. We would laugh about mistakes while growing and just as important, we shared our wins. It was the kind of environment where productivity felt effortless and thanks to her that’s the only kind of boss I want to be!

Sam, 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?

My biggest role is a mother to my 5 and 1 year old boys. Going through pregnancy and starting a family is wildly common in the northland of Kansas City but theres a huge lack of support for mothers, it can be isolating. I’ve been insanely lucky to have a solid yoga practice for a third of my life! Yoga keeps me grounded, reminds me to go with the flow, and invites me to accept things as they are now. The physical practice has helped me through injuries, healing postpartum, and manage things like depression and adhd. The meditation practice helps me find space in the chaos of young kiddos. And the philosophy of yoga gives me practical ways to better myself and stay connected to something bigger than being a householder.

In both pregnancies I would have to drive 30-40 mins to reach a prenatal yoga class. In both pregnancies the baby and me yoga classes were so far that the hassel of getting kids out the door crushed those appointment times. It’s difficult to manage other humans, and prioritize self-care. Even the studio I managed and fell in love with felt like it was too far most days. I needed support in my community, close to home. I complained about this enough times that my now business partner said, build it. I’m confident Emily didn’t know she would end up helping me do this but I’ve learned no one does anything like this alone. Operating a business also takes a village and once we had an open dialogue about our ideas we couldn’t stop the train.

Emily Devers and I wanted the same things. A sophisticated space with approachable teachers that allows us to go deep within and connect deeply with our community. Her kids are grown, and mine are little. I don’t have the freedom to travel, and that’s her priority. I’ve managed a studio, she’s been on the front lines of healthcare. She is extroverted, I’m introverted. Our partnership is easy. This is also what helped form our studio name, Easy Tiger Yoga. The phrase “Easy, Tiger” has been a mantra of mine for decades, and I’ve used it many times recently with two boys at home. Our friendship is easy. Our location is easy. And while business is not always easy, neither is yoga, and we work very hard at both.

We have been blessed with a lot of luck like having the property owner walk by while we are standing outside or being supported by our fellow studio owners. There’s a lot of obstacles, of course, but with the right village we’re bringing to life a truly special place that will serve students well. I’m most proud of the people already showing up to our pop-up classes and finding us online. It shows that Parkville and the surrounding Kansas City have needed a local yoga studio and we want to give them the best place to unroll their mat.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The 2020 pandemic brought a huge pivot to the yoga industry. If you think of a yoga class, it’s typically packed with mats and people breathing deeply together. The shut downs forced everything online and that disconnected a lot people from their community, their sacred space, or their self-care rituals. I enjoyed teaching online because it meant I didn’t have to drive far for work, multiple times a day. But honestly, I thrive as a teacher seeing someone moving and helping work around injuries and physical discomfort. I don’t want my students to force themselves into shapes, or watch me doing yoga on a screen. I want them to tune into their own body, which is just harder at home (with screens and snacks galore).

One of our focuses at Easy Tiger Yoga is small class sizes with highly educated teachers. We know through proper sequencing we can treat yoga like a form of physical therapy. We empower our students to do what works best for them and grow their practice to achieve their goals. We also invested in infrared panels for cleaner air and the health benefits like improving circulation. Our space is relaxing, on purpose. Every decision is so that the effort of coming to our business outweighs practicing at home alone and people look forward to doing yoga!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Being imperfect is the single most important factor on social media. While our social media presence isn’t huge, it is all real followers and students who support us. We aren’t after numbers or likes. When discussing our marketing strategy we listed a few of our favorite accounts we follow… they were so random, a woman who cleans messes, an account that’s all yoga fails, and a ton of real-life mom humor. The idea we found is people want to see real people. When we show up fake, filtered, or striving for perfection, it lacks connection. Being flawed, and owning the flaws gives the people around you permission to be themselves too. If you’re starting to build your social media presence just show up, exactly as you are so everyone else knows that they are welcome to!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.easytigeryogakc.com
• Instagram: sammegrawyoga easytigeryogakc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095442888538
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWjz9b6Uz54