Stephanie Mitchell

In this interview:

• The Mobile Yoga Studio. Stephanie's Entrepreneurial Journey
• Teaching techniques and Incorporating Music into Flow
  
• Business Tips and Tricks of the Trade
  
• The Power of Curiosity and Persistence
  
• Big Magic, Headspace, Breathwork
  
• Finding your Niche
  
• Importance of an Audience
  

Stephanie Mitchell (aka: Rollin' Yogi @RollinYogi) is an E-RYT 200 Yoga Works certified instructor with over 7 years of full-time teaching experience. Stephanie took the concept of yoga studio to a new level with her unique and creative mobile yoga studio, The Rolling Mat. Stephanie works tirelessly to improve communities and businesses through movement, breath, and mindfulness and her business helps people of all ages and fitness levels improve health and well-being.

Stephanie has a footprint in the corporate world, providing de-stressing sequences and customized wellness programs for employees; she also coaches and mentors yoga instructors through her Elite Corporate Yogi program, helping others refine their vision and find their unique business niche.

A native Atlantan, Stephanie inspires students with foundational, spirited vinyasa flow classes focused on alignment, breath connection, and mental and physical balance. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to music & arts festivals, spreading the yoga love to the attendees.

Flexibility, Music & Flow, Life and Teaching Influences

AM: Could you take a moment to talk about any former or current teacher or mentor who has influenced your teaching style?

SM: I’m from Atlanta and trained at Infinity Yoga, which is now Yoga Works. I had a teacher, Jenny Holding, who was amazing. All of her classes made so much sense and each flow told a story. Jenny emphasizes the mind-body connection and allows her students to emotionally take the practice to whatever level they want. During the training, we spent one weekend just on alignment, which was extremely interesting to me. After I graduated, Jenny’s classes became my continuing education. I went to almost every single class she offered and she’s the reason I got into the foundations of each pose and cueing. Jenny still teaches in Atlanta and is now the co-owner of Element Yoga which just opened this year. If anybody reading this is in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend they check her out!

AM: You mentioned you’re a musical person. Do you like to incorporate music into the flows you teach?

SM: I love making fun and creative playlists and it really depends on the flow that I’m teaching. I like to have a loose theme to my classes—heart opening or hip opening, core, etc.—and when I am practicing and thinking about what I am going to teach for the day, I will often put on a playlist that matches my mood to see how I can incorporate some of the songs I like into my class. Spotify helps me be creative because when you have it on a specific artist or band you like, it will play other music that you’ve never heard before. I discover more music this way and then I’ll mix songs together to create a custom playlist. I love this element of putting together classes.

AM: When you hear different songs, do you envision how they would fit into the class you want to teach, or do you visualize specific poses and flows when you hear certain beats/rhythms?

SM: I think about where a song will fit with the flow. Maybe I’ll hear a hip-hop song and decide it will work great with the core section of my class; or maybe holding a warrior pose should go with something strong that has a good backbeat. Typically, I will section out what I am going to teach and then pair the music to the separate sections.

"You don’t have to be flexible to practice yoga. Being able to connect to the breath or to find solace and relaxation—or any other improvement in the body—is the goal."

AM: Sometimes people come to yoga with certain preconceptions or incorrect information they have heard about what it means to practice. Anything you have encountered in this area? If so, could you take a minute to debunk the myth?

SM: Yeah…I love it when people say they can’t do yoga because they are not flexible. This is a completely contradictory statement because you come to yoga to get flexible. You don’t have to be flexible to practice yoga. I have some students I have worked with for a long time who still can’t touch their toes because of an injury or medical condition, but they feel good. And they know that being able to touch their toes may not necessarily be the goal.

Being able to connect to the breath or to find solace and relaxation—or any other improvement in the body—is the goal. I think a lot of people believe they have to be able to do a specific pose in order to be able to do yoga. Just coming to your mat and carving out time to be present and tune-in is important. You don’t have to be able to twist your body into a pretzel in order to come to one of my classes!

AM: What if you are speaking to someone who has been practicing for a while—maybe a student at the intermediate level? Any pieces of advice you might offer to help a student continue to improve and advance their practice?

SM: It is so important to take the foundation of what you already know and then take some small, achievable action steps to build to the next level. For example, if you are working up to the bird of paradise pose, it would be appropriate to spend a lot of time first making sure your warrior poses are consistent and stable. This is a pose I like to break down because there are many different elements that go into it. Maybe you can’t lift your leg all the way up to the side and point your toes, but perhaps you can wrap your arms around your leg and get to that point. When you are advancing in your practice, look at things with the perspective you had as a beginner. Reflect on how far you have come and then identify some achievable “baby-steps” to help get you to the next level.

Entrepreneurship, Business, and the Power of Curiosity

AM: You already mentioned a little bit about your business, could you talk some more about what you do and how you got started?

SM: I launched a mentorship and coaching program at the end of 2019 called the Elite Corporate Yogi Program and it something I am very passionate about. This was incredibly helpful in 2020 because it was able to help the teachers I work with find direction. It is specifically for teachers that want to niche into the corporate arena.

This can look very different; I have a teacher that works with faculty and staff at a university, one that partners with tech companies, and another that primarily works with first responders. We collaborate with teachers through a 12-week program and help them build a solid structure. Then we teach them the strategy and help them build a system. We give our teachers very individualized attention and a 100% level of support, even when they have graduated from the program. It is a lifetime community.

AM: If you were chatting with someone interested in this type of program, what would you tell them to consider or think through before joining?

SM: The most important thing I would say up front is: you have to have an audience. As much as we might want to teach “yoga for everyone,” almost all of us have to start small and then build into something larger, more sustainable. I got my start in the corporate yoga space and was able to branch out from there. So, I would ask, “what is your niche—or what do you want your niche to be?” This is a great question to think about and something we help teachers focus on at the start of the program.

AM: Are you still involved with your mobile yoga studio?

SM: Yes! My business is called The Rolling Mat, and the Elite Corporate Yoga program I just described is a sector of The Rolling Mat. My vision is to create community through the practice of movement, breath, and unity. To make the practice more accessible and approachable for people. I started off partnering with breweries and hosting a variety of artsy, fun events in the greater Atlanta area. I really enjoy collaborating with other small businesses in my area because it is another way I can bring other entrepreneurs additional customers.

Making these connections is what helped launch my corporate yoga business and I have been able to branch out from there. My mobile studio allows me to bring the equipment directly to the customer and put together creative flows based on the needs of the group. For example, right now I am in Florida doing a bridal yoga event for a wedding company that I’ve partnered with.

"Having curiosity as a business owner directly contributes to success...open-minded curiosity along with persistence are the two of the most important things..."

AM: What are some of your unique skills that you believe have helped you be successful in business?

SM: I think my love for getting out into the community and talking to people, networking from an authentic place of being curious, has been important. Having curiosity as a business owner directly contributes to success and too often gets lost. Sometimes we are so hard-pressed to just make the money, get the client, or land the gig that we start to forget what brought us to business in the first place, or we forget what the people we are trying to serve need.

Having open-minded curiosity along with persistence are the two of the most important things that have helped get me where I am today. Also, my family has been (and still is) an important influence; I come from a line of entrepreneurs, and I saw how hard they all worked when I was young. It really left an impression on me.

AM: I love that you brought up the persistence aspect. Is there an example that comes to mind that describes a situation where you have used the persistence mindset to overcome a challenge?

SM: I had an amazing contract proposal that I was going back and forth on with Keller Williams Realty, a national real estate company with a large branch office here in Atlanta. They were interested in a wellness program and asked me for a comprehensive proposal. After I sent in the details, they were excited about the possibilities, but then just sort of dropped off the map. I didn’t hear anything for a while. But I was so passionate about the project, and I knew, based on what they told me, that I was the right person for what they needed. I knew I could bring value and impact to their company and I wasn’t ready to give up.

I stayed with it and kept in touch by periodically sending emails with a note of gratitude along with a piece of value—like a blog post I wrote or a yoga flow—that I thought would be useful. About 8 months after I submitted the proposal, they contacted me and said they were ready to move forward. They thanked me for staying in touch, for keeping on top of things, and they accepted my proposal. So, this is a great example of a time when persistence paid off for me. I’m still working with the company today.

AM: What do you enjoy most about running your own business?

SM: I enjoy all the people I have the chance to interact with—other business owners, teachers in my elite corporate yogi program, and my students. We work with teachers around the world and I love connecting with all of them, learning about their cultures and clientele they serve, and tailoring business plans that meet their needs. It is also rewarding to me when I partner with organizations to implement wellness programs that have such a positive impact on the lives of their employees (as well as productivity).

"You are your own motivation...you have to wake up every morning and motivate yourself to do it, to put in the work."

AM: How about a challenge when it comes to running your own business?

SM: Well, you are your own motivation. Hopefully there are people in your life who will push you along and provide encouragement, but you have to wake up every morning and motivate yourself to do it, to put in the work. Another challenge can be the ordinary ebb and flow of your business which is hard sometimes. You may find yourself in the “flow” with everything going well and then you hit a wall. Or maybe a pandemic happens.

It is important to remember and be grateful for the positive things you experience in the high moments to help get you through the difficult, low moments. I encourage people to keep a success journal which helps track the wins and good things you have experienced as a teacher, business owner, etc. It is so important to focus on what you have already accomplished. Some days are better than others, but this is another one of the reasons why it is great to be a yoga teacher. You can always go back to your practice and use the tools and tips in your toolkit and apply them to almost any situation you may be dealing with.

AM: Speaking of challenges, we all just came through (and are still navigating) a crazy time during a global pandemic. Would you care to share how you personally dealt with any of the unique difficulties you faced over the last 18+ months? Was there anything that helped you deal with this curveball?

SM: Well, I will say it took some time. I had to just sit with myself and process what was going on. To reflect and think about the direction I needed to move toward in order to sustain my business. I didn’t know what I was going to do at first. I had a number of corporate clients where I remember thinking to myself, what am I going to do now?

The pandemic forced me to get crystal clear on my vision and I circled back to my mission for my business and for myself, what I really wanted to accomplish. Ultimately, my team and I decided to build out a virtual portal for my corporate clients and we put together a road map of how to do this so I could also teach it to the instructors in my mentorship program. With many of the yoga teachers I was working with, we made a quick pivot to building out virtual platforms so they could use virtual teaching tools with their students and clients.

Fortunately, all my corporate employers recognized the importance of our wellness programs, particularly because everyone was freaking out. The will to never quit that I spoke about earlier was something that helped me navigate through the challenges of the pandemic. I knew I was not going to give up.

Finding your Niche, Retreats, Big Magic & Breath Work

AM: Many of the guests I speak with are entrepreneurs and I enjoy hearing their different perspectives on business. Do you have any tips or tricks of the trade you think would be helpful to share with someone who is thinking about starting their own business? Or advice to share with someone who is already running their own business?

"Find a niche. Have an audience that you can speak to."

SM: Find a niche. Have an audience that you can speak to. Think about who you are passionate about helping and what you want your impact to be. I think the most important thing is to be clear on your vision. This can be the most difficult part, because of the pressures of needing to make money. Don’t get me wrong, you have to make money, but it is important to stay authentic while doing so. Having a niche is not pigeonholing yourself; you have to start, excel in something first, and then watch as you are propelled into other avenues and areas of growth.

Having an audience will branch you out into other areas that you want to move into. It’s overwhelming—and impossible—to do everything all at once, so my advice is to focus on bite-size action steps. Identify one small thing at a time, something that will get you closer to your goal, and then do it. Keep repeating that process.

AM: This may be part of the training you do in your mentorship program, but I’m wondering if you have a template that lays out an action plan for how to do some of the things you just described? How do you guide your clients and help them figure out action steps for their businesses?

SM: We do have a “road map” for clients. As the owner of a mobile yoga studio, I like to visualize it as a road trip where the teacher is driving the car and I am in the passenger seat with a map. We have the template because we need some structure to start with, to help get clear on the vision. Although the road map has strategy and is a system to follow, I meet teachers where they are—each teacher has their own unique needs. Some are just getting started, and others already have some corporate clients and established businesses. The wonderful thing is that everyone learns from each other, no matter where they are in their journey.

AM: On the flip side of the advice coin, is there any bad advice or myths you have heard that you would say is inaccurate. Something you would tell people to ignore? This could be related to practicing yoga or running a business.

SM: I hate it when I hear things like you’re not going to be successful as a yoga teacher, or that all you will be doing is teaching studio classes. This is an 80-billion-dollar industry and it’s hard for me to hear someone say you can’t make money as a yoga teacher. If this is something you really want to do, I say go for it and make it work because it can and will work if it’s what you want.

AM: Fantastic advice. Thank you! Shifting gears a bit, what it a project (or projects) are on your plate right now that you are most excited about?

SM: Well first and foremost, the retreat I’m co-leading this summer to Costa Rica is very exciting. I’ve used some of the marketing materials you have provided me with and put in some of my own language as I communicate with other people and spread the word because I think the land and sea (SUP yoga) focus is so unique. The “surf and turf” concept is something Jana Rife (my co-leader) and I have spent a lot of time on. By the way, thank you for the beautiful pairing and connection. I am also planning to offer retreats for the members (current participants, alumni, and guests) in my Elite Corporate Yogi program to come together and meet other teachers from around the world.

AM: What is your vision for the Costa Rica retreat? What are you thinking at this point? And what might you say to someone considering attending this experience?

SM: I’ll say up front we are still pretty early in the development stage, so things may change, but as of now we are looking to build upon the themes of connection and empowerment. I have also been thinking about the word profit because I want guests to not only feel a lighthearted connection with other guests and the leaders, but also with the entrepreneurial side of their life—and this doesn’t necessarily have to mean owning a business.

Tapping into the creative and entrepreneurial side of life has the potential to bring so much enrichment and profit, monetary and non-monetary, to your life. I’ve learned so much from my students and other teachers over the years and I’m excited by the potential this group will have to spark creativity, ideas, and empowerment.

AM: Are there any books or other resources that you highly recommend?

SM: One resource is the personal business mentor I work with. Coaches need coaches too and she helps me clarify my personal action steps and stay on the path when I start to veer off. Her name is Hanna Hermanson and her company is called Dream Life is Real Life. She’s fabulous and her specialty areas are copywriting, branding, and presentation.

A book that has been especially impactful for me was Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. When I got the book as a Christmas present, I was scared to read it at first. I had a feeling I wasn’t ready for it, that the book was bigger than me. I picked a season to read it and the message was so inspiring because Elizabeth wrote about a friend in her book who had a lot of similarities to my situation.

Her friend would doubt himself, because he felt like he should be writing instead of working his other job, and she had this moment with her friend where she told him to be grateful for the struggle. To have gratitude for the income from the other job because that was supporting him toward the goal of what he really wanted. The book was especially inspiring for business owners and, I think, for yoga teachers because sometimes we are looked at as not very serious. When you know who it is you want to serve and the impact you want to have, so much “big magic” can happen.

AM: Anything related to yoga or the practice of yoga that you would like to share? Perhaps something that influenced you and something you find yourself coming back to often?

SM: I think overall, the breath practice. The grounding and ability to find some sort of release. The healing power of the breath has become especially apparent to me this year as I have continued along my healing journey. It’s so easy to lose that connection to the breath, but it is also easy to find it again. It is such an amazing experience when you allow the breath to do its work.

AM: Is the breath practice you describe something you do naturally based on your experience and teacher training, or is there a specific resource you are using right now as a guide? Maybe you have a piece of advice to share with someone who might not know much about breathwork?

SM: For me, right now, it has been my own personal toolbox that I have really been tapping into. I do love and recommend Headspace as well. Recently, the founder of the company was talking about “places of stillness” when you breathe. These are the moments of pause after you inhale or exhale fully and then hold for a few counts. These are the moments when you can achieve optimum stillness.

Next time you try a deep breathing exercise, let out all of your breath, hold for 3-5 seconds, and take in the moment of stillness that it brings to your body and mind. This is something I have been using a lot lately, no matter where I am at or what I am doing.

"The simple practice of breathing has brought a lot of grounding to my life. It helps me feel that I can make it through—that I will overcome the challenges."

AM: What do you think is the main benefit of that stillness—the moment of quiet you just described?

SM: For me, it brings peace, no matter what I have going on. It has been a rough year and the simple practice of breathing has brought a lot of grounding to my life. It helps me feel that I can make it through—that I will overcome the challenges. It refocuses me inward and brings strength back into my life; it brings me home.

AM: As we wrap up, I’d like to ask if there has been any belief, behavior, or habit in the last five years that has significantly improved your life?

SM: Finding the things that bring me joy. My mentor had a guest speaker visit one day, I think her name was Kelsey Adams, who was talking about your mission and vision. She said something that really stuck with me. She said if you are not all in for something—a ***k yes—then you should say no. That is what is going to bring you the joy that you want.

Joy is so often sucked out of our lives because we say yes to things we don’t want to do, things we should say no to. Of course, sometimes you do have to do things in life you may not want to do, but something I’ve realized—this year especially—is that if something is not bringing me joy, then why do it?

AM: Love it. You shared so many great things in our conversation today. Is there anything I forgot to ask?

SM: I think you covered everything. I really appreciated your questions and the opportunity to share some of my growth. Words can’t express how excited I am for the upcoming retreat this summer and I’m looking forward to our continued collaboration together!

 

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