(At Least for Vegans Who Are Heart Conscious.)

Facebook is an educators dream, a tool for building community and sharing knowledge whether that information is where is the best burrito in the Bay Area (Taqueria San Jose in San Rafael) or music on a Monday night (I’m headed to the Bottom Of The Hill) or the latest Republican antics (Yes, they did just say that!) or that picture of the cute puppy your friend just got (when you click like on that picture it feels good, right!) to the best ways to live your life (thank you Yoga).

It’s shocking how many yoga teachers do not use the tools available to them to improve the quality of our newsfeeds/lives.

All of this technology developed over the last decade has created a perfect storm, you can change someone’s life with a status update (a little dramatic but true).

Below are three Facebook secrets to help you be the yoga teacher you really are on Facebook.

1. Share From The Heart. This doesn’t mean be cheesy or tell sappy stories, it means be honest and real. Be you. We all edit ourselves on Facebook (okay, we all know a few people that should edit themselves more)—I’m encouraging you to edit yourself less. When you talk to your friends or teach your class, we love you. Be that person on Facebook. You don’t have to be a self help book, just speak your truth and share your life as it’s happening.
2. Stop Selling, Start Teaching. You might have been a great sales person in a previous life, but you suck on Facebook. Notice when you sell we don’t share your posts? Why? Is it because the deal isn’t good enough? No! $3,000 to spend a week with you in Costa Rica is an amazing deal! The reason is simple, we’re not inspired. We see thousands of ads a day, from driving to class to checking Facebook. If you read the newspaper or any magazine (or even elephant journal), you’re seeing hundreds of ads every hour. We have figured out how to visually block the ads—your status update for your DVD or teacher training program or retreat looks just like an ad. So what’s the solution? Figure out how to educate us or inspire us, then create the possibility of finding out more in whatever product you are pushing. It’s that simple.
3. iPad. Seriously. I’m giving you the excuse you have been looking for. We all know you hate working on a computer—get the device that’s easy to use and is a media collecting beast. You need the right tools, do you practice on one of those crappy grocery store mats or do you use a premium mat? (Sorry this post was not sponsored so I’m not name dropping—you fill in the name of your favorite mat.) You have to start feeding us great content (pictures, video blog posts). The iPad will make it easier to capture and create, it will free your creative genius. Budget tight? Use the iPhone you already have, it’s just as powerful, just a smaller screen! While the haters will say this is not an amazing tip and complain about me suggesting you spend $700 on a toy, hear me now believe me later. In yoga, we don’t have a content creation problem. We teach everywhere we go, we see yoga in everything we do. We have a content collection problem. Get the tool that will empower you to collect the content you see, think and feel.

Okay—So who inspired this post? Strangely enough, Dr. Esselstyn.

While I’m not a vegan this year (go ahead haters), I am a huge fan of how he has attacked heart disease and have been watching him on Facebook (okay, I’m pretty convinced it’s his wife or daughter). What is he doing right that we all need to do? Giving It Away For Free.

I believe that coronary artery disease is preventable, and that even after it is underway, its progress can be stopped, its insidious effects reversed…The key lies in nutrition…

~ Dr. Esselstyn

Yes, he’s sharing the secrets to his program for free on Facebook (see the image of his status update to the right). Why? Because his mission is to save lives. Sound familiar? Do you really think your content is that proprietary? Dr. Esselstyn is a genius and his Facebook status update today will save someone’s life tomorrow.

Get over yourself and start giving it all away, we will start sharing your content and your community will grow.

We will like and comment on your updates, we’ll support you with the love you deserve. Oh yeah, we’ll also buy whatever you’re hawking, we are consumers and love to shop. The world is alive and thriving, you just have to look thru some different windows. Change the life of the yoga teacher who you know can be more inspiring on Facebook by sharing this post!

Editor: Lynn Hasselberger

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