It takes a village to live a full and happy life.  No question then that it takes a village to run a yoga studio.  For the most part, we are herd animals; we thrive in connections with one another, communities of purpose and meaning, collaboratives of transformation and strength that weave into us a sensation of trust that we are alone nor separate in the world.

The second chakra in our business development model rests in the notion of the archetype of creating safety in the community you actively hold close to you.  To sit in the ocean of creativity, abundant resource and all that a young thriving business can offer, one needs to know that he or she is held and supported by a collaborative of strength.

More important than creating the right logo is making sure you are sustainable physically and emotionally as you open your enterprise.  Burn out is the leading cause of failure in any young business.

It is important to draw those closest to you very close in the seed times of inspiration and the execution of ideas.  Almost more important than the relationships themselves is the correct application of the relationships.  When we get exhausted or overwhelmed we may reach out for someone, anyone, we love but grasp for the wrong person to deliver exactly the emotional charge or charm we need and both feel lost in the exchange.

Knowing who is closest to you, how you look to them for support, how you can actually create a more skillful resonance within the relationships that support you personally will support the manifestation of your business exponentially.

Consider the five most intrinsic people in your life.  I call these, “The Sacred Five.”  These are the people that hold you up, accountable, and embrace your successes and failures.  These beings have your best interests at heart and love your broken bits as much as they admire your strengths.

List them in the order THAT you think of them.  Try not to over think it and try NOT read further until you have written your list.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

From my personal anthropological survey of the human condition, particularly as it applies to small yoga businesses, I have learned that any small business owner needs a network of support. I have gleaned that the order in which we name the people who have our backs, consider us important, and that we lean on for support or insight grants us a powerful board of directors, a mystically potent “Sacred Five.”

The first person you listed is your root.  This is your steady Eddy and the person you know will hold you down when you spin like a top and will embrace you inward when you are feeling shaky or afraid.  This is the person to turn to when the going gets tough to nurture you and remind you that you are rooted in the vision that most inspires you.

The second person you names is your creative muse.  This is most likely the person in your life that you currently bounce ideas off of and run projects past.  This person helps you maintain an expanded view of the world and offers you an invitation into abundant possibilities.  Therefore, he or she may say, “no” to one of your ideas as often as he or she says “yes.”  There is value in this person pushing you to remain open to possibilities.

The third person you noted is your mirror.  This being reflects the “who you are” and the challenges you face.  Interestingly enough, this person probably challenges you and offers you the opportunity to step up to your highest source of identity.  This person demands that you walk your walk when you talk your talk.

The fourth person is your sacred heart.  To be sacred, something is elevated over its ordinary definition or meaning:  this relationship is elevated above mundane conversation.  Chances are you entrust this great being with many secrets you have held in your heart, your dreams, and aspirations.  He or she helps you meet your values in the highest manner possible by asking you to meet yourself with the inquiry of what you really want.  He or she loves you unconditionally and more than likely, you feel the same.

The fifth person is your connection to source, to collective and to a greater vibration than solitary experience.  He or she helps you appreciate your unique gifts in the greater context of how you choose to share them.  This person is wonderful at asking you questions as to where you place your attention in the world and may even challenge your ideas that seem to hold your gifts at bay.

The important nature of your Sacred Five is not merely that they exist or even that they may shift across time and experience, it is how they exist in the order that they do.  Each person shows up in perfect placement in your heart and mind and offers you that special something that only he or she can offer.  Consider leveraging the relationship to offer exactly what you need, which will be the artful skill in sharing the relationship in the manner that serves you both.

For example, root into the person that steadies you:  tug on those roots, as he or she probably loves to be needed and enjoys offering support and an anchored listening ear. However, this is not the person to run ideas past or brainstorm with, as his or her gifts do not rest in this roll and you may notice that you are unsatisfied or left with an unmet need.  Further, asking the third person, your mirror, to meet you in the heart and rise to conversations of deep sensitivity and vulnerability may end up explosive with one of you feeling defeated or less than optimal.

We each serve each other in different ways in the conversations and relationships we weave into life times of meaning.  Consider that your ideas and inspirations to share your passion for yoga in a public medium need not be done in solitary marveling, stressing, and sheer elbow grease.  Ask of those you need for what you need when you need it and experience a tapestry of color, support, and intrinsic aid that you could not ask for it you did not know it was there already.