Latest / Master Your Yoga Teaching with MaKenzie Fly / BURN THE WITCH! 7 Ways to Survive Viral Backlash & Being Roasted on Social Media
Transcript
- MaKenzie Fly: What's up, everybody, and welcome back to NYYT, where you are learning to level up your yoga teaching one masterful class at a time. Holy hell, the internet hates me right now. I wanted to come to the podcast and vulnerably and honestly share with you what I am currently going through. I titled this episode Burn the Witch: Seven Ways to Survive Being Scorched on Social Media. Because that is exactly what it feels like I'm going through right now. And I would just love to give some insight about this experience and what I've learned by going viral and not in the fun way that everybody desires, not the OMG, everybody loves me and they're commenting the keyword, my email list is growing, people are jumping into my programs. No, no, no. That is not what is happening for me. It's the total opposite where I'm getting such haters and trolls. Crawling out from every crevice of the universe to just like absolutely disagree with me and say such like hurtful things. And I think this is a really important conversation to have, especially if you are a yoga teacher who is using social media to grow your business and to market and sell your services. I would love to give you some insight about this. So I want to talk about. what happens when you share something publicly and people disagree or absolutely hate it and what it feels like to suddenly be on the receiving end of a whole lot of attention that you didn't expect, that you didn't ask for, and to just be receiving lots of energy of what it's been like. So I I divided this into parts. Part one, I'm calling the witch hunt. I'll share with you exactly what I said, how it felt to go through this and What I wish I would have communicated a little bit differently. And then part two, I heard my pastor say this recently. Today's test becomes tomorrow's testimony. I'm trying to look at this instance through the lens of okay, now what have I learned? What have I gleaned from going through this experience? So here's where I'll share with you seven lessons that I feel like I've extracted from this situation and from this circumstance. Everything on, you know, handling criticism. How did I protect my energy during this time? How did I maintain my conviction? What are specific things that I did to live through this? Live to tell the tale to you here on the podcast today. And then part three, what remains after the fire? So the deeper lessons about this that have been so unexpected and beautiful. With all of that being said, I think you're gonna love this one. So turn it up and let's dive in. If you aren't following me on social media yet, you can find me at MasterYour Yoga Teaching. It's actually the same name as the podcast to see the posts that we're talking about yourself. So what happened is about, I guess, a week ago in real time from me recording this episode, I shared a reel on Instagram that had this title, PSA to Yoga Teachers. Halloween is not an appropriate yoga class. theme. And it went, it immediately took off, but within the first 24 hours, there was over 300,000 views and a comment section that was just criticized, like tearing me to shreds. So I wanted to share with you the exact caption that I wrote in that just to give you some context and for maybe you even to see immediately, like if you resonated with what I was thinking or if you maybe agree even with some of the the comments that I was getting. This also, this conversation today, spurs a little bit from the episode that I published last week. So it's in the vein of what are we really trying to do as yoga teachers? And I shared my opinions with that. So the episode that I posted last week could also be a nice place to go back to listen to to get some context around this conversation. But With looking at the exact caption for the post that this that skyrocketed that got so much attention. Here's what I shared. I said, I talk all the time about themed yoga classes. And as the holidays approach, I see so many posters, like Halloween class around the studios, which honestly makes my skin crawl. I think that it's spooky, it's scary, and it's terrifying that this even needs to be said, but apparently it does. Inviting students to wear costumes and bumping Michael Jackson's thriller and titling your workshop Pumpkin Spice Flow is fun, but is it functional? This is not what I mean when I talk about weaving a theme into your yoga teaching. Halloween is an occasion, not a philosophical idea that changes how someone lives their life, which to me, this is what A theme in the context of teaching yoga is all about. It's upgrading somebody's mindset and giving them life skills to be able to navigate and maneuver through life with more ease. So if your theme, in my opinion, isn't helping students recognize their blind habit patterns, question their knee-jerk reactions, or understand something meaningful about the human experience, it doesn't belong. Don't be so literal. I think October has so many themes: things like fear, darkness, impermanence, cycles, endings, harvest. There is so much wisdom to explore this season beyond spooky slow flow. That is just a catchy title with the Ghostbusters theme song played underneath. The difference is using the season as inspiration instead of making the season itself your entire message. Your students don't need you to turn their yoga class into something as basic as a pumpkin spice latte. They need you to take that. I can see, I can see it now that that's where you thought that's where I can be perceived as being like really obsolete, really judgy. It goes on to say they are they need you, your students need you to take that inspiration and do something meaningful with it. That's theme weaving. I would love to know your thoughts in the comments. And holy smokes. Did the thoughts come rushing through? So a few. I wanted to pull just a few of my favorite comments. They are so unkind. So here's some of the shade, some of the things that the ghouls, the goblins, and the trolls were saying to me. I got one comment that said, I wonder what a white bitch has to say about yoga today. My most toxic people on the fucking planet, goddamn, white female yogis to be exact. Jeez Louise, yes, I really just is this person's handle. For real, the most toxic people are. White female yogis. Another person said, wow, remind me to never take one of your classes. Another, white girl doing Western yoga, telling you not to be Western. Laugh emoji, classic. Why is the algorithm showing me all the bad takes today? Imagine thinking that we care. I'll be in the spooky classes, keep your hate at home. Oof, another Judgy Yoga teacher. And my three favorites, opinionative, irrelevant, bitch. This one, you have worms in your brain. And then so you explicitly mention yoga classes should help clientele with knee jerk reactions. Yet you see Halloween yoga and your knee jerk reaction is to whine and ask Chat GBT to write an essay on why it's so bad to help sell your shitty yoga instructor course. So there are so many that just come at me, just completely tear me to shreds in the comments. Like so many just absolutely mean things. Okay, so I still, even after receiving comments like that, I still stand by what I said. But the next thing that I shared on social media in response to all of this was okay, if I said that Halloween is not a theme, let me explain what is. And I basically shared one of the stories that I actually told in last week's episode, but I want to say it again here just to give you an example. Let's say that it is October. Currently it is. It's Halloween. And I could plan a super cute class and call it trick-or-treat vinyasa. That's obviously seasonal, super fun, catchy title. But if I wanted to be a theme weaving yoga teacher, during that class I may say something like, At what age do you age out of trick-or-treating? Speaking of trick-or-treating, that actually reminds me of a Buddhist story about a man who approaches the Buddha and he just begins insulting him, just like tearing him down. And he's speaking harshly, actually trying to provoke a reaction. But the Buddha, he just remains calm. And eventually the Buddha asks him: If you offer someone a gift and they refuse to accept it, who does that gift belong to? The man sits for a second, thinks about it, and then finally says, Well, I guess it still belongs to the person offering it. And the Buddha explains that the same is true of the man's insults. He's offering anger, but the Buddha has chosen not to receive it. Don't you see sometimes life can feel a little like trigger-treating? But instead of candy, you get other people's comments and opinions. Not always are they kind. Here's the moral of the story, everybody. You can't always control what people give you, but you can practice choosing how you respond. This is what I mean by theme weaving. A life lesson during a yoga class. This goes beyond, like, sure, I planned a Halloween class. People may actually be in costumes. I might have a fun playlist that has Monster Mash. But if I shared that story and made the moral very clear, see how that goes beyond just a title and it actually teaches them a theme. Of non-reactivity. Non-reactivity in this case is the life skill that would elevate their life. And I personally think that this is way more powerful, way more inspiring, and way more helpful than simply saying spellbound slow flow and playing the Harry Potter theme song just for the vibes and saying nothing insightful that actually helps students not just move their body into poses, but move through life with more skill. Am I saying that yoga teachers have to do this and that experiences without deep themes like this are inferior? No, absolutely not. Please do not mishear me in this episode, or if you go back and listen to last week's episode, that's not what I'm trying to say. I'm just saying I personally strive to be the type of teacher who not only tells people where to place their hands and their feet in a pose on the mat, but also. Gives guidance on how to hold their head in their heart in the pose of life. And if that is your goal, if that's what you strive and aim to be as well, then you and I need to be friends. You are who I'm trying to talk to. Because that is what the practice is ultimately for. And I've said this for years. It's not to get better at the poses, but to become a better person in the process. And this story is also. My response to the viral reel and the troll comments situation. The hater comments, like the meaner, the ruder the comments were in the comment section, the more I pictured the angry man in this story. And it felt like they were just provoking me for a reaction. And so remembering, like clinging to this story, remembering the teaching and the theme of non-reactivity. Gave me strength to navigate this situation differently. And that, my friends, is the purpose of a theme. It's just another tool that helps somebody manage the situation differently. And I was able to not necessarily react to every comment that came through, knowing that most of them, especially the rudest ones, aren't even from yoga teachers. And that's who this post is even for. This is who I'm trying to speak to and help anyway. So host your Halloween class this October. That's not what I'm trying to say. And now reading it back, I can see how that's maybe what people heard. But what I'm trying to say is sure, you can you can host a Halloween class. You're allowed to do it in whatever way you'd like. But if you want to weave a theme, here's a way in which I think it's more powerful and more effective. Hopefully that explains, explains my intention a little bit more and maybe cleared the air in showing the example of see how I don't just mean if Halloween isn't what I mean, here's more of what I mean. But then some of my friends reached out and asked, okay, how are you doing since the and I've star I started calling it the incident. And To be honest with you, that whole situation could have been really, really dysregulating if two things weren't true. The first, and I already said this, is that the majority of the people who had the nastiest things to say aren't even the people that I'm trying to speak to or help. My personal mission is to help yoga teachers. Specifically, the yoga teachers who want to not only instruct postures for the body. But also teach life lessons within the movement. And I can't say this enough. I'm not saying that this is better. I'm just saying this is different. So when Dante, the fire spinner, and this was actually a real life person, commented on some of my posts saying, You scream lazy white gentrification, it's honestly just irrelevant. I have to let that roll off my back because my message is not for him. His opinion Doesn't matter to my work. And secondly, what I shared wasn't this hot take. It is not rage bait to get attention. This is my belief, and it's one that I stand by still, 10 toes down, spine straight, shoulders back, and head held high. I've been saying this for years. And that is exactly what I dive deep into explaining in my eight-hour program called Theme Weaver Method. Okay. This is my life's work. This is what feels like my dharma. This is what feels like my legacy that I'm leaving. And for the 70 plus yoga teachers who have already been through it and left five-star raving reviews, that's who I think about more so when, especially when these voices got loud, this is who I kept looking to. And I reflected on the results that they've been getting, giving, getting through being in this space. And I'm like, it's working for them. It gets them the result that they want. They finish knowing exactly what makes a good theme, where to consistently find them, how to plan them in a way that doesn't take 84 years, and how to share them in the moment with conviction and confidence and how to digitally organize them on the back end so that they build this bank of inspiration for themselves. It's working for them. And it's also working for me. I get to teach and talk about what I'm obsessed with while also. Getting the people inside these incredible results. I mean, just these transformations that make me cry. And not to mention, it pays me more than I thought possible. So yeah, I mean, it has felt really weird to receive so much hate. But then I remember that I get paid tens of thousands of dollars by yoga teachers who want to learn the art of theme weaving. And that just feels like such a goddamn dream come true. And I hope this is received well because I don't want to be misconstrued that I'm in this for the money, but it's a very bizarre feeling to be receiving that much like negative energy online and also at the same time to have had the most yoga teachers ever jump in my program in a week. This week, my Theme Weaver Method program had 10. People jump in. So that's $5,000 made in one day, which used to be $5K, used to be my goal, my monthly goal for yoga teaching. And the amount of individual public yoga classes that I had to teach to get that was so much. Like so much of the week was spent preparing multiple classes, driving to and from the studios or all over town to do the private yoga sessions. And I'm able to make that in one. Thursday, getting to hang out with my favorite people, yoga teachers, talking about my favorite topic, theme weaving while doing my favorite thing, helping others, and making bank. It just feels like a dream come true. So, yes, this whole situation has been challenging, but when I really think about it, I'm like, I feel so grateful that it doesn't okay. Here's I guess here's what I'm really trying to say. It doesn't feel as hard when I know and have the have the proof. That the people who really truly hear me out, they jump in and they benefit from it. And that I actually have a business built around this that is super successful, not just for me in making money, but for the people inside who are actually getting the promised results. That definitely helps. That has helped me l survive this week feeling more. Feeling okay, because I I see the proof. And what's interesting about this whole situation is that I tried to view it as an opportunity just to get clearer, clear with what I was really trying to say. And I do actually feel like a lot of people completely missed my point on one end. And I'm taking a I'm taking responsibility as well that maybe I didn't explain myself well. And that I could be more compassionate, I could be more kind, and I could be more clear. And that is what I feel like I've been able to find through this situation. People really truly were livid when I said that Halloween is not an appropriate yoga class theme. So I think something that is helpful is to define theme, and this is really important, in the context of teaching yoga. Because yoga, I don't need to tell you this, you're probably a yoga teacher, but yoga in its entirety is a philosophy. It's a way of living, a special type of living, not just living on autopilot or sleepwalking or reacting to life. Yoga as a philosophy is about living awake. It's about being conscious and responsive. So I was shocked. I was so shocked with how many comments came through saying, I don't think it's that deep. Just shut up and downward dog. It's not that serious. There was one that was like, I wasn't aware that was, it was something beyond just stretching in there. I thought it was an excuse for stay-at-home housewives to get out. And I was like, my goodness, there's still people out there who think that yoga that who don't understand. And so in my response to this is: I'm like, it is, it is incredibly deep and profound if you have the willingness to see it that way. And that one Singular branch of yoga is asana, which asana is the posture, it's the movement and physical practice. You can practice asana without practicing yoga. And that is fine. That's beautiful. It's just that that's not what I'm talking about here. You can be an asana instructor, a pose instructor, or a yoga teacher. And it was this difference. That alone, this one concept right here, was a big source of the misunderstanding, the confusion, and the contention among all the comments. So, theme in the yoga room, and as I define it, means the deeper subject or the life lesson within what inspired you. Often named in one or three words that connects the physical practice to a conscious way of living off the mat. Theme is the deeper subject or life lesson within what inspired you, often named in one to three words that connects the physical practice to a conscious way of living off the mat. So I say it again, I still stand by my belief that's gotten me so much flack. Holidays, characters, and pop culture references are not appropriate themes for yoga experiences. However, now stay with me, this is important. You can use these things, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, as inspiration as long as you extract meaning and teachings and takeaways from them. For example, let's make this tangible. Last year, my son dressed up as Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. And then because his birthday is like two weeks later, we repurposed his Buzz Lightyear costume and we themed his birthday party Toy Story. Imagine how ludicrous, how silly would it be to theme a yoga class Toy Story? Almost as ludicrous as theming a class Halloween. No. I'm like, I'm I'm already I'm already like digging digging myself out of this hole. So don't want to make it worse, even though I do believe that. But I could use Toy Story as the inspiration to share themes of friendship, themes of adventure, of Overcoming jealousy? What about adapting to change, problem solving? Because that is what the movie Toy Story is actually about. Beyond the title, Toy Story is about friendship, adventure, overcoming jealousy, adapting to change, problem solving. Do you see what I mean? These are the themes. Toy Story is just the title and it's just your inspiration, but you If you're an aspiring theme weaving yoga teacher, you have to dig deeper. You have to contemplate what is the deeper life lesson within this kid's movie. That is what makes this challenging. That's what makes this a skill. And if you aren't skilled at relating this idea to yoga and to life at large, then it's always going to fall flat. This is why, this is why it doesn't work. And what I teach you how to do inside my program. But for those of you that are actually fighting on me, fighting. Fighting me on this, like when I said Halloween is not an appropriate class theme, I invite you, I challenge you to just ask yourself, okay, what does Halloween mean to me? What does Halloween represent? What is the wisdom within this season? Just asking yourself these questions alone are going to bring you way closer to the actual theme of this season, and they'll take you deeper than the surface level Halloween. And a lot of people in the comments of the viral reel were saying things like, Halloween should be a time where people are allowed to have fun, to let loose. And to all of those, I say, I agree. And those are your themes. Okay. Halloween is just your inspiration. There was so much thematic, thematic content that were coming through the captions. People were disagreeing with me, but they were bringing up points like, Halloween is about childlike play. Halloween is fun. It's a time of imagination. It's about taking off the masks. Those are the themes that everybody would benefit from. Hands down, those concepts and those ideas would enhance life for the better. But Halloween is the time, it's the event, it's the moment on the calendar. Your theme is the teaching and the message, the moral hiding within that. And hopefully, this example. Of looking, like hopefully me telling you about my kids' themed birthday party helps you see how it's different than a themed yoga class. Like theming a yoga class is very different than theming a kid's birthday party. But of course, think what you want to think, do what you want to do. I'm not here trying to police anybody, but this is the backbone of my work. And everything that I share, my intention is to help the yoga teachers who want to do this well. I try to share what has been effective for me and all of the dozens of yoga teachers that are inside my program. I'm trying to talk to you and those of you that are ready. Okay, now let's move into part two, surviving the fire. Here are seven ways to survive viral backlash. These are these are the the this is the testimony that I have after going through this test. I think the first thing to remember is that visibility is a performance skill. Visibility is a performance skill. And I am so grateful for my performance background because I've had a lot of practice, a lot of rehearsal being visible. You have to remember, I went to college for musical theater. I had classes in college where I would literally stand on stage for all of my classmates and sing and perform and be judged, receive feedback on how I looked. Ha and then auditions as a professional performer here in Las Vegas. So many countless stories I could tell you of feeling so not metaphorically, but like literally semi-naked on stage. I mean, I had an audition one time where I was wearing nothing but a leotard and your like legs and butt cheeks are out. And you do, I had to perform a whole combination. So move through a whole dance. And they lined us up in a row, asked us to turn around. And the directors, this table of men, just observed all of us and then announced our numbers. And if they said our numbers, that was our sign to leave because we did not fit the look. We had we were too thick or had too much cellulite on our legs and our butts. And so I have that in my memory. I also have another time of performing in a show called Jubilee here in Las Vegas, where I was basically wearing, straps. It was like almost like a BDSM type vibe where I wasn't wearing much and that I'm standing on stage. Literally naked. This is some people's worst nightmare, but that was just a normal Tuesday. That was my paycheck. And so I tell you all of this that I have been visible. I am accustomed to having a lot of eyeballs on me. I'm used to standing up there, giving it my best, and having people say, sorry, it's not enough for X, Y, and Z reasons. That has really come in handy in this instance because. I've just practiced it. I've rehearsed it. And when you do, you do develop a level of thick skin. You recognize that maybe it's not about, you know, it's not anything that you need to take personally, but people are looking for a very specific thing to fit the job or fit the profile of what they're looking for. And why I tell you this, and I know you might be thinking, like, Mackenzie, I didn't go to musical theater school. I don't have a BFA in performance art. Standing on stage is like my worst nightmare. It sounds terrifying. Dancing, basically nude. I would never. And to all that, I say, I hear you. But you can build your capacity to tolerate visibility through practice. And that's what I'm trying to help you see. Is you don't need to necessarily become fearless to become visible. But every time you do, allow yourself to be visible, you get better. At it. It's just a skill. It's just a muscle. The second thing that I learned from this instance is to lean on your mentors. Lean on your mentors. And here's the teaching for you is like, don't take advice from people who aren't in the arena. One of the first things that I did when the troll comments were coming through is to send a DM to my mentor and I basically reached out to her saying, SOS, help. I'm under fire. I feel like I'm under attack. I posted something where I truly feel like it was a belief and I'm receiving so much backlash. How do I stand firm in what I said without thinking I need to change my language or delete the post? go back on what I said. Change my beliefs or my philosophy and Yeah, so I just asked her for help and she immediately came to my aid with like a 20-minute voice note reminding me that reminding me that being a business owner, an online business owner, and using social media to grow the business comes with visibility, like we just talked about. But she also reminded me my options that I could either you know, shrink and pull back, or that I could really lean in to this. And a lot of these takeaways that I'm about to share with you actually are inspired by the advice that she gave to me. So I reached out to my mentor, you know, I listened to her primarily. I didn't, I mean I did. I did go to my husband and my family, but I didn't expect my husband and like my mom, those were the the other first people that I spoke to, was like, Confiding in my husband of how how hurt I was at some of these comments, how terrible it feels to be misunderstood and judged and just called mean names by strangers and random people on the planet. Of course, I talked to my husband and my mom about these things, but I didn't expect them to be able to fully hold the space for me in terms of understanding how that feels. I mean, they've never had instances like this happen to them. Number one, so they couldn't give me advice. They couldn't give me embodied advice of having had lived through a similar experience. And they couldn't give me perspective on how to navigate this as a business owner, because that's the point of having mentors, is like they can give you their perspective of when it happened to them because it probably has. And they can give you more guidance on what to do moving forward. That simply wouldn't be fair of me to expect that from my husband. To say, like, hey, how do I, how do I show up about this? Because maybe he would give me well-intentioned advice, but it wouldn't necessarily be the smartest as number one, a yoga teacher or a business owner. So I think that this is really, really important is if you are a yoga teacher who is on social media, know that you'll get better at visibility through practice, but it really is so crucial that you have someone in your back pocket that you can go to. Who has been through this before, has had real life experience surviving it to help you. And I'm so grateful to mine because she gave such great advice. The third thing that I did was I returned my attention to the people that I'm actually here to serve. And I almost had to sift and filter through all of that and use my discernment to look at the responses that people were giving me and be like, are these people misunderstanding me? Are they disagreeing with me or are they just criticizing me? And almost like see through, move aside. All of the comments that weren't from yoga teachers and were just like randos. It's like they're they they I don't need to give them my time and attention because they're not who I'm trying to speak to or help anyway. And so I just returned to the people that I am trying to help. I returned to the yoga teachers who are in my program and in my world. I pulled up their testimonials, I pulled up all the emails that they sent to me to remember that they are like it is working for them. They are. Loving it inside. And this definitely helped me when there was like so much loud attention and all of it feeling like negative on the front end. I went to the back of the house and was like, wait a minute. The people who are actually inside, are they getting the promise? Yes or no? Yes. And I think I'm okay and I can live with that. Number four is I started to consider this. Moment in time is a threshold for me. And actually, one yoga teacher commented something so kind and nice on one of my posts following the viral reel, where she was like, This is a threshold for you, a time in which you are going to leave some people behind, in the sense of this conversation acts as a filter, it filters out the wrong people, the people who don't resonate necessarily with what I'm saying. But it also attracts and pulls in the people who do and are hearing what I'm saying. They're, they're, they're think they're in agreement and in alignment with what I'm saying. So it's acting as a magnet in a sense of repelling the people that this is not for and attracting the people that it is. And that helped me go through this with a little more grace, is just to see it as that filtration system. And to see it as this threshold of like, if you can't, if you don't get on board with me here, then you won't get on board with me for the rest of my beliefs and the rest of my method. Like this is critical. This is the big domino. And if this one doesn't fall, then we really aren't a match, and that's okay. The fifth thing that really helped me is to let the pressure refine me, not silence me. So what I mean by this is like pressure in the sense of. Creating pressure to squeeze something until it becomes a diamond. That's what this situation felt like. If I were to give it like a metaphor of the experience, I'd be like, I just felt so squeezed, so squeezed, so squeezed. There was a lot of heat. people were charged, like they had some feelings about this. And it, it, that pressure refined my message. It didn't silence my message. And the teaching here for you is that conviction, conviction in what you're saying. And humility can coexist. I think that you can believe in your message while also recognizing that there might have been a little weakness in how you delivered it. even when I went back to reread the initial caption to you here on the podcast, I'm like, wow, there is some, there is some tone, you know, there's like some strong, strong language in that. And this is where it's like, I still stand by what I said, but is there a way that I could have said it without being so absolutist or framing it as if there was one like a better way? That's not who I want to be. I don't want to communicate without. passion or in an unkind way or in a way that is saying my way is the highway because no I that's not what I'm trying to say And I think I've already expressed this in a way. Ultimately, I'm really grateful that this happened. I'm really grateful that a reel went viral and that it wasn't super well received because receiving those comments has made me think about my message even more. And try to explain myself from the very beginning and in a way where people actually grasp what I'm saying and not misunderstand. So ultimately it's a it's been a huge win for me because I feel like now more than ever, I fully understand what I'm trying to say. And I've had lots of practice communicating that in different ways. And I fully back these beliefs and that conviction feels so good. The sixth thing that helped me through this situation is to actually turn the comments into content. And the teaching for you is that your audience's reactions to things on social media can reveal what needs to be taught next. The comments are revealing misconceptions. They're revealing objections. They're highlighting competing beliefs or revealing Places in which there's still questions, And the criticism, often the criticism that people were leaving in a comment, became the copy or the caption in my very next educational reel. And if there was a big misunderstanding, like a recurring misunderstanding in the comments, that helped reveal a gap in my messaging. And a disagreement that was happening in the comments inspired. This nuanced podcast episode. So I'm repurposing from last week all of my responses that I made in my Instagram carousels to create even this podcast episode right here. So I'm I'm using the whole experience to come up with more content. And I'm not just, it's not just content in which I'm reacting to the backlash, but I'm trying to extract. Lessons from this experience that serve you. And that is the distinction between using your comments as research and using your comments as revenge. And hopefully you even see it here in this episode. It's like, I'm not, I don't want to tell you this story and do it through the lens or do it in the way of being like, man, people really hated my post and they're such idiots. No. But Being like, man, people really felt strongly about that. And like, what did I learn? And also, how does this apply to you or help you in the future when this maybe happens to you? So see, see how, see how you too can do this of like turning the experience and turning the comments into more content where you teach your people a little bit more about what you actually did mean, or explain it in a deeper way, or say, hey, this is exactly. This this person brings up a really good point and it opens the doorway for you to take a deep dive into an adjacent part of your work. And then the seventh thing that helped me maneuver through this situation or stand the fire was to just sit and send meta to all of my haters. I posted on my stories, I was like, for real though, do I respond to the haters and the trolls? And I did a poll where the first was don't waste your breath. The second was kill them with kindness. And then the third was give them a piece of your mind. And by a landslide, a lot of people voted, don't waste your breath, like don't respond, which I haven't responded to a majority of them. But the kill them with kindness approach has really helped me. And if you're not familiar with metta meditation, metta basically means loving kindness. I found it really supportive to sit. And read some of the most nasty comments. And then in meditation, walk myself through the steps of meta where I pour traditional phrases of loving-kindness on myself. Like, may I be peaceful. May I be safe. May I be happy and free. And then extend that well-wish for people whom I really love and have been instrumental. In my life. And then even further expand to someone who you feel neutral towards. Like in my case, I chose my neighbor who I just met. I don't have like a deep relationship with her. So I don't have a lot of formulated opinions about her. I've just met her in passing. And then the next step of meta meditation is expanding these well wishes, these wishes for peace, these wishes for happiness, these wishes for good fortune and success to all of the trolls, to every rude. Comment to every person. And I found that this was really, really healing for me. And that, you know, some people might even hear that and say, well, you were doing that for the attention, or to sound really enlightened. But at the end of the day, it doesn't feel good to be to be like that hateful. You know, I don't want to feel hateful. And so in even if somebody this reminds me of like the biblical concept of turn the other cheek, you know, that I'm not doing it for them. I'm really doing it for me. It is actually very selfish of me to be doing meta because even though I'm sending them well wishes, I'm doing it so that I don't experience the Chemical cocktail of hatred living in my body, living in my energetic field. And not forgiving them because for them, but for forgiving them for me, so that I don't have to hold on to this hate, this hurt, this grudge anymore, but to release it and to let it go. And so I want to I want to remind you of this, that this was really supportive for me. To wish the haters to send meta to the haters. And that maybe that could be the exact medicine that you need to feel like you're truly like rising above this instance and responding to this situation still as a yogi, still, still maintaining your kindness through all of it. So those are the seven things that I would suggest to survive being slaughtered on social media, Okay, so then part three, the final, the final bit. Let's wrap this up. I've often said in my yoga teaching: the practice is a fire. It's a consuming fire, a fire of purification. And it burns up not what you are, but all that you are not. And that is what this situation has felt like. Don't mishear me. This episode is not about the internet trolls. It's not, hey, I went viral and people were mean. But I'm trying to talk to you about what it costs to be visible and how to stay grounded when the internet turns on you. Because if you are brave enough to be a yogi preneur, to create something of your own, you have the guts and the balls to put yourself out there and to talk about your work, it's terrifying. You will be misunderstood. You will be criticized. You will be judged. You might be disliked. These are all things that I'm I still very much feel. I'm still very much afraid of. I have a lot of fear. And you might be feeling those feelings of fear too. So I'm telling myself, and I'm also extending this to you. You don't have to be fear like, what is that cliche? Fearless doesn't mean that there's the absence of fear. It means that. Fear is there and you're choosing to walk alongside it. And all of this is so ironic because I I say I'm this yoga teacher that helps other yoga teachers find their voice to speak with conviction, to share meaningful messages. And of course I experience a situation like this, right? this has helped me so much truly be able to teach people how to not only find your voice, but use your voice while I am personally navigating the consequences of using my own. That feels so appropriate. That feels so good and right. And I am choosing to learn the lesson from this. And this has been such a a joy to sit down and try to think what are these lessons and then share them with you. So I hope that you have found this episode insightful. if you personally were offended by anything that I have I have said or thought that I said it in a way that was judgy or rude, I want to apologize to you for that tone. But I also hope that you had the openness and the willingness to hear me out and that maybe there's been a little more clarity within this, whether or not you agree or we have decided agree to disagree with one another. If you are loving this work though and you've heard me mention things like Theme Weaver Weekly, the class planning subscription where you can swipe my theme-centered class plans or even Theme Weaver Method, which is the program and the course that teaches you how to map out your own. I would love to invite you into those spaces because this is what I'm all about. They can call me, they can say, burn the witch, but I am not going to stop being your theme weaving bitch. I'm here to stay, and this is still my life's work, my legacy, and my dharma. So I'd love to point you in the directions if you want to jump in either one of those spaces. Thank you, thank you so much for being here each and every Wednesday for your dose of Master Your Yoga Teaching. And until next week, namaste.