When I got off the phone after interviewing Lydia Zamorano, I felt excited and inspired. Lydia’s demeanor is gentle and her disposition is soft, yet she is one of the strongest yogini’s I have ever encountered.

When I stopped to reflect on what I learned from Lydia, the following 5 things stood out for me:

1.There is no right answer to how you choose to practice, as long as you practice. There is benefit from moving from a guided practice to your own self-practice and following your own inner guidance. You can learn a surprising amount from yourself.

2. It seems as though social media is something that you HAVE to do to be a successful yoga teacher. Find out what your community wants though and give it to them. This may not be in the form of social media, and you are not a bad yoga teacher if you choose to refrain from being on social media.

3. Show people that you are passionate about what you do. Even if you don’t have a lot of experience, being passionate can help you to get your first job as a yoga teacher.

4. Owning a yoga studio may not be for you. A lot of new yoga teachers dream of owning a yoga studio, or feel like they should own a yoga studio, but it’s not for everyone. Follow your heart and chase after your own personal dreams, not the dreams of other people.

5. Choose what is most important for you in your life. This may be your career as a yoga teacher, it may be your family, it may be your health, or maybe it is a career outside of teaching yoga. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter as long as you honor it.

What I have learned in my short time in the yoga world is that there are a lot of different career paths under the umbrella of “yoga teacher”. There is no right path. There isn’t one path that is better than the other. Going one direction and deciding that that isn’t for you is okay. Continue to try things out until you find what truly makes you happy, just like Lydia did.

To learn more about Lydia, check out the podcast episode here.