IEP011: How to Create Fulfilment in all Areas of Your Life

Welcome to the Intuitive Entrepreneur Podcast, I'm your host Brigit Esselmont, intuitive business strategist and mentor. As the founder of Biddy Tarot, I turn my love for tarot into an abundant seven-figure business. The secret to my success, making intuition and strategy my entrepreneurial superpower. And now, I'm inviting you to do the same. In this weekly podcast, I'll be sharing advice, tools and real life examples from some of the best intuitive entrepreneurs to show you how you can trust your intuition, align with your purpose and create a positive impact through your work. Let's make it happen.

Brigit:  Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Intuitive Entrepreneur Podcast. Now, today I'm speaking with yoga teacher, studio owner, public speaker, mom and teacher trainer Lauren Verona. Now, Lauren is a local here on the Sunshine Coast and she runs the yoga studios called Zenko Yoga. And I met Lauren, gosh, maybe about 18 months ago and it was kind of a funny experience because I went down to the local yoga studio wanting to just check it out and I walk in there and there's this gorgeous blonde curly head woman who started to check me in. She said, "Well, what's your name?" And I said it's Brigit Esselmont." She's like, "What? Brigit? The Biddy Tarot?" And I'm like, "Yeah." And then she was like, "Oh my goodness, this is so exciting. I'm going to give you a free pass. You're someone I've followed for so very long."

And it was just this instant connection because Lauren is just such a warm and friendly and outgoing and energetic person. And in fact, she's probably one of those, the most clean energy people that I know. You know when you look at somebody and they just have this really clean energetic aura around them? That is Lauren for sure and she's always positive and she's always looking on the bright side of life. So Lauren is not only just a super energetic, amazing human being, she is also a successful business owner and so she owns the two yoga studios on the Sunshine Coast here in Australia. She also runs retreats and also has set up an online yoga class membership called A Live Yogi.

Now, Lauren is an influential advocate for a life of wellness and wisdom and her passion is to help others find growth and transformation in both their personal and business life. Now, Lauren possesses a rare ability to successfully navigate the seemingly contradictory worlds of yoga and business simultaneously. Kind of sounds like me with Tarot business, right? Lauren has achieved success by today's modern standards without having to sacrifice her commitment to yoga's ancient wisdom, which I think is really notable. And also not sacrificing her commitment to her personal values, which you'll hear about today.

And Lauren has always found that no matter the question, the answer is always yoga. Ah, delightful. So Lauren's natural ability for entrepreneurship has led her to launch the award-winning Zenko Yoga, which has gone to set the benchmark for yoga studio standards in Australia. And it's a multi studio yoga business offering classes, workshops and education of students of all levels. And in fact, our marketing manager over at Biddy Tarot, Katie, went through the teacher training as well and is now teaching at Zenko Yoga. So everything comes together in a beautiful way.

Now, Lauren is also a Food Matters ambassador and a regular keynote speaker at events such as the SHINE Business Women's Conference, the Sunshine Coast Innovation Center, WanderLost. WanderLost or WanderLust, I never know. I always think of the German word wanderlust. And the Conscious Life Festival. She's a trained yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner and acts as a mentor to the Zenko Yoga teacher training students. Anyway, she's a bowl full of awesomeness. Oh, I should add this because this is good. In 2018, Zenko Yoga won the Sunshine Coast business award for best large health and wellness business. And I love this because what it shows us is again and again that when we run our business from a place of deep values and trusting our intuition, we can create huge success, and you'll hear about that today.

So in today's conversation, we talk about how Lauren allowed her intuition to guide her towards opening multiple yoga studios even when her family and friends worried that she was heading down the wrong path. We talk about why staying true to your values is essential if you want to create a thriving and sustainable business. We talk about how Lauren attracts her dream team into her orbit without having to advertise or go through a lengthy application process. We talk about why being busy and overwhelmed is just a state of mind, yes it is. And what to do to free yourself of this forever. And one of Lauren's favorite topics is how to fill your love tank and create fulfillment across all areas of your life. So definitely listen out for that because I find this love tank concept is super, super important. All right, with that said, let's get into today's interview with Lauren.

Brigit:  So hi Lauren, how are you doing today?

Lauren:  I'm great and how are you Brigit?

Brigit:  I am very good. I'm very impressed that you're sitting here in a singlet while I'm rugged up and we are literally only about a 20-minute drive away from each other.

Lauren: Tell you what, it's warm in the sun. I've been out on the deck working.

Brigit:  So nice. I've been in my office freezing and working at the same time.

Lauren:  You need an extension cord darling.

Brigit:  I know. I know. Awesome. Well, I'd love to get started with understanding a little bit more about your journey and what brought you to where you are now, particularly in terms of your business and  yoga.

Lauren:  I have to say stress and anxiety and overwhelm and those sort of words actually brought me to the yoga practice. I wasn't working in yoga, I was working in PR and marketing. I had a PR business in Melbourne after traveling the world, after high school and then finally settling down and I was in PR and started doing yoga really for stress relief. And I noticed that I started to feel better, I started to get clarity around areas of my life and started to really make decisions based on my values and finding out what my values were and who I was. Fast forward another probably year or two and I went on to do teacher training and then started teaching and have since opened yoga studios both in Melbourne and here on the Sunshine Coast.

Brigit: Yeah. This is kind of the very fast-forwarded version with all the trials and tribulations along the way.

Lauren:  Yes.

Brigit: What did you discover when you were looking at your values? What came up for you? And was there a kind of ... Had those changed over your lifetime?

Lauren: Yeah. I mean, helping people was one of my really big ones and what I realized is that I was helping people in business, in a PR sense in media and what I really wanted to be doing was helping people heal and transform and find purpose. And that's what yoga enabled me to do. so I wanted to go on and help others do the same.

Brigit:  Yeah. And I'm curious, like when you started to move into the yoga space, did you start with a business plan or did you go with the flow?

Lauren:  Absolutely not. Went with the flow despite family members telling me that I shouldn't do it, that I wouldn't make money, that it was a silly idea, that it was just a fluffy spiritual world, all that sort of thing. I just went ahead and did it.

Brigit:  Like walk me through that because I think a lot of people face that challenge of their heart saying, "Yeah, I've got to do this work," and then everyone else is going, "Are you crazy? What are you doing?" So how did you get the courage?

Lauren:  It wasn't easy to be honest. I kept it as a little secret for a little while and I'd be in the shower, I remember, and I'd be visualizing myself teaching yoga but dare I sort of tell anyone. I was just this businesswoman in Melbourne. And I went and had counseling and I remember breaking down to the counselor saying, "I think I just want to teach yoga full-time." And she helped me kind of navigate my way through that, come home and start talking to partner and family about it. And people supported me but they were worried and of course and they were concerned.

But what really sealed the deal was I started to teach classes just a little space where I would rent for $20 an hour and people came back to the classes and people loved it, people thanked me. And I remember coming home with this big wad of cash one night from selling 10 places and it was just so symbolic that I was doing what I loved and getting paid. And really it just went from there when I started to look for a space to lease. I was married at the time and so went into that business with my husband at the time. And we opened two studios in Melbourne.

And really, intuition has played a huge part in all of that, in finding the right staff to work for us and finding the right spaces and when to run the classes, how to price point what we do. There's been a structure, I know how to write a business plan and I think it's effective to come back to a business plan from time to time. It's kind of checking in, isn't it? It's like coming back to the recipe book just to check that you've got the right measurements but still we're bringing in that creative flow with your flavors each time.

Brigit:  Yes. Yeah, absolutely. And when you moved from just renting out a room for $20, that's amazing that you could do that.

Lauren:  It was 10 years ago.

Brigit:  To then like actually getting space that you could use continuously, did you have to go into debt for that? Did you have to take out a loan for that to happen or-

Lauren: Yeah. Borrowed money from parents. We found a space and the landlord didn't want to give it to us because we were a startup. And to be quite honest with you, I had actually also fallen pregnant with my first pregnancy the same time. And I went to sleep a couple days later and I literally had this dream that I lost the baby through a miscarriage. And all I saw was the two front windows of this space with frosting and with our logo on it, which I had designed in my mind and actually they're still there now in East Hawthorn in Melbourne, exactly how I designed it in my mind.

So sure enough, I woke up the next morning and I went on to miscarriage that week and the agent called us back on a Friday afternoon. I remember the agent's name, I remember the screen on my phone and he said, "Look, it's fallen through with someone else. We're willing to give you guys a go." So that's that power or visualization yet the power of just trusting and surrendering because really, there was a higher plan there.

Brigit:  Yes. Yeah, and I think this is a huge part of intuitive entrepreneurship. To be able to give up that need to control and I need it to be exactly like this and why isn't it happening like that? And then sometimes things would take us on a bit of a curvy path but it gets us there in the end.

Lauren:  It does eventually if it's meant to. And once we finally really understand that, it is a game-changer. And I didn't learn from that first experience, absolutely I didn't. I mean, even with the Noosa studio, Brigit where you've been to, when ... There's a beautiful story about how that came about but when I did find it and did make an offer, it was still six months until we opened. I kept visualizing on it and trusting. And we opened on a supermoon, the energies were all aligned, it was perfect.

Brigit:  Yes.

Lauren:   So that really taught me that everything does have its own way of working out beautifully when we trust. But it's not like we can just sit here and just hope that it'll happen so it's that dance of setting an intention like we do in a class and a practice, putting something out there and then trusting. And getting that dance and that balance is key.

Brigit:  So in terms of more of your proactive intuitive practice or spiritual practice, is that kind of the primary tool that you're using? You're using visualization like you'll choose something that you want and visualize it or do you feel into the energy and see what's coming back to you?

Lauren:  Yeah. So both can happen, it really depends on where and how. I get a sort of feeling to the end or I can just get like a snapshot almost, like a vision that comes into my mind. Often it will be through a practice like when I'm practicing in yoga or when I sit into the meditation and I'll sense it. And obviously with creative entrepreneurs as we are, not all vision, not all wonderful ideas actually come to fruition. So it's that, "Okay, I just got a flash, that was cool. What was that?" Sit in the energy of it and write it out. And when I mean write it out, journal it out, sit with it. And it can be days, weeks, months and it can sort of eventuate or not.

Brigit:  Yes. And I think sometimes people have this idea that if you're intuitive you should be able to get the perfect vision of exactly what it is that's coming to you and exactly when and it comes through increased clarity but it doesn't. Often times it evolves.

Lauren:  As intuits, we need our lessons learned. If I was intuitive enough, perhaps the day I married my husband, maybe I wouldn't have married him but instead I went down a beautiful journey of having two beautiful children and learning a lot about relationships. And after separating, really learning, I grew so much and have since then gone on to really run businesses how I want them to be. So I didn't regret that choice that I made to get married some 10 years ago. Do you know what I mean? So I don't think we can blame that we think our ... Intuitively, I didn't realize that he was the right person. Perhaps, it was actually all perfect and designed for us.

Brigit:  Yes. It always is.

Lauren:  It always is, right?

Brigit:   Yes. And on the flip side, has there been a time when you didn't trust your intuition and what did that lead to?

Lauren:   I think I remember, I got that pull to run a retreat in Hawaii. I run a few retreats around the world and this one was like Hawaii. I'd see a sticker in a car, drive past, "Ooh look, another sign." Someone's wearing Hawaiian hat. Ooh, the universe is saying run a retreat in Hawaii. And to be honest, if I was really listening, there were issues with making the booking, there were issues with finding the right place, there was issues in getting the flights aligned. I still went ahead and we did it all even though we kind of pushed and pushed through the resistance. And I kid you not Brigit, we booked the retreat, paid for the flights and within, it was probably four weeks, I got that feeling, the intuition. I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, Hawaii is gone. I'm not doing it." I canceled everything, I canceled the whole lot. I was listening to my intuition.

And I guess now I can say looking back, there was resistance there but maybe the ego got too carried away and I just was like, "No. I felt it was an idea, I'm following through." And that's okay.

Brigit:  Yeah, I think that's an interesting balance there because I've had that experience. You get kind of the energized experience or the intuitive hit of yeah, I really want to make this happen. And then I know for me personally, my need to complete and follow through kicks in and then I take that idea and I keep pushing, pushing, pushing even when the energy is starting to drop off or my gut is saying, "Actually, I think this is a bit out of alignment right now." But there's that other part of me that's going, "No, I committed to this, I'm going to get it done. I'm going to push it through to the end."

And I really feel that this sort of intuitive entrepreneur archetype is one where you know when to adjust the course and when to step back into flow. And even if you did have that intuitive hit at the beginning, it doesn't always mean that it's meant to be carried all the way through because sometimes different things come in that might change that journey.

Lauren:   Absolutely. I mean, they say, so that book Rocket Fuel, visionaries have so many ideas and not all of them come to fruition. That's why we sometimes need that time or the integrator in your business to think, "Well, hang on a second." And that's where I guess that blend of the feminine and the masculine needs to come in.

Brigit:  Yeah, absolutely. And speaking of that, how do you ensure that you've got that balance of feminine and masculine energy in your business?

Lauren:  Hat on, hat off, hat on. I know I need to turn the music on when I need to drop back in to the feminine because I need to dance it out. I mean, I run a household, I run a business all day and that does take that masculine aspect of us to plan, to manage, to execute and to keep everything streamlined. But when it comes to creativity mode and tapping into our intuition and filling out what is right for business, I find I've really got to physically shake up the energy in my body to do that.

Brigit:  Yeah, interesting. And I think of that say in NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming where you need to really disrupt the pattern and you often do that through physical movement and maybe that's kind of what's happening there too of just get out of one state so that you can move into the next. It doesn't necessarily just switch just easily.

Lauren:   That's right.

Brigit:  And have you ever been in those positions where you feel like maybe you're too much in the feminine? Because I know we do too much in the masculine pretty well and easily, at least I do. But have you found yourself where you're a bit too much in the feminine?

Lauren: Yes.

Brigit:  And what's that been like?

Lauren:  Yes. I have feminine issues. My issue I find is that I tend to sometimes be a bit too spiritual and a bit too much intuitive in business and I'm not ... My weakness and where I need to work on is my boundaries and that saying no to grow and having boundaries in place. And when I don't have my boundaries clear, it affects my team because they don't know what they're answering clients if people are asking questions, if teachers are wanting to do something. The unsure is this gray lines and then it filters right through.

Brigit:   Yeah. Can you think of an example of where that has played out?

Lauren:  Absolutely. It might even be in pricing so when we started out our businesses we did some foundation membership pricing for clients. And now people are paying full price over here. And so when people go to renew or someone says, "Well, my friend got a deal here or can I get a discount? I'm a student," whatever it might be, there needs to be very clear concise boundaries for the staff to be able to answer that client rather than coming to me. And unfortunately when they come to me, I'm like, "Just give them a discount or they can kick that right going." And then other days when I'm in my powerhouse I'm like, "No, these are the boundaries, we stick to the boundaries." So I personally think that's my feminine and my masculine kind of clashing a little bit but I'm aware of it.

Brigit:   Yeah. And I think it's interesting then as the leader of your business, the impact that can then have on the team and sort of that need for consistency but also being in a flow state. I think it's a fine balance between the two because I think you do need things like rules and structures in place so that others can follow those rules and structures and know what's expected of them. But if you're too much on the other end of, "Oh, just do what you feel like today. Oh actually, I think that was wrong. Why don't you do this other thing?" It could be very confusing.

Yeah. So I wanted to just touch a little bit on A Live Yogi because this was one of those beautiful initiatives and projects that I'm sure had so much of your energy in it. And I'm curious if you wouldn't mind just sharing a bit of your journey about how that unfolded.

Lauren:  Sure. I have been teaching online yoga for years. I even started doing live classes and had a subscription-based business with the live classes being streamed through a Facebook group so all the members sat in the group and I did live classes in there. And then I got this really strong vision through meditation and I just saw the words A Live Yogi. So I followed through, I thought I needed to change the name of the business. Long story short, I went to Bali to run of my retreats, I was in a sound healing and got a really strong message that it was time to ask for an investor to come into business and to turn the business into a certain figure and to have teachers around the world teaching live classes, live streaming from their homes and their studios.

So I came home with all this excitement and in fact found an investor and that investor offered me a huge sum of money but for a large percentage of the business. And I felt sick and I couldn't make a decision. Everyone around me said to me, "Wow, it's an amazing opportunity. You got what you want. You've got an investor that's come along," and I ended up saying no. My accountant at the time turned around and she said, "Well, actually I'm interested." And one of my senior teachers at Zenko Yoga which is where my studio is on the coast, she was interested. So the three of us went into business together and it has been great. We've got a beautiful website. It's still in existence and after about probably 18 months time, I did a whole lot of ...

And so the business had been flowing, teachers are all over live streaming classes from around the world and it's a subscription-based model through a website. Lots of clients and it's a beautiful business. And then I started to ask myself some really big questions. Obviously managing the two businesses. So there's the Zenko Yoga, the bricks and mortar business of yoga studios on the Sunshine Coast, teach training events, retreats, you name it. We even do therapies and one on ones and corporates. And then over on this other side is this live yoga business that I'd manifested through a thought in my mind.

And the figures added up to be much more than what the Zenko Yoga studios would probably ever would pay me. And the ego was just chasing that. But managing the two while also running a household as a single mom and looking after my girls, things were not aligned and things were out of balance. I did a tarot card, you'd be impressed with me.

Brigit:  Of course.

Lauren:  And I remember telling you because I saw you not long after. I pulled the tower card about everything crumbling and then I just literally got out my journal, there it is, and just started journaling and journaling in what is aligned with me, what do I want to be doing? And that's when I realized that live streaming classes through a screen wasn't aligned to my values when I wanted to touch and connect and be teaching yoga to real people. So the short story is that I sold my shares and resigned within about six weeks of making that realization, the business still is living on, it's still out there, which I love but it's not with me attached to it.

Brigit: And was there any part of you that was thinking, "Oh, what if I missed out? The FOMO. What if this business grows even bigger and ..." Is there any part of you or it just felt like, "No, now is the time."

Lauren:  I hope it does, I want it to.

Brigit:  Yes.

Lauren:  Because freedom and spaciousness were two words that I called in at the start of this year and running the two businesses was not giving me. And as soon as I made the decision to resign, and I had to do a lot of soul-searching. I felt sick to my stomach, it was a dark time for me. Business is really important. And once I made that decision, this weight just lifted and I've found freedom and spaciousness this year.

Brigit:  Yeah. That's wonderful. And what do you think was the deeper spiritual significance of going down that path? What do you think that ... What's the meaning it has for you?

Lauren:  Good question. It comes back to staying in alignment to your values and remind yourself of what you're truly here to do and what platform that is. Because I always try and convince myself that this would have enabled me to bring more yoga to people all around the world. And I didn't realize that I can actually do that in a physical sense from the little studios on the little Sunshine Coast of small Australia compared to the rest of the world. I can do that. There's a ripple effect through that with the people that go home to their families, relationships in workplaces and how that will affect other people.

Brigit:  Yes. Yeah, because I think your special source, your magic is how you create the communities, like the in-person communities. And I walk into a Zenko Yoga studio and the feel's different, like it feels like there's glue in there and cohesion. And it's like you're a Zenko or you're not. You know what I mean? And I think you do such a good job of creating that community. So I'm curious, number one, is that intentional? And if it is, what have you done to create that sense of community?

Lauren:  Honestly, I joke about it all the time. I opened yoga studios to make friends. I want to attract people that live the same values as me. I attract yoga teachers, people who I just love, they're like family to me. I know when they walk into the studio, that they're going to end up teaching for me one day. Some of them are only clients and some of them have actually since told me, "One day you put your hand on my shoulder and said, 'You're going to make yourself a yoga teacher one day.'" And they've gone on to do teacher training and they've come back and they teach for me.

Brigit:  Yeah.

Lauren:  So that sense of family and belonging and community was important to me that's why I opened the studios. And fortunately enough, other people reap the same rewards from my teachers to clients and alike. This is what keeps people coming back day after day or week after week or whatever it is for that sense of family.

Brigit:  And have you ever done any sort of visualization around what community you want to create and attract? Or is it more that you know that despite wanting to kind of create these friendships and relationships, you will attract like-minded people?

Lauren:  The latter. I've never actually visualized a community or tribe. I haven't even thought about it. It's just really happened probably through our energy.

Brigit:  Yes. Yeah, beautiful. And I'm curious and maybe you're curious about this too, if you were to continue opening yoga studios like 10, 15, 20 studios across Australia and Bali and wherever else, do you think that that sense of community could be replicated on a larger scale?

Lauren: It's a really good question and I ask myself this often, particularly when we wake up in the morning and we have our finest ideas. I was wandering around the Noosa studio the other day because I actually am looking at another space currently and it's got a different look and feel aesthetically to Noosa. Noosa is beautiful and then it's got the floor to ceiling windows. And I asked myself what would that particular studio attract? And just the answer that just came through, this is during my teaching by the way, the answer that came through was it's not the place, it's the people. We attract the people to the space and that's what makes the space.

Brigit:  Yes. And do you think it requires your physical presence? Like would you be able to open one across the other side of the country in Perth and for it to hold that same energy?

Lauren: I'm yet to answer that but I can tell you this much, there's people that come to the studio sign up, become members or do the teacher training course that actually haven't met me. And they say there's just something about the place. So is that because of the people that I've attracted through the teachers, is it because I've had a physical presence? Because I'm actually not at the studios very often, I'm only there about two hours a week at each studio because I've had my footprint in there. Across the other side of the country, I don't know Brigit. And it's a great fear for me that it wouldn't have the same feeling. And I've even been told that the studios in Melbourne that we sold, that the are completely different now. Of course because there's new owners and new energy. I don't know.

Brigit:  And I think this is kind of the challenge or opportunity, depending on how you look at it, for the intuitive entrepreneur because we infuse our energy into our business and we pour so much love into the business and the attention and intention. And then it starts to grow and you get to a point where you can then scale and get even bigger and bigger but there's a point at which you may start to feel like, "Well, I as the founder and the owner can't necessarily pour my energy into each and every component of this business. And I think what intuitive entrepreneurs maybe are playing with is, is there a kind of limit to that, is there a point at which, "Oh no, now I'm completely disconnected from my business. Or can it still keep growing while not necessarily having your infusion of energy everywhere in that business?" Does that make sense?

Lauren: Absolutely. And I think that's why employing people who are aligned to your values is key. I mean, the teacher training courses that we roll out each year, Mandy and Helen are the head trainers. They are like sisters to me. We meet, we connect with each other so naturally we attract the right trainees for those courses even if they haven't actually met me. So I think it comes down to the people.

Brigit: Yes. And so tell me what has been your strategy for building your team because I think you do it in a very unique way?

Lauren:  Mine is quite funny, isn't it? Because literally when I know I need a new team member, I just ask the universe. I literally just visualize what that person looks like, what their strengths are going to be. And generally the universe will then just bring them into the studio. So everyone that's ever worked for me has once set foot in a yoga studio. And I mean, accountants, nannies, videographers, the lot, have all come through the doors at one stage.

Brigit:  Yes.

Lauren: And often I'll say, "Oh so what do you do with yourself?" And they'll say ... I remember meeting Tom my videographer, he did all my DVDs, when he said I'm a film producer, I was like, "Boom, he's the one." I just knew it. Then since we've become and stayed really good friends. Actually I'm going to his wedding in a couple of weeks. And of course his fiancee has nannied my children for years so it's ...

Brigit:  Aww.

Lauren:  It is. It's like a big extended family.

Brigit:  Yeah. Actually I was doing some Kundalini training. It was like kundali in business with the [inaudible 00:31:59] Institute. And they were talking about you never actually hire and fire, you more so attract and repel. So instead of necessarily going out there trying to rustle up applications and so on, it's more about that attraction strategy. That the people who are meant to work for you will start to come into your energy vortex. And maybe they're only internal or they work on a little bit or they offered to work for you but that starts to happen. And then they prove themselves and then you're either in alignment or you're out of alignment so then they come closer and closer into that energy vortex.

And then the point at which maybe they've been stretched or expanded as far as they can be or maybe you're out of alignment in terms of values after some time or through growth and evolution and then they naturally just fall out. Like there's no firing in that process. So I am intrigued by that concept. I don't know whether I'm ready to fully not do hiring because we are right in the hiring process right now and we are seeking out large numbers of applications but I really like that concept that people will be naturally attuned and attracted.

Lauren:  I guess because our business is a little different to yours. Brigit yours you've got stuff worldwide, you've got an online business, we've got the bricks and mortar community but it's business on the Sunshine Coast and actually the teachers are coming in doing their training and then I'm getting that sense of when we need a new teacher and they're sort of coming in. So I'm kind of blessed in that space because they're actually presenting themselves in a physical form to me.

Brigit:    Yes. That said, I am starting to notice more and more, we have more people kind of dropping in with even just taking gorgeous Instagram photos of our products and we go, "Oh, that looks really pretty. Can you do some more work for us?" And we have people creating these beautiful graphics just out of their goodness of their heart because they're being creative and just taking a bit more notice of that. So I think maybe it's just turned on my radar a little bit more to these different ways.

Lauren:  That's just the same thing in a different arena then, isn't it?

Brigit:  Yeah. Yeah, that's it. That's it. Awesome. So something that you talk about a lot, and I'm switching gears here, is keeping your love tank full. So tell me a little bit more about what this means for you and how does it play out in your personal and your business life?

Lauren:  Yeah. I developed the love tank, it's really, really simple. It's just seven areas of our life really from a response to so many clients that would come into the studio and they'd say, "Oh, I haven't been here for so long or I'm stressed or I'm busy and overwhelmed, anxious." And what I learned pretty quickly is that they were lacking in certain areas of their life but not actually able to look at where they were actually lacking. So literally just created this cute little quiz and it's seven sections so it's home, health and fitness, business and career, relationships, personal development, contribution and community and spirituality.

And literally I asked them a key question in each section and they rate themselves out of five. They then rate themselves out of 35 and they find out how full they are. And it really is fascinating because then we can go back to the areas where they rated low and we can then set some goals and some action tasks around that.

Because sometimes when we're in that overwhelmed state, we're not able to know why we are overwhelmed. Like where am I lacking? Is it because of the state of my home? Is it because I haven't had any time to meditate? Is it because of the lifestyle that I'm living and what I'm eating? And it seems so basic but sometimes we don't actually don't stop to check in as to what that actually is. And once we work out what it is and then we set goals and fill ourselves in all those areas then we can start to fill ourselves up. And the aim of filling up your own tank is so that you can go on to give to others and to do your work that you've been put here to do. How can we possibly do our work and give when we're empty?

Brigit:  And particularly as an intuitive entrepreneur because you're bringing so much of your whole self into your work. So if there's something that's out of alignment or not being nurtured and supported in the way that it needs to, it will invariably affect the business and-

Lauren:  Absolutely.

Brigit:  Even if your business is like just going gangbusters and going really well, to know if there's something else in your life that's not going as well, it'll always have a ripple effect. I don't know if this works for you. No doubt it does, that my business and my personal life are always in mirroring of each other. If there's something going down in my personal life, I will see it reflected in my business, whether it's like relationships with my team members or other people like all my energy, they are just mirroring each other. Do you have that as well?

Lauren:  Absolutely. And I feel like we focus on areas that we can really fill up easily. Business is one of them for me. It's like, yep, everything is going really well in business but oops, over here maybe my contribution or another area is lacking a little bit. So that's why I find that we got to keep checking in and checking in. And yes, often they're mirrored because it's the same energy line.

Brigit:  Yes. And if your contribution bucket is getting empty, you'll probably find that by filling that one up, you reenergize the business. Or even though you think you're going awesome in business, you're probably going to do even better if you're on the contribution piece. So it's just a nice system. Yeah, I think that's really neat. And do you see other entrepreneurs using the love tank concept in their businesses?

Lauren:  Absolutely. I mean, people want to do it time and time again. People are always asking me, "Can we do the love tank quiz?" I guess because of the simplicity and because we do need to check in from time to time because we can just forget some of the basics. I mean, it's a simple model for us to get up and operate, to fill ourselves with nutritious food, to drink plenty of water, to move our bodies and to take time for solitude and rest. That's when we know we are a powerhouse and we're actually more capable of achieving more when we are filling ourselves up. It's proven. It's that if you want to avoid illness, you spend more time on your wellness. And we know that disease sits within the body when things are out of alignment. It's the same in a yoga practice. As soon as something comes up in our bodies, it's usually indicating something, signaling something, something's not quite right in our lives outside of the yoga mat and that it needs to be addressed.

Brigit:  Yeah, absolutely. And do you have a URL or a website where people can access the love tank template?

Lauren:  It should be over at laurenverona.com.

Brigit:     Awesome. We will figure out the link and it will be in the show notes, of course. But otherwise go to laurenverona.com. Perfect. Cool. The other thing that I think that you do very well is your self care routine and I think you know when to retreat because you do lots of retreats and you do them very well. And I think you know how to integrate this into your life and working life in particular so just talk me through what solitude and self care looks like for you.

Lauren:  I guess sort of working backwards, I've done burnout, I've done illness and I've done sickness. And my children are my number one primary focus and I cannot mother them and look after them without looking after myself first. So really ... And someone only messaged me this morning actually and they were checking in and seeing how business is going and their response was, "Oh, still hard at it, hard slog, so busy no time for me." And I was like, "Well, that's kind of your story." Because if you want to paint your life like it's like ... that is exactly what you will have. What you project you get.

I am not busy, I am not overwhelmed because I don't try and put too much on my plate. I do know the importance of looking after myself to prevent doing the burnout and doing the overwhelm and doing the disease and the illnesses and the setbacks because my business can't afford that, my children can't afford that, my communities can't afford that and my team can't. So time in nature, time in meditation doesn't take long. You can give yourself 10 minutes of meditation. It doesn't take long to recharge your batteries.

Brigit:  Yeah. And it's funny because your concept of busyness and overwhelm is often times worn as a badge of honor and, "I'm so busy because I'm so important." It's like, "Well, actually that's kind of dumb because why would you create a life that leaves you feeling exhausted consistently? Sure, we have those moments where we do feel kind of, "What was that?"

Lauren:  I think sometimes as well that the busy and the overwhelm is a bit of a façade for something else that's underlying. And I can speak from my own experience. I know when things have been challenging for me in my personal life, I've gone into mass overwhelm and would just make myself very busy. And like you said, play that out to avoid dealing with some of the things that actually need to be dealt with. And some of my little secrets that I've done and you've had a lot to do with, even well before I met you, was lighting up candles and once the kids go down to sleep and just doing a tarot spread has been a game-changer for me in those healing chambers. The dark nights of the soul are just some of the most powerful moments I find to really kind of check in and break old habits and stop playing the overwhelm and the busy.

Brigit:  Yes. Love it. Yes, absolutely. Oh, this is a good reminder because we do feel that at times and it does take just that little bit of extra discipline to bring in a pattern interrupt and disrupt towards what we've been playing out that's not necessarily serving us. So I think that's very important.

Lauren: And I think that comes back to what this podcast is really about and as you said, discipline and that's the strategy yet the intuition in that listening so the discipline is actually what gives you freedom. The strategy is actually what allows you to be intuitive and be creative and be feminine and be in flow but you must have both.

Brigit:  Yes. I love it. Absolutely. So Lauren, what's coming up for you over the next six to 12 months?

Lauren:  More international retreats, more teacher training, expanding the business because I am looking to open more yoga studios. Being flexible and adaptable has come through recently because I'm actually looking at a space that I hadn't considered as an area but someone called me and asked me if I would consider it and I felt, "Well, I may as well." So just looking at those options. So there we are, back at that theme of this podcast that's having a little bit of structure but leaving space for creativity to flow.

Brigit:   Yes, absolutely. And going along that thread then, as you are growing and expanding, what new aspect of yourself do you feel like you're expressing or coming into this place of expressing?

Lauren: Yeah. I was asked to speak at an event recently and as I was driving down David Low Way and the sun was coming up, our sunrises are spectacular here, the word mentor came through really strong. And I thought I'm probably ready to get back into a bit of mentoring. It really does fill up my love tank. And I kid you not, I walked into the [inaudible 00:43:41] to do my speech and I looked over to the table and there was a flyer on mentoring. And so I completely grabbed it, put it in my handbag, went in, sat down, did my speech, came out and then of course a woman walked up to me after my speech from the Chamber of Commerce and said, "Lauren, I'm from the Chamber of Commerce, we wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in mentoring." Now, there's no surprises there.

Brigit:  Because that's how you roll.

Lauren:  Well, we can all roll like that.

Brigit:  Yeah.

Lauren:  But we got to have the vision, we've got to have the insight, we got to trust and take that little bit of action as well.

Brigit:  Yes. And see those sign posts as they present themselves.

Lauren:  Absolutely.

Brigit:   For sure. Yes. Beautiful. Well, Lauren, where can we find out more about you and of course Zenko Yoga?

Lauren:  Laurenverona.com and then zenkoyoga.com.au.

Brigit:  Awesome. And so at the moment we've got two Zenko Yoga studios on the Sunshine Coast, however, at the time of listening to this, you may find them all across the world. Who knows?

Lauren:  You're beautiful.

Brigit:  Watch this space.

Lauren:  Thank you.

Brigit:  Oh, Lauren it's been so good to chat today and I love hearing the way that you flow in your business. It's kind of how you flow your way through yoga, it's beautiful. So thank you for sharing some of your wisdom today. I appreciate it.

Lauren:  Thank you Brigit and I must say, it's certainly been guided a lot by your podcast because I remember listening to some many years ago, just sitting in the bathtub on my Saturday nights where I'd put a Biddy Tarot podcast on and learn about the tarot because I was someone that really knew very little about it and still I'm learning about it. But the tarot has been a really key part in business to me. So thank you for all that you do. And then to think that there we were sitting in Sri Lanka together on one of my retreats and you told me about this awesome idea for this new business and this podcast that you're doing and this is really, really needed in the world. So thank you for what you do.

Brigit:  Aww, let's fill out that love tank together.

Lauren:  Yes, it's so full right now.

Brigit:   I love it. All right, thank you Lauren.

Lauren:  Thanks Brigit.

Brigit:  Thank you for joining me for today's episode of the Intuitive Entrepreneur Podcast. If you loved this episode, please leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. It really helps to get the word out and of course, I read every single comment. And if you want weekly inspiration to help you trust your intuition, align with your purpose and create huge business success, then head on over to brigit.me and sign up for my free weekly e-mails. That's B-R-I-G-I-T.me. See you there.