Life Is Good & It’s Only Getting Better With Pedro Luna

My wife and I say a lot of times,

We have one plan and it's just no plan.

You know,

So it's like when we have three children and we have a super busy life,

Not that who does it anymore,

But with three kids it's definitely a little bit different around these parts.

And so,

But we say,

You know,

When we have that opportunity just to trust in the universe and just to trust in the process of like,

I'm taking a leap to do this,

Or this is a project that I'm working on,

Or I want to go explore whatever it is,

Just trust that it's going to work out as long as you're doing it with the right intention and for the right reason.

And just,

That's it.

Just literally get out of your own way and go for it.

Welcome to the And The Net Appeared podcast.

I'm your host,

Chelsea Benzel,

Intuitive mentor for thought leaders,

Coaches,

And content creators.

In this podcast,

You'll hear from badass humans who have taken big leaps of faith and the net appeared.

Enjoy.

Hello,

I am here with Pedro Luna.

Pedro is the brains behind yogi memes on Instagram,

Which I think is so cool.

And also an online yoga teacher at yogawithpedro.

Com.

Also,

Side note,

Personal note,

Pedro and I did our Bikram yoga teacher training together,

And we were just chatting.

It was exactly eight years ago today,

Which is crazy that that was eight years ago.

That is wild.

But welcome to the podcast.

Thank you for being here with me.

Absolutely.

Thank you for having me on the show.

I really appreciate it.

Yeah,

I'm excited for our conversation.

And as you know,

The premise of the podcast is taking big leaps in the net appearing,

But really,

It's kind of my way to just like hang out with really cool people and get into your story.

And I want to hear about it.

But it's about like,

Showing what you're up to in the world.

And yeah,

Just having cool conversations.

So we'll see where we go.

And yeah,

It sounds amazing.

You know,

What drew me to the show,

First and foremost,

Is like one of your you're an awesome person.

And I started following on social,

I don't know,

Eight years ago,

When I met you in Bikram yoga training.

But you're seeing like your transformation,

Your journey was inspiring.

And then when you created the show,

And like,

And then the net appeared,

I was like,

Yo,

Like that.

That was like,

I felt that like,

I felt really called to that,

That that's kind of like what happened for me.

And so I was like,

Like,

This sounds like a good time.

Like,

I'd love to have a conversation.

So and here we are.

So yeah,

Thank you for having me.

Yeah,

My pleasure.

It's really cool to hear how many people specifically that name resonates with because the name just came to me.

I think like the whole thing,

I've been working with my business coach,

And the idea had just kind of like,

Come out of nowhere.

And then we were playing around with names.

And it was so clear.

And then it appeared like there was no question.

And I have so many conversations with people that they're like,

I heard that and like sparked something in me.

So it just goes to show like,

When we get those ideas and that inspiration that it's bigger than us.

Oh,

Absolutely.

Totally.

It's part of the collective.

So like by you putting yourself out there and just like,

I'm this is the name that's come to me.

It's like actually,

It's like resonating with a lot of people.

So kudos.

Yeah,

Thanks.

Yeah,

The whole thing was just really inspired guidance,

Really,

That I followed.

And I think that's the case.

Maybe this is a segue into like sharing a bit of your story.

But like,

We get these nudges,

We get these like,

Hey,

Go do the thing.

And it feels like this big leap,

Because it's like,

Oh,

My God,

I don't know how I can do that.

Maybe it's a big move,

Or it's going for me,

Like even going to Bikram training was like a huge leap.

I knew I wanted to do it,

The guidance was there.

But it's still like,

How do I pull this off?

But I guess it goes back to trusting that like,

If you have that pull that desire and that guidance to go and do something,

It's meant for you.

That's what you're meant to follow.

So I resonate with that part,

You know,

You know,

Like going to training,

I was like,

I'm going to do this thing.

And then I think I have a plan when I come back.

But like,

I don't know,

Like,

Because I had already seen other people go to training when they came back,

It was there.

You know,

When you go there,

One person,

And then when you come back,

You're definitely not the same person.

So like,

Yeah.

Yeah,

I don't remember thinking I had a plan.

Obviously,

I intended to teach,

Which I did.

And I would have had that lined up more or less like I had a studio that I practiced at who like,

Prepped me to go to training.

So it was kind of a given,

I guess,

But I was at least going to teach my first class there,

See how it went and then go from there.

But yeah,

I just remember so clearly,

Like from,

Oh my goodness.

So those eight years ago,

Which is crazy,

But I can't think years,

But I remember when I was like 16 or 17.

I was like,

I know one day I'm going to Bikram teacher training.

I didn't even know I probably didn't even know like Bikram was a man,

There's definitely not the same scandal and controversy.

Right now.

Otherwise,

I may have thought twice.

But I just remember it was so clear.

And then I thought that they were really strict about the age limit that you had to be.

It was either 18 or 21.

I can't remember.

But whichever one I wasn't yet.

And I was like,

Fine,

Fine.

I'll just go to university and I'll like go do the proper thing.

And then the minute like the first chance I get I'm going.

And then it just so happened that the first training after I graduated university,

I was like it lined up perfectly.

And it was such a strong yes.

And I went and it kind of didn't even matter what the plan was.

And I think that happens a lot when we take those leaps.

It's like,

I don't even know I'm trusting it's all going to be for a bigger purpose and there's going to be a reason behind it,

But I just know I can't not do this.

It's like eating away at me that I haven't yet.

Yeah.

And sure enough.

Yeah.

That definitely appeared.

Sure did.

You know,

My wife and I say a lot of times,

Like we have one plan and it's just no plan.

So it's like when we have three children and we have a super busy life,

Not that who doesn't anymore,

But with three kids,

It's definitely a little bit different around these parts.

And so,

But we say,

When we have that opportunity just to trust in the universe and just to trust in the process of like,

I'm taking a leap to do this,

Or this is a project that I'm working on,

Or I want to go explore whatever it is,

Just trust that it's going to work out as long as you're doing it with the right intention and for the right reason.

And just,

That's it.

Just literally get out of your own way and go for it.

Yeah,

Totally.

And I think that faith is so integral when you can just put your faith in that and like,

Yeah,

All the signs point to like this being a crazy idea.

I've got all this stuff on the go or whatever the story is,

Whatever the reason is,

But if you can tap into that faith and that trust and just like,

Okay,

Yeah,

Let's just see how it unfolds.

Not even see if,

See what happens.

Oh yeah.

But it's just like,

Curious.

Let's see what is the how,

You know?

It's funny you said the word,

The word faith.

So when we were at teacher training,

I haven't thought about this in a while,

But there's this guy,

John Salvatore that taught a class.

Do you remember him by any chance?

Vaguely.

I think- He was like a dancer,

Broadway dancer,

Whatever,

Broadway singer,

Singer.

And then,

So he said faith in his class.

And then he said,

Finally allowing it to happen.

That was like the acronym or whatever he used.

And I was like,

Whoa,

Like that,

It hit me.

Like just,

You know?

So I wrote it in my journal that night and I,

Obviously it stuck with me.

We're talking about it eight years later.

And yeah,

It's just like,

Wow,

Like that's amazing.

And I've used that in my life a lot of times.

So you never know like what one little thing that somebody might say,

Or like a casual conversation like this,

That it might just come up for you that like,

It sticks with someone,

You know,

Forever that made an impact.

So I don't know,

Like that,

That word just resonates with me,

The word faith.

And so I feel like that might offer some value to somebody out there that is looking just to trust in something new,

You know,

And just trust in faith.

I love that.

Finally allowing it to happen.

Yeah.

And that's such a good reminder,

I think,

For us as content creators,

We don't always know what's going to be the thing that sticks,

If anything,

But it's having that faith that like,

I don't,

There might be something from our conversation here today that someone's listening to this and we drop the exact wisdom bomb that they need in exactly this moment.

And we may never know.

And so it's really cool,

A,

To have that faith that like,

You,

You're bringing something to life that is needed and like,

In some way is going to shape someone's life.

But it's also B,

Like,

You don't see that ripple effect.

You never get to fully comprehend the impact that you have when you show up in this way.

And I think that's really,

To me,

That's really cool because I can just imagine like how all the infinite possibilities that like something random that comes out of my mouth lens in someone's ear,

Maybe they go have a conversation about it,

And then it shifts someone else's perspective and so on and so forth.

And I just find that so cool.

Yeah,

It's amazing how that happens.

And that's because everything is really connected.

I mean,

I've made,

So you mentioned the memes,

You know,

So just to talk about the memes for a second,

And maybe we'll go back there,

However this works.

But I mean,

I've made memes in my,

Literally like wake up,

Like,

Lay up,

Turn over in bed,

Like,

Oh,

This is something funny.

And then like,

Make a meme about it.

Just put it on the internet.

And all of a sudden,

Like,

It goes viral or something,

Right?

So all these people are seeing it,

Sharing it,

Commenting,

All the things.

And then there's been some of them from like four or five years ago that I still see reposted,

Like continually.

And so I'll reach out to them,

Like,

Where did you find this?

Like,

Where did you find this piece of content?

Like,

A lot of it is Pinterest.

Like,

Oh,

I found it on Pinterest.

Yeah,

A lot of it,

They're like,

Oh,

I found it on Pinterest.

I never put it on Pinterest.

Somebody else did,

You know.

But,

You know,

Just seeing like,

Wow,

It's somebody's,

It's still impacting people,

Because it's still going down the line and still being shared and all the things.

And then there's other people too that will say like,

They'll just send you like a message like,

That this meme like made an impact on me.

And like,

I took a leap,

You know,

And I,

You know,

I went to teacher training,

Or I connected,

You know,

I met these friends and all these like yoga friends,

Because I'd make memes about yoga friends.

Like,

I didn't have them.

And then I put myself out there.

Now I have,

Because of a meme,

Like,

That sounds crazy to me.

But you just never know.

You just never know.

Yeah,

You never know.

I find that so cool that you even,

I keep using that word cool.

There's probably a better word than I could use.

Cool is good by me.

Cool is certainly good by me.

Going with cool.

I find it cool that your brain even works that way.

Like,

I love memes.

I consume a lot of content and memes are high up there on the list.

But to create them,

I'm like,

That's not my creativity.

I love to write,

I love to have these conversations and,

And different things like that.

But it's a very niche,

Creative genius that you have.

Well,

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

And it's a lot of fun to do to make them and,

You know,

Making them for the right reason,

Just to have a little bit of lightness,

You know,

Sometimes yoga can be taken really seriously.

And I'm not making fun of yoga and any of the memes.

Like that's never the intention.

I just offer like a lighter side of some things.

A lot of them are directed at like power yoga or something like that,

Or hot yoga,

Because it's just,

That's what resonates with me.

So I just think it's funny.

You know,

Like,

There's a plethora of Utkatasana memes,

Because like,

Who doesn't want to meme about Utkatasana?

It's just for fun.

So like,

I mean,

Think of all the memes you can create from Utkatasana.

But,

You know,

That's my point.

It really does not compute.

Like,

I can't think of anything funny to say.

I'd have to really try hard.

Yeah,

See,

That's the whole thing right there.

It's like,

So I don't ever try.

Like,

I don't even try.

Like,

It just like,

It just happens.

Literally,

It just happens.

And like,

We call it meme brain.

So when I used to make a lot,

A lot of memes,

I don't make as many anymore.

Like,

Not nearly as many,

But I used to make a ton of memes.

And it would just be like,

We call it meme brain.

Like,

If I would just see something like a picture of it,

I would just turn it into a meme.

And then sometimes it was dumb.

But other times,

I would just like literally pull out my phone,

If I wasn't doing anything,

And write something down and then just put it on the internet.

Off we go.

You find that the more you practice that it just becomes second nature?

Or do you think,

Like I'm saying,

It's just something that you're inherently good at?

It just happens.

Yeah,

It just happens.

I don't,

Yeah,

I used to,

I was definitely easier when I used to go to studios and practice with a lot of people.

Like that would,

It was easier to make memes,

Not of like making fun of,

Again,

Not making fun of people.

It just,

It just came easier for me,

I guess,

In that element.

But now that I'm not really practicing at a studio as much,

Or at all,

There's not really,

There's not that kind of interaction.

So yeah,

Whatever.

Yeah.

So what is that like for you?

So I know you have your website,

Your community online.

Yeah,

Totally.

Yeah.

So I mean,

So what happened,

I mean,

The pandemic hit,

And it obviously changed a lot for everything.

I remember actually recording an episode,

I was on my friend's show,

It was called Dharma Talk.

I don't know if you've ever heard that show with Henry Winslow.

Do you know Henry Winslow?

He's in the circle.

No.

No,

Okay.

So he had a podcast.

He was like one of the USA Yoga,

Like the international yoga champion people.

Remember they had the competition?

Like he was like one of the,

So in any event,

So he had a show.

I remember the date,

Like we had the conversation on his show,

Like the week after the pandemic hit.

And we were on the show,

It was my friend Brian and I and him,

And we were just talking.

And we kind of got choked up about like,

Oh my,

Like,

I don't know where this is going to change to.

I don't really know how this is going to evolve because this human connection piece is like,

It's already missing and it's only been a week.

So I can't imagine what it's going to be like,

And we didn't know how long it's going to last.

And so I was thinking to myself,

Like,

How am I going to be able to continue to show up for these students that I've been serving in my local community?

And a few of them had reached out about teaching online.

And I had thought about it two years ago in 2018 to create like an online community.

It just didn't,

I don't know,

I felt forced.

And I was like,

I don't know,

Teaching with a camera is like kind of weird.

And I'm not really sure.

And then the Nemekit,

People wanted it.

And I said,

Okay,

Like if it's being asked for,

Then I'm called to serve.

So that sounds like it's in alignment with what's needed right now for the community.

So I just decided to do that.

And it's been nice.

I enjoy doing it.

I teach one public class a week at my studio,

Just one,

And then everything else.

And we stream it online as well.

But everything else I just teach from my house.

I have two studios.

I have one in my room,

Which is where we're kind of doing this at right now.

And also one in my dining room.

So it depends on like what I'm filming or what I'm doing,

Which studio I use.

But the reason there was like a hesitation for the online thing is like,

I wasn't sure that I could feel the human connection via screen.

I didn't know if that was possible.

But I've proven to myself that it is possible.

And my community has continued to show up for not only for themselves,

But for one another,

For me.

It really shows that there's something thriving there.

And there'll be a day where we're able to connect in person.

Because what happened was I have a few places that I have people from different yoga,

I don't know,

That know me from different yoga things.

I have a podcast,

My friend that we used to have,

Just yogi memes,

Other Instagrams.

So I would just kind of put myself out there on all these platforms like donation-based yoga.

If you need some yoga in your life,

You can find it here on the Zoom link.

And then it just kind of grew and evolved.

And I realized like,

Okay,

There's something here.

And I think it's going to be here.

It's going to be here.

No,

I think.

This is here to stay.

And so I need to create something that's more sustainable.

So with like a video library,

I have all these classes that I have recorded.

And then I made a whole bunch of other content that I recorded.

And so people can access classes at any time.

Because sometimes people don't have 90 minutes or 60 or 30.

Sometimes they have 10.

So it's just like,

How can I.

.

.

There's a lot of questions.

How can I serve all of you better?

Take the feedback,

Create some stuff,

Throw it against the wall and see what sticks.

But the yoga entrepreneur thing is like,

You see all.

.

.

I don't know,

Maybe you see them,

Chelsea,

Maybe just because I see them on Facebook,

Then they show me more of them.

Like an ad for like grow your yoga business or like yoga entrepreneur,

Health and wellness creator,

Like all these different things.

And I see what everyone's like doing their own thing.

And like,

There's no one right way.

And so just because I chose this path,

And it works for me,

It doesn't mean that it's going to work for everybody else.

It's like everyone's like figuring out their own thing.

And what's great is that there's an abundance of people in the yoga community that need healing and need yoga.

And then there's even more people that don't even know about yoga that need yoga.

So the people will come as long as you continue to serve.

They will find you if you're doing the right thing for the right reasons.

It will happen.

Yeah.

And that's it.

Exactly.

Like for the right reasons,

Or just coming from a good place of wanting to serve,

Of wanting to like,

Reach the people who their studios are closed,

Or they can't get to or like you said,

Don't have the time.

Like I think about that.

It used to take to go to Bikram Yoga,

90 minutes just for class.

But when you count on either side of that,

Getting there,

Getting there early,

Like showering,

After getting home,

It's like three hours.

Three hours.

Three hours.

Yeah.

And now,

Can you imagine finding three hours right now?

Where are you going to find three hours?

I know.

I know.

But I used to because I prioritized it.

Totally.

Now it's just like to think about that.

I'm like,

Yeah,

That was a lot of time.

I love it.

I would gladly go again if the circumstances were different.

But now to just like open our eyes to the possibilities that you can practice online at home,

There's still quality teachers and classes available.

Like I think it's really cool to explore that.

Yeah.

And there's so many out there.

And everyone is teaching online.

Like it was interesting to watch like at the pandemic in the beginning,

A lot of people,

Everyone's like teaching,

Not everyone,

But a lot of people were teaching for free.

All these other platforms that were already established were like,

Oh yeah,

This is happening.

And like all these online platforms,

Everybody's coming.

Everybody's coming now.

But if you hadn't done it before,

It's like,

Okay,

Maybe I'll teach for free.

Then there's a donation.

And it's like,

Oh shit,

Like I got to eat food.

So like maybe it's got to be something else.

And then just figure it out.

And I would just encourage anybody out there that whether you're a yoga teacher,

Whether you're a wellness professional,

Whatever your thing is,

If you're an entrepreneur,

It's just like literally just start.

Just do one thing today to go one step in the right direction or just in a direction.

Because it might not be the right one.

It might be like,

Ah,

Maybe you turn or turn a gear to the left,

But just go one step forward and see what happens.

You know what I mean?

Because oftentimes we just talk ourselves out of like taking the action step when there's so much potential in just doing one thing that could lead to the next thing and the next thing and so on and so forth.

Yeah,

Totally.

And you nailed it when you said you see all these ads,

Which by the way,

I don't see.

So they're totally targeted.

But there's all these people and the same with like online business,

Everything.

There's people out there that are telling you this is the way to do it.

If you're not doing it this way,

You're going to fail.

And so I can see how it can get really paralyzing to see all of this so-called advice and how to and strategy.

It can be paralyzing because,

Well,

Where do I begin?

First step that I can take because this guy's saying do this.

And then there's this coach over here.

And it's like,

That's why it's so important to just like,

Hey,

Clear out the noise.

Yeah.

Turn off Facebook ads.

I doubt it.

But just like be aware of what you're consuming and where you go when you see these things that tell you you must do it this way.

But as much as you can just like come back inward and like what would feel good?

What would feel fun?

What would feel like,

Oh,

That's a cool idea.

And what's one thing you can do to start to bring it to life?

Yeah.

Literally.

And this,

I mean,

And like,

You know,

So this is like we're post new moon,

Like one day kind of thing.

So it's like,

This is a great time for anybody listening,

Like right now live or whatever.

It's like,

You know,

Anytime is really a good time for new beginnings.

But like right now,

It's like if you're just sitting there and you're hearing this conversation,

It's like,

What's one thing that I'm like,

I'd like to have more of in my life,

You know,

Or one thing that I'd like to work on a little bit more with a little extra intention and just cast your seeds out there and like literally put it out there,

Write it down.

And I like to put things,

If I'm not and I like to put things,

If I'm like working on something,

I'm thinking about it.

I'm thinking about it nonstop.

Like,

I'm just like,

I've been thinking about like what I'm doing now for like eight months straight.

And I think there's so much more that I,

That's out there to get,

Like to get into like achieve or do or experience,

But it's like,

Okay,

I'll get there when I get there.

But like,

I just need to do today,

Today.

And I don't need to worry about like,

But how am I going to get to 10,

000 people that I'm whatever,

Like,

You're going to get there.

Just keep going.

You know,

One thing,

One thing.

I'm getting that intention and just locking it in and seeing it as done.

And that's exactly it.

Okay.

Well,

It's done.

I've locked it in.

I've placed my order with the universe.

So now the aligned step from where I am right now.

Yeah.

Like I am,

I have,

You know,

Like those things and insert blank and then literally get out of your own way.

And oftentimes it's like,

Don't worry about the,

The,

Uh,

Like the how or like the when,

Or,

You know,

The expectation of that thing coming into your life.

Just literally know that it's already coming.

Like it's already happening.

It's already here.

And surrendering to the,

I guess it's just surrender.

It's like,

Yeah,

You place your order.

It's done.

You don't need to worry about the how trust that it's going to come from within you'll be guided and then surrender.

It doesn't need to look a certain way,

Or you don't need to worry anymore about any of the pieces because it's like,

It's done.

And you're just now in the process of bringing it to life.

So chill out.

Oh,

And another thing too,

That's been coming to me a lot lately is like,

So being that person,

Like embodying that future you that you're stepping into,

But like that future,

You isn't stressed about figuring it out because they know as much as you bring that into your present reality.

I think that's at least what I'm playing with right now.

Yeah.

Do you,

Do you listen to Dr.

Joe Dispenza or do his work?

No,

But you've got to be like the fourth podcast guest potentially in a row that has mentioned him and I have yet to look him up.

So I'm like,

Okay,

It's another sign from the universe.

A lot of the things you're saying are really in alignment with him.

And I've read what his,

What his book,

You are the placebo was the most impactful book that I've ever read.

And I really am terrible at reading books.

Like I'll read a quarter of a book or half a book.

I countless times,

But that one I actually read front back whole thing.

And it really hit me.

And so I just know his work is powerful.

And it's a lot of the things that we're conversing about in this moment is a lot of the work that he's done with large groups of people and seen massive transformation.

So yeah,

This was curious.

Well,

Thanks for delivering that fourth or fifth nudge from the universe.

Clearly I need it or someone listening needs it as well.

So good.

Yeah.

I've written that down and circled it three times.

It's happening.

It's happening.

Yeah.

That book is so good.

You are the placebo really,

Really powerful,

You know,

Cause it talks about the same kind of things you're creating your own reality,

You know?

So like,

If you can just convince yourself that I have this thing or I have it within me to achieve whatever it is,

You know,

It's like,

Okay,

Great.

You have it.

Okay.

But you have to believe it,

You know?

And even if you don't like consciously believe it,

If you can have your subconscious,

Believe it all of a sudden that comes into your conscious awareness.

And then from there on you're got it.

Like you have it.

Cool.

I'm excited to check that out.

I want to hear more about your story of like,

So right now you're in Florida.

Totally.

But you grew up in Chicago.

I did.

I did.

Yeah.

How did I get here?

Yeah.

So I went to the teacher training.

And so when I came back,

I was in a relationship that wasn't working,

Wasn't serving me anymore.

I was doing a job that was no longer serving me.

And I realized that I needed to have a change,

You know?

And it's like,

It was really uncomfortable.

Just like we talked about in the beginning.

It's like,

It's uncomfortable to have this,

You know,

A big shift,

You know,

And like waiting for the net to appear.

Cause I was,

I was waiting.

Like,

Where,

Where is it?

Is it coming anytime soon?

And like,

I'm taking this leap,

But I don't know.

I feel like all,

You know,

All the anxieties,

All the worries,

All the doubts,

All the fears,

All the things.

And you know,

When I moved down to Florida,

Because I was done with Chicago,

It was too cold.

I'd been there for 29 years.

I lived in the same two mile radius.

No,

It was just,

It was just,

There was nothing there for me to explore anymore.

Like if I wanted to create,

If I wanted to have like a more,

I don't know,

Like out of my comfort zone,

Like,

You know,

Like that,

That saying,

It's like nothing good comes from within the comfort zone or,

You know,

Those kinds of like spiritual quotes.

I was like reading all of those and I was feeling all of those.

I was like,

Okay,

Yes,

Like I can do this.

And then as soon as I'd be like,

Okay,

One more,

One more step forward towards moving.

I'm like,

Oh man,

Like this is,

This is terrifying.

But eventually like I sold my house and it was pretty quick.

Like I made the commitment.

And once I put it on paper and made the commitment,

I was like,

Okay.

And it was actually tomorrow is six years to the day tomorrow that I moved down here.

So I had met my friend,

Ross at teacher training,

Who you know from group two,

Which is really cool.

You guys were in the same clique.

And so I met him there obviously,

And he lived down here and he said,

Why don't you just move down here and you'll just kind of figure it out.

Like,

Don't worry about,

Like,

Just come down here,

You know,

And you like,

I had like a little nest egg.

So I wasn't like super pressed and I had a little bit of time to adapt and just check out different things.

So when I got down here,

I was like,

Okay,

There's a,

I needed to find a community.

And immediately I was drawn.

Yoga was like,

I thought,

Oh,

I knew,

I knew Ross was the only person I knew he was in the Bikram community.

So I met some friends there.

I started teaching some classes and I met another community of yoga people.

I like a Vinyasa studio.

I didn't know anything about Vinyasa.

I had taken a handful of classes,

But it was hard,

Like a different kind of hard.

And,

And I just,

I just realized,

Like,

I want to be able to,

Like,

I love this yoga thing and how can I serve more people?

I was like,

Well,

If I,

If I only know Bikram yoga,

I can only do 26 postures and two breathing exercises.

I'm pretty much tapped out.

So I think there's a little bit more going on here.

I just got to figure it out.

And so,

So I found,

You know,

A Vinyasa studio and they did Kripalu,

Like Kripalu Vinyasa,

Like kind of like a mix.

So like,

I learned kind of two styles of yoga.

And so I did a training there and then I'm just really expanding myself in that community that my teacher there,

A woman named Kelly,

She is really big down here in this area,

Has a giant festival that she does.

And she let me kind of be the co-pilot for that as we grew our relationship.

And so I got to meet all these different people from the local community in like this tri-county area down here in South Florida.

And it was just amazing.

I just continued one step forward.

Networking is like something that I really enjoy doing.

And I don't like to call it that way,

Connecting.

It's like just to connect with people over the thing I'm most passionate about,

Which is yoga.

You know,

I can't find myself like sitting at a bar,

Having a conversation.

Definitely not during the pandemic,

But like,

Even if I wasn't in there,

Like sitting at a bar,

Having a conversation,

It's just not for me.

Like,

I don't know what I would talk about.

So,

But if you're like talking about like weird stuff,

Like yoga and astrology or something,

Like,

Oh,

All right,

Like,

Let's have a conversation.

So just,

I found myself surrounded by a good group of people.

I met my beautiful wife and now we have a wonderful family.

And so it's been really great.

That transformation of just like,

I'm taking the leap and I'm going to go all in on myself.

I'm going to move away from all this stuff that's comfortable,

Even though it's like really uncomfortable,

It's not comfortable anyway.

I'm going to hit the road.

And I remember my therapist telling me like,

What's so,

Why are you so worried about leaving?

Like,

You know,

Like this isn't serving you anyway.

And like,

That was one of the things that really helped me.

I was like,

Oh,

She's,

She's,

She's onto something here.

Like she must know something,

You know,

That this isn't really,

This isn't really serving me.

So like,

She was like,

You need to,

You need to go.

And then I did.

And I'm really glad that I did,

Obviously.

And everything seems to be working out.

Yeah,

Pretty well.

So all good.

Cool.

That's such a good point that it's like our comfort zone that we're in and where it feels terrifying to,

To make a change from.

Oftentimes isn't that comfortable at all?

But we're just so conditioned to like,

To fear the unknown or to wonder how are things gonna work?

And what am I going to do?

And what if I don't meet anyone?

And when I moved to this new town or whatever?

Yeah.

It's like,

But do you really want to stay where you are?

No,

No,

Definitely no.

And I remember saying that and,

You know,

And having these conversations with people,

You know,

On the other side of like,

I already did this,

This scary thing,

Like that,

That part of scary and who knows,

There might be other scary things in the future.

But like,

I did that one.

And so when I,

When I have conversations with someone that are like,

You know,

They're in a job they don't like,

They'd like to do something like you're doing the content creator,

Like I'm doing a yoga,

Something that's more,

Let's call it free spirited or freeing that in their mind thinks is like entrepreneurial,

Like it will be totally different.

And it is really different.

It's a lot of work.

It's just,

It's just different kind of work,

You know?

And so when I have that conversation with someone like,

Well,

If you're like in a position to do so with your,

With your life financially or in your relationship or whatever,

However it is that it's like,

If this is available to you to do it,

Then I would take the leap.

You know,

I would,

I would definitely take the leap,

You know,

Because if it's not about,

It's like,

Oh,

Well,

I,

I can do it.

It's just,

I'm just scared.

Well,

You have to be able to embrace that,

Like fear and just like,

Kind of,

You gotta,

You gotta work through it,

You know?

And it's just like,

It's just like going through the matrix,

Like the maze,

You know,

And you clear out the clutter and all of a sudden,

Like,

You know,

Shiny bell,

You know,

Appears and the sunlight appears,

You know,

But just,

You have to go through the process and I would just encourage anybody out there that's curious to do it.

Just take one action step,

One,

You know?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

That's such good advice.

That's like kind of digestible is the word that comes to mind.

It's like,

Okay,

I can,

I can wrap my head around that.

Just like whether it's,

I don't know,

Of course the topic of yoga is,

Is on our minds.

So I'm thinking about it,

Like in terms of,

I'm thinking about my first Bikram yoga class,

Which I was actually dragged to.

So it wasn't like,

I was like,

Okay,

I think I want to do this thing,

But I've heard it's really hard and I don't know.

But if it's something like that,

Then it's like,

Okay,

Maybe even just throwing yourself into the thing,

Like in that case,

If it was a yoga class,

That's the example we're going with.

Find a studio,

Like map out your route there.

I don't know,

Do one thing and then tomorrow do another and eventually put them all together and like go.

But it's that the example,

The reason that example comes to mind,

I guess,

Is because yeah,

That is,

It was hard and people could have talked me out of it.

I could have talked myself out of it,

But using that as a specific example,

I felt amazing after.

And like I always do,

It's always like,

Oh my God,

Do I really want to go put myself through the torture of that yoga class or whatever the class is?

It's going to be hard work.

Do I,

Oh my God,

Can I really,

Do I want to,

But then you think about how you're going to feel after.

And once you start to develop or like build up evidence of how great you do feel after every single time,

It's kind of like,

That's where it starts to become this practice of taking leaps or going after what you really want because you start to see that life is so much better on the other side of that.

Even if,

Yeah,

It's hard,

Scary,

Difficult,

Whatever to go through the process that it entails,

You know,

It's going to be worth it on some level on the other side.

Yeah,

I would agree.

I would agree.

It's going to be great.

It's going to be great on the other side.

You just got to go through the crap sometimes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh,

That brings back so many memories.

Just like I'm thinking all the Bickram memories.

Now I feel really tapped out of that community.

I'm using that word because that must be in my mind.

You made me laugh so hard that,

Yeah,

You're kind of tapped out at 26 and two,

Which is very accurate.

Yeah.

I don't,

I don't really,

Yeah,

I don't really talk to,

I mean,

I talk to some folks within that space,

But not like not many,

You know,

I just like,

Cause I'm not,

I'm not teaching Bickram.

There's,

I don't teach it.

So I haven't taught it in,

I don't know,

Like three,

Four,

Four years probably,

You know?

So like,

I'm just,

I'm just out of that mix.

So yeah.

That's okay.

That's a good reminder kind of too,

That it's not like you,

It's not like you go to teacher training and you're like,

Hey,

I'm going to go be a Bickram teacher.

And then I'm going to own a studio mate.

Like that was probably my dream at some point,

But if that's the leap and that's the plan you have mapped out for yourself.

Okay,

Cool.

But that's kind of where the surrender comes in.

That just like,

It's kind of like,

Well,

It could be this or something better,

You know?

And I see my experience there.

That was a stepping stone for so many other opportunities just through like solely through the people that I met.

It opened up so many doors and opportunities to travel and teach around the world.

And,

And it opened up realities that I otherwise would not have known.

And I just,

I think that's really cool.

And it's something worth remembering or noting that things don't always go to plan,

But often it's like sometimes cooler than you could have expected.

Yeah.

Way better.

Did you travel and teach after?

Yeah.

So I went down to Australia and I taught all around like Gold Coast.

I don't know if I taught in Brisbane,

But yeah,

I traveled through Australia,

Like Bikram yoga was the kind of travel.

Yeah.

I get it.

That opened up me to go travel Southeast Asia.

And then I ended up living in Bali for a year.

And it's like,

All of those things would not have happened if I,

If I backtrack like the tipping point or whatever it was,

Was taking that leap and going to Bikram teacher training.

And it wasn't about like,

Go be a yoga teacher for the rest of your life.

It was like,

Here's something that's going to be a complete,

It's going to completely shift the trajectory of your life in a really awesome way.

Yeah.

I didn't,

I,

When I first went,

I didn't know I was just going to teach yoga,

Like part-time,

Whatever that meant,

Just because I wanted to serve people.

And I was going to have like a regular corporate kind of job thing.

And then I slowly realized like that wasn't the path.

And so when I got to Florida,

I actually ended up connecting with a lady in Hawaii,

One named Shannon who had a yoga studio there.

And so I got,

I traveled and taught there for six weeks and I went back there again and taught for a couple of weeks another time.

So I got to do that just because like that was kind of like the certificate was kind of like a passport to be able to go explore and just to connect with other people.

And it was a lot of,

I mean,

It was awesome to be able to do something like that.

And yeah,

It was really great.

So I,

Yeah,

Amazing.

I wanted to get to Australia.

It just,

It,

The timing didn't work.

The timing,

I wanted to go there and then it didn't work.

So I was like,

Well,

I guess I'm going to Hawaii.

It was amazing.

So it was definitely the right,

Was meant for me.

Like that was definitely meant to happen.

So.

Yeah.

And that's exactly it.

Sometimes I wonder if those things that are meant to happen for us are going to happen regardless of it's like an experience you need to have or someone you need to meet,

They're going to cross your path one way or another,

But I just find like,

Make the path of least resistance and go after like,

Okay,

Well,

I'm feeling the pull to go and do this thing and have fun with it.

I don't know.

I guess I'm thinking about like when the nudges become so big that it's like,

You need to get over here because there's someone you need to meet or have a conversation or something big change that you need to make in your life.

Sometimes it starts to become like a bit uncomfortable so that we finally listen.

But I just do have faith that like the things that are meant for you are going to come.

Although I say that,

But I've done now so much work around like actually working with manifestation.

I'm like,

I don't know if I actually do believe that anymore.

That's something I would have said definitely wholeheartedly a couple of years ago,

But now it's like,

I don't know,

You can kind of go a whole lifetime ignoring these signs and ignoring what's in your soul that you know you want to do.

And that's heartbreaking to me.

And that's a big part of why I have this platform and why I'm really passionate about talking about this and just like going after the life that you actually want because you do have to play your part in creating it.

Yeah,

You absolutely do.

You are the creator.

Like you are the creator.

You are the creator of the reality.

There's this YouTube channel called You Are Creators.

I don't know if you've ever heard of it or not.

A lot of like law of attraction and manifestation kind of stuff.

And he had this quote.

He makes these like random little 60 second videos,

And they're just like him standing in his room and like talking into the phone and you know,

He's got like millions of views on his YouTubes and whatever.

And anyways,

This is one little clip.

And I remember he was laying on his bed,

Looking at his phone.

He's like,

I had this thing come to me.

And it was,

Life is good and it's only getting better.

Life is good and it's only getting better.

And I was like,

Whoa.

Like again,

Hit me.

And I still say it now.

I say it all the time.

And this was like four years ago.

And it's in my journal all the time.

And I just like,

I just affirm it all the time.

That life is good and it's only getting better.

And it's gotten me through times where life was a little challenging or like a moment of a day was challenging or things where I'm just feeling grateful that man,

Life is good and it's only getting better.

So yeah,

I would share that.

Maybe that's for somebody out there.

Maybe for me,

I just wrote it down.

But no,

I actually have that.

That's one of the many affirmations that pops up on my phone in a day is life keeps getting better and better.

And it's like,

Again,

I guess that goes back to like,

You're the creator.

So it's all what you believe.

And if I choose to believe that life is getting better,

I'm going to look for evidence of it getting better.

And it does because that's the way I'm wired.

Love that.

I love that you're connected like that.

Yeah.

Oh,

Thanks for all your little gems.

So where can people find you online if they want to know more about you and your yoga?

Sure.

Yeah.

And the meme life.

Yeah.

So just yogawithpedro.

Com.

Pretty simple.

You can find pretty simple.

You can find about the meme,

You know,

Links to go to the memes,

Yoga online about me kind of thing,

Videos,

That kind of thing.

So if you're looking to practice online and don't have anywhere to go and you're stuck at home and just want to come check it out,

Please feel free to come join the community or just to experience it,

Take a class,

Whatever.

So cool.

And then yogi memes.

Yogi memes.

Yeah.

And Instagram at yogi memes on Instagram.

Yeah.

If you need a laugh,

If you need like just like a hearty har har at yogi memes on Instagram and go have a laugh because they're fun and it's a good time.

It's like my art,

You know,

It's like,

That's like where I like create,

You know,

I used to think like,

How am I going to monetize this following of people that like yoga and laughter and humor?

And like,

There was like sometimes where we like sell some t-shirts or promote a few things or do a giveaway,

That kind of stuff.

But ultimately I was like,

I don't really,

Like,

I don't really want to sell them that much stuff.

Like I can tell them to come follow me if they want to do some yoga,

But this is just like front for fun for me.

Like,

This is just like a creative outlet for me.

And so,

Because once I was like,

I need to make money from this,

Like it wasn't fun anymore.

I was just like,

I need to make money from this.

I was so,

But again,

One action step and like,

Oh,

That's new turn,

You know,

Turn next thing,

You know,

And try something else.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's so important to have that as a stepping stone or you wouldn't have gotten to the next step and the one after that.

Oh yeah.

There's no,

There's no doubt that is,

That yoga means platform has opened up a lot of opportunities for me.

Yeah,

For sure.

And I think it's so important to have a creative outlet and to have somewhere to just express yourself and to be in that,

Like to play with those ideas that come to you to create something,

Even if it's not your thing.

And,

You know,

I can relate to that so much with this podcast that I was like,

I don't really like,

Yes,

It's connected to my business because this is like me,

You know,

Reaching people and getting my message out there,

But really it's like,

I just love to do this and to have these conversations and to bring this into the world.

And I kind of love that.

It's not something it crosses my mind.

Cause I know there are possibilities to monetize a podcast and maybe that'll come,

But it's just really important.

I think to me,

To have some,

Something to do that is just an outlet and it's fun and there's nothing wrong with monetizing anything or like selling your work or,

Or being paid well to do what you love.

But just that aspect of having a creative outlet is so powerful and so healing.

I was on,

I was on a podcast not too long ago and I'm just trying to think of the name of it.

I think it's creative you,

Like the letter U as in university,

But it's all about like people who have healed,

Whether it's like full on,

Like illnesses through finding a creative outlet and being in that space of just like,

This is what wants to come through me.

I don't really know what the deal is or why,

And I'm not going to try and figure it out.

I'm just going to create it.

Yeah.

I love that.

And you know,

It's like people are healing from like equine therapy,

Like who thought riding a horse and like petting horses would make you feel good and like change your life.

But it does,

You know,

Like,

You know,

There's different,

Yeah.

And what works for somebody is not going to work for everybody.

So if it works for you and if drawing is your thing,

Then draw.

If walking is your thing,

Then walk,

Whatever it is,

You know?

So,

But yeah,

It's like finding that outlet and finding that,

And not only just finding it,

But like actually prioritizing it.

So,

And that's another thing that people don't,

Me included,

Like I've struggled with over my time,

Like I know that journaling makes me feel well.

And I oftentimes find myself journaling at 1030 PM because I always write a timestamp,

You know,

But there's other,

There's,

There's been blips in my life where like months have gone by and I haven't,

And I'm just like feeling stuck.

And I'm like,

Man,

What have I been not doing?

Like,

Oh,

I haven't been journaling.

Like,

Let me open my book.

And then you look at the date and you're like,

Oh my God,

It's been like two and a half months.

Like what happened?

You know?

And then,

But that's okay.

You just pick up where you left,

Pick up for today and you just keep going forward.

Yeah.

And it's like that time for self-care,

That time for creativity,

You know,

Where we're caught up so much in our phone,

We're caught up so much in everybody else's life.

You know,

Take a moment to reflect inward and like,

Are you serving yourself at the same time as you're trying to serve everybody else with all the things that you're doing?

Because if you can't show up for yourself,

Then how are you going to show up for anyone else fully?

You can't.

So,

And a lot of times that creative outlet is what really helps to nourish your soul,

Recharge your batteries and get you back in the flow if you're off your rocker.

Yeah.

That's so good.

That's probably going to be the little clip that I used to,

I'm like,

Yeah,

Okay.

Preach.

That's good.

I was always like,

When my friend and I,

We had the Yogi show pod,

We had the Yogi show podcast.

I would always be,

You know,

Listening for the clip and like,

We were talking,

Having casual conversations and all of a sudden you'd like,

The shift would happen.

You'd be like,

Okay,

This is the one,

Like write the time to like,

Write something down.

So you remember to go back and find this,

You know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love it.

I get it.

I get it.

I recorded enough shows.

I understand.

And so I know you're not creating that podcast or you're not creating like episodes and regular content and maybe you'll pick that up in the future.

Who knows?

But what,

Where can people go if they do want to tune in?

Yeah.

If you want to hear my voice and my friend Brian's voice,

It's the Yogi show podcast.

You can search it on Spotify or Apple or Stitcher or whatever.

The Yogi show podcast.

And so we had some fun conversations with cool Yogi's from around the world and people that we feel make,

Making an impact in the yoga community.

So if you're a yoga person,

Check it out.

It's kind of fun.

And we have,

We had a good time and some really good conversations with people,

You know,

And that was another thing.

It's like,

Again,

Putting yourself out there.

I didn't know how to do a podcast.

Like we didn't know,

We didn't know the first thing about podcasting.

You know,

I never interviewed anybody.

I never done any of that,

You know,

Except for like people I was hiring at a job,

But I had never like interviewed someone like about questions,

You know?

And I did a little bit of homework.

Did you,

Did you research Pat Flynn podcast?

It's like the one on YouTube that always comes up.

Did you hear about that guy?

I know him,

But I,

When I started this,

I was just like,

I don't even want to know what anyone else is doing because I'm going to go down that rabbit hole of like,

Oh,

You need to do this.

And then that,

And I'll never do it.

So you just started,

You just did it,

Right?

Action step.

Boom.

Let's just go.

And so I,

That's pretty much what happened.

Like I just watched like one or two Pat Flynn videos.

And that's the only thing I watched.

Cause I tried to watch other things and I was going that same way.

Like,

Oh,

This is getting too much.

I just need to start.

And so it's like,

I had an audience from yogi memes and my friend had an audience from his page.

And like,

So we just reached out to people.

We're like,

Oh,

You know,

That's another thing.

If you're,

If you're starting a show,

Like maybe someone on here wants to start a podcast,

Like,

What do I do?

It's like the,

Just,

Just start,

Like grab a microphone,

Grab your phone,

Plug it in,

You know,

Get a zoom account.

It's free.

Uh,

Maybe you need a paid one for a longer episode and you just start,

You know,

And you just have a casual conversation.

And,

Uh,

But we didn't,

We weren't like,

Uh,

Like our first episodes,

We were like,

We were like messaging,

Like all these like yoga journal people.

Cause I had,

We had these relationships go like,

Hey,

Do you want to be on our show?

That doesn't actually exist.

Like Kino McGregor.

We're like,

Hey,

Do you want to be on our podcast?

And she was like,

Yeah,

I'll be on your show.

We had no show yet.

We had zero episodes and we're DM Kino McGregor.

And she's like,

I'll come on your show.

No problem.

I was like,

All right,

Sweet.

You know,

And like Catherine Budig from like yoga journal,

Like,

Hey,

You want to come on our shows?

Yeah.

We had no show.

And then she was on the show,

You know?

And uh,

Like,

She was like one of the first guests and it was just fun,

You know,

Just having these conversations with people and,

But not being scared to again,

Put yourself out there.

And it was just another creative outlet,

Having conversation with people that I,

That we thought could offer value to someone new and aspiring yoga teachers.

And that's what we really was like,

What kind of value can we offer them?

Because we know it's not easy.

You know,

It's not easy.

So,

Um,

And it was great.

It was really cool.

Yeah.

Yeah.

A few people have actually reached out to me,

Just asking my thoughts or advice on starting a podcast.

So I know that is a thing and it's so much easier than I think a lot of people realize definitely easier than I realized in a lot of ways,

There is a lot of work that goes into it,

But just in the fact of like,

Just getting on zoom recording,

Pulling Yeah.

Uploading it.

Like you can have it as basic and trim it.

You can have it as basic and simple as that.

You know,

You can add the music and the intro and the commercial break and the bit,

You know,

Outro,

You can do all,

You can add that stuff,

But you don't need any of that stuff to start,

You know,

But,

Uh,

You know,

It can evolve into that,

You know,

Show notes and timestamps.

Like there's like,

Once I started saying all that,

You're like,

I'm out,

Like,

I'm not doing that,

You know,

But it is easy as like zoom account,

Trim,

Upload.

That's it.

You know,

But,

Uh,

But yeah,

It's just,

You know,

Just,

Just getting started.

And we had this running,

We had this running joke of like the first rule of podcasting is like,

Don't start a podcast because we thought we found it challenging.

Like first,

Like two of us and like,

It was hard,

But maybe we're just not tech savvy,

But ultimately the conversations are definitely the funnest part.

So if you're looking to start a podcast,

Know that the conversation is a hundred percent,

The climax and the best part of it,

All the other stuff is just like,

Feels like kind of like a little bit of a work for me anyway.

That's my experience.

You know,

It was like,

You know,

Just getting it out there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The reduction of it,

But yeah,

It is so much fun to just be on here and to have conversations and to share and then to hear people's feedback about it.

Like the little wisdom drops that you've sprinkled that have just been like,

Yeah,

It's exactly what someone needs to hear.

Or,

Or maybe we'll never hear back from someone who you'll never,

Yeah.

But I just find that so,

So cool.

It's like all the folks that you've taught yoga classes to,

You know,

Over the years,

It's like,

You don't know,

Like somebody,

Somebody on the Gold Coast right now that's sleeping because they're in the future.

It's like,

Is you had an impact on them and they're still thinking about,

And it's still in their subconscious or somewhere within them that what you said to them in a class in a pose has really,

It's transformed a part of their life or maybe their whole life.

We don't,

We'll never know,

You know,

But I know that that's happened.

Like,

You know,

Some people,

Some people have shared like,

You know,

Years down the road or months and whatever.

Like you said this thing in class one time and you remember like when you said,

Oh,

I have no idea what you're talking about,

But I know that I'm in alignment with whatever I said,

Because I'm not going to say something from Oprah or Eckhart Tolle or anybody.

I'm just saying something for me.

And so if I said it,

It's because it meant it was for you,

It was for us.

So but yeah,

It's so interesting like that.

Or like if you write a blog,

You know,

Like I had a student reach out to me the other day and said,

Hey,

I just want to let you know that I'm,

I'm taking cold showers because of the blog that you wrote like six months ago.

And they're really helping me.

And I was like,

What?

I had no idea.

But I remember that one.

I was like,

Wow,

Like how cool is that?

Did like that,

Like help you?

Like,

And that's why I put it out there.

It's not,

Not for me.

Like I'm not making any money from a blog I'm doing it.

Cause like,

I think this could help our community.

So that's why sharing it.

And I think this could make an impact on somebody clearly at work.

Someone feels that felt the value,

You know,

It doesn't,

If it doesn't,

If it's,

There's no value in it,

Like I'm not sharing it.

Like,

No,

No,

I'm not interested.

Sometimes we don't even know though,

Like using teaching yoga as an example,

There were so many times I've not that I've ever tried to count,

But I would have lost count that something comes through me and I start saying this random whatever.

And I'm like,

I don't even know why this is coming out of my mouth right now,

But it's not even from me.

And after class,

Someone will be like,

Thank you so much for saying that.

And I'm like,

Okay,

You're welcome.

Yeah.

Cause it was,

It was literally for you and from like the universe.

Cause it wasn't from me.

Cause I,

That wasn't,

Yeah.

I'm just,

I'm just,

I'm just the key on the channel here.

Yeah.

Heard.

Yeah.

Oh,

This has been so much fun,

Pedro.

I'm so glad we made this happen.

And on our eight year anniversary from graduating teacher training.

Totally.

Totally.

There's from you moving to Florida.

I think that's so true.

Yeah.

I even,

Yeah.

I didn't even think about it until like you brought that other part up.

And then I was like,

I think those are on the same day.

And I just did the math and I was like,

Yeah,

It's tomorrow.

So,

Yeah.

So cool.

Oh,

Well,

Thank you again.

And we'll put all of your links and everything in the show notes.

So that's available.

Sounds good.

Thank you for having me.

I really appreciate it.

Yeah.

It's been my pleasure.

So thank you to everyone.

You know,

If you are watching the replay or if you are tuning in on the podcast,

Of course,

Thank you for being here with us and I will catch you on the next episode.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you enjoyed this episode,

Please subscribe to the podcast.

We'll be releasing a new episode each week,

So I'll catch you again on the next one.