ADHD and The Yoga Business Owner
As a person with ADHD, we may feel limited in our life choices such as our career path. I’m not saying this to point out that we cannot dream of being whatever we want because we’re neurodivergent. I’m saying that we need to introspect a bit to find passion and purpose in our work.
If you’re reading this, then teaching yoga is your P&P. As such, you are probably also at a stage in your professional life to move up by starting a studio in some form or another. It could be online, ‘brick and mortar’ or both. So what is stopping you from opening one? If you already have a studio, what problems do you face as a person with a unique frame of mind? Having ADHD as a teacher has its advantages yet our other traits may hinder us as an entrepreneur. This doesn’t mean we should quit our aspirations just because we have limits. Having mental parameters is not necessarily a bad thing. It means you know yourself enough to realize that you need to do things a certain way for them to make sense.
For the past couple of years, I have been walking a tightrope between staying comfy as an employed teacher or opening a studio. Pushing aside the capital needed to invest and the paperwork involved, I also factored my ADHD into my SWOT ( strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. I put ADHD under ‘Strength’ and ‘Threat’ since I can be creative but impulsive. Finally, at the start of 2024, we decided to open a small studio. I also took the next steps towards studying how my brain works. What I learned is that people with ADHD can be so similar yet each mind is it’s own world.
In this article, I will share how I framed my issues to improve my relationships with the external factors of owning a wellness business. I used the word relationship because most of our ADHD issues are based on our perceptions and treatment of ourselves, time, money, tasks, and people. These relationships encompass everything we need to make our business thrive. So we need to restructure our pursuits to move forward.
Our relationship with ourselves
How we see ourselves is the most important first step before we embark on a bigger project. With ADHD we may often feel a sense of impostor syndrome despite our achievements. Another is our ability to regulate our emotions. This is especially true for women with ADHD. Either we feel everything 110% or go into apathy mode to protect ourselves. Journaling with an app or a notebook can help in healing our self-perception. I made some specific journal prompts for me that I will share with you. First, write a list of all the achievements you have made as a yoga teacher and put the dates if you can, if you can’t remember the specific time, that’s ok too–as long as you list them down. Next, make a list or print this list of unhelpful thoughts with some exercises. These are negative musings created by your brain that foster insecurities in yourself. Go back to them whenever you are doing the third prompt. You’ll need to train yourself to rephrase your narrative. The third exercise is an ongoing task, write down the moments in your day about any strong emotional reaction you’ve had. Identify the trigger and the reason behind it. Ask yourself, how you can rethink your views. Repeat. These three prompts will improve your thinking pattern for the following relationships we will discuss.
Our relationship with time
“So much to do with so little time.” Does this sound familiar? How many times have we mentioned this? Everyday? Every two hours? Somehow we manage to make our day-to-day feel overwhelming with 3 errands. Why is that? Because our relationship with time is very subjective. When we are enjoying ourselves we justify extending our minutes spent regardless of the net thing we have to do. When we have time to spare we waste it until the last minute only to go into light speed in hopes of finishing our activity. Last example but certainly not the least; we overcommit to people thinking we can make all our appointments work. We manage our time depending on our current mood, dopamine levels or interest which is a surefire way to waste hours in our day. How do we change our dynamic with time? Chart your schedule to fit your brain. This task may take a couple of hours because it needs to be quite detailed. Start with your weekly work schedule like your classes and such. Add your meal prep and eating times, self-practice days, social media marketing, checking emails, including sleep. These are your non-negotiables. You need to write down how much time it will take for you to get all of these done since you need to get them done for the day. Look at how much time gaps you have left. This is what you are left to work with. Make this schedule big and colorful so you can always see it. Take a picture of it on your phone so that you always have a reference when making appointments. It seems daunting but the daily reminder of you non-negotiables with the time it takes you to get things done will help you manage your day better. This will also help with your next relationship.
Our relationship with tasks
Dopamine is the brain chemical we are said to be short of as an ADHD community. Most of the things we need toaccomplish must motivate us as well otherwise we don’t do it. In running a business, the ratio of activities that interest us to mundane activities we are obligated to finish is 5:1. I’m being generous with this approximation. It doesn’t matter if you have an online business, a studio, a hybrid business model, yoga influencer, or own a yoga app, there is much work to be done. An online business model may get you out of relating to students in person and keeping your space perfect but you still need to maintain your equipment keep your recording space clean or run logistics with your camera crew and editors. An actual studio means physical maintenance, inventory and safety checks,and special events to keep your members from the competition. A yoga influencer means that you will need a continuous stream of original content. The point is, your passion will turn into work. There will be days when you will not see it as fun. Seeing your line of work as a dopamine fix is like trying to keep a marriage in the honeymoon phase. It’s not sustainable. So how do we transition? We delegate the most difficult part of our jobs to another person who can fill in activities that give you task paralysis. Maybe a cleaning crew once a week, having a virtual assistant, or using a platform to make content editing faster. Don’t worry about making mistakes or choosing the wrong person for the job. You can always change them up.
Our relationship with money
We are down to the one of the most difficult relationships. One we always seem to misuse and abuse. There was a time when I wanted to take an obscene amount of continuing education courses that most of my savings went to other teachers instead of building my brand. I made several teachers a lot of money for courses. Some I made use of and others–let’s just say I’m still finding a use for it. For most ADHD-abled folks like us, money is the enabler that feeds our need for dopamine through shopping. As we tap our credit cards on the screen we have a readily-justified reason to ourselves and others why a certain purchase is an ‘investment’. This is not a healthy relationship. So how do we shift the way we view money. There are 3 ways: one is to make a vision board for the future you want for yourself. I would suggest that you make this vision board with your hands and put it somewhere visible on a daily basis. So that you may think about your bigger picture before you buy anything. An alternative exercise is to hold off for 3 days or more before making a purchase.Ask yourself, “do you need it?” “Where will you use it?” “When will you use it?” “Do you love it?”. If you can answer all these questions during the 3+ days and If you still remember it after all this time then you may consider spending for it. The 3rd way is to have a wishlist on whatever shopping platform you love have it there but don’t buy anything. Just use your wishlist to imagine what you’ll do when you get it? Then Imagine yourself getting tired of it. If you see yourself piling it away. Then you know the item isn’t for you. Your relationship with money is one of the major things you’ll need to improve on so that your yoga business may thrive.
Our relationships with people
Now that you’ve decided to be your own boss, you accept the need to deal with more people and viceversa. From your clients, colleagues, business partners, employees, freelancers renting your space or getting exposure from your platform, you are responsible for these people. Setting an example is your main goal here because that will establish the rapport you’ll have with those around you. For us, Masking or the act of putting on a face/personality that is best suited for the person you are presently with can only work so far. In the end it is more of a coping/defense mechanism because we tend to become inappropriate at times. We tend to interrupt others while they are speaking, finish their sentences, quickly become bored during a conversation or meeting. Some of us who weren’t diagnosed as children may have social complications such as Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria wherein a small negative comment is taken as a black and white rejection. This is where we go back to our emotional regulation exercises. Remember your list of unhelpful thoughts and apply when you feel rejected. Pinpoint why you were taken aback by the person’s words and why. Identify if it was an unhelpful thought, constructive criticism, or a softer alternative than the conclusion you came up with. As for the interruptions and other reactions, take a deep breath before you babble. More often than not it’s your ADHD thats getting a hold of you, not the person you’re speaking to. Knowing your reactivity is a step forward to proactivity.
I know that all of these tasks may seem daunting. When I started working on them myself, I was falling in between a near panic-attack to complete apathy. There were moments when I just wanted to go back to my comfort zone. I kept at it though. I took the necessary breaks I needed when it was too much. I took a day off while the studio was under construction. Going for long walks helped. Having a swim got me out of my head for a while. In a about 3 months, I was able to face this new path I decided to embark upon. I’m still working on all my relationships but I can confidently say that change has begun. If these exercises helped me as I am the most hard-headed person I know, I strongly believe that it may help you. I hope this article served you well.
Good luck and take care Momoyogis!
