Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jayadeva Mandelkorn, Founder of TGR Yoga: The Great Remembering, located in Skillman, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
TGR Yoga: The Great Remembering is committed to helping people come to the ultimate goals of yoga... bringing awareness of our eternal self into our daily consciousness, being in that blissful Yoga/Union where there is individuality but no sense of separateness, sharing the many yoga techniques to help every and anyone find their peace and joy as they explore and serve in this lifetime. We offer yoga teachings through workshops and courses, newsletters, and personal consultations. Our Yoga Teacher Trainings are recognized as amongst the best available. We have wonderful instructors providing great yoga classes. Our services are available for all, though currently, we are not providing the children's yoga which we have done previously.
Tell us about yourself
I am Jayadeva, the founder of TGR Yoga ~ The Great Remembering, and I have been drawn to yoga from an early age. My father taught me to do headstand at age three. At 13, I discovered that sitting in Lotus posture was the most comfortable way to sit, even though I didn't know it was a yoga pose at the time. I have sat in Lotus ever since. From my youth and throughout my life, I have had visions of sharing spiritual teachings and insights, which I call "rememberings." I started studying scriptures, spiritual texts, and tales in my teens and began meditating regularly. In January 1969, a classmate approached me asking for yoga instruction during our freshman year at Stanford University, and that's when my daily exploration and joy of Hatha yoga practice began.
A few years later, I met Swami Satchidananda, whom I recognized as my Guru, and I went on to become a senior Integral Yoga instructor and manager of the New York Integral Yoga Institute. I directed and helped shape the Integral Yoga Teacher Training in Manhattan and around the world. In 1999, I settled in the Princeton, NJ area, where I founded the 501(c)(3) Princeton Integral Yoga Institute and Integral Yoga of Princeton Teacher Training School.
Over the years, I have trained hundreds of superb yoga teachers, in addition to teaching workshops and courses, giving talks and presentations, organizing and leading yoga retreats, and sharing my teachings internationally. I was chosen to be Princeton University's first presenter for their Princeton University Yoga Masters Series, and I feel blessed to be able to share my passion for yoga and spiritual teachings with so many people.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Having touched people's lives and motivated them to aspire to serve and enjoy the wonders of this lifetime is certainly the biggest accomplishment of my work with TGR Yoga.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Learning to be competitive while still respecting and supporting your "competitors" is very challenging but very important.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First, get clear that the business you are considering feels "just right" for you, something that fits what you care about and how you understand your own inclinations and gifts.
Next, consult with others who are successful in the same business, asking for their tips and counsel.
Thirdly, hold a positive image that sees you and your clients benefit from and happy with your business. Express this openly and often daily.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://tgryoga.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TGRyogaTheGreatRemembering
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tgryoga/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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