Known internationally as an outstanding yoga teacher since 1997, Caroline Klebl specializes in Ashtanga Yoga, which she learned from world-renowned Yoga Guru Sri K Pattabhi Jois in India. Klebl’s knowledge of the ancient art is extensive and reflected in the fact that her yoga teacher training courses, workshops, and retreats have been enthusiastically received in the United States, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
She has a background in Tibetan Buddhism, Iyengar and Viniyoga yoga, and studies of Sanskrit, Yoga Philosophy, and traditional Ayurvedic medicine, and is also a chef specializing in vegetarian cuisine.
She developed 200- and 500-hour yoga teacher training programs, which she has been teaching since 2009. In 2010, she received a PhD in Yoga from the Indian University of Alternative Medicine. Since that time, she has produced an instructional yoga DVD and authored the book, The Illustrated Guide to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Photographs of her asanas (yoga postures) were featured in a 2007 Ashtanga Yoga Calendar and a 2008 Yoga Calendar. She has written numerous articles for Yoga magazines and has trained over 500 people to become Yoga Instructors.
She is currently teaching yoga teacher training programs in Los Angeles as well as yoga workshops, retreats and yoga teacher trainings in beautiful destinations around the world.
Where did the idea for your career come from?
The source of yoga is known to be the Indian Deity Shiva. Shiva imparted the teachings of yoga for the benefit of all of mankind. Yoga is designed to eliminate suffering, improve your life experience and enhance success in all your endeavors. I decided to call my yoga teaching source of yoga, when I lived on Maui, HI in 2002. I was immersed in ashtanga yoga asana and pranayama practice at the House of Yoga and Zen. I had been teaching yoga for a few years and recently scheduled my first international workshops in Europe.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Each morning I wake up and prepare for yoga practice. I drink herbal teas in the morning and then begin a one and half to two hour yoga asana practice. When I’m teaching yoga teacher training courses, I teach yoga asana, meditation, yoga philosophy, ayurveda and anatomy for 5-7 hours a day. I schedule my courses nine to twelve months in advance. Additionally, I write articles for yoga magazines. I stay focused on maintaining a consistent yoga practice and teaching courses, workshops and retreats in Los Angeles and in beautiful destinations around the world throughout the year.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I started with an appreciation for the practice of yoga, which led to teaching yoga and then training yoga teachers. When I started teaching yoga, I substituted my yoga teacher’s yoga class, while she was on vacation. After she returned, I started my own drop in classes. When I returned from my first trip to India, to train with renowned ashtanga yoga guru Sri K Pattabhi Jois, I scheduled an 8 week yoga course, which included two classes per week. In 2002, I started teaching workshops internationally, which included 3 hour primary and intermediate series ashtanga yoga workshops on the weekends and daily Mysore yoga classes during the week. I continued teaching workshops and drop in classes until a yoga center requested a week long teacher training program. After teaching week long teacher training courses in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa and Dubai, I developed 200 and 500 hour yoga teacher training programs, which are international accredited by the Yoga Alliance. Additionally, I taught yoga retreats in Bali, Tanzania and Ibiza. In 2009, I taught the first 200 hour yoga teacher training retreat in Bali. Since then over 500 students have graduated from my yoga teacher training programs.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I love how yoga has become popular around the world. The number of American’s practicing yoga has nearly doubled to over 55 million in the last five years.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I love to practice yoga and meditate. Meditation purifies the mind, reduces stress, increases happiness, lengthens attention span, improves memory, generates kindness and improves productivity.
What advice would you give your younger self?
To enjoy every minute of this wonderful life. Every day is a gift, that can be treasured.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
The nature of karma. You will be rewarded for virtuous actions and suffer four fold for actions full of vice.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I persevere. As a self-employed yoga teacher one year may be more successful than another, but year after year, my yoga teaching has grown in effect and reach. To this day, over 500 students have graduated from my yoga teacher training programs, who teach yoga around the world.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
According to the yoga sutras, when you firmly establish non-theft, jewels will appear. It is very important to provide your customers, with a valuable product at a good price. It is important to pay your employees fairly and not have a negative impact on the environment. It is helpful to reduce your businesses carbon footprint, by planting trees. Since I teach yoga teacher training retreats internationally, every year I donate to tree planting organizations to remove the carbon footprint of the flights of the students who attended my trainings.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
When first started teaching yoga retreats in destinations such as Ibiza, Bali and Tanzania, I taught one retreat that was attended by only a few people. Since then, I’ve made a point to schedule retreats 9 to 12 plus months in advance.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Founding a non-profit which enhances your business. I started a non-profit, which supports my yoga teaching. The Yoga Foundation, a 501(c)3 accepts tax-deductible donations and provides scholarships to my yoga teacher training programs and produces educational films.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I’ve been taking a gingko supplement for the past few months. It helps to reduce stress, strengthens the mind and improves the ability to think and solve problems.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
My website and newsletter have been indispensable for growing my yoga teaching. My website sourceofyoga.com features the schedule of my upcoming yoga training courses and retreats as well as links to my book, Ashtanga yoga, primary and intermediate series and instructional yoga dvd. You can register and pay the deposit for my yoga teacher training courses on my website. Additionally, it includes articles, a news section and a sign up for my newsletter.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Patanjali’s yoga sutras is a wonderful text on meditation and yoga. It contains two thousand year old wisdom, on how to attain to pure consciousness, be successful and eliminate suffering, by meditating, practicing yoga and living a virtuous life.
What is your favorite quote?
“When the fluctuations of the mind fade and consciousness becomes clear like a transparent jewel, the grasper, grasping and grasped merge into one.” – Yoga Sutra 1.41
Key Learnings:
- It is important to offer a valuable product at a reasonable price
- Yoga and meditation reduce stress, increase happiness and improve productivity
- It is important to consider the karmic consequences of your actions.
- Reduce your businesses carbon footprint by planting trees.
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.