THE TRANSITION: From Learning to Leading
- Robin Shepard
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
How I'm learning to trust my own rhythm as I develop Blue Egg Yoga.
by Robin Shepard, E-RYT, RCYT
There’s a moment in every growth journey — whether you’re deepening your yoga practice, building a business, or starting something new — when gathering more advice stops helping and starts getting in the way.
In the early days of envisioning Blue Egg Yoga, I was hungry to learn. I devoured courses on branding, business, and online marketing. I listened to every podcast and read every article I could find about how to launch a yoga brand. I was determined to “do it right.” And yet, the more I learned, the more tangled I felt.
Some experts said I needed a niche, but what about the other elements of my business? Some told me to focus on social media; others said email was everything. Lead funnels and freebies and posting on Instagram felt confusing and daunting but also inauthentic.
My once-clear vision of what I wanted to share with my students — began to feel weighted down by all the details and minutiae and noise.
That’s when I realized I’d crossed the invisible threshold between learning and leading myself.
The Moment You Know You’re Ready to Lead Yourself
It doesn’t happen all at once. But there are signs you’ve reached this tipping point:
You’re consuming more information than you’re using.
Advice leaves you confused instead of confident.
You crave reassurance more than fresh ideas.
You keep delaying action in search of “just one more” course or mentor.
When that happens, it’s not a failure. It’s a signal.
You’ve gathered enough tools. Now it’s time to build something with them — your way.
Why the Self-Reliant Phase Feels So Uncomfortable
In yoga, there’s a moment when you stop moving in sync with the teacher’s cues and begin to follow your own breath. At first, it feels unsteady — you lose rhythm, question your timing, wobble in the balance. But that’s where embodiment begins.
Building Blue Egg Yoga felt exactly like that.
I remember sitting at my desk, surrounded by notebooks filled with other people’s frameworks, and realizing: No one else can tell me how to build the thing I see in my mind.
That realization was both terrifying and liberating.
There’s no clear roadmap in this phase — no checklist that guarantees success. You make decisions without certainty. You take risks knowing your name is on the line. And the biggest shift of all is internal: you stop identifying as “the learner” and start becoming “the authority,” even if you still feel like a beginner.
How I Learned to Lead Myself (and how you can too )
Here’s what helped me move through that uncomfortable, but essential, phase:
1. I Declared a “No More Input” Window
For 60 days, I stopped consuming new advice. No more marketing podcasts, no new business books. I let my own voice get louder than everyone else’s. When I felt tempted to “research,” I wrote instead — what I wanted Blue Egg Yoga to stand for, who it was for, and how I wanted people to feel after a class.
That clarity came not from learning, but from listening inward.
2. I Shifted to Experiment Mode
Every idea became a small, embodied experiment. I stopped asking, “What would an expert do?” and started asking, “What happens if I try this and see?”
Just like in yoga — try, feel, adjust. The practice became about curiosity rather than perfection.
3. I Built Feedback Loops That Mattered
Instead of polling random peers, I started asking my students what resonated. I paid attention to which classes resonated the most, what people said after class, and what words made their eyes light up. Their feedback became my compass.
4. I Practiced Decision Ownership
Instead of “What should I do?”, I asked, “Given my goals, energy, and values — what feels true?” And then I acted as if that decision was right until proven otherwise. Some choices worked beautifully; others taught me what not to do. Both were valuable.
5. I Accepted Mistakes as Tuition
Some experiments flopped. A few cost time and money. But they were all mine.
Each misstep made me a little clearer, a little stronger, a little more grounded in my own rhythm. That’s how I learned to trust myself — through doing, not just studying.
The Deeper Mindset Shift
The real transition wasn’t about tactics. It was about identity.I stopped trying to build the business I thought I should create — the one that fit other people’s formulas — and started building the one that felt alive in me. Blue Egg Yoga became less about “am I doing this right” and more about how to share movement as a path of awareness, vitality, and grace. When I made that shift, everything began to align: the classes, the students, the messaging. It all felt more natural — because it was coming from an embodied place, not a borrowed one.
A Gentle Invitation
If you’re standing in this same space — between guidance and self-trust — know that you’re not lost. You’re arriving.
You’ve learned from the teachers, the books, and the mentors. Now it’s time to practice what you’ve absorbed and see what your own wisdom can do.
Remember:
Clarity comes from action.
Mistakes are data points, not verdicts.
And your unique rhythm — no matter how unconventional — is your edge.
This is how learning becomes embodiment, and following becomes leading.
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