Jenny Sauer-Klein has accomplished something few ever do. She co-founded and created a global movement, AcroYoga, which has millions of practitioners around the world.
What is even more impressive is that Jenny also has the humility and courage to have build AcroYoga and then let it go. After 10 years of traveling and teaching, she has now embarked on her next program, Play On Purpose, through which Jenny helps rapid-growth companies integrate new talent quickly and create the trust and connection necessary for creativity to thrive.
Jenny brings a sense of community and playfulness to all the work she does. In the interview, we discuss exactly how Jenny built a global movement from its inception one late night at 2AM. She shares how and why she and her co-founder Jason Nemer put the AcroYoga brand above their own, even though Jenny is still sometimes accosted with questions like “are you ArcoYoga?” We explore the value of a physical practice, and how creative processes can be taught within companies.
Enjoy this interview with Jenny Sauer-Klein!
Books
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
The Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg
Notes
2:30 AcroYoga
4:20 Human play and being willing to trust
6:30 Emotions of being associated with AcroYoga
7:40 AcroYoga standing on it’s own, on it’s own merit
8:10 Learning business models from other yoga forms
11:10 Jenny and Jason’s backgrounds
13:40 Making the practice accessible
13:38 Being curious leading to discovery
18:00 The process, not the product
19:05 Difference between forms that practice without performance
22:15 Bringing awareness to everything we do
23:55 Beginning a collaboration with Jason
26:30 The right timing
28:20 Human to human contact
31:45 Exposing movement while preserving quality
33:35 Creating a common vocabulary
34:55 Comparing partner dancing and yoga forms
36:10 Moving on from AcroYoga
38:00 Finding a wider demographic
39:45 Leading the company in different directions
42:15 Challenging period of letting go
44:15 Permission to try and fail
46:45 Jenny’s new project, Play On Purpose
48:40 Building teamwork collaboration
50:00 Physical component to connection
53:30 Play on Purpose in workplace
55:45 Applying principles to daily life
58:27 Find out more about Jenny
If you enjoyed this conversation, you’ll probably like my interview with learner, musician, and programer Derek Sivers:
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