Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristina Houston.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cristina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Our story is two-fold and includes distinct yet intricately woven experiences that my husband and I had. A couple of years after completing my first yoga teacher training, I had the privilege of traveling to Kenya as an ambassador for the Africa Yoga Project. I taught yoga in the slums, schools, community centers, and a women’s prison. It was during this trip that I answered my lingering question of “Who am I to do this?” (This referring to starting a non-profit in Houston). The answer was, who am I not?
Fast forward 2 years and Dan, my husband also completed his first yoga training. He had a persistent vision of teaching yoga in prisons…and so he did. As a school teacher from Canada, his experience came in seeing those students who had “fallen through the cracks” in the faces of the incarcerated men. It was from our combined experiences which we founded In-Powered. From 2012-2017 In-Powered became a premier provider for school-based yoga programs, professional development for teachers, retreats, and yoga teacher trainings for educators!
We founded our current business, Mind Tribes, as a platform to share and contribute what we love most and are best in the world at: leading people. We offer coaching programs, retreats, and of course – yoga teacher trainings. This year we are expanding our work to California and are thrilled!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
*insert laughter* Of course it hasn’t been smooth! Founding these two organizations have been two of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences of my life. Any time you’re up to a bigger game than you know how to play, you’ll face struggles and a lot nay-sayers.
In the beginning, with both businesses, the challenge was simply not knowing that the hell we were doing. We were inefficient, frustrated, and producing results far from our desires and expectations. Even with hundreds of books out there on starting businesses, there’s a huge learning curve and finesse in dealing with people; whether they’re colleagues or clients.
With In-Powered, one of the biggest hurdles was learning how to get our mission and story out there in a way that landed with people. Ask any non-profit and they’ll share their struggles with fundraising. As Mind Tribes has grown, the biggest lessons we continue to learn are about how to prioritize our personal relationship over the business. It’s easy and alluring to focus the success, the growth, the wealth…but none of that matters if it gets in the way of what’s most valuable to you.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Mind Tribes is a yoga-inspired coaching company empowering leaders to transform how they live, work, and contribute in the World. We do this through our customized coaching programs, retreats, and trainings.
We’re most proud of the graduates of our work! For us, we gain tremendous joy and fulfillment by sharing the extraordinary results our graduates are causing – whether that’s in opening their own yoga studios, using mindfulness tools in their marriage, or creating a culture of movement in their typically sedentary workplace. Participants of our programs will reliably tell you that they are forever connected to a larger community who share invaluable experiences, distinctions and tools that make a profound difference in their life, and a transformed relationship to themselves and others.
What were you like growing up?
I’ve always loved being active and connected to people. As a kid, I spent countless hours getting dirty, playing in the streets and hosting sleep-overs with my gal pals. In retrospect, something I did as a kid and continue to do as an adult is ask a lot of questions. I always wanted to know the why behind things. Typical school work was not my forte, so I’d find alternative ways to learn and succeed. I remember ordinary moments at the dinner table that would turn into my parents drawing graphs or charts to help me understand something I had questions about; or sitting on a bench at the museum to further explain an exhibit. When I became a competitive swimmer in high school, my entire attention went to that, and I still attribute my sense of commitment, love for people, and movement to those (intense) days!
Pricing:
- 90-minute coaching session $150
- Declare + Deliver (virtual coaching program) $565
- Yoga Teacher Training $3400
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mind-tribes.com
- Phone: 7133060400
- Email: cristina@mind-tribes.com
- Instagram: @mindtribes
- Facebook: Facebook.com/MindTribes
Image Credit:
UserofReality, Tiny Mum Photography, Breakfast Yoga Club
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