This is the story of how Christine moved from a sprawling metropolis to an island 6,900 miles away and built a blossoming hands-on practice …
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The first time I spoke with Allison, I was living in Mexico. I had just moved there from Los Angeles, and I was looking ahead to moving again to be near my parents, because they were getting older. I’d been living in Los Angeles for years and I was sure it was going to be a lot of work to build a practice in New Zealand.
I had been a Yoga Teacher before becoming a Feldenkrais Practitioner® in 2004. When I talked with Allison that first time, I had quite a few private yoga students and I was making a reasonable living, but I wanted to stop making house calls and raise my rates.
I had no plan
I didn’t know how to get myself to a more professional place–and I thought that if I raised my rates, I’d lose the clients I had. I knew that would be different in New Zealand and I didn’t know how I was going to make it work, but it seemed like it would take a long time to make it happen.
I felt like I was struggling on so many levels. I really love my work and I love helping people but I was tired of talking to people about how I could help them. I felt like I always NEEDED clients, so I always had to try to GET clients. I was ready to stop convincing people and really hated the feeling that I was always selling, but I didn’t know any other way to do it.
From that first call with Allison I knew that she “got” me. She understood my problems. She knew my challenges. She had lived through what I was going through, and had solutions that worked. And it wasn’t just that they worked for her–other practitioners had gotten great results with her Heart-to-Heart programme.
I began to think maybe I could do it, too
The cost of Heart-to-Heart felt steep to me. I wasn’t sure I could manage the tuition, so I thought about waiting until I had more clients. But I really couldn’t afford to wait–and I realized that if I used what I learned, I would earn the money back quicker by taking Heart-to-Heart then instead of saving to take it later.
I was really surprised because things began to change almost immediately. As I used the Heart-to-Heart skills, I stopped seeing people in terms of their complaints, and that took my stress away because I didn’t have to sell them anything. I felt more natural… more genuine… not just someone after a client.
Then I realized I had doubled the number of sessions I was giving!
It’s a major thing to set up business in a new place. I didn’t realize how much work it would be to move to New Zealand, but it feels really good to be just 18 months in Hawkes Bay and to have a full class just 2 days after announcing it! My workshops fill without advertising, and I’m seeing 12 to 16 people a week.
I’ve saved time and energy
I’m not chasing my tail now! Learning about my strengths has helped a lot. I am not trying to be anyone else now. I accept who I am. I have a bigger appreciation of who my clients are and I am more adaptable in the way I talk to people so I can meet them where they are instead of making them come all the way to me.
So much has changed! I feel like I’m really helping people now. I got so much more than what I realized I would get. There’s so much more to this, on so many different layers. It changed my life.
Christine Cutbush is a Feldenkrais Practitioners who teaches in Hawkes’ Bay and Taupo, New Zealand. Visit her at http://LiveVibrantly.org
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Allison says:
Christine’s story is unique, but truthfully — it’s not unusual. Many practitioners have changed the course of their practices by learning how to talk with people and how to use the strengths that come naturally to them.
To write your own unique story of success, join us in the next Heart-to-Heart program by clicking here — and get on the path to turning your training into the practice you want!
