Leadership and Yoga aligned friendship as a yoga teacher: bts of cactus club yoga mastermind
Join Shawna Krueger, Ben Kalra, Kimia Hajian, Marla Tortorice and Brand Bergado for a behind the scenes look into our self-created yoga teacher mastermind and friendship group. There are some absolute keys for finding authentic friendship in the yoga world, along with some good laughs.
This episode explores what it means to grow in community as a yoga teacher and creative. Let’s talk finding aligned friendships, choosing collaboration over competition, and building accountability and honesty within relationships. We touch on the balance between playfulness and focus, and the importance of becoming the kind of person you’d want to be friends with. And, what happens when friendship doesn’t come easily — and how openness, trust, and consistency can transform that over time.
Ben Kalra - @benkalra
Kimia Hajian - @kimihajian
Marla Tortorice - @marlasyoga
Brandon Bergado - @brandonberg_
Shawna Krueger - @shawnkru
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Own a copy of the guided journal I created, code POD for $33.
Come on my Costa Rica yoga retreat in January 2026:
https://www.shawnakru.com/sweet-simplicity-retreat
time stamps:
00:00 intro
01:00 trust me, don’t skip the intro
03:45 real friends are found on the mountain
05:10 shawna’s letter to cactus club
08:15 brandon’s cactus club origin story
10:00 community as a yoga teacher
15:45 brandon on where to find aligned friends
20:00 ben on collaboration over competition
25:40 marla on accountability in friendships
30:00 kimi on honest feedback in friendships
35:25 ben on balance between silliness & focus
40:00 becoming the kind of person you’d want to be friends with
45:50 kimi on when friendship doesn’t come easily at first