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In this inspiring episode of the Be Create Inspire podcast, I had the privilege of hosting Michelle Villalobos, the brilliant mind behind Superstar Activator. Michelle is a powerhouse in guiding entrepreneurs to align their lives and businesses with their authentic selves, creating energy-rich, profitable, and impactful endeavors.
Michelle emphasizes the importance of alignment—connecting with who you truly are. Her journey of self-discovery is a testament to the transformative power of stepping into your authentic self.
“When we align with our truest values and purpose, everything begins to flow with greater ease and impact.” – Michelle Villalobos
The “Superstar Model” is built on a five-pointed star that represents essential elements for success:
1.Purpose: A guiding force bigger than oneself.
2.Energy: Vital life force gained through mindful self-care and wellness.
3.Values: Grounding in what truly matters.
4.Healing: Resolving past wounds to create space for growth.
5.Vision: A compelling future that inspires action.
Her journey of transitioning from a time-for-money model to a scalable business structure is so clear in this interview. She detailed her “front-end, breakthrough, big backend” system:
•Front-End: Marketing strategies like YouTube videos, speaking engagements, and networking to attract potential clients.
•Breakthrough: High-impact events, such as three-day retreats, designed to deliver immediate value.
•Big Backend: Year-long programs offering deeper transformation and long-term growth.
Her focus on sustainable, value-driven business models is a game-changer for entrepreneurs looking to create a meaningful impact while building financial stability.
Michelle’s impact on my life has been profound. From attending her workshops and using my wedding savings to join her program, to transforming my yoga business into a thriving enterprise, her teachings have been pivotal. She saw the potential in me before I fully embraced it myself, and her mentorship was a catalyst for my growth.
Superstar Business advice for budding entrepreneurs is clear:
•Believe in Your Offer: Confidence in your value proposition attracts clients and creates trust.
•Commit to the Long Game: Success doesn’t happen overnight; persistence and learning from failures are essential.
•Lead Yourself First: Before leading others, embody the change you wish to create in your own life.
Michelle’s insights are a treasure trove for anyone looking to shine in their business. Watch the full episode here, and follow Michelle on Instagram at @superstaractivator
The Transformative Power of Yoga and Music
As the co-owner of The Yoga Expo, the nation’s largest yoga and wellness convention, I’ve seen firsthand the profound ways yoga and music can transform lives. This year, we’re excited to celebrate the 11th Annual Yoga Expo at the 2025 Los Angeles event—a gathering of wellness enthusiasts, yogis, and visionaries. Recently, I had the privilege of hosting renowned artist and yogi MC Yogi on my podcast, Be. Create. Inspire. His deeply personal journey of finding healing through music and yoga is a story of transformation that aligns beautifully with our mission at The Yoga Expo.
🎥 Watch the Podcast with MC Yogi
Get inspired by his incredible journey of healing and transformation. Click below to watch the full podcast episode:
Listen Here:
Follow MC Yogi on Instagram: @mcyogi
Healing Through Creativity and Connection
MC Yogi’s path wasn’t always smooth. Growing up in a challenging environment, he found solace in music as a teenager. “When my parents divorced, music became my escape and my relief,” he shared. Yoga entered his life later, providing a sense of balance and connection he had been seeking. Combining these two passions, MC Yogi created a unique form of moving meditation, blending creativity and mindfulness to heal and inspire.
Today, his music and teachings remind us of the transformative power of art, movement, and self-expression. Whether it’s through creating music, practicing yoga, or engaging in another creative outlet, these tools allow us to process emotions, heal from adversity, and connect deeply with ourselves and others.
A Full-Circle Moment for The Yoga Expo
This conversation with MC Yogi holds special meaning for me. Fifteen years ago, when I was launching my yoga career, I had the honor of teaching at one of his events. Fast forward to 2025, and now, as the co-owner of The Yoga Expo, I’m thrilled to announce him as one of the headliners at this year’s Los Angeles event. This full-circle moment highlights the power of connection, community, and perseverance in the wellness industry.
Lessons for Wellness Entrepreneurs
MC Yogi’s inspiring story isn’t just for yogis—it’s packed with lessons for wellness entrepreneurs and creatives alike. Here are a few key takeaways:
1.Creativity is a Powerful Healing Tool
Whether it’s music, writing, or yoga, creativity allows us to process emotions and transform challenges into growth opportunities.
2.The Value of Community
Building a strong support network is essential for personal and professional growth. Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals amplifies your purpose and impact.
3.Trust the Process
Life often comes full circle. Embrace each step of the journey and remain open to opportunities that align with your purpose.
4.Balance is Key
Harmony in life comes from focusing on what truly matters. For MC Yogi, the balance between music, yoga, and mindfulness has been transformative.
Listen, Watch, and Be Inspired
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from MC Yogi about how music and yoga have shaped his life. His story is a reminder that healing, creativity, and connection can lead to profound transformation.
🎧 Tune in Now
Watch the full podcast episode on YouTube:
For details on the Yoga Expo’s upcoming events, visit The Yoga Expo. Let’s come together to celebrate, connect, and transform.
First how can you tell if you’re experiencing burnout let alone overcome burnout? I have struggled with this because of my action centered personality that usually pushes through bouts of “not feeling it”.
But let’s identify some real burnout style feelings:
Well, I’m an egg snob and if my eggs don’t have bright orange yolks, I’m not eating them. It actually reminds me of an episode of Portlandia where they went out to eat and asked the waiter if the chicken they ordered was organic. If it was free range. If it had lots of sunlight. What it’s name was and if it had friends. (Pretty funny episode if you ask me).
Well, I’m the same with my products and things I invest it. I only want top notch food for my family and myself and rather spend a couple extra dollars on that knowing I’m also supporting small farmers in the process.
I do the same with my water, my clothes and anything else I spend my money on. Quality always beats quantity and knowing there’s good energy behind it is even more important!
Why is this blog then about Happy Eggs when I’m a business coach?
VALUE. Plain and simple. Your value and how you price yourself to be more exact.
Did you know most holistic entrepreneurs have a tendency to underprice themselves by 10-15%?
In this (our) industry there is a stigma around money and asking for your worth. In my book, The Abundant Yogi I talk about this exact thing in more detail, but to get an idea we have been used to providing discounts and lowering our rates due to covid almost instantly.
First of all let’s talk about perceived value and what it means in the world of commerce. When something FEELS more expensive and is presented that way, you automatically get the essence that it’s more valuable.
Think Happy Eggs vs plain old eggs. Simply the packaging and the promise was good enough to charge $1 more than regular eggs, and if you’ve ever heard my presentation about pricing then you know $1 based on a volume based business can turn into $$$$$$!!!
Now do some quick math for yourself – if you lower your rates or on the flip side don’t raise your prices (ever!), you’re basically digging a hole for yourself that will be harder to dig out of. For example, it’s easier to give someone a discount vs raising your price right?
Let’s say I’m an acupuncturist and my rates have been $100 a session for the last 3 years and then because of covid I dropped them by $10, it’s going to be harder to raise my price back to $100 since now people think my rates are $90. Instead what I could’ve done, is given a 10% off and kept my prices the same.
On another note I’ve seen plenty of businesses raise their prices in the last 6 months or add a covid tax of 99 cents!
So STOP lowering your value and your prices.
You want to create a value 3 ways.
Can I side note for a second? This is why ALL my clients create some sort of an online product that can be sold as a stand alone OR can be added as a BONUS on their programs!!!
2021 is your year to create and radiate. It’s vital the offerings you create and put out there show off your bad-assery. You deserve to make back all the money you’ve spent in growing your knowledge and wisdom and your diligent service to help others heal and feel better.
Go over your pricing and get it out there with pride and knowing fully you will deliver 110% of what people pay for. And if you haven’t gotten a chance to get your business planning 15 minute discover call – let’s do it!! 2021 waits for no one.
www.calendly.com/ariom/discover
Hugs + Love,
Arianne
Every-time I step on my yoga mat I learn something new. Whether it is a lesson from a teaching by my gurus or an internal realization. Today’s lesson sparked a HUGE aha.
I was practicing with Richard Freeman, an Ashtanga Yoga teacher with knowledge beyond the asana that relates to energetic qualities.
He said something that struck me and verified my purpose as a health and wealth ambassador. The word vinyasa which we use often in our classes is “a sequence to which we put order that creates the opportunity to hold space”. He said that it is an “offering that has internal and external qualities”.
Of course my creative mind grabbed my notebook at that moment and drew a chart with 2 columns – and I invite you to do this with me. And maybe sit on your yoga mat and do this so you can connect with the energy you’ve offered on your mat throughout your life as a yogi.
Create a column with the world internal qualities and write down all your internal gifts – the qualities that make you, you. The good and the awesome and then the ones which keep you stuck or paralyzed.
For example in this column you would write your strengths, gifts and values.
I wrote:
Then write the external qualities. More of the physical and tangible ones.
For example I wrote:
I ask you to write to good and the things to be improved (notice I didn’t write the word bad or negative) so that you can create balance and have something to look forward to working on.
The practice of yoga, the vinyasa aspect of it, is designed to do create a sequence in which your actions lead you to transformation. Your yoga mat is a placeholder for the offerings you give the practice. Everytime you step on the mat, you leave parts of you that are holding you back from attaining goals and partaking in that samsara (the birth and rebirth of the soul in sanskrit).
In my teachings, both as a yoga teacher and business coach, I focus on this transformation as the core of the movement from your current reality to the next aspect of you. It’s the constant evolution which moves you closer to the 8th limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga system, which is enlightenment.
I leave you with this invitation – everytime you step on your yoga mat, decide what your offering is. What are you leaving on the mat and what are you receiving. What lessons do the poses, the breath and the focus or dristi, teach you.
This is awareness that you’ll take off your mat and into your daily practice. It’s what is called mindfulness and can weave into everything you do.
I invite you to explore the asana beyond the physical pose and find those internal qualities that shift, bend and grow.
Write me back and let me know what you explored and what aha moments happened that created more space and freedom in your body, mind and soul.
See you soon!
Feeling complete and joyful is important in your life as it creates an environment of a healthy mental and emotional state. There are so many ways you can do this and one of them which I particularly like and teach often in my classes and trainings is mantra. It’s a practice that can be done by anyone, whenever, wherever which makes it accessible to all. You’ll find enjoyment in the process!
A mantra is the repetition of a word, words or sounds. Sometimes it’s as simple as a phrase in your own language repeated over and over or a more complicated sanskrit phrase or sound. We’ll delve into 3 of my favorite mantras below that will lead you to a practice you can maintain for when you need or some people start a sadhana journey which is your own practice over at least 21 days. Mantras have been used over thousands of years by spiritual guides. The rosary is even a form of mantra.
There is no perfect time to start a mantra practice, and really it should be done with a guide so that if you are doing one in sanskrit you get the right pronunciation and get the energetic effect it wants to deliver. Mantras are good for specific moments when you want to attract a certain energy to your life or create a shift. For example, I started a mantra to bring good energy for my baby’s birth coming soon.
Like I mentioned earlier, there are many types out there and the right one will fit what you want.
Mantra for Transformation:
“Lead me from the untruth to truth, lead me from darkness to light, lead me from death to immortality.”
This is a mantra from the Upanishads circa 800 BCE which are spiritual teachings and ideas. To listen to it CLICK HERE.
Mantra for Positivity:
Mantra for Peace:
Sometimes the simplest forms of repetition can have the largest effect. This mantra means Om peace, peace, peace. Om represents sound primordial and is also spelled AUM to represent the 3 aspects of the self – body / mind / spirit.
I hope you enjoyed these mantras and choose 1 that can resonate with you now. Start with a daily practice and see what happens.
If you want more guidance, please connect with me.
Namaste!
Arianne
I had the pleasure of writing for Better Homes and Gardens about how to find joy along some amazing contributors (like one of my wellness heroes Dr Josh Axe – wow!).
We shared some great tips on maintaining joy and creating it where you might not think of. To read more CLICK HERE but I will post my excerpt for you as well.
You don’t have to be Shakespeare to pen a pretty poem. And you don’t have to be in a relationship to scribble a love letter. Arianne Traverso, a holistic lifestyle and business coach, says the act of writing to someone you care about—partner, friend, or family member—helps you to slow down and focus on the here and now. What do you admire about them? What have they brought to your life? Why are you so thrilled to have met them? Think of someone you were friends with or still are but don’t get to see or speak to often. She says this creates a deeper connection as you know when that person opens the letter they will feel joy, which in turn, brings you joy, too.
There are so many ways to smile, appreciate at love life more that we often forget about because we get so busy. I would love to be a source of happiness and inspiration so please reach out or join some of my local and online events.
I’m always here to support and guide so check out some of my free meditation resources HERE.
See you soon~
xo,
Arianne
It wasn’t too long ago when I believed payroll was only for “successful people”. For those who were making “real money”.
Side note: Can you see where none of the above statements even make sense?
These were all illusions I had set up because of comparisons to others who I assumed made so much more money than I, who were living more grandiose and who obviously could afford to pay themselves a salary.
I thought, keep all the money in my business account and pay myself as little as possible JUST IN CASE.
Just in case what? What was I setting myself up for? Failure?
So here let’s all say “Yes Please!” to increased income.
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Here’s the deal. Now that you and I are professional adults as I like to call it, this is why and how I tripled my salary in just a few short months.
Big realization was that I was limiting myself massively on item 1 because no one would lend me money since I earned “so little”. I was also telling the universe that I didn’t need to earn a lot of money because I lived simply. I also wasn’t building up my credit or giving myself cushion to start an IRA, invest or do anything else with my money. It is all about increased income and opening the doors for it to flow in from clients into your business and from your business into your life.
I created an abundance mantra for you:
I decided to triple my payroll salary and see what happened. Let me tell you – magic. I realized I was scared in the beginning but once I started the 3x everything fell into place. The fear left because I welcomed more clients into my life and saw more abundance via income to support the pay increase. Also I was able to get a better loan for my home which SAVED me money in the long run and started a chunkier savings account that made money FOR me as well as an IRA for my retirement.
I also felt PROUD of myself for not thinking small and limiting myself. Once I committed to saying – money generates more money I was able to feel really abundant and help my clients from a place of growth vs limits.
Here’s my ask of you- notice how much you pay yourself monthly – is it worth your value? Is is just enough or is it party time in your bank? Do you leave all your money in your business account just in case you need to cover expenses or can you trust yourself and the universe to be bigger and more affluent? Can you commit to 2x your salary or even more? And with this extra income, can you commit to sharing it via a donation (whether big or small) or even crazier, treat yourself to something nice?
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To be independent. This word INDEPENDENT I feel gets used often and thrown around a bit. What does it really mean?
I write from this from England on the day the United States celebrates it’s independence from England which made me think quite a bit.
As humans we love independence. We love freedom. We long for making our own decisions and not be dependent on others for our livelihood.
Not only that, but as creative and holistic entrepreneurs we are drawn to be completely on our own, leading our businesses, creating our schedule and having the life we want because being independent is a top value we hold dearly.
What happens when you loose freedom and independence? How do you feel?
This word and feeling is something hundreds and thousands of people have lost their lives for. Who have given everything to be free.
What does this mean in your life and business? As you know to me as an entrepreneur they go hand in hand.
Having freedom to create is a gift that makes us human and those of us with ideas that want to be seen and heard are constantly on the search of how to get those ideas out and express.
This is why many of us turn to be instructors, coaches, creative entrepreneurs. Because of this calling to be independent to express and share.
What happens sometimes is that we are stuck not knowing what to do or how to do it so that our essence of freedom, liberty and independence is stifled under how to make this lifestyle and underlying value work. By the way, this is when most people call me asking for help and advice.
So knowing we are on this lifelong search for freedom and being independent, do you feel like you’re dependent on others to achieve your independence.
Let’s name some ways we are independent:
As the Huff Post states there are 2 types of independence and one is being free with rules. They used this quote “Any yachtsman knows,” he replied, “that in order to enjoy the freedom of the high seas, one must become a slave to the compass.”
So in order to have freedom and independence we are subject to being connected and tied to other circumstances to achieve the ultimate freedom.
At the end of it all, your independence should make you feel happy, satisfied, proud and fulfilled. Whether it’s attached to others (like clients, income, spouses, and then some).
If you are not vibing where you are right now, if you feel stifled, over dependent or not connected to your highest self ideals, I invite you to do something.
First take time to make a call with me then check out my last post about the 9 Environments and do the wheel and the exercise.
Lastly, create a vision board of what it means to be independent to you, regardless of your external situations.
Always big hugs and thank you!!!
Arianne xoxo