Ep. 80 The Stern Truth: Energize Your Business With Yulia Yumalova

In this episode, I sit down with Yulia Yumalova, a flexibility and movement coach with 14 years of experience. Yulia, who has built a fully location-independent business, has run studios in Bali, delivered workshops around the world, and now teaches completely online. Her journey is a great example of what entrepreneurial freedom looks like when you build your business around your life.

What I love about this conversation is how Yulia connects physical health directly to business performance. She talks about how small business owners are grinding away at their desks, draining their energy on the wrong activities, and wondering why they feel burnt out. Yulia experienced this herself when she had her own studio and a growing team.

One of the golden nuggets she shares in this episode is something I am absolutely stealing for myself: if it is not in your calendar, it does not exist. Yulia time-blocks everything, including a dedicated window she calls her "anger block,” which, wow, how inventive! Setting aside time to be angry is a golden nugget if I’ve ever heard one.

Yulia also walks us through a desk-friendly movement routine you can do during a call or between tasks. The connection between how you hold your body physically and how you show up mentally in your business is real, and Yulia breaks it down in an easy-to-understand way.

Her final golden nugget is to stay curious, something I live by as well. Keep asking questions, keep exploring, and never assume you have it all figured out.

Send the word FLEXIBILITY to Yulia through LinkedIn or Instagram, and she will send you more about her pillars of flexibility.

Website: https://balibodyclub.my.canva.site/cv-website
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yulia-yumalova-a04283168
IG: @bali.body

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: marshall@marshallstern.net

Transcript

[00:00:00] Marshall Stern: Hi, I'm Marshall Stern and I've spent over 35 years leading and growing multiple small businesses. I know firsthand the struggles of entrepreneurship, feeling isolated, lonely, overwhelmed, and feeling like you have to do it all by yourself. I've been through multiple recessions, and I have felt the highs and the lows.

[00:00:24] I've been there, and I get it. This podcast is here to change that. Every week I will bring you straight talking advice, real world strategies, and honest conversations about what it takes to succeed in business without the fluff, the gimmicks, or the sugar-coated. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress, then you are in the right place.

[00:00:47] This is The Stern Truth. 

[00:00:52] All right, welcome back, everyone. Another episode of The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered, and I want to introduce you to my special guest on... I don't know if it's on my left or my right, wherever, however way you're seeing it. Yulia, how are you doing today? 

[00:01:04] Yulia Yamalova: Hi, everybody. I'm really good. Thank you for having me today. 

[00:01:09] Marshall Stern: So, we find you, I believe, in Brazil? 

[00:01:13] Yulia Yamalova: Yes, I'm in Rio right now. Even though I'm spending my wintertime here, and most of the time I was based in Vancouver. 

[00:01:21] Marshall Stern: Nice. Nice. Tell us a little bit about – now I want to get into... Well, tell us who you are. Well, you told us who you are. What you do because that's going to really feed into...

[00:01:29] I want to hear about your entrepreneurial journey, what takes you to, to Brazil, how you work it all. But also, definitely, we're going to get into some really, really, some golden nuggets, as I like to call them, for business owners and entrepreneurs on how they can actually become more productive. But we're going to hold that...

[00:01:48] Hold off on that, because people have no idea who you are, what you, or some people might, what you do, and then that'll sort of lead into some really good stuff for them. But take it away. What do you... Tell us about your journey. What, what do you do? 

[00:02:01] Yulia Yamalova: Sure. So, I've been teaching flexibility for 14 years, like, and flexibility is not just stretching or yoga, as many people might think.

[00:02:11] Flexibility, in my understanding, requires Pilates, functional training, functional body movements and posture work, which lead you to better mobility and to a better general health. And I've been teaching that, as I said, 14 years. I had my studio in Bali, then I moved to Vancouver, and I started to work for the different studios, run the workshops.

[00:02:37] I used to run the retreats worldwide, like in Mexico and Bali, and yes, now I work online, and yeah. I just moved all my business, like, towards a complete freedom. Like, to not, like, you know, to not being stuck in one location and, you know, yeah, I do it online and teach people. 

[00:03:00] Marshall Stern: So, it's funny, for those of you who are, listening to this podcast, not watching it on YouTube, every time Yulia says the word posture, I'm, like, sitting up straight.

[00:03:11] Okay. So funny. So, just keep saying posture and then I'll, I'll make sure that it's – my posture is better. So, you said 14 years? 

[00:03:20] Yulia Yamalova: Yes, 14 years. I started quite earlier, like when I was 17, actually. And flexibility just was always inspired me because I've noticed that, let's say you have, like, a stressful period of your life, and I've noticed that my body gets tighter.

[00:03:37] Even though, like, I don't really necessarily change anything in my diet and my, like, day-to-day life. But yeah, my body was kind of protecting myself, and I was finding it really interesting. And how my body after that was, like, affecting my mental state and how, like let's say it's just like downwards spiral.

[00:03:56] Like, you start to feel a little bit down, then you, your body closing a little bit, then you're losing a little bit of your energy, then you feel weird, and then it just, like, you know, everything affects your day-to-day life. And then after I started with the different practices, I've noticed that you can, like, reverse this process, and that was, like, probably the first turning point for me.

[00:04:18] That was exciting. 

[00:04:19] Marshall Stern: Wow. Okay. So, I, I have so many questions. I want to – I, I'm going to take notes myself. So, like I always say to our listeners, grab a pad of paper and pen. And I think definitely with this one, 100%. But before we go there, tell us about the 14 years in business. Tell us what would be of the biggest challenges, let's say.

[00:04:41] It's a question I like to ask. Biggest challenges in your entrepreneurial journey. 

[00:04:44] Yulia Yamalova: So, yeah. You know, I feel like this is the thing that, in business, when I first started, I was thinking like, Okay, I don't want to have a regular job. I don't want to work for anybody. I have so many ideas. Those ideas are awesome, and I definitely going to do it.

[00:04:59] So, and once I will put the things in places, it's going to be perfect, and I'll be just chilling and enjoying the results of my work. But that was kind of an illusion because the more you grow, the more people you get on your team, the more people, like the more clients you get, it's kind of like there's like new challenges always coming.

[00:05:18] And it's like a never-ending process, you know?And I actually find, like the more you grow, the more challenges you have. It's just the different types of challenges. And, well, I feel like the biggest challenges would be, like, just, like life challenges. You know, like relationship things and, like, family things, like personal stuff that happens that would affect your own productivity, personal business, and that would be, like, very personally would add a lot of stress.

[00:05:48] But yeah, in terms of business challenge, I would say, like, hiring more people and understanding that everybody... Like, the more... Like, the bigger team you have, the more you have to, like, understand the difference. Like, the more your business has to be on place, like, structured. Your self-discipline. You need to understand that everybody different, have, like, ways of communicating, different ways to put things, like, and make things done that you ask them to do, and it's just like, yeah, there's, like, every time, like, every day there's, like, a lot of new lessons or a lot of, like, challenges that's coming up.

[00:06:22] But it's just, you know, it's a never-ending process, I would say. 

[00:06:25] Marshall Stern: Yeah, no, 100%. And, and like you mentioned, the first one that came top of mind with you was the family, like the personal stuff that affects our business, right? And so, that's, I mean, that's, that's fair game. Like, it's, it's – life happens, right?

[00:06:38] Life happens in real time, and it does affect our business, so that is a business challenge. Our family, our personal life is a business challenge because... A- and our business challenges become our personal challenges. It, it, it goes both ways. Now, it's about managing it and, and, and all that kind of good stuff.

[00:06:53] So do you find... I'm curious. Like, so you spend some of, part of your [00:07:00] time in Brazil, part of your time in Vancouver? 

[00:07:03] Yulia Yamalova: It's – you know, so, basically, I based in Vancouver, but I like to go out for the wintertime every year. I moved to Vancouver, like, not that long ago. Like, just two years ago. 

[00:07:16] Before that I was based in Bali. And, yeah, for the wintertime I prefer to go to, like, Latin America or anywhere where it's warm and sunny. So – and yeah, I like to base my freedom, like, my business around freedom, and so, like, not being dependent on any location, as I was saying. So, that's something that's inspired me and, yeah, so, it's freedom in body, freedom in mind, freedom in location. It's, like, one of my priorities, I would say. Awesome. And yeah, that's what I try to do. 

[00:07:44] Marshall Stern: Okay. See, this is why I love these conversations. Okay. You, you, you said the magic word, and this is why most people go into business for themselves.

[00:07:52] It's the freedom, right? Now, freedom of time, freedom of money, could just pick up and go wherever you want. So, you're living it. 

[00:08:00] Yulia Yamalova: Yes. I mean, I've been building it. Like, of course, there's, like, always things that come up and, like, you know, life is, like, change. But yes, free – like, I work towards a complete freedom in terms of location and financial freedom and freedom of the body. 

[00:08:17] Marshall Stern: Do, do you find the freedom aspect of it, okay, do you – I'm curious, do you find – do you find freedom to be lonely at times? 

[00:08:24] Yulia Yamalova: Lonely? Yes, actually. Since the Christmas just, was passing by, I realized that, okay, I am the only one person right now who can do the same, like, lifestyle.

[00:08:37] For example, I have, like, great friends in Vancouver, I have amazing friends in Bali or in Russia. I'm from Russia. So, not many people can do the same thing that I can. So, I always go to, like, new locations and try new things. But when the Christmas comes, I'm like, well, I'm kind of sad. And I'm like, I would love to go back to Moscow, for example, but visit my family, but because of the political situations I'm not going there right now.

[00:09:05] And yes, it kind of both freedom of the, lonely at the times, but yeah, most of the time I really like it and it's really worth it. 

[00:09:14] Marshall Stern: Yeah. No, it's good. I mean, it's... look, I mean, being a business owner, it's, this is why I have the podcast, this is why I have my group programs. This is why we've just started,  because this is January now, this is why I've just started the ONtrepreneur Inner Circle, which is a private group of business owners who don't want to be alone anymore, and they want to have sort of a peer-to-peer and a support group.

[00:09:36] What would you say... Okay, so, business owners, entrepreneurs, I mean, this is, the stuff you're going to give, the, the golden nuggets you're about to give are for anyone really in, in life. But we're specifically, our listeners are business owners, entrepreneurs. One thing I do with my clients, my coaching clients is, and we've talked about this before, is I have something called an Energy Audit.

[00:09:59] A- because I find it's a little bit different than what you're going to talk about. But I find that business owners way –  especially smaller business owners – focus too much on the wrong activities, the activities that drain them, drain them of their energy. And, and some of those activities, they're not even tasks they're not even that good at, but they feel like even if they have a small team of one or two or even five people, they still end up doing all these activities that drain them.

[00:10:27] The – and it's usually the administrative, the bookkeeping, the invoicing, all the administrative stuff, and they get sucked into doing that, and then they're drained, and they're not focusing on the activities that actually will move the needle for their business and that energize them. So, you come from a, from a different angle. I want to hear some tips and golden nuggets from you on how we can improve our productivity, our efficiency, our energy.

[00:10:55] Yulia Yamalova: Sure. So, first, of course, like delegate the things that you have to do on a day-to-day basis. And just, personally, how I was doing my schedule is, like I wrote down the things that I'm, like doing on a day-to-day basis, and that is like really easy to do and repeat. And I created just like a spreadsheet that I –

[00:11:16] Like, a spreadsheet, it's like a system for my virtual assistant who help me to those things, and, second part, I wrote a list of things that I'm not good at, and I wrote the second part of this list was like things that I'm good at and something that is like the core of my business, basically. And so, I delegate the things that I'm not good at.

[00:11:37] Because I don't want to learn more about like some optimization systems and stuff like this. I'm like, it's too much, and there's like a lot of smart, amazing people that can do that. So, and I'm like, okay, this is shift. This is shift, and like I have my time for myself. And I've noticed like at the beginning, I tried to do everything myself, like save as much money as I can and, just be like, yeah, it's just like do everything by myself.

[00:12:05] But yeah, it led to burnout. I didn't really follow my own routine because, I mean, I teach fitness, I teach wellness, like,  posture, but at the same time, when I had like a big team or studio, I didn't have time for myself to like actually follow things that I'm doing. And, yeah, there was like, a point in business when I was completely burnt out and I was like, okay, I have to stop everything because it's getting really bad.

[00:12:32] I'm like, yeah, disaligned with what I'm doing and teaching because I'm not doing it myself. And so yeah, I would say like first thing is just to start with yourself because you can't manage the chaotic things, like the mess around you if there's a lot of mess inside you. So, managing the life, starting from the inside and then outside world kind of follows.

[00:12:55] And so what I do with this is just, yeah, obviously like mental clarity such as meditation or just like,  guiding your mind and your thoughts,  towards what's important and not spreading energy on something negative and like, like little things that annoys you or like little things that is not important at all.

[00:13:15] And then finding and like being able to process the stress that you experience on day-to-day life by allowing these emotions exist and feeling them, but at the same time, there is always a trade. Like, if you're not constantly working with your body, if you're not releasing the stress, there's also a certain degree you're storing the stress in your muscles, in your postures, inside you,  and choosing to move on Kind of, quote unquote, and, that really affects your, like, the way you feel, you know?

[00:13:50] So, I would really suggest to, like, being able to prioritize in your schedule to let go of the emotions and, like, do the physical, like, environment practices such as, like, flexibility, running, boxing, like, whatever that might be for you, because there are different seasons in life and there is different reasons- rhythms in life, and different types of activity and movement can help you to overcome those feelings.

[00:14:17] Sometimes it's really good to go for yoga, but sometimes you feel like, no, there's too much, and you just want to go for dance classes or, like, boxing, karate, like, running, and yeah, I found for myself that, like, flexibility is, like, a non-negotiable thing for me to stay productive, productive and, like, to hydrate my body not only from, like, the water and nutrition, but also from movement and, yeah, that's what I do for myself.

[00:14:45] Marshall Stern: Okay. So, our listeners are out there. I'm going to be putting myself in their shoes. I am in their shoes, okay? Been in my business, I'm going to pretend just one of my listeners, four or five years. The bills are coming, bills are piling up, clients are sort of trickling in. I'm not sleeping well at night. I'm sitting at my desk all the time doing the work during the day, and then I, I'm –

[00:15:10] Yeah, I don't realize it. Like, we don't realize, like, we're tensing up. Like, every time you said posture, I'm like, "Okay, I got to stand straight, I got to do shoulders back and..." What – is there a routine... Again, I mean, this is not just for business owners, this is for everybody. But especially if you're on your computer all the time and the stress is building up and the tension, is there a, a specific routine that you can give us right now?

[00:15:30] Give me… let's just – well, you're talking to me. 

[00:15:33] Yulia Yamalova: Sure. So first of all, sure, you can have, like, an hour, three times a week and you can work out. But at the same time, you're spending, like, at least eight hours, like, especially, especially if you're a business owner, you spend way more hours sitting at a desk and just, like, on the calls and, like, in the car and stuff like this.

[00:15:52] So the main thing I would always say, just, like, manage the space around you by getting a standing desk. Or I always... Like, I'm traveling right now, but my home office, I have, like, a pedal bike, small one. I got it from Amazon, it was $30. And it's amazing because you're just placing it under the table and, like, just switching throughout the day.

[00:16:15] I have, like, an alarm clock when, like, it's beeping, like, every second hour, and I'm switching from, like, standing to sitting and, like, pedaling, so which just, like, helps my blood flow, which is already again, like, giving me better results. And I don't feel as exhausted after, like, a long sitting day compared to as if I would just been sitting That's the first one.

[00:16:40] Second is put like a breaks for sure. I think it's like a cliche and everybody's recommending to do that. But like, yes, literally add it to your alarms and like, get like a every hour breaks, for stretching. And by stretching, I mean like, not just like you don't even have to stand up and do anything like big.

[00:17:01] You can stretch your eyes, which is like the oculomotor nerve. Usually, we just like stay like looking forward or down and meaning that we like really tighten the whole fascia connection. Like fascia connects everything in the body, like your eyes to your knees, like hands, whatever. Everything.

[00:17:20] And we're getting tight, and we're losing the range of motion by, like the range of motion slowly decreasing over the years because we actually using... Like, we're doing the same thing, we're doing the same movement, the same patterns on a day-to-day basis. And so, one thing I would definitely suggest to focus on, that's important now.

[00:17:41] So stretch your eyes. Like let's say you're sitting at the work, and you want to give yourself a break. So, try to draw the circles with your eyes. Like really push the, send your gaze to the left side, all the way up to the side, then to the right- Oh, okay ... and hold it. And you will feel that your eyes is stretching.

[00:18:01] And so the more circles you like giving yourself, like the more circles you do and the more you push your gaze to the side or like to all this range of motion, the more you will notice that you actually feel a little bit more freedom already. And plus, it's like a really good for the, yeah, for the eye health and all those things.

[00:18:20] So that would be the first thing. And surprisingly, I actually recently gave a TED Talk,  and I was saying, like I was demonstrating to people in like my audience, in the like crowd, how we can get flexible and how we can get,  deeper in the core of soul just by stretching the eyes and small muscles on the face,  which I always suggest people do.

[00:18:44] So first would be the eyes. Second is massaging the forehead because here is the muscles that is like, it's a fascia connection that goes all the way to the back of your head, and it connects your neck, your upper body, like, thoracic spine on the back of the shoulder blades, your lower back, and goes all the way down towards the hamstring.

[00:19:05] So if this tight spot, your forehead, is actually tight, it affects overall flexibility. And so, what we want to do is just placing the knuckles on the head and just massaging it in the circles. And that will be very helpful. Like you can try with me. Yeah, so, for like one to – and that will be really good as well.

[00:19:26] So the third spot would be the back of the neck, like the base of the neck. Massage in that area for like one to two minutes and, yeah, go like very, like bypassing the surface level connective tissues. And those three actions would already improve your neck health, like blood flow and all the things.

[00:19:47] So that's like the super easy one that you can always do, like even as you are on the calls. So, another one would be stretching the hands, like, stretching the fingers because the more we type, like, the mobility of our shoulders starts in our fingers and wrists. And so, I always suggest people like to spread your fingers, send it forward to the side, and you will feel like your hands are actually like really tight as well as your fingers.

[00:20:15] And so that would be very good stretch as well that you can implement on a day-to-day basis and it costs you nothing. 

[00:20:22] Marshall Stern: Okay. I have some work to do. We have to, we have to watch this a few times. 

[00:20:26] Yulia Yamalova: It's so easy. Like, yeah, just remember, like just try to do it with me. Spread your fingers, send it forward- 

[00:20:33] Marshall Stern: Yeah.

[00:20:33] Yulia Yamalova: And then, yeah. So, mm-hmm. 

[00:20:35] Marshall Stern: It, it's interesting. So, you know, whether you like him or don't like him, like Tony Robbins, he always talks about changing your physiological state, right? And which is really what this is. It's, it, that's, it's helping you change your physiological state. And he says like, so before he goes on stage, he has a little trampoline, and he goes on the trampoline, and he jumps up 'cause he's going to be on stage for like, you know, five days or whatever.

[00:20:58] And it's... Would you... Okay, how would you... Okay, it- it's great to have these tips. Okay, let's talk about reality. Let's talk about actually implementation. You know what to do. We haven't even talked about the breathwork yet. Like there's breathwork and all this stuff. There's all these different strategies that we as business owners or entrepreneurs can do.

[00:21:19] Should we block them, like time block them into our calendar? 

[00:21:21] Yulia Yamalova: Yes, for sure. Always. Like, what I've learned is like, if something does not exist in your calendar, it does not exist in reality. 

[00:21:28] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:21:29] Yulia Yamalova: Like, I literally, like, spend, like, maybe an hour every month, like blocking the time when I'm like, okay, this is the time for myself.

[00:21:37] This is the time when I don't speak to anybody. This is the time when I'm practicing. This is the time when I'm angry. And like also the really good example – 

[00:21:44] Marshall Stern: Did you, did you say angry – sorry. Sorry. Did, did you say angry? 

[00:21:47] Yulia Yamalova: Yes, angry. Like, literally, I'm like, let's say things happens and like the... I mean, if you work and like, if you grow, like it's like so many things that happen that pisses you off and you just say, "Okay, I can't talk about it.

[00:22:01] I can't think about it now." I always say like, "Okay, I'm going to think about it like on Wednesday." So Wednesday I'm like writing things down and like allowing myself to be angry because, and just like, yeah, it kind of feels like I'm having this safe container for myself where that like I'm acknowledging my emotions and I'm not really getting like, you know,  poker face all the time, but I'm also allowing myself to, like, not think about it because I know I can be angry.

[00:22:30] I have this time to be frustrated or do nothing or, like, whatever, like, to have all this, like, low emotions and, have it on my schedule, you know? And all the other time I have no excuses not to be productive because I'm like, "Okay, this is already done. It's there." And, yeah, that's how you manage it.

[00:22:49] Marshall Stern: Okay. I like that. Schedule your angry block. 

[00:22:53] Yulia Yamalova: I mean, yeah, it sounds weird, but, like, I don't know. No. I've heard it somewhere and it helped a lot. I was like, "Wow." 

[00:22:58] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:22:58] Yulia Yamalova: That's – yeah, it works. 

[00:23:00] Marshall Stern: Well, no, no, I, I'm not... Like, I'm, I'm, like, I really, I, I love the idea. I think it... I think implementing it for a lot of people, obviously it's like anything else, all these other strategies too, it takes habits.

[00:23:11] It takes practice to become a habit. Problem is we're all so reactive, right? And, you know, there's all... There's those people who say, "Well, don't be angry, just, just, like, like, shrug it off." Something happens, even if it's, like, a, a prospect, like,  a client cancels or a prospect ghosts you, or a client ghosts you and you start to get, like, you know, you start to get down and you start to feel angry.

[00:23:37] People say, "Oh, just shrug it off, shrug it off, shrug it off." No, but there's times where we can actually have a safe space where we can go through those emotions. So, what you're suggesting is we have... We block that time rather than being reactive in, in the moment. There is a safe – there is a safe space for it.

[00:23:52] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah. It's just like, first of all, like, of course you can... You should always be focusing on, like, the end result. Like, you know, if somebody did something unfair, stuff like this, like, sure, that was unfair, but, like, what's your end goal? Like, do you want to be, like, actually productive? Do you want to make things done?

[00:24:09] Or, like, do you want to prove that you're right? You know, just, like, if you want to think make things done, like, just, you know, forget about it, have a salad Wednesday. And just, like, when you put the black magic on them, like whatever, you know? Like, no, I'm joking. But yes, you know? Focus on make things done.

[00:24:25] But also try not to like, you know, suppress your emotions, which is so important because what I've noticed in my clients, like let's say they come to me on a private session and I'm just like, "Okay,  try to like relax and feel your body. Try to like release your shoulders and stuff." And they're just like holding so much tension.

[00:24:44] They're just like, "Yeah, I'm relaxed." And I'm like, "You're absolutely not." And they're like, "Mm-hmm, I am." You just so get used to this, and yeah, practice as like shaking it off, like, you know, jumping and yeah, as Tony Robbins said, it really helps because there's a direct correlation between the way you're feeling and like the amount of stress that 

[00:25:07] Your body holds, let's say, or tight jaw or like the shoulders or the lower back. It's like hips that is tight. But like, yeah, I would love to talk about like the most simple one, like the shoulders and the jaw. When we angry, we like clenching our jaw, and by releasing it, we're sending the signal to the body that it's safe and it’s, it’s okay, it's getting better.

[00:25:32] And so it really helps to feel your, like to feel better. As well as you can immediately change your mental state by like, let's say, like rounding the shoulders forward, like crawling here, and you will feel that you get a bit smaller compared to the time when you're like opening your shoulders, like standing tall, taking a deep breath in, and you already feel a lot more present and a lot more powerful.

[00:25:59] And so, yeah, that's the simplest body practice. 

[00:26:02] Marshall Stern: So, so it's, it's no surprise then, okay, that probably millions of kids out there, teenagers out there, and now young adults are depressed because through the pandemic, they, especially boys, they were at their computer or, or even just online school, but at their computer playing Fortnite or whatever the game was, and they're like on their, you know, computer and on their whatever game pad, and their shoulders are shru – forward and they're like constantly at the screen, and they're tensing up constantly.

[00:26:32] And you wonder why there's so much mental health issues with that generation, and I mean other generations too, but especially the kids who, the gamers. 

[00:26:40] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah. From, from a physiological perspective, of course, when the neck goes forward, you're like- 

[00:26:44] Marshall Stern: Yeah ... 

[00:26:45] Yulia Yamalova: Literally blocking the blood flow, lymphatic flow, like everything just like shifting forward and this whole construction just like steals so much of your energy.

[00:26:53] Plus, of course, we're sending the, like, neurological- message to your nervous system that, like, everything is not good. You're, like, constantly living in bad state. And one thing I wanted to say, actually, that, you say that every time I say the word posture you want to like- 

[00:27:10] Marshall Stern: Yeah.

[00:27:10] Yulia Yamalova: Sit tall. And important thing to say is that actually your posture not... Like, you cannot really control your posture. Like, every time somebody would tell you like, "Oh," like, "open your chest and sit tall," like, you will forget about it, like, in a few minutes. It’s impossible. Like, really impossible to control it consciously, because your nervous system control your posture.

[00:27:35] And so the only way to actually fix the posture is by working through the nerve system, and actually teach constantly your body how the straight, upright position is feel, like, feels right and feels good. So, for example, when somebody tells me, like, that I have a really good posture, I don't even think about it.

[00:27:55] And it's, it feels natural because, like, I don't really spend any energy on that. And so that's what the proper posture training is. Like, you're going to teach your body how to be straight naturally without putting any effort on 

[00:28:10] Marshall Stern: it. Okay, I'm going to have to watch this a few times because, yeah, I – it's, it's really...

[00:28:15] I think too many people downplay all of this. Like, it's... They think, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's breathwork and posture," and even the standing desks, right? They... Just people... Or, or they don't maybe. Maybe they, "Okay, I'll try it," but then they just, everyone just falls back into their old habits. And so, I always say, like, if you really want things to change, we have to change the things we do.

[00:28:37] And it might not be, like you said, it might not be... I- it might not... You might not be consciously thinking of it, but if you keep doing it, keep doing it, and keep doing it, then it becomes part of your subconscious. And I mean, it's not, not like we have to wake up in the morning and think, "Oh, I got to go brush my teeth."

[00:28:50] You just get up and you go brush your teeth. It's a... You know, if you're a kid, a younger kid, you don't. You know, the parents are saying, "Go brush your teeth." But then it becomes a habit and then you just subconsciously do it, and you don't think about it. And that's, it sounds like that's a lot of what you're talking about here, is just setting up the...

[00:29:08] Setting yourself up for success really is what this is all about. 

[00:29:12] Yulia Yamalova: You know, I think, like,  one of the main thing I've noticed between, like, let's say Canadian and Russian mentality is that in Russia, for example,  which I find really helpful, like, if someone would notice that you gain weight or, like, your posture would be bad or you're getting old, people would be like, "Oh," like, "Yeah, you feel really bad."

[00:29:34] Like, "You look really bad." Like, "You look bad." Like, "You look old," and like, "Go change it." And, like, it's really, like, because you're getting this pressure, you... Like, the pain from being judged somewhere, like, bigger than the pain of change. It's you're, you're just like you would listen to this- think in your head like, "Oh, my God.

[00:29:52] What an asshole." And then, like, right the same day you go and you change it because there's, like, no problem. Compared to Canada when everybody like, you know, "Oh, it's okay. Everything is okay," and then you, like, living and, yeah, you kind of understand that it's probably would be good to get a standing desk, or would be good to massage your feet, like, for the better posture, or, like, would be good to get all these things and you were watching this nice podcast and heard this, like, nice tips.

[00:30:17] But you don't do it because society tells you that it's good. It's okay. And so, it's not. In reality, you're actually getting old. You... Like, your body is your biggest asset, and your body is your weapon. Like, seriously, like, don't let it rust. And it's like, it's not worth the money that you're making.

[00:30:36] It's not worth productivity. Like, your... Like, the better you are here and now, the more you actually moving and working on yourself, like, on your body and your health, the better you will perform, the better you will lead your team, like, and perform in a bigger life. Yeah. 

[00:30:52] Marshall Stern: So, do you work – sorry?

[00:30:55] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah. That's what I always try to tell people. Like, try to think like Russian and try to be this, like, you know, internal Russian voice. And it's like, "No, it's not okay. I got to go and do it, like, right now." And if it's not happening today, it's never happening. 

[00:31:08] Marshall Stern: Yeah, they do it here in Canada too.

[00:31:10] It's usually the people that are, like, 60s and 70s, like, especially in their 70s, the, the older people. They're the ones who actually make the comments, "Oh, you've gotten... You've put on some weight. You've gotten fat." But the people younger, yeah, we don't normally do it. I mean, especially the Canadians, we're nice, right?

[00:31:24] But we're nice until we start to get into our 70s and 80s, and then we make the comments. 

[00:31:28] Yulia Yamalova: But really nice. Very sweet. But it's like it gets really tough when you, like, if you actually want to make changes. They will always support you, unlike Russian people. So, it's like, you know, two sides of a coin.

[00:31:40] Marshall Stern: So, like I... I'm, I'm, I'm a quarter Russian or half Russian, so I get that. I'm, I'm curious, so, you work with... You talked about, like, leadership teams and, and bringing to business. You work with companies on improving their effectiveness, productiveness, energy? 

[00:31:57] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah, so in working... Like, I teach, like, in Vancouver I run a few workshops on posture, and, like, I just highlight, like, my five pillars of flexibility and just do those things.

[00:32:08] As well as, I did, like, a corporate fitness, which is really good thing. Like, some corporates in Vancouver, they making, like, they hiring, hiring the trainers for, like, their teams to come and train them at 12:00 PM, like, on a lunch break, few times a week. And I find it, like, really amazing. So, it's like good because some companies start to understand now, like, okay, if, like, their team is healthier, the overall performance gets better. 

[00:32:36] Marshall Stern: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so I have a couple more questions, but we're going to put your, your – before we do that, go there. Just want to make sure we're going to put your contact information in the show notes.

[00:32:49] Okay. What is the best way for people to get in touch with you? 

[00:32:53] Yulia Yamalova: LinkedIn under Yulia Yamalova name, and Bali Bodies Instagram. It's, like, at bali.bodies. And, like, really active there. 

[00:33:05] Marshall Stern: Yeah. I follow you on both, so that's perfect. I'll get those in there. Okay. What would you say... 14 years in business right now, what would you say to your younger self if you knew then what you know now in business?

[00:33:19] Is there something you would tell your younger self to prepare yourself for this 14-year journey? 

[00:33:24] Yulia Yamalova: I would say don't try to save as much money, and just, like, don't try to create, invent the bicycle, you know? Like, don't try to create everything by yourself, and just, like, learn how to trust people to delegate those things.

[00:33:39] Because there were many times when I would, like, talk to someone and think like, "Oh, yeah, that's good, but I can definitely do it myself.” And it would take months and months to do that. As well as on the other side, when, let's say I was, like, building a studio, and,  when I had my first,  design and everything, I was looking at it, I'm like, "Yeah, that was, like, three to four months max, like,  of work."

[00:34:03] And then it took me, like, 14 months of construction, and it was, like, very exhausting, like, in my head especially, because I was thinking that, okay, it's going to be done, like, tomorrow, after tomorrow. And then it was, like, continuously, like, prolonging. And, like, I would say sometimes we would have to surrender and just, like, take things slowly, and just, like, not try to rush because, like, it's just really exhausting for yourself.

[00:34:30] So have a plan, have a direction, go there, but, like, try not to force it, because it can happen. 

[00:34:35] Marshall Stern: So, I guess it's kind of like what I say to my clients, trust the process. 

[00:34:39] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah. Yeah. As well. Like, it's a cliche, but yes. 

[00:34:42] Marshall Stern: It's really true. I, I, I know... But it's true, right? Is trust the process. Like, as long as you have the plan, you know where you want to go, and you have the plan to get there, it's not necessarily linear.

[00:34:50] It... You, you might go this way, you might go that way. It's a little zigzag. As long as you know where you're trying to get to, you'll stay on that path. It just, the path is not always, like, dead straight, and sometimes you'll be- there'll be some speed bumps. There's always speed bumps. 

[00:35:06] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah, always. 

[00:35:07] Marshall Stern: Always speed bumps.

[00:35:08] Okay. All right. Final question. Well, actually, I'm going to ask you an open question. Is there anything else that you would like to share with our listeners? 

[00:35:18] Yulia Yamalova: Well, I would love to share that, like, I would love them to understand actually the importance of, like, the flexibility, to be honest, because it's directly affects the day-to-day life and the way they feel in the body, and I feel like it's very neglected in work, like, you know, in wellness industry as well.

[00:35:37] Because people have, like, bodybuilding, or they have, like, yoga, and flexibility it's none of them, you know? Like, the flexibility is the way that you hydrate your body through the movements, and the better your body hydrates - the better hydrated your body is, the more flexibility and the better range of motion you have.

[00:35:59] And so, yes, I would say that the entrepreneurs and for people who wants to stay flexible, feel healthy and energized, definitely check out the guide that I will give you here. And because it's a five pillars of flexibility, which is includes your core, your postural muscles, your spine health, and the dynamic stretching, which is like not, nothing similar like, you know, like, like yoga have.

[00:36:28] It's a bit different. So yeah, I would say that they definitely need to focus on that one. 

[00:36:33] Marshall Stern: So, you said this, this five pillar, this guide. Where do they get the guide? 

[00:36:38] Yulia Yamalova:  I will give it to you. 

[00:36:40] Marshall Stern: Okay. 

[00:36:41] Yulia Yamalova: Yes. And, like, they can get it on, like – it's like- ... they send me the flexibility word or something like this, yeah.

[00:36:48] Marshall Stern: Okay. Is the best way, like, through, by the way, like social media, LinkedIn, just get in touch with you and you'll send it to me? 

[00:36:53] Yulia Yamalova: Yes, yes. 

[00:36:53] Marshall Stern: Yeah, okay. 

[00:36:54] Yulia Yamalova: They can send it to me. They can send the keyword flexibility and I will send it. 

[00:36:58] Marshall Stern: Keyword flexibility. Perfect. Awesome. Awesome. Do you have any questions for me?

[00:37:04] Yulia Yamalova: What inspires you to do what you do? 

[00:37:06] Marshall Stern: Conversations like this and people like you. 

[00:37:08] Yulia Yamalova: Beautiful. 

[00:37:09] Marshall Stern: No, but seriously, like, what inspires me to do what I do is simply,  helping inspire and empower others, business owners, entrepreneurs, and really just in life, other people to,  again, it's going to sound cheesy and cliche-ish, but to, to live their best life.

[00:37:27] To achieve what they want to achieve or be on the path to achieving what they want to achieve. That's what inspires me, to do this podcast, to do anything in life. Thank you. That was a good... Thank you for that question. Okay, so one last question for you. I'm going to see, or did I ask all those questions?

[00:37:42] I would say, yeah, well, a last question is going to be, what is one... You've given so much already, so thank you for that. What is one more golden nugget? Is there one more golden nugget that you would like to gift to our, to our listeners? One more piece of advice, one more golden nugget. 

[00:38:02] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah, like in, like life and business and wellness and what?

[00:38:06] Marshall Stern: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. You, whatever you, whatever you want. It's all, it's all, it's all the same. It's all the same. 

[00:38:13] Yulia Yamalova: Yeah, I would say that, yeah, like for example for me, like it really helps when whenever I'm getting inspired, that's why I always like this question, like, what inspired you? Like, and I always ask people and collect the stories in their answers because if someone...

[00:38:28] If you don't know what inspires you, but you still keep pushing, and there are like really hard moments in life when you don't know what inspires you, you don't know where you're going to, and like you're trying to find your way. But at the same time, you're like, it's really important to have this small, like I would say, like box of inspiration that you know that you can go and get some inspiration, some new ideas, some fresh air by like certain practices, different, you know, experiences.

[00:38:57] Like, and something that will keep you being curious about life because we wonder where we, the more we think like, "Okay, I've done this thing, I tried this, I know how this work," but it seems like there's so much more things to learn, experience, and try. It's just important to stay curious and, to find these ways to ask more questions and be curious about life.

[00:39:21] And so yeah, I would say that try to be curious and try to stay inspired. That would be my advice. 

[00:39:26] Marshall Stern: I absolutely love it. That's actually... I don't know if you've ever watched the show Ted Lasso, but that was – no, that, that was one of the, one of my favorite scenes, and it was like, it was a quote by, I think, I think it was Walt Whitman, but it's like, "Be curious," and he mentions it in the show. 

[00:39:39] And so be curious. So, I’m I love that. Well, okay. Yulia, this has been amazing. So, I'm getting your, your stuff in the show notes. People are going to reach out to you. The keyword is flexibility, but just reach out, reach out. Gang, reach out to Yulia, and I mean, watch this again. Share it with your friends.

[00:39:56] Watch – if you're listening to this, the podcast on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts, whatever it is, check out the YouTube video as well because there is a bit of show and tell that she does with some of these exercises as well.  so, you can go to Marshall Stern Leadership on the YouTube channel.

[00:40:15] Please share and subscribe and tell all your friends about Yulia Because she's amazing, okay? Seriously, like this is, this is not just this stuff. That's why this podcast is around. It's for people like you to share this because it's not fluff. It's not. We get stuck doing the wrong activities for the wrong reasons in the wrong way.

[00:40:37] One of the things we talked about sort of in a roundabout way was our environment, our physical environment, also our emotional environment. And if we just work on and be intentional with how we show up and how we, how we live our life and our body, which is what we're talking about here today, I mean, everything can be different.

[00:40:56] Everything can be different. So, I want to thank Yulia for being here, and it’s been an absolute pleasure. And we might have to have you back in the future,if you'd like to come back. 

[00:41:05] Yulia Yamalova: Sure. Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure to talk with you. 

[00:41:10] Marshall Stern: Awesome. Awesome. All right, gang. Again, get questions, comments.

[00:41:13] If, actually, if you do have questions, specific questions, you can reach out to her direct. You can also go on YouTube. You can also post it, your questions wherever you're listening to this, and thank you, and we'll see you again next week on another episode of The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered.

[00:41:29] Bye for now. 

[00:41:32] Thank you so much for tuning in to The Stern Truth. If you found today's episode helpful, we would love to hear from you. Please like, share, and leave us a review. Also, if you'd like to be a guest in an upcoming episode or join us in one of our momentum accountability group sessions, simply email me to marshall@marshallstern.net. 

[00:41:50] That's marshall@marshallstern.net. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep pushing forward and leading with confidence.