Episode 198: When Your Mission Meets Silence | Jordan Ashley on Impact

Guest: Dr. Jordan Ashley, sociologist, activist, yoga teacher, TEDx speaker, and founder of Souljourn Yoga Foundation 

Episode Summary

What happens when your challenge isn't believing in your mission, but helping other people feel its urgency? Dr. Jordan Ashley has spent ten years building Souljourn Yoga Foundation to support girls' education around the world, and in this conversation she shares how she holds disappointment when a grant doesn't come through, why she refuses to let the optics drive the story, and how her definition of success moved from doing more to going deeper. It matters because the same pattern lives inside every business: the response gets quiet, and suddenly it feels like the response is deciding whether you keep going.

This episode is for the founder, coach, or expert who has never doubted the work, but has started letting a quiet response reopen whether she should be doing it at all.

Key takeaways

• The Urgency Gap: Believing in your mission and helping other people feel its urgency are two different challenges, and only one of them is a question about you.
• Disappointment Without a Verdict: When a grant or a launch doesn't come through, the result is information about the how, not a ruling on whether the work matters.
• Ethical Storytelling: Jordan's test for any cause outside yourself: if I couldn't document it or post about it, would I still want to do it?
• The Minimizing "Just": "I just teach yoga" shrinks your self-concept to match the quiet instead of the impact you're actually having.
• Deep Instead of Wide: Doing less, and putting everything into the less, can carry the work further than doing more and more.

Guest Bio and Links

Jordan Ashley, PhD, is a sociologist, activist, yoga teacher, and TEDx speaker who founded Souljourn Yoga Foundation in 2016 after recognizing a need for a more service-based practice, one where self-awareness grows through selflessness. Souljourn Yoga Foundation creates transformational yoga retreats and teacher training programs that blend personal growth, mindful practice, and meaningful travel, while raising awareness and funds to support young women's education worldwide. Each program provides mentorship, leadership opportunities, and access to resources for girls facing economic and social barriers. Jordan is committed to expanding access and amplifying the voices of young women who are often denied essential human rights. Her work has been featured in Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, Marie Claire UK, and more.

- Website: https://www.souljournyoga.com/
- Instagram: @souljournyoga
- Tulum 2027 retreat: https://www.souljournyoga.com/tulum2027
- Yoga camp and teacher training programs: https://www.souljournyoga.com/teachertraining
- Ponheary Ly Foundation (mentioned in this episode): https://www.theplf.org/
- Yoga camp reel: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbWxgk4Bs4c/

Full Transcript

Dawn: What happens when your greatest challenge isn't believing in your mission, but helping other people feel its urgency? Welcome back to the Self Trust Solution Podcast. My name is Dawn Ledet. I'm your host, the Self Trust Coach, and my guest today is Dr. Jordan Ashley, founder of Souljourn Yoga Foundation, a sociologist, yoga teacher, TEDx speaker, and activist whose work is transforming girls' education around the world through mindful travel, leadership, and service.

Jordan doesn't just lead retreats. She challenges the idea that personal growth and social impact are separate pursuits. Her work asks a deeper question. What if the inner work isn't preparation for changing the world? What if it is the work? Jordan, welcome to the Self-Trust Solution.

Jordan Ashley: Thank you so much, Dawn, for having me on.

How are you?

Dawn: I am wonderful. We are so excited to have you here for this conversation today. And for listeners meeting you for the first time, tell us about Souljourn Yoga Foundation. What is it, and what are you building?

Jordan Ashley: Amazing. So Souljourn Yoga Foundation is a 501[c][3] US nonprofit, and our whole goal is to support girls' education globally by using the vehicle of yoga for transformation. So we do that by hosting global yoga retreats and also through events and our in-house yoga teacher training as well.

I founded it in 2016, so it's crazy to think that we are a decade in the making, and we keep growing and expanding and changing and evolving, and it's been a wild ride.

Dawn: Wow. What first drew you to girls' education? Was there a moment when you realized this was the work you wanted to devote yourself to?

Jordan Ashley: Yeah, no. Actually, I did a study abroad program in Cambodia when I was a sophomore in college, and it was very life-changing on so many different levels. And I think, in particular, what was so impactful about the program was that we were living in a guesthouse run by an organization called the Ponheary Ly Foundation, founded by this incredible woman.

Her name's Ponheary Ly. She's a survivor of the Khmer Rouge, and she used her story in terms of losing education and losing family members and her father because of education, and used that to reinstate the youth in terms of providing schooling and support within the whole of Siem Reap province.

And so I think from having that experience firsthand and volunteering and teaching English in school, and in particular knowing the trajectory that so many girls are taken out of school, not just in Cambodia but globally, for various different reasons. That really ignited a fire in me in terms of wanting to take it to the next level and having that be my heart cause.

Dawn: You talk about yoga as a form of social activism. What does that mean for you?

Jordan Ashley: I think so often, especially I'll just say now in 2026, so much of our worldview with yoga and kind of lifestyle and wellness world in general is very much through the lens of social media in terms of, creating the perfect pose or having it be this really beautiful atmosphere or shala or studio space that you're in, or even kind of the overly aesthetic nature of going on a retreat.

But I really do believe that yoga should be decentralized and that knowledge, that embodied, process of learning so that so many people can not only practice it, but also be able to teach it as well. So that's been a goal of mine as well is how do we make the information digestible and really universal so a young woman in Rwanda can then teach it or a teenage girl in Morocco in the High Atlas Mountains.

Dawn: So not just them learning it, but being able to practice it and teach it. What comes up for me is it's feeding so much more. It's like not just body and not even just mind, but also potential. Potential prosperity, potential just purpose for others as well.

Jordan Ashley: That's beautiful. Absolutely. And I think it's such a great way to connect and create community as well.

In particular, having it be self-actualized and done so in the language or in the tone or in the kind of general cultural context in which it is being practiced so that it is adaptable and approachable within those communities.

Dawn: Yeah. Mind, body, and soul really is what you're touching on here.

Yeah. Which is so beautiful. One thing I noticed as I learned about your work is that your challenge doesn't seem to be, at all, obviously we can see that here, believing in the mission. It seems to be helping other people feel the urgency of it. Can you tell us about that?

Jordan Ashley: I think that's an issue that not only I experience, but I know other people in the nonprofit space experience as well. It's this idea that you're doing the work, so then I don't have to do the work. Or like, "Oh, that's amazing that this is your life's mission. I'm just gonna like it," but then not have any action that is then supportive.

And so I think, people can get really intimidated about the nonprofit space. They're also very skeptical about where the funds are going or how it's being operated. And I think being as transparent as possible is, of course, one of the ways to mitigate that.

But then, of course, it's exactly what you said getting people to care and really get behind us and want to support. I think it takes a special individual to wanna join an advisory board or, want to give a donation in all sincerity.

Dawn: Yeah. What... How do you continue showing up for something that you care so deeply about when maybe the response doesn't always match the need?

Jordan Ashley: I'm always trying to get innovative and creative on the different ways that we are getting the word out about our mission and our work and our projects and our retreats. And I think it's really easy to get bogged down and to get bitter or jaded or to feel like no one's listening, and I'm just kind of yelling into a black hole.

And that's something I have to be really mindful of in terms of making sure that at the end of the day I have to remember that it's not so much me behind the computer or, cold emailing brands or event spaces or donors or potential donors. It's really about the different groups of young women that we directly support.

And I have to remember that tangible feeling of being there on the yoga mat wherever we are in the, or wherever I am in the world, and what that feels like. But I always try to be yeah, to think outside of the box in terms of the different ways that we can gain visibility. Yeah.

Dawn: How have you learned to trust your own voice in sharing this mission? To keep moving forward, connecting to the end impact versus the in-the-moment frustration?

Jordan Ashley: I think a lot of it for me, especially now that we are 10, like that's a big milestone. And even just kind of flipping through our past retreat pages or like the press kit that we put together and send out, and seeing firsthand the photos and the statistics and having a concrete idea that this is something that I made, and with the help of, and the support of some amazing people as sounding boards or as I said, advisory board members or we have the same group often of women or...

Our retreats are gender inclusive, but we tend to get a lot of the same people who come on our retreats in particular. And just being able to see that, decade-long tapestry woven together, like that really grounds me. But at the same time too, I think, I very much live in my head.

I work around the clock. And something that I do struggle with is making sure that I take time off.

Dawn: Yeah. One thing I really... And I wanna get back to that in a minute because that's so important, and I think it speaks to what a lot of our listeners do. While not everyone is in a non-profit, we experience much of the same questions that are happening for you internally sometimes and all.

But also what I noticed is you take a lot of care in telling the stories of the girls in the communities you serve. How do you think about that responsibility?

Jordan Ashley: I think a lot of it is about being respectful, but in doing so, it's about also realizing my own positionality and having to be really reflexive of that.

Because this very easily could look like white savior-ship, or a mission trip or trying to heal or save which are all words that I'm really aware of to not include in any of our comm strategy. Because it's not about them being rescued. It's not about the girl in crisis.

It's about the agency and as you said earlier, the potential that lives within each and every one of them, if they do so want to take it as well. And I think that's really important to acknowledge. I ended up going back to school during the pandemic because we couldn't run any of our programming anymore.

And so during the great pause of 2020 I saw it as an opportunity to advance my education and I, went for a masters in human rights, which then led me to do a PhD as well. And so it's really also about self-study and amplifying my own education.

Dawn: Yeah. Has honoring that responsibility ever meant making a different choice than what might have been easier from a marketing standpoint?

Jordan Ashley: Oh, all the time. I'm very careful and very cautious, even in terms of how we document or photograph our projects. There's a lot of care as you said, that goes into, each and every frame that you see, especially around the words and the language that's used to talk about our mission and our work.

And leading with that first as opposed to the beautiful retreat space, which we do take a lot of care in picking. We do pick locally run accommodations that are green and ecologically friendly as well. But, that is a container to then be able to do the work.

Dawn: Where are some of the places that you do that?

Jordan Ashley: So we are in Rwanda, South Africa, Morocco, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, Peru, Nicaragua, the US, and we're launching our very first Mexico retreat, which I'm super excited about, in March. But by the time you are listening, it will be launched. So yes, we'll be in Mexico.

So 10. 10 locations in total.

Dawn: Amazing. Yeah. What do you hope that people understand about ethical storytelling that you notice is being often overlooked?

Jordan Ashley: I think it's really about taking your ego out of it. And I know a lot of other travel companies or retreat leaders will include a give back, but what they're selling or promoting is, from my perspective very financially expensive or unobtainable for a lot of people.

And I think recognizing as well that travel is a privilege. Not everyone can afford to travel and to go to these places and to go to these destinations. And to always make sure that, at least from my end, the nonprofit is... comes first in terms of making things as, accessible as possible.

But in terms of ethical storytelling, it's why do I wanna tell this story, and what do I want to get out of it? Is it about looking good? Is it about the optics? Is it about, kind of highlighting the do-gooderness that I think comes with a lot of volunteering/like voluntourism?

Is this just gonna make me look good on my feed? So if you can strip all of that down and really pare it back and have a sense that this is for something outside of myself, and that if I wasn't able to document it and if I wasn't able to share it or post about it, would I still want to do it? I think that's a really important question to ask yourself before embarking on honestly, any kind of, cause outside of yourself.

Dawn: Really looking at the impact outside of you... and letting the impact that happens for you be a beautiful byproduct.

Jordan Ashley: It can be inspiring as well, I think to see the transformation that happens by opening the portal of the yoga practice or meditation to these different demographics of the young women and seeing what happens in terms of self-confidence or agency or independence and really getting a sense of feeling empowered within themselves.

I think, that's the magic of all of this. It's what can I leave behind so that the place is in, I don't wanna say a better place, but than it was before I came there. But how do I leave a positive impact?

Dawn: Yeah. You... One of the themes that I've, excuse me, noticed throughout your work is that the inner work and the outer work aren't separate.

Why is that so important to you?

Jordan Ashley: I think so much of my identity and so much of myself is Souljourn Yoga Foundation, and so I want to show up to be the best possible version of myself so that I can truly speak from a clear, honest place about, the work that I'm doing through the nonprofit. And so they do get, tied together.

My mom gets mad at me often. She's like, "You need to learn to separate yourself from your nonprofit and take a step back." But I think it's really hard. You know, I'm, I'm sure business entrepreneurs have a similar experience. When you make something and you create something, especially if there's longevity to it, there's a sense of wanting to be protective about it in terms of how it's shared or how you're sharing it.

And so a lot of thought goes into, kind of everything that I do with it.

Dawn: How would you say this work has changed you personally?

Jordan Ashley: It definitely keeps me on my toes. It's made me be really savvy in terms of not being afraid to ask for help. I think before I liked to always do everything on my own. I was always that kid at school, like when there was a group project, I would just do it on my own and didn't mind that the other kids would get credit because I knew that if I did it, it would be...

I sound so crazy controlling, but from my, whatever, 12-year-old perspective, I was like, "Oh, if I do it, I know I'm gonna put, 110% into it." So I think for me it's made me vulnerable in ways that I didn't know that I could be, especially for asking for help.

Dawn: Yeah. What have you learned about maybe your relationship between self-awareness and service?

Jordan Ashley: I think before when I was doing, for instance, like the study abroad program or then later when I was doing journalism in Cambodia, what was being presented then in the 2000s and, in the 2000s and like 2010s doesn't stand up today by today's standards, especially around framing or narratives or, as I mentioned like kind of the girl in crisis framing.

And so I think it's about being open to be malleable and to change with the times and to go with the flow, as opposed to being stuck. And so that really informs my self-awareness about service because I'll look at mission statements that we had maybe in 2016 or 2017, and a lot of the language that was used then just isn't applicable now.

And so I think it's about being open in terms of wanting to really be here in the present, which is the first Yoga Sutra, and now begins the yoga. So the yoga always is beginning.

Dawn: Yeah. So every guest on this podcast encounters some version of a what I call the ceiling.

So for you it seems, and tell me if I'm wrong, but it seems less about believing in the mission and more about expanding the reach of that vision to people who both need to hear it, but also will be willing to contribute. What has this season been teaching you?

Jordan Ashley: I think for me it's about always trying something new. And I know I said that earlier, but I think I get disappointed pretty easily. And then I'm trying to teach myself that if a grant doesn't come through or, a fund doesn't happen, that it's not the end of the world, that there are other ways and other channels and pathways that I can access.

And there are other people as well who will be open to our mission and our work and wanting to support. And so the world is so big and full of so many opportunities that, it's easy to feel kind of disenchanted or alone when doing all of this. And so I keep having to go back and tell myself that, "Do more research."

"Email this person. Email this foundation. Try connect with this brand that does give back or this company that has corporate social responsibility within their work culture." And so I'm always trying to start... I don't wanna say start over, but I'm always open to new, to new ways.

Dawn: Looking forward instead of dwelling in the past or the current, what it sounds like is not getting stuck in the disappointment. It's allowing it to be there without letting it change how you move forward necessarily.

Are there any assumptions that you've had to let go of?

Jordan Ashley: I think that everyone would be really gung ho and on this bandwagon. I think so many people are dealing with their own personal obstacles, and it feels like the world is in a heavy place. That's not to say that there isn't light as well, because we have that as well.

Dawn: What would you say is your definition of success now, and how has it changed since the beginning?

Jordan Ashley: I think success is about feeling fulfilled, like truly fulfilled and having pride when people ask you what you do when you share about it. Because for so long I didn't, especially when I was just teaching... I don't want to say just teaching yoga, but when I was predominantly teaching yoga... I didn't like to tell people, "Oh, I just teach..."

Exactly, I'm doing it again. It's this minimizing of what you do. And so I think success is about feeling really confident in how you support yourself and your community and your families and your loved ones.

Dawn: How has that changed from when you first started, or has it?

Jordan Ashley: I think I used to wanna do more. I think that's probably also a root cause of being in your 20s. Pre-pandemic we were doing, I think one year we did, I wanna say between... I think we did six retreats, and I was on the majority of them. So six weeks I'd be home in New York, and then I'd be in China, and then I'd be in Rwanda, and then I'd be in Cambodia or wherever.

And then it was so much time away. And really thinking like, "I need to do more, more and more to get the word out and have different opportunities for people to travel with us, or different organizations that they can support." But now I come from a place of wanting to do less, but then really putting everything into the less.

So if we do one retreat a year, the whole year will be around that retreat, that location, that community that place in the world.

Dawn: You have people that continue returning to Souljourn year after year. When you think about those people, what do you think they're finding there?

Jordan Ashley: I think they're able to connect with this idea of giving back to yourself while giving to others.

I think that, you can travel or go on a yoga retreat and not have any kind of cultural immersion or really... You could be anywhere in the world if you're kinda plonked down on a, on a beach at a retreat center. And that's not to minimize or belittle those retreats, but I don't think...

I wouldn't personally be comfortable going somewhere knowing that I could've supported or done more. Even if it's just bringing pens and coloring books. You know, even if it's packing sanitary napkins. Or even better yet, buy local and then you support the local economy as well. Yeah.

Dawn: What have they taught you about the work you're really doing? Like the girls and the young women? Yeah.

Jordan Ashley: I think that it's hard for me to take in compliments. I think I'm always trying to do more and, keep, expanding and, learning from it and evolving. And so I think when they say thank you, it actually hits, and not in terms of it being like, "Oh," "this is so life-changing," but just...

Sometimes they do say that, but I think it's, it's more about the joy that comes from spending time with one another and having that human connection that just feels so palpable and so real and so truly special. Because had I not gone to said country and spent time in said dormitory or, province or village or wherever, we wouldn't have met.

And so I do think it takes, some drive to wanna actually go out there and do this kind of work.

Dawn: What... You're expanding. You just mentioned going into Mexico next, while also launching new programs closer to home. What are you most excited about right now?

Jordan Ashley: So we're launching our very first ever on-the-ground yoga and arts camp that's happening here in Los Angeles.

And it's our first US project, which is really exciting because in the past I have received criticism in terms of, "Oh, your projects are all international. Why aren't you doing something, on the home front or on your own soil?" And I think that's true, and that's... Sure, you can criticize that.

And I think for me, spending time, with this amazing group of girls and giving them five days of yoga and meditation and also creativity, like we're going to be doing poetry and crystals and essential oils, that's an... That's not something that they would have access to otherwise, and they're 30 miles from where I live.

And that really struck me in terms of, what can I actually do in my backyard? It took 10 years. We did a retreat to Taos, New Mexico in 2024, and that was our first US retreat. And I look forward to doing more as well, because I do think it is about the balance between the internal, like being home, and then the external, being, global.

Dawn: Yeah. What do you hope this next chapter makes possible, both for the girls you serve and for the organization?

Jordan Ashley: I think more partnerships is great. I think also as well going deep instead of wide. So for instance, going to... With this cohort of participants we're going to do virtual check-ins and also hopefully knock on wood do a winter edition as well so that, they are then able to keep at it and keep at their yoga practice as well.

And be able to also then teach one another, so then they're able to run it on their own, be it at their community space. My dream would be for them to all get jobs at the different studios around Los Angeles. And that's also a goal for in Morocco and Rwanda where our other yoga teacher trainings are as well, is, that this is a livelihood and this is something that, they can definitely receive income from.

And whether it supports educational pursuits or family or themselves, I think it's all great.

Dawn: If you could sit down with the version of you who was just beginning this journey 10 years ago, maybe it goes even further than that, what would you want her to know now?

Jordan Ashley: I think to be open to change. I think to know that not every person or not every, nonprofit for instance, is going to be forever. I think you have to look at where you are in the present in terms of really acknowledging that, I think you said, like there's a season for everything, and sometimes a

What is it? A door has to close for like a window to open.

Dawn: If someone listening is in their own before season, that place where they know something matters really deeply to them, but they're still wondering whether they can really build it, what would you want them to know?

Jordan Ashley: I think you have to try.

I think I'm all about not living with regrets and doing everything if I... that I can to see something through. That doesn't... That's not always great per se. You know, that can sometimes lead to burnout. But I think if you're excited and you're curious about something, just explore it. Just be open.

You don't know how it's going to unfold. I think so often we put boundaries or parameters on ourselves and really creating our own limitations. But, get curious. If it's... Email people who are maybe in your field or in the field that you want to explore. Do some research. Education I always think is the way to go.

Dawn: Yeah. Can't know unless you try. I think we limit ourselves by trying to figure out the whole path before we walk it, and the truth is we can't. It's going to look different than what we think always. But we get to learn. It doesn't make it any less of a worthy, impactful, amazing journey, which you have proven in your 10 years here with so many more to come.

Tell people how they can learn more about this, how they can support it, how they can be a part.

Jordan Ashley: Thank you. So you can go to souljournyoga.com. We list all of our retreats. We have a retreat in Mexico. It's making and moving. It's yoga and botanical dyes. So it's with my dear friend who's an artist and a natural textile dyer.

And then so it's four days of yoga and creativity and supporting a really amazing organization called Ladle that brings community, arts, and wellness to the youth in Tulum at their amazing, beautiful community center. You can donate as well to our on-the-ground yoga teacher training and arts camp as well.

And yeah, find us on Instagram. We're @souljournyoga.com. It's me, so if you send us a DM, I will respond to you personally.

Dawn: I love it. And we're gonna have all of those links in the show notes, so definitely go check them out. Who are the ideal person to go on these retreats?

Jordan Ashley: Honestly, anyone. You don't have to be a crazy yoga practitioner.

It can be your first time doing yoga. I think we're really open to this idea of yoga being a stepping stone into this more immersive journey or more immersive experience. So it doesn't matter what level you are. The yoga's not mandatory. I would say someone who's curious about travel happy to meet and connect with new people.

And yeah, just explore something that maybe they wouldn't have necessarily explored otherwise.

Dawn: Beautiful. Jordan, thank you so much. One of the things I'm taking away from this conversation is that meaningful work isn't just about having a mission. It's about continuing to show up for that mission with integrity, even when it would be so easy to just compromise or simplify or chase attention or give up.

And look, if today's conversation resonated with you, I hope you'll take a few minutes to learn more about Souljourn Yoga Foundation. Reach out to Jordan. She would love to hear from you. And whether it's joining a retreat, supporting girls' education, or simply sharing their work, you'll find all of Jordan's links in the show notes today.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and I believe that means we have Giving Tuesday. Tell us a bit about what's happening.

Jordan Ashley: Yeah. So Giving Tuesday is always the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and it is the day to be generous and to donate to all the nonprofits that you love and wanna support. So we would be ever so grateful if you considered us this year for your Giving Tuesday donations.

You can just go to our website to donate. And, it all goes directly to our programming and expanding the different projects that we're working on, especially the on-the-ground yoga teacher training and arts camp.

Dawn: What a beautiful way, to celebrate Thanksgiving and all the things that you have to be thankful for and to be grateful for.

And we all know when you open up to giving, you receive so much in return. So definitely go check that out, and be generous, friends.

And before you close this episode, I want to invite you to also take one next step for yourself. Go take the self-trust identity map. Before strategy, before motivation, before more effort, you need to know where you're operating from because that determines everything that follows. It's free, it takes about three minutes, and it'll give you a clear picture of where you are and where to focus next.

Also, if you're a coach or expert who's ready to stop letting your results determine your authority and start standing on something far more stable, I'd love to invite you to The Floor. It's an experience designed to help you uncover the foundation that's already there, so your identity no longer rises and falls with your results.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed today's conversation, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs it. We'll see you next time.

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