Avita Bansee (she/they)  is here today to talk to us about what Anti Capitalist, Anti Racist Yoga looks like. Avita is a graduate of Yogaworks 200 hour RYTT and their life experiences and continuous study of yoga philosophy, anatomy, pranayama and biomechanics inform their teaching and self-practice.

One of the most downloaded episodes of this podcast is Episode 59: ROM, Neuroscience + Yoga with Garrett Neill. In that episode we talked about the difference between Active Range of Motion and Passive Range of Motion, the three main barriers to range of motion that show up in our joints, some of the reasons the body might “tighten” and limit our range of motion, what we should we be thinking about in terms of how we teach movement when it comes to creating stability and how mobility and...

Much of a yoga practice can, from the outside, look like very little is happening. In a meditation practice it might look like we are just sitting there, but as we all know, that “just sitting there” can be a wild experience and a potent place to make friends with ourselves.  Pausing in an asana practice to rest in Child’s Pose can look like a lull in the action, even though we know the space between is sometimes the most powerful.  Resting in a restorative yoga pose can look like an extra...

The historical teachings of yoga have incredible lessons for our modern world. Understanding and unpacking the ancient teachings is a lifelong process, and those of us lucky enough to practice, study and teach yoga must investigate how these teachings can shape our worldview. The bottom line is that the teachings of yoga point towards care of the collective as a path to enlightenment. The liberation of all beings (including ourselves) is where my personal study has led me over and over again....

Deb Flashenberg (she/her) is the founder and director of the Prenatal Yoga Center which she founded in NYC in 2002.  Along with being a prenatal yoga teacher, she is also a labor support doula, Lamaze childbirth educator, mother of two and self proclaimed "birth and anatomy geek”. After the challenging birth of her first child, Deb became incredibly interested in pelvic health and has since earned her Pelvic Floor Yoga Certification with Leslie Howard. Deb is currently knee deep in an...

I know that questioning whether the practices of yoga have a political aspect to them is a popular conversation, even controversy. But from my reading and study of the yogic and Buddhist teachings, there is no way to see dharma as separate from the world we live in, and with the world we live in being so full of injustice, that makes the teachings inherently political.  If the intention of the teachings is to help us be stronger, more self aware, more compassionate and more awake to the...

Our amazing guest today, Rebekah Borucki, is a very popular meditation guide and author who publicly left Hay House Publishing last year. She left because of their refusal to address the rampant misinformation some of their authors were spreading about COVID and their unwillingness to address the lack of diversity in the authors they publish as well.

As yoga teachers it is entirely out of our scope to diagnose or treat pain or injuries. Full stop. I do, however, think we should be educated and thoughtful about working with bodies in a way that allows our students’ yoga practice to be supportive, sometimes even in highly specific, physical ways.

I'm excited to share this quick bonus + important announcement episode with you. In the episode, I share the updated description of the podcast, why I'm releasing one episode per month starting now, and how important reviews are. (And did I mention a really important announcement?!) Each & every review counts! Thank you so much!

Today is our 100th episode and to celebrate we have two very special guests! Joining us on the podcast are two nationally renowned professors who are experts in online learning and teacher education, and... they also happen to be my parents! I am very interested in studying the craft of teaching yoga. I love asking questions about why we teach something the way we do, how we could be more expansive and inclusive in our teaching, and how we can continue to grow and evolve in our teaching...

If you have thought about creating an online class library, or a membership model for your live classes, I think today’s podcast episode with Catherine la O’ will be inspiring for you! Catherine is a long time yoga teacher, who despite not feeling very tech savvy, decided to set up a membership and online class library for her students in the summer of 2020.

When you think of teaching a trauma-informed yoga class, what comes to mind? Do you think of teaching a special class for a specific population, like veterans recovering from PTSD or survivors of abuse in a shelter? Those are populations that certainly benefit from a very well trained and thoughtfully trauma-conscious teacher. I’m thrilled today to introduce you to yoga teacher, social worker and trauma-informed yoga expert Hannah Davis!

My guest today is Wolf Terry (she/her), a retired e-ryt and a contributing writer for Yoga Journal. Before walking away from the seat of the teacher, Wolf had taught over 2000 hours of classes, teacher trainings, and workshops, while answering letters for her former Yoga Journal advice column, Wolf Wisdom. Wolf is now a full-time writer, writing coach, social justice, mental health, and public health activist. She is originally from Maine, but now resides in Colorado with her husband and son.

What kind of rules have you been taught about the safest way to twist? What do you teach your students about the best way to rotate through the spine? Today we are taking a deep dive into these questions and I couldn’t be more excited! Your fellow teacher and podcast listener Madison Houck joins us today to unpack this conversation, as it was inspired by a really interesting private lesson Madison and I had.

Kearsten Lyon (she/her) is the founder and owner of an extended health care clinic called Total Movement Therapy based in Toronto, ON and sees clients virtually all over the world. Kearsten has been working and teaching within the Pilates and Rehabilitation Therapy industry since 2011. She utilizes a unique blend of Pilates, The Oov, Franklin Method, Movement for Trauma, traditional strength and conditioning exercises.

I often feel like marketing is hard, and the things the “experts” tell us to do are slimy and also don’t work. You feel me? After teaching yoga for ten years, Mado Hesselink (she/they) met their fairy godmother business coach. She appeared in their life just long enough to plant the seeds that good business and good yoga can co-exist. Mado nurtured those seeds by studying all things business, marketing, and productivity and to her surprise found a new passion,

Teaching yoga to kids has the potential to be incredibly impactful for kids and their communities, but there are many challenges that arise when we try to take the deep and meaningful teachings of yoga and make them developmentally appropriate without losing the heart of the teachings! Crystal McCreary (she/her) is a yoga, mindfulness, and health educator, actor, speaker, and writer. And even if you don’t teach kids yoga, I think you will get SO MUCH out of listening to this conversation.

Teaching yoga in 1x1 settings is such a wonderful way to inspire and support meaningful change in our student’s lives. Teaching yoga one-on-one requires a different skill set than teaching group classes, and these unique skills are left out of most teacher trainings. In this podcast episode, I’ll share the simple framework I use to teach private lessons.

As yoga teachers most of us are legally and financially out on our own; we are small business owners and independent contractors cobbling together enough work to make a living. It can be a beautiful way to spend a day (and a life!) but most of us don’t receive much training on the business side of things. That is why I’m so happy to introduce you to Cory Sterling (he/him), a lawyer, small business owner, group fitness instructor and yoga teacher.

My guest today is Alex Haley (he/him) and in addition to being a long time meditation teacher, he is one of the co-founders of the public benefit corporation OfferingTree, which provides an all-in-one platform for yoga teachers and studios to build a website, manage scheduling, take payments and coordinate communication. Alex has also worked for start-ups, mid-sized companies and large multinationals in business roles, so he has tons of practical experience to share with us!

It has been just over one year since I shifted from teaching yoga full time in-person, to teaching full time online. It has been a huge change in my approach to teaching and my day to day schedule. In this episode I share some updates with you about how it’s going in general (well!) how my students are doing (so much beautiful growth and adaptation) and what my teaching plans look like for the future (I don’t know!). AND make an announcement about some very fun things happening in our...

Do you know Tori Lunden (she/her)? She is known as Bad At Yoga on social media and if you haven’t come across her work yet I’m SO excited I get to introduce you to her today. Tori self published her first book, "How not to Teach Yoga: Lessons on Boundaries, Accountability, and Vulnerability - Learnt the Hard Way" in February of 2021 and I got to talk to her all about the hard lessons she’s learned as a yoga teacher, and some wisdom and advice she has for the rest of us.

Trauma-informed practice is a popular topic in the yoga world, and with good reason. Most people have experienced some kind of trauma and if yoga is to be a healing practice, as teachers and practitioners we must take into account what could make a practice unsafe or triggering for folks, including ourselves. Sangeeta Vallabhan is a long-time yoga teacher; she began studying trauma-informed yoga with many different teachers in 2013.

Trina Altman is the creator of Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed®, which helps movement teachers foster an embodied understanding of their teaching and create a more sustainable practice through an interdisciplinary approach based on current movement science. 

The Trans* Yoga Project creates and holds space for Trans* people to live wholly and thrive loudly by dismantling barriers to access in yoga and wellness spaces and by offering classes and wellness services as affirming, Trans*-centered containers where their siblings can explore their own inner landscapes, tap into their various innate wisdoms, and co-create healing environments that serve their deepest needs.