Over the past decade, there has been a welcome push towards a more inclusive approach to yoga. But what does that look like on a practical level? Jivana Heyman has been at the center of the accessible yoga movement as the founder of the Accessible Yoga Project and the author of The Teacher's Guide to Accessible Yoga, Best Practices for Sharing Yoga with Every Body. In this episode, Jivana shares an anti-perfectionist approach to accessible yoga that centers the relationship between teacher...

Series classes deepen your relationship with your students, helps them commit to their practice, and provides financial stability for you as the teacher. Nyk Danu, a certified yoga therapist and business mentor, shares her insights on creating a sustainable yoga teaching business through a registered series. Listen in to hear practical advice on setting up your series, handling logistics like space rental and insurance, and filling your series classes. Nyk also touches on considerations for...

Yoga is for everyone, but when people of varied physical abilities show up in the same class it can be difficult to meet all their needs at the same time. In this episode, Mado and Libby offer a framework for understanding why your students might struggle with a particular asana and how to offer variations that provide a similar experience to people with different physical abilities.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00 Why teaching mixed ability yoga classes is harder than it needs to be 02:49 How to...

Laura reached out for help to increase enrollment in her online classes. Despite her success in drawing people to her global retreats, she struggles to fill her online series and workshops. In this conversation, we discuss strategies to improve sign-ups for online offerings. Some of the ideas we consider include positioning online classes as 'extensions' of the retreat experiences, frequency and timing of communication, incentives for retreat participants, and the importance of urgency in...

Johanna is a new yoga teacher who struggles to lead her yoga class without physically practicing along with her students. Mado helps her unpack why she wants to develop this skill and provides simple strategies to build her ability to cue without practicing along with the class. Along the way, they explore internal vs external motivation and learning to trust your inner voice.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 02:17 Johanna's journey to becoming a yoga teacher 06:25 Why Johanna struggles to teach without...

Transitioning from in-person classes to online can shake up every aspect of your teaching. When Lily Dwyer Begg dove headfirst into this process, she found greater clarity in her voice and a blossoming creative potential in her teaching. In this episode, Lily shares advice for the art of teaching yoga online including demonstration, verbal cues, class planning, and how to substitute direct touch. She also reveals some of the challenges and opportunities that arose when she stopped teaching at...

Learn the nuts and bolts of setting up an online yoga studio. Despite describing herself as a 'Luddite', Lily started teaching online when in-person classes shut down during COVID. She found that online teaching allowed her to teach fewer classes, increase her income, and boost her creativity. In this episode, she shares practical advice on optimizing audio and visual quality, choosing clothing for online classes, and using editing tools to refine recorded classes.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00...

Ever been told that hypermobile people shouldn’t practice yoga? Yoga is not bad for bendy people, but there are different considerations for people with hypermobile joints. Dr. Libby Hinsley, author of Yoga for Bendy People joins us to debunk some myths and talk about the ways that yoga is amazing for bendy people.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:  Hypermobility basics - what does it actually mean to be bendy? Unique needs for bendy people in Asana practice Alternatives to passive stretching that work...

Have you heard of “nocebic” language? Learn the way our brains react to expectations, why it’s important to notice fear based language and how to transform your words to empower your students.   Episode Highlights:  How to help your students feel confident and inspired to be in charge of their bodies The importance of looking for what’s right instead of what’s wrong Scope of practice and boundaries in the yoga class setting Psychological and physiological power of messaging in yoga What you...

Learn how to incorporate self-massage into your own yoga practice and your yoga classes to build awareness, familiarize yourself with sensation and guide your nervous system toward relaxation.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:  What you need to know before bringing self-massage into your classes Sequencing and how to teach a class or workshop with therapy balls  Risks, cautions and contraindications associated with self-massage The difference between intensity and pain Self-massage as a tool to learn...

Mado and Dr. Libby Hinsley, physical therapist and yoga therapist, address questions for yoga teachers who are curious about anatomy and biomechanics and how they apply to specific poses.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:  The best approach for learning anatomy How to craft a class that is helpful for the variety of bodies that might show up The benefits and purposes of dynamic vs static poses Different perspectives on symmetry in sequencing. Should we always keep the shoulder blades squeezing in and...

Collaborating with other yoga teachers can be inspiring and fun - but it can also be a big disaster. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a collaboration successful, when you should partner with someone on a project, and how to choose the right person to collaborate with.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:  A discussion of imposter syndrome, comparison, and motivations behind partnerships  When and why choosing to collaborate on a project is a good idea Finding the right person to collaborate...

Dr. Libby Hinsley returns to the podcast to talk about joint hypermobility, how yoga affects bendy people differently from people with a more average range of motion, and how to best support those with hypermobile bodies in your yoga classes.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Hallmarks of hypermobility  Patterns in injured yogis and yoga teachers  Things to pay attention to if you have a larger than normal range of motion at your joints How yoga can be useful to hypermobile people What interoception is...

Learn the significance of the psoas muscle and how yoga teachers can most effectively work with it in their classes.   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: 5 Things You Should Know About The Psoas Major - Free Download Libby Hinsley Anatomy Bites Follow Libby on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on...

Investigate some of the common myths and misconceptions people have about anatomy and yoga.   Episode Highlights: The myth of alignment and what is actually normal or average  Benefits and limitations of alignment-based yoga Why doing a posture correctly according to formulas is not safe for everyone  The myth of safety and the fragility of the human body  How we can expect our practice to shift over the course of our lives Examining specific physical cues such as “bringing the shoulders...

How do you bridge the gap between being qualified to teach yoga and teaching with confidence? Yoga teacher trainings are a deep dive into the practice and pedagogy of yoga, yet many graduates are thrown for a loop once they actually start teaching. In this episode, Sheri Fisher shares the five qualities that yoga teachers need to cultivate on their way to embodying leadership in the yoga classroom.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Differences between group fitness training and yoga teacher training Why...

Inversions inspire strong feelings. We love them, hate them, or we love/hate them - but how well do we understand them? While inversions are usually thought to be the domain of physically adept yoga practitioners, Kat Heagberg Rebar, author of Yoga Inversions, believes they can benefit anyone who wants a shift in perspective.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Defining inversions: Kat’s take on this ‘controversial’ question How Kat went from ‘too young yoga teacher’ to Editor-in-Chief of Yoga...

Yoga and business make strange bedfellows. Leaning into that paradox is exactly what’s needed to thrive as a yoga teacher and business owner. Join me for a conversation with Ava Taylor, founder of YAMA Talent and author of Your Yoga Business, on what it takes to build an ethical and sustainable yoga business.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Why it’s important to keep things simple when building a yoga business How to build a yoga business that can withstand the test of time. Challenges and...

Becoming a parent is a rite of passage that will change your yoga practice forever. Sarah Ezrin was a dedicated yoga practitioner and long time teacher before having children blew her heart open, humbled her to the core, and turned her expectations about yoga practice upside down. This transition inspired her to write the book she wished she could read as a new parent: compassionate, irreverent, and steeped in the wisdom of yoga.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How becoming a parent can make your yoga...

Breathing touches every system of the body, either directly or indirectly. It can be manipulated and shaped to adjust state, to change our perception of pain, to improve and enhance movement, and also to hasten deep restorative relaxation or amplify and excite. In this episode, Jill Miller describes the art and science of using breath as a tool for physical and emotional resilience.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Chemical and biomechanical aspects of breathing Overbreathing, underbreathing, and breath...

Rituals are actions repeated with intention. According to Tracee Stanley, author of Radiant Rest and The Luminous Self, rituals are also powerful tools for knowing yourself more deeply. Join me for a candid conversation where Tracee shares personal experiences, observations, and ideas that led her to share deeply personal stories and sacred practices with the world inside her recently released book The Luminous Self.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How Covid influenced The Luminous Self to become more...

Everything in life is for your awakening. This core teaching of tantra yoga is what guides Todd Norian on his quest for whole-hearted self-acceptance. Todd is a musician, founder of Ashaya Yoga, a Kripalu Legacy faculty member, and the author of Tantra Yoga: Journey to Unbreakable Wholeness. In this week’s podcast, Todd shares stories and lessons from forty years as a yoga practitioner, teacher, and spiritual seeker.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Todd’s definition of spirituality and how it plays out...

There are trauma survivors in almost every yoga room - but you can’t necessarily tell who they are from the outside. In this first episode of a series on recently published yoga books, Lara Land, author of The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga, explains how yoga can support trauma survivors and describes how yoga teachers can help or hinder the process.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: An expanded definition of trauma Why yoga is so helpful for trauma survivors How yoga spaces can be harmful for...