It is quite possible (even likely!) that you have students in your group classes who have given birth in the last year (or several!), and are just getting back to their practice. Do you feel comfortable and confident in supporting those students?

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.

I imagine by now you’ve probably heard that over 65% of COVID misinformation is spread by just 12 people, and those 12 people are almost all from the wellness community.  As yoga teachers we may loosely (or closely) identify with the wider wellness community and so addressing these issues is important! W

In teaching yoga and asana we end up working with bodies quite a lot. Many, if not most, of our students will likely  be dealing with some kind of discomfort, whether it be the aches and pains of modern living, or full-blown, diagnosed injuries. 

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.

In The Mentor Sessions Sangha we have been having a robust conversation about online yoga class library memberships. These are very popular now, and can be a great way to diversify your teaching income and support your students.  They also require a decent amount of work to set up, there are an endless number of ways to organize the process and the pricing for these offerings are all over the map.

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 (and specialty class!)

As you are well aware, we are living through a devastating public health crisis and masks and vaccines are our most important wellness tools right now (BY FAR). We know from our spiritual study that we are all interconnected, and none of us are truly well unless we are all well.

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!

I have a special treat for you today! I’m going to introduce you to one of my own teachers, Kearsten Lyon! Kearsten (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.

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?

That’s why I’m so excited to have Mado Hesselink (she/they) on the show today!

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!

Teaching yoga in 1x1 settings is such a wonderful way to inspire and support meaningful change in our student’s lives. But the possibilities for what and how you could teach a private lesson are endless and as a teacher that can feel overwhelming! How do you decide what to focus on?? 

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. There is much that needs to change about our systems, but today I want to start small and offer this free training on legal protections for yoga teachers and I’m so happy to introduce you to Cory Sterling (he/him)!

The yoga world has changed so much since I started teaching 16 years ago. Back then I didn’t have a website, use social media or have any fancy tech equipment, and I didn’t know many (any?) yoga teachers who did! 

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 (obviously) 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!).

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. If you do know Tori’s work, you won’t be surprised at all to know that I jumped at the chance to connect with her, (and we had a blast!) because there are many similarities in our work! 

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.

There are two things I’m really passionate about in my teaching: One is dismantling the notion of linear, hierarchical, universal progress, especially when it comes to movement. The other is teaching in a way that students feel 100% agency to make autonomous, empowered, educated decisions about their own movement practice. 

The Trans* Yoga Project is doing incredibly important work in the yoga and wellness spaces and I’m honored to introduce you to two of the founding members, River Redwood (they/them) and M Camellia (they/them).