The Mentor Sessions Podcast
Support + Strategy for Yoga Teachers
With amazing guests or solo, I explore the craft of teaching yoga, as its own practice. I’m seeking answers to the 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 practice.
Join me as I offer nourishing support to help you feel more confident in your teaching and realistic strategy to help you find more clarity on your career path.
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118: My Group Class Planning Process
In January of this year I started sharing my group class planning process in short videos on Instagram (you can see them here) and y’all had questions!
117: Yoga for Seniors with Chintamani Kansas
Many yoga teachers in our community either already specialize in teaching seniors, or would like to. Yoga can be a wonderful practice for older people and it is important that yoga teachers consider what is most helpful when working with this population.
116: Integrating Buddha Dharma and Asana with Meredith Witte - Live Mentoring Session
Many of the yoga teachers I’ve worked with feel more comfortable and confident teaching asana than they do teaching the other seven limbs of yoga. This was true of me as a new teacher also!
115: The Case For Teaching Leveled Classes
The thinking behind this episode has been a long time in the making. I haven't talked about this much publicly, but If you've done 1x1 mentoring with me, if you’ve taken my group classes, if you're in The Mentor Session Sangha, or if you’ve taken a teacher training with me, then you’ve heard me talk about it....
114: Pelvic Health in Yoga Classes with Shannon Crow
Our students' movement patterns directly impact their pelvic health, and their pelvic floor impacts their movement patterns! With those two aspects of our students’ health so intertwined, it’s really important that yoga teachers understand the nuances of that relationship.
113: How To Respond To Students Who Want "Correct" Alignment with Ariele Foster
Do your students often ask if they are doing a pose “right”? And when they do, how do you answer that question? It’s complicated! You may teach from the perspective that there is no universal “correct” or “ideal” or even “safe” way to practice a pose, but then how do you answer that question?
112: How To Find New Private Clients with Mary Reddinger
“But how do I find new potential private clients?” ... is the question I get asked most often.
I have lots of suggestions for teachers wondering how to grow their private practice AND the truth is that I very rarely take on new clients myself these days.
111: Planning A Beginner’s Series with Dara Madigan
Over the last few years more and more yoga teachers have worked to create their own teaching offerings outside of a studio setting, and I think this is a great thing! While I absolutely value the community space a yoga studio can create, I also think creating learning opportunities for students
110: Q+A, Taking Time Off, Hamstrings, Continuing Ed + More!
I’ve been collecting your questions over the last few weeks, and I’m so happy to share this Q+A episode with you today! (It’s an off-the-cuff, casual vibe. I think you’ll like it!)
109: The Ten Things Saving My Life Right Now
Hello! After a long maternity leave I’m back in front of the podcasting mic and so excited to be here. This episode is quite a departure from our usual conversations about the craft of teaching yoga.
108: Anti Capitalist, Anti Racist Yoga with Avita Bansee
The culture we live in is overrun by systems of oppression like racism and late stage capitalism and the way we teach and practice yoga must take that into account.
107: The Science of Tissue Adaptation + Motor Control with Dr. Garrett Neill
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
106: The Power of Rest with Octavia Raheem
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.
105: Yoga And Social Justice with Jivana Heyman
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.
104: Postnatal Considerations in Asana with Deb Flashenberg
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?
103: The Yoga Teachings Are Inherently Political with Jacoby Ballard
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.
102: Decolonizing The Wellness Publishing Industry with Rebekah Borucki
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
101: Working With Injuries (A Solo Episode)
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.
100: What Good Quality Teaching Looks Like with Dr. Janna Dresden + Dr. Ronald Cervero
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.
99: A Collaborative Yoga Membership Model with Catherine la O'
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.