Yoga Teacher Resource Blog
All articles in order of date, newest first![Standing Room Only [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sheri-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Standing Room Only [Book Club Series]
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, author of Standing Room Only, shares the five qualities that yoga teachers need to cultivate on their way to embodying leadership in the yoga classroom.
![Yoga Inversions [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kat-Heagberg-1.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Yoga Inversions [Book Club Series]
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.
![Your Yoga Business [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Magnani_230212_1200885-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Your Yoga Business [Book Club Series]
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.
![The Yoga of Parenting [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/sarah-e1698324939550.png?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
The Yoga of Parenting [Book Club Series]
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.
![Body by Breath [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jill.jpeg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Body by Breath [Book Club Series]
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 discusses her book Body by Breath and describes the art and science of using breath as a tool for physical and emotional resilience.
![The Luminous Self [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/tracee-square-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
The Luminous Self [Book Club Series]
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.
![Tantra Yoga [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ToddNorian2022.jpeg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Tantra Yoga [Book Club Series]
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.
![Trauma Sensitive Yoga [Book Club Series]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lara-scaled-e1695853643301.jpeg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Trauma Sensitive Yoga [Book Club Series]
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.
Does alignment make your classes safer?
Yoga teachers often feel responsible to protect their students from injury during their classes. This is a big reason why many focus on guiding proper alignment during practice. But how much does alignment really protect students from injury? And are misunderstandings about safety, pain, and discomfort actually causing more harm to our students than good? In this must-listen episode, my guest Dr. Libby Hinsley sheds light on the relationship between alignment and safety.
Karma Yoga: Should You Teach Yoga for Free?
Yoga teachers are often asked to teach for free in the name of Karma Yoga. However, when this term is divorced from the framework of yoga philosophy, it can be exploited and misused. In this episode, Mado explores the practice of Karma Yoga and some of the less obvious implications behind the decision of whether or not to teach for free.
How to Promote Body Autonomy in Your Classes
Want to promote body autonomy in your classes but aren’t sure what that looks like? Featuring Dr. Libby Hinsley, this episode covers ways that yoga teachers may be unintentionally hindering body autonomy for their students and strategies for making your classes a self-empowering space for your students.
![Bypassing Social Media [On-Air Coaching Call]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Kathy-Aruna-Humphrys.png?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Bypassing Social Media [On-Air Coaching Call]
Social media can be a great tool but it can also be a detriment to mental health. In this on-air coaching call, Kathy, a kid’s yoga teacher trainer shares her strategy for bypassing social media to reach her customers more directly.
![Bridge the Gap from Social Media to Email [On-Air Coaching Call]](https://i0.wp.com/teachingyoga.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Christy-Calahan-Feature-Image.png?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1)
Bridge the Gap from Social Media to Email [On-Air Coaching Call]
Learn to bridge the gap between your social media following and your email subscribers with Mado in this on-air coaching call. Christy is a yoga teacher who teaches inclusive yoga for bigger bodies. She’s found an audience for her message on Instagram but isn’t sure how to translate that following into email subscribers and course sales.
Where to Invest (when you’re just starting out)
What do you need to invest in when you start a yoga business? Business owners are the target of a seemingly endless number of services trying to convince you that their product is essential for your success. In this episode, Mado helps you figure out what’s essential and what can wait.
Thriving Together: Peer to Peer Support for Yoga Teachers
Learn how to bring more peer support into your life. Sheri, John, and Allison are a group of yoga teachers that found each other online and have been supporting each other since the height of the pandemic. Mado also shares how she taps into peer support and what to look for when starting your own collaborations.
How to Thrive as a Retreat Leader
Wish you knew how to lead yoga retreats that are stress free and well paid? Mado & Lily draw from their upcoming online course Retreat Roadmap to share 3 key insights that will make the difference between your retreat feeling like an invigorating hike instead of a wild roller coaster ride. This episode’s full of tips to bolster any retreat leader’s ability to create a profitable retreat business that thrives over the long term.
If I could start over… (5th Anniversary Episode!)
For the 5th Anniversary of this podcast, Mado shares what she would do differently if she could start over at several pivotal points in her teaching career.
Is alignment important for asana?
Let’s talk about alignment. Some teachers center their entire teaching technique around alignment, while others argue that it does more harm than good and that students should be encouraged to explore asanas in a more open-ended way. In this episode, Mado shares how her own relationship to the concept of alignment has evolved over the past 20 years and her thoughts about how alignment can be both useful and potentially harmful.