Working in Yoga (Rebecca Sebastian)

Welcome to 2021, where so many of us Working in Yoga get to reflect on how our businesses shifted during the last 17 months.

This week Rebecca is joined by Carri Uranga, a travelling yoga teacher trainer, who had to shift things around and rethink how she and her business partner shared yoga teachings with the world.

We talk about our really amazing job of teaching yoga (it’s rad, friends), and how the virtual shift changed our perspectives and offerings.

We talk travel (don’t you miss it?), and the intimacy of our jobs.

Take a listen.

Then go find Carri at www.drishtiyogateachertraining.com, or online @drishtiyogattc. Maybe go find a challenge or virtual retreat with her?

At the end she gives the best self-care tip.

Here is more about Carri:

Carri Uranga is ERYT-500 and has been teaching yoga and fitness full time for 14 years.

She has thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, traveled 1 year in Central & South America and visited 17 countries while living in Austria for 18 months. In addition to Co-Founding Drishti Yoga Teacher Training in 2012 she has a degree in Anthropology, loves food & wine and thrives on every day outdoor adventures.

(don’t you wanna hang with her? I do!)

Learn More about the GYMs Act here:

https://www.ihrsa.org/federal/the-gym-mitigation-and-survival-act/

Want in on our Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Virtual Retreat? Grab your ticket here: https://app.namastream.com/sunlight-streams/buy/product/31631

Snag the Medium Blog here.

Snag the free worksheet here.

Here is Subaru’s mission statement: https://mission-statement.com/subaru/

Check out Dr. Blake’s work at www.drkatieblake.com

Find all things Colleen at www.colleenjorgensen.org to learn more and snag FREE pain care tools | (colleenjorgensen.org) for a copy of my free pain care ebook.

We have lots of notes for this one:

Why We Are Obsessed with Scammers

Why ARE We Obsessed? Huff Post

Elena Brower

Seeing Like A School by Angela Jamison

Biggest & “Best” Yoga Franchises

https://candid.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_utilization_theory

Pooja’s Website: https://www.poojavirani.com/

Jacoby’s Website: https://jacobyballard.net/

Melissa’s Website: https://www.findyourbreath.net/

There has long been a controversy within yoga spaces.  What makes us qualified to do what we do?  What makes us able to guide people through movement practices, breathing techniques, meditation sessions, and talk about the underlying living principles of yoga when much of what we do could qualify as “therapeutic” in modality.

Well many years ago an organization called the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) sought to discuss this.  They credentialed skilled yoga teachers and created a new profession called yoga therapy.  We not have 1,000s of certified yoga therapists worldwide and our “emerging profession” seems to have started to bloom.

But does this solve the challenge of deciding who is qualified to be a “therapist”?

Enter my friend John Cottrell, a licensed counselor, a yoga therapist, and a passionate teacher of vinyasa-style yoga.  John has written books, contributed to many journals, and if I am being honest, possibly has more irons in the yoga fire than I do.  

John and I discuss two things on this episode I want to highlight.  First, is how comfortable yoga therapists can be talking about the therapeutic side of their jobs.  We often couch ourselves as skilled yoga teachers and nothing more, even though we have spent a lot of time and money training to attain the C-IAYT title (that means we are certified by the IAYT)

John and I also talk about community, and creating and holding sacred the connections we have with each other.  Be in in creating a teaching collective like John and friend have in Salt Lake City, or in creating professional connections within our yoga teaching landscape.

I know you are going to love my conversation with John as much as I did.

RESOURCES.

John Cottrell’s Website: http://www.johncottrell.com/

John’s Clothing Line: https://mbody.com/

John’s Baking Adventures: http://www.onecakewonder.com/

Mosaic Yoga Collective in Salt Lake City, UT: https://mosaicyoga.squarespace.com/

Working In Yoga’s Website: www.workingingyoga.com

The International Association of Yoga Therapists: www.iayt.org

Have you ever said, “I’m just a yoga teacher”?  I sure have.  The idea that somehow yoga, as a profession either is of lesser importance or even for some folks doesn’t exist is something we have always fought against.  I am pretty sure I have fought my mother, mother-in-law(s), partners, friends, and strangers at the store.  

And in those conversations, I have not always been our biggest champion.  That old “I just teach yoga” phrase has come out of my mouth more than once, my to my current-day chagrin.  Because what we do as yoga professionals is valuable.  Special.  And worthy of our own admiration, respect, and a sustainable living wage. 

Enter the incredible Stephanie Singleton, a yoga therapist and corporate wellness specialist who came to the yoga profession from a career at a major news network. Stephanie’s story is like so many of ours.  We came stressed out, sick, and in desperate need of a change.  

Stephanie shares her strategies for mindset around valuing her work, and talks about how corporations need us and our wellness skills now more than ever.  

RESOURCES

Stephanie’s website:  www.pranawellnessworks.com

Stephanie’s IG:  @ pranawellnessworks

Sephanie’s LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieerazo/

Working In Yoga’s site:  www.workinginyoga.com

Support Working In Yoga:  https://sunlight-streams.heymarvelous.com/product/46341

Virtual Yoga Retreat:  https://sunlight-streams.heymarvelous.com/dashboard

Our fave money mindset ladies:

Claire Wasserman https://ladiesgetpaid.com/

Rachel Rogers:  https://helloseven.co/

And She Co:  https://www.andshe.co/

Kelly Deils:  https://kellydiels.com/

International Association of Yoga Therapists:  www.iayt.org

One of my ultimate goals for this podcast has always been to highlight the really cool work that yoga professionals are doing in their local communities to make a difference.  There seems to be a big public perception that yoga folks are fairly shallow, with all of our concerns being about how we look in beachwear while doing crazy moves during sunset.  

But anyone who has taken 10 seconds to go deeper knows that yoga professionals are good, loving, caring people who are committed to making a positive impact in the world.  

With that let me introduce you to my friend Gina Barrett, the winner of the International Associal of Yoga Therapist’s SEVA award for 2022.  She is working with a group of yoga teachers on the border between Mexico and the United States, sharing yoga with families and children who are living in camps awaiting permission to enter the US as refugees and asylum seekers.  

This work involves a lot of dedication, skill, and training in trauma-informed practices to be able to facilitate yoga classes safely in that environment.  Listen to all of Gina’s offerings, and make sure you donate to her NGO if you can.

RESOURCES:

Casa del Paz SLV’s website:  https://www.casadepazslv.org/

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy:  https://pryt.com/

Our website:  https://www.workinginyoga.com/

Sometimes podcasts really do get to talk to the coolest people.

That sentence feels significant since so much of our industry is full of feelings of isolation and loneliness.  One of the things I have learned in the last 20 years of being a yoga professional is that the more I find friends in the yoga community, the happier I am.  In making connections I have been able to extracate myself from cult-like situations as a professional, I have been able to feel more buoyed by my yoga practice, and I have been able to share space with the best of humans.

One of the friends I have made this year is fellow podcast host, Shannon Crow.  She hosts the podcast The Connected Yoga Teacher, and I asked her to come on Working In Yoga and talk about our past year.

For me this year has held a lot of grief within the professional yoga space.  My friends have left for different industries, my colleagues both near and far have closed their doors, and as we continue to look at the wreckage of the industry at large since 2020 and a potential recession starting out 2023…well sometimes the future feels not-so-bright.

But then I talked to Shannon.

She reminded me about how much I love the practice of yoga, how it has sustained me through some of my hardest times, and how together–through hard conversations and intentional actions, we can built the industry that nourishes us all.

This is a long episode, but worth every minute.  There is a surprise guest around the 26-minute mark, so don’t miss it!

RESOURCES:

RESOURCES

Our Sites:

Working In Yoga Podcast Website:  www.workingingyoga.com 

Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast Website:  https://www.theconnectedyogateacher.com/podcast/

Rebecca’s Virtual Retreat:  https://sunlight-streams.heymarvelous.com/product/54909

Teachers We Talked About:

Kristine Webber: https://subtleyoga.com

Sadie Nardini:  https://sadienardini.com

Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedyogateacher

Connected Yoga Teacher Episodes We Talk About:

Diane Liska’s Episode with Shannon:  https://www.theconnectedyogateacher.com/114-compassion-fatigue-diane-liska/?fbclid=IwAR0U1_Nr9z4HNv2wfUlRsHtt1zFGU-FlYO-nSeILYezPijtzBS4145C0viY

Nicole Lewis-Keeber’s Episode w/ Shannon:  https://www.theconnectedyogateacher.com/301-trauma-business-ownership-with-nicole-lewis-keeber/?fbclid=IwAR0Hb3pI5hAZStEYviO-m5NxA-8zJPQbtwxQOpnoVzOLqFeILl4VLkthVY0

Working In Yoga Episodes We Talk About:

Quitting Yoga:  https://www.workinginyoga.com/podcast/quitting-yoga

Selling Yoga:   https://www.workinginyoga.com/podcast/working-in-yoga-episode-5-selling-yoga

For so many years I considered two factions of the yoga industry at war with one another.  There were the fitness people, the people teaching what felt like acrobatics on the beach in tiny outfits…and then there were those of us who were in it for the “real” yoga.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

My guest Tawnia Converse has also spent years in the yoga industry figuring out her place among the spiritual teachers, fitness seekers, and everyone else in between.  Tawnia and I talk about how we as yoga professionals can find ourselves feeling lost among the career paths that are typically available to us, and how that can cause us to throw stones at the other side instead of looking to collaborate in the greater ecosystem of the yoga teaching space.

I, for one, was really influenced by this talk with Tawnia–she made me rethink my attitude about all of us.  I think she will for you too.

Key Takeaways:

*grieving the yoga experience that we had in the 90s and 00s

*we should consider how the folks who teach asana-focused yoga are planting seeds that folks who teach the full spectrum of yoga get to harvest.

*is it possible for us as an industry to shift our binary thinking to ecosystem thinking.

*the intersection of spiritual practice and making money is a hard place to be.

*liberation practice could involve scrolling TikTok and eating chips.

Show Notes:

Tawnia’s Website

Tawnia’s IG

We need to talk about our grief podcast.

Hey Marvelous’s business coaching program.

Working In Yoga Website

Rebecca’s IG

Yoga professionals like to talk a lot about how we can be "of service" in our communities.

But often we get overwhelmed or feel lost in our daily lives and practices. But there are those out there who I want to introduce you to, so you can get inspired.

Osiris Booque is one of those individuals. Like previous guest, Gina Barrett, Osiris was honored by the International Association of Yoga Therapists last year with a SEVA award. This award is for those yoga therapists who are working on creating change in their communities through yoga.

I just love talking to folks who are out in the world doing work like this. I find it inspiring to know there are people committed to creating change, and using yoga as a vehicle to do it.

Our Key Takeaways:

That yoga isn't prescriptive, and we must fight the Western, colonial model of trying to make yoga be a prescription for what ails you

Yoga professionals can make impacts in their own communities.

The IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) is working to support people who are making both a local and global impact.

Leadership is a challenge when you start, but if we want to make changes we need to learn how to be a leader so we can support others.

LINKS

Follow Flow for Black Lives

Osiris's Website

Osiris's Summer Program

Osiris on Instagram

IAYT’s SEVA Application for 2023

Working In Yoga's Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Unsurprisingly, in the West, we focus a lot on the individual within a yoga practice.

We also think about yoga practitioners as primarily a particular age, physical ability, and gender.

We break people down by demographic, by 'type', even by the pants they wear.

But what if we offered a yoga practice that supported the entire ecosystem of a person? Could we support people in youth, in our vibrant middle life, and as they age?

Our guest this week, Camelia "Mimi" Felton thinks so. Mimi talks to us about serving older adults and kids with a yoga practice and also talks about why it is important to share yoga with everyone.

Camelia is one of the International Association of Yoga Therapists’ 2022 SEVA award winners, and I know you are going to love hearing her story.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

That it is important for us to teach and share yoga with everyone in a family ecosystem. Kids and older adults need yoga too.

We all can feel like we are "good" without our yoga practice in times of thriving, but when things get tough we roll our yoga mats back out again to find the support that yoga can provide us.

"how does your heart feel?" makes more of a difference in our lives than "how do my pants look"

people in the non-profit yoga space have had a hard time fundraising over the last three years.

RESOURCES

Camelia's website: https://mimisyogakids.com/

Donate to Mimi's Yoga Kids: https://mimisyogakids.com/donate

Camelia's IG: @mimisyogakids

Working In Yoga Website: https://www.workinginyoga.com/

Rebecca's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hDF6dz

IAYT SEVA Award application for 2023: https://www.iayt.org/page/2023SevaAward

I've said often that teaching yoga is a lonely job.

We come into work often by ourselves, we lead people in classes where the power dynamic is inharently unequal, and then we close up shop, sweep the floors, and shut the lights all by ourselves.

But what if it didn't have to be that way? What if we saw other yoga professionals as potential collaboration partners? Accountability partners? Inspiration?

Welcome to the relationship that John Cottrell, Allison Rissel, and Sheri Fisher have created together. They found a collaborative partnership, and a kinship, among sharing their joys and struggles, and have truly created a collective we should all strive for.

There are so many gems in this episode, but here are our key takeaways.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Collaboration is a lot like dating. Sometimes you get your heart broken, and sometimes you fall in love.

Collaboration isn't just an extroverted skill. Even introverts can learn skills of connecting with people and find it very rewarding.

Agendas help meetings be purposeful. Collaboration within your business can take longer without focus and organization.

Find an accountability group that keep you motivated. In-person is great, but if you start to interact with people online

Have you ever been burned in a yoga business collaboration? Remember professionalism and communication, and ask yourself how you want to be with other people.

RESOURCES

Connected Yoga Teacher Group

Yoga Teacher Conf free resources

Allison’s Website

Sheri's Website

John's Website

Getting Real book.

Crucial Conversations book

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Rebecca's IG

You might have heard that we are facing a recession, right?

It is one of those things that seems to be both highly talked about and also very hushed. ARE we in a recession? What about the recession that happened during COVID? How much longer does the yoga industry need to be facing the reality that sales are slower than we want because people's financial position is unstable?

And where the hell are our leaders?

This is something I want to talk about today on the podcast--what does leadership look like for us.

Leadership is a topic we rarely talk about in the yoga industry space. We talk a lot about teachers, and what it means to be a good teacher, but does a good teacher mean a good leader?

Today that is what Rebecca is talking about on the podcast.

Are you ready?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Ships need captains. We need that person or organization who is looking out for our best interests, even if they are unpopular with the masses.

No amount of insisting that yoga is a spiritual practice will get around the fact that tens of billions of dollars every year are being funneled through our industry. We absolutely are an industry, the US holding 10,000+ studios and 14.000+ teachers alone. This is enough money channeling through our spaces that we need to discuss who leads us as an industry. Because we absolutely are one.

Counter-culture blood runs deep in the veins of Western yoga spaces, and it shouldn't be surprising that we buck up against the idea of greater regulation and leadership

But keeping our participants safe and well should be our #1 priority, and while it may seem daunting to face the idea that leadership is needed--putting our heads in the sand doesn't make it any easier.

RESOURCES:

Working In Yoga Website

Newsletter

Rebecca on IG

Yoga Alliance's bylaws

Book Rec: Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

What does happen when you get scurvy?

In February of 2023 there was an event that was created in Vancouver, Canada advertising that convicted predator, Bikram Choudhury, was to come to Canada to teach hot yoga workshops. Many yoga professionals, myself very much included, thought this was a bad idea.

We know from countless accounts of survivors that have been documented in books, podcasts, and documentary films, that Bikram is an unsafe individual to teach yoga to young women.

It is irresponsible for us to not raise a fuss about him teaching yoga to young women. Women who are being sent to his training by trusted mentors and teachers. Women are then funneled into his close circle by teacher trainers within the program.

This is a clear funnel of abuse (that ironically looks a whole lot like a marketing funnel) and many of us organized together to stop him from coming to teach in Canada.

This podcast is that story.

On February 8th Shannon Crow from the Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast, Colin Hall from the Yoga History Podcast, and I all got together and recorded this LIVE, with lots of friends and supporters on the call.

What followed was the subsequent cancellation of Bikram from teaching in Canada (win), and the reminder to us all that he is still out there teaching and potentially abusing women in the context of being a yoga teacher and yoga professional (grim reality).

So this week is that replay of the live call, and next week I will be updating everyone about what is happening now.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

organizing works. following the money is the fastest way to see a result from your organizing, so if you are looking to take action on a cause that is important to you--look to the money first. It is likely the fastest way to your goal

Public accountability organizations, like the media, are your friends. Don't hesitate to reach out to them as ask for assistance in bringing more light to a subject

We all hold responsibility within the yoga professional arena to make sure that our participants are safe. This is not just a "them" problem. We are all responsible for the health, safety, and overall well-being of those people who would call themselves students of yoga.

Make friends in your activism journey. Find other people who are just as passionate about a cause as you and team up. It makes the job less daunting and more palatable.

RESOURCES

Our support letter to the survivors of Bikram Choudhury's abuse

Survivor's Hotline for support for sexual assault

Shannons' Podcast recording of this.

Meg Devlin's Article

Working In Yoga Podcast Website

Rebecca's IG

Working In Yoga Newletter

Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast Website

Shannon's IG

Yoga History Website

Colin's Website

Colin's IG

Hell Bent Book by Benjamin Lorre

ESPN's 30/30 Podcast

Dr. Ramani's Podcast

Bikram Documentary on Netflix

You might have heard the story of infamous yoga teacher Bikram Choudhury attempting to host yoga training workshops in Canada earlier this year.

You might have even listened to last week's podcast episode, which was a replay of Shannon Crow's Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast live episode that I was involved in.

And you also might be wondering what is happening now.

The truth: not too much. But that doesn't need to necessarily be the case.

The news cycle for all of us is short, our attention is even shorter, and it is really easy to push uncomfortable topics into the background. To me, this is too important to just let it be pushed aside.

Women who sign up for Bikram's trainings all over the world are not safe, this can be said with certainty. So now what?

This episode will give you an update, but also call you to help us do some much needed behind-the-scenes work to keep women safe in our YTT spaces. This will also serve to support and nourish all of us as we go through the uncomfortable growth phase of becoming a more whole and professional industry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Organizing is hard work, and while it is great & important to say "hurray" when we win a victory, the true work of social change happens in the quiet moments, the slow times, and behind the scenes. Don't forget to check in with your favorite causes even when they aren't actively campaigning.

2. Weather you agree or not, we are all in the same yoga industry. The language that seeks to create divisiveness is dangerous, no matter what side of the argument that person might be on. Use better language, and go find your favorite person who teaches yoga in a different methodology from you and take them out for tea. Getting to know others in our field is *vital* to our survival.

3. We need to hold our leadership organizations accountable for their position within our industry. Sign our change.org petition to demand the Yoga Alliance state publicly they have no confidence in the safety of participants of Bikram Choudhury's yoga teacher training programs. Make them say it loud enough that it is the first thing that pop's up on a Google search about Bikram yoga teacher training.

OUR SPONSOR:

Sunlight Streams Online Self-Care & Yoga Studio

WORKING IN YOGA:

Website

Instagram

This week we talk about the ever-evolving topic of consent in our yoga rooms.

How do we address consent to touch our students in 2023?

How do we navigate assists, adjustments, and using skillful language?

What do we really understand about the power dynamics and public nature of our classes?

Let's talk about answering this ever-evolving question: What DO students consent to when they purchase a ticket to a yoga class?

Consent is the conversation of the hour this week.

Join us around the water cooler and let's discuss.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Our conversations around consent need to change. Our thoughts should include not only touch, but also words, and ideas. Our students do not necessarily consent to hearing your lecture about the environment or GMOs in food when they come to your room to take a yoga asana class.

-COVID gave us some gifts as an industry, including the ability for us to gift the trajectory of their yoga practice back to them. Zoom has allowed for more body autonomy, more skillful verbal cuing, and the ability to use the techniques educators have long employed for distance learning.

-Consent is not a topic that we figure out and forget. As we evolve and up-level as a profession, we will need to continuously revisit this topic as we continue to grow and change as a profession.

Our Sponsor Sunlight Streams

RESOURCES:

WIY Website

Rebecca's Instagram

NYT Article

Welcome to Working In Yoga!

This week on the podcast I am chatting about all things embodiment with Cheri Dostal Ryba.

Cheri and I connected within the yoga therapy world, but found out that we were both excited to chat about the same things. We talk about all things money, business (and not in the gross way, in the stop trading time for dollars way), and nervous system regulation.

Cheri is a delight to chat with, and I can't wait for you all to hear it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Being a yoga professional involves us also being commited to our students, but also to ourselves. Self-care is critical if you are in the self-care business space.

-Yoga professionals are BOTH entrepreneurs and teachers. We don't have to choose to sacrifice ourselves in service of yoga, nor do we need to sacrifice yoga at the feet of business.

-Growth requires discomfort. We need to be able to embrace this idea that clearing the clutter of our mind is part of our growth as a teacher and a business owner.

-Charge what you are worth is bad advice. You are pricesless. We need to unpack the idea that our value is linked to how much money we have.

-Time for Dollars is also bad business advice. Your price is a direct product of your experience X the market you are in. If you are online this equation shifts a little, but not much.

-Business coaches can be incredibly helpful. We need to be cautious because you can be over-coached, but having a person who has a different perspective on your business is invaluable.

-After we are done with shiny-object syndrome, then comes the work. Then comes the buckling down, struggling through the discomfort, and finding out what part of our work lights us up enough to slog through the hard stuff.

RESOURCES

Cheri's Info.

Instagram

Website

Working In Yoga Info:

Website

Instagram

Working In Yoga Summer Business Challenge coming soon

Sunlight Streams Info:

Website

Virtual Retreat

Sunlight's Yoga Teacher Summer School coming July & August!!

We are the next generation of yoga professionals.

So how do we shift into our more professional, more inclusive, more lucrative, more nourishing era?

Let’s talk about it.

Today we are chatting about online vs. in-person teaching and training. There is still a huge stigma surrounding the adequacy of online teaching, but the truth is online is here to stay.

So let’s talk pros and cons, and what we, the next generation of yoga pros, need to embrace and improve.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR, Sunlight Streams. Grab their virtual retreat here. Use code WIY for 20% off your ticket price.

WORKING IN YOGA website.

This podcast episode was a total surprise for me, and this week I am excited to share the conversation with you all.

Sadie’s comments on teaching yoga online, marketing, and more are exactly what we’ve been talking about for the future of our profession in the online arena.

Take a listen.

Here are our key takeaways:

-There is plenty of room for you to build an audience online. There are more students who are looking for a more nurturing experience, which we can build, even online.

-We don't need to leverage our challenges and traumas in order to get likes. It is complicated and icky when we use our own challenges to get pity views---and it isn't the way marketing makes us feel good.

-You don't need to be committed to the same niche forever. Shifting your content as you age and gain more experience makes total sense. Now don't change every 6 months, but also don't feel stuck doing the same thing forever.

-Women don't need to be young in order to be valued, no matter what fitness and wellness IG accounts tell us.

-Feedback is critical. It is sometimes hard to hear, but it is worth getting to know your audience so we connect with them and build nourishing content for them.

-If you are not in the business of serving and helping people, go get a job that pays you better. Yeah, that times 100. When we are serving our purpose a lot of the things that seem difficult seem easier.

-Creativity requires space. We need to build some time in our schedules to be creative, which is one of the best things about working for yourself. Embrace your creativity.

Our Sponsor

Sunlight Streams Virtual Retreat

Resources.

Working In Yoga Website

Rebecca’s Instagram

Working In Yoga FREE Professional Development Challenge

Join the Newsletter

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

Sadie Nardini’s Website

This week on the podcast I have my friend Billie Smith joining me, and we talk all about all things in starting an online membership.

Billie and I also chat about some of the toxic things we have experienced while working in the yoga space. It is important we share our stories with each other so we don’t normalize bad behavior and can empower each other to build supportive professions with the people around us.

Our key takeaways are:

-We can bring our whole selves to our yoga teaching, and when you start bringing all of you, you have the opportunity to be a more impactful teacher

-Anti-diet culture is something that we need to embrace more of in our industry. Sure, sex and body transformation can be effective marketing, but are those the messages we want to be sending? If we claim yoga is for EVERY body, then we need to start putting our marketing where our mouths are.

-You should know at the very least, the basics of what it is to be trauma-informed as a yoga teacher. If your YTT didn't provide that for you, a workshop or book can help support that shift. Check out the work of my friend Joanne Spence for more info.

-Creating a group of people who connect with your attitudes and beliefs can be incredibly powerful. We CAN create community online, and building that with others is a great way to connect people from all over the world.

-Find other business owners and make a support group amongst yourselves. Having people to vent to, connect with, and who allow you to be your real self on the hard days is critical for sustaining your business over time.

-Feedback is important, but not more important than your own voice. We often divorce our own voice in order to please others. Culture teaches us to do that, but yoga is a true inquiry into your own self and voice. Yoga teaching and yoga business should be the same.

Thank you to our sponsor, Sunlight Streams.

Sunlight’s Virtual Retreat (use code WIY2023 at checkout for $30 off your ticket)

WORKING IN YOGA

Website

FREE Professional Development Challenge

Newsletter

Instagram

BILLIE SMITH

Website

Instagram

You’ve done it.

You’ve gotten the certificate, fallen even more in love with yoga than ever. Now how do you be THAT yoga teacher?

You know, the one with the packed rooms, the dedicated followers, the amazing chill attitude?

Well this week I talk with Root To Rise co-founders Lori Holden and Sheri Fisher. The cover the methodology for creating a standing room only, and I think you all are going to find some genuine nuggets in this conversation. So have your pens at the ready.

Be it a new teacher, or someone trying to up-level their yoga teaching game, this is the interview for you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*It IS normal to want to learn more after you take a yoga teacher training program, especially if you don't think you are ready. But what makes and impactful teacher is someone who is able to listen to themselves and develop their inner skills before they go out to the world and share yoga.

*Find a friend whose profession is education for people. Ask them about their favorite teaching methodologies and how to get better at the skill of teaching people a thing.

*It is important for you to know what the laws are for employment wherever you live, and to be committed to yourself as a yoga professional. Knowing the ins and outs of what it is to be a yoga professional is crucial for us as the next generation of yoga pros.

*Understanding and unpacking social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion is important work for us as yoga teachers. Learning from a diverse range of teachers only serves to make you a more informed and impactful teacher.

Thank you again to our sponsor Sunlight Streams, and go snag your tickets to our virtual retreat July 28-30th here.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga

Website

Professional Development Challenge

Root To Rise

The Book: Standing Room Only

The Website

Sheri's previous podcast episode

Have you ever wondered how people who are incredibly dialed into their niche go there?

This week I have an interview with my new friend Deb Flashenburg. Deb is the founder and owner of Prenatal Yoga Center in New York City.

She highlights all her work as a pre and postnatal yoga teacher, and I think you will hear something in her voice that I found really striking. The tone she takes when she talks about the thing that lights her up the most. I want that for all of us, the idea that we can evolve--often by accident, into the profession or specialty that most fills our cup and allows us to show up more fully in the world.

For Deb that is childbirth prep and education, for me, it is teaching the tenants of true self-care, but for you, that may be something else. We all have such interesting journeys in how we came to be as yoga professionals, and I hope it inspires you to listen to someone who is doing the work that feeds her soul as much as it inspired me to talk to her.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Most of your favorite yoga pros who have a really specialized niche have gone on a journey to find that thing they are passionate about. Often times it comes by accident or by lucky happenstance that shifts in our brains to become *the* thing we want to share with others.

*Once you learn a new skill or have some new knowledge, bring that info to your current students before you integrate that into new workshops or training. (this is something we will cover more in-depth during our professional development challenge) Use your current students and classes as a Petri dish to experiment and integrate new knowledge.

*there is an aspect of performing to teaching yoga in front of people. if you have performing arts experience that can help you in your ability to capture your students’ attention during classes, and even if you transition into working in the online space. If you've never had performing arts experience, it isn't too late! Take a class, join a troupe, and learn the skills of captivating a crowd. It can be invaluable.

*teaching hybrid can be a challenge in training settings but can be possible to do it skillfully in group class settings. watch for more conversations about this on the podcast as we talk more about what it is to be the next generation of yoga professionals.

Sunlight Streams, Our Sponsor

Virtual Retreat Tickets

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga

Website

Instagram

Yoga Professional Development Free Challenge

Deb Flashenburg

Website

Instagram

Sometimes you get to meet people whom you admire, and they surprise you by being as cool as you hoped they were.

That has always been the case with Kristine Kaoverii Weber.

Kristine and I met last year at a yoga event and I am not kidding when I say she took the house down with some of her comments on a panel discussion.

She is just as insightful here on this podcast as she discusses her history as a yoga pro, how she shifted online before most of the rest of us, and how self-care in a non-negotiable for her.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Please for the love of all that is holy, make your marketing about the people you are talking to. People want to hear your stories, yes, but they really want you to connect with them and speak to their lives and needs. It truly isn't all about you, and for most of us, it makes us uncomfortable when we market that way.

*There is a weird and uncomfortable part of yoga teaching, where you are in the middle of learning to be excellent. And it is uncomfortable, tough, repetitive, and makes you feel like a fraud. But this is part of the up-level of your skills, so let me encourage you to stop fighting the discomfort and settle into it.

*Get on video over and over again. It will become easier.

*Our own self-care is something that is non-negotiable, and it has so much less to do with time and much more to do with your priorities.

*As a gentle reminder, your teaching is not your practice. You need to prioritize yourself and your practice as a yoga teacher. This is not to shame, but to encourage you to rethink and re prioritize yourself as an equal to others--including your students.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga

Website

Instagram

Professional Development Challenge

Kristine Kaoverii Weber

Website

Facebook

Our Sponsor

Sunlight Streams Blog

Virtual Retreat

This week I have Steff Gallante on the podcast, and she and I get to talk about my favorite thing, self-care.

Steff and I are both self-care professionals who hang out in the yoga space and we chat about Ayurveda, Self-Care, and the importance of being able to ask yourself what you really need.

Because that is the thing. It is the thing about yoga, capitalism, the western hustle mindset, about being born and gendered as we are. We are often not taking the time to truly ask ourselves what we need.

Not this summer, Steff and I are going to change that.

Take a listen.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga

Website

Instagram

Professional Development Challenge

Steff Gallante

Website

Instagram

Sunlight Streams

Website

Virtual Retreat

This week we are talking about summertime in the yoga industry.

As we all likely know, yoga is a seasonal job—and summertime is when we slow down. What happens to us when we want to participate in all the busyness of summertime life in North America and also our cash flow is feeling strapped?

Well, I have a few suggestions.

We will talk about having hobbies, how that is good for the soul, and also the power of a survey.

Stay tuned for the next few weeks as we slide this summertime series right into fall, and make goals, projects, and plant seeds in our businesses that we will see harvested later in the year.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Yoga sometimes gets us very single-minded as adults. It is important for us to have a thriving personal life and to pursue hobbies that keep our spirits up and playful.

It is normal in this business to have a slow summer. Summertime is a great time to do some deep assessment for our business and classes, figuring out what is working for us and what isn’t.

Survey your students. Take the time and be brave, ask for feedback, and use that to become better at your job.

If you are looking to shift your career, you need to make space in your schedule to say yes to the things you want. You will likely have to do this by saying no to some things you are already doing. That takes guts, but I promise, it is worth it.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Rebecca’s Instagram

OUR SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Self-Care Blog

This week on the podcast we talk about starting over again mid-year.

What are your goals now that we are more than halfway through the year?

How can we shift to adjust to the person we have become throughout 2023?

I love doing a mid-year reassessment, and acknowledging where I am now, and if I have stuck to the things I said were important when the year started. Or if those things are even important to me anymore.

So let’s get into it, the new goals of mid-year.

I also answer a listener question today—a great question submitted about yoga teacher training program credential changes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

It is normal to reassess your goals halfway through the year. Do your original goals represent who you are now?

What things can you let go of in order to achieve your goals?

What do you want to take steps to move closer towards in the last half of the year?

Who do you want to be on December 31st, 2023? How do you want to feel on that day? Asking yourself that question can help clarify the goals for the last half of the year.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Rebecca’s Instagram

OUR SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Self-Care Blog

This week we are talking all about “the dip” (thanks Seth Godin for the inspo).

The dip is the inevitable downward slide we all experience when we are on an upward trajectory. And if you ask me, yoga in the West has not prepared us for this experience.

Positive vibes, good thoughts, and a mislabeled idea of what non-attachment is has made us ill-prepared when we think about those times in life, both personal and professional, when things don’t go as planned.

So what do we do?

Take a listen and find out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Dips are part of a natural progression in life. We are often taught that if we are “successful” there are not hard times, but it is much better to normalize the experience of difficulty, boredom, and loss of faith on our path forward.

-Numbers heal. Get to know your finances, monetary goals, and build a clear picture of how to get there.

-Self-care during difficult stretches should be a non-negotiable way to preserve your light and your sanity for the other side of this difficult time.

-Reflection and action, while on their own can be effective, together are a superpower.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Working In Yoga Website

This is our last episode for Summertime Self-Care for 2023.

What are you doing to recharge yourself before we get busy?

Have you thought through your concrete goals for the fall and winter?

We’ve got some suggestions, as well as a reminder to figure out ways to rest and make your job a little easier—a little more manageable.

We’d be honored if you took a listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-It is okay to make earning a good and thriving living a goal. It is good for us and for the industry when we value our time and expertise.

-Find ways to make life easier. Plan content in arcs, repeat classes, and value your rest as much as you value your students

-Pressing reset is most effective when we keep ourselves accountable to goals that we set. The rush of creativity when we plan new things is fun, but pairing that with real and tangible goals is how we build the career of our dreams.

RESOURCES:

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

This week’s episode is part of our fall series on Working In Yoga called Evolving Conversations.

We are taking some of the things that we find most difficult to talk about, and purposely push past the typical talking points into a new realm of conversation.

The subject this week is touch and consent, and there is nobody better to discuss this with than Cheri Dostal Ryba.

So take a listen and tell us what you think.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Consent is dynamic, ongoing, and informed.  That means that it is not the same thing every time to every person, it is something that can change and should be rechecked over and over again–even within the same class, and that both the teacher and the student know exactly what is being consented to…every time.

-Don’t have sex with your students.  This shouldn’t need to be said, but I am going to reiterate it because it is important.

-Power dynamics in the yoga studio room matter.  The power dynamic of teachers and students and students with each other all have an impact on how people answer when we ask for consent.

-It is okay to unpack and discover your own voice as a teacher in order to be better at the job.  Ask yourself why you do what you do in a class, why  you say the words you say, and does it serve you and your students, or are you just doing it because you were told to by someone else?

-The subject of consent needs to be moved into the realm of our words to.  Do your students also consent to being lectured about whatever social justice or environmental cause you are passionate about at the moment?  While these things are important, especially to us as yoga practitioners, but consider how and why you say what you say in class.  And if that is what your students signed up for when they came into the room.

-And finally, Make sure you are regulated before you come to class, and especially before you touch people.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Info:

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Cheri’s Info:

Cheri’s Website

Consent & Touch in Yoga Essential Checklist -

Sponsor:

Sunlight Streams Blog

Smart women talking about the thing that lights them up.  In Nicole’s case that is business and money.   Money is the conversation we all avoid like the plague in this industry.  The conversation usually goes: If you are pro-yoga, you are anti-money.  If you are pro-money, that isn’t yoga.  

So I am actively seeking to reframe this conversation.  We deserve to earn a sustainable income as a profession, and if we truly seek to help others–we have an obligation to not be the person who needs help ourselves.

Nicole and I talk yoga studio shop, which can apply to not just owners, but to everyone in the industry interested in trends and the health of our industry.

Key Takeaways:

-Good things happen when good people have more money. Money is just energy, and when it is the hands of people with good values like yoga folks, we can do good work with it.

-Our industry is headed back to life, and yoga and meditation are needed right now.  From a business perspective the motivator for our clients to come to us has shifted.  Folks are looking for mental and emotional health support now more than ever.

-While we are still online, our in-person experiences are back and robust as an industry.  Each business is different, and in our post-covid world there is no “one” right way to run your yoga business.  What an absolute relief, eh?

-Making sure you know what your core values are in your business is critical.  Using those core values to help make decisions about what you do helps you stay aligned with who you are as a business owner.

-Forecast your business past December 2023.  What are you doing for January 2024 and beyond?  Being prepared is the best strategy to a successful future.

-Set future you up to thrive in times of crisis.  Make a list, spreadsheet, Trello board, whatever you want to that helps you prepare for future challenges.  Do the same thing for preparing your business for future success.

-And Finally, something Nicole and I both need to work on, Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back when you achieve your goals, it is vital to training your brain to get used to success.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Nicole’s Previous Episode

Nicole’s Spark Strategies Website

Our Sponsor

Sunlight Streams Blog

This week we are talking about the profession of yoga research w/ Dr. Steffany Moonaz, the founder of Yoga For Arthritis.

Steffany tells us about the unique path she took to yoga therapy and eventually yoga research, and how you can work in the field of research as well.

It is important to hear from yoga professionals who are on the cutting edge of shifting conversations and language, and so I think this podcast episode will inspire you to pull out your most professional pants and head into the arena of yoga with medical and education professionals.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-Yoga therapists tend to take roundabout ways to get into the career.  This is true for so many of us, so if you feel like it is too late, or you have a story you think is “too quirky”--rest assured.  Your story is so many of us.

-” Yoga near me” is such a challenge for those of us who work in specialized populations or the yoga therapy field.  Make sure that those who are in your area know to call you specifically if they are looking for someone who does your kind of work or needs a yoga professional who is different than what would typically come up from a “yoga near me” Google search.

-When getting training it is important to learn from experts who not only have deep knowledge but also know how to teach other people.  Vet your trainers and make sure they can also teach what they know when you are seeking out new information and learning.

-Feedback is critical when learning new content as a yoga pro. Especially as you grow and evolve, being connected to your teachers is crucial to honing your craft. 

-Learn how to teach.  Learn how to teach a thing from a skilled teacher for adults.

-There is a tension between modern Western scientific practice and yoga philosophy and practice that we all hold as we learn more and dive deeper into the teaching of yoga.  If you feel that tension, know that you are totally normal, many of us feel it, and we all strike our own unique balance between the two.

-If you are lucky enough to be interviewing to be a yoga pro in a medical or academic environment…please be on time.  And for the love of all that is holy, wear regular pants.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Steffany Moonaz’s Yoga For Arthritis Website

Symposium for Yoga Research 2023

Sunlight Streams Blog

What if you came across this Hinge profile?

“Single and ready to Mingle 

Caucasian. Female.  Ages 25-39.

Looking to “find her zen”.  Immediate pass on anyone not like me, no chance of a smash.  Must be skinny, wear the latest Lulu, and have a guru.  Spirituality is a must, but not too much or that’s gross.  Not looking for any of that “woo-woo” Sanskrit shit, speak American please.  Ready to get your leg behind your head and pierce your way into my heart?  We might be soulmates, but when I see you out I won’t say hi; it’s cool, you are lucky you found me.  Perpetual upbeat attitude an absolute absolute must.  All vibes welcome, as long as they are good.  Speaking of good, you’ve gotta be healthy.  Healthy food, healthy body.  Healthy, natural odors welcome. I have already manifested you in my mind, so you better step up.  Love a good touch session, but don’t worry–you’ll never know it’s coming.  I know your body better than you. Let’s flow together. #alllivesmatter”

Is that a swipe left for you?

Our red flags are up on the podcast this week, and I think you will find them interesting.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Pamela Brown’s Podcast episode

Let’s really push forward this conversation about online learning, shall we?

So many times we either vilify training to be a yoga teacher online or we act like all online learning is the exact same.

Both of those things aren’t true, as we discussed with my guest today, Zaria Rochester.

Zaria has trained to be a yoga pro in many spaces, both in-person and online-only training, so she offers the unique perspective of someone who has actually trained in both modalities—not just taken one and punched down on the other.

Take a listen.

KEY RESOURCES

*We are often really snobby about the value of online learning vs. in-person learning.  We tend to make people who learn online feel like they are less than those of us who trained in person

*Online learning makes our industry entry point much more accessible.  This is one of the huge benefits of online learning.

*It is uncomfortable to learn the skills to teach well in an online setting.  Especially for those of us who never thought we would be teaching online, it is easy to say that “online” is not as good as in-person learning.  But really, we are saying we need to sit with the discomfort of learning a new skill set in order to share our teaching with more people.

*Teaching online requires us to be much more prepared than we need to be in person.  This means that the “read the room” technique of teaching that many of us use–myself included here, doesn’t apply in an online setting.

*Synchronous vs. Asynchronous learning matters.  Typically we need to have some sort of synchronous learning in order to ensure that quality teachers are coming out of training programs–but the Yoga Alliance requires very little of this.  If you think that should change, make sure you tell them by reaching out at help.yogaalliance.org

*Having a teacher who can guide us as we sort through yoga is critically important, be that teacher online or in person.  If you don’t have that kind of relationship with someone, it will behoove you to seek that out.

*The current Training model within the industry is a lot like learning to swim on the side of the pool.  Making sure you lean into mentorship after your training is over can make a big difference in your first couple of years of yoga teaching.

*Finally, an important quote Zaria repeated from Ava Taylor.  It may take up to seven years to really get a handle on building a career as a yoga pro.  Be prepared–the more we repeat this the more we have realistic expectations for our entire industry.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Zaria’s Website

Sunlight Streams Blog

Have you ever called yourself “trauma-informed”?  Have you ever wondered what it means to be a trauma-informed yoga teacher?

This episode is an evolving conversations episode, where  we take conversations we been having within our industry and push them forward to new places. “trauma-informed” is definitely one of those conversations, so I’ve called in the expert of all experts…Joanne Spence.

Take a listen, friends. She drops some serious wisdom on us.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*PTSD and trauma are common words that we like to throw around in our culture.  Making sure that we use the correct language when defining what you are speaking about is important.  So many of us have experienced trauma, but calling everything “trauma, or PTSD” isn’t always helpful for us or the people in our rooms.

*Hospitality and choices are two big parts of being a trauma-informed teacher, and if you go back to the red flags podcast, these two things are the biggest red flags listed by students of the practice.  Be welcoming.  Give choices.  If you only do two things, do those.

*As usual, thinking deeply about how, when, and why we touch are students is in the forefront of how we can be trauma-informed.

*Trauma-informed teaching can happen in any space.  Accessible yoga spaces, hot-power-flow spaces, and everything in between.  

*The practice that is the best for you is the one that you do.Thank you Joanne for that lovely quote.  We, as yoga professionals, need to hear that as many times as our students do.

*And finally, Intentionality matters in how we practice for ourselves.  We have to show up for ourselves with the same vigor and dedication that we show up for other people.  

Also, Joanne mentioned that I do have an article published in the current issue of Yoga Therapy Today on building SEVA into our business models.  If you want to take a read, the link to that article is in the show notes.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Rebecca’s Article in Yoga Therapy Today

Joanne’s Website

Our Sponsor, Sunlight Streams

So what if that came across your feed?

>>

Independent Yoga Professional looking for the right match.

Warm, welcoming, and inclusive are a must.  Neat and tidy are needed in order to make everyone feel safe and comfortable.  Offering all aspects of yoga, not just movement.  You choose your own path, I am just here to help guide you.  Creative and science-based, always ready to support whatever truth you find for yourself.  

Looking for students who might vibe with me, but all humans are welcome.  Ready to make an impact in your life, but at your own pace.  Silver bullets aren’t a thing, but dreams can happen.  

Swipe right if you are ready for a fun and safe adventure, I promise to give you options of where we go.  

>>

What do you think? Is it a match?

Listen and find out.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

You’ve heard of Accessible Yoga, right?

The movement started with the term, which was coined around 2007 by today’s guest.

Jivana and I talk all about our current ambitions for the yoga teaching and industry landscape, and discuss how we can make yoga accessible to all folks.

We also discuss where we go from here—how is our future more accessible, more non-profit focused, and more dedicated to the tradition and practice of yoga.

Take a listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Covid definitely made us more accessible as an industry.  the ability to find a welcoming community aligned with who you are is also much easier now that more of us are online.  So don’t forget to be your authentic self as you interact with others in the online space–it makes a difference when you are working to find your people.

- Making training accessible is something that is at the forefront of Accessible Yoga’s work.  How we train has always been a system for the privileged, especially when training existed only in person.  Seeing this change is exciting, and it allows us to share our yoga community with even more amazing humans with new and fresh ideas.  This diversity will only make us better and stronger as an industry.

- Online teaching has leveled the playing field for yoga teachers.  Often times before Covid you had to become incredibly popular before you were able to travel and teach.  The internet now allows us an entirely new pathway to build careers as yoga pros.

- The lack of yoga non-profit organizations, is a big red flag for us as an industry.  Full stop.  Non-profits are a sign of a thriving ecosystem–where we have built an industry stable enough to not only provide for ourselves but also to address the needs of those who are not thriving.  

-That said: Here are the names of some other great non-profit organizations in the larger yoga space.  Casa de Paz, SLV, Flow For Black Lives, and Mimi’s Yoga Kids all do work in their respective communities–and you can go back to previous episodes with their founders Gina Barrett, Osiris Booque, and Mimi Felton to get more info on those organizations.

-Empowering folks from all communities to become yoga teachers is really important.  The more we see not only a diverse range of yoga students but yoga teachers as well, the better off both ethically and financially we become.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Accessible Yoga Organization

Accessible Yoga School

SEVA article

Sunlight Streams Sponsor Blog

This week on the podcast we chat with yoga misfit, Nyk Danu.

I love our conversation about alternative spaces, marketing, and mindsets when we talk about all things in the yoga landscape.

Because here is the thing: we don’t need to teach at the same studios, with the same social media accounts, and have the same “manifesting” mindset.

We can host spaces in alternative locations, with gorilla marketing tactics, and take a both/and mentality with our businesses. We can be both true to ourselves and make money while doing it.

Take a listen and find out how.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Yoga has a long history, especially in the late 90s and early 00s, of having classes in alternative spaces, like those that Nyk hosts.  Church basements, back rooms of cafes, attics, and parks, we started in those spaces.  It wasn’t really until the mid-10s that yoga moved as an industry solidly into the studio spaces we see today.

Gorilla marketing does still work.  Nyk mentions this, and I do it too–I love a good poster or flyer for local events.  Don’t necessarily put all your eggs in the social media basket.  Especially if you are looking for a diverse group of students in your classes–your marketing needs to be diverse as well.

”the market is saturated” is a complicated but true sentence.  As Nyk said, the hot/power/vinyasa teacher market is quite full–but for those who have a more therapeutic leaning there is a true need for what we offer.

We got very little relief as businesses during COVID, anywhere.  So for those of us who are still standing as businesses, we should be proud of ourselves.  It will probably be another five years before someone asks me how my studio/apothecary is doing and I say something other than “Well, we are still open”, which folks feel is me being pessimistic–but to me is a reason to be proud.  I am proud to still be here and you should be too.

When you see students who have fallen off of their practice time with you, make sure you give some grace and support to them.  It is often harder to get back to a practice than to get started.

Grief is something we need to talk about.  I know I have said it before, but We have suffered so much loss as an industry in the last 3.5 years–maybe you too lost a legacy studio in your area that meant something to you.  We should pause and continue to acknowledge that loss. 

Finally, as Nyk said, “You should be able to feed yourself, chuck money in the bank, eat organic whenever possible, and help people in the world”.  Yes, you absolutely should, and I truly hope we all dig in and build that industry together.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Nyk’s Website

Nyk’s Instagram

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

This week I am covering the first of what I feel like will be many episodes about yoga teacher training programs.

I have long thought this was the absolute very last subject I wanted to talk about, and after this podcast I am sure it is. But here we are. Talking all things yoga studios and YTTs.

I think you will be surprised.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Have you mapped out Your Yoga Business?

This week we talk to Ava Taylor, founder of Yama Talent, creator of so many things within this industry, and author of the new book Your Yoga Business—which tells you how she did it and you can to.

My favorite part is that she is the true Queen of real talk about the yoga industry. She talks about how long it takes to make yoga a full-time gig, how to market your retreat, and how to build the life you want as a yoga professional.

And there is no shame here. We deserve to make sustainable incomes. Ava tells us how.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: (there are lots in this episode)

*Our brains tell us garbage about our businesses sometimes.  Running numbers and making spreadsheets (or downloading them from online) is a great way to manage your emotions, and understand how to achieve your goals as a pro.

*No one skips the groundwork for being a yoga professional.  There is truly some wisdom in understanding that having a room of only a few people, having a workshop or retreat that doesn’t go forward, and putting lots of work into a small outcome is normal.  Nobody skips this stage.

*Now is the time to build the business of your dreams.  If you have a plan in place, then run.  Don’t walk towards your goals.

*The landscape of yoga changed so dramatically from COVID, and it is important that we acknowledge and grieve, but also plan.  If not us, there is no doubt that chains will move to take up the slack that we aren’t taking.

*In your community there are opportunities to capitalize on based on the loss the yoga industry experienced.  If not you, then who?  Can you identify those opportunities? Can you create collaborations and build something new in your area?  These are conversations worth having, especially now as we plan for the new year.

*Radical wealth redistribution.  That is the name of my game and the game of all of us who are looking to take the money of the few and redistribute it to the many.  As I have said a thousand times, nothing bad happens when good people have more money.  Don’t believe me?  Go looking for good people doing good with their money.  You won’t have to search far.  

*Conflating your fear of growth and change with yoga philosophy is a huge challenge we have as an industry.  I used to do this too.  Your fear of failure, of success, of trying something that might not work out–that can be hidden by our yoga philosophy.  Be careful to make sure you know your core values as a person, as a yoga practitioner, and as a human, and then identify when fear is getting in your way vs. when something doesn’t line up with your values.  Honestly, this is one of the best things you can do for your heart, your nervous system, and your bottom line.

*If you don’t need to hustle, don’t hustle unless you want to.  But please don’t knock those of us who need to make a living at this job.  We need your help to lift all of us up.

*And finally, Please don’t price based on what other people price.  You need to gauge your own expenses and financial goals and then price based on that.  Not what other people charge.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

AVA’S LINKS:

Ava’s Website

Her damn good book, Your Yoga Business

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

This week on the podcast I have the founder of the Original Hot Yoga Association, Val Sklar Robinson on the podcast.

As a lot of you know, I love organizers, and I love people who hold ethics and standards for a community—so Val checks a lot of boxes for me. She shares how she started her own trade organization, OHYA (oh-yeah), and we talk about professionalism, organizing, Bikram, grief, corporate yoga studios, bust down some myths, and chat about boundaries.

That’s our new word for 2024, friends. Boundaries.

Take a listen and be inspired.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*What do you think about regulation within our industry?  Val talks about how in the 90s there was a lot of talk about the yoga industry regulating itself before the government stepped in to regulate us.  Thus the rise of the Yoga Alliance.  What are your thoughts on this? 

*We absolutely can organize in our own communities.  Val started OHYA with a website and a logo, and now runs retreats, organizes gatherings and trainings, and holds a standard for her community.  If that is your passion, consider finding out how to do that too.

*Grief for loss is ongoing.  Especially in a community like hot yoga where Bikram is still out there teaching and doing potential harm, the rest of yoga should be looking at how we can support and lift up those who have been hurt by his actions.  

*Corporate yoga has absolutely gone after hot yoga studios first.  But there is a fever pitch for people to support our local studios and teachers since COVID, so now is the time to make sure that everyone in your local community knows who you are and what you are about.  Take advantage of this time of “local” support.

*Bikram Yoga was never a franchise.  I know–I thought it was too, so if you did I get it.  I am glad to be educated to know what it was really like. 

*OHYA has no affiliation with Bikram yoga or the new organization KPC Life.  So if you are looking for a non-Bikram affiliated hot yoga teacher for your studio, go to their website www.ohyassociation.com

*Imagine being a part of an organization that stands for ethical business practices, like Val and OHYA.  I am going to be honest, my key takeaway from that is that this attitude is refreshing as hell.

*Finally–BOUNDARIES!  Can we spend 2024 talking about how to make better boundaries with our students, in our lives, and in our businesses?  Val is right, we need a huge dose of this medicine.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Val’s Info:

Original Hot Yoga Association Website

Hot Yoga Pasadena

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

This week is a conversation from the vault that didn’t make it to the podcast feed last year because sometimes life gets to be a lot.

But the conversation is so good, and so relevant that I am re-airing it here at the end of 2023, so you can hear my friend Pooja Virani, and I chat about all things money in our pants.

It is a fun conversation with some stats, trends, and more.

RESOURCES:

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Pooja’s Website

Grandview Research Article.

Self-Care Weekend 2024

Another bonus episode with my friend Pooja is up this week.

Pooja and I talk about yoga’s moral superiority complex, which essentially that means we often think are more moral, perfect, or virtuous than other people.

This will come up several times in our perfectionism season, so stay tuned and subscribe!

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Pooja’s Website

Welcome to our year-end wrap-up episode on Working In Yoga!

We are counting down the things that happened this year, why they matter, and what we are looking forward to in 2024.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Yoga In The World Study from Yoga Alliance

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Welcome to 2024, Yoga Pros.

Our first podcast of the year is with the delightful Michelle Cassandra Johnson, and I was lucky enough to get to ask her so many questions. We had a nuanced conversation regarding being of service to the world, how we hold space for grief, and the tension between the spiritual call to be quiet and the noise we experience in our lives.

Take a listen to all her wisdom.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Often in yoga and wellness we shy away from grief and other uncomfortable topics. In this space, we should do more to carve out the opportunity for folks to feel uncomfortable–because the reality is that we will one day all die and lose everything we have.  It is important to remember this work is a main tenant of a yogic practice, and not shy away from it.

*To quote Michelle: The spiritual crisis we are moving through at this moment is because we think that we are separate. Using the Kleshas can help us work through this suffering.

*Are you feeling overwhelmed at the idea of shifting our work into experiencing both the collective and individual experience?  As Michelle said, “I don’t know if my practice is working, but it is what I have”.  This has been true for me many times in my life, and perhaps for you too.  Taking a moment to shift your mindset from “Is it working” to “Does it serve to support me” might help positively change your perspective.

*Getting clear on where we can be of service and what our role is can help guide us forward as we shift to be of service more within the world.  I got to ask Daniel Simpson, author of The Truth Of Yoga about this as well, and I think you will love what he says. 

*It sometimes takes a beat for anyone to figure out how to respond to heavy situations in the world, so if you feel called to respond, great.  But if you don’t, it is also okay to take a moment and pause, research, and figure out what you believe, and then respond if needed.

*Take some time in this new year to pause and create an intention for 2024.  I do this work for myself as I said in my intro, and so does Michelle.  It is worth taking a moment to pause, reflect, and get excited for the upcoming year.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Can we spend some time together talking about perfectionism?

I think so many of us in the yoga space, and in life in general, struggle with this idea of what it is to be “perfect”, and unwittingly our industry has supported perfection thinking instead of deconstructing it.

So this podcast is an intro to a series of episodes about perfectionism in the yoga space. I want us to deconstruct this idea of why we are so obsessed with the “perfect” clothes, poses, actions, and ideas.

And I think you are going to love what my guests have to say.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Yoga classes are great at telling us how to move our bodies, but not so much on how to think.

So this week’s podcast has a guest who will do just that. Enter Dr. Shyam Ranganathan to the chat to talk to us about how we think about perfection in the yoga space, why we have trouble as leaders being less than perfect, and what yoga philosophy actually says in regards to figuring out what is “right”.

This is such a great conversation, and Dr. Ranganathan will have you listening, and rewinding again and again.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*When you are faced with someone who is speaking a truth that you don’t like, take a few moments to reflect what part of you is having trouble reconciling what they have to say.  One of the most potent things we can do as yoga practitioners is to get very good at figuring out what things we need to work on in ourselves, and what things simply are not a part of our own belief system.  

*Virtue ethics is a Western mode of thinking that asks us to start with the “right person”, where we choose a person who we deem to be “right” and then we do what they say.  Yoga, conversely, asks us to start with the idea of right doing and then you spend a lifetime practicing the essential traits of right doing–as you see them.  Not as someone else sees them.

*The customer is always right is a difficult thing to utilize when you are teaching something, because the customer always doesn’t know what they need.  So take that into consideration when you are making marketing plans for your business. You’ve got to know and understand what it is that yoga is really about, so that once customers come in the door you can teach them.

*”Yoga is subversive”, and the beginning of this journey is dissatisfaction.  So once you get people in the door you can share with them what we are actually doing here.  This, to me, was one of the most freeing things Dr. Ranganathan said–we can market and run businesses effectively within the scope and ethics of yoga.  In fact, it might be easier than we think.

*Good leadership requires vulnerability, and it is a difficult thing to manage.  If you are in charge of other people in the yoga space, make sure that you figure out how to hold the tension between having healthy professional boundaries and allowing other people to see your weaknesses and mistakes.  It is something I am challenged with daily, so if you are struggling I am with you.  We will figure it out together.  Your first step is to make sure you are being a serious and dedicated student.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Rebecca’s Instagram

Dr. Ranganathan’s website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

As yoga professionals we have all had moments where we have felt like we should be more perfect.

Do we know enough?

Do we honor yoga enough?

Should we even be doing this job?

What we do when perfectionism hits and how do we shift through those feelings into something that nourishes and cares for us the way we deserve?

Ann Swanson, author of The Science of Yoga & Meditation For The Real World has some answers for us.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*When we have been the person in your family or community who smooths everything over for everyone else; or the person who gets high praise in early life environments like school for doing well–it is easy to think that this is the path we need to stick to as an adult.  Being good feels good, safe, and what you are supposed to do.  Instead, consider how messiness and even failure lead to wild creativity and joy over time.  I know it feels scary at first, but embrace the mess and see where it leads you.

*Sending loving kindness to yourself when you are a person with perfectionistic tendencies can feel like a joke at first.  I remember once when I was training to be a yoga therapist in 2010 one of the teachers leading the asana class before our learning day repeated the phrase “You are safe, you are whole, and you are just where you need to be”.  My brain’s very first thought at that: “babe, you don’t know me”.  

That is one of the things we often think as perfectionists.  Our experience of our failures should always outweigh the softness and kindness we receive from others.  If that is relatable to you, go ahead and re-listen to Ann’s guided loving-kindness meditation and really take on the idea that you are worthy and whole and deserving of love and kindness…especially from yourself, and just like everyone else.

*Finally, go flip a coin.  Ann suggested this on the podcast, and I have actively practiced a similar version of this meditation for years.  Ann tells us to find something that we are struggling to decide on, take a coin and flip it.  Heads is yes you do it, tails is no you don’t.  Once you get the result sit with it for a bit and see how that feels in your body.  In my experience it is the force of your nervous system to make a decision that creates a bit of that internal wisdom we are always wanting to tap into to help guide us through making that choice.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Ann Swanson’s Website

Preorder Ann’s Book

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

It isn’t often you have a guest on a podcast who doesn’t mind a Joker reference in the title. In fact, I didn’t even ask Colin if it was okay that I called the podcast this, because I know he doesn’t take himself so seriously that he would cringe at the reference to a morally dark character from a comic universe.

And that’s the theme of today’s podcast. Why are we so darn serious? Is there some reason why we can’t have fun, in our classes, in our language, in our hearts?

Colin and I tackle this topic while laughing a lot and come up with some serious thoughts.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*The first few generations of yoga teachers here in North America had to fight for credibility within the professional space.  I will never forget when I first started partnering with local medical pros there was a PT in my area who was astounded at the results her clients were getting when they saw me.  I made her job easier.  So she said to me “I am just going online and grabbing a yoga teacher certificate so I won’t need you anymore”.  That comment divorced me from the 1000s of hours of professional training I had up until that point and the 1000s more hours of skillset development I had from doing the work.  

And honestly, I don’t know how much better our credibility is as a profession today. There is this joke that Marc Maron did on a comedy special that lives rent-free in my brain. He chooses to not make fun of yoga teachers (while making fun of us) because we are too sad to be mean to. Check out this Marc Maron clip and see what I mean.  (the yoga teacher bit is 2 minutes in)

*Our culty-adjacent and deep-crunchy behavior within the industry is something we need to address.  While I am never going to tell you that sunning your perineum doesn’t give you benefits–I am not a medical professional, just a woman who wants you to use some sunscreen on that area first; but that needs to exist separately from our everyday professional lives.  Colin’s theory that we over-compensate for those kinds of activities that exist within our spaces is spot-on.  And when that happens, nobody wins.

*Who speaks for yoga?  THIS. This is the issue.  Pop culture and social media represent us in a very different way than our normal working lives actually manifest. 

The loudest voices seem to be winning right now, but I believe that we can change that if we reframe and rethink how we interact within the online spaces, and how we represent our profession.

*Colin & I both agree that we weaponize the philosophical aspects of the Yoga Sutras against each other within our spaces.  Let’s stop doing that, okay?  I think that we need to unpack our attachment to moral superiority; and for many of us that can slide back to why we started our yoga practice in the first place.  While I don’t think most of us started practicing yoga because we wanted to feel superior to other people–I do think if we are honest with ourselves it is a little like why we feel passionate about recycling.  We do it both because it is good for the planet and because we can smile just a little more smugly at Aunt Martha who uses all plastic everything at the dinner table.  

This can sound harsh, but trust me, when you take a deep wrestle with this idea it becomes so much easier to laugh at your flaws in a loving way.  OF COURSE, we like feeling better about ourselves in comparison to others.  Life is hard, even during the best of times, so give yourself and others grace that this internal motivation doesn’t make us bad.  It makes us human.

*”In Your Hot, Naked, Goat Yoga Craft Beer class are you establishing consent?”  That is my favorite quote of Colin’s on this podcast.  That, to me, is a vitally important question. Let's focus on the importance of the last part of that statement more than we do on vilifying the first.

*Getting clear about what is marketing is an incredibly enlightening process.  Remember, if you are a business, be it a brick-and-mortar, an online teacher, or an IC yoga teacher who travels around…everything you post online is marketing. Again.  If you present as a business of any kind online, everything you post is a form of marketing. So saying what yoga “is” or what yoga is “for” are marketing statements first and foremost.  Consider talking about yoga online in a way that doesn’t mean you need a definition OR a prescription to sell it.  We will talk more about marketing with the incredible Tristan Katz later this season. You are gonna love what they have to say.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Colin’s Instagram

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

What does the internet think is the perfect yoga teacher?

Well, I found out.

It’s a long list, friends. So get a pen, pour yourself some tea, and have a listen.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

I think a lot of people are like me, we enjoy being right more than we like being wrong.

But I also think that leads a lot of us down this path of seeking the ever-elusive perfection, and that causes us some challenges that we might not have otherwise had.

So Daniel Simpson and I get into why I am maybe wrong sometimes (or a lot of the time), how we can evolve yoga past this idea of only personal liberation, but also focusing on being good citizens in the world, and more.

You are gonna love this chat.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Is praising our students just a version of praising yourself?  That is an interesting train of thought, and I am curious of your what you think about it. I had a good long reflection about this after my conversation with Daniel, and I realized that I have never much been into praising my students, I just really love telling them that they are great.  What about you?  Are you a praise teacher?  Do you like being praised as a student?

*If we are all one, how do we have relationships with each other?  There is something I want to highlight about that question because I talk a lot to folks about how to use yoga philosophy and lifestyle principles to connect with other people.  I think our relationships (of all kinds, I am not just talking about romantic relationships) are some of the most meaningful and nurturing experiences we can have in our lives, and there is a lot of data to support that claim.  Have you read The Good Life by Drs. Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz?  If you are curious to explore more about the science behind this topic it is a good and easy read.

*Liberation from yoga is liberation from wanting anything. 

*We can develop an understanding that while yoga texts ask us to become better versions of ourselves, we also can take this knowledge and become better citizens in the world.  I love this idea that Daniel puts forth to us.  Can we expand our understanding of liberation to also understand our relationships with each other and our greater communities?

*We have to find a way to acknowledge our individual experience within a collective experience. As I talked about in the chat, I use this concept very directly while teaching yoga asana classes.  I build in time within my classes where my students have the opportunity to answer the call of what their own experience and body needs, and there are also times in that same class where we come together to have a collective experience.  Nervous system co-regulation is pretty magical for creating the collective experience, and it is our job as yoga pros to remind our students to also answer that individual call as well.

*Stop getting so hung up on “me” and instead be open to the idea that “I might be wrong”.  I am going to work on this one, probably for the rest of my life.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Daniel’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

Let’s admit it.

Yoga and wellness spaces can sometimes be intimidating at best, and downright unwelcoming at worst.

And a lot of our experiences within those spaces reinforce the idea that we need to strive for an ideal, and that ideal is something decided outside ourselves.

So this week I chat with my friend Steff Gallante on our participation in wellness as pros for the last 20 years, and what we have seen, heard, and experienced ourselves.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Guilt and shame can buckle us, on a lot of levels.  In our life experiences we often butt up against the feeling of guilt and shame, which feel uncomfortable.  To off-gas that feeling we then turn and make other people feel shame and guilt.  We are currently in the midst of this vicious cycle in both our local communities and on a global scale.  Please stay attuned to how you are feeling so you can pause when you are feeling that guilt and shame and deal with it.  Yoga gives us the tools to do this, so let’s commit to using them.

*Change begins with small steps.  This is an important step that Steff pointed out.  You don’t need to start your work at deconstructing perfectionism by having a hard conversation with a yoga studio owner or confronting a family member.  You can start by deciding to shift your expectations of how you show up for yourself, and also maybe try wearing sweats to class and offering your real-life experiences to your students.  Not in a way that leverages your challenges or traumas, but an offering to your students who you are.  It is a relief to see the hard days of people we look up to because we all have them. 

*Perfectionism in wellness spaces shows up in sneaky ways.  The way we talk about food, movement, and behavior can be laced with deep undertones of perfectionism.  It is okay to eat cake, cookies, meat, to not have your feet hip distance apart in down dog, and more.  If what I said just made you feel a little uncomfortable, maybe you can pause and examine why.  The reason could be “sugar makes my belly ache” or “but it looks nice when your feet are the same distance apart” or some other reason.  The action isn’t to prove your belief right or wrong but to understand why you believe it.

*There is SO much pressure to be the perfect person as the teacher.  Most of us have a complicated relationship with wellness because it is both our job and our practice.  How do you feel about that?

*It is critical that we embody self-compassion so we can model that for our students.  This is something I consider to be a high priority for not only my happiness but for my job.  It is difficult, and I struggle with this one consistently, but I also can hold space and grace for myself to grow and change in this journey of life.

*Doing something for the sake of saying you are doing it is not the right reason for doing anything.  For example, you don’t need to be up at 5 a.m. practicing yoga unless you want to because that is what lights you up.  I don’t do that anymore, and I feel 0% guilt about it.

*Using yoga practices for gold stars instead of your ease and support is frankly not the appropriate way to use a yoga practice–<listener: the narrator is reminding herself as much as you>.  Please use the practice to support you, even if your practice involves vigorous physical movement.  That movement is there to support you, not so you can get a gold star.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Steff’s Website

Steff’s Instagram

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

Let’s talk festivals, yoga friends.

Festivals, conferences, and workshops are where we learn, connect, and nourish our profession together.

We meet new friends, nerd out on our favorite topics, and share our stories with other yoga folks who understand our language, values, and passions.

So this week Heather Shereé Sanders talks to us about the Sedona Yoga Festival, what lights her inner fire about networking people together, and why themes capture the best of the moment.

Key Takeaways:

*It used to be the goal to be a yoga teacher who travels, but through covid, it made the industry shift perspectives on where we go and why. There used to be a circuit that yoga teachers who were well known would travel on, teaching in different cities all over the world.  Now those festivals have gone by the wayside, replaced by more local and regional feeling events that foster community.  I love a lot of what this shift has indicated for us and our priorities.  How about you?

*Especially here in 2024, I agree with Heather that we just want to get back together again.  We want to gather in groups and connect and move and learn and grow together.  Heather’s theme of the conference this year, being all together, now, is what we all want.

*We do want to connect as much as learn, and if you ask me this is THE reason I go to festivals and conferences.  I swear at least ½ of the people on this podcast I have connected with in some way during a festival or conference.  I love meeting y’all out in the wild, learning what lights your inner fire, and getting to share bits of your passion on this podcast.  So let me say a heartfelt thank you to those of you whom I have met in these spaces–you are the best.

*Do you want to do events?  Small events?  Big events?  You all need a theme.  My studio community just gave me some guff for hosting a potluck without a theme–and they were right.  If you want to know more about how to do this, I just read a book called The Art Of Gathering by Priya Parker to learn how to make skillful parties, gatherings, and events.

*How are we facilitating connection in our communities?  I know that this is something I have asked before on the podcast, and connection is one of my forever themes for my life, but I want to say we don’t need to host giant events to facilitate community among our people.  Book clubs, potlucks, murder mystery nights, movie screenings & discussions, and collaborative outside experiences like forest baths are some of the things I have done in my community that have been well-received.  I have done bigger events too, of course, but those small events can seem much less intimidating and also create great meaning for people.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Sedona Yoga Festival Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

This is the conversation I didn’t know I needed.

Productivity is such a huge part of who we are, and that feels like it goes double for those of us who work for ourselves, which is a lot of us in the yoga space.

So Pooja Virani is back, and she and I talk all about what it means to be productive.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

-Perfectionism and Productivity are both facets of white supremacy.  As I said in the podcast, we will cover this more extensively in a couple of weeks, but for now just know that while the term “white supremacy” may seem like an intimidating term it is really just a system that puts one ideal, person or way of being above the others.  

-Who are your rest role models?  Our sponsor, Sunlight Streams has an entire blog asking this question and it is a good one.  Who do you look to when you are thinking about people who have a good balance between productivity and rest?

-All of us, seriously all of us, struggle with the balance of feeling like you need to always be doing things–or feeling guilty because we aren’t doing the things.  I know I can’t say this enough times, but especially in the wellness space we need to be cognizant of the fact that we hold ourselves to a higher standard than we hold other people.  Let’s instead pour ourselves the largest cup of grace that we can and understand that while we have the skills and knowledge to do more, that we are human.  

-Look.  It is okay to be sick of yoga.  We are so desperate for boundaries around yoga as your job/yoga as your practice in this profession.  What we seem to espouse is something that most people can’t actually achieve.  It is normal to get sick, and we are normal people.  I realize that optimal health is our goal, but people get colds. 

-Progress does not have to happen in only one way.  That is my favorite quote of Pooja’s in this episode. I think it is important to highlight this idea as we go forward to create the profession we all want to be a part of.  Our career paths are different.  Our objectives, ideals, and production is different.  But we are all in service of Yoga.    

-You are already doing enough.  Full stop.  No exceptions, no reasons why not. One of the marketing campaigns I started at my studio in the month of February was “You already got an A+ for the week” and we are doing it every Monday morning.  This was inspired from a conversation I had with a teacher at the studio, where we realized we all just need to hear that we are already doing A+ work, and you don’t need to grind hard all week to get it.  

-Our industry can come together to model a better way of working, I truly believe this.  We are equipped with tools that other industries don’t have. We already talk about physical and mental health and mindset in ways that other jobs and businesses don’t.  So lets commit to figuring out healthy ways for us to work and be productive.  It doesn’t need to be perfect.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Pooja’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

EXTRAS

White Supremacy Culture website

Nap Ministry

Marketing in the yoga space makes me actively cringe sometimes.

When I venture outside my very tightly curated algorithm, I find a whole world of matching athleisurewear sets, “quick tips for the best down-dog”, handstand tutorials, and a whole lot of things that don’t make me think of the rich and nurturing practice of yoga that I have come to love.

But is that what we need in order to market ourselves in this current yoga space?

Tristan Katz slides into the chat with the best marketing advice ever. I can’t wait for you to hear it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Marketing and experiences need to match.  If you are marketing your business or studio, make sure there is congruence between the two.  Nobody wants to come into a yoga class or space thinking it is one thing and getting another.  And if you feel like you need to do things in order to market your business that aren’t exactly “you”, well you don’t.  I promise.

*Everything we do that communicates with our customers is marketing.  The signs, the social media, the value statements–that is marketing.  When you talk about how hard it is to run a business, or get students, that is also marketing.  I am big fan of the idea that marketing is like trying to get laid.  Make sure there is enthusiastic consent in all things and marketing and business get a lot more fun.

*Check boxes to be a good person from anyone is marketing.  Consider using stories and relating to people instead of the “5 ways to improve <this>” type strategy that the 2010s made so popular online.  

*Please consider marketing like building Relationships vs. trying to make transactions.  There are a lot of things you could quote from marketing terminology, for example the “know, like, & trust factor”, but essentially it is just nicer to build relationships than it is to see people as transactions.

*Finding your voice as a teacher is a lot like finding your voice as a marketer.  Start with asking yourself the question, “is there something I am always talking about?” regarding yoga and see where that thread leads you.  It is an excellent place to start.

*We’re not selling widgets, this is yoga and we should be approaching marketing yoga with as much grace, joy, and humanity as we approach everything else.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Tristan’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

I had a question that was bothering me.

From episode one of this series (w/ Dr. Shyam Ranganathan) I have been asking and chatting about how we are holding our own activist and change-maker selves to perfectionist standards.

So decided to end this series with an expert here to answer that question.

Enter Colice Sanders to the chat. The covers so much about the history of white supremacy, why it matters, and brings up new things for us all to think about.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Langauge matters.  I am a huge fan of defining terms, and Colice is too.  Making sure you are precise in your definitions and terms can help communicate, clarify, and overall understanding.  Colice defines a lot of terms for us in this podcast, so take note and use those terms wisely.

*White supremacy and white culture is something we rarely talk about.  It manifests in our culture in things like individualism vs. collectivism, perfectionism, hoarding of power, and other ways.  Colice goes over the whole list, and take a listen back and take notes.

*Awareness.  We are aware.  This is one of my favorite points she brings up.  Often we justify being unkind to people, especially online, for the sake of awareness.  Consider that awareness isn’t the issue, but our lack of focused and impactful action especially in our communities that is where we are truly missing the mark.

*Using perfectionism to police each other in yoga and social justice space is just the worst.  If you have ever felt guilty or shamed for how you show up remember two things.  1. They aren’t the cops.  And even if they are we don’t talk to cops.  2. Perhaps someone said something that you do need to think about, so don’t dismiss all critique out of hand, but take a few moments to separate what you need to learn from what made you feel bad.  

You are not a bad person if you are learning, and the fact that you are learning also doesn’t give other people carte blanche to shame you into submission about your thoughts and feelings.  Both of those things can be true at the same time.

*Colice’s example about social-justice-focused tourism and missionary work was so spot-on.  We do this sort of travel and tourism in the yoga space, so let’s rethink our “good intentions” and consider giving people a meaning and purpose that extends beyond doing one thing for a short period and then going back to our regular lives.  We can support people locally, be environmentally conscious at home, and support folks who are unhoused in our communities all the time–and yoga spaces can become hubs for those things to happen.

*Moral superiority seeps into a lot of our lives.  How have *you* felt morally superior in ways that have been detrimental to your health and life?  I have said 100 times this season that I love to be right, which is moral superiority’s younger cousin.  It is worth a moment’s thought about what makes you feel superior—food? Movement? Spiritual calm? As good as any of those things can be, they can also take a turn into making us feel better than other people in a way that harms and doesn’t help.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Colice’s Website

White Supremacy Culture website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

8 Guests. Tons of words of wisdom. A mini-lesson on white supremacy.

That’s what I call a series.

This episode takes clips from each episode and guides you through the small changes, experiences, and big-picture ideas that made this series so special.

A huge thanks to all of my guests: Dr. Shyam Ranganathan, Ann Swanson, Colin Hall, Daniel Simpson, Steff Gallante, Pooja Virani, Tristan Katz, and Colice Sanders.

Y’all are the coolest people I know.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

EXTRAS

White Supremacy Culture website

Admit it, you’ve probably at least thought once or twice about taking your yoga students on a retreat.

Where would you go?

Costa Rica? Puerto Rico? California? Italy?

Maybe somewhere closer for you like a state park or nature sanctuary.

This week we chat with travel expert Heather Horrell about what it takes to organize wellness travel, what trends she is seeing, and so much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Wellness travel is booming right now, and looks to be for the foreseeable future.  If travel is a part of your business plan or career dreams, consider really diving into what that dream might look like in reality.

*The guilt about selling this ideal of the epitome of wellness while also not being a part of it anymore is something I think is a huge issue within our industry. “You are selling something you no longer are” is something that Heather said that really resonated with me.

To me this is akin to hearing spiritual leaders describe a crisis of faith.  And it is totally normal.  See out guidance or take a break if you can and need to.

*Studios are great places to foster wellness travel and community.  I know so many studios that have retreats, within their country and internationally, as a part of their offerings.

*Being more local is going to be a trend this season, and I suspect for the next couple of years.  If you are conscious of folks’ pocketbooks and the accessibility of travel for most people, I understand that–Heather and I both agree that this is a big discussion.  But seeing if you can host events that are more easily accessible by car or train is a good option, and also having discounted rates, sponsored spots, and other opportunities for discounted rates (like volunteer spots) are great ways to make your adventures more accessible to lots of people.  

*Creating experiences is another theme throughout this series.  In the last of this series I talk with the lead for the travel team from the Himalayan Institute, which has had a long history of travel tourism as an organization.  If this topic interests you, take notes from our guests this season, Heather, Amy and Ransom about how you can create experiences for your own community.

*Finally, start small!  You don’t need to book that trip to Costa Rica right away, you can take a trip to a Botanical Garden near you, that cute little tourist town an hour away, or rent some cabins in the woods for the night.  There are so many ways you can create community and connection while traveling, and you don’t need to go far.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Heather’s Facebook Group

Heather’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

Have you ever been curious about presenting at a conference?

Wanted to know what event planners are looking for, want you to know, and what to steer clear of?

Amy Zellmer, conference coordinator and owner of Midwest Yoga + Life Magazine answers all this and more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*The best part of event planning is that you get to hang out with other people who have the same job that you do.  This is one of my favorite things about conferences and festivals.  

*Themes are useful, especially if you are trying to curate a specific kind of experience for people  While having a theme is not required, it does help with decision-making.  

*If you are the organizer visualize how the flow of the event is going to go, and then reverse engineer how to get there.  You need to know your target audience, how they are going to move in the space, and what kinds of vendors you will have–if any, and where they will be set up.. 

*Want to present at a conference?  Here are the best tips: make sure you completely fill out the forms, and bring a little bit of yourself to the application too–details are important.  Organizers are looking for creative folks who are bringing something different than what they would normally see at a typical studio event.

*Put something personal in your bio, because that makes people feel like they know you a little bit better.  

*Being a participant in the event that you are teaching in also makes a big difference.  If you are introverted like I am, I totally understand if you are flinching right now–but conferences are the time to interact and connect.  When you go home, have your heavy blankets and dark room ready–you will have fun chatting and participating all weekend long, I promise.

*And finally, Pitching for magazines are similar to pitching for conferences.  Follow the instructions, have a catchy pitch, and meet your deadlines.  The thing is this: if you are easy to work with there is a huge advantage for the event coordinators.  You’ll get asked back, and that’s the goal.

RESOURCES

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Amy’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

There is something special when we take folks out of their own lives and to a new place.

This week on the podcast I got the chance to talk with The Himalayan Institute’s Ransom Hare, who runs their retreat program, and we had the best time chatting.

Ransom talks to us about what they do to get alleviate all those travel worries and jitters that folks have when they travel, what our role is in their experience, and so much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*When traveling, you are creating an experience for your students who come with you.  So thinking about how you build that for folks who are traveling with you is key.  As Ransom said, the Himalayan Institute utilizes tech before their trips to get through the awkward conversations that happen with folks where they don’t get to know each other, and this is just one of many ways you can do this.  It could be encouraging people to write everyone else a letter, meeting online, or having some “get to know you” questions passed around before the trip.  

*I love that the HI uses online platforms to connect people who are coming together for a travel experience.  This is so innovative, and I think we can all take note of this idea and find our own version of it for travel and conference experiences we are creating.

*Energy exchange is something I talk about a lot in real life when I am chatting with people about business.  In an ideal world, we are putting in the same amount of energy as our clients & students–so we put in effort to get them into our business and on our retreats, and they meet us with your financial resources, time, and effort.  Keep this in mind when you are doing “customer service” in experiences.  Have you put in the appropriate amount of effort to match your clients or students?  Is the reverse true?  

*Figuring out how to manage tension is a big topic in yoga, business, travel, social justice, and other spaces.  How are you able to be the calm and manage your own tension in times when your students are feeling frustrated or ill at ease?  This is something I actually think we don’t train for enough–can we respond to our clients, students, and co-workers with calm and ease; or is our habit to offset our tension to make other people feel badly?  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Himayalan Institute’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

So many of the tasks we consider to be difficult in business are just building, maintaining, and creating boundaries around our relationships.

Our marketing is a relationship with the people who follow us.

Our managing is relationship building with our teams & colleagues.

And the law helps us create boundaries around our relationships.

This week on the podcast Cory Sterling talks about things we should think about, legally speaking, when we talk about both retreats and yoga teacher training programs.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Cory’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

Yoga Teacher Trainings.

What do we love? What can we do without? What are we missing?

I asked two absolute gems of yoga professionals, Theo Wildcroft and Harriet McAtee to answer that question. They’ve collaborated for their new book The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, and this conversation is a deep dive into what we love and need more of as we train yoga pros.

You’ll want to listen to every minute.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Friendships are important, and professional friendships are a sweet treat in our lives.  Whom have you met in your yoga teaching journey who has become an important part of your life?  If you are missing that aspect of your yoga professional practice make sure you find the time to connect locally or regionally through a workshop, continuing education course, or conference, or festival.  

*PEDAGOGY!!  It is a major theme throughout this series.  We aren’t teaching people best practices for how to teach.  This is a major challenge when you run into yoga teachers who don’t know how to run a room effectively, are unsure how to bring their own thoughts to life in a respectful and appropriate way, and make us look sloppy as a profession.  So please, consider not only what you teach in your yoga classes, but also how and why.

*If you aren’t being responsive to the people in the room whom you are with you, that isn’t teaching.  That is live-action repetition.  Now I think there is a place for that form of yoga performance or facilitation, but a skillful teacher is responding to the people in the room in real time with options, suggestions, and guidance.  This isn’t just yoga teaching, this is true of teaching anything.  YouTube can replace us if all we are is repetition.  However, if we can answer the call of our students, even if they all have different needs, that is the best of teaching.  

*Accountability discussions are critical to how we operate within our industry space. Not only should we hold ourselves accountable, but we should also hold the institutions that represent us accountable.  We all get better if we own what we need to improve upon and look to our community to help shift in the right direction.

*Yoga exists in the world, and as a result can be used to reinforce oppressive systems like hetero-normative patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism.  Our investment in deconstructing those systems for *ourselves first* is our primary action not to be part of this challenge.

*Yoga = Union or Yoga is a liberation practice are two “lost in translation” ideas within our modern yoga space.  Liberation from life is different than liberation from the landlord, (unfortunately, if you ask me but whatever).   

*How can you draw in more subtlety and simplicity to your teaching?  That is a question we can all ask ourselves.  If you normally teach 25 or 30 poses in a class, what does a class look like if you only teach 12 but discuss nuance and experience within that frame?  How can you still teach “yoga” if you aren’t so reliant on the constant movement of quick-paced asana?

*Language matters.  How we speak about our poses, our body experiences, somatic movement, and the words we use to make people feel comfortable and interested in their bodies and brains is important to consider. Ask yourself If they make sense, if they are welcoming, and–and this one is one we don’t talk about a lot, if they are clear and easy to understand and process for others.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Buy The Book

Harriett’s Website

Theo’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

What do we need to actually know about anatomy?

Is sequencing really important?

Are there hard and fast rules about alignment, or is it all just a style preference?

Take a listen to my conversation with Erin Ehlers to find out.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Erin’s Website

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

Let’s talk fundamentals this week.

How can we improve our training, both individually and as an industry?

I find it super helpful to ask pros in other fields how they train, and what they are seeing in their movement profession—so that is what I did.

I asked Pilates instructor, studio owner, yoga teacher, former professional dancer, and altogether rad human Hannah Teutscher how she trains.

We got into the thick of things talking about creativity, building a box so you can think outside it, and more.

Take a listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Teacher training can be a good source of revenue, yes.  But, to all those who think that yoga studios train to keep their doors open–in large part, we don’t.  The hourly wage that most of us make training vs. working on other things or in our businesses is not what folks perceive it to be.  

*Lots of businesses train because they need workers.  This leads me to a primary question I want to answer in this series: what does it take for us to level up our expectations of trainings? and how should trainings work in general? Essentially, as I say in the podcast, we need to build a box.   HOW do we uplevel the industry’s training standards in such that way that only the people who are truly invested in trainings and feel called to serve the industry in that way sign up for shepherding the next generation of yoga teachers into our profession?

*Here it is: pedagogy again.  How do we teach people how to command a room?  Good question, eh?  How do you command a room yourself when you are teaching?  Is that a teachable skill?

*We create an atmosphere in a room when we teach.  As Hannah said “every good story has a beginning, middle, and an end.” and that is how most of us structure our classes.  But for those who are new to teaching we need to build a structure others can follow within how we teach.  What is your structure?  How do you think about teaching a class?

*OHMYGODITISNTJUSTUS!!  I don’t know why, but I found it very comforting that we are not the only movement modality that struggles with professionalization and standards.  There is something more to this thought process, and I would be curious what you think.  Why do movement modalities, in particular, struggle with this?  As I said, dentists aren’t out there questioning their scope of practice–they get that their gig is teeth.  Why do we struggle in this way?

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Hannah’s Website

Find Taylor Casey

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

Why does it seem like nobody tells us what we got right?

Our culture, inside and outside the yoga space, seems to thrive on constant critique and “constructive criticism”.

But what are absolutely nailing?

I have an idea.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Find Taylor Casey

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

There is so much to dive into in regards to teacher trainings.

How long do we train for? Is our system working for us?

Are teacher training and deeper learning the same thing?

Should I run a “social justice” focused teacher training?

Anjali and I get into it all. Take a listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Training is a huge responsibility within the industry.  And we often have challenges that we need to address when we decide to run teacher training.  I have said this before on this series, but many times, people train because they are looking for qualified candidates to work at their studio.  Are these ideal conditions for training?  I don’t know, but it certainly isn’t the “my yoga studio can’t make it without training” story we are often telling amongst ourselves.

*I am SO glad Anjali brought this up.  Training yoga teachers and deepening your knowledge of yoga are not the same thing.  They should not be in the same program.  We need to offer a diverse menu of yoga knowledge enhancement options in our yoga studios–not just only group classes and YTTs.  I cannot say this enough times.

*So Anjali said something that I want to highlight.  It is this idea that a deep yoga practice is something you should “enjoy”.  She is right, a lot of yoga is groundbreaking and uncomfortable.  While the changes you create as a result of a deep yoga practice can be highly beneficial and enjoyable, the process is hard.  And we should be saying anything different.

*Hey friends.  I know saying things like “social justice” is a great way for you to attract certain people to your doorstep.  But there is disrespect at best, and danger at worst when we use the phrase social justice like a marketing term.  People deserve better.  The black, queer, and disabled communities we support deserve better.  Please stop. Thank you so much.

*There is no checklist that makes you a good white person in yoga.  I am sorry if that is news.  But the willingness to have discussions, unpack your own privilege, and as Anjali asks “what else are you doing?” is a great place to start.

*This is another one of the things this series has mentioned constantly.  Mentorship.  If you are an experienced teacher please consider how you can mentor the next generation of yoga teachers so they can have a nurturing and supportive environment to learn the skillset of teaching yoga.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Anjali’s Website

Find Taylor Casey

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

Have you ever wondered how on Earth we got here?

How did we get 200 hours? Who started all this?

Amara Miller has the answers. Take a listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Knowing where we can go to in the future depends greatly upon understanding our where we came from.  The Yoga Alliance started in 1999 as a solution to a problem, and was not initially set forth to monetize yoga in the way we see today.  So treating them as an evil eye organization right from the start simply isn’t true.  The original intent landed more in the realm of making sure that students were safe and assuring people were somewhat well trained as yoga teachers.

*Nobody could have been prepared for the influx of money into the yoga industry that happened in the late 00s and teens.  We simply were not prepared to professionalize and deal with the money that all of a sudden was flowing around as things like ‘yoga pants’ became part of the American cultural lexicon.

*Did you know that the Yoga Alliance approved 100% virtual YTT programs as of this year?  What do you think about this?  Good, bad?  Something different?

*Because it was incredibly contentious in creating yoga teacher standards through the Yoga Alliance, the group of organizing people decided to work through an hours model vs. a core curriculum model.  

*Counter culture played a significant role in getting us to where we are today as an industry.  A lot of folks, myself included, loved the idea that yoga was outside the box and not everyone participated.  I have, in real life in the last 24 months, been on calls with people who were still reminiscing about what it was like to practice in NYC in the 90s next to Madonna and Sting.  Yoga was, where the cool kids were.  And that attitude informed how we organized ourselves, and I think still does today.

*Finally, lets talk about unions.  For those of us who are North America, have you ever thought about what it means to be unionized?  Or to help start a new professional organization?  I want to plant these seeds how so that when it is time for us to collectively organize ourselves again we can come together with fresh ideas and mindsets.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Amara’s Website

Find Taylor Casey

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

One perspective I wanted to make sure we had during this conversation series around YTTs was the longtime trainer and studio owner.

And I could not have gotten a better match than Stephanie Adams. Stephanie started SAYF, or The Sustainable Asana Yoga Foundation—and has been training folks for over a decade.

Stephanie has lots of wisdom to share from her years of teaching and training, so take a listen to find out more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*What do we think about Stephanie’s point about trainers needing to teach their own material?  She is the first person who I have heard say this outright–and I agree with her.  If you are invested enough in the act of training other yoga professionals, shouldn’t we require that you make your own content?  Do you agree or not?  Let me know!

*Pre-recorded-only trainings are a challenge for us as an industry–especially if you take this job seriously.  I have now contacted ½ a dozen “online-pre-recorded” programs to ask if they would talk to me about how they measure the outcomes and skillsets of their students, and while I came close, nobody actually would speak with me.  

*Spending time training together is a little bit of magic, let’s just say that now.  And I sometimes think we don’t appreciate what Stephanie calls a “life pattern interrupt” can do for the nervous system, the brain, and the heart.  We do that, friends.  In fact, it might be the best thing we do when we offer those sorts of experiences to other people.

*This is another great point Stephanie made, which is an offshoot of what I have been saying for this whole series.  There is not a ton of money to be made in studios when we train.  And a lot of our experienced trainers have moved on to other parts of the profession because they are more financially lucrative.  This is a shame.  We need our best and brightest training for the next generation of yoga pros–don’t you think?

*Teaching online is a new skill set we didn’t need to train folks for prior to 2020.  We need to have MUCH more discussion about what the best practices are for yoga teaching online, and I am looking forward to it in the future.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SAYF Website

Find Taylor Casey

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

How we train the next generation of yoga teachers is one of the most important conversations I think we can have as an industry.

This series on the podcast has covered a lot of ground talking to experts from all over the world about their thoughts on YTTs.

And this, our final interview, is with a person whose expertise is in the actual training of teachers.

Leslie Pearlman is on the week, and what she has to say is the best.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*How many times in this series can I say this?  But yoga studios train, a lot of the time, because they need teachers who work like they do.  Who understand their point of view in  yoga.  It isn’t because they need the money, necessarily.

*Being a great yoga teacher does not mean you are a great teacher trainer.  Leading people through trainings is a skillset that is different than being a person who is amazing at leading a class.

*Transferable skills from training to be a yoga teacher to doing other things in life are something we don’t talk often about.  But really, the things you learn about teaching yoga are things you can take out in your real life. You will be a better communicator from teaching yoga—and that can happen in all places in your life.

*Who are you being?  As the yoga teacher and space holder?  This is such a good question.  How do you show up when you are teaching yoga?  Leslie identifies this as a crucial question—and I think she is correct.  We need to be intentional about who we are as a teacher, and who we are in life as well.

*The phrase “listen to your body” is a setup for failure without the accompanying skills of learning how to do that skillfully.

*Mentorship matters.  Leslie talks about an ascension model in her studio:  essentially—where are your people going to go next?  And I think mentoring skillfully needs to be part of the future of our industry.  Do you need a mentor?  Could you be a mentor?  I want to talk a lot more about this on the podcast in 2025, so stay tuned.  We are going to get into it.

*Hybrid teaching is the way of our future for so many things.  What skillsets do you need to improve to be more comfortable in this way of teaching?

RESOURCES

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Leslie’s Website

Find Taylor Casey

SPONSOR

Midwest Yoga Conference

This one is a personal conversation between friends.

Shannon and I have a hard conversation together, and talk about how you can have conversations with friends too.

This is one of my favorite conversations ever, and I can’t wait for you to hear it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*There are a lot of ways to have a hard conversation.  But don’t take for granted the powerful act of having hard conversations with your friends.  Friends are folks with whom you prioritize your connection over self-serving things.  People you are friendly with, don’t hold the same weight.  

For example:  you can be friends with your cousin.  But the relationship you should have with your boss is “Friendly”

*Hard conversations, and social justice conversations, belong in yoga.  There is a lot of discourse in our industry around this, and amazing folks like Anjali Rao have been on the podcast talking about this very thing.  But consider also this: if yoga can be a process of knowing yourself and knowing others, then hard conversations are a part of that.

*Consent in conversations is an absolute must.  Everyone needs to be consensual for conversations to flourish–and pushing other people into conversations, or expecting everyone to respond to things that are top of your mind isn’t appropriate.  These conversations can be had in yoga spaces, but only when everyone is an enthusiastic yes.  We all have more fun when that happens.

*Change happens in the quiet.  I know I have said that before, but it is worth repeating. If you want change to happen don’t just show up shouting.  Show up to write the permit, arrange the transport, and apply for the grant.  

*What is your relationship with social media?  As I said, I use social media exclusively for business.  I have primarily yoga conversations on quite literally all of my channels.  But maybe you use social media differently.  Please make sure you are conscientious about it, and don’t feel pressured to perform on social if that isn’t how you show up.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Shannon’s Website

Find Taylor Casey

Once upon a time we had organizations that worked for us, the professionals of the yoga industry.

Or did we?

On this new series we explore the recent work of one of our orgs, the International Association of Yoga Therapists as well as some other organizations in our space.

Sorry Yoga Alliance, you are sitting this one out.

Take a listen to the intro and then get ready for some serious industry legends and pros to tell you what they think about our recent organizational moves.

RESOURCES

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Find Taylor Casey

Yoga Alliance Scope of Practice

International Association of Yoga Therapists Scope of Practice

Look. We need to get into it.

To ask all the questions, to unearth all the possibilities, to sit with some uncomfortable answers.

So I asked Leslie Kaminoff to come on, and we did just that.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*” Fundamentally it is a governance issue” is my favorite quote about the IAYT issue that is on this entire podcast series.  Because they do have a governance issue, and it is important that we talk about it.  

To reiterate: a 501c3 organization in the United States exists to serve a public function, and a 501c6 org is a business or trade organization that exists to serve its members.  The IAYT is currently the former, not the latter.  

*Medicalizing yoga and yoga therapy comes with a whole host of complications.  And this series on the podcast will cover some of those complications as we go forward into talking about licensure, the medicalization of yoga, and more.

*Yoga is relationships.  This is a quote from this episode of the podcast that I have already used a dozen times since Leslie and I recorded this podcast together a few weeks ago.  Because it is so true.  We are in relationship with ourselves, our students, our colleagues, and our organizations.  It is important that we chose to build the best versions of those relationships that we can so we can all thrive, and also so that yoga and the yoga industry can thrive in this modern world.  

*If you missed it, if there is an offer to write a rebuttal of someone wishes to write a position paper about moving towards licensure in the yoga therapy space.  Please someone take Leslie up on this so I can read both your paper and his response.  I love this kind of stuff.

*Yoga has long taken place within the outskirts of culture.  I have said this a lot, but we came of age in the counter-culture movement of the 90s, and a lot of us really liked it that way.  I include myself in this group.  I don’t know if the 19 year old version of myself that started yoga would have found her way into today’s modern yoga spaces.  I think about that a lot actually, especially in the context of all those gifts that a consistent yoga practice has given me over the last 27 years.  Leslie refers to this with his assertion that yoga has existed very often between the cracks of general culture.  

Comforting or not, that is the reality of what we have been.  And I am interested to see if we keep that trend going forward into the future.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Leslie’s Website

Find Taylor Casey

This week on the podcast Stevie Ingram joins us to chat about all things licensure.

As a topic that is much discussed, and much lusted after fpr a few reasons, I have invited on several thinkers to talk about being a licensed profession would mean for us individually—and as a whole.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*Gatekeeping is SUCH a problem for us as an industry. It is one of my biggest pet peeves, even in the organizing space.  We tend to keep secrets and say only the bare minimum while doing all the real information sharing behind the scenes with only a few people able to participate.  I reeeaaaalllllllly hate this practice.  We need to model transparency behavior amongst ourselves so that we can live up to the moral standards we claim are so important to us.

 *Yoga as a liberation practice. And it recognizing this, we must also understand that proximity to power is a thing.  This idea that licensure will get us closer to the power and financial wealth we perceive that the medical community has (this is not always the case) pushed conversations.  While perhaps we will decide as an industry that licensure is the way to go, deconstructing this idea is key for us being clearheaded when we make that decision.

*Gravitas is not inherent to us if we do get integrated into conventional medical practice. Being “accepted” by Western medicine will never mean we will be taken seriously.  I actually believe we need to do a lot of “inner work” as an industry to believe in our own value first.  

*We need to talk about license creep.  License creep is A common tactic is to broaden the definition or scope of practice of a licensed occupation, a practice we term “license creep.” Licensing legislation ordinarily describes the activities that define the practice of the occupation.

*insurance adds a lot of work behind the scenes.  I think a lot of people do not understand this, but insurance companies literally hire former nurses to comb through that charts of patients to see if they can get a “gotcha” moment where the healthcare system didn’t ask the right questions, do the correct protocol in the correct order, and more.  Hospitals also hire those people on the other side to combat this move by insurance companies.  If you are a yoga therapist consider if you are ready to take your charting and protocol up about 100 notches. 

*Residency and Peer-reviewed systems were two if the solutions that Stevie offered, that I love.  We do not need to consider other innovative ways for us to keep the status of a self-regulated industry.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Stevie’s Instagram

Find Taylor Casey

Are there lessons we can take from other professions?

What is the IAYT doing well? What can they improve upon?

When will I get a vacation?

These are all questions we cover in our chat with Dr. Steffany Moonaz.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*This point cannot be stressed enough when talking about license within the yoga therapy space.  Just because you have a license **Does not** mean you can necessarily bill insurance.  Let’s uncouple those thoughts, please.  Thanks.

*We can learn a lot from the journey of other professions.  We deep dove into acupuncture with Dr. Moonaz and it is fascinating to hear the stories of professions where there are restrictions about who they can treat, how they can treat, and who supervises the practitioners.  What are your thoughts here?

*Where the IAYT seems to missed the mark is in understanding how people in yoga therapy find their clients through the referral process.  I have said this before, but the amount of LHCPs (licensed health care providers) who have said “I will just get a 200 hour teacher training cert and do what you do, is staggering.  Now I still get referrals from those folks because eventually they realize that isn’t the case–but the fact that I have to explain this to an organization in our industry is wild to me.  That just isn’t how it works for any of us on the ground, taking clients as yoga therapists. 

*Gravitas and money.  Those are the things we want.  

*Steffany said something I really want to emphasize.  We can, as a profession, take the steps needed to become a licensed profession–and then decide not to do it.  But in my opinion, it is WELL WORTH taking the steps to professionalize as a whole.  It benefits us as an industry in the long run.

*We need to give the IAYT credit where credit is due.  The steps taken thus far in the area of self-regulation are significant.  The accreditation process, the credentialing process, continuing education requirements, core competencies, these are all important in the development of yoga therapy as a profession.  No doubt about it.

*How do we distinguish the difference in all of the different services in the yoga marketplace?  This is a huge question, especially in the context of yoga therapy.  What ideas do YOU have?  Email me, rebecca@workinginyoga.com and let me know.

*This is the time where I remind you that the International Association of Yoga Therapists has no legal requirement to advocate for us as professionals.  Their designation is a 501c3, which is a public serving organization.  Just as  a note.

*Just to update you, We still have no official stance from the IAYT as to weather or not the Q designation is stopped completely, now a month later after we recorded.  Just in case you need to know.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Steffany’s Website 

We have some such innovative and intelligent humans in the yoga industry space, and Michele Lawrence is one of them.

Michele is one of the original people to advocate for the pause in the 300-hour LHCP, Q-designation, from the International Association of Yoga Therapists. And she and I get into it about what we thought the IAYT was, what we hoped to see from them in the future, and where we hoped to go as a profession.
I love that we get the opportunity to talk to people who run schools for yoga therapists, so we can see what they are projecting about our industry in the future.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*It is true, most yoga therapists are not looking at hospital settings first and foremost.  Especially in the beginning, when your skillset is building the hospital doesn’t often seem like a likely place for us to land.  So why is there this focus on getting us into healthcare settings?
*Look, it is also undeniable that we seek some legitimacy within our profession.  I believe this is because in our cores we know the benefit of our work.  And it is normal and human for us to want to be taken seriously for that work.  But also…I do think that with that legitimacy leads to us making a living, if not thriving wage.  I have said this before–don’t conflate those two things.  Folks sell foot pics online for a lot of money, but it does not mean that “foot pic salesperson” is a respected profession.  Those two things are not necessarily connected.

*Portfolio careers are coming up again.  The reality of the industry as it stands right now is that you are either privileged to have another non-yoga income (a second job or a spouse, say) or you have to maintain a portfolio career.  Yoga therapists, even with our high level of training and experience, are required to do a lot of things.  A lot of us still teach yoga classes–I do, as much to test my material as anything, and we also see private clients, write, speak, train, travel, and run other businesses.  In order to make a living, many of us have to wear a lot of hats and do a lot of different kinds of work.

*OMG someone said it!!  There. Is. Enough. Work. For. Us. All.  We need to go fight for our work and spread the work amongst us.

*The IAYT has a responsibility to the professionals that it allegedly represents.  Sort of. Legally speaking, they actually have no responsibility to us, in spite of the fact they collect “membership dues” and have a “membership portal” on their website.  While they are walking like a membership organization duck, they are not legally defined that way.  Weird, huh?  

*What does member input in a yoga organization look like to you?  Other than the requisite “we are listening” posts and emails–how does an organization *Actually* listen?  What are some of your ideas?

*If the Q model goes forward, no matter what they call it, we need to call for a different model and organizational leadership to take charge of our industry.  Or, maybe we need to call for a real talk about the actual relevance of organizations in our industry.  

*Testimonials and the progress of your clients makes a difference.  Collect those if you can, because the best proof of being good at your job in this industry is when other people love your work well enough to say so, publicly. 

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Michele’s Website 

Welcome to the first of many conversations on how we keep the Yoga in our yoga businesses.

This is a topic that keeps coming up for me as I chat with people and I think Lisa Pearson is the perfect person for this topic.

Lisa and I get into our personal practice,

running our businesses,

and how caring for ourselves and filling our own cups is critical to our work.

Take a listen to find out more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*How do we partner the business with the practice of yoga?  This is something that I think a lot of us struggle with.  But our sadhana, or personal practice, is really important.  The reason for this, I believe, is because it reminds us to center ourselves in the yoga first.  We have a lot of folks who sort of pull the strings in our industry who are not practitioners first, but we all are.  Let’s all decide to lean into our practices, utilize the full scope (especially the philosophy), and care for ourselves first so we can care for others.  Doing this allows us to model this behavior for our students too.

*How do we keep the yoga in our business?  Make the yoga part of your business plans.  Put yourself in your schedule, and take time for yourself.  This IS the yoga.  Do what my friend Amy Wheeler has done, and make standards for yourself that guide your principles for teaching, practicing, and being in business.  

*We want yoga to be a Disney movie.  But it isn’t.  This is so incredibly true, and I am surprised this is probably the first time this has really come up on the podcast.  We have this idea that yoga should always feel good, right, aligned, and wholesome.  But the truth is yoga, as a practice is hard.  And yoga as a business is hard too.  These things are not at odds with each other.  Sometimes sticking with your yoga practice is difficult.  It requires you to unlearn your previous patterns in order to evolve into the fullest version of yourself.  That isn’t all doe eyes and white knights.  It is hard work.  

(as an unrelated but related note, I do believe we want our organizations to be that white knight in our story.  They won’t be babes.  We didn’t design them that way.  Love you)

*Defining success for yourself is really important.  And make sure that you deep dive into whether you are deciding to just be satisfied with whatever you have, vs. deciding what would make you feel successful, cared for, and supported as a yoga professional.  And honestly, do this yearly.  

*Find where you want to serve and get really good at it.  Get so good your work is undeniable.  

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Lisa’s Website