

Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast
Mado Hesselink
Information, support, and inspiration for yoga teachers. Topics include the business of yoga, teaching skills, philosophy, ethical and legal considerations, and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 27, 2018 • 1h 4min
[On-Air Coaching] Take Your Yoga Biz Outside The Box
Mado helps a college writing professor with a passion for yoga nidra refine her niche, develop signature offerings, and create a strategy for attracting private clients. They also dive into practices to help overcome mindset issues when feeling resistant to promotion and marketing.
Highlights
How to set your own standards expectations for the structure of your teaching - no matter what the yoga community is like where you live.
How to work backwards when you create your events so that they practically sell themselves.
A powerful practice for overcoming resistance to marketing and promotion.
Two new stories you can tell yourself about marketing and promotion.
Links and Resources Sign up for a strategy session with Mado
Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Email list to get access to bonus content for all episodes, both past and future.

Sep 20, 2018 • 1h 7min
Cue your Classes Like a Pro with Laurel Beversdorf
Upgrade your cue-ability with this mini training on language with Laurel Beversdorf.
Highlights Why language is so important in the context of teaching movement and even more so when teaching yoga
How to use language to support your intention for teaching
4 different types of cues you can use in your classes and why you might choose each one
Why watching your students reactions to your instructions is the most important part of cueing
Invitation for Inspired Action Share it on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group!
Email subscribers get a bonus download:
Links and Resources Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Email list to get access to bonus content for all episodes, both past and future.

Sep 13, 2018 • 25min
Eliminate Self Destructive Behavior
Mado shares her personal practice for using mindful awareness to stop engaging in behaviors that are self-sabotaging or self-destructive.
Highlights Why yoga teachers engage in the same self-destructive patterns as everyone else
The major reason why we engage in behavior that we know is unhealthy
The two steps to diffusing the power of our uncomfortable feelings
The reason that resistance to feeling is more painful than the feeling itself
Some examples of how I use this practice in my personal life
Invitation for Inspired Action What is your go-to self-soothing behavior that you use to avoid uncomfortable feelings? It is so helpful to own that pattern and bring it into the light of day. You are invited to share with us on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group.
Links and Resources Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Email list to get access to bonus content for all episodes, both past and future.

Sep 6, 2018 • 1h 16min
How (and Why) to Create Your First Yoga Video with Jess Rose
Learn everything you need to know to make your first yoga video. Jess Rose shares the inside scoop of what it takes to make a high quality yoga video your first try.
Highlights The equipment you really need to make a yoga video and tips for keeping your equipment costs down.
The most important things to know BEFORE you start creating your video.
The 3 most compelling reasons for yoga teachers to take the plunge and make a video.
The pros and cons of recording your audio separately from your video.
The biggest mistakes yoga teachers make when creating their first yoga video and how to avoid them.
Tips to overcome self-consciousness so that your personality shines through your video.
Invitation for Inspired Action Make your first yoga video and share it on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group!
Email subscribers get a bonus download: One Week to Your First Yoga Video. This download breaks down the steps needed to make your first yoga video into actionable and achievable milestones so that you can stay on track and produce your first yoga video in a relaxed and realistic time frame without getting sidetracked or overwhelmed.
Links and Resources Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Jess Rose
Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Email list to get access to the 7 step action plan and bonus content for other episodes, both past and future.

Aug 30, 2018 • 27min
Email Newsletters Are Dead, Long Live Email Marketing
Still sending your email list a long boring newsletter filled with all the different events you have coming up? Or do you rarely send one at all? If so, you need this mini training on how to fully tap into of the power of email marketing for yoga teachers.
Highlights Understand the mindset issues that prevent a lot of yoga teachers from creating an email list, growing their list, or tapping into the potential of their list and how to overcome them.
Why your email list is the most powerful tool at your disposal to increase the number of people who attend your classes, workshops, and events.
The most common mistakes that yoga teachers make when sending emails to their list.
The reasons your email list is more valuable and potentially more effective than social media.
The differences between the old (less effective) version of email marketing and current best practices.
Strategies for building your email list and how to focus on attracting quality subscribers (ie - people who are more likely to end up signing up for your events).
Invitation for Inspired Action Sign up for an email service provider if you don’t already have one. Then jot down some ideas for a lead magnet that you could use to motivate people to sign up. Share your ideas on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group for feedback.
Links and Resources Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Email Marketing Services
These are all reputable companies who will stay on top of emerging laws and make sure your email marketing complies with them. They also have a good track record for helping your emails make it into the inbox of your subscribers. These are affiliate links, which means if you click through my link and sign up for a paid plan I will get a small commission.
MailChimp This is the service I currently use, however I do not necessarily recommend it above the others. I think it is pretty intuitive and has a generous free plan but if you imagine you will grow an online component to your business the other service providers listed below are considered to be more robust.
Convertkit is known for being really flexible and easy to use. If you think you’ll outgrow mailchimp, but want to make sure that you’re not getting in over your head, convertkit may be a good choice.
Aweber has been the gold standard for email marketing for a long time. As a large and established business their reputation and delivery rates are rock solid.

Aug 23, 2018 • 1h 6min
[On-air Coaching] Choose a Niche That Aligns With Your Passions, Values, and Aspirations
On-air coaching calls provide real world examples of how to apply the topics of previous episodes. Hearing several examples will help you apply the concepts from last week’s episode (find and nurture your ideal yoga student) to your own situation.
Highlights Karin has been teaching yoga for 10 years and works full time in the healthcare field. She would like for her niche to focus on teaching self-care as a non-negotiable rather than a luxury, but she’s not sure what population to focus on.
Francine is working with a business coach who is trying to help her generate more revenue. She’s a bit overwhelmed with different options and wants to find a way to make her teaching sustainable so that she doesn’t burn out in the quest for revenue.
Miranda is a digital media marketing expert and also a yoga teacher. Her company Namaste In Nature takes women who are looking for fun, safe, and healthy things to do in the Asheville, NC area on guided and curated yoga hikes. Miranda shares how even though her education is in marketing and she completely understands the benefits of niche, she had a hard time doing it herself because she was too close to the business. She also provides insight about what it’s like to work with a coach and the shifts she made in her business once she narrowed down her niche.
Invitation for Inspired Action Share the current version of your niche on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Links and Resources Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group

Aug 16, 2018 • 23min
Find and Nurture Your Ideal Yoga Students
Increase your impact as a yoga teacher, reduce the time and energy you spend on marketing, support your personal practice, increase your confidence as a teacher, and promote a sense of cooperation and community with other yoga teachers by taking this one key step in your yoga business.
Highlights 6 compelling reasons for yoga teachers to get clear on their ideal yoga student.
Why some yoga teachers end up turning off their ideal students without even realizing it.
Common myths and fears about niche plus realities and solutions
The two most important things you need to find out about your ideal yoga student
The (more effective) alternative to trying to please everyone.
3 strategies for validating what you think you know about your ideal student - and how to use what you discover to help your ideal students feel understood and nurtured.
Invitation for Inspired Action Write down who your ideal student is and how you help them. Then please come to the yoga teacher resource private facebook group to share or ask for feedback.
Links and Resources Want personalized help to select or refine your niche? Book single strategy session with Mado.

Aug 9, 2018 • 58min
Slow Yoga Revolution with Kristine Kaoverii Weber
In this episode Kristine shares the benefits of slowing down your yoga practice and how the latest research in neurobiology overlaps with a traditional definition of yoga to explain why it works.
Highlights A definition of yoga that is grounded in tradition yet fully relevant to modern life
The evolution of research in the health and wellness sphere
Why the yoga market is actually not saturated, contrary to popular belief
How we can take advantage of our body’s natural drive for homeostasis to build resilience
Why “the pause is just as important as the pose”
Invitation to Inspired Action
Links and Resources Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group
Subtle Yoga (Kristine’s website, visit to get free download on the benefits of slow yoga)
Enlightenment Now (book Mado recommended in the episode)

Aug 2, 2018 • 24min
Prevent Wrist Injuries and Promote Wrist Health
Mado shares some basic principles of how to take care of your wrists in a yoga class setting.
Highlights Two major factors in how much load your wrists can handle
The main reason that so many yoga students experience wrist pain
My favorite modifications to allow students to participate in classes while still protecting sensitive wrists. (Bonus video download for subscribers)
The exercises that I do regularly to support strength, mobility, and adaptability in my wrists.
Invitation for Inspired Action Subscribe to my email list to watch the video showing my favorite wrist exercises and try them out! Then Let me know what you think on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group.

Jul 26, 2018 • 36min
Injury Prevention and Yoga Evolution with Trina Altman
In this episode Trina Altman shares her thoughts on injury prevention and how she see yoga & Pilates evolving from a “top down” lineage based approach towards a more personalized and “bottom up” approach.
We also talk about:
1. Why Momentum Fest (interdisciplinary Pilates conference) was such a life changing experience for her.
2. How to approach learning anatomy, kinesiology, biomechanics & exercise science principles by following your passions.
3. Why it’s important for yoga teachers to take private sessions in other movement modalities.
and more...
For complete show notes including link and tips on how to approach teaching private sessions visit the post for this episode.


