Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast

Investigate some of the common myths and misconceptions people have about anatomy and yoga.   Episode Highlights: The myth of alignment and what is actually normal or average  Benefits and limitations of alignment-based yoga Why doing a posture correctly according to formulas is not safe for everyone  The myth of safety and the fragility of the human body  How we can expect our practice to shift over the course of our lives Examining specific physical cues such as “bringing the shoulders back”   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Libby Hinsley Anatomy Bites Follow Libby on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

How do you bridge the gap between being qualified to teach yoga and teaching with confidence? Yoga teacher trainings are a deep dive into the practice and pedagogy of yoga, yet many graduates are thrown for a loop once they actually start teaching. In this episode, Sheri Fisher shares the five qualities that yoga teachers need to cultivate on their way to embodying leadership in the yoga classroom.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Differences between group fitness training and yoga teacher training Why the transition from teacher training to confident teacher is so challenging The five pillars of powerful teaching and how they come together to create your signature approach Cueing statements vs coaching statements and why both are important in a yoga class How to cultivate commitment as a teacher - and how to encourage commitment from your students.   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Root to Rise Yogis Standing Room Only: How to be THAT Yoga Teacher Follow Root to Rise Yogis on Instagram @roottoriseyogis   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Inversions inspire strong feelings. We love them, hate them, or we love/hate them - but how well do we understand them? While inversions are usually thought to be the domain of physically adept yoga practitioners, Kat Heagberg Rebar, author of Yoga Inversions, believes they can benefit anyone who wants a shift in perspective.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Defining inversions: Kat’s take on this ‘controversial’ question How Kat went from ‘too young yoga teacher’ to Editor-in-Chief of Yoga International - and handstand aficionado Why inversions can be difficult to teach and learn within the context of a yoga class The dirty little secret of yoga inversion ‘influencers’ The role of body proportions in your inversion practice Inversions during menstruation and pregnancy Benefits of inversions: the myths and realities How cross-training in other modalities can help your inversion practice   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Kat Heagberg Yoga Yoga Inversions: Your Guide to Going Upside Down Follow Kat Heagberg Rebar on Instagram @katheagberglar   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Yoga and business make strange bedfellows. Leaning into that paradox is exactly what’s needed to thrive as a yoga teacher and business owner. Join me for a conversation with Ava Taylor, founder of YAMA Talent and author of Your Yoga Business, on what it takes to build an ethical and sustainable yoga business.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Why it’s important to keep things simple when building a yoga business How to build a yoga business that can withstand the test of time. Challenges and opportunities in the post-COVID yoga industry Why 100,000 followers do not equal 100,000 dollars How your yoga practice can (and should) influence your yoga business   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: YAMA Talent Your Yoga Busines Follow Ava Taylor on Instagram @avantaylor Follow YAMA Talent on Instagram @yamatalent   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Becoming a parent is a rite of passage that will change your yoga practice forever. Sarah Ezrin was a dedicated yoga practitioner and long time teacher before having children blew her heart open, humbled her to the core, and turned her expectations about yoga practice upside down. This transition inspired her to write the book she wished she could read as a new parent: compassionate, irreverent, and steeped in the wisdom of yoga.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How becoming a parent can make your yoga practice more honest An exploration of Maitressence or the transition into motherhood How Sarah manages screen use as a parent and yoga practitioner How yoga can help you desensitize and resensitize your nervous system The art of asking the right questions to help our children develop their intuition The advice Sarah wishes she could give the earlier version of herself   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Sarah Ezrin Yoga The Yoga of Parenting: 10 Yoga-Based Practices to Help You Stay Grounded, Connect with Your Kids, and Be Kind to Yourself Follow Sarah Ezrin on Instagram @sarahezrinyoga   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Breathing touches every system of the body, either directly or indirectly. It can be manipulated and shaped to adjust state, to change our perception of pain, to improve and enhance movement, and also to hasten deep restorative relaxation or amplify and excite. In this episode, Jill Miller describes the art and science of using breath as a tool for physical and emotional resilience.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Chemical and biomechanical aspects of breathing Overbreathing, underbreathing, and breath titration Why deliberate breathing is so effective for mood regulation 5 ingredients for parasympathetic activation How breath awareness supports compassion and community Why meditation and savasana can provoke anxiety in some people The relationship between the heart and the diaphragm   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Tune Up Fitness BODY by BREATH: The Science and Practice of Physical and Emotional Resilience by Jill Miller Follow Jill Miller on Instagram @thejillmiller LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Rituals are actions repeated with intention. According to Tracee Stanley, author of Radiant Rest and The Luminous Self, rituals are also powerful tools for knowing yourself more deeply. Join me for a candid conversation where Tracee shares personal experiences, observations, and ideas that led her to share deeply personal stories and sacred practices with the world inside her recently released book The Luminous Self.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How Covid influenced The Luminous Self to become more personal, vulnerable, and mature than the book Tracee was originally inspired to write. How Tracee is working to transition from a vertical model of community to a horizontal or circular model. The role of community care and supportive relationships for creating sustainable transformation. How to craft an environment that supports growth. The responsibility for teachers to embody and digest their practices instead of treating them in an extractive manner.   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Tracee Stanley’s website The Luminous Self Follow Tracee Stanley on Instagram @tracee_stanley   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Everything in life is for your awakening. This core teaching of tantra yoga is what guides Todd Norian on his quest for whole-hearted self-acceptance. Todd is a musician, founder of Ashaya Yoga, a Kripalu Legacy faculty member, and the author of Tantra Yoga: Journey to Unbreakable Wholeness. In this week’s podcast, Todd shares stories and lessons from forty years as a yoga practitioner, teacher, and spiritual seeker.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Todd’s definition of spirituality and how it plays out in his everyday life. What Todd learned from being at the epicenter of two of yoga’s guru scandals (Kripalu and Anusara) Power dynamics and lines of spiritual development Why loving your lesser evolved parts is key to overcoming perfectionism Three essential questions to help you craft the life you want   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Ashaya Yoga Tantra Yoga: Journey to Unbreakable Wholeness - A Memoir Follow Ashaya Yoga on Instagram @ashayayoga   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

There are trauma survivors in almost every yoga room - but you can’t necessarily tell who they are from the outside. In this first episode of a series on recently published yoga books, Lara Land, author of The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga, explains how yoga can support trauma survivors and describes how yoga teachers can help or hinder the process.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: An expanded definition of trauma Why yoga is so helpful for trauma survivors How yoga spaces can be harmful for trauma survivors The role of secondary trauma Three facets of safety and how they show up in yoga classes 10 ways to promote safety in your yoga class   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Lara Land Yoga website Listen to Lara’s Podcast: Beyond Trauma Three and a Half Acres Yoga website Follow Lara Land on Instagram @laralandyoga The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe

Yoga teachers often feel responsible to protect their students from injury during their classes. This is a big reason why many focus on guiding proper alignment during practice. But how much does alignment really protect students from injury? And are misunderstandings about safety, pain, and discomfort actually causing more harm to our students than good? In this must-listen episode, my guest Dr. Libby Hinsley sheds light on the relationship between alignment and safety.    EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Why yoga teachers tend to be so worried about safety Is practicing yoga actually risky for the average student? Which risks are real and which tend to be overblown Discomfort vs tissue damage Scope of practice and the yoga teachers’ responsibility Types of pain How our narratives around pain affect our experience of it Alignment vs progressive adaptation   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Libby Hinsley Anatomy Bites Follow Libby on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe