Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast

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

Yoga teachers are often asked to teach for free in the name of Karma Yoga. However, when this term is divorced from the context of yoga philosophy, it can be exploited and misused. In this episode, Mado explores the practice of Karma Yoga and some of the less obvious implications behind the decision of whether or not to teach for free.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How the term Karma Yoga is commonly misused and a more accurate explanation of what it means.  How Karma Yoga fits into the framework of the Purusharthas or the four aims of life. Three approaches to teaching yoga and how they relate to the Purusharthas. Pros and cons of each approach and how to choose which is best for you based on your circumstances. How teaching for free might help others or harm others - and ways to mitigate potential harm.   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

Want to promote body autonomy in your classes but aren’t sure what that looks like? Featuring Dr. Libby Hinsley, this episode covers ways that yoga teachers may be unintentionally hindering body autonomy for their students and strategies for making your classes a self-empowering space for your students.    EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Why body autonomy is essential for yoga practice - and a revolutionary act that will help change the world for the better. How yoga teachers might accidentally interfere with body autonomy. Authority and power differential dynamics in yoga classes. Why hands-on assists should be approached with extreme caution - and alternative teaching methods that achieve the same goal. Inquiries to help you develop your own approach to body autonomy. The interplay between autonomy and perfectionism. The types of cues that are best for encouraging body autonomy (and what cues should be used more sparingly). How silence supports body autonomy. Why self-compassion is key for your growth as a teacher.   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

Social media can be a great tool but it can also be a detriment to mental health. In this on-air coaching call, Kathy, a kid’s yoga teacher trainer shares her strategy for bypassing social media to reach her customers more directly.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How to balance the benefits and the drawbacks of technology Old-school marketing strategies How & why to survey your students Offering more to existing students vs finding new students Why it’s important to think through the customer journey for your students How to create a membership from work you’ve already created Ways to build a membership without needing to promote all the time How to reduce time spent on customer service How much notice to provide when changing up your services   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: Kathy Aruna Humphrys’ websites: Young Yoga Masters & Ambassador Yoga Zoom WordPress If you'd like to be featured in an on-air coaching call, email your topic idea to mado@teachingyoga.net.   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

Learn to bridge the gap between your social media following and your email subscribers with Mado in this on-air coaching call. Christy is a yoga teacher who teaches inclusive yoga for bigger bodies. She’s found an audience for her message on Instagram but isn’t sure how to translate that following into email subscribers and course sales.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Why Christy hated yoga the first time she tried it … and what convinced her to give it another shot. How to transition social media followers into email subscribers Ways to repurpose content you’ve already created for your emails Tips for using email to launch courses, events and workshops   EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES: ConvertKit Creator Marketing Platform  Follow Christy Calahan on Instagram @chubbylotusyoga   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Leave a review on iTunes Ask a question for the podcast on the Yoga Teacher Resource website or on SpeakPipe