Conversations on how to secure opportunities to teach yoga are much more common than those on when we should NOT teach, so today hosts Tiffany and Rachel explore a handful of scenarios where you may need to step back from the role of teacher—whether that is just for today or over the longer term.

In this episode, we discuss whether it’s ever ok for a teacher to simply “go through the motions” and what it means to truly show up for students. We also talk about schedule sustainability and the value of teaching what is meaningful to you.

Listen in to learn when yoga teachers should not teach.

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• Recognizing privilege in the choice to not work [1:54]
• When you’re contagious [3:01]
• When you can’t reliably stay in the room [5:28]
• When you can’t truly show up for your students [8:58]
• Is there a time to permanently stop teaching a person or class [18:44]
• Energy management and sustainable teaching schedules [21:27]
• Moving on when you’ve taught all you can [31:22]
• When ethical limits are breached [34:55]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Yoga Journal articles:
  • When Should You NOT Teach?
  • How You Know When It’s Time to Break Up With a Class

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-130.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Usually, this podcast features seasoned yoga instructors, so today we are doing something different: exploring the perspectives of those early in the experience of holding the role of a teacher.

In this episode, we connect with three guests who completed 200-hour teacher training at the end of 2023. We discuss their expectations of the training, which areas of study best prepared them for the work they hoped to do afterward, how they secured their first teaching opportunities, and what advice they would share with those considering yoga teacher training now.

If you are a newer teacher yourself, or contemplating yoga teacher training, listen in to learn about the reality of yoga teacher training, as well as the joys and challenges new teachers tend to experience.

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• Is teacher training only for people who want to teach [3:05]
• Hopes and expectations prior to teacher training [6:23]
• Most and least enjoyed areas of study [10:24]
• What did you feel most and least prepared for after teacher training [14:26]
• Challenges that arise for new teachers [18:42]
• How to find the first opportunities to teach [21:36]
• Next steps, including how to know you’re ready for ongoing study [26:36]
• Advice for future yoga teachers [30:34]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  • 127: Your 200HR YTT Questions Answered
  • 103: Teacher Training Myths
• 200HR Online Teacher Training
• Connect with today’s guests:
  • Becky Bruce – Instagram
  • Suzanne Powell – Email | Union Yoga Co.

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-129.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Many of us kick off the new year ready to commit (or recommit) to a dedicated personal yoga practice. But as the days and weeks pass, this commitment can start to run out of steam. So today hosts Tiffany and Rachel share their personal practice tips as well as things that have been particularly helpful in keeping their practice going over the years. We emphasize the importance of flexibility of mind and how we can change our lens to turn needs into likes.

Listen in to learn how to build a realistic personal practice that supports you.

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• Why personal practice matters, for teachers and students [3:07]
• What constitutes a personal practice? [12:37]
• Being honest with yourself about what is and isn’t yoga practice [23:19]
• Does frequency on the mat matter? [27:28]
• Should we prioritize needs or wants? [33:20]
• Does your personal practice have to be self-guided? [37:38]
• Takeaways & more tips [38:51]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Previous Yoga Medicine® Podcast Episodes:
  
  • 05: Sustainability & Yoga
  • 96: Creating Change with Alison Heilig
• YMO Monthly Dose: Supporting & Building your Home Practice

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-128.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

In this special best-of episode for 2024, we feature clips from some of our favorite episodes, highlight common threads that weave different guests and topics together, and feature some of the gems you might have missed during the year.

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• Fascia science behind the benefits of movement [1:17]
• Reframing tension: moderation over extremes [4:03]
• How yoga helps regulate the nervous system [7:12]
• Are we handling stress as well as we think? [9:38]
• Safe practice spaces as a refuge from overwhelm [12:21]
• The causes, components, and symptoms of burnout [14:11]
• Perpetual optimization of physical health at the expense of mental health [16:29]
• The “new stigma” of menopause [22:07]
• Yoga as self-discovery for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence [26:49]
• Body awareness and self-agency for persistent pain care [31:15]
• How yoga teachers help keep students “safe” [35:46]
• Is there one perfect breath rhythm or duration? [38:33]
• Answering student questions [42:22]
• Human complexity; we are more than machines [44:35]
• The power of truly listening [46:47]
• How to integrate new approaches, tools & techniques [51:33]
• Cultural relevance and appropriation [55:12]
• Can we separate yoga from its historical, philosophical, and religious influences? [59:28]
• Who is yoga for and who should be teaching it? [1:04:02]
• Is it less about what we do, and more about how we do it? [1:07:10]

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• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Find all the episodes mentioned at https://yogamedicine.com/podcast/

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-126.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Change is constant and inevitable, but the sheer speed of recent changes in the yoga world leaves many of us confused about what it actually looks like and means to be a yoga teacher right now.

Today hosts Rachel and Tiffany look back over the massive changes that have occurred in the yoga world over the past few decades, and what they might signal for the years ahead. We debate the pros and cons of boom times, the rise of social media, and the ever-evolving needs of students.

Listen to this episode to learn how yoga teachers can continue to adapt to better serve our communities.

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Show Notes:

• Looking back can help us move forward with more clarity [1:18]
• Early days of yoga in the West: underground, no-frills, “anti-influencer” [3:53]
• Big changes in the early 2000s [11:00]
• The first commercial teacher trainings and new yoga brands [15:35]
• Yoga celebrities, yoga fashion, and growing competition [16:46]
• Credibility from yoga lineage overtaken by social media following? [21:45]
• Yoga Medicine and explosive growth in YTT [27:38]
• The 2010s: The yoga boom and growing pains [31:35]
• Covid challenges and opportunities: meeting people where they’re at [33:56]
• Post-COVID era: options versus overwhelm [37:35]
• Takeaways: find your niche with patience, persistence, and presence [40:03]
• Takeaways: What feeds you changes over time [48:04]
• Takeaways: Know what you bring to the table [53:55]
• Takeaways: Be purpose-driven [58:45]
• Final thoughts [1:02:33]

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Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Listen to Episode 82: Building a Healthy Relationship with Social Media
• Listen to Episode 5: Sustainability & Yoga

You can learn more about this episode, and see the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-125.

And you can find out more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com.

To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.