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

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Midwest Yoga Conference