Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast

Yoga’s PR Problem (and how you can help)

Learn to correct common misunderstandings about yoga. As teachers, we have an important role to play in improving the public perception of yoga. In this episode, you will learn the most common misconceptions that prevent people from trying yoga, why yoga is misunderstood in the wider culture, and what you can do about it as a yoga teacher.
 
Episode Highlights: 
4 misunderstandings that make (some) people resistant to yoga
Tips for sharing what yoga is really about
How incorrect public perceptions of yoga spread and solidify
Why hearing an objection about yoga is an opportunity and a gift
Mini scripts to help you speak clearly about yoga
 
Episode Links & Resources
Thinking Fast & Slow - By Daniel Kahneman
 
Links & Resources
Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource 
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Learn more about the Impact Club
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So You Want to Run a Teacher Training? with Angela Hammond

What does it actually take to run a yoga teacher training? In this episode with Angela Hammond, founder of Main Street Yoga, we talk about the real behind-the-scenes of leading a 200-hour yoga teacher training. From curriculum design and Yoga Alliance requirements to navigating group dynamics and burnout, Angela shares what she’s learned over years of trial and error. Teacher trainings are a lot of work, yes—but also the most rewarding format for teaching.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:00:00 Angela’s story03:09 Opening a studio in a small town05:15 Why start a teacher training10:07 Building the curriculum12:01 Refining through feedback15:24 Schedule and teaching load16:33 Anatomy teaching breakthrough22:39 Online vs. In-Person24:30 Advice for new trainers28:36 How to know if you are ready31:55 Final tips
EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:
Main Street Yoga
Follow Main Street Yoga on Instagram @mainstreetyogafmt
Follow Main Street Yoga on Facebook
Follow Angela Hammond Yoga on YouTube @angelahammondyoga
Embodied Anatomy
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

Teaching With an Injury with Juzbi Walia [On-Air Coaching Call]

Physical demonstration is an important tool for teaching - so what do you do when an injury prevents you from being able to demonstrate? In this on-air coaching call with Juzbi Walia, we explore what it means to teach yoga with an injury, from rethinking asana beyond set sequences to developing more subtle, specific approaches to movement and instruction. What at first feels like a limitation can actually boost creativity, expand accessibility, and highlight the role of structure and community in long-term growth. 
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
01:10 Meet Juzbi: A yoga teacher returning to her hometown and grappling with an injury
09:26 Why teaching with limitations feels so hard - but can be a catalyst for growth
12:27 Reimagining Asana Practice
14:42 How to Build Community Through Access
18:06 Cultivating a Growth Mindset with Discernment
23:18 How to Challenge without Compromising Safety
27:44 The benefits of a One-on-One Teacher
31:14 Wrap-Up and Next Steps
EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:
Follow Juzbi on Instagram @juzbiyoga
Follow Yoga With Juzbi on FacebookLINKS 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

Why Running a Yoga Business Feels so Hard (and things that will help)

Yoga teachers often begin their teaching journey expecting a flexible, meaningful, and low-stress career, but quickly find themselves overwhelmed by the realities of running a business. In this episode, we break down why the modern yoga teacher role feels so hard, from the pressures of social media to the many hats you’re required to wear when self-employed. This conversation unpacks the gap between the “dream” and the day-to-day, and what it actually takes to build a sustainable path as a yoga teacher today.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
01:41 Yoga teacher fantasy vs reality
02:57 How social media changed the game
07:21 Why it’s harder than ever to be a new yoga teacher
11:56 How to embody the multiple roles of the yoga teacher
12:53 Things that will help: Big Picture Routines
14:08 Things that will help: Task Management Habits
15:10 Things that will help: Coworking & Collaboration
16:00 Things that will help: Connection to Purpose, Joy, and your Personal Practice
 
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

Inside Anatomy Bites with Dr Libby Hinsley

Peek behind the curtain of Anatomy Bites - the easiest and most enjoyable way for yoga teachers to learn anatomy. In this unusual episode, you’ll hear the audio portion of a live Q&A session led by Dr. Libby Hinsley, physical therapist and yoga teacher. Anatomy Bites is a 36-module program designed to give yoga teachers a solid foundation in anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. You’ll also hear the story of how Anatomy Bites came to be and learn about what it’s like to be a member.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
00:00 The birth of Anatomy Bites
04:16 Dynamic vs. static movements for strengthening
06:41 The relationship between the low back and glutes in backbends
11:50 Foot and knee alignment in backbends
22:24 Foot placement in wide leg forward fold
30:20 Does it matter which side you roll towards in savasana?
33:41 Concentric vs eccentric movement
38:11 Torn labrum & chronic pain
52:11 Noise in neck movement
53:11 Spinal issues in yoga classes
01:06:14 Rounding the spine for older adults
01:10:51 Nerve sensations in Yin Yoga
01:13:27 Understanding fascia and its impact on movement
01:15:48 What to do with the shoulder blades in forearm plank
01:19:16 What it’s like inside Anatomy Bites
EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:
Libby Hinsley
Anatomy Bites
Anatomy Bites - Embodied Anatomy
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

Hip Labral Tears & Yoga Practice with Dr. Libby Hinsley

What are some ways to help a student with a hip labral tear? In this episode, Dr. Libby Hinsley explains how a labral tear can affect yoga asana practice and how to support students who have them while staying in your scope of practice.
 
Episode Highlights:
What are labral tears and what are the symptoms?
How labral tears are diagnosed - and why a true diagnosis can be problematic
Treatment options for hip labral tears
Connections between asana practice, hypermobility syndromes, and hip labral tear prevalence.
How yoga asana can exacerbate the risk of hip labral tears.
How yoga asana can support the healing of hip labral tears.
Tips for teaching standing balance postures in a way that will benefit all your students, including those with labral tears.
 
Episode Links & Resources:
Visit Anatomy Bites
Libby Hinsley
Follow Libby Hinsley on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt
Follow Libby Hinsley on Facebook
 
Links & 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

Osteoperosis and Spinal Flexion with Dr Libby Hinsley

Should we modify spinal flexion for osteoporosis? Osteoporosis affects approximately 20% of women over the age of 50 and increases the risk of bone fractures. In this episode, Dr. Libby Hinsley and I continue our 3-episode miniseries highlighting common medical conditions. 
 
Episode Highlights:
What is osteoporosis, how to treat it, and how to prevent it.
Why many people don’t get diagnosed with osteoporosis until after they fracture a bone.
The three most common locations for osteoporosis, and how this might affect a yoga practice.
Whether or not to modify yoga practices for higher-risk students who do not have an osteoporosis diagnosis. 
How osteoporosis is different from other common medical conditions that are likely to show up in your yoga classes.
 
Episode Links & Resources:
Visit Anatomy Bites
Libby Hinsley
Follow Libby Hinsley on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt
Follow Libby Hinsley on Facebook
 
Other 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

Degenerative Disc Disease with Dr. Libby Hinsley

Students often share scary-sounding diagnoses with their yoga teachers and expect us to know what they are - and how to modify for them. Today’s episode is the first of a miniseries about some of the most common conditions that will show up in a yoga classroom. Dr. Libby Hinsley demystifies the misleading diagnosis of “degenerative disc disease” - and shares the tools you will need as a yoga teacher to confidently help any student who tells you they have it. 
 
Episode Highlights:
How your back is like a Jelly Doughnut!
What IS “degenerative disc” and what impact should it have on your practice?
The relationship between bulging, slipped, and herniated discs (hint - one of these isn’t a real thing).
The prevalence of spinal abnormalities - and how worried we should be if they show up on imaging.
The relationship between degenerative disc disease and backbends.
Nerve compression symptoms and how to modify for them.
 
Episode Links & Resources:
Visit Anatomy Bites
Libby Hinsley
Follow Libby Hinsley on Instagram @libbyhinsleypt
Follow Libby Hinsley on Facebook
 
Other 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

Sustainable Service Packages and The Myth of Passive Income with Amberly Kelley-Dotson [On Air Coaching Call]

Yoga teachers often find themselves with a business model that leads straight to burnout. In this live coaching session, yoga teacher Amberly Kelley-Dotson opens up about the exhaustion of the one-on-one grind. Amberly is caught in a cycle of high-touch services and hidden, unpaid labor. In this episode, we work through a real-time restructuring of her business, moving away from the "passive income" fantasy and toward sustainable, concrete alternatives.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:02:51 Amberly’s journey from injury to therapeutic yoga06:32 The unpaid labor of private practice11:04 Packages and multiple levels of service20:03 Marketing Without the Info Dump24:55 Courses, Retreats, and Reusable Content30:42 Next Steps & Wrap-Up
EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:
Amble WellBeing
Follow Amberly Kelley-Dotson on Instagram @amblewellbeing
Follow Amberly Kelley-Dotson on Facebook
 
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

Alignment and Functional Movement with Dr. Ariele Foster

Basic misunderstandings about the human body can lead to yoga cues that have the opposite effect from what the teacher intended. In this episode, physical therapist and longtime yoga educator Dr. Ariele Foster breaks down why rigid alignment cues often fail our biology. Listen in to hear a nuanced discussion of the role of alignment in asana and how to bring more functional movement into your yoga classes.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:01:11 Meet Dr. Ariele Foster: From yoga enthusiast to physical therapist11:08 Reconsidering the role of alignment15:18 How alignment can either increase or decrease your options for movement.22:58 How alignment can feed into kinesophobia30:05 Functional movement vs. specialized movement42:58 How to weave more functional movement into your classes46:36 Conclusion and further resources
EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:
Yoga Anatomy Academy
Yoga for 3D Hip Stability Course
Follow Yoga Anatomy Academy on Instagram @yogaanatomyacademy
Follow Yoga Anatomy Academy on Facebook
Wellilo Physical Therapy and Yoga
Follow Dr. Ariele Foster on Instagram @dr.ariele.foster
Follow Dr. Ariele Foster: Wellilo Physical Therapy + Yoga on Facebook
Here is a webinar on how to avoid injury that Dr. Ariele Foster would like to share with listeners.
 
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 SpeakPip