Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast

Yoga for the working class [On Air Coaching Call]

How do we share the benefits of yoga with working class people in a way that doesn’t turn them off and is inclusive and welcoming? Topics covered in this on-air coaching call: How to become more skillful at communicating the benefits of yoga with anybody you meet. How to overcome the false or incomplete perceptions as portrayed by yoga magazines, advertisements, and social media. How to reach further into communities where yoga is not popular or is not understood. How to appeal to a working class student base . Ideas to grow your classes in these markets and how to think about advertising as a yoga teacher. Sign up for a strategy session with Mado Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group

Lessons from one year of podcasting

Insights and surprises about yoga teachers and the yoga industry, glimpses behind the scenes of podcast production, and a vulnerable moment of self-revelation. This episode covers some of many lessons I’ve learned through producing this podcast for the past year including: The inspiration for starting this podcast - and how that initial spark has expanded into the main ways that I currently work with yoga teachers. Two common struggles that many yoga teachers face that surprised me The truth about a so-called saturated market - and how yoga teachers around the world are finding their own way to a sustainable yoga business. The hardest part about producing the podcast - and the part that was surprisingly easier than I expected. One ugly truth about myself and how it has been holding me back in my business (and my life) A peek behind the scenes of how I choose topics for the podcast, which episodes have been the most popular, and the single most downloaded episode of the entire year. How listening to myself on the podcast has revealed an aspect of my personality that is both a limitation and a superpower - and how yoga has helped me manage and come to terms with this particular challenge.

Non compete contracts - what’s the deal?

Are you curious or confused about non-compete contracts? Many yoga studios are now asking their teachers to sign a document stating that they won't open a competing studio or some even require that you not teach at another studio within a certain distance. In this episode I share my thoughts on non-compete contracts including: The evolution of non-compete contracts in the yoga space. The circumstances that need to be in place before I would sign one How enforceable are they? - and what would enforcement look like? What you should do if you are asked to sign one, but don't feel it is fair.  Have you ever been asked to sign a non-compete? If so, what came of it? Come share your story on the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group.

3 steps to an ethical and sustainable yoga business

Many yoga teachers struggle with the concept of owning a business, because we associate businesses with an unbridled (and often unethical) pursuit of profit. On this week's podcast, Joe Pace (former marketing analyst and founder of Icewater yoga) shares how yoga teachers can take lessons from business analytics and yoga to create a career that is both ethical and sustainable.  Joe shares plenty of practical information, but we also dive deep on a philosophical level. Some of the things you'll learn include: What yoga teachers should be measuring as part of their business strategy How to calculate the amount that it's reasonable to spend on acquiring a new customer/student. What it's like running an online yoga platform A system for applying principles from marketing analytics to an ethical yoga business.  Links and Resources Icewater Yoga The Clutch Podcast

The dark side of daily practice

Even the most wonderful medicine can be harmful when applied inappropriately. While a daily home yoga practice can be nourishing and inspiring for many teachers, approaching it from a place of competition and lack is a recipe for injury and depletion.  Inspired by an email I received from a fellow yoga teacher, today's episode explores the following questions: We try to make a yoga practice accessible for students, but what about the teacher? What does it mean if you are actually becoming less flexible rather than more flexible when you increase your frequency of practice? It feels like everyone tells me a yoga teacher must practice, but if I suspect my practice might be injuring me, should I stop? Do you need to be able to perform certain poses to be a good yoga teacher? Links and Resources: Schedule a coaching call with Mado Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Get new episodes emailed to you weekly

How to stay inspired as a yoga teacher

What happened to your yoga practice when you became a teacher? Many yoga teachers are surprised by the way that the new role of teacher can actually derail their personal practice. That’s what happened to Brittany, a yoga teacher and digital marketer in Minneapolis. She went from feeling like yoga was her special refuge, to only practicing while she teaches. Now she feels lonely and lacks inspiration. In this coaching call we explore her priorities and make some choices around how she spends her time so that her cup will be full enough to share with her students. Why it’s imperative to think of yourself as a student of yoga first and a teacher second. How to organize your life around your personal practice instead of the other way around. The pros and cons of teaching in a yoga studio, vs gym or community center. How she can eventually combine her skills as a yoga teacher and digital marketing to create a sustainable business. Get on the waitlist for the group coaching/mastermind starting in the fall of 2019. Join the yoga teacher resource facebook group. Learn about scheduling your own strategy session with Mado.

Sequencing Warm Ups

Warm ups are an essential part of your yoga sequence - so how to you know if you are choosing the right poses? By listener request, I share my thoughts on the topic in this episode including: The two main purposes for warming up The kind of movement that is best for fulfilling these intentions How to choose warm up poses based on the more challenging poses you plan to teach later in the sequence. Why I think that most basic yoga poses are actually pretty complex - and how to prepare our students to get the most out of them. A simple guideline you can use for any class How to modify warm ups based on the population you teach Email subscribers also have access to three short videos of warm up sequences that I use personally. Subscribe now to get access to this and other bonus content. 

How to get teaching experience

If you’re trying to break into teaching, this episode will cover a whole bunch of ideas of how to do so. Whether you recently graduated from YTT, are still in YTT, have recently moved to a new location, or are planning to move soon - getting started is often the hardest part.  Why a yoga studio might not be the best place to start teaching - and where to find the perfect first teaching gigs. How to build trust at a yoga studio where nobody knows you (yet). The reason I recommend teaching privates - even if you don't feel ready.  How to start with the end in mind - why your reasons for teaching and your vision for the future should influence the environment in which you teach.  Get on the waitlist for the group coaching/mastermind starting in the fall of 2019. Join the yoga teacher resource facebook group.  Learn about working with me one on one. 

Leslie Kaminoff on The Yoga Alliance and Teaching Standards

Author of Yoga Anatomy and long time teacher Leslie Kaminoff shares his insider's perspective on the history and future of the Yoga Alliance and the forces influencing teaching standards in the yoga industry. Some of the topics we cover: -->What the yoga world was like when the Yoga Alliance got started and the thought processes behind their initial policies. -->How yoga evolved from a fringe activity into an industry - and how the concerns around teaching standards changed with that evolution. -->What Leslie thinks the Yoga Alliance has done right...  and several ways he thinks they have mistepped in the past -->Leslie’s top priority and reason for participating in the Yoga Alliance advisory committee -->The important element that Leslie believes Yoga Alliance is missing in their structure -->Leslie’s hope for the future of the Yoga Alliance and the industry as a whole

Inclusive Language & Yoga’s PR problem [on air coaching]

Katie Yandrick is a college professor and yoga teacher who wants to bring yoga and movement to people who don’t realize yoga is for them: body shape/size, economic background, varying abilities, race, and ethnicity – She wants the diversity that exists in her community to also exist in her yoga clients.  Katie reached out to me for help on how to speak to those people to get them to try her classes and then also once they are in class. Some questions we dive into include: What does accessible language really mean? Is it possible to speak to everyone who doesn't currently see themselves as yogis at the same time? Within the diversity of her community, what do the students Katie connects with most deeply have in common? How can we talk about yoga with people who think they know what it means, but are completely off base? Links and resources: Schedule your own coaching call with Mado Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Get on the Yoga Teacher Resource Email List