Shows
Accessible Yoga PodcastThe Teaching on Boundaries with Francesca CerveroJoin Jivana Heyman for a heartfelt conversation with fellow yoga teacher, Francesca Cervero, host of The Mentor Sessions Podcast. Together, they explore teaching during difficult times, yoga and parenting, the art of one-on-one teaching, and the power of co-creating a yoga practice with students.
Drawing on her training in Tibetan Buddhism, Francesca discusses how loving-kindness meditation helps her teach her D.C.-area students who are experiencing heightened stress amid federal job cuts and political turmoil. She shares invaluable wisdom from her 20 years of teaching, reflecting on a transformative moment with her first private client.
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2025-11-111h 01
The Movement MentalityEp. 23 - Navigating the Virtual Yoga Landscape with Francesca CerveroThe Movement Mentality Podcast with Missy BunchEp. 23 Navigating the Virtual Yoga Landscape with Francesca CerveroMissy sits down with seasoned yoga educator Francesca Cervero to explore what it takes to build a sustainable, values-led teaching business in the virtual world. Francesca has been teaching private yoga full-time since 2005 and training other yoga teachers since 2012, and in this conversation, she shares lessons learned from decades in the industry.They discuss the evolution of yoga instruction post-COVID, how to remain financially viable without compromising your values...
2025-09-2854 min
The Road Home with Ethan NichternEp. 155 - What Should a Teacher Say? with Francesca CerveroEthan is joined by friend and yoga teacher Francesca Cervero to talk about becoming a teacher as a livelihood, the duty of the teacher when it comes to building community in a post-pandemic world, and how to be clear and open with students about the ethical teachings of Buddhism and yoga in a world of chaos, violence and oppression. Francesca Cervero (she/her) has been a full time yoga and meditation teacher since 2005 and offers private and group yoga classes as well as yoga teacher mentoring and education. She is the host of the podcast "The Mentor...
2025-09-2257 min
Yoga Biz Champ with Michael JayYour Yoga Studio Is Only as Strong as Your Teachers with Francesca CerveroText me Your email for my Booking LinkWhat makes a yoga studio thrive? It’s not the logo, the schedule, or even the space — it’s the teachers and the point of view that your studio holds.In this special “podcast buddy” episode, I sit down with Francesca Cervero, host of The Mentor Sessions Podcast and long-time private yoga teacher and mentor. Francesca has been teaching yoga full-time for over 20 years, runs a teacher training called The Science of the Private Lesson, and mentors yoga teachers to develop a strong, authentic teaching voice.Togeth...
2025-09-151h 01
The Mentor Sessions157: The Business Support Every Yoga Teacher Needs with Jessica GulleyToday we are going to talk about what it really takes to grow your business as a yoga teacher, what kind of support you need, the people you might hire to help, and how I suggest you go about doing that. And to help us out with this conversation, I have the Operations Manager of my own business, Jessica Gulley! Jessica Gulley is the founder of Juggling Logistics and a logistics wizard for service-based solopreneurs who are overwhelmed with the details in their business. In this episode, you'll hear: why I hi...
2025-08-1942 min
The Studio CEO: Business Coaching For Yoga & Pilates Teachers & Studio OwnersBuilding a Successful Private Yoga Practice: Francesca Cervero's JourneySend Jackie A Message!Discover the transformative journey of Francesca Cervero, a seasoned yoga teacher who turned her passion into a thriving private practice without the crutch of social media. From her roots as a college dancer to finding profound insights through Bikram and Jivamukti yoga, Francesca shares how these experiences shaped her understanding of mindfulness and self-awareness. Her story is an inspiring testament to the power of cultivating genuine connections with students, which not only enhances the teaching experience but also bolsters business success. You’ll learn the secrets behind Francesca's client engagement strategies, emphasizing the pe...
2024-10-1527 min
The Mentor Sessions127: Q+A Private Lesson: Body Stuff, Business Stuff And Dharma Teaching #4Today I will answer a bunch of questions that you all have sent in about teaching private lessons! In this episode you'll hear: suggestions for helping a student establish a neutral pelvis in daily life advice and guidance for hands-on work in private lessons tips for finding private clients outside of the studio tips for when you need to make some money fast support in lightening up a teaching schedule how (and why!) to raise your rates help for a private student who w...
2024-02-2837 min
The Mentor Sessions126: Loving Kindness + Active Backbends (Practice with Francesca!)Well, this is an unusual episode!! Since I released a podcast episode last year about my group class planning process I've been getting more and more questions about my unique teaching style. It's been described as Buddha Dharma Meets Corrective Exercise With A Little Vinyasa In The Middle For Some Fun. It's a specific style that has been cultivated over almost 20 years of very full time teaching, and I especially love the way it lands online and in an audio format. So this episode is a short explanation, and then a full length practice! You might find it...
2024-01-301h 24
The Connected Yoga Teacher PodcastTeach Yoga Without Demos with Francesca CerveroThe Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast 283: Teach Yoga Without Demos with Francesca Cervero Description: Do you demonstrate yoga asanas when you teach? Do you wish you could do fewer demos in a class but don’t know how? How can we start doing that in our classes? Francesca Cervero explains how she teaches yoga without demos and how other yoga teachers can too. Francesca Cervero has been teaching yoga full-time since 2005. Inspired by her foundational training at OM Yoga Center, the years she spent as a dancer, and subs...
2022-08-011h 02
Yoga Teacher Resource PodcastThe Science of the Private Lesson with Francesca CerveroLearn how to incorporate private lessons into your yoga business. Francesca Cervero shares practical tips and strategies for yoga teachers who want to find private clients and improve their one on one teaching skills.
Episode Highlights:
The benefits of private lessons over group classes
Who should consider bringing private lessons into their business model
How Francesca built from her first client to teaching over 20 private clients per week.
Creative ways of offering personalized support
How to get skeptics to try yoga
The #1 thing you need to do when you teach private lessons
What to do...
2022-01-2059 min
The Mentor Sessions100: What Good Quality Teaching Looks Like with Dr. Janna Dresden + Dr. Ronald CerveroToday is our 100th episode and to celebrate we have two very special guests! Joining us on the podcast are two nationally renowned professors who are experts in online learning and teacher education, and... they also happen to be my parents! As I hope comes through on The Mentor Sessions podcast, I am very interested in studying the craft of teaching yoga, as its own practice. I love asking questions about why we teach something the way we do, how we could be more expansive and inclusive in our teaching, and how we can continue to grow...
2021-10-2644 min
The Mentor Sessions99: A Collaborative Yoga Membership Model with Catherine la O'In The Mentor Sessions Sangha we have been having a robust conversation about online yoga class library memberships. These are very popular now, and can be a great way to diversify your teaching income and support your students. They also require a decent amount of work to set up, there are an endless number of ways to organize the process and the pricing for these offerings are all over the map. If you have thought about creating an online class library, or a membership model for your live classes, I think today's podcast episode with Ca...
2021-10-121h 06
Integral Yoga PodcastFrancesca Cervero | Relationship with MyselfFrancesca Cervero has been a full-time yoga teacher since 2005. Her teaching is inspired by her foundational training with Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga Center, the years she spent as a dancer and the subsequent years she spent in physical therapy. Her teaching is also influenced by her love of Buddhist teachings and a constant curiosity about anatomy and biomechanics. She is in private practice teaching a full schedule of 1-on-1 clients, mentors yoga teachers in The Science of the Private Lesson™, hosts the podcast, The Mentor Sessions: Support & Strategy for Yoga Teachers and is the founder of the adjoining co...
2021-10-0536 min
The Mentor Sessions98: Trauma-Conscious Yoga Is A Philosophy, Not A Specialty Class with Hannah DavisWhen you think of teaching a trauma-informed yoga class, what comes to mind? Do you think of teaching a special class for a specific population, like veterans recovering from PTSD or survivors of abuse in a shelter? Those are populations that certainly benefit from a very well trained and thoughtfully trauma-conscious teacher (and specialty class!), but the truth is every single human has experienced some kind of trauma, and that is important to keep in mind in every yoga class we teach. I'm thrilled today to introduce you to yoga teacher, social worker and trauma-informed yoga expert H...
2021-09-2859 min
The Mentor Sessions97: Masks, Vaccines + Polarization In The Yoga Community with Wolf TerryAs you are well aware, we are living through a devastating public health crisis and masks and vaccines are our most important wellness tools right now (BY FAR). We know from our spiritual study that we are all interconnected, and none of us are truly well unless we are all well. I know this is a divisive topic in the yoga world and that makes it even more important that we talk about it. My guest today is Wolf Terry (she/her), a retired e-ryt and a contributing writer for Yoga Journal. Before walking away from the...
2021-09-081h 05
The Mentor Sessions96: The "BEST" way to teach twisting movements!The "BEST" way to teach twisting movements! What kind of rules have you been taught about the safest way to twist? What do you teach your students about the best way to rotate through the spine? Today we are taking a deep dive into these questions and I couldn't be more excited! Your fellow teacher and podcast listener Madison Houck joins us today to unpack this conversation, as it was inspired by a really interesting private lesson Madison and I had. In this episode you'll hear: how the spinal vertebrae relate and re...
2021-08-1751 min
The Mentor Sessions95: How To Use Fascial Slings and Whole Body Cueing In Your Teaching (PLUS: The Biopsychosocial Model!) with Kearsten LyonKearsten Lyon (she/her) is the founder and owner of an extended health care clinic called Total Movement Therapy based in Toronto, ON and sees clients virtually all over the world. Kearsten has been working and teaching within the Pilates and Rehabilitation Therapy industry since 2011. She utilizes a unique blend of Pilates, The Oov, Franklin Method, Movement for Trauma, traditional strength and conditioning exercises, client education and client–directed tissue release work in each session with her clients. In working with her I have learned so much about the human body, my own movement patterns and most esp...
2021-07-201h 10
The Mentor Sessions94: What Compelling Marketing Looks Like with Mado HesselinkI often feel like marketing is hard, and the things the "experts" tell us to do are slimy and also don't work. You feel me? That's why I'm so excited to have Mado Hesselink (she/they) on the show today! After teaching yoga for ten years, Mado met their fairy godmother business coach. She appeared in their life just long enough to plant the seeds that good business and good yoga can co-exist. Mado nurtured those seeds by studying all things business, marketing, and productivity and to her surprise found a new passion...
2021-07-061h 02
The Mentor Sessions93: Teaching Kids Yoga Has Lessons For Us All with Crystal McCrearyTeaching yoga to kids has the potential to be incredibly impactful for kids and their communities, but there are many challenges that arise when we try to take the deep and meaningful teachings of yoga and make them developmentally appropriate without losing the heart of the teachings! Lucky for us, today we have Crystal McCreary on the podcast to talk about how to model and teach yogic practices that are empowering and transformative for kids, ourselves, and our world. And even if you don't teach kids yoga, I think you will get SO MUCH out of...
2021-06-221h 02
The Mentor Sessions92: Q+A Planning And Progress In Private Lessons #3Teaching yoga in 1x1 settings is such a wonderful way to inspire and support meaningful change in our student's lives. But the possibilities for what and how you could teach a private lesson are endless and as a teacher that can feel overwhelming! How do you decide what to focus on?? Teaching yoga one-on-one requires a different skill set than teaching group classes, and these unique skills are left out of most teacher trainings. In this podcast episode I'll share the simple framework I use to teach private lessons in a way that is balancing and helpful f...
2021-06-0844 min
The Mentor Sessions91: Legal Protections For Yoga Teachers with Cory SterlingAs yoga teachers most of us are legally and financially out on our own; we are small business owners and independent contractors cobbling together enough work to make a living. There is much that needs to change about our systems, but today I want to start small and offer this free training on legal protections for yoga teachers and I'm so happy to introduce you to Cory Sterling (he/him)! Cory is a lawyer, small business owner, group fitness instructor and yoga teacher. He wrote The Yoga Law Book and has served hundreds of clients in the...
2021-05-2544 min
The Mentor Sessions90: Super Practical Answers To All Your Yoga-Tech Questions with Alex HaleyThe yoga world has changed so much since I started teaching 16 years ago. Back then I didn't have a website, use social media or have any fancy tech equipment, and I didn't know many (any?) yoga teachers who did! The need to be able to understand and use technology has changed a lot since 2005, and even more so in this last year...obviously. I'm so happy to have an episode for you today that has super practical answers to all your yoga-tech questions! My guest today is Alex Haley (he/him) and in addition to...
2021-05-1153 min
The Mentor Sessions89: An Update On Online Teaching + A Deep Dive Into The Camera On/Camera Off DebateIt has been just over one year since I shifted from teaching yoga full time in-person, to teaching full time online. It has been a huge change (obviously) in my approach to teaching and my day to day schedule. In this episode I share some updates with you about how it's going in general (well!) how my students are doing (so much beautiful growth and adaptation) and what my teaching plans look like for the future (I don't know!). I also wanted to expand on a foundational part of my teaching philosophy: the importance of being able...
2021-04-2758 min
The Mentor Sessions88: How Not To Teach Yoga with Tori LundenDo you know Tori Lunden (she/her)? She is known as Bad At Yoga on social media and if you haven't come across her work yet I'm SO excited I get to introduce you to her today. If you do know Tori's work, you won't be surprised at all to know that I jumped at the chance to connect with her, (and we had a blast!) because there are many similarities in our work! After two and half decades of spiritual searching, Tori's outlook on life can be summed up simply as, "Just be kind and maybe t...
2021-04-131h 04
The Mentor Sessions87: The Nuances Of Trauma-Informed Yoga with Sangeeta VallabhanTrauma-informed practice is a popular topic in the yoga world, and with good reason. Most people have experienced some kind of trauma and if yoga is to be a healing practice, as teachers and practitioners we must take into account what could make a practice unsafe or triggering for folks, including ourselves. But like so much of yoga in the west, trauma-informed conversations can often veer into the dogmatic, as if there was only one way to to make a student feel unsafe, or as if there were set, universal, right and wrong ways of teaching trauma-informed p...
2021-03-3048 min
The Mentor Sessions86: What It REALLY Looks Like to Regress or Progress Movement with Trina AltmanThere are two things I'm really passionate about in my teaching: One is dismantling the notion of linear, hierarchical, universal progress, especially when it comes to movement. The other is teaching in a way that students feel 100% agency to make autonomous, empowered, educated decisions about their own movement practice. These two concepts come together really beautifully when we unpack regressions and progressions in movement because for every modification that could be considered a regression there is an example of the kind of body or situation in which that version is actually a progression and vice versa. ...
2021-03-1657 min
The Mentor Sessions85: The Trans* Yoga Project with M Camellia + River RedwoodThe Trans* Yoga Project is doing incredibly important work in the yoga and wellness spaces and I'm honored to introduce you to two of the founding members, River Redwood (they/them) and M Camellia (they/them). The Trans* Yoga Project creates and holds space for Trans* people to live wholly and thrive loudly by dismantling barriers to access in yoga and wellness spaces and by offering classes and wellness services as affirming, Trans*-centered containers where their siblings can explore their own inner landscapes, tap into their various innate wisdoms, and co-create healing environments that serve their...
2021-03-0943 min
The Mentor Sessions84: The Power of Pranayama with Mirabelle D'cunhaPranayama is incredibly rich practice because breath is a powerful vehicle to explore our most intimate relationship, the one we have with ourselves. I'm really excited to introduce you to my friend Mirabelle, because studying and teaching the intricacies of pranayama is a great passion and expertise of hers! I was lucky enough to have a private pranayama lesson with her in the fall and it was a beautiful experience. Mirabelle D'cunha (she/her) supports committed yoga lovers to savour the luxury of inner experience and find purpose, pleasure and joy in life through breath. She provides a...
2021-02-2357 min
The Mentor Sessions83: A Teacher Owned Co-Op with Shamina Rao + Elizabeth Barnett of The ConnectiveThe Connective is a virtual movement studio that is cooperatively owned and powered by teachers. They provide a sustainable livelihood for yoga and movement professionals and raise industry standards for quality, diversity, anti-racism, and accessibility. They offer students an online space to explore movement, build community, and discover new potential. I am so excited to have two of the teacher-owners on the podcast today to tell us all about this new organization! Shamina Rao (she/her) Shamina's passion for yoga spans over 25 years. She was born in Mumbai, India, and spent her childhood traveling throughout I...
2021-02-0953 min
The Mentor Sessions82: The 12 Routines That Saved Me Last YearYou don't need me to tell you that The Year of Our Lord 2020 was (and this is the official designation, I'm pretty sure) A Hot Steaming Pile of Garbage. So much of what made last year difficult is unchanged at the moment and so I wanted to record an episode that is a little different from what we usually do here at The Mentor Sessions. Most of the episodes on this show are interviews with visionaries, experts and thought leaders in the yoga education space. Sometimes I hop on the mic solo to share my thoughts about o...
2021-01-2649 min
The Mentor Sessions81: Yoga In India + Yoga In The West with Arundhati BaitmangalkarThe differences between the way yoga is taught and practiced in India and the West are significant, and important for western yoga teachers to be aware of! Lucky for us, today on the podcast we have my friend Arundhati Baitmangalkar to break it down for us! Arundhati (she/her) is an Indian immigrant yoga teacher, studio business owner, podcaster and Bollywood choreographer. Now living in Seattle, Arundhati has been teaching for 14 years and owns 2 studios businesses. She was named as one of the top 20 POC yoga teachers to watch out for by Yogawalla in 2020 and she focuses o...
2021-01-1257 min
The Mentor Sessions80: An Evidence-Based Approach to Mindful Movement with Jenn PilottiThe human body is a beautiful and complex system, and people who teach movement always have more to learn! When the scientific concepts of motor control, proprioception and the science of learning itself are integrated into the way we teach movement, they can have significant impacts on mental health, chronic pain and the processing of trauma. Learning about these topics can be overwhelming though, so we are lucky to have Jenn Pilotti with us because she is an expert in an evidence-based approach to mindful movement. Jenn has been teaching movement to people of all ages and a...
2020-12-2249 min
The Mentor Sessions79: Embracing Yoga's Roots, Studentship and Anti-Racism Work with Susanna BarkatakiMy friend Susanna Barkataki has written a book called Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice and it is excellent. It is inspiring, galvanizing, a rallying cry. In this episode we talk all about what it really means to embrace yoga's roots and how to integrate our values into our teaching and respect the tradition and culture that yoga comes from. If you don't already know Susanna and her work, you must! We did a deep dive into cultural appropriation in this earlier podcast episode: 54: Unpacking Cultural Appropriation with Susanna Barkataki. An Indian yoga p...
2020-12-081h 56
The Mentor Sessions78: Injuries + Teaching Yoga with Monica BrightIf you're a yoga teacher who's had to teach while working with an injury, this podcast episode is for you! Or if you see the same injuries over and over again in your students, there are tons of nuggets of wisdom here for you too. Monica Bright is a master yoga teacher in the areas of anatomy, self massage, injuries and recovery strategies. She is also currently teaching full time while recovering from her own shoulder injury. She has a wealth of knowledge to share based on both study and personal experience and I can't wait for y'all to l...
2020-11-1052 min
The Mentor Sessions77: Letting Go of Alignment (And What To Teach Instead) with Derek CookI think many of us would agree that a strict, dogmatic focus on alignment in asana doesn't really serve our students, but the question you may be asking next is... what do I teach then? If I'm not telling students the right or wrong way to move their body, what am I teaching them? How do I communicate information about movement without taking away my students' agency? My friend Derek Cook is here to take us on a deep dive into anatomy, biomechanics, and pedagogy as we attempt to answer some of these questions! In...
2020-10-271h 10
The Business Of Teaching YogaBecoming A Great Private Yoga Teacher with Francesca CerveroTeaching private clients as a yoga teacher is not only a much better financial decision as a yoga teacher, but it also allows you to create deep, fulfilling relationships with your students in a way that teaching group classes can’t. However most of us get a few hours (if that) of instruction on how to teach a great private yoga lesson in our 200 HR YTT.So if you’re anything like me, and struggled with enjoying, growing and maintaining a private yoga practice, then this episode is for you!Francesca Cervero literally wrote the book...
2020-10-191h 17
The Mentor Sessions76: I Opened A Virtual Studio!I am so excited to announce that my virtual yoga studio Stillness + Movement is officially open! This episode will take a deep dive into how I ended up creating a virtual yoga studio (it was kind of accidental!), what is so different about the way we teach, and how I recommend teachers listening set up something similar much more cheaply than the custom registration platform I had built! In this episode you'll hear: why I wanted the studio to have an "old school" structure the distinctive way we are teaching virtual yoga (hint: we do it s...
2020-10-131h 13
Let's Talk YogaThe Science of a Private Lesson with Francesca CerveroMy guest this week wears many hats. She's a yoga teacher, podcaster, teacher trainer, mentor, and more. Francesca Cervero & I discuss how during this unprecedented time for the world & yoga studios, yoga teachers need to understand the potential of getting private clients to stick. As yoga studios are closing every week across the globe. In the years ahead, there will be lesser opportunities to get employed as new yoga teachers & make it progressively harder. That's why this conversation today is gold!Francesca runs a teacher training called, "the science of a private lesson". Which makes...
2020-10-0649 min
The Mentor Sessions75: Where Do We Go From Here? with Amber Karnes + Susanna BarkatakiCreating and connecting with community has been one of my most important practices this year. I have a weekly Sunday night Zoom hang out with my best friends from college. I'm in a quarantine pod with my parents and have dinner with them most weeks. I have regular Slack and text chats with the Stillness + Movement teaching team. Checking in, venting, processing, uplifting, fantasizing and being together keeps me awake, grounded and grateful. The Where Do We Go From Here? series here on The Mentor Sessions has been such a great excuse to get some of my...
2020-09-2959 min
The Mentor Sessions74: Where Do We Go From Here? with Theo Wildcroft + Matthew RemskiThis is the fourth episode in the Where Do We Go From Here? series here on the podcast and in this episode my guests and I acknowledge some of the particular challenges American yoga teachers are facing in the midst of COVID-19 and our country's semi-shutdown. We talk about the future of brick and mortar yoga studios, the challenges of teaching online, the difference between performing and teaching and creative ways YTT's are pivoting and the new accessibility that offers. Learn More From Matthew: On his website On Facebook In his book: Practice and All is C...
2020-09-221h 15
The Mentor Sessions73: Where Do We Go From Here? with Jules Mitchell + Arundhati BaitmangalkarIt is now September of this unprecedented year, and there is so much that is unknown about our future and our world. When I asked my friends Jules Mitchell and Arundhati Baitmangalkar to join me for this conversation about what happens next, particularly in the yoga world, they both cautioned me that they didn't really have many answers to my questions. "That's okay!" I said. "It's not important to give people sure and concrete answers, those don't really exist in the best of times anyway. It's just important to have conversations about what comes next out in public!"
2020-09-0858 min
The Mentor Sessions72: Where Do We Go From Here? With Crystal McCreary + Monica BrightSo much has changed in our world in the last several months, and the questions I keep asking myself are: If everything is going to change, what matters most? If we are never going back to the old way of doing things, what do I want to create in the new world? I'm so excited to host a series here on The Mentor Sessions called, Where Do We Go From Here? where I get to ask leaders in our yoga world these exact questions. The feedback about the first episode has been great. S...
2020-08-041h 11
The Mentor Sessions71: Where Do We Go From Here? With Jesal Parikh + Bryn ChrismanSo much has changed in our world in the last several months, and the yoga world has been forced to pull in and take a pause. While many brick and mortar studios are closing and there are other related sad endings, I think we are also in a time ripe for positive and much needed change. If everything is going to change, what matters most?If we are never going back to the old way of doing things, what do we want to create in the new world? These are questions I have been...
2020-07-071h 25
The Mentor Sessions70: Yoga, Human Rights, and Accessibility with Jivana HeymanI'm really grateful to bring you this interview with Jivana Heyman, the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, because his voice and leadership is SO needed right now. Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Out of this work, the Accessible Yoga organization was created to support education, training and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga. Over the past 25 years, Jivana has led countless yoga teacher training programs around the world, and dedicates his time to supporting yoga teachers who...
2020-05-191h 11
The Mentor Sessions69: Teaching Yoga OnlineThese are intense, unprecedented times. I know so much about your day to day life has changed in the last few weeks. As yoga teachers, our work has become quite challenging. But if you (and your students) have a computer and an internet connection, it is possible to stay connected with your students, continue to teach and continue to make money if your family depends on your yoga teaching income like mine does. This episode was pulled from a video training I shared, along with many other resources, on my blog. You can find all the videos a...
2020-04-2150 min
The Mentor Sessions68: Teaching Yoga in Corporate Settings with Samantha HarrisonNOTE: We recorded this podcast episode months ago, and life was different back then. I decided to release this episode for y'all now anyway for three reasons: 1. I thought it might get your creative juices flowing if you find yourself teaching non-traditional yoga classes...2. Sam is being treated as an employee by some of the companies where she teaches and will still be paid, even if the company is closed, so corporate gigs can provide some good stability.... And 3. I thought you might be interested in listening to some yoga-related content that isn't about the virus or teaching online...
2020-03-231h 02
The Mentor Sessions67: Evolving as a Yoga Teacher- A Live Mentoring SessionToday you're going to hear a live, unedited 1x1 mentoring session! I love connecting with teachers in 1x1 mentoring sessions because I get to listen deeply to the challenges they are facing and together we troubleshoot solutions to their biggest teaching conundrums. While the questions we ponder might seem small, I have seen, again and again, how holding space for teachers to think critically about their teaching can have a significant impact. Supporting teachers in being in compassionate inquiry about their teaching practice transforms not just their teaching, but their careers and their lives. I i...
2020-02-181h 00
The Mentor Sessions66: An Intro to Low Back Pain with Jesal ParikhBack pain is complex and many students end up in yoga classes because they heard it would be good for their "bad back" so I'm super excited to share the wisdom of my friend Jesal Parikh with you today. Jesal has been teaching yoga since 2010, is the co-creator of the Yoga is Dead podcast and serves as a volunteer for World Spine Care Yoga Project. She has a strong background in anatomy, kinesiology and biomechanics for yoga teachers and teaches these topics in several yoga teacher trainings. In this episode you'll hear: a basic ov...
2020-01-211h 00
The Mentor Sessions65: Marketing for Yoga Teachers with Nikki Naab-LevyWhat do you think of when you hear the word "marketing"? Does it make you think of sleazy sales tactics? Or does it remind you of all the things you think you are supposed to be doing, like social media and email lists, and make you feel immediately overwhelmed?? Whichever camp you fall into, this episode has something for you! Y'all have been asking me to talk about marketing for yoga teachers for YEARS, and I have resisted until now. I met someone who I am TOTALLY in agreement with when it comes to marketing and I'm...
2020-01-071h 01
The Mentor Sessions64: Yoga for Arthritis with Dr. Steffanny MoonazDid you know that arthritis is not one single disease, but a category of over 100 medical conditions that is actually the leading cause of disability in the US?? Before talking to Dr. Steffany Moonaz (and reading her book) I didn't either! Dr. Steffany Moonaz founded Yoga for Arthritis after 8 years at Johns Hopkins University where she studied the effects of yoga for people living with arthritis. She now serves as the Director of Clinical and Academic Research at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, which offers the nation's only Masters of Science in Yoga Therapy. Sh...
2019-12-031h 10
The Mentor Sessions63: Self Care is Bigger Than You Think with Gracy ObuchowiczThe term self care is ubiquitous in our world today and since yoga practice is an important part of self care for some people the topic comes up for us yoga teachers quite often! Also, it can be difficult to practice good self care as a yoga teacher running all over town trying to make ends meet, so I am really excited to introduce you to my friend Gracy today! Gracy Obuchowicz is a Washington, DC-based group facilitator, retreat leader and self-care coach and a very good, real life friend of mine! She is also a certified I...
2019-11-1944 min
The Mentor Sessions62: Q + A About Private Lessons with Francesca #2Teaching yoga one-on-one requires a totally different skill set than teaching group classes and these unique skills are left out of most teacher trainings so if you have lots of questions about teaching 1x1 lessons that makes sense. I've been a full time yoga teacher since 2005, teaching 15-25 private clients a week for most of the last 14+ years so I've got plenty of experience in this realm and am so happy to answer your questions! In this episode I do a Quickfire Q + A and answer these questions: Is it rude if I bring a swiffer a...
2019-11-0540 min
The Mentor Sessions61: Rethinking Yoga Teacher Training with Cecily MilneI'm honored to call Cecily Milne a friend. She is thoughtful, smart and an amazing force for change in the yoga world. As the creator of Yoga Detour, she is seen as a yoga "integrator", helping people bridge the gap between the yoga they already love and the other things, like strength and mobility, they're becoming increasingly curious about. You can find Cecily teaching digitally through Detour Method Online and traveling around the world introducing people to the transformative power of intentional, inquiry-based learning and movement. To hear more about Cecily and her approach to incorporating "non-yoga" m...
2019-10-2247 min
The Mentor Sessions60: A Union for Yoga TeachersA large group of yoga teachers at YogaWorks in New York City is working together to create a labor union that would be the first of its kind. (!) This is what they have to say about it, "We are Yoga and Mindful Fitness Educators. We're coming together to have a voice in our industry, raise industry standards and create a more equitable and sustainable profession for all. Our goal is for employees, students, and businesses to thrive." I'm excited to share their work, stories, hopes, and goals with you all. This is a big deal. I...
2019-10-1550 min
The Mentor Sessions59: ROM, Neuroscience + Yoga with Garrett NeillDr. Garrett Neill, or Dr. Yogi Gare as he's known online, is a Chiropractor and a yoga teacher and I LOVE following his work on social media. He shares tons of helpful information for yoga teachers and holds the space for really interesting conversations for our community. In his work with patients Dr. Garrett employs Chiropractic Manual Therapies, Soft Tissue Techniques and Corrective Exercises that emphasize stability, strength, and efficiency to ensure his patients are capable of moving in the best way possible. He writes and lectures about anatomy, biomechanics, & neuroscience and how they relate to yoga a...
2019-10-081h 03
The Mentor Sessions58: All About The Shoulder with Diana ZotosThe shoulder is a notoriously complex and even injury prone joint, but we don't have to be afraid of it! Today we have Diana Zotos, our resident Physical Therapist, joining us on The Mentor Sessions to dive into everything yoga teachers need to know about the shoulder! Diana is the co-founder and co-director of Threes Physiyoga Method™ which is dedicated to teaching yoga teachers applied anatomy and kinesiology, and bridging the gap through advanced teacher training between yoga teachers and the healthcare industry. In this episode you'll hear: an overview of all the bones that...
2019-10-0157 min
The Mentor Sessions57: Building Strength with Kathryn Bruni-YoungI absolutely love Kathryn Bruni-Young's smart approach to movement and well-rounded strength and I'm so excited to have her back on The Mentor Sessions to share her wisdom with us! Kathryn Bruni-Young is an international teacher, a strength training enthusiast, teacher trainer and the host of the Mindful Strength Podcast. She produces an online studio from her country home in eastern Ontario, and she educates folks on how they can build their strength and add more strengthening to their yoga, pilates and functional movement classes. You can listen to my first interview with Kathyrn and he...
2019-09-1045 min
The Mentor Sessions56: Avoiding Burnout: Self Care, Boundaries + Daily RoutinesI hear frequently from yoga teachers who feel burned out and are trying to figure out how to dig themselves out of that hole. I know it can be so tough! We become yoga teachers because we love the practice and are initially so excited to share it with others, but the realities of making a living as a yoga teacher can be very challenging. We find ourselves working constantly without making much money or the practice that once was a private spiritual life raft has become a public performance and sometimes that makes it lose some of it's...
2019-08-221h 00
The Mentor Sessions55: Yoga is Dead with Tejal + JesalThe yoga world is a subculture of our society; it mirrors both the beauty and the problems of the wider culture it inhabits. As a group we tend to spend more time teaching and talking about the things we deem "positive" about ourselves and our world, but in the long run this does everyone a disservice, both us and our yoga students. If we want our world to be different and better it is up to create that change. And that means we have to talk about the underbelly of the yoga industry. We have to shine a...
2019-07-3055 min
The Mentor Sessions54: Unpacking Cultural Appropriation with Susanna BarkatakiMy spiritual practice is one that asks me to wake up to the world as it is. My spiritual practice asks me to be strong enough to see the truth about our society and understand my place in it. My spiritual practice values equity for all people and has a deep reverence for our inherent interdependence as a species. My spiritual practice has always understood that I am not free until all people are free. The evolution of this path led me to anti-racism work. As I began to see how living in a...
2019-07-161h 03
The Mentor Sessions53: The Science of Yoga with Ann SwansonAnn Swanson is a certified yoga therapist, mind-body science educator, and author of the beautiful new book, Science of Yoga. She is part heart-based healer and part science nerd. With a Master of Science in yoga therapy and roots studying yoga in India and tai chi/qi gong China, Ann uniquely applies cutting-edge research to mind-body practices while maintaining the heart of the traditions. She joins us on the podcast today to talk about the intersection of yoga and science. In this episode you'll hear: what the yoga world has to gain from diving deeper into th...
2019-07-0351 min
The Mentor Sessions52: Cult Dynamics, Abuse + Healing in Yoga with Matthew RemskiMatthew Remski is a yoga teacher and author. As the survivor of two cults, his work has been pivotal in illuminating the shadows of globalized yoga and Buddhism, and showing that disillusionment and critical inquiry can be gateways to mature spirituality. Matthew has written a new and very important book called Practice And All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, And Healing In Yoga And Beyond and it should be required reading for all yoga teachers. The book explores abuse that took place in Mysore (as well as around the wider yoga world) AND offers us a path forward through th...
2019-06-181h 11
The Mentor Sessions51: An Applied Neuroscience Approach to Yoga + Movement with Erin JadeErin Jade has been working in massage therapy and yoga/movement instruction since 2004. In 2014 she began to pivot away from traditional asana into varietal movement drawing from the influences of Katy Bowman, Erwan Le Corre, Ido Portal, Igor Burdenko, Moshe Feldenkrais, FRC, Laban Bartenieff, contemporary dance and more. The search led her to movement education and rehab through the lens of applied neuroscience when she discovered education systems Z Health and Applied Movement Neurology Academy. Erin has begun to introduce these concepts to yoga and movement teachers and we are so lucky to have her on the podcast today...
2019-06-0451 min
The Mentor Sessions50: Very Special Episode: Interview With My Two Best Friends!This is a VERY special podcast episode! To celebrate Episode #50 I decided to turn the microphone around and let someone interview ME. And it's not just any "someone". Almost by coincidence two of my very best friends from college, Alece Demeray and Nikki Hay, became yoga teachers many years after I did. We are Yoga Friends now but we still are Regular (Best) Friends first. I knew if I asked them to interview me you folks would get a glimpse at the real, unfiltered version of Francesca! In this episode you'll hear: about the most influential t...
2019-05-211h 02
Yoga TherapyFrancesca Cervero: Private Yoga Teacher, Podcaster, Mentor, Teacher's TeacherWelcome to this Episode of the Yoga to Cope Podcast. Please enjoy this episode where we chat with Maryland-based "teacher's teacher" Francesca Cervero. Francesca is a full-time private yoga teacher, host of her podcast, the Mentor Sessions (a personal fav!) and leader of many virtual mentoring and training courses. Today, we discuss getting past yoga feeling "sleepy", eating disorders, and much more. Please visit Francesca at her Instagram and Website, and sign up for her newsletter to stay in-the-know with what she has coming up!
Website: www.francescacervero.com
Instagram: instagram.com/francescacervero
YOGA TO COPE IS A 501(c)(3) NONPROFIT...
2019-05-201h 08
The Mentor Sessions49: How To Offer Modifications in a Group Class with Gabby DeLorenzeIt is common for yoga students to come into class, tell us they have an injury and expect us to be able to modify for them or at least give them ideas as to what they should avoid. If those moments before class make you nervous then today's podcast episode is for you! Gabby DeLorenze has her Bachelor's degree in Athletic Training, a Master's degree in Biomechanics, a certification from NASM as a Certified Exercise Specialist and is also a yoga teacher and today we're going to talk all about how to offer modifications in a group yoga class.
2019-05-0750 min
The Mentor Sessions48: Not Teaching Yoga Anymore with Caitlin CasellaThe path of a career yoga teacher can be a circuitous one. I find it so helpful to hear how different teachers navigate that terrain, and today we get to hear from Caitlin Casella, who has been teaching yoga and leading teacher trainings for a decade! Since adding strength training and other functional movement modalities to her repertoire, her practice and priorities have shifted. Now, as she pursues her Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy, Caitlin's aim is to make movement more accessible to the general population and demystify the science of the human body. In this episode...
2019-04-2246 min
The Mentor Sessions47: How To Hold Space with Octavia RaheemToday I am THRILLED to introduce you to yoga teacher, writer, mama and studio owner, Octavia Raheem. This episode stands out as an all time favorite; the deep wisdom and beautiful words that Octavia shared felt like a salve for a wound I'd hardly even noticed was there. This path of teaching yoga asks us to constantly look at ourselves in deeper and more curious ways, and to process that intense work with a fellow sister on the path offered a joyful relief. Listen in and enjoy our conversation! Octavia Raheem leads a yoga and m...
2019-04-0950 min
The Mentor Sessions46: Resistance Bands + Yoga with Giulia Pline and Laurel BeversdorfMore and more yoga teachers are incorporating resistance bands into their teaching because they can be a wonderful complement to the movements found in a traditional asana practice! We are super lucky to have TWO amazing teachers who are EXPERTS at this joining us on the podcast today for a roundtable discussion on incorporating resistance bands into asana classes. Giulia Pline is a Threes Physiyoga Method teacher and she combines corrective exercise, functional mobility work, and knowledge from the physical therapy world with yoga. Giulia has developed a series of resistance band and yoga workshops that integrate re...
2019-03-261h 16
The Mentor Sessions45: Incorporating FRC Into Yoga Classes with Clayton WeaklyHave you been hearing yoga teacher friends talk about PAILs and RAILs and CARs and 90/90 and you're feeling a little left out because you have no idea what they're talking about? No worries... we're going to fix that today! Clayton Weakly is a friend of mine and while he started his teaching career as a Yoga Tune Up teacher he now works as a Functional Range Conditioning movement coach. We've got him on the podcast sharing tons of great ideas for incorporating FRC into yoga classes! In this episode you'll hear: what Functional Range Conditioning, or...
2019-03-1953 min
The Mentor Sessions44: Taxes for Yoga Teachers with Michelle LinaneTax time is coming up here in the States and I know how stressful the process of filing and paying our taxes can be for yoga teachers! Did you know that every year yoga teachers around the U.S. overpay in taxes due to a lack of knowledge around beneficial tax deductions they can take as independent contractors? To helps us all understand everything we need to know to prepare and file our taxes we have Michelle Linane joining us on the podcast today. Michelle is the host of the Love Teaching Yoga Podcast and the creator...
2019-03-0554 min
The Mentor Sessions43: Practicing and Teaching Meditation with Cyndi LeeMany yoga teachers want to have a meditation practice, or feel like they should have a meditation practice but don't for some reason. Other yoga teachers practice meditation but feel shy or uncertain about how to incorporate meditation into their teaching. We are very lucky to have Cyndi Lee (!) on the podcast today, talking us through everything that is important about practicing and teaching meditation in her Classic Cyndi Way: clear, steady, gentle and warm. In this episode you'll hear: the benefits of a meditation practice and why all yoga teachers should have a meditation practice h...
2019-02-2642 min
The Mentor Sessions42: How Side Gigs and Great Referrals Can Build Your Private Yoga Practice with Janie GangaJanie Ganga Fronek is a teacher of the Integrated Amrit Method of Yoga. Janie Ganga began practicing Amrit yoga in 2002 as a weekly student – until shifts in her life led her to Amrit Level I (RYT 200) certification in 2013. She believes in Health at Every Size - the simple premise that the best way to improve health is to honor your body – and offers Size-Affirming yoga workshops and Chair Yoga. Janie Ganga teaches private yoga & weekly group classes in Providence Rhode Island and she loves helping to make the ancient teachings of yoga accessible to ALL. In this epis...
2019-02-0533 min
The Mentor Sessions41: Deep Dive Teaching in Luzerne, Switzerland with Karen KurzmeyerOver the next few weeks we're doing something new here on The Mentor Sessions. I'm going to introduce you to five amazing yoga teachers all of whom are engaged in active teaching practices in different parts of the country, and world! These five teachers also happen to be alumni from my teacher training, The Science of the Private Lesson™, and you'll get to hear directly from them what has happened in their teaching and business since our time together. Today you get to meet Karen! As a driven and overworked business owner, Karen began her yoga practice to...
2019-01-2632 min
The Mentor Sessions40: Full Time Teaching in Greenville, North Carolina with Samantha HarrisonOver the next few weeks we're doing something new here on The Mentor Sessions. I'm going to introduce you to five amazing yoga teachers all of whom are engaged in active and full teaching practices in very different parts of the world! These five teachers also happen to be alumni from my teacher training, The Science of the Private Lesson™, and you'll get to hear directly from them what has happened in their teaching and business since our time together. Today you get to meet Samantha! Samantha Harrison teaches alignment-based vinyasa and gentle yoga in Greenville, North Ca...
2019-01-2123 min
The Mentor Sessions39: Expansive Teaching Within Our Scope of Practice with Megan SpearsMegan Spears is a yoga teacher based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Megan teaches publicly, privately, and is also a lead teacher for EveryOne Yoga School 200 hour yoga teacher training. Megan has been practicing yoga since 2005 and teaching professionally since 2014. Megan has passionately pursued additional education with many teachers and mentors in areas of Trauma-Informed Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, Functional Anatomy and Sequencing, Private Yoga Teaching, and Mediation. She is a candidate for the Bachelor's degree of Science in Health Education and Promotion with an emphasis on Exercise Science from Oklahoma State University. Her personal practice, experience, and education informs her ability...
2019-01-1528 min
The Mentor Sessions38: Full Time Teaching in San Francisco with Raquel ScalonOver the next few weeks we're doing something really special here on The Mentor Sessions. I'm going to introduce you to five amazing yoga teachers all of whom are engaged in active and full teaching practices in very different parts of the world! These five teachers also happen to be alumni from my teacher training, The Science of the Private Lesson™, and you'll get to hear directly from them what has happened in their teaching and business since our time together. First up is Raquel! Raquel Scalon is a full-time private yoga teacher in San Francisco. She sp...
2019-01-0830 min
The Mentor Sessions37: Q + A About Private Lessons with FrancescaWe are doing something new today on The Mentor Sessions! I'm reading some of the Most Frequently Asked questions I get about teaching private lessons and offering you my quick and dirty answers. Some of these topics very well may need their own episode, so please reach out and let me know what follow up questions you have. In this episode you'll hear: How to structure a private lesson so that it doesn't feel the same as a group class. How to deal with the boundaries of showing up for our clients through our own illness...
2018-12-1134 min
The Mentor Sessions36: How To Teach A 2 Person Private LessonHave you ever had a private client bring their partner or friend to a private lesson and wondered exactly what you should be doing? Have you ever struggled to teach private lessons to a couple who had wildly different physical and emotional needs? In today's episode we are going to cover all that and more! In this episode you'll hear: how to meet the needs of two individuals who have completely different needs how to do an intake with two people what to charge for a 2 person private lesson how to manage the dynamics of a...
2018-11-2736 min
The Mentor Sessions35: The State of Yoga Education with Jules MitchellIn the conversations I have with colleagues about yoga teacher trainings the focus is almost always centered on the idea that 200 hours is not enough time to produce high quality baseline yoga teachers. I brought this question to my friend and teacher Jules Mitchell to get her opinion and very quickly our conversation veered from the serious but simple question, "How many hours of training should foundational YTTs have?" to the much more complex questions of, "Who gets to have the power to decide what makes a good yoga teacher?" and "If we raise the standards to make 'better...
2018-10-2643 min
The Mentor Sessions34: A Creative Use of Props with Guest Teacher Trina AltmanTrina Altman is the creator of Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed®, which take an interdisciplinary approach to foster an embodied understanding of yoga and Pilates and their relationship to modern movement science. Her book, Yoga Deconstructed®: Transitioning From Rehabilitation Back Into The Yoga Studio is slated to be published by Handspring Publishing in December 2019. Check out our previous interview to get to know more about Trina and her Yoga Deconstructed approach in Episode #3. In this episode you'll hear: Why it can be helpful to add more stability, strength and motor control into our asana classes. The diff...
2018-10-1649 min
The Mentor Sessions33: Accessibility and Community With Guest Teacher Dianne BondyDianne Bondy is a celebrated yoga teacher, social justice activist and leading voice of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive view of yoga asana and philosophy inspires and empowers thousands of followers around the world – regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability and we are so lucky to have her offering her wisdom and inspiration on The Mentor Sessions podcast today! In this episode you'll hear: How to make yoga spaces that are supportive of marginalized populations that have been traditionally left out of the modern western yoga world. What changes we ho...
2018-10-021h 02
The Mentor Sessions32: Incorporating Non-Yoga Movements In Your Classes with Guest Teacher Cecily MilneIt is becoming increasingly common for yoga teachers to bring movements and practices from outside the traditional yoga practice into their teaching. Are you one of these teachers? Do you want to be, but feel unsure about the most skillful way to bring non-yoga movements into the practices you teach? At the forefront of this cultural shift we find Cecily Milne of Yoga Detour and I am so excited to have her on the podcast today sharing her wisdom with us. An avid Ashtanga practitioner from 2003-2013, Cecily practiced under the guidance of senior teachers...
2018-09-1845 min
The Mentor Sessions31: How To Work With Pregnant Yoga Students with Guest Teacher Deb FlashenbergHave you ever had a pregnant yoga student walk into your group yoga class and immediately think, "Oh crap. I don't know how to modify the practice for her or keep her safe without changing my whole plan!" ? Today's podcast episode with prenatal yoga expert (and my old friend!) Deb Flashenberg will cover everything you need to know on this subject! Deb is the founder and director of the Prenatal Yoga Center in NYC and host of the podcast, Yoga | Birth | Babies. She is also a certified prenatal yoga teacher, labor support doula, childbirth educator, and mother of...
2018-09-0445 min
The Mentor Sessions30: Expanding Your Lens with Guest Teacher Crystal McCrearyCrystal McCreary has a true teacher's heart and if you aren't already familiar with her work I am so excited to introduce you to her on today's episode! Crystal has taught yoga and mindfulness since 2007. She is committed to creating and holding safe spaces for people to connect, heal, learn, and build resilience in a world that often takes relentless hold of our bodies, minds, and hearts. Crystal leads 100-hour kids yoga and mindfulness teacher trainings for Little Flower Yoga and Bent On Learning, and facilitates trauma-informed yoga for court-involved youth in juvenile detention centers with Lineage P...
2018-08-2157 min
The Mentor Sessions29: The Power of Simple Teaching Guest Teacher Sarah CapuaHave you ever taken (or taught!) a yoga class that was simple in sequencing but deeply powerful in its effect on you? Maybe you love teaching and practicing yoga in a simple way but you feel like you are the only one? Do you think that all your students want fancier, faster and more exciting asana classes? Whether this describes you or not, I am so honored to introduce you to my old NYC buddy Sarah Capua. Sarah is a yoga therapist and meditation teacher, a student of Buddhism and classical yogic practice, and a...
2018-08-061h 04
The Mentor Sessions28: Hip Injuries and Yoga with Guest Teacher Ariele FosterDo you have hip pain? Today's episode is all about the hip joint and hip injuries that are common in yoga practitioners. Many of you may already know this story, but I tore my hip labrum when I was 23 years old and I spent the first two years of my yoga teaching career walking with a cane and was in incredible pain. I had a slow, but amazing recovery from that injury, and now almost 12 years later I am stronger, healthier and more pain free than I have ever been in my life! If you are in...
2018-06-181h 03
The Mentor Sessions27: Yoga in a Clinical Setting with Guest Teacher Lara BenusisToday on the podcast we get to learn from the wisdom of Lara Benusis, a pioneer in translating yoga into hospital environments. She was the first full time yoga instructor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where she developed their in-hospital and outpatient wellness offerings. A certified yoga instructor since 1996, Lara is currently an advanced masters student in Applied Physiology at Columbia University and is focused on exploring the efficacy and mechanisms of exercise and yoga on the survivorship of cancer. On this episode you'll hear about the research she has been doing on yoga within the...
2018-06-111h 02
The Mentor Sessions26: What Real Body Love Looks Like With Guest Teacher Anna Guest-JellyI heard my friend Anna say, "telling students to love their body is not enough...." and I responded with, "please be a guest on the podcast so we can talk about this!" I wanted to ask her, "How can yoga teachers better support their students to be in a loving relationship with their body?" Anna Guest-Jelley is the founder of Curvy Yoga, an online yoga studio and teacher training center that helps people of all sizes find true acceptance and freedom, both on and off the mat. Anna is the author of Curvy Yoga: Love Yourself & Your B...
2018-05-2845 min
The Mentor Sessions25: Yoga and The Pelvic Floor with Guest Teacher Diana ZotosIf you don't already know my good friend Diana Zotos I am so excited for you to meet her! Diana is a physical therapist and yoga teacher. In 2006 Diana began her 7 year career at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC, spending those years treating anyone from inpatient joint replacement patients to professional marathon runners. She completed her yoga teacher training at OM Yoga in 2010. Diana is also co-founder and co-director of Threes Physiyoga Method™ (TPM). TPM is dedicated to teaching yoga teachers applied anatomy and kinesiology, and bridging the gap through advanced teacher training between yoga teachers and th...
2018-05-1440 min
The Mentor Sessions24: The Myth of the Ideal Private Yoga ClientI've got another solo episode for you today and we are going to talk about what I call, The Myth of the Ideal Private Yoga Client... I'll tell you all about this phenomenon, where it came from, the good intentions of the online marketing coaches who teach it, and the negative affect I see it having on the yoga world. Part of the reason people who teach online marketing are so heavily invested in this idea is because the better you know who you're selling to, the more specific your marketing can be-- so the...
2018-04-3016 min
The Mentor Sessions23: The Support / Challenge Matrix of Private Yoga LessonsIt's just you and I again on the podcast today! We are going to dive deeper into a topic I have mentioned several times on this podcast: The Support/Challenge Matrix of Private Yoga Lessons. I hear all the time from teachers who are overwhelmed with all the possibility that comes with teaching private yoga. There are so many things to think about! I want to help you drop into your intuition in a grounded way so I created a framework to use as you assess your students and figure out what they need. These...
2018-04-2324 min
The Mentor Sessions22: 7 Ways To Be A More Confident Yoga TeacherI am so excited about today's topic! We are going to talk about confidence and what you can do to become a more confident yoga teacher. I wanted to talk about this because several months ago I asked my community what they were struggling with and overwhelmingly people answered that lacking confidence was their biggest struggle as a teacher. And of course, that's not a yoga teacher thing. That's a human thing. It makes sense to me, also, that those feelings are amplified when we take on a role as a teacher. As a yoga teacher you s...
2018-04-1916 min
The Mentor Sessions21: How To Teach Private Clients Who are Yoga SkepticsOn today's newest podcast episode it is just you and I! I am excited to connect with you 1x1 and answer a question I get asked all the time! "What is the best way to teach someone who is skeptical or unsure about yoga?" I get asked this question frequently because this is something I have done quite a bit of! In my private practice in New York City I ended up with a schedule full of clients who were interested in the benefits they felt were possible with a yoga practice, but felt uncomfortable...
2018-04-1622 min
The Mentor Sessions20: How To Teach Open Level Vinyasa Class- LIVE MENTOR SESSIONToday you're going to hear a live, unedited 1x1 mentoring session! I have been planning to do an episode like this since I started producing this show and this is the first opportunity I 've had to finally record one! I love connecting with teachers in 1x1 mentor sessions because I get to listen deeply and troubleshoot solutions to their biggest challenges. I wanted to record a 1x1 mentoring session (like the ones I have with people in my online training and in my Virtual Mentoring Program) with someone that I hadn't worked with previously. I'm so e...
2018-04-0950 min
The Mentor Sessions19: Integrating Spiritual Teachings Into Asana ClassesThis is a favorite, and quite personal episode for me. Today we are talking about integrating spiritual teachings into asana classes. This is a personal favorite because this is one of the parts of my teaching that has changed most dramatically since I began teaching in 2005. When I was a new teacher most of my yoga practice focused on movement and asana, and I didn't have much experience in a mature spiritual practice. As a new teacher at OM Yoga Center I began to study buddhism and while the teachings resonated very deeply with me, I wasn't...
2018-04-0239 min
The Mentor Sessions18: Staying Inspired in ALL Your Teaching with Guest Teacher Jennifer BrilliantI have such a treat for you!! On today's episode I have the honor of interviewing my main teacher from my very first teacher training back in 2005, Jennifer Brilliant! Since 1989 Jennifer has taught all levels of group and private yoga classes and lead countless special workshops. Jennifer was the Director of OM Yoga Center's Teacher Training programs and under her eye, dozens of graduates became OM-certified yoga teachers, including me! She has recently completed her IAYT certification, and she is here to share her vast wisdom with us all. In this episode you'll hear: How Jennifer d...
2018-03-2633 min