Conversations for Yoga Teachers

There’s no denying that yoga helps people feel better. But what benefits come from yoga practice? In today’s episode, we look to not only a recent study to discover some of the benefits of yoga to one’s mental health but I also share how you can create sequences that are focused on improving mental health. This could be used in a clinical setting or any setting where you’re teaching people with mental health challenges and it also has utility in any class where you want to provide an environment for improved feelings of well-being. The study referenced is here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5425577/#:~:text=Studies%20have%20shown%20that%20people,et%20al.%2C%202013. As always if you have questions, just reach out.

In Part 1 of this series, I talked about why many yoga teachers finish their training expecting to feel confident, only to find that teaching still feels harder than they expected (and takes a lot more planning time than they thought). In this episode, we shift the conversation toward what actually helps teachers feel more confident. Instead of focusing on accumulating more information or taking more trainings, confidence often grows from developing a few key teaching skills and simplifying what you focus on when you teach. In this episode, I talk about: • a clear format for cueing you can use to make things feel more natural • how teaching a Signature Sequence can dramatically reduce the stress of planning classes • why understanding movement is more useful than memorizing anatomy terms • and how shifting your mindset about your role as a teacher can change how you show up in class If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed or unsure, this episode will help you start focusing on the things that actually move the needle. I also share a short training that walks you through how to create your own Signature Sequence so you can spend less time planning classes and feel more confident teaching. You can access that here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-create-a-signature-sequence/

Many yoga teachers complete their training expecting that confidence will naturally follow. But once they begin teaching, they often find themselves questioning their cues, second-guessing their sequences, or feeling confused about anatomy. In this episode, I talk about a pattern I’ve seen after working with many yoga teachers: the gap between completing a training and actually feeling confident leading a class. We explore some of the reasons this happens — including how many trainings emphasize accumulating knowledge rather than developing the practical teaching skills that help classes feel easier and more natural to lead. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why teaching still feels harder than you expected, this episode will help you see that you’re not alone — and that the issue often has more to do with how teachers are trained than with your ability to teach. In Part 2, I’ll share what actually builds confidence for yoga teachers and the key things you can focus on if you want teaching to feel simpler and more grounded. I talk about a resource at the end which is my Signature Sequence video. You can get it here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-create-a-signature-sequence/

In this episode, I’m tackling a common source of confusion in the yoga industry: when teaching methods get mistaken for anatomical/movement principles. Many yoga teachers hear cues or “rules” about certain poses — things like “don’t put your foot on the side of your knee in Tree Pose” or “you shouldn’t square your hips in Warrior 1 because that forces the hips into an uncomfortable position.” But often these statements aren’t well grounded in anatomy or movement science. Instead, they reflect a particular teacher’s style, preference, or interpretation of how a pose should be taught. Or, they might simply reflect a lack of anatomical knowledge on the part of the teacher. In this episode, I share why it’s important to distinguish between evidence-based anatomy principles and teaching methodology, and why asking “why?” is one of the most powerful tools a teacher can use when evaluating cues and alignment advice. If you’ve ever heard conflicting guidance about poses and wondered what’s actually true, this episode will help you think about anatomy, movement, and cueing with more clarity and confidence. In the episode, I also speak about how I worked with a yoga teacher to help her get clear on how she wants to teach. This happened inside the Accelerator Program. Here’s the link: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator Feel free to reach out to me on IG with any thoughts to share after you listen to the episode.

Have you ever heard a teacher say, “It takes a long time to be a good yoga teacher.” This is an embedded belief in the industry and what it leads to is teachers who feel ill-prepared, overwhelmed and lack confidence. In this episode, I’ll walk you through how to build your confidence by showing you what to focus on, exactly, in a step by step way. This episode will help you cut that feeling of overwhelm, will save you time and will help you start to feel confident. In the episode, I speak about how I can help you through one on one coaching. You’ll find the link to that here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator Feel free to reach out to me on IG with any thoughts to share after you listen to the episode.

In this final part of a 4-part podcast series, you’ll discover more of what builds confident yoga teaching. We’ll talk about the what it takes to have a confident, empowered mindset; one that allows you to teach with a feeling of calm, roundedness and joy. This is a topic that’s rarely taught. But is so central to what it takes to not only enjoy teaching, but have it feel easy and fun. I mention my two programs in the episode and if you’re curious about how I work with yoga teachers, check them out here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/blueprint-learning-program

In this part 3 of a 4-part podcast series, you’ll discover more of what builds confident yoga teaching. We’ll talk about the role of understanding movement and with that, understanding anatomy and how to apply it to your teaching. This tends to be the area where teachers need the most help and in this episode, you’ll discover some powerful reframes that will allow you to look at learning anatomy in a different way. I mention my two programs in the episode and if you’re curious about how I work with yoga teachers, check them out here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/blueprint-learning-program

In this part 2 of a 4-part podcast series, you’ll discover more of what builds confident yoga teaching. It’s a combination of having a solid approach to cueing, sequencing, to understanding the fundamentals of anatomy and having a confident mindset. In today’s episode, you’ll hear about a sequencing approach that will help you feel more confident in the sequence you offer, take less time to prepare for your classes and allow you to stand out as a yoga teacher: I mention a training video that shares more on sequencing and you can get that here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-create-a-signature-sequence/ If you’re curious about the training program I mentioned, you can check out my program here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

In this part 1 of a 4-part podcast series, you’ll discover what builds confident yoga teaching. It’s a combination of having a solid approach to cueing, sequencing, to understanding the fundamentals of anatomy and having a confident mindset. In today’s episode, you’ll hear about a cueing approach that will help you feel more grounded and clear as you teach. I mention a training video that shares more on cueing and you can get that here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-share-clear-yoga-cues/ If you’re curious about how I support yoga teachers, you can check out my program here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

Do you find that you compare yourself to other yoga teachers? Maybe this comes up when you take someone else’s class or when you scroll on social media. It could even be with a yoga teacher you like but you still find yourself thinking, “Why don’t I have as many people in my class?” or “Why don’t I feel like my cues are as clear as her’s?” While this is common, it’s definitely something to look at as a sign that something’s missing. In this episode, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons you might find that you’re comparing yourself to other yoga teachers and what to do about it. There is a journal exercise in the episode so have one ready for the questions at the end. You’ll hear me mention the Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program and you can check that out here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator Since we talk about cueing in this episode a few times, here’s a short training video on cues: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-share-clear-yoga-cues/ I’d love to hear from you so feel free to send me a message @barebonesyoga for what came up for you as you listened.

When you started this year and had an idea of the kind of teacher you wanted to be, how does that match up to how you’re actually teaching from week to week? In this episode, we’ll talk about that realization and I’ll share a little bit about why that gap might exist. We’ll end with some reflection questions at the end so if you want, you can have a journal ready to write down your answers. Part of what we’ll discuss is about sequencing and I have a sequence training video you might be curious to check out. If so, the link is here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-create-a-signature-sequence/

When you hear, “The more hours of training you have, the more confident you’ll feel” what comes up for you? Do you have agreement, disagreement or something in the middle? We’ll explore this belief, which is pretty common, in today’s episode and you’ll hear some stories that relate back to this and you’ll have a chance to see, at the end of the show, how you feel about it. Part of this episode includes an experiment you can try to help you figure out where you might focus when it comes to feeling more confident. Today’s show mentions my training video on cueing and you can find that here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-share-clear-yoga-cues/ Reach out with any thoughts and revelations you had while listening. You can DM me @barebonesyoga on Instagram

With the start of the New Year, you’ll have a lot of beginners in your yoga classes. Catch this episode and find out how to help beginners without worrying about them. In the episode, I mention my training video on “How to create a Signature Sequence.” You can get that here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-create-a-signature-sequence/ You can also find the link to the Yoga Anatomy Accelerator here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

In this final episode of 2025, you’ll discover some powerful questions to ask yourself so that you can set things up for a massive up-level in the coming year. I also share some of what’s coming in the New Year when it comes to what I’ll be offering yoga teachers. As we close out the year, I want to thank you for being a listener! Here’s a special gift, my latest e book, filled with themes around yoga teaching and audio links to the conversations I had this year on podcasts, talking about these hot topics: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/from-the-interview-chair-e-book/

In this episode, you’ll hear an intro from me and then you’ll be directed to a conversation between two people, talking about lessons I’ve shared on other podcast episodes related to how you can build your confidence. In the spirit of full transparency, this podcast conversation is between two AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated voices but I must stress: they are ONLY generating content based on looking at my own podcast episodes. There is no information that you will hear in this episode that comes from anyone else’s content or the general internet. This episode is a product of an AI related tool called Google Notebook LM. Having said that, you will find an interview focused on sharing lessons I’ve shared on prior episodes all designed to help you build your confidence. The AI tool is just aggregating the lessons into one conversation. I’d love it if you would send me a DM on Instagram letting me know what you thought of this format. I recently wrote an e book with audio links to podcast interviews I had this year. You’ll find a host of lessons for yoga teachers in here, along with the audio links: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/from-the-interview-chair-e-book/

What does believing in yourself mean, when it comes to being a yoga teacher? In today’s episode, you’ll explore that theme and I’ll help you along by sharing a unique acronym I created ( no AI was used in the generation of this!) to help you remember the themes that are most important to believing in yourself.

Over the years, I’ve developed a teaching method that helps teachers build their confidence and skill. To help teachers learn how to do this by learning anatomy and how to apply it to their cues and sequences, I’ve created a list of terms that define the different teaching techniques. In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through some of the fundamental concepts in the Bare Bones Yoga Teaching Method so you can see what resonates with you. At the end, I share more about the Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program. You can check it out here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator I’m also hosting a live event for yoga teachers on 12/11/25 at 7 pm EST: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/yoga-teacher-reset/

Ever think about what you believe and how you came up with those beliefs? Many people don’t consider the beliefs they have, the things that run their life, aren’t even things they decided to believe but are more things they just picked up from someone else. In the yoga world, there are lots of beliefs that teachers think are facts but are just someone’s opinion. The idea, for instance, that if you taught a Signature Sequence, your students would get bored. This is just a belief but many teachers tell me this as if it’s a fact. Then they work with me in my program, we talk about how they can experiment with a Signature Sequence, they try it in their classes and nothing happens! They find that no one gets bored, no one walks out and in fact, the only thing that changes is that they get better at teaching the sequence! In today’s episode, I share much more about beliefs and relate it to yoga teaching. I share from Jim Murphy’s book, “Inner Excellence.” I also share an invitation to my free online event on December 11, 2025, “The Yoga Teacher Reset.” Get your spot in this exciting, inspiring event here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/yoga-teacher-reset/

If you’ve graduated from your teacher training and haven’t started teaching yet because you’re afraid, this episode is for you. We’ll talk about the fears that teachers have, how to move past them and different ways to reframe the fear so you’re more in control. I’ll also give you some easy ways you can get started. At the end of the show, I share more about my program, The Yoga Anatomy Accelerator. If you’re ready to feel confident teaching your classes, get your spot here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

This episode is a chance to bring your fears to the surface and discover easy ways to re-frame them, move past them and move forward so you can teach and feel confident and empowered. We cover a number of fears that are common but often not discussed so teachers live for years with these fears and just accept them as part of teaching. Nothing could be further from the truth! When you listen, you’ll find ways to dispel these fears and the beliefs that prop them up. I mention a few links in the episode and you’ll find them here: The Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator My new e book, “From the Interview Chair” https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/from-the-interview-chair-e-book/

In today’s episode, you’ll learn about the key aspects of assisting. We’ll cover both the techniques of assisting and also the mental and mindset related aspects of assisting in your classes. At the end of the episode, I share a podcast offer with you. If you’d like to take this offer, you’ll need this link: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

Have you ever thought about what beliefs you have about teaching yoga and how this impacts how you teach? Here’s a simple one: if you believe your students might get hurt in your classes, that might cause you to worry before you go into class. If you believe your students need to see you practicing, that will cause you to be the kind of teacher who practices with their class. In this episode, you’ll discover how beliefs drive behavior, the common beliefs yoga teachers have and how to move past them so that you can find your most empowering way to teach. At the end, I have a special update on the Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program. Find out more here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

For this episode, I did a query of Chat GPT and asked it, “What are popular questions you’re getting from yoga teachers?” I got the top 3 questions and I answer them in this episode. I start out speaking from the heart and from my passion for helping you in sharing how this month’s group is doing inside the Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program and what’s possible for you if you enroll. The link to the program is here: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator My new e book is out! Get it here: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/from-the-interview-chair-e-book/

In this episode, we take a look at understanding the “why” behind some cues. These cues were submitted to me via comments on my social media posts by yoga teachers. I put out a call to teachers to submit cues where they’d like to understand more about why that cue might be used. For this episode, I also did an IG LIve workshop. The link to the workshop is below. Link to workshop: https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4Ata_kXBX/ Link to Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator Link to Signature Sequence video: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/how-to-create-a-signature-sequence/ Link to new e book, “From the Interview Chair: Lessons for Yoga teachers” https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/from-the-interview-chair-e-book/

Sometimes you might feel like there’s so many different aspects of teaching yoga: there’s your cues, your sequences, understanding anatomy, feeling confident, sharing philosophy, building community and maybe even building a yoga business and brand. With all these areas of focus, it’s important to know what your priority is right now, so you can create a plan of action. It’s hard to work on everything all at once and this can be stressful for you so in this episode, you’ll hear how to create an action plan that allows you to gain momentum in the direction of your vision. Here are links you’ll need for this episode: My new e book: https://barebonesyoga.lpages.co/from-the-interview-chair-e-book/ The Yoga Anatomy Accelerator: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator

Yoga teachers use lots of common phrases when they talk about how things are going with their classes. I know because over the years, I’ve talked to hundreds of teachers and am always listening to their word choice. It’s part of what I do as a coach and it’s always interesting to me how they classify their challenges and struggles using similar phrasing. You’ll have to listen to the episode to find out more about this but in this episode, I not only give you the clues, I share the process that will allow you to move past limiting beliefs, as expressed by your word choice and instead unleash your most confident, empowered yoga teacher. For this episode, you’ll need these links: The group Accelerator Program: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator The one on one Blueprint Program: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/blueprint-learning-program The Instagram video I referred to: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPRzuATj_K9/ The anatomy test: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/mvUhA7cRp8HNwNKmMfOqnmq-f4VfDifNHmX9JHPHTQyTLXACCOke3SIkqkXqdEEC.oDT3htPBtEC-qxBt?startTime=1714942660000 Send me a DM on Instagram @barebonesyoga with any questions or thoughts after you listen.

This past week, my podcast hit a special milestone with over 2,000 people listening to the show! In this special episode, I share the details of this milestone and share how this inspired me to set a big goal for the rest of this year. Listen in and when you do, you’ll need these links: One on one Program https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/blueprint-learning-program Group Program https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator Thank you so much for listening to the show!

Are you working a full time job and teaching yoga also? For a lot of teachers I’ve talked to over the years, as well as myself when I was teaching in this model, they share their special challenges that go with this lifestyle. Yoga teachers sometimes feel that teaching “on the side” isn’t as good or as important as those who are teaching full time. Nothing could be further from the truth. And that’s what this episode is about. I cover some of the myths associated with full time teaching, discuss the steps you need to consider if you want to leave your full time job and present a case for how to approach teaching and working full time in a way that allows you to enjoy both. In the episode I share a few offers that have links associated with them. Here are the links: My virtual online yoga studio opens 10/1/25: https://barebonesyoga.com/online-studio/ The Yoga Anatomy Blueprint Learning Program: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/blueprint-learning-program The Yoga Anatomy Accelerator Program: https://barebonesyoga.thinkific.com/courses/Yoga-Anatomy-Accelerator