Yogaland Podcast

This week, I'm joined by Tabay Atkins and his mom Sahel Anvarinejad. Tabay contacted us awhile back to inquire if we’d be OK with a 14-year-old attending one of Jason’s advanced teacher training modules. It turns out that when Tabay was 11, he became one of the youngest certified yoga teachers in the U.S, and he has been teaching donation-based yoga at his mother’s studio in San Clemente, CA ever...

Today's guest is Jivana Heyman. Jivana is the founder of Accessible Yoga, an organization that focuses on "sharing the benefits of yoga with anyone who currently does not have access to these practices, and with communities that have been excluded or underserved." Jivana seamlessly weaves together his background in social activism with his passion for yoga in his latest book, Accessible Yoga: Pose...

Last week, Jason shared what to do when you feel like you've taught the worst yoga class of your life. This week, he’s sharing a few tips for getting in the right headspace before you teach so that you’re more likely to show up for class feeling calm, present, and confident. We cover: * How to get grounded before you teach a yoga class -- and why this is a big challenge for so many yoga teachers *...

All yoga teachers have their off days. Even those who are as experienced as Jason. This week, Jason’s back on the podcast to share his insights on how to recover from those times when a yoga class you’re teaching just doesn’t work out the way you hoped it would.  He shares: * Why the class you’re teaching probably isn’t going as badly as you think  * One thing to be mindful of when you a...

Happy New Year! It’s so good to be back for another season of Yogaland. My wish for you in this new year (and new decade!) it’s to develop compassion for yourself. And in this episode Jason and I talk about why compassion plays such a huge role in personal development and why you have to learn to be kind to yourself before you can show up for others in your life.  We talk about: * The differe...

Can you believe this is the last Yogaland episode of 2019? This week, Jason and I reflect on the many ways we’ve changed and grown during the past year, we talk about our favorite episodes, the year’s biggest challenges, and what you can expect from us in 2020.  Here a quick overview of the episode: *We talk about how Jason’s teaching has shifted in the last year + a few of my biggest moments...

This week, Jason and I are tackling another common question that modern yoga students ask: Is yoga enough to keep you healthy? Or do you need to do other forms of exercise to stay fit? The answer, of course, depends on the goal. But we chat about our own thoughts as long-time practitioners and weigh in on some of the benefits we’ve noticed from adding additional forms of exercise into our routines...

International yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn joins us this week. Seane recently added another title she says she never thought she’d hold to her list of accomplishments: Published author. Her new book, Revolution of the Soul, is a powerful mix of personal narrative and a thoughtful unpacking how yoga and mindfulness practices + other healing modalities can help one’s personal healing journey...

Whether you're yoga teacher or a student, you've witnessed:⁠ ⁠ ** The Moaner -- The student who seems to be enjoying class a leetle too much.⁠ ** The Rebel -- The student who's just gotta do their own thannnng (and ignore what the rest of the class is doing)⁠ ** The Savasana Protester -- So what if everyone's in Savasana? She's kicking into Handstand and no one's gonna stop her.⁠ ⁠ We talk about a...

For decades Yoga Alliance has been the main credentialing body for yoga teachers and schools. But the organization has been widely criticized for being nothing more than a list service that teachers feel required to pay for. Over the past few years, the leadership at Yoga Alliance has changed and current CEO, Shannon Roche, is my guest this week. My goal for this interview was to get a full pictur...

One of the more polarizing topics in modern yoga is the merits (and potential dangers) of attending yoga in a heated room. (To be clear, we're not talking about Bikram or Bikram-derived sequences in this ep; but vinyasa in a heated room.) So, this week Jason and I share what we believe are the pros and cons: How can you assess whether it's better for you physically? Does it encourage mental steadi...

The scent of lavender wafting from every local yoga studio’s doors may be a relatively recent phenomenon, but essential oils have been used to bolster health and well being for thousands of years, says this week’s guest Elena Brower, who is a New York yoga teacher and Doterra wellness advocate. If you’re curious about how essential oils work, which ones are best for certain situations, and how to...

It's October. Which means it's Breast Awareness Month. It's not an easy month for breast cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, or for those who have lost loved ones to the disease. So, for this episode I spoke to Susanna Harwood Rubin, a yoga teacher who has been raw and real about her own struggle with breast cancer this past year. Susanna shares specific ways that her practice supported her th...

You want to leave your yoga audition with a big fist pumped saying, "Nailed it," right? This week's episode can help -- Jason gets real about how to ride the waves of the modern yoga job audition, where you get a very short amount of time to showcase your skills, your approach, and your personality. ⁠He offers his thoughts as well as some commiseration. Here’s an overview of what we cover: * The o...

This week, I’m talking to Lara Benusis, a longtime yoga teacher and yoga therapist who has taught yoga in a healthcare setting for years. (She was the first full-time yoga teacher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.)  She’s also on the PhD track at Columbia University studying applied physiology. Her focus is exploring the efficacy and mechanisms of exercise and yoga on the surviv...

Being a yoga teacher takes skill, knowledge, dedication, and often, perseverance. But you can have all of those things in spades and never quite earn enough money teaching group classes to be financially secure. Not to mention, racing from one studio to the next teaching group classes can be draining—both physically and mentally. One way to avoid this kind of burnout and bolster a your income is t...

I am so excited to share this new season of Yogaland with you! This week, we kick off the season with a live episode that Jason and I recorded at triyoga in London during Jason’s recent teacher training. If you’re a long-time listener, you might know that both Jason and I identify as introverts. So, we understand why some students tend to shy away from speaking up or asking questions in a large gr...

For our season two finale episode, we’re talking to Las Vegas-based yoga teacher and author Jules Mitchell. We dive deep into the biomechanics of yoga in this episode and talk about Jules’ new book, which is a comprehensive look at the science of stretching.  We can’t cover the whole book in this short format, but I think you’ll find the highlights are fascinating, thought provoking, and rele...

If there’s one topic that eludes yoga teachers most, it’s not the correct angle of the front knee in Anjaneyasana. It’s how to teach yoga and make a livable wage. We recorded this week's episode live at Jason’s 300-hour training at Lovestory Yoga in San Francisco and answered student questions creating content that's authentic and sustainable. We talk about: * Why quality is so much more impo...

Today’s guest is Nicole Cardoza, founder of Yoga Foster. I couldn't be more excited about Nicole's mission to bring more movement into classrooms across the country. Her approach is innovative, too -- Nicole's background in tech inspired her to create a platform that offers yoga curriculum and teacher trainings to classroom teachers. It's a scalable idea and one that empowers classroom teachers to...

I've talked a lot on the podcast about how motherhood has changed my yoga practice. I know first-hand how easy it can be to fall into the trap of mom guilt and feeling like you just can't keep up with your practice and the demands of your family life. So, I'm so excited to share this episode with Anne Cushman with you. Anne writes beautifully about motherhood as a spiritual practice in her new boo...

This week, we're talking to Erica Rodefer Winters, a yoga teacher in Charleston, SC who specializes in teaching prenatal yoga and postnatal yoga. When the magical, "natural" birth of her first daughter didn't go to plan, Erica reflected and changed her approach the second time around. Instead of magical thinking, she leaned into her intuition and used her yogic tools to go deeply inward and trust...

This week I talk to Sarah Kucera, author of The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook: Holistic Healing Rituals for Every Day and Season, all about her book and what Ayurveda can teach us about taking care of ourselves. If you’ve followed this podcast for a while, you know that I think self-care is vitally important in order to live a happy, healthy life. (I even created an online course about self care!)...

The thoughtful and articulate Bernie Clark joins us on the show this week! Bernie is perhaps best known for his influential Yin yoga teachings as well as his books, The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga , and Your Body, Your Yoga. When Jason and I shared our thoughts about Yin Yoga at the end of season 1 (episode 147), we hadn't expected it to be so polarizing. After seeing Bernie's response to the episo...

This week, I talk to Bay Area yoga teacher Quamay Sams. Quamay grew up in New York, where he was a dancer before he enrolled in a yoga teacher training program (without ever having set foot in a yoga studio). He now considers teaching yoga a calling -- and a big responsibility.  We talk about: * Why Quamay felt like a misfit (his word) growing up and how that impacted the course of his life....