The Funny Thing About Yoga

Does your Instagram following actually matter? Do more followers mean more students, sold-out classes, and a thriving yoga business? Or have we all gotten a little too caught up in the numbers? This week, Giana and Bradshaw dive into the complicated relationship between social media and success in the yoga world. We're talking about the difference between having an audience and building an act...

Just when we thought we had enough to worry about wrapping up our 300-hour yoga teacher training, Yoga Alliance decided to shake things up. And if you're confused about the updates, don't worry, because apparently so are we. But before we even attempt to make sense of any of that, we spend an absurd amount of time discussing punk rock lullabies, Imogen Heap, Google Forms, email lists, the...

If we could go back and give our younger yoga teacher selves some business advice, we'd have A LOT to say. But first, naturally, we need to discuss some very important matters: Giana failing to acknowledge Bradshaw's social media post, his latest snack obsessions, the magic of Chicago Aldi, sour candy, fiber, and the ridiculous amount of phone tag we've been playing. We also catch up o...

This week, we're talking about the surprisingly lonely side of being a yoga teacher and why having friends who actually understand this weird job is so important. From studio politics and unspoken competition to professional jealousy, burnout, and the pressure to always be the one holding space, we're unpacking the challenges of finding genuine friendship in an industry that's supposed...

Have we reached the ultimate level of yoga snobbery… becoming snobby about Flowy Yoga Girl? This week, we’re calling ourselves out and asking: have we become yoga snobs? After some baby updates and another weekend of travel teaching for Bradshaw, we get into everything we’ve become particular about after years of teaching, from student behavior and studio etiquette to other teachers, sequencing, c...

This week, Bradshaw is back from teaching abroad and sharing stories from Prague and Oxford- from cultural differences in the yoga room to the things that surprised his students most. He reflects on how travel teaching has changed him as a teacher, what he’s learned from continually walking into rooms full of people who have never practiced with him before, and one universal observation he’s made...

After a two-week break (and a whole lot of pre-recording), Giana and Bradshaw are finally back together for a much-needed catch-up episode, and a lot has happened! Giana shares reflections from giving birth and the first weeks of motherhood, from letting go of expectations and slowing down to putting nervous system regulation into practice when there’s a screaming baby in your arms. She talks abou...

In this episode, we're tackling a topic every yoga teacher encounters sooner or later: difficult students. We share stories from our own teaching careers and explore the many ways challenging situations can show up, whether it's a student who constantly pushes boundaries, changes the lights or thermostat without asking, disrupts the flow of class, or creates challenges in retreats or private sessi...

In this episode, Giana and Bradshaw reflect on Bradshaw's experience attending Judith Hanson Lasater's Restorative Yoga training in San Francisco. Since Giana completed the training years ago, it was a chance to revisit the material through fresh eyes and compare their experiences. Together, they explore the difference between Restorative Yoga (with a capital "R") and the "restorative" classes com...

This episode is quick, fun, and a little unhinged. We kick things off with summer plans, Bradshaw's daily dog walks, Giana being very pregnant, our upcoming retreats, dream travel destinations (including India), an unexpected tangent about saris, and Bradshaw reveals his least favorite food. Then we shift gears and share 5 practical ways to teach a better yoga class. We dive into class planning, o...

Donation-Based Yoga: Does It Actually Work? This week on The Funny Thing About Yoga , we're tackling a topic we've been talking about recently and wondering how to do intelligently: donation-based yoga classes. Can they actually work? Should yoga be free? Is there a way to make classes more accessible and still cover overhead and get paid?  In this episode, we explore donation-based models in...

This week on The Funny Thing About Yoga , we're joined by Bay Area yoga teacher, intuitive coach, and astrologer Susannah Freedman for a conversation that spans yoga, astrology, purpose, and what it means to live in alignment. Although we'd been hearing each other's names in the yoga community for years, this was our first time sitting down together, and it quickly became one of those conversation...

This week on The Funny Thing About Yoga , we start with a little life update: Bradshaw's healing journey, summer finally arriving, daily dog walks, Giana navigating late-stage pregnancy while caring for a dog with kidney disease, Joe experiencing a bit of sympathy pregnancy himself, and, as usual, plenty of tangents along the way. Then we dive into this week's topic: Why do we all think something...

This week, we're joined by one of our dream guests, Kathryn Budig- someone we've wanted to have on the podcast for years! What starts as a conversation about Kathryn's shoulder injury quickly unfolds into a much bigger discussion about what it means to evolve. We talk about changing our practices, embracing Western medicine, redefining strength, and letting go of the idea that yoga has to be diffi...

This week on The Funny Thing About Yoga , we sit down with Chhavi Sahal, a yoga teacher, strength coach, and sleep consultant based in New Delhi, India, to explore a side of yoga that often gets overlooked. Chhavi shares how she discovered yoga at a young age through school competitions, how her teaching unexpectedly grew within her gym community, and why so many older adults began seeking out her...

What separates a workshop that people simply attend from one they remember for years? In this episode, Giana and Bradshaw dive into the art of creating meaningful, engaging, and impactful yoga workshops. Drawing from years of teaching, hosting, and attending workshops around the world, they share what works, what falls flat, and how to elevate an experience from good to truly great. Together, they...

This week on The Funny Thing About Yoga , we’re joined by Charlotte Muller of Breathe Strength — yoga educator, studio owner, social media creator, and, like Giana, a fellow Long Islander. This conversation felt easy, heartfelt, and deeply relatable, beginning with nostalgic hometown connections and bonding over the experience of young parental loss. We talk about Charlotte’s path to yoga through...

You start with a sore back, a little anxiety, or a desire to feel better… and somehow end up spending thousands of dollars on supplements, questioning your cookware, tracking your nervous system, and wondering if your WiFi is destroying your mitochondria. In this episode, we unpack the wellness pipeline - the slippery slope from genuine healing and self-care into misinformation, obsession, perfect...

We start with life updates: Giana’s baby shower and travels to California, Bradshaw reflecting on how Giana’s family reminds him of his own, preparations for the baby, and an update on Bradshaw’s shoulder recovery. Naturally, the conversation spirals into dogs, consciousness, and the complexity of the human condition before we finally arrive at today’s topic: “Why Yoga Communities Don’t Feel the S...

We start, as usual, with some wandering banter touching on astrological shifts for Aquarius, shrinking brains, talking to sisters, and whatever else comes up along the way. Then we settle into the heart of the episode: “Listen to Your Body” - a cue used constantly in yoga spaces, but what does it actually mean? And more importantly, is it really landing? We unpack how disconnected many people are...

This episode starts with some major life updates. Bradshaw shares the story behind his collarbone surgery, and Giana opens up about navigating iron infusions during pregnancy. As usual, one tangent leads to another, and we somehow end up talking about the Venice Biennale, tattoos, being emo, queer allyship, sugar addiction, and what it’s like to lose friends far too early in life. Nearly 20 minute...

After two intense weeks of our 300-hour immersion in Chicago, we’re finally sitting down to catch up, and a lot has happened. Bradshaw shares the story behind his unexpected collarbone surgery and what it’s been like navigating recovery, forced stillness, and the mental challenge of slowing down. Giana opens up about eloping, celebrating at her baby shower, and stepping into a season of major life...

We recorded this one live with our 300-hour trainees right after a full week of deep diving into anatomy, and it had us thinking: “Okay… I know stuff now… so how do I actually make my teaching better?” In this episode, we unpack the gap between knowing anatomy and being able to teach a strong, effective class. We talk about: – why over-cueing and rigidity often come from too much anatomy focus – t...

What matters more: being liked… or being effective? In this episode, we unpack the pressure yoga teachers feel to be liked and how that quietly shapes the way we teach. From over-cueing and over-explaining, to chasing compliments or trying to prove we know what we’re doing, we explore the subtle ways insecurity shows up in the room. Bradshaw shares what it’s been like to evolve his teaching while...

This week we’re joined by Danielle Barbeau, owner of The River Yoga in Denver, CO. We first met Danielle virtually during a team meeting, and later in person when we traveled to Denver to teach at her studio, where we also recorded an episode that (tragically) didn’t sound great. But the conversation stuck with us… so we’re back for round two. At the center of this episode is a deceptively simple...