The Mentor Sessions

Have 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...

Crystal 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. Crysta...

Have 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 Sara...

Do 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...

Today 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 Co...

I 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 help...

If 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...

I'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 t...

It'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 g...

I 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...

On 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 we...

Today 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 sess...

This 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 mat...

I 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...

Today you get to meet my friend Ariana Rabinovitch. She is the host of he Yoga & Beyond Podcast, co-authored the Exposing Yoga Myths book series and founded the Yoga Research and Beyond membership site. This membership site offers yoga teachers easy access to published research on yoga and movement. They explain the research in plain English and show us how to  translate that research into our tea...

I am so excited to share this powerful conversation with you. While many yoga studios proclaim that "Everyone is Welcome!" in their classes, in today's episode we ask, " Are we actually teaching our classes in a way that supports that message?".  My friend Amber Karnes is whip smart, a powerful advocate and a seasoned yoga teacher. We didn't hold back on any difficult or taboo topics in this episo...

This is a very special, unusual episode! While most of the episodes you'll find here at The Mentor Sessions are either interviews with friends and teachers of mine, or short teachings that I offer myself, today we're doing something different. I'm going to take you on a trip with me for an intimate, inside view of my life and teaching for an entire week! It certainly feels vulnerable to share myse...

Today I am going to answer one of the questions other teachers ask me most frequently: How do you encourage your students to commit to a home yoga practice? I have tried almost every option out there, and I've landed on a way that I think works best. It must be working because every single one of my private clients has a home yoga practice they do most days AND (huge bonus) it requires ZERO extra...

I am so excited about today's episode because I get to bring you the wisdom of the founder of my own teaching lineage (OM Yoga) , Cyndi Lee! Cyndi is the first female Western yoga teacher to fully integrate yoga asana and Tibetan Buddhism in her practice and teaching.  In 1998, she founded OM Yoga Center in NYC, and that is where I took my first YTT in 2005. In this interview we talk about what ma...

If you don't already know her, I am so excited to introduce you to my friend Brea Johnson from Heart + Bones Yoga. Brea has been a yoga teacher for over 15 years and is also a certified Restorative Exercise teacher. She has the wisdom of someone who has been teaching for many many years and a friendliness that makes her teachings super accessible. :) Brea feels that integrating functional movement...

Is all discomfort good? Is all discomfort bad? What is the "right" way to teach any given asana? How do we offer the version of a pose or practice that will be most beneficial to our students right now? Being able to answer these questions with confidence comes from a depth of understanding of what I call The Yoga of Discernment. I don't think there is any magic in an "ideal form" of asana, and I...

A deep study of anatomy will change the way you teach. It is empowering, clarifying and facicating! For example, let's talk about Warrior 2 alignment. :) Specifically, I want to talk about that front knee and how on many of our students it drifts towards, and sometimes past, the big toe. What do you suggest your students do when you see that? Do you have a sense of why that might be happening? Whe...

The practice and study of yoga is so vast that the more we all continue to study and teach, the more this question seems to loom taller and taller: what exactly is the job of a yoga instructor? To process this out loud with me, I invited my friend Jules Mitchell for a chat. Jules has been teaching yoga for a decade, but her knowledge base doesn't end there. Jules holds a Masters in Biomechanics, i...

When you teach yoga classes {group or private} how much are you demonstrating poses? If you have been hanging out in my world for a while you may know that I mostly advocate for a style of teaching that relies on language to convey important information, including subtle movements, instead of relying on the use of our body to teach. Do I think demonstrating a physical concept is always bad? Of cou...

Anatomy studies can be a powerful tool in the yoga teacher's utility belt, but I know many of us don't know where to start or how to apply it to a teaching practice. There is so much to learn and it can feel overwhelming! Today I'm excited to introduce you to my friend Dr. Ariele Foster, a yoga instructor for 16 years and a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Dr. Foster is passionate about making yoga ana...