The Mentor Sessions

What is happening at Yoga Alliance, and what do the recent changes mean for yoga teachers, teacher trainers, and the broader yoga community? In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm joined by Rebecca Sebastian, yoga teacher, yoga therapist, founder of Sunlight Media, and host of the Working in Yoga podcast. Rebecca has spent more than two decades working inside the yoga profession and has become an important voice examining the systems, economics, and culture that shape our industry. With Yoga Alliance recently announcing significant changes to its credentialing structure, I wanted to bring Rebecca on to help us understand what's actually happening, why these changes matter, and what yoga teachers should be thinking about. We unpack the shift from Yoga Alliance functioning primarily as a registry to moving toward a competency-based certification model, including the proposed 40-question test, the consolidation of existing credentials, and the introduction of specialty badges. We also discuss the decision to open membership to yoga students and what that could mean for the organization. But this conversation goes well beyond the new credentials. We explore the importance of transparency and trust, the financial realities of working as a yoga teacher, and the growing disconnect between the organizations representing our profession and the people doing the actual work. Rebecca also shares her perspective on the emerging American Yoga Council, whether yoga teachers really need professional designations, and the possibility of state-level yoga associations that give teachers a stronger voice in shaping their own futures. One of the most important themes of this conversation is that the people doing the work deserve a say in the decisions that affect their profession. Rather than automatically supporting or rejecting any particular organization, Rebecca encourages us to ask questions, understand the mission, examine the financials, and consider whether we're actually receiving value from the organizations we support. In this episode, you'll hear: The recent changes to Yoga Alliance's credentialing structure The difference between a registry, a credentialing body, and a certifying organization The proposed 40-question competency-based certification test Why transparency and organizational trust matter Yoga Alliance leadership salaries and the financial realities of yoga teachers The American Yoga Council and emerging alternatives for yoga professionals Whether yoga teachers actually need professional credentials or memberships The importance of reputation, experience, and building trust with the public What a 501(c)(6) trade organization is and what it means for its members The potential for state-level yoga associations and collective advocacy Connect with Rebecca: Instagram: @RebeccaSebastianYoga Website and newsletter: https://www.thesunlightexperience.com CEO & Founder, Sunlight Media | thesunlightexperience.com Editor, Inside Yoga Magazine | insideyogamagazine.com Host, Working In Yoga Podcast | workinginyoga.com Resources Mentioned: Yoga Alliance American Yoga Council International Association of Yoga Therapists Institute for Credentialing Excellence OfferingTree – Get 50% off your first three months or 15% off your first year as a listener of The Mentor Sessions. This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you'll get 50% off your first three months or 15% off any annual plan.    

As yoga teachers, we often fall in love with the practice and the craft of teaching without realizing how much time and energy we'll spend managing our schedules and building our businesses. In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm revisiting an early episode of the podcast to share what I've learned over the years about creating a more sustainable teaching career. Most yoga teachers are freelancers, piecing together a living one group class, private client, and workshop at a time. That means some instability is inevitable. Student schedules change, studios close, private clients cancel, and our own lives evolve. We can't eliminate all of that uncertainty, but we can create structures that make our schedules and businesses more stable. In this episode, I share practical strategies for designing a teaching schedule that reflects your energy, values, financial needs, and responsibilities outside of work. We'll talk about why it's important to know your ideal weekly and daily schedule, how to decide whether to keep or drop a group class, and why you may need to give a promising class at least six months to grow. The big takeaway: You can't control every fluctuation in freelance yoga teaching, but you can intentionally build a schedule, business, and teaching practice that become more sustainable over time. In this episode, you'll hear: Why yoga teachers need to think like freelancers and small-business owners How to identify your ideal weekly and daily teaching schedule The difference between having a flexible schedule and intentionally designing your workweek Why new teachers need a long-term vision for their ideal schedule How to decide whether to keep or drop a group class using eight practical criteria Why giving a promising group class six months to a year to grow can pay off Setting boundaries with clients who frequently cancel or reschedule without taking their behavior personally Why diversifying your private client roster and maintaining additional income sources can create financial stability The "Should I Keep This Class?" Formula Before dropping a class, consider whether you: love the students enjoy the material are learning as a teacher earn good money meet potential private clients value the studio find meaning in the service feel good about the time and location Aim for at least four yeses across these eight criteria. This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. The best thing about OfferingTree is you can get up and running in 10 minutes with no tech skills needed. As an added bonus, If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you'll get 50% off your first three months or 15% off any annual plan!   

Today I'm revisiting one of the ideas I talked about when I first started the podcast nine years ago: the idea that yoga teachers need to find their "ideal student" or a very specific niche in order to build a successful teaching career. I still believe there is some value in getting specific about who we're speaking to when we communicate about our work. Specific language can make our marketing more compelling and help potential students understand how our teaching might support them. But I've become increasingly convinced that the idea of finding your perfect student doesn't translate well to the actual work of teaching yoga. Teaching people is relational, creative, vulnerable, and challenging. There is no teaching practice where every student is effortless to work with. A student being difficult to teach doesn't automatically mean they are the wrong student for you, and it certainly doesn't mean you're a bad teacher. In this episode, I explore why the "ideal client" and "find your niche" advice can become problematic for yoga teachers—and what I think we should focus on instead. In this episode, you'll hear: Where the idea of the "ideal student," "ideal client," and "dream customer" comes from The difference between communicating specifically about your work and pigeonholing yourself into a narrow niche Why difficulty in a teacher-student relationship doesn't automatically mean it is a bad fit The normal challenges that come with teaching private clients, including boundaries, unclear goals, and difficulty reading a new student How surface-level demographics can unnecessarily limit your teaching practice Why helping students discover what they need, build trust, stay engaged, and maintain a consistent practice is part of our job How we can stop searching for the mythical "dream student" and instead develop the skills to teach many different kinds of people deeply and sustainably This episode is sponsored by OfferingTree!   Sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor to get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan).  With OfferingTree, yoga teachers put their schedule on a personally branded website where students can book classes and even pay or donate online.   

In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm revisiting an idea I first explored many years ago: that teaching yoga asana primarily with words rather than relying on the body to demonstrate every pose is a skill many teachers benefit from working on. I demonstrate as little as possible when I teach. And while I don't think demonstrating is inherently bad, I do think it can become a habit that keeps us from developing our verbal skills as teachers. When I transitioned to teaching online in 2020, I realized just how valuable this approach had been. My students were already accustomed to practicing with my voice rather than watching my body. That experience made me even more curious about what is possible when we ask students to listen, feel, notice, and explore instead of simply copying what they see. In this episode, you'll hear: Why I demonstrate as little as possible when I teach yoga How teaching with words helps students pay attention to their own experience instead of copying a shape What I notice when I'm watching my students instead of practicing alongside them How a serious hip injury strengthened my verbal teaching skills Three experiments to help you teach without demonstrating When demonstrating does serve students, and how to make it an intentional choice Why teaching private students invites us  to develop a shared language OfferingTree is a proud sponsor of this episode and I am honored to be an affiliate.  Visit OfferingTree at www.offeringtree.com/mentor and you'll get 50% off your first three months or 15% off any annual plan.   OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up and I'm proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.  

There is no cookie-cutter approach to private yoga teaching. The most effective private teachers learn to listen carefully, think critically, stay curious, and trust their ability to adapt. Private teaching is not about giving someone a customized version of a group class. It's about creating a collaborative practice that responds to who they are, what they need, and where they are right now.  That requires both clarity of intention and flexibility of method. In today's episode we are looking back at one of the foundational ideas behind my work as a private yoga teacher: how to create a yoga practice that actually meets the needs of the person in front of you. We'll walk through four key principles for tailoring a private yoga session, including building trust, questioning the idea of a well-rounded practice, understanding the intended benefit of a pose, and staying creative and flexible in your teaching. In this episode, you'll hear: Why teaching private yoga lessons requires a different skill set than teaching group classes The difference between a teacher-driven group class and a student-driven private lesson How to distinguish between what a student wants and what they may actually need How to maintain the depth and heart of yoga while adapting the way you teach it Why students who appear "easy" to teach may actually require more creativity and attention How understanding the intended benefit of a pose can transform individualized teaching Helping students develop discernment about whether a practice is actually useful to them Creative alternatives to traditional centering practices at the beginning of a private lesson This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you'll get 50% off your first three months or 15% off any annual plan!