Yogaland Podcast

Learning to teach yoga online is vital right now. But if you're used to teaching yoga in person, it can feel really daunting! On this episode, we break down what you can do to feel more comfortable and truly connect with your yoga students -- even through a Zoom room.SHOUT OUT TO OUR SPONSORSGet your virtual yoga studio in a flow with Acuity Scheduling, the all-in-one scheduling tool for virtual classes and private sessions. Acuity automatically connects with your favorite videoconferencing tool and handles all of the day-to-day booking and billing drudgery, freeing you up to be fully present in your online sessions. As a special bonus for our friends at Yogaland, your first 45 days of Acuity are 100% free – no credit card needed! All you have to do is sign up at acuityscheduling.com.Storyworth makes it easy and fun for loved ones to tell their stories. Simply purchase a subscription for someone you love--like your mom for Mother's Day--and each week Storyworth will send them a question about their life. After a year, stories are bound in a beautiful book. For $20 off, visit storyworth.com/yogaland when you subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re so happy to be back for Season 2!There's that old adage, "Change is the only certainty in life." And it applies to your yoga practice and teaching, too. This week, Jason and I are talking about the internal challenges, doubts, and insecurities that come up when we're managing change in our practice.We talk about:* How Jason has changed as a student and a teacher throughout the years. He shares one transition that was particularly hard for him as a young teacher* He gives advice for people who are hard on themselves after a shift because they feel disillusioned about some of the beliefs or techniques they were teaching previously* Why Jason dislikes the word “master” (as in “yoga master”) and what happened in his life that empowered him to start experimenting with changing up yoga traditions and sharing his findings with his students* The struggles that come with the evolution of modern yoga in the social media age* Why it’s problematic for teachers to discourage their students from experimenting with other teachers and other ways of practicingShow notes: http://www.jasonyoga.com/podcast/episode148/SHOUT-OUT TO OUR SPONSORS1. LOLA is a female-founded company offering 100 organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. For every purchase, LOLA donates feminine care products to homeless shelters across the U.S. For 40% off all subscriptions, visit mylola.com and enter the code YOGALAND40 when you subscribe.2. Care/of is a monthly subscription vitamin service made from high, quality ingredients personally tailored to your exact needs. Their short quiz asks you about your diet, health goals, and lifestyle choices and uses these answers to create personalized vitamin packs just for you. For 50% off your first month of personalized care/of vitamins, visit takecareof.com and enter promo code YOGALAND50. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We can all use a little more joy and creativity in our lives right now -- especially after months of teaching and taking online yoga classes. Chicago-based yoga teacher Bradshaw Wish is just the breath of fresh air we all need. It matters not that much of the world is going back into lockdown -- Bradshaw's annual Mariah Carey Christmas Flow must go on! We talk about this upcoming not-to-be missed event, how it came to be, and how creating space for joy and creativity is a deeply important part of Bradshaw's intention as a yoga teacher.Show notes: http://jasonyoga.com/podcast/episode218 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I needed my yoga to find me, to comfort me -- not be another box to check off." An open and inquisitive conversation about navigating the challenges, grief, and joys of perimenopause and menopause -- and how to craft a yoga practice that meets you in the moment.For shownotes, go to yogalandpodcast.com/episode327Thank you for listening and for sharing the podcast with friends and students! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Jason and I talk about why a home practice is essential if you want to integrate yoga in your day to day life. We also offer our thoughts on what constitutes home practice so that you give yourself a break and focus on what's important -- getting on your mat! Our hope is that home practice can be the thing in your life that consistently feels like a respite, a refuge, a haven.We hope you enjoy this conversation where we talk through these 7 distinct reasons that developing a home practice is beneficial:It's so much easier to be consistentYou can focus on regions of the body that need more supportYou can use it as a supplement to your studio classes (or other forms of exercise)You get to practice the poses you loveYou get to spend more time on the poses you want to master but struggle withWe all need a daily dose of self-regulationFor yoga teachers, it's a way to get in touch with your own voice, creativity, and insightI've linked to five essential sequences on our shownotes page: yogalandpodcast.com/episode326 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a deep breath and get ready to take notes for this one: Jason hones in on 5 of the most common mistakes yoga teachers make. They're so common, in fact, that there are a few Jason still has to be mindful of from time to time. This episode is packed with simple, straightforward ideas to help you teach more skillfully and with more confidence.⭐️ Join us in at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts for a morning of yoga to benefit Boston Children's Hospital! The event is April 28th. Join our Team Yogaland here: yogareachesout.org⭐️ For shownotes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode325 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might look at yoga teacher Brett Larkin, with her 500K YouTube followers and think it all came easily and naturally to her. Not so — over the course of a decade, Brett slowly but surely kept publishing videos while working full-time as a game developer job and mothering her two small boys.On this episode, Brett shares the details of how she overcame imposter syndrome with the help of her online yoga community and ultimately created a thriving online teacher training business.She also shares gems from her new book, Yoga Life: Habits, Poses, and Breathwork to Channel Joy, which helps you create a personalized practice that fits into the chaos of your daily life.Go check out the shownotes for links to all of Brett's work: yogalandpodcast.com/episode324 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you still vying for a decent time slot to teach at your local studio? According to Office Yoga founder Maryam Sharifzadeh, your efforts would be far better spent finding a few corporate teaching gigs. Consider this statistic from Sharifzadeh: In the US there is one yoga studio for every 10,000 businesses. That's a lot more premium time slots, with better pay and, in all likelihood, shorter classes!Sharifzadeh founded her business, Office Yoga, in 2014 and shares all the goods about how to go about teaching in the workplace, including:How to adapt to the time and sequencing constraints in a corporate environmentWhat to wear -- and what not to wear -- to your interviewHow to determine the learning objectives for each class and workplaceImportant ways to gain feedback and understand the inner-workings of the organizationThe most common way she finds corporate gigsThree things to considering when pricing your offeringsSharifzadeh's passion for office yoga is infectious -- as she puts it, people in offices need you, they want you, and they really appreciate the yoga. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason joins me this week to answer questions that have been asked during the group live calls of his online course about preventing yoga injuries. He talks through:Knee pain in Upward Bow (Wheel Pose) and Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)What causes sore hamstring attachments and whether or not to bend the knees to make this pain go awaySacroiliac pain that occurs in twistsSeveral different options for coping with sore wrists in Plank and Chaturanga!Jason will be teaching at LoveStory Yoga in San Francisco on March 29th, 2024 -- go to lovestoryyoga.com/workshops to register!Come see Jason and I at Gillette Stadium on April 28th, 2024 for the Yoga Reaches Out event benefitting Boston Children's Hospital. Register here: www.yogareachesout.orgThere's still time to join Jason's training, Better Way to Flow: Preventing & Managing Common Yoga Injuries. Join us here: learn.jasonyoga.com/injuries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than a decade ago, Sarah Gardner was a yoga teacher with a dream: She wanted to bring a thousand yogis together at Gillette Stadium in Boston to raise money for Boston Children's Hospital.Years before, Sarah's son had spent seven life-saving weeks in the NICU at Boston Children's. After experiencing the love, care, and devotion that the doctors and nurses gave to her family, Sarah knew she wanted to give back. She has spent more than a decade doing just that -- rallying the yoga community each spring to gather at Gillette Stadium to do yoga for a cause. To date, her organization, Yoga Reaches Out, has raised more than 4 million dollars for Boston Children's Hospital. The money raised helps fund the program Every Child Fund, which offers dog therapy and art therapy, helps families with food vouchers, hotel stays, vouchers, and more. Hear Sarah's inspiring story, including lessons she's learned along the way.PS: Jason and I are headlining this year's Yoga Reaches Out even on April 28th and we would love to see you there! You can find information about how to join here: www.yogareachesout.org If you can't be there in person but would like to donate, go to www.yogareachesout.org and type Team Yogaland in the search box. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the modern era of practicing yoga, we've come to terms with the reality that alignment alone is not the sole consideration when it comes to preventing yoga injuries. Today's episode draws from Jason's recent webinar, The Yoga Injury Matrix, and focuses on eight best practices for minimizing yoga injuries. The talk dives into the following ideas:Mindful, skillful alignmentPace, duration, and intensity are keyIntensification adjustments and their role in modern yogaWell-rounded sequencing mattersHelping your students prioritize self-regulationThe role of stabilization techniquesEmphasizing functional strength and active ROMThe body is a stress-distributing deviceTo listen to more podcasts we've done about specific yoga injuries, we've created a collection here: jasonyoga.com/yogaland-podcast/yoga-injuries/Or, learn more in Jason's newly updated online course Better Way to Flow: Preventing & Managing Common Yoga Injuries. Group calls start on March 18th! Or you can choose the self-paced option: www.jasonyoga.com/injuries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was such a delight to have Jivana Heyman back on the show to talk about his latest book, The Teacher's Guide to Accessible Yoga. (You can listen to our first chat at yogalandpodcast.com/episode176). The episode explores: What it means to be more collaborative in your teaching, how being more collaborative could help break down traditional hierarchical power dynamics that have led to teacher-student abuses in the past, the importance of overcoming impostor syndrome (especially if you don't think you look the part of the "typical" yoga teacher), his love of asana because of how accessible it makes the spiritual practice of yoga, and the importance of de-stigmatizing chair and bed yoga.For shownotes, go to: yogalandpodcast.com/episode320Jason's 2024 training schedule is up! You can find it at jasonyoga.com/scheduleYou can support the podcast by joining my Substack community at yogaland.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to a new season of Yogaland! Jason is my inaugural guest this season and our conversation focuses on the hips:What are the five compartments of the hip?Why is it important to strengthen them?How do you strengthen them in yoga?Jason lays it all out for you step-by-step. Take a listen and take notes!Also: Jason will be leading his Preventing Injuries online course very soon! Join the waitlist and we will send you all the details as soon as they become available: learn.jasonyoga.com/injuries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time of year is often so fraught with busyness, overwhelm, expectations, even loneliness that we forget the goal: To feel present, joyful, connected. Here are my thoughts on how to gather up all of the skills that you cultivate on your mat (and cushion) and utilize them to navigate the challenges of this time of year. Check out the shownotes fo rmore helpful episodes: yogalandpodcast.com/episode318 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So thrilled to have Daya Grant join me again on the podcast this week! You may remember Daya from episode 258 (This is Your Brain on Yoga). In her role as a mental performance coach, Daya utilizes tools from her background as a neuroscientist, athlete, and yogi. On this episode, Daya shares some of the fascinating research that shares in her online course, Mind-Flow Masterclass. She shares:Which mental performance tools she used to finish a half marathon (less than a year after giving birth to her second child!)How exercise upregulates BDNF and the ways this is beneficial for the brainHow exercising during high stress times can mediate our stress response and create more resilience for our future selfHow mantra and dristhi have been studied and shown to help settle the mindThe neuroscience of flow states and the four stages of flowSamadhi -- Daya and I have a similar interpretation on this for householders Check out more about Daya's offerings on the shownotes page: yogalandpodcast.com/episode317 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know what feels really terrible? Teaching yoga when you don't feel inspired. And yet, realistically, we all encounter dry spells in our own practice. This week's conversation with Jason will give you ideas for reigniting your inner spark and feeling inspired to practice again. If you'd like even more inspiration, join us in January for our newest online course, Mind-Body Reset! Get all the details here: learn.jasonyoga.com/reset Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! This week we're talking through four life skills for every yoga teacher to master. These four skills are attributes that we work on in our own work and personal lives through our practice. They are also the four pillars around which our upcoming January program -- Mind-Body Reset -- is built. The four skills are:Self-compassion -- the skill of being an ally to yourself and accepting yourself, as you are.Self-awareness -- taking a look inward and acknowledging your areas of strength and your areas of challenge.Self-regulation -- understanding the science behind the different stress responses and learning what you need to do in your practice to have a balanced response to stress and adversity.Self-direction -- harness your creative energy, kick imposter syndrome to the curb, and embrace an entrepreneurial spirit.If you'd like to learn more about the program, go to learn.jasonyoga.com/reset and jump on the waitlist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fall doesn't just mean pumpkin spice lattes. It means that you will likely start to hear a cacophony of sniffles and coughs when you're ordering said pumpkin spice latte -- or wherever you go. It's a great time to thinking about your yoga practice as a tool for building your resilience. Iyengar Yoga teacher Lisa Walford joins me this week to talk about her approach to immune health and how to use asana, pranayama, and meditation as part of your support system. Lisa also opens up about her own personal immune health challenges since she was diagnosed with HIV in 1985. This conversation was a beautiful reminder of the many ways that yoga can help us to heal when we start from a place of care and attention.About Lisa:Lisa Walford holds a Level III (formerly Intermediate Senior II) Iyengar teaching certificate and has been teaching yoga in Los Angeles since 1982. She continues her studies annually with the Iyengars, in Pune, India, and teaches worldwide. Lisa is the curriculum director for the Teacher Training Program at The Center for Yoga in Los Angeles. Previously, she co-created the Teacher Training Program at YogaWorks. She is on the advisory board of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and the Yoga Studies program at Loyola Marymount University. For shownotes for this episode, got to yogalandpodcast.com/episode314Thank you, as always for listening and sharing. If you'd like get regular updates from us, join our mailing list at jasonyoga.com/newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inversions can be fun, empowering, and strength-building -- if they are introduced thoughtfully and systematically. On this episode, Jason walks through how to introduce four key inversions to beginners: Handstand, Forearm Balance, Headstand, and Shoulderstand. He shares the building blocks that will create a blueprint for each pose, keeping them safe and beneficial. We have companion sequences for these poses on our website! Find them on the shownotes page here: yogalandpodcast.com/episode313Jason has also created a tutorial on his Youtube channel so that you can see the variations he refers to in the episode. Check it out here: youtube.com/@JasonCrandellYoga Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carving out a place for yourself as a yoga teacher is no easy task. It was such a treat to have multi-hyphenate Neeti Narula on the show to hear how she has done it. Neeti is an NYC-based yoga and meditation teacher, as well as a mother of two, a contributor at Yoga Journal and now, a freshly minted contributor on the lifestyle platform, Melissa Wood Health.Neeti shares so many helpful gems on this episode including:How yoga came into her life and helped her begin to heal from lossThe thing that surprised her most when she left investment banking to become a yoga teacherHow the pandemic helped her reassess her teaching schedule and pursue other avenues to share yogaHow intuition and persistence have led to the biggest leaps in her careerThe necessity of being willing to fail as she pursued opportunities in her teaching careerHow she pitched Melissa Williams Health and what she will be sharing there.You can now take classes with Neeti Narula on Melissa Wood Health ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.