Although I have two gorgeous, brilliant adult daughters, I am not a grandmother proper (yet!). But I have metaphorical grandchildren all around the world: they are the students of my students, both those who’ve done teacher training with me and those who’ve read my books and found something of use to share with their own students.
This realization hit me most profoundly when I visited the teacher trainees of my close collaborator, Alexandra DeSiato. Alexandra has cowritten several books with me and is now the lead teacher in the 200-hour yoga teacher training at Carrboro Yoga, the studio I own in North Carolina. She’s a graduate of that very program, which I directed and where I was the lead teacher for over a decade before handing the baton to her.
When I presented to her trainees on sequencing and business, I truly understood what Phase 5 of the Yoga Teacher Success Timeline is about. It’s not just about teaching—it’s about teaching the teachers who will teach the teachers.
Understanding Phase 5: The Mastery and Legacy Zone
Phase 5 is not about age or years of experience. I’ve met teachers in their thirties who embody this phase and teachers in their sixties who haven’t arrived there yet. It’s about the depth of your impact and your readiness to share what you’ve learned with the next generation of teachers.
The signs that you’re entering Phase 5 are distinct. You have significant recognition in your specialty—people know your name in yoga circles. You might be invited to teach at conferences, featured in publications, or sought out by other teachers for mentorship. Teaching feels effortless and joyful. You’re no longer working to teach; you’re simply sharing from the overflow of your knowledge and experience. Classes feel like conversations with old friends.
You’re able to nurture other teachers’ growth naturally. You can see what they need and provide it without making them feel inadequate. You have financial sustainability from varied income streams—classes, workshops, trainings, maybe books or online courses. You’re not dependent on any single revenue stream.
Most importantly, you have deep wisdom from years of observation and adaptation. You’ve seen thousands of students, taught through countless situations, and developed intuitive wisdom about human nature and the teaching process. You have a clear understanding of your unique contribution to yoga. You know what you bring to the field that no one else can bring, and you’re comfortable with your particular gifts and perspective.
The Shift in Focus
The hallmark of Phase 5 is that your focus shifts from your own development to the development of others. Not because you’ve stopped learning—master teachers never stop learning—but because you’ve reached a place where sharing knowledge has become as important as acquiring it.
This phase is also characterized by a deep sense of responsibility. You recognize that the knowledge and wisdom you’ve accumulated doesn’t belong to you alone. It belongs to the community. You become a steward of the tradition, responsible for passing it on with integrity.
Here’s something crucial about Phase 5: you don’t have to be the most famous teacher or have the biggest following to be here. Some of the most masterful teachers I know work quietly in their local communities, deeply influencing the teachers and students around them without any fanfare. Phase 5 is about impact, not celebrity.
Navigating Ego in the Mastery Phase
The transition into Phase 5 can be tricky because it’s easy for ego to creep in. When people start looking to you as an expert, when your opinion carries weight, when younger teachers hang on your every word—that can be intoxicating.
But true mastery is about transcending ego, not feeding it.
I learned this lesson when I was invited to teach at a prestigious yoga conference. It was easy to get caught up in the excitement of being there and to feel like I needed to jockey for position at the presenters’ cocktail party. I spent a few minutes there before escaping to go eat pizza with my best friend from college.
Reflecting on why I had such an aversion to that party, I think it felt like performing expertise, when what I was at the conference for was sharing wisdom with students, not peacocking for other teachers. That experience taught me the difference between being known and being useful. Being known feels good to the ego, but being useful feels good to the soul.
The best Phase 5 teachers I know are the ones who have learned to hold their expertise lightly. They know a lot, but they don’t need you to know that they know a lot. They’re more interested in what you need to learn than in what they can teach.
Maintaining Beginner’s Mind with Master’s Knowledge
One of the responsibilities of Phase 5 is maintaining beginner’s mind while holding master’s knowledge. You need to remember what it felt like to be confused, overwhelmed, or uncertain, so you can meet newer teachers where they are.
I see some experienced teachers who have lost touch with the struggle of learning. They’ve forgotten what it’s like to not know something, and so they can’t effectively teach beginners or support newer teachers. The key is staying curious. Continuing to ask questions. Continuing to approach familiar concepts with fresh eyes. This is how you avoid becoming stagnant or arrogant.
Another crucial aspect of Phase 5 is understanding the cycles of learning. You’ve been through all the phases yourself, so you can recognize where other teachers are in their journey and provide exactly what they need at that moment.
When I work with newer teachers now, I’m not trying to turn them into mini-versions of me. I’m trying to help them become the best version of themselves. That requires seeing their unique gifts and challenges, not just projecting my own experience onto them.
The Concept of Lineage
This is also where the concept of lineage becomes important. You’re not just teaching yoga poses or even teaching teaching—you’re participating in an ancient tradition of knowledge transmission. That’s a sacred responsibility.
But lineage doesn’t mean rigid tradition. It means understanding the essence of what you’ve received and finding authentic ways to pass it forward in a language and format that serves the current generation.
I think about this a lot in my own work. The yoga I teach and the way I train teachers has been influenced by dozens of teachers and thousands of students. I’m a link in a chain that stretches back generations and will continue forward long after I’m gone. That perspective is both humbling and inspiring. It reminds me that this work is bigger than my individual career or reputation.
Multiplying Your Impact
Phase 5 is where you start to see the true impact of your work multiplied. It’s not just about the students you teach directly—it’s about the teachers you mentor who go on to teach thousands of their own students. It’s about the ripple effects that extend far beyond what you can see.
This multiplication of impact is incredibly fulfilling, but it also requires letting go of control. Once you teach someone something, it belongs to them. They’ll adapt it, change it, maybe improve it. That’s exactly what should happen.
Practical Steps for Phase 5 Teachers
If you’re in Phase 5, or moving toward it, here’s what I recommend:
Create systems to share your knowledge with newer teachers. This might be formal mentorship programs, teacher training contributions, or even just being intentionally available to support the teachers in your community.
Build community around your teaching philosophy. Gather like-minded teachers who share your values and approach. Create spaces for ongoing learning and mutual support.
Balance innovation with honoring traditions. You have enough experience to innovate responsibly—to add new elements to the tradition while respecting its essence.
Develop advanced content for experienced practitioners. Your students have grown too. Create offerings that challenge and inspire people who’ve been practicing for years. Remember, advanced doesn’t have to mean complex. The longer you’ve been practicing, the more subtlety there is in simplicity.
Maintain professional boundaries while expanding reach. As your influence grows, you’ll need even clearer boundaries about what you will and won’t do, what you can and can’t provide.
Focus on legacy and how your teaching impacts generations. Think beyond your immediate students to the long-term impact of your work. What do you want to be remembered for?
Continue your own studentship and growth. Master teachers are eternal students. Stay curious, keep learning, and remain humble about how much you don’t know.
The Deepest Satisfaction
The most important thing about Phase 5 is remembering that mastery is not a destination—it’s a way of being. You don’t arrive at mastery and then stop growing. You arrive at a place where your growth serves not just yourself, but everyone around you.
This is where the deepest satisfaction in teaching comes from. It’s not about your classes being perfect or your students loving you—it’s about knowing that you’re part of something much larger than yourself. You’re participating in the ancient art of knowledge transmission. You’re helping to ensure that the gifts of yoga continue to be available to future generations. You’re contributing to a tradition that has changed millions of lives.
That’s not a small thing. That’s legacy.
True mastery is not about what you know—it’s about how you share what you know in service of others.
Want to explore this concept more deeply? Listen to the full episode of Yoga Teacher Confidential: Phase 5—Mastery and Legacy:
