Most yoga teachers never plan their year at all, and the ones who do tend to overplan, burn out within a season, and abandon the whole project by Thanksgiving. There is a middle path, and it takes less than an hour to set up: three intentions—one for your structure,...
Every yoga room has a smell before you say a word of your opening—the space itself, the scent you have added on purpose, and the students walking through the door. In twenty years of teaching, I have watched teachers plan carefully for lighting, music, and cueing, and...
The second class I ever taught went off the rails before I said a single word—and then I spent an hour making it worse. I hadn’t planned to teach that night. The regular teacher, Bryan, couldn’t make it, and my hand shot straight up before I’d thought it through. I...
I just spent two hours in my favorite kind of conversation: a crossover. Sara Joelle came on Yoga Teacher Confidential to talk about storytelling for yoga teachers. Then I went on her show, Point of the Story, to talk about something that started with my husband...
A student lingers by the door after class. She’s holding her mat in the universal “I have a question but I don’t want to be in your way” posture. She catches your eye and says, “I’ve been thinking about doing a private with you . . . do you think that would help?” And...
