Working in Yoga

Most yoga professionals have no employer contributing to their retirement. No pension. No automatic savings. Whatever gets built for the future is built entirely through individual planning, out of an already stretched income, in a profession that culturally treats financial planning as spiritually suspect. In this episode we do the retirement math — what you actually need to save monthly at different ages to retire at sixty-five, what that number looks like against average yoga professional income, and why starting now matters more than starting right. RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Leslie Pearlman is back, and this update to their 2024 conversation covers even more ground than the original. Rebecca and Leslie dig into online and hybrid teaching not as a lesser alternative to in-person but as a genuinely distinct skillset that requires its own curriculum — one most YTTs still aren't providing. They get into the internal regulation work required to teach well in any format, and the largely unexamined tendency to moralize the absence of in-room co-regulation as an automatic loss. They also tackle one of Rebecca's long-running preoccupations: the difference between professional training and personal development, and why the yoga industry needs to get honest about which one it's actually offering. And they go somewhere most conversations don't — into the urgent need for yoga teacher trainer training and studio owner training, including the relational dimension of what it means to be for a community without being of it. Rich, honest, and covers a lot of ground in fifty minutes.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineGood Ground Yoga

The online yoga business is sold as the answer to everything — unlimited reach, passive income, freedom from the studio model. The reality has a specific math that most of the people selling online business courses are not showing you. In this episode we build the honest financial picture of what it costs to build an online yoga offering — in time, money, and the long runway before it generates meaningful income — so you can make decisions about digital offerings based on what is actually true.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Part 2 of this conversation with Nana Amoako-Anin goes somewhere a little more personal — and just as essential. Rebecca and Nana talk about the confidence it takes to charge what your work is actually worth, and why pricing remains such a persistent struggle for yoga professionals. They get into consumer choice — the fact that the industry has never given students a real way to evaluate or choose a good teacher — and the visual culture problem baked into yoga marketing, where the internet still defaults to one narrow, unrepresentative image of who practices. They also touch on AI's growing role in marketing and what it means to stay genuinely uncomfortable while your teaching and business evolve. This one feels like listening in on two people becoming real friends, which, honestly, it is.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineTick Tock, The Trend Report and State of the ProfessionNana's Website

Running a retreat looks like a financial opportunity. Fill twelve spots at $1,500 each and you have $18,000 in revenue for a long weekend. The math seems obvious. Until you look at the actual costs. In this episode we build the real financial picture of a yoga retreat — venue deposits, per-person minimums, marketing costs, payment processing, and the thin margins that result. This episode is for every yoga professional who has run a retreat and wondered where the money went, or who is considering their first retreat and wants to go in with accurate expectations. RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Nana Amoako-Anin has lived a genuinely international life — including a stint as a prosecuting attorney in Manhattan — before finding her way into yoga and opening her own studio in Ghana. In Part 1 of this conversation, she and Rebecca get into something the yoga industry rarely names directly: access to capital, and what it means for the future of this work. They also unpack the term "trauma-informed," questioning whether academic language is actually serving the people it's meant to help, and look honestly at how the US wellness industry burned hot and fast in the 2010s, organized itself around deep individualism, and ultimately failed to build infrastructure for its own workers. It's a candid look at what other parts of the world might do differently — and why.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineTick Tock, The Trend Report and State of the ProfessionNana's Website

The per-class rate sounds reasonable until you do the actual math. In this episode we calculate what a studio teaching job really pays when you factor in unpaid prep time, travel, cancelled classes, and the absence of benefits. What looks like a professional income often works out to less than minimum wage when the full picture is on the table. This episode is for every yoga professional who has felt that something wasn't adding up — because something wasn't.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Some conversations leave you with a line you keep quoting for years. For Rebecca, this is one of them. Dr. Shyam Ranganathan, founder of YogaPhilosophy.com, joined the podcast during the 2024 perfectionism series, and the conversation has held up in every way that matters. They get into the difference between Western virtue ethics — which starts with finding the right person and doing what they say — and yoga's invitation to spend a lifetime practicing right doing as you understand it. They talk about why "the customer is always right" is a genuinely complicated idea when you're teaching something transformative, why yoga is inherently subversive and dissatisfaction is actually the doorway in, and what that means for how you market your work without compromising your ethics. And they get into leadership — the real kind, that requires vulnerability, healthy boundaries, and the willingness to be a serious student yourself. This is the final episode in the revisited conversations series, and it's a worthy close.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineDr. Ranganathan's website

Yoga professionals are required to complete continuing education to maintain their credentials. Nobody has ever done the math on what that requirement actually costs over a career, or what it actually returns in earning potential. In this episode we put both numbers on the table — the real cumulative cost of continuing education across a yoga career, and the honest answer to whether those requirements serve the professional or the organizations that set them.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

This is one of those conversations Rebecca keeps sending people back to — and for good reason. First recorded in March 2024, this discussion with Colice Sanders on perfectionism and activism in the yoga space holds up in every way that matters, and has only gotten more relevant since. Colice brings serious precision to the conversation — defining terms, naming the ways white supremacy culture shows up in yoga and social justice spaces, and making a clear-eyed case for why awareness without focused action is where we keep missing the mark. They also get into how perfectionism gets weaponized to police each other in yoga and activist communities, the difference between critique worth sitting with and shame designed to silence, and how moral superiority quietly infiltrates even the most well-intentioned spaces. An updated conversation with Colice is coming in July — things have shifted enough since 2024 that it was time. Start here first.RESOURCES:Working In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineColice's WebsiteWhite Supremacy Culture website

The C-IAYT credential represents a significant investment — in time, money, and professional identity. In this episode we put the full cost of becoming a certified yoga therapist on the table alongside the realistic income outcomes, and calculate what the credential actually needs to return to justify the investment. The math is not designed to discourage you from yoga therapy. It is designed to give you the complete financial picture so you can build a career strategy that works in the real landscape. RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

If you've ever wondered how we ended up with the yoga organizations we have, this is the conversation. First recorded in 2024, Rebecca's discussion with Amara Miller remains the clearest, most honest account she knows of how the yoga industry organized itself — and why it looks the way it does today. They trace Yoga Alliance back to its 1999 origins as a genuine attempt at student safety and teacher standards, through the flood of money that hit the industry in the late 2000s and early 2010s that nobody was prepared to navigate, to the cultural counterculture identity that shaped how yoga professionals thought about structure and institutions. They also get into the hours-vs-curriculum debate that defined early standards-setting, the approval of fully virtual YTTs, and what it might mean to start thinking seriously about unions and community-led professional organizing. An updated conversation with Amara is coming in July — but start here. This one is foundational.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineAmara's Website

Going independent sounds like the answer to everything — no studio politics, set your own rates, build your own thing. And it can be. But the math of going independent has a specific shape that most people don't see clearly before they make the leap. In this episode we build the real financial picture of independent yoga work — what you need in place before it makes sense, how long the runway actually is, and what it costs to make the transition sustainably rather than desperately. RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Six months ago, Rebecca published the first Yoga Professionals Trend Forecast — a snapshot of what was actually happening in the yoga industry, without the soft focus. In this episode, she comes back to it. Not to congratulate herself, but to update it: what held, what sharpened, and where things have moved.She also previews the Summer 2026 forecast. A few trends get named. One — the end of the portable career model — gets the full treatment. If you've been building your career on the solopreneur model and something has started to feel off, this episode is probably for you.Topics covered: the professional promise that didn't deliver, skill migration and what it costs to do it right, yoga therapy's quiet attrition, integration as survival, the limits of niching — and the deeper argument that the yoga boom is over and the middle of the market is disappearing.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

What would it mean if yoga professionals actually had access to employment data, debt-to-income numbers, and honest information about whether this career is financially viable? In Part 2 of this conversation, Dr. Stevie Inghram and Rebecca get into why yoga's governing bodies keep that data close — and what it costs the profession when they do. They also talk about the difference between people who train for personal knowledge versus those building a career, why waiting for existing organizations to fix things is a losing strategy, and what a genuinely community-led approach to yoga professional advocacy could look like. And they share details on a free summer gathering for practitioners ready to stop waiting and start organizing. This is a conversation about building the industry we all need and deserve — and it starts here.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineReflection GuideRegister for our community organizing event!Stevie's Instagram

The organizations governing the yoga profession care deeply about the practice. What they have never demonstrated a meaningful commitment to is the professional welfare of the people teaching it. In this episode we make a distinction nobody in this industry is making out loud — and explain why it changes everything about what you should expect from these institutions, what you're actually paying for, and what needs to be built.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Nobody talks about debt-to-income ratios in the yoga world. Stevie Inghram does. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Rebecca sits down with naturopathic doctor and yoga therapist Dr. Stevie Inghram to dig into some of the most under-discussed structural problems in the yoga and holistic health professions — including whether it's even ethical to keep training people at current income levels, how poor working conditions quietly erode professional standards, and what it would take to build an organization that actually advocates for the people doing this work, not just the practice itself. If you've ever felt like the system wasn't built for you, this conversation will help you understand why — and start you thinking about what comes next.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineReflection GuideRegister for our community organizing event!Stevie's Instagram

You finished your training. You passed your boards. You have the credential. And now you're discovering that the jobs you were promised aren't there. In this episode we name what the yoga therapy credentialing world has never said clearly: the job market doesn't exist the way you were told it did. That is not your failure. That is a promise that was never backed up with infrastructure — and it's time someone said it out loud.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

If Part 1 made you believe a clinical yoga therapy job was possible, Part 2 is going to show you how to start going after one. Jenna Csont and Whitney Pasch get into the practical side — networking in spaces where yoga professionals are still a new concept, the education that makes these opportunities available, reaching out to therapy centers, and why knowing how to clearly explain what yoga therapy is may be the most underrated professional skill you can develop. Rebecca also reflects on what Jenna's path represents: solo, ground-up, door-building work that most of us weren't warned we'd need to do. If you're a yoga therapist who wants to work in clinical or medical settings, this episode is required listening.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Everyone told you to find your voice, build your brand, and develop your unique methodology. Nobody told you the order. In this episode, we talk about the sequence that the yoga industry never handed you — why you have to get better before you can get original, and why the pressure to skip that step is quietly crushing an entire generation of yoga professionals.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

A lot of yoga therapists were told — or assumed — that salaried, benefits-included jobs simply didn't exist in this field. Jenna Csont and Whitney Pasch are here to complicate that story. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Rebecca talks with Jenna and Whitney about their work at a trauma-therapy clinic in the Chicagoland area, where they bring yoga — in all its forms, not just movement — to clients who might never have found their way to a studio class. They get into what clinical yoga therapy actually looks like day to day, what level of training is required, the relationship-building it takes to earn real respect inside a western medical setting, and the bigger conversation about accessibility and yoga's roots. This one will have you thinking about what's possible.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

Everyone told you to find your voice, build your brand, and develop your unique methodology. Nobody told you the order. In this episode, we talk about the sequence that the yoga industry never handed you — why you have to get better before you can get original, and why the pressure to skip that step is quietly crushing an entire generation of yoga professionals.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga Magazine

What good are higher yoga standards if teachers can't pay their bills? That's the question that sparked this conversation with researcher and yoga therapist Steffany Moonaz. Together we dig into what the data actually says about yoga training, student safety, and whether the industry's push for updated standards from Yoga Alliance and IAYT can coexist with building real economic viability for yoga professionals. We also get into the anatomy curriculum problem, the difference between a licensed healthcare provider who "knows a few poses" and an actual yoga professional, and whether higher education is the direction we're all heading—or just some of us.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineGUEST LINKSSteffany's Website

Nobody handed you a pamphlet about this when you got certified. There's no union, no standardized pay scale, no HR department, and no institution coming to protect you if things go sideways. In the first episode of the What Nobody Told You series, Rebecca names the structural failure at the heart of the yoga industry — and then goes a step further. Because once you stop waiting for a safety net that was never being built, something clarifies. You stop organizing your career around a promise that was never real, and you start building something that actually belongs to you. This one is honest, a little hard, and worth the listen.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomMake Money In Yoga BoringBoring Money Stater Kit

In yoga and wellness spaces, we talk a lot about community, connection, and belonging. But what happens when those relationships start to feel conditional—or quietly transactional?In this episode, Rebecca explores the subtle shift from being in relationship to being useful in the industry. She unpacks the language of “collaboration” and “alignment,” the pressures of visibility and scarcity, and how businesses built on belonging can blur the lines between care and obligation.This is a conversation about relational burnout, consent in professional relationships, and what it might look like to rebuild community without extraction.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship Opportunities

Yoga's missing career ladder doesn't just cost you professionally — it costs you financially. In this episode, Rebecca Sebastian names the specific, predictable ways the broken structure of the yoga industry transfers its costs onto individual workers: the training trap, the visibility myth, the body math nobody does, and the hidden overhead of patchwork income.This is not a hustle episode. It's a clarity episode — for mid-career yoga professionals who are tired of blaming themselves for navigating terrain that was never mapped.Includes a mention of the free Boring Money Starter Kit and the Make Money in Yoga Boring working seminar on March 31st.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomMake Money In Yoga BoringBoring Money Stater Kit

Have you ever felt like your yoga studio was a little... intense about getting you to recruit friends? Or wondered where the line is between genuine community and transactional belonging?In this episode, we're going somewhere a lot of people in the yoga world aren't ready to go — and we're bringing a commercial cult expert with us.Brandie Hadfield joins the podcast to unpack the uncomfortable overlap between MLM culture and how many yoga studios, teacher training programs, and even large chains like CorePower operate. We talk about the ethics of selling belonging, the reality of dual relationships (when your teacher is also your boss), and why yoga professionals need explicit training in recognizing power dynamics.This episode grew out of the host's deep dive into cult documentaries, podcasts, and her article The Business of Belonging for Inside Yoga Magazine — and it might just change how you see your studio community.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomInside Yoga MagazineThe Business of Belonging Artlce–FreeGUEST LINKSBrandie's Support GroupBrandie's Substack

In this solo episode, Rebecca revisits three of last year's most popular series with fresh 2026 updates that every yoga professional needs to hear.First up: making money boring. We're talking about the systems, grief, and pricing drama that keep yoga teachers stuck—and how to finally break free. Then, a reality check on AI in yoga: spoiler alert, the robots aren't coming for your jobs, but they are making your admin life easier. Finally, a controversial take on creativity: is our obsession with niching down actually killing our creative spark?This episode includes real data on the yoga market (hint: it's growing 80% by 2032), honest talk about pricing and self-worth, and permission to follow your creative impulses even when they don't fit your brand.Plus, details on Rebecca's upcoming seminar: Make Money in Yoga Boring (March 31st, $45 early bird through March 1st).If you're a yoga teacher navigating the business side of this work, this one's for you.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomMake Money In Yoga Boring

What does it look like to take your yoga training beyond the studio and into real community care work?In this episode, Rebecca talks with returning guest Shelly Auld, a wellness coordinator working in a North Minneapolis school district. Shelly shares how she built a program that supports educators and staff through nervous system regulation, co-regulation, and accessible movement—and how that work is already impacting staff retention and wellbeing.This conversation is a powerful reminder that yoga professionals are needed in schools, healthcare, corporate environments, and beyond. It's not about the perfect certification—it's about applying your skills where people actually need them.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesShelly's Website

In this episode of Working In Yoga, Rebecca Sebastian is joined by Gloria Hester, whose work may challenge everything you think you know about how yoga is used professionally.Gloria shares her path into somatic education for vertebrate animals, offering a compelling example of how yoga principles can be applied far beyond traditional classroom settings. Together, they explore intuition as a professional skill, the nuance between following opportunity and honoring boundaries, and what it means to work therapeutically with non-human beings.This conversation invites yoga and wellness professionals to question the idea that the field is a monoculture — and instead consider how varied, creative, and bespoke our careers can truly be. It's a thoughtful look at intuition, ethics, and the many unexpected directions yoga work can take.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesGUEST LINKSGloria Hester

In this episode of Working In Yoga, host Rebecca Sebastian is joined by Suzie Carmack for a wide-ranging conversation on burnout, wellbeing, and the future of yoga and wellness professions.Together, we unpack why yoga work can be uniquely isolating, how that isolation fuels burnout, and why traditional “self-care” often misses the mark. Suzie shares insights from her book The Wellbeing Ultimatum, and talks about how wellbeing lacks a shared definition, why social support is essential for burnout recovery, and how identifying joy can be a powerful professional practice.This episode also explores professional identity, creative autonomy, fairytale thinking, and why yoga professionals exist at the intersection of healing and artistry. It's an invitation to rethink burnout not as personal failure, but as a systemic issue — and to imagine careers that are bespoke, sustainable, and rooted in real belonging.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesGUEST LINKSSuzie Carmack

Yoga has no career ladder.And for many mid-career yoga professionals, that realization arrives quietly—through burnout, confusion, or the feeling that the work should make more sense by now.In this solo episode, Rebecca explores why yoga careers are structurally non-linear, how training and personal branding have been positioned as substitutes for real professional pathways, and why so many skilled teachers and therapists end up blaming themselves for systemic gaps.This is not an episode about hustling harder, pivoting faster, or waiting for the industry to be rescued.It's a conversation about clarity:Why yoga offers inspiration without infrastructureHow burnout is often grief, not failureWhat happens when careers are built without shared support or advocacyAnd how to redefine progress in care-based work without chasing legitimacyThis episode also introduces The Back Room, a private professional space for yoga workers who want reflection, strategy, and sustainability—without high-ticket coaching or industry drama.A guided reflection sheet accompanies this episode inside The Back Room for listeners who want to sit with these questions more deeply.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship Opportunities

In this episode of Working In Yoga, we take the conversation global with Rebel Tucker, Vice President of Yoga Australia. Rebel shares how Yoga Australia actively incorporates member feedback, supports both teachers and students, and maintains “common sense standards” that protect practitioners and the public alike.We explore what it looks like when a professional organization truly represents its community, why connection among yoga professionals is essential, and what the U.S. yoga industry can learn from international models. We also dive into big-picture questions about yoga's place in wellness vs. healthcare systems, training standards around the world, and whether the future of the industry lies in one major organization or many niche ones.This episode is an invitation to think beyond borders — and imagine what's possible when yoga professionals are heard, supported, and connected.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesGUEST LINKSRebel Tucker

In this final conversation with Becky Aten and Theo Wildcroft, we dive into the concept of neuroqueering—the practice of disrupting what's considered “normal” in both neurotypical and heteronormative culture. Through laughter, curiosity, and deep reflection, we explore how yoga spaces can move away from rigid, productivity-driven ideals and instead celebrate unusual bodies, brains, and ways of being.We talk about queerness as a refusal of capitalist productivity, the deep intersections between neurodiversity and trauma, and why morality has quietly shaped how yoga is supposed to look and feel. This episode invites yoga professionals to embrace experimentation, question the “why” behind their teaching choices, and allow a little more weirdness—because that's often where freedom, healing, and creativity live.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesGUEST LINKSTheo WildcroftBecky Aten

In this follow-up conversation, we go deeper into what inclusive design actually looks like in yoga spaces. From sound engineering and sensory considerations to universal design principles and the social model of disability, this episode explores how centering neurodivergent people from the beginning—not as an afterthought—can radically change how yoga is taught, experienced, and shared. We also reflect on how trauma-informed practices translate, why lived experience must guide decision-making, and how training future teachers needs to evolve.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesGUEST LINKSTheo WildcroftJess GlennyBecky Aten

What does it actually mean to create inclusive yoga spaces for neurodivergent people? In this episode, we explore the intersection of trauma-informed yoga and neurodivergent safety—while also modeling what it looks like to learn in real time. You'll hear moments of curiosity, missteps, and grace as language evolves in the conversation, offering a powerful reminder that inclusion isn't about perfection. It's about willingness, reflection, and designing spaces that welcome everyone from the very beginning.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterThe Back RoomSponsorship OpportunitiesGUEST LINKSTheo WildcroftJess GlennyBecky Aten

What happens when an industry grows faster than its infrastructure? In this solo episode, Rebecca explores how yoga professionals ended up navigating public discourse, expensive coaching, and deeply personal career decisions all at once—and why we desperately need quieter, more intentional spaces to think, reflect, and build what comes next.

As 2025 comes to a close, this solo episode of Working In Yoga offers a pause rather than a prediction.Instead of recapping highlights or forecasting the future, Rebecca reflects on what this year quietly revealed about working in yoga—shifts in stability, authority, sustainability, and how the work itself is changing shape.Drawing from conversations across nearly 100 podcast episodes and countless off-mic discussions, this episode explores why so many yoga professionals feel unsettled right now—and why that feeling may be a rational response to changing structures, not a personal failure.This episode is an invitation to orient, not to optimize. To notice what's holding, what's straining, and what's emerging—without rushing to name or fix it.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga Newsletter

What if creativity in yoga isn't about novelty—but about depth, structure, and purpose? In this episode, we unpack the difference between engagement and entertainment, why foundations matter, and how knowing your “why” shapes sustainable, skillful teaching.Key Takeaways• Creativity needs structure. Creative work thrives when supported by systems. Whether you create within set hours or follow inspiration when it strikes, structure doesn't limit creativity—it sustains it.• Creativity is not the same as variety. Variety leans toward entertainment. Teaching yoga is about clarity, transmission, and guidance—not constant novelty.• Engagement ≠ entertainment. Our role as yoga teachers is to engage students intellectually, physically, and emotionally—not to perform or entertain for retention's sake. The yoga itself is enough.• Foundation before innovation. Creative expression works best when built on strong fundamentals. A solid understanding of yoga principles allows for skillful adaptation without losing integrity.• Know your “why.” Understanding why you show up to teach—calling, service, curiosity, devotion—grounds your creativity and keeps your work aligned and sustainable.RESOURCES2026 Industry ForecastWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterArundhati's Website

Yoga therapy is creative work. In this episode, we explore how yoga pros adapt tools to clients, transfer their skills into new industries, navigate evolving client relationships, and build burnout-proof self-care habits for 2026.KEY TAKEAWAYS✨ Yoga therapy is inherently creative.Yoga therapists practice creative application of yogic tools—adapting techniques to the individual instead of using prescriptive methods. That flexibility IS the creative process.

This episode explores practical and compassionate business strategy for yoga professionals. From setting bold 2026 goals to understanding systemic challenges, making meaningful connections, gathering simple data, identifying your ideal students, and trying new ideas without pressure—we break down what it really takes to grow your yoga business with intention and curiosity.1. Make a 2026 Plan (Big + Simple!)

In this episode, we explore the creative side of yoga marketing—from ethical strategies to avoiding predatory coaching “containers,” to understanding why generalists thrive. You'll learn how to build your business with intention, creativity, and clarity while putting in the reps that lead to confidence and long-term success.1. Marketing = Creative Problem-Solving

In this episode of Working in Yoga, Rebecca & Per Erez explore how creativity isn't just for the “naturally gifted.” It's a practice — cultivated through curiosity, courage, and daily choices. Featuring Per's perspective on yoga, mindset shifts, and creative evolution, this episode helps yoga teachers reconnect to the imaginative spark that fuels their teaching and business.Key Takeaways:

In this episode, Rebecca explores how creativity shows up in yoga classrooms—from responding to students in real time to weaving storytelling through your teaching. With insights on AI, community, and cultural representation, this conversation invites yoga professionals to embrace their creativity as a core part of their teaching craft.

What does it mean to be creative royalty? In this episode, Rebecca and Cheri Dostal Ryba explore how yoga professionals can tap into curiosity, move past fear, and stay grounded through the ups and downs of creative work. Whether you're building a yoga business, creating new classes, or just trying to feel brave enough to share your ideas, this episode reminds you that you don't have to be perfect to create something powerful.

Running a yoga business isn't all incense and inspiration—sometimes it's spreadsheets, stress, and shame spirals. In this episode, we dive into what it really takes to lead creatively. From finding the right coach to using AI without guilt, you'll learn how to free up your mental space, ditch the “I should know better” stories, and reconnect to the spark that made you love this work in the first place.

Ever feel the tug between tradition and innovation in your teaching? In this episode, we get real about creative tension, versatility, and the art of making your yoga practice your own. We're talking curated inspiration, themed classes, and the power of choosing creativity—on and off the mat.KEY TAKEAWAYS:Creative tension is real — and necessary. Balancing yoga's roots with personal expression isn't easy. Honoring lineage, serving your students, and staying true to your creative self can coexist—but not without a little healthy friction.Versatility feeds inspiration. Whether it's teaching different styles, exploring new students, or shifting focus, creative growth often lives outside our comfort zone.Style and emphasis shape your teaching voice. Every teacher brings something unique to familiar sequences. Instead of “happy accidents,” make your personal style a conscious part of your class design.Curate your inspiration. Be intentional about where you draw creative energy—online or off. Cook, read, move, explore art—whatever fuels your imagination will fuel your teaching.Themes give form to freedom. Teaching around an idea, like exploring discomfort vs. suffering, brings depth and cohesion to your work. Creative parameters can actually unlock greater play.Creativity is a practice, not an accident. You must choose creativity—schedule it, honor it, and make space for it in the middle of real life.RESOURCESWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterPodcast ShopDownload the Discussion Guide!Julia's IG

Welcome to a new series on creativity in the yoga professional space.We are going to deep-dive for 11 episodes into the creative experience we have as yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and business owners.I love this topic so much, and I am thrilled that so many other people were enthusiastic to have this conversation with me.Shelly Auld is up first, and the way she comes out and describes her work in the first five minutes of this chat got me so excited for what was to come.

In this solo episode, Rebecca shares the biggest news yet for Working In Yoga: the launch of a brand-new digital trade magazine for yoga professionals. After years of conversations on the podcast about teaching, therapy, creativity, and the business of yoga, it's time to create a professional home for our community. Rebecca dives into why the magazine matters, how it carries yoga's countercultural roots into a modern professional space, and how you can get involved from the very beginning.RESOURCESSubscribe To Inside Yoga MagazinePitch A Story for Inside Yoga MagazineWorking In Yoga WebsiteWorking In Yoga NewsletterPodcast ShopOffering Tree Discount For Working In Yoga Listeners

✨ Yoga biz isn't just about mats and malas anymore—it's about data, confidence, and community. In this episode, we're diving into why your studio needs a clear point of view, how COVID secretly did us a favor with tech, and why vibes alone won't keep the lights on (sorry, not sorry). We'll talk rethinking service, making “giving back” the hottest trend of 2026, and building real business confidence—without ditching the soul of yoga.

✨ What if yoga history forgot half the story? In this episode, we dive into the missing voices of women, the power of everyday acts of resistance, and why who tells the tale of yoga matters just as much as the practice itself. Spoiler: every pebble counts, and radical love is the real revolution.