The Mentor Sessions

186: WTF Is Happening with Yoga Alliance?? And more! With Rebecca Sebastian

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 Ment

185: Dealing with Schedule Drama UPDATED

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 buil

184: The Myth of the Ideal Client UPDATED

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

183: Teaching Asana Without Demonstrating: UPDATED

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 b

182: Tailoring A Yoga Practice for Private Lessons UPDATED

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 th

181: Introducing The American Yoga Council with Andrew Tanner

In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, Francesca talks with Andrew Tanner, founder and CEO of the American Yoga Council (AYC), about his vision for creating a healthier,

180: A Sustainable Yoga Career Needs An Ecosystem, Not A Personal Brand

If you've ever felt like building a successful yoga career means becoming an influencer, constantly creating content, or perfecting your personal brand, this episode is f

179: Building The Confidence To Teach Private Clients

Many yoga teachers are intrigued by the idea of teaching private clients but feel held back by self-doubt, uncertainty, or the practical realities of self-employment. In

178: The Systems You Need to Make Yoga Teaching Sustainable

Teaching yoga involves far more than the hours we spend with our yoga students. Behind every yoga class we teach there is a significant amount of planning, relationship-b

177: The Hidden Emotional and Physical Labor of Yoga Teaching

As yoga teachers, we spend a lot of time talking about teaching techniques, sequencing, cueing, and professional growth. But there's another side of this work that often

176: Yoga Is Sold As Healing and Taught As Performance: What we need to move away from this paradigm

Have you ever been in a yoga class where the yoga teacher gives a long dharma talk about ahimsa, and then when the movement practice begins the teaching style feels very

175: What's Saving My Life Right Now

In this solo episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm sharing a more personal, behind-the-scenes look at my life right now and the things that are genuinely helping me stay gr

174: Yoga For Cancer with Tari Prinster

You may not have known it, but if you teach public yoga classes you have taught someone who's life has been touched by cancer. In this episode, I'm joined by Tari Prinste

173: Getting Your Yoga Studio Ready For ICE with Lucia Yess from Minneapolis

Yess Yoga is a yoga studio in Minneapolis one block from where Alex Pretti was murdered by Border Patrol agents in January of this year.  In this episode, I'm joined by

172: Why So Many Yoga Teachers Burnout (And What Actually Works Instead)

In this solo episode, I'm zooming out from the quick, in-the-moment burnout strategies I shared in Episode 171 and looking at the bigger picture. I want to talk about why

171: Six Things I Would Do This Week if I Were an Overworked, Underpaid Yoga Teacher on the Edge of Burnout

If you are feeling stretched thin by endless group classes, long hours, and low pay you are not alone. In this episode, I share six simple, actionable things you can do t

170: ​​A Yoga Nidra Deep Dive + Great Advice For Yoga Teachers with Indu Arora

In this expansive conversation, I got a chance to talk to yoga and Ayurveda teacher, mentor, and author Indu Aurora to explore what yoga truly is — and what it is not.

169: Yoga's Role In Navigating The World with Sarah Capua

In today's podcast epsiode, I sat down with a yoga therapist, teacher, spiritual caregiver and a good friend of mine, Sarah Capua. We explored what it means to practice—a

168: The Yoga Teacher's Guide To Fighting Fascism

American yoga teachers have a unique role in fighting fascism. We are deeply practiced in the tools that help us (and our students) feel clear, steady, focused, calm and

167: We Don't Want AI Yoga with Cyndi Lee

I am so honored to be joined on the podcast by my teacher Cyndi Lee. As a senior yoga teacher, author, and Buddhist chaplain—Cyndi talks to us about what's being gained,