Lessons, Challenges and Opportunities in Online Yoga Teacher Training

Since the beginning of the global pandemic in early 2020, we have all been finding creative solutions to pursuing our goals and dreams, and maintaining connections despite physical distancing. Zoom has become a household word and a ubiquitous tool that supports us in personal and professional settings. Many of us have experienced “Zoom fatigue”, or a sense of weariness related to spending many of our waking ours pegged to a screen. However, there have been many benefits as we have grown more accustomed to, and adept at communicating with people across vast geographical distances. The possibilities for connection, including taking online yoga teacher trainings, have expanded on a global scale.

Originally the relationship between a student and a teacher of yoga was highly individualized and often one to one. Over the last 50 years, yoga instruction has predominantly shifted to more of a group endeavor with one teacher for multiple students, and over the last two years yoga instruction has shifted again, by necessity, to an online format. While this has certain drawbacks, there have been so many positives.

Finding the Positives in the Pivot

In concert with many other schools, Balanced Rock + WildYoga Teacher Training embarked on the big pivot, taking our 10th annual 200-hour yoga teacher training online. We created and ran a unique program and successfully supported 13 incredible new graduates in profound learning and community connection in the face of global pandemic and physical distance.

We had no idea how this online learning journey would unfold, and we were thrilled that it was better than we could have ever imagined. We were inspired by how connected students were to the practices and to one another, and by the extent of the learning that this flexible format provided.  The professionalism of the instruction and the easy-to-use learning platform made for a top-notch educational experience.

“The virtual space feels sacred, much like if we were practicing in a studio together. I had a deeply connected experience to the yoga philosophy and wonderful people that joined me on this online journey. I was amazed how much I was learning and connecting in this online format. This is truly one of the best gifts you could give yourself.” ~Netty DeGarlais, 2021 YTT graduate

The Gifts of the Online Yoga Teacher Training Program

Specifically, we noticed that the new format offered consistency. Weekly meetings ensured regularity and routine both in community and in structuring students’ individual practice. All students loved the consistency of the group commitment over the eight-month program.

The new format provided some certainty in a world full of changing regulations. Rain or shine, quarantine or not, we would gather in our sacred virtual classroom. Regardless of what was happening in our unpredictable world, our study of the ancient wisdom of yoga carried on, through offering tools to support us in navigating the known and unknown.

We were successful at building community during a time when many people felt truly isolated. While we’ve all experienced how awkward and alienating Zoom can be, we found that our virtual classroom quickly became a deeply nourishing group learning space that our students found to be a refuge – both during live Zoom classes and offline through group communication.

Moving Out of Comfort Zones

2020 was a year that pushed most people outside their “comfort zone” and interrupted the pursuit of many well-made plans. The WildYoga Teacher Training offered students the opportunity to pursue their goal of immersing in the teachings of yoga from the comfort of wherever they were! Because it was not a destination program in an exotic location or studio, the elimination of travel made our program gentler on the planet. Furthermore, we received feedback from students that building a practice in your personal environment creates a routine you are more likely to continue once the course is completed!

Before the advent of virtual tools, one often had to make great sacrifices to train as a yoga teacher. With the virtual format, this goal became far more convenient to achieve; you could complete this program without giving up your job, your family responsibilities or drastically changing your schedule. The course provided a perfect blend of self-paced learning and live Zoom sessions, which accounted for approximately 15 hours per month.

Finally, because all instructors were teaching remotely and diminishing travel, we were able to offer the course at a lower cost. Our virtual program is more affordable than most in-person yoga teacher trainings that can cost upwards of twice as much as our offering. At a time when many people were unemployed, we continued our commitment to offering various financial assistance solutions for students to feel confident in joining this program without breaking the bank.

Because we continue to face uncertainty around in-person gatherings, we’ve decided to offer it in an online format again, this time with the possibility of adding on in-person modules. The WildYoga Teacher Training is an incredible opportunity to certify as a yoga instructor via a rich interdependent, grounding journey of connection, while staying local and embedded in the fabric of your life, and being in community with learners across the country and around the world.

Paula Wild

Paula Wild is the Program Manager and Lead Trainer for Balanced Rock Foundation’s WildYoga Teacher Training. Paula’s teaching blends alignment based, heart-centered, therapeutic yoga with her love and knowledge of ecology and natural history. Since 1999 Paula has been exploring the overlap between yoga and sustainable living, and her greatest intention is to support people in connecting to the wild world within, and around us. Please check out more wonderful programs to inspire health and wellbeing through deep connection to nature and spirit at Balanced Rock!

balancedrock.org%20

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What does it mean to be a yoga teacher?

First and foremost, to be a yoga teacher is a call to serve. To be a yoga teacher is to have faith in the soul of each and every individual that you teach and to believe that each person has the ability to self heal, to believe that each person has the capability to transcend any fixed beliefs in “I-ness.” These established beliefs inevitably cause suffering, the human need to grip onto people, places, things, expectations, and to create a “reality” that is, at its core, an illusion constructed by our mind.

From when I took my first teacher training 21 years ago, I’ve watched the evolution, the explosion, of yoga in the West, and while there are many who still, respectfully, hold true to yogic traditions, there are exceedingly more who are not quite clear on what’s what. What I’m sharing below are clarifications in a few areas that seem to have lost clarity and understanding, hence having been “watered down”, including clarifications of the responsibilities of teaching yoga. This understanding comes directly from my teachers, who I am very fortunate to say are some of the greatest teachers of our time, including Erich Schiffmann, Shiva Rea, Maty Ezraty, TKV Desikachar and Danielle Tarantola. It is my honor and service to share this with you.

1. Training: What it Means and What it Doesn’t Mean

A two-hundred-hour teacher training is foundational; it barely scratches the surface of yogic philosophy and will prepare you to teach a basic, however dynamic, asana class, nothing beyond that. Yoga Alliance, (this is not an endorsement for YA; it’s only mentioned for the purpose of knowledge), formulated the outline of credentials for the two-hundred-hour training with the intention of covering the basics in a broad overview of yoga. Consider it Cliff’s Notes version of yoga, and quite frankly, barely even that! It is essential to find your passion and subsequent specialization in this vast science and philosophy. Resist the urge to know it all right away.

2. Mentorships

Yoga is a teacher-student tradition. I highly recommend finding a mentor who can not only help navigate this thing we call life through yoga practices, but also offer support and feedback in class planning. Keep in mind, one must stay humble and grounded within the arena of service.

3. A few words about Pranayama.

Let us begin with a working definition so that as I move forward in discourse you can have a clear understanding. Pranayama is a long, disciplined breath, in a specific way, for the purpose of clearing blockages in our energetic system. Consider our prana (energy) as “the fountain of youth”. Asana is a prerequisite to pranayama practice for the purpose of building strength and flexibility, steadiness and ease, discipline, attention, awareness and so much more. While in asana, we breathe in a specific and intentional way, but to be abundantly clear, this type of controlled breath is not pranayama.

Pranayama is the scalpel of yoga practice. When we engage in pranayama we essentially make direct cuts to knots in our pranic system, for the purpose of energy blockage removal, so that energy can run abundantly, efficiently and freely. It is a practice toward mastery of moving and containing energy, prana, within ourselves. Every thought, even the briefest like the attention to an itch on our nose, is an expenditure of prana.

Hence, pranayama practice is a sequenced practice similar to asana in that it also has an intentional goal. It is practiced with one’s mind completely and steadily focused while in stillness, a straight spine, as straight as your skeletal structure allows, and all three primary bandhas engaged. While most yoga instructors teach “Ujjayi,” warrior breath, in asana class, it is not the same as a practice in pranayama.

4. Physical Aspects of the Practice

Let’s move into individual and physical limitations, challenges or abilities of the human body for certain people. Here is one question you may be tempted to ask before starting class: “Does anyone have any limitations or injuries?” If a student says, “Yes,” what are you going to do? This is a real question; one you must be prepared to answer.

Let us dive in: unless you are a doctor or have trained and studied for many years as a yoga therapist, one who is comfortable teaching the required therapeutic application throughout an entire class, asking about someone’s medical status is misleading.

Even yoga therapists know that they need an actual diagnosis before prescribing a customized, healing practice. While it is certainly true that yoga is therapeutic, unless you have the aforementioned qualifications I suggest abandoning the medical questions to those who are qualified to answer.

If approached by a student, It is appropriate to say, “I don’t know, but I can help you with modifications if you find that some postures are not working for you.” If basic therapeutic applications are something about which you are passionate, you should pursue the area of study. Additionally, I recommend working in tandem with a physical therapist if the need should arise for a referral.

5. Time for a quote

“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind” (Yoga Sutra 1.2 in the most absolute basic translation). I highly encourage you to find a yoga sutra teacher and study! At the very least, you should know the Eight Limbs from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The sutras are an extraordinary work of brilliance that runs far deeper than one can imagine.

A true appreciation and comprehension of every word, every syllable, is necessary if one is to bring to life each one of the statements which both define yoga and describe in detail and how to do it. A study of the sutras must be done in totality, entirety, wholly; for one can’t truly know or understand one of the sutras without knowing and understanding the sutra before and the sutra that follows. I implore every potential yoga teacher to open his or her mind to the truth: that what we know when we learn to teach yoga barely scratches the surface of wisdom and knowledge in this life-long exploration of the Self.

As Patanjali teaches us that yoga is meditation; it is determination and discipline; that a prerequisite to practicing yoga is faith. Yoga is a relationship with yourself, and henceforth with others as a reflection of your relationship with yourself.

Yoga is science, philosophy, and psychology; the Yoga Sutras are an instructional manual for living. Should the sutras not be something of interest to you, that’s alright, but then I must encourage you to start specifying that what you teach is “yoga asana” not yoga. I’ve heard great teachers make this distinction and must tell you that it was received not only by the student but throughout the yoga community with respect.

6. Teach what you know.

Yoga is a universe of knowledge. There are as many variations of practice as there are human beings walking our Earth; therefore this affords the yoga teacher many options for specialization, such as strong-power flows, yin yoga, pre & postnatal, restorative, chair yoga, yoga for seniors, yoga for children, yoga for runners and athletes, meditation and pranayama work.

Answering the following questions will help you to better understand your niche:

What’s your passion and area of knowledge?
Where has yoga helped you in your life?
What specifically, about yoga, made you fall in love with the practice and want to teach?
Dig into your why….. Teaching from a place of experience will create a more valuable teacher to the students, especially to students who share common needs.

The idiom “jack of all trades, master of none” said by Robert Greene is applicable to being yoga teachers. Let’s explore how: if you have never experienced breast cancer, been closely linked to someone who has, or worked with an oncologist or breast cancer support group, please reconsider teaching yoga specifically to this demographic. People come to yoga for healing, healing on a soulful level. It’s appropriate to acknowledge limitations and say, “I don’t know;” this form of humility shows great wisdom.

Find your field of passion and master it. You can and will change over time as your practice evolves. For now, focus, study, create a network of teachers who specialize in specific areas of healing to refer students when their needs fall outside of your wheelhouse. Let us always remember, our first priority is our students.

7. Cease ownership as a Yoga Teacher

The practice of collecting and taking ownership of students must stop. These behaviors are ego and fear motivated which are the polar opposite of what we practice and teach. Our primary purpose behind what we do is to help students, from our own practice and experience, to find freedom from their fixed states of mind which causes suffering.

It is our service as a yoga teacher to guide students in the exploration of flexibility, strength, and health, in both body and mind, which often means referring the students to a teacher who is better suited for them. At the very least, not encouraging or supporting a dependency.

Yes, yoga is a teacher-student tradition, but there is always freedom within that relationship. Yoga has a very interesting way of supporting narcissistic tendencies; be very careful in becoming an ego-driven teacher who thrives on codependency. The way to establish a following of students is to establish trust. When a student trusts that you have their well-being at heart, your relationship will bloom.

8. Language barriers and how to overcome them.

When I participated in my first teacher training at The White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara some twenty years ago, my teacher, Ganga White, was presenting our group with an introductory discourse on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In my New York accent, I asked a question about “Pentangeli.” Mr. White giggled and gently corrected my pronunciation with the clarification that the class was not discussing the stout, bald man from The Godfather movies. He further explained that the origin of yoga is an oral tradition known as “shruthi,” which means “that which is heard;” therefore, it is essential that teachers of yoga learn, pronounce and enunciate accurately.

Lately, I’ve heard pose names like chaturanga dandasana spoken with rolling “r’s” like in Latin languages. The Sanskrit language does not have long rolling “r’s;” it has a lingual “r” which means that you tap your tongue on the palate of your mouth just once as opposed to the “rolling” multiple times. This may come across to you like a nitpick, but if your name is Sherry, would you be okay with people calling you Cherry? If your name is Tim, would you answer to Jim? There are many online resources for the pronunciation of yoga poses; take time to learn them or simply say the names in English.

9. Unraveling misconceptions.

Have you ever looked at a yoga posture, restorative excluded, and thought, “That looks comfy”? Not only is yoga not intended to be comfortable, but it should be uncomfortable. I want to be specific here and clarify what I mean: yoga should trigger sensation not pain, make this important distinction.

As stated, the purpose of yoga is to break patterns and habits in both our mind and body and to release our grip on deeply seated beliefs. It is a wide misunderstanding that these practices bring us to a nirvanic experience. Part of the practice is to understand that life is hard and sometimes blindingly painful, but it is an extraordinary journey, and when one uses one’s time, even for a moment, in reflection and analysis, one can see that the passing periods of dis-comfort are rooted in deep love.

Yoga practice teaches us to recognize and stay firmly grounded in love even in the most trying times of our life. It teaches us to be fluid in both body and mind so that our pure spirit can lead the way. While it’s wonderful and exciting to learn to do a handstand, it is our service to our students to guide them to see and understand why they need to do this pose. We must guide them into the process productively. If the student has a deep fear of being upside down, then handstand is perfect! If the person has a prominent ego and wants to learn handstand as a means of praise, so they can peacock it all over Instagram, then teaching them the pose will reinforce their arrogance.

Now you, as the teacher, have an opportunity in this example to give the student a true yoga practice by providing the student with the instruction of a plank pose to incremental chaturanga; this flow still works in the direction of handstand; although in a more humbling process. The goal is never the pose; the goal is the transcendence of the delusions in our mind and the knots and limitations in our body that form as a result.

Hold space, with courage, for your students to be uncomfortable. This is a demonstration of your absolute faith in your students’ ability to self-heal. Gandhi, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, The Dalai Lama, the list goes on, all experienced life with great challenges, profound pain, suffering, and yet, walked with grace through the eyes of love. Never did any say that life was easy and comfortable.

10. Finally, and essentially, BE YOU!

This happens when we become yoga teachers, when we step into a room full of students, and when we put aside the airs of an ethereal oracle. Here’s the point, we are not oracles and do not live a life of ecstatic bliss. We are human beings seeking transformation, perhaps a few steps ahead of our students in the process. Remember that we too try and fail repeatedly.

I believe without any doubt that our humanity is our greatest vehicle for connection. Be you. Speak in your voice. Own all of your clumsy efforts and your failures. Failure is the birthplace of wisdom. Reciting Rumi and Hafiz is beautiful and certainly has its place, but when you’re asking your students to do the work, to really do the work, you must show up as your flesh, blood and bone self.

The best way to teach, in my most humble opinion, is as a student!

I hope that you find this article helpful in offering some clarifications of what yoga is and is not, and even more so, the permission to be yourself. If there are some ideas in this piece that have pushed your buttons, I hope that you are willing to receive the ideologies as an opportunity to practice Svadhyaya “self-study” and hold space as a student. That said, if you feel that any of these topics are incorrect or off-base, I certainly do not consider my perspectives and opinions to be gospel and always welcome a conversation with an open mind. These are simply my observations and are intended to support you in your growth. My wish is that your journey brings you to a relationship with the most beautiful, true love. A positive relationship with your-self. May all beings be safe. May all beings be healthy. May all beings have freedom. May all beings feel love.

Cher Meli

Cher Meli is a master teacher of meditation, executive mindset coach and yoga instructor with nearly 25 years of teaching experience. Her conviction and philosophy is rooted in the belief that the relationship you have with yourself is the foundation which defines every other relationship in your life. Cher is interested in working with those who are ready to take “Empowered Responsibility” for their choices and life, courageously recognizing their self as the common factor in all of their life experiences.  Cher comes from an ancestral line of wise healers. Her grandmother, Taneo Sands-Kumalae was a master Kahuna in the Hawaiian Spirituality Tradition of Huna and had transmitted many of her teachings prior to her passing. Cher holds the equivalent to a Masters Degree of formal studies including with The White Lotus Foundation, Yoga Therapy Training with Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram/ Healing Yoga Foundation/Yoga Foundation, and Boundless Leadership with Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science to name just a few.

www.chermelilifestyle.com

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The Business of Online Yoga Classes

In this new frontier of virtual yoga, teachers are finding themselves having to adapt quickly in order to survive. For some, the transition online has been seamless, building on their already established platforms. For others used to the simplicity of showing up to teach a class and then going straight home, the change has been a bit more daunting as many teachers find themselves now faced with business responsibilities once held by the studio. The biggest adjustment may be having to navigate the financial side of leading daily and weekly classes— particularly when it comes to deciding how and if to charge for those classes, a decision that not only affects their students’ pocketbooks but their own livelihood.

Online yoga as a whole is still somewhat new. The original online yoga giants, Glo (then known as YogaGlo) and YogaVibes debuted in 2008 and 2009 respectively, which is also right around when YouTube gained popularity. In that short time, numerous companies have joined the virtual fitness bandwagon, some surpassing the original titans in reach and usership. Livestreaming classes is an even more recent development in the world of online yoga. It was generally done from brick-and-mortar yoga studios, but since the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020, it has become ubiquitous, with instructors streaming directly from their living rooms.

Yoga Teacher as Business Manager & Online Class Financials

Suddenly, many teachers who had no interest or little experience with virtual yoga found themselves scrambling to move their businesses online. And, in addition to deciding how they would share their classes (e.g., Zoom, Facebook Live/IG Live, YouTube, or another platform), they had to figure out how they would charge. Would they adopt a donation-based model? Or ask for a flat rate? Would they charge at all considering that many people had lost their jobs and that, at the time, shelter-in-place restrictions were only supposed to last a few weeks? And if they did, how would they go about collecting payments?

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a number of teachers to discuss the various ways they are navigating the financial side of their online businesses. Though they are each doing things uniquely, one common thread ran through every interview: Each teacher has had to continually adapt, and it is in their willingness to do so that they are able to survive.

Filming Yoga Courtesy of Leslie Fightmaster

Earning Through YouTube

Lesley Fightmaster is no stranger to teaching yoga online. Starting her YouTube channel in 2012, Fightmaster now has over 590,000 followers. While YouTube is free for viewers, creators can earn money in a few different ways. Most popular is running ads on your channel or before your videos. Keep in mind that the payout is extremely small, with Fightmaster estimating the amount to be one-third of a cent per view. Some creators work with specific advertisers in hopes of boosting revenue, and Fightmaster had some success doing this in the past, but she prefers to work with brands she really uses and loves and that can be limiting.

In the past, Fightmaster also attempted a donation-based approach through asking for contributions after her YouTube classes, but it was not financially feasible for her family of two boys (versus earning through advertising), nor did she feel comfortable asking. Since throughout the pandemic, she has been leading a free weekly class, followed by a Q&A.

Pros: Wide audience reach.
Cons: May take a long time to earn a living, if this is he only source of income.

Free to Access

Sean Haleen has been traveling the United States teaching for well over a decade. He currently leads multiple group classes and private sessions weekly on Zoom and serendipitously joined YouTube just before the pandemic. Haleen shares his classes in a manner that he calls “free to access” in response to how many students were financially hit by the coronavirus. Though he offers his classes for free, through his existing communications with students and the “about” section on his YouTube channel, he does mention that donations for online yoga classes are optional. In lieu of money, he asks people to consider subscribing to his page and/or sharing his teaching schedule with others, explaining that those actions are also “a form of compensation and actually lead to quite a few new students.” Haleen notes that offering classes for free or lowering prices for those unable to afford yoga may not be the right model for everyone, as many teachers themselves can be low-income earners. However, he feels that the teachers doing well financially “have more of an imperative to create accessible content because it affects their livelihoods less.”

Pros: Being of service.
Cons: Only possible with other sources of income.

Donation-Based Classes

Veteran teacher Whitney Allen has been leading in-person yoga classes since 2003, but joined the online yoga world more recently with filmed classes on Wanderlust (now Commune) in 2016. During the pandemic, Allen has mostly been teaching through Instagram Live, as that is where she already had the most contact with her students. So the transition felt simple, although she also teaches classes on Zoom.

As she considers her teaching as being of service, she prefers offering her classes in free-to-use formats, but she also acknowledges that she relies on donations for income, gratefully accepting any contributions. While the system is currently working for her, she notes that people seem to be donating less than at the beginning of the pandemic, which can be scary. Still, Allen does not “police people” about paying and encourages them to take class even if finances are tight and they aren’t able to donate much.

Hillary Skibell, a life coach and yoga teacher based in Marin County, California, chose a donation-based approach both to make her classes financially accessible, and because it felt uncomplicated at a time of much uncertainty. She and her students had to switch to this new livestream format almost “overnight,” and collecting donations through Venmo allowed her to dive right in.

At first, Skibell saw the donation-based model as a short-term experiment, but now that it is clear that virtual classes will be a part of her long-term business plan, she will likely be moving to a set rate. Still, Skibell considers her time using the donation model successful, sharing that there were many days she earned more than if her classes were a fixed cost.

Pros: Makes classes accessible to people of all means.
Cons: Unreliable source of income. Can feel like an uneven exchange.

Home Yoga Studio Photo by Joan Hyman

Pay-Per-Class Honor System

Others are successfully charging for classes based on “an honor system,” as Los Angeles-based teacher trainer Tiffany Russo calls it. This is where teachers say their class costs a specific amount, but still give free access to their teaching content, leaving it up to the student to follow through and pay. Russo made the shift from donation-based yoga to the honor system three months into quarantine when she realized that virtual teaching was here to stay.

While it is not “foolproof,” Russo finds the energy exchange “cleaner.” When she charges a flat rate, she feels properly compensated for the amount of energy she puts into preparing and leading her online yoga classes, versus with the donation model, where many students do not pay anything or pay very little. Another motivation for her to make the move to a clear price was that the donation model didn’t feel financially sustainable. That said, it was very important to Russo to set a price that is affordable for her students, while still charging enough to make ends meet.

YogaWorks teacher Jocelyn Solomon is also using the honor system approach. Solomon never even considered the donation model, musing that it “disempowers teachers by leaving the discernment to place value on their teaching to an outside source.” Like Russo, she prefers the clarity of charging a set amount. Solomon actually started with Zoom’s webinar feature, which included a paywall that students needed to pass through before receiving the link to her class. She switched to Zoom’s meeting option and is now using the honor system because she wanted more interaction with her students.

To ensure students pay for online yoga classes, Solomon has clear languag on her website but is also very open to making exceptions, just as she did pre-coronavirus—like when “guesting” someone in a class, which is when a teacher can have someone take their class at a studio for free.

Pros: Clear energy exchange.
Cons: Not everyone pays.

Paywalls for Online Yoga Classes

For internationally recognized yoga teacher Joan Hyman, going online has had some great benefits. Prior to the pandemic she was getting on a plane every week, whereas now she has access to her students from all around the world in one place. Part of Hyman’s success was her ability to adapt quickly. In the very beginning, she taught a free weekly class through YouTube and a “pay-what-you-can” class on Zoom, but the moment she sensed lockdown extending and saw travel bans being put in place, she moved all of her offerings online, leading the pack by offering big-ticket items virtually, including workshops and retreats.

As her virtual offerings expanded, Hyman decided to invest in paywall software (versus individually collecting payments through a platform like Venmo), which is a way for you to restrict access to online content unless paid. Hyman discusses why she made the move, saying, “It’s hard to be a business manager and keep track of everyone’s classes. It takes a lot of work to keep up the accounting. Acuity has helped me organize all payments, keep track of students’ classes, and send links to students to join.” Some teachers also find using paywalls more professional than Venmo and PayPal.

Another popular paywall software that teachers are using is Momoyoga. It is important to keep in mind that there are monthly fees for any of these services, so unless you’re teaching multiple classes or have other offerings, such as classes for purchase or workshops and trainings, it may not make financial sense. There is also the aspect of having to learn a new technology and transitioning your current system over to a new one. Hyman suggests getting help setting these up if needed, offering the advice, “Stick to what you know and pay someone for their skills to help your business grow.”

Pros: No uncomfortable money exchanges with students. Professional interface.
Cons: Having to learn a new technology. The cost of running the software.

A Whole New World

As I write this, we are now six months into this quarantine virtual-yoga existence, and though gyms and studios are slowly reopening, it is clear that many of the teachers who moved online are here to stay. And as they get more comfortable, many are shifting how they first offered and charged for classes and still may continue to do so. See, that’s the cool thing about this new virtual yoga world: It’s unchartered territory and, therefore, we can create whatever we would like. Anything is possible! Now if we can only figure out how to give virtual savasana adjustments.

Sarah Ezrin

Sarah Ezrin is the author of The Yoga of Parenting: Ten Yoga-Based Practices to Help You Stay Grounded, Connect with Your Kids, and Be Kind to Yourself. She is a freelance writer, yoga educator, and content creator based in the Bay Area. Her willingness to be unabashedly honest and vulnerable along with her innate wisdom, make her writing, teaching, and social media great sources of healing and connection for many people.
Sarah brings a wide spectrum of life experiences into everything she does. She is unafraid of sharing all sides of herself. She does so in the hope of giving others permission to be their most authentic self. At this time, when honest self-awareness is so important, Sarah’s is an essential and exemplary voice.
Sarah writes extensively on the subjects of yoga, parenting, and mental health, often interweaving these themes. Her work ranges from heavily-reported assignments to personal essays to blog content for brands. She is a regular contributor for Yoga Journal Magazine, Motherly, Yoga International, Healthline, Scary Mommy, Mind Body Green, Mantra Magazine, and LA Yoga Magazine. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Bustle, LA Weekly, and NBC News.

Sarah is a well-respected yoga teacher and a leader in the wellness community. A world traveler since birth, she has led trainings, workshops, and retreats locally and across the globe.

www.sarahezrinyoga.com

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Photo of Jasmine Rausch and Andrea Marcum by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Hair and Makeup by Monica Simone. Location: Goorus Yoga Studio in Pacific Palisades.

When I began a career teaching yoga, I knew it would be a lifelong pursuit. I devoured teacher training programs, workshops, assistantships, online studies, and continuing education courses. The further I went, the more clearly I saw how far I had to go. Ongoing yoga teachers continuing education is an essential component of striving for excellence as a teacher.

My 200-hour training inducted me into the field. Then my in-class experience as a teacher allowed me to study students’ bodies, temperaments, and learning styles. Continuing education, under the tutelage of trusted teachers, has challenged me to outgrow old frameworks and press on to new levels of comprehension. My teachers showed me the necessity of holding space for physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual evolution. I have the deepest reverence for my teachers and for the practice itself. That is why I believe that pursuing further knowledge is a non-negotiable aspect of being a credible, ethical, professional yoga teacher.

As professionals, we are refining ourselves in a rapidly evolving industry. Our teachers and our teachers’ teachers pioneered yoga in the West. Those teaching today have the opportunity to shape the profession. Most licensed vocations (including physical therapy, psychology, and the like) require that people complete continuing education to maintain licensure. The emergence of this requirement is an active area of development in our nascent yet growing community. For example, teacher trainer and program director Larry Payne PhD C-IAYT requires graduates from Yoga Therapy Rx™ and Prime of Life Yoga™ to continue their education and accrue credits for their ongoing certifications. Yoga Alliance requires RYTs to complete yoga-related training in order to maintain their registration. Some of these hours must be contact hours, which means that they take place in person with a teacher. Others can be non-contact hours, completed online or remotely.

The Purpose of Continuing Education

As Dr. Larry Payne says, teachers should continue to take classes and trainings in order to maintain high standards. Continuing education serves a number of important purposes. These can include profession-wide conversations around safe teaching, informed practices, and integration of current research in physiology and body mechanics. Ongoing training helps us deepen our understanding of the ancient texts. It is vital for the ethics and integrity of our community, profession, and future. It can also expand our understanding of our role in holding space for students who come to yoga from a variety of experiences, ages, injuries, life conditions, or after experiencing trauma.

Photo of Andrea Marcum by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Hair and Makeup by Monica Simone. Location: Goorus Yoga in Pacific Palisades.

Yoga Teachers Continuing Education

When it comes to the historical context for this type of long-term training, Close to Om author Andrea Marcum (global master teacher and former studio owner) explains, “I thought that we just continued our education.” Andrea is a teacher who trained, as she put it, long before there were 200, and 500 hour, or other programs. Andrea has a clear personal philosophy that is often reflected by other long-time teachers, “I’m forever a student. And I think, especially if we are teachers, we have to be.”

Continuing Education and Trauma Sensitivity

One of the ways Andrea is pursuing her personal continuing education is through her enrollment in Hala Khouri’s Trauma-Informed Yoga course. At the time of our discussion, she said, “I’m about to go to Las Vegas to teach a class for lululemon for first responders and employees of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in the aftermath of the shooting. It feels like a heavy assignment. As Hala says, ‘Trauma is all around us’.”

Essential tools for teachers include the use of language, touch, and even perception. Andrea says, “The more we know the language, the more we can speak to the people in the room with maturity, grace, and kindness.” Teaching yoga today necessitates a sensitivity to trauma.

From the Physical to the Spiritual

While in Las Vegas performing for Cirque du Soleil, teacher Ivorie Jenkins finished her first 200-hour teacher training at Vegas Hot. She says, “After that first training, I knew I still needed more, then I found Annie Carpenter. That’s when yoga moved from the physical to the spiritual for me. It moved the level of consciousness higher.”

Ivorie has dedicated herself to pursuing advanced-level training through a host of Annie Carpenter courses, a 300 hour training with Noah Maze, a prenatal training, three-and-a-half months of travel and study in India, and a 10-day Vipassana course. She is currently enrolled in the Loyola Marymount University Yoga Therapy Rx™ program and is committed to completing all four levels to earn her C-IAYT with 1,000 + hours of study.

Photo of Andrea Marcum and Jasmine Rausch by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Hair and makeup by Monica Simone. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Location Goorus Yoga in Pacific Palisades.

Yoga Teaching and Continuing Education are Lifelong Paths

Like Andrea, she believes yoga teaching is a lifelong path. Ivorie reflects, “There is always a chant that I’ve never heard or a part of the body to learn more about. The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know. Distill all the knowledge and let it sit with you, then watch what you’re learning as you relay it to your students to see if it’s actually working.”

One of the studios where Ivorie teaches is the Tantris Center for Yogic Science, which offers an innovative Continuing Education Program. The teachers gather for a few hours every week to discuss yogic texts and topics, listen to speakers, or learn from in-house masters. “It is nice to have a studio facilitate the continuing education for their teachers,” says Ivorie.

Biomechanics and Continuing Education

Yoga Physics founder and continuing education provider Alex Crow emphasizes the importance of continuing education both for a sensitivity to safety and an integration of a modern understanding of biomechanics.

“After [the first] 200 hours, despite having many years of information-seeking textual and physical practice, I knew that teaching other people with the skill I would expect from myself wasn’t going to happen with only that initial training.”

Alex was a longtime Ashtanga yoga practitioner. After experiencing a laundry list of injuries, she began further investigation into anatomy and sequencing. “I knew there was something missing in the yoga application of certain pieces of information. That missing gap was creating these outcomes that were outside of what people signed up for. As soon as I realized that certain components of the asana practice were not functioning in a sustainable way or in a way that minimized injury, I decided to spend time researching in the medical realm.”

She dug into kinesiology and biomechanics. That journey took her to her current work. She describes that work to “debunk and deconstruct much of what is taught currently [in yoga] so it can be rebuilt in a more sustainable way.” Structural differences among bodies are noteworthy even when the variables are slight. Yet, those differences were not always taken into account where she was practicing. How a student’s “perception of pain or the concept of how the nervous system regulates itself up and down, and how that affects range of motion” were not conversations she heard in her yoga classes.

When it comes to education, Run Forward

“I think it’s terribly narrow to have such reverence for certain things as if they are finite moments in time that we must keep exactly as they were, because that negates that this is always evolving. To not evolve something is to be quite blind. The best teachers want [evolution] to happen.” Alex says, “The [elder yogis] didn’t have a lot of this knowledge when the postures were created. They didn’t have MRI machines. We do now and can take that information and change the way the things are done.” As Alex suggests to the community at large, “Run forward.”

In her own pursuit of running forward, Jules Mitchell says that she took “practically every workshop from every teacher,” yet she still had unanswered questions. “I believed each principle, and would turn around and teach them.” She found that the information she received from one training was contradictory to the next, so she researched hundreds of articles in the fields of orthopedic and sports science professionals.

Jules says, “I realized that I was asking the wrong questions.” The more appropriate the questions became, the more she could reconcile conflicting principles. From there, she could figure out the best approach for each body. “Not every yoga teacher needs to have a master’s degree in biomechanics. Not every style requires it. Part of continuing your education is to pick a path and focus on something.”

Continuing Education Online and On Demand

“I think continuing education is essential. It is your responsibility to stay informed as things evolve. If you’re not finding ways to stay curious and excited, it’s easy to get bored—and be boring. Bottom line,” says teacher’s teacher Annie Carpenter.

Even with 40 years of practice, study, and teaching, Annie’s bottom line involves consistently propelling her education forward. In addition to in-person classes, Annie has recently gone online both as a student and a teacher. She’s studying Buddhism via an online course by Tricycle Magazine. Annie’s developed her own online continuing education unit with her SmartFlow training through Yogaglo.

“I had resisted online training. As a teacher, I have been fed by questions and trying to figure out what people need in the learning process. Certainly, there needs to be interaction. There needs to be community. But I travel a lot, and when I’m on the road it’s nice to have something that is continuing my education.”

There is also value to repetition; the format of online courses can allow you to experience material over and over again. This is important because as Annie says, learning is also about revisiting the same rich material over years and decades. “What do you learn the fifth time around? What do you learn the hundredth time around? My job as a teacher is to keep that interesting, even when the content seems to be already known.”

Jasmine Rausch and Andrea Marcum photographed by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Hair and Makeup by Monica Simone. Location: Goorus Yoga in Pacific Palisades.

Continuing Education from the Comfort of Home

“I’m a lifelong seeker of knowledge,” says Amy Wheeler. Amy began her yoga studies in the 1990s; she has a PhD in psychology, taught kinesiology at Cal State San Bernardino for 21 years, is a longtime yoga therapist, and is a member of the board of directors of IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists).

“I have always done continuing education.” Amy sees it as a means of self-care. Learning can be a sweet experience when it happens in the comfort of your own home. “As yoga teachers, we drive around enough and we’re away from home so much, it is nice to find top-level teachers that are doing this online. I completed a course on my deck sitting with my dog while looking out at the fall leaves. There was soup on the stove, and I was doing laundry while getting a world-class education from a Tantric philosopher.”

In addition to pursuing courses online as a student, Amy also offers fee-based as well as free trainings via the internet as a provider. “Yoga teachers often spend as much learning yoga as we do making money. I gave a free one-hour Facebook Live talk “How Yoga Therapy Works,” and already 2,500 people have watched it. I want to encourage all of us in the field that are offering continuing education to do it at an affordable price when possible and/or for free as an offering to our community.”

Online: To go or not to go

Online study can be a great option for people in a variety of situations. One of the benefits is that it can make it easier to keep up studies while traveling. Remote study also provides options for people who have limited or no access to trainings in their home community. On-demand trainings allow people with busy schedules to fit education in when and where they can create space. While the flexibility is one of the benefits of this method of study, there are also pitfalls and challenges. These include the temptation to multi-task while watching something online, or limited interaction from teachers checking in on the progression of a student’s understanding of concepts and practical application. These challenges can be reduced through creating optimal home conditions for focus, finding a practice partner, and looking for programs that offer additional in-person community engagement and student accountability.

Photo of Andrea Marcum and Jasmine Rausch by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Yoga mat by Jade Yoga. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Hair and Makeup by Monica Simone. Location: Goorus Yoga Studio in Pacific Palisades.

Social Media Fluency as a Topic of Study

When it comes to being a yoga professional in the 21st century, some relevant topics may come from places other than the yogic texts. For continuing education junkie and yoga teacher Bianca Pratt, studying social media, branding, and monetization are also parts of her professional growth.

“We are in a social media world,” says Bianca. “If you don’t participate, you’re going to get left behind. I have worked at studios with mandatory social media presence, and we [as teachers] had to meet weekly quotas.” Some studios, she explained, even check on teachers’ accounts. The ability to skillfully navigate social media can contribute to teachers building classes, keeping their regular slots, developing multiple streams of income, and finding opportunities on larger stages.

Photo of Jasmine Rausch by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Hair and Makeup by Monica Simone. Location: Goorus Yoga in Pacific Palisades.

How to Choose Teachers and Trainings

Jasmine Rausch is a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and a graduate of the Yoga Therapy Rx™ Program at Loyola Marymount University. She says, “Like most, I began teaching soon after completing my initial teacher training. I noticed that most (if not all) of the students I was working with were coming in with a variety of challenges and questions.” She developed the foundational knowledge she needed through advanced training as a yoga therapist and through ongoing education.

When it comes to finding the teachers to guide you through the process of lifelong learning, Jasmine says, “I believe mentors and teachers can come from anywhere. In yoga, the importance of the teacher/student relationship cannot be minimized. The direct transmission of knowledge from teacher to student allows this ancient practice to thrive with consistency and without misinterpretation. It is this strong tradition that enables the core of the practice to be preserved, while simultaneously progressing. Whom you study with will directly influence your teaching, and knowing your lineage is important.”

Being a student is more than simply sitting in a class. Jasmine points out, “Being a student also includes how we integrate the teachings into our everyday lives.”

Considerations for Pursuit of Continuing Education

Jasmine offers the following pieces of advice when it comes to pursuing continuing education:

1. Study with someone you resonate with, who speaks your language. This can help establish connection, respect, and deep trust.
2. Do your research. There are so many teachers, workshops, and programs out there that it can be challenging to find the right fit. Scope out the programs or teachers and reach out to them directly. Speak to other students and teachers. Ask yourself, does this person or program align with your goals and needs?
3. Trust your intuition. Yoga is an intuitive practice just as much as a physical practice. Listen to your heart.

Do Your Work

As someone committed to my own excellence as a teacher, I’ve chosen my most rewarding trainings after exploring topics and looking for mentors who offer skills I lack. I have taken trainings from teachers with whom I have longtime relationships, as well as teachers I have found online and then researched their backgrounds. Continuing my education has allowed me to ask the questions necessary to pursue the path of mastery. It has also deepened my reverence for the craft of teaching and reinforced the humility to keep studying. Whatever the form, continuing education is an integral part of uplifting our community, industry, and profession. As one of my Yoga Therapy Rx teachers Dr. Eden Goldman said, “Study and do your work, because when you graduate, you are going to be my peer … and I want to be proud of you.”

Photo of Jasmine Rausch and Andrea Marcum by Jeff Skeirik. Clothing by K-Deer. Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design. Hair and makeup by Monica Simone. Location: Goorus Yoga in Pacific Palisades.

Yoga Teachers Continuing Education Photo Credits and More Information

Yoginis: Jasmine Rausch C-IAYT, ROOT Yoga Therapy: rootyogatherapy.com
Andrea Marcum (author of Close to Om): andreamarcum.com

Clothing by K-Deer: k-deer.com
Jewelry by Gogh Jewelry Design: goghjewelrydesign.com
Yoga mat by Jade Yoga: jadeyoga.com
Hair and Makeup by Monica Simone: monicasimonecreative.com
All photos shoot at Goorus Yoga in Pacific Palisades: goor.us

Marja Lankinen

Marja Lankinen, founder and CEO of Yoga for Dancers, is a yoga therapist and commercial dancer in Los Angeles and travels the globe teaching yoga and meditation: yogafordancers.com

www.yogafordancers.com

The post The Importance of Yoga Teachers Continuing Education appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photos of Yoga for Dancers at Gigi Torres’ Establish Your Empire (establishyourempire.com) in Downtown LA. IG @eyeexperience. Photographer: Karen Marie Photography (karenmarie.co) IG: karenmarieco

Yoga teachers step into a profession that comes with a lifelong trajectory of learning, inquiry, and continued education. The first few years—or decades—of a new teacher’s career are vital in planting the seeds for long-term success. While a yoga teacher training program or certification course may offer a starting point for leading classes, the true depth of understanding of the nuances of practice and how to teach only come with time. Having a mentor to guide and refine one’s skills is imperative to the growth process post-teacher training. It is also a recognition that to be a good teacher means making a commitment to being a lifelong student. This feels especially important in the yoga community today. After all, now more people are practicing yoga than ever before, teacher training programs are expanding, and ethical issues are at the forefront of the conversation.

The relationship between mentor/teacher and student is one that can be both intimate and profoundly transformative. For most of yoga’s history, this has been the primary mode in which people have studied to become a teacher. With the proliferation of more structured teacher training programs and classes that count hours, this has shifted. There is an importance to the mentorship model that is being recognized by senior teachers in different traditions.

Many teachers who offer 200, 300, 500 hour, and even longer teacher training programs emphasize or have added a mentorship or practicum aspects of their training. Teachers may also enter into one-on-one mentor/mentee agreements with students who are seeking the level of attention available through mentorship. There are even a growing number of training programs specifically geared toward graduate teachers who offer the opportunity to receive ongoing attention and mentorship. This comes with the benefit of greater opportunities for empowerment for teachers at all stages of their practice.

One example of a program geared toward graduate teachers is the mentorship program at Yoga Daya in Culver City. They have begun offering programs designed for teachers who are looking for what’s next beyond workshops and continuing education. According to Yoga Daya owner, founder, and mentor Tulsi Laher, “Two hundred and three hundred yoga teacher training programs provide the foundation. In order to be a successful yoga teacher, expanding one’s knowledge of the ancient science of yoga and the nuances of teaching is essential. Demonstrating patience, a mentor shares his or her experience as well personal secrets of the trade learned over the years to aid aspiring teachers to refine their skills for long-term growth and success and to expand their own knowledge to help others.”

Tulsi’s descriptions reveal something of the benefit of this interaction. Another description of the benefit of this relationship comes from my own teacher and mentor, Annie Carpenter. Annie has participated in a slew of scenarios within the mentorship dynamic. She says, “When I lived in Los Angeles and taught ten to eleven classes a week, I had traditional mentorships wherein folks would assist me once a week. We would have biweekly meetings which included assignments, reviewing hands-on adjustments, answering anything about their own practice, topical readings where they had to write essays on some of the great texts. I’ve had some people do just six months. Some do a year, and I’ve had at least two people do a year-and-a-half,”

The benefit of mentoring under a teacher like Annie is that a student is exposed to the language around asana, the nuances of working with deeply varied bodies, and the psychology of holding space for people through every event and stage of their lives. Annie describes her perspective on the relationship, “As we all know, five hundred hours is really introductory level teacher training. Beyond that is where I get to know the teachers more personally, and I can guide them in the direction of what I feel they need to work on, including their own practice and their ability to be interactive with students.”

Linda Lack holds space for an expanded understanding and practice of serving as a mentor. The quintessential seasoned teacher, Linda has an advanced degree combined with forty years of dedicated practice and teaching in the movement arts and has developed and integrative modality called The Thinking Body-The Feeling Mind. Linda teaches her brick-and-mortar space (Two Snakes Studios on La Cienega in Los Angeles), at the Yoga Therapy RX Program at Loyola Marymount University, and in workshops worldwide. While she mentors newbies and seasoned teachers alike, her perspective on mentorship is broad and inclusive. Everyone who walks through the door receives the benefits of her individualized attention. “I actually go in with an intention to mentor anybody who comes to see me,” says Linda. “I mentor people to live in the body and find possibility. I see people from a 10-year-old who cracked a lower limb doing soccer to 98-year-old people who are still able to get down on the mat.”

Linda supports people across generations, backgrounds, professions, and body politic, from those who are trying to avoid surgery to those who have had surgery and are in the process of healing, to those in wheelchairs to high performance athletes. Beyond the “who” of who is in the room, Linda says, “I’m interested in people creating a contemplative self-inquiry, whether you’re somebody who’s never done yoga before or you’re like many of the teachers who study with me and have been teaching for 30 years.” This could describe the work of many a dedicated yoga and movement therapist, and it is indeed this experience that draws even experienced teachers to seek out Linda as a mentor. One of Linda’s mentees says of her, “You tell the truth fast.” The trained eye of a body reader takes time to develop and it takes time and connections to share that knowledge with those eager to learn the skill.

Choosing a mentor comes with a sense of responsibility as well as discernment. The student who admires Linda’s ability to hone in with laser-sharp focus on the truth also comments on her mentor’s ability to lead by example and to create safe space in the practice room as well as in the relationship itself. There is also an acknowledgement of the seriousness of this level of inquiry.

After all, as Annie Carpenter points out, “The difference between what could be defined as a typical student-teacher relationship and that of a mentorship is the level of commitment and the depth of the intimacy.” When it comes to choosing a mentor, Annie says, “Frankly, one should be invited! The level of commitment that a student shows creates the condition for mentor/mentee relationship. But there is no harm in asking your teacher.” The chemistry is important. Tulsi Laher’s advice is to “Choose a mentor that you can connect with, and one whom is willing to give their time to help you.”

Willingness is part of the mentorship program at Yoga Daya for teachers who have already completed 200 or 300 hour certifications. People who are interested can enroll in a three-month mentorship program with Yoga Daya’s senior teachers. In this model, the mentees refine their teaching skills while being observed and supported by teachers in sequencing, knowledge of the asana, confidence in delivery, and ability to hold space. “For me, carrying on the tradition and the integrity of that learning was the inception of the mentorship group. Our slogan is ‘refine your skills for success’ because a lot of the time, when you go to teach, you’re thinking about how you really want to shine at your audition or you’re thinking about how you can build on your teaching to get more opportunities. The program is benefits students the way an internship provides benefit prior to going out there teaching. With the mentorship, we provide that avenue through coaching and feedback on your skills so you have the best opportunity in teaching.” Tulsi believes deeply in the power of building relationship with someone who you can ask questions and help navigate a career in teaching.

Even though each senior teacher’s methodology varies, the consensus is that mentorship is about relationship. “There is an intimacy that we need to have with students and that is not something you can really do in a large group setting,” says Annie. “Part of it is me knowing the teacher as a practitioner and as a teacher, and that just takes time.” Annie guides her students to look at the triggers, the areas they cannot see and those they are avoiding, and, in doing so, invites her mentees to develop a contemplative practice. She encouraged them to cultivate an ever-growing awareness that becomes vital when holding space for others.

Linda reflects the same necessity of relationship between a young teacher and a trusted advisor. “When you have somebody who can be a truth-teller, there’s a sense of where are the places we can deceive ourselves in a process of self-inquiry and where is the place where we get stuck,” says Linda. “Once you’re qualified and trained to do what it is you do to teach yoga, even yoga therapy, part of talk time is a support system. There are issues and things that happen in classes, and people need support. They need more experienced people like me to say, ‘This is what happened, here’s what I see’.”

While the 200, 300, and even 1000 hour teacher trainings build a strong foundation for the current and subsequent generations within our yoga community, the opportunity to be in relationship with a senior teacher is a profound experience. Yoga is not static, so it is important for any teacher’s education, maturation, and inquiry to be dynamic. To walk that path of scary, illuminating, and honest work with a trusted teacher who truly sees you and is patient and kind in the process is one of the greatest gifts we can give our futures. The trajectory of a teacher includes coming back to the source to refine a practice, receive answers to questions, and then leave with even more questions to grapple with for years to come. Whether someone is a first-year teacher or a person decades in, this is the process of yoga, and, as Annie so aptly states, “It cannot be rushed.”

Photos of Yoga for Dancers at Gigi Torres’ Establish Your Empire (establishyourempire.com) in Downtown LA. IG @eyeexperience. Photographer: Karen Marie Photography (karenmarie.co) IG: karenmarieco

Linda Lack, The Thinking Body-The Feeling Mind and Two Snakes Studio can be found at: lindalack.com

Tulsi Laher and the team at Yoga Daya can be found at: yogadaya.com

Annie Carpenter and the SmartFlow Yoga Community can be found at: anniecarpenter.com

Photos of Yoga for Dancers at Gigi Torres’ Establish Your Empire (establishyourempire.com) in Downtown LA. IG @eyeexperience. Photographer: Karen Marie Photography (karenmarie.co) IG: karenmarieco

Marja Lankinen

Marja Lankinen, founder and CEO of Yoga for Dancers, is a yoga therapist and commercial dancer in Los Angeles and travels the globe teaching yoga and meditation: yogafordancers.com

www.yogafordancers.com

The post Mentors Empower Success for Yoga Teachers appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.