The Mentor Sessions

I started teaching one private yoga client virtually in 2019 when she left Washington, DC for California. But other than her I had absolutely NO experience teaching online when everything changed on March 13th, 2020.  I was slightly ahead of the curve in understanding that the pandemic would be a life alternating experience and that we wouldn't be teaching yoga in-person for many many months. 

I made really quick work of getting all my in-person private students on board to pivot to virtual private lessons and by Monday March 16th I had everyone set up for the virtual lessons in their normal standing scheduled spot. I did not miss a single day of work, or single private lesson in that transition and that is something I am really proud of. 

Then, at the beginning of 2022 I moved to a new area and had a baby. I kept all my clients virtual through that transition and 95% of my teaching is still virtual. And I LOVE it. 

Today on the podcast I’m making the case for virtual private lessons! 

I’ll tell you:

• why AND how to find virtual private clients

• why they are great for your students

• how they can help support your business

• who they are a good fit for (both student and teacher)

• how to get started in offering virtual private lessons

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• 3 Steps to Teach Better Private Lessons Video Series

• two effective strategies for booking private clients TEMPLATES

• The Science of the Private Lesson online course

• Discounted mentoring sessions

• Camera set up

This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you’ll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan)!  OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up. I’m proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.

I’ve been teaching yoga full time for 20 years, and most of that time I taught at least 15 private yoga sessions each week; for a decade that number was closer to 25 per week!

I have a lot of experience in teaching private sessions! And when you’ve been doing something that often for that long, you start to develop some specific opinions... or, I certainly did!

Today we are diving into some unexpected hot takes about teaching private clients! 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• why seeing a student multiple times a week is not great for business

• how encouraging commitment is beneficial for your student AND your business

• why every student should feel like a “difficult” student

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• 3 Steps to Teach Better Private Lessons Video Series

• two effective strategies for booking private clients TEMPLATES

• The Science of the Private Lesson online course

Social media can be a wonderful tool to help us connect with friends, communities or potential students. It can also be a black hole of despair and panic.  Some people say it is necessary to participate and post on social media to be a successful business nowadays.

I don’t think engaging on social media is a requirement for having a thriving yoga teaching business at all, but if you use it right it can be a cheap way to market your services. It is also really easy to waste countless hours creating posts that go nowhere and do nothing for you. This is not what we want!

I’ve been in a good routine with the way I am engaging with social media, and it’s been working for my business without me having to spend hours on the apps. Today on the podcast I’m sharing the things I’ve been doing that make social media both easier for me, and actually useful!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• why it only makes sense to post on social if it is easy

• how to know your outcome goal

• why you have to pivot to video and some easy ways to do that

• different suggestions for creation schedules 

• my hot take on AI and how I’m using it in my business

Resources and posts mentioned:

• Screen Zen App

• WorkPlay Branding (company that did my photoshoots last year)

• IG post I mentioned

My understanding of the spiritual teachings is that my liberation doesn’t mean anything unless everyone else is free too. The teachings of Buddhism say over and over again that a huge part of our practice is about creating a world where the safety and freedom and happiness of all sentient beings is possible. So from that I take that being engaged in working for a better world is a necessary part of my spiritual practice. 

This is a really dark timeline. The things the American government is doing are truly horrific. I want to stay out of the spiral of despair and overwhelm so that I can be engaged, focused, supportive and actually helpful. 

Today we are taking a deep dive into the 12 things I do regularly to stay engaged without overloading my system, find ways to be helpful and let it all be part of my practice and teaching. Let’s dive in. 

In today’s episode you’ll hear:

• 4 suggestions for staying informed without mainlining the news, because no one’s nervous system is built for that

• a soap box speech about social media and how I recommend you engage with it

• the things I am doing to try and make both my small world and our wider community places better for everyone

• 4 things I do every day to keep my nervous system regulated 

Resources

• Washington Post The Seven Briefing

• New Not Noise, Jessica Yellin’s Substack

• Crooked Media

• Pod Save America

• Pod Save The World

• Screen Zen App

• 5 Calls App

• Journey Into The Bhagavad Gita Book 

• Singing bowl sound bath playlist

In episode 148 I collected all my best advice for new teachers. The episode centered around the idea that the most important thing new teachers can do is start teaching and figure out what kind of teacher they want to be.

But once you’ve started that process, there are some important business foundations you want to have in place so you have solid ground upon which to build. This episode (152)  is a deep dive into those business fundamentals, including lots of recommendations for specific software. 

If you are a new teacher, or an experienced teacher without an online presence, this episode is a must-listen!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• why you don’t need to worry about social right now

• why you do need liability insurance, but not necessarily an LLC

• my recommendations for online booking for 1x1 sessions

• the software options to have students register for group classes

• where to host your email list, and why you need one

• options for website builders

Resources Mentioned

Liability Insurance:

• https://www.phly.com/productsfw/FWI_YogaIndiv.aspx
• https://yoga.alliant.com/
• https://beyogi.com/
• https://alternativebalance.com/

How to book private lessons:

• Youcanbookme
• Calendly
• Acuity
• OfferingTree

A place for people to register for group classes

• Momence
• Union
• Fit Degree
• Mindbody
• OfferingTree

Email list options:

• Flodesk
• Mailchimp
• Convertkit
• OfferingTree

Website Options:

• Squarespace
• Wix
• Wordpress
• OfferingTree

How do we pour into ourselves so we have enough energy, time and focus for all the people who need us?

How do we stay connected to our practice, since it should be the foundation our whole teaching life is built on?

How do we stay inspired in our teaching without investing thousands of dollars in continuing education each year?

It is not easy! But creating time for our own practice and study is essential.

Today on the podcast I am going to share a story from a retreat I was on in Thailand. I was two weeks into a three-week trip when I realized I was as busy and exhausted as I was at home. The truth hit me like a ton of bricks, and that moment was the beginning of a lot of change for me. 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• what was happening the moment I realized I needed to make some big changes

• how I think about spiritual study and self care now

• what well digging and well refilling looks like in different seasons

• the difference between being burned out and being overwhelmed

• and how to address each one

• what I’ll be doing at my retreat to address all of these needs!

Resources:

• Refill Your Well Retreat

Being a yoga teacher, heck being a PERSON, is TOUGH right now. But having a job that requires presence and vulnerability and groundedness all the time requires we pour into ourselves so we have something to give. 

I LOVE hearing the behind the scenes details of people’s lives and routines. And I’m so happy to say that after a pretty stressful few years, I have my self care routines DIALED IN right now! In today’s episode of the podcast I am sharing the daily, weekly + monthly routines that make me the teacher I want to be.

It might sound kind of silly, but I treat being a fulltime yoga teacher and parent as a high performance job and it is WORKING for me! 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• what I do every month (and day)  to keep me connected to my spiritual practice

• how I care for my body with weekly routines

• the ten things I prioritize every day to keep my nervous system healthy

This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. The best thing about OfferingTree is you can get up and running in 10 minutes with no tech skills needed. As an added bonus, If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you’ll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan)!  OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up. I’m proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.

Teaching yoga, and maybe especially teaching private clients is, to be candid, an unstable way to make a living. But I have done it successfully for twenty years, so it can be done! 

I’m in a season in my life where I have limited spots available to teach, but financially I need every single one of those spots filled every week. I have about ten standing private clients and then I have at least five spots every week that need to be filled. 

So in today’s episode, I am giving you all the details about what I am doing to keep my private teaching calendar full. It is working really well! 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• why I recommend having at least one virtual private yoga client

• how having a list of people who I see infrequently has helped

• how I talk about my work with confidence and seriousness

• why I STILL offer free private lessons, and recommend you do too

• how I manage my calendar booking software so I don’t miss out on filling a spot

• advice I have changed my mind on, and why I invite students to have their friends join their private lesson

Anytime I connect with a new-ish yoga teacher I end up giving a lot of the same advice, so I collected all of it in one place, right here in today’s podcast episode! Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one in a phase of rebuilding (haven’t we all been rebuilding lately??) this episode has all my best pearls of wisdom, hard won over the last twenty years of full-time yoga teaching!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• why you should start a business bank account

• the most important thing you can do as a new teacher

• the difference between teaching and creating content

• how important (or not) a website and branding is

• what kind of teaching gigs I recommend for new teachers

• how to get your first teaching jobs

This episode is sponsored by OfferingTree!   Sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor to get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan).  With OfferingTree, yoga teachers put their schedule on a personally branded website where students can book classes and even pay or donate online.  All of this can be set up in 10 minutes or less.  OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up.