For Yoga Teachers

This episode looks at some of the ways that stress can impact the brain. In the interests of full disclosure - this episode might seem a bit doom and gloom, as it focuses on the impacts on the brain of stress. However, if you join the free workshop: Understand WHY yoga works: Yoga's role in stress reduction - that’ll be the light at the end of the gloomy tunnel!

In this episode, we cover:

• A brief recap of what stress is
• Then we’ll look at three main areas 1) the pre-frontal cortex 2) the amygdala and 3) the telomeres

All of this information is taken from, and inspired by our Yoga and the Neurobiology of Stress module coming up in June 2025 - so if you’ve had your eye on that training, or you wish you could have a sneaky peek in to our 300 hour training - well there you go!

See the shownotes here

The pre-frontal cortex

The pre-frontal cortex is a major brain structure that affects thought, insight and emotion. When it’s in full working order it helps to assess situations and suggest useful ways to plan and respond to these situations. However being in a stressed state can take the pre-frontal cortex offline, and even reduce the size of it. 

Amygdala

You might have heard the of the amygdala as the brain’s smoke detector and that’s exactly right. When a smoke detector detects smoke, it sets off an alarm. When the amygdala detects danger; i.e. a stressor, it sets of the internal danger alarms; the Sympathetic Nervous System and the HPA axis. 

In anxious states, and this is super important - the amygdala becomes enlarged and hypersensitive.

Telomeres

Our genetic information is stored in chromosomes, which duplicate again and again and again. At the end of the chromosomes are telomeres, which are there to protect the information. The thing is that stress can cause the telomeres to shorten, which then means that the information in the chromosome might be copied incorrectly, and the impact of this on a person’s health could be huge.  

So I did say that it might be a bit doom and gloom, so please yoga teacher, come join me for the light at the end of the tunnel - I promise it’s just absolutely inspiring HOW MUCH yoga helps mitigate the impact of stress. 

See you there! 

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A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

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As yoga teachers, we know that stress is an epidemic; it affects almost everyone we meet, and it has a profound impact on their lives.

We so often talk about the sympathetic nervous system; the fight or flight response and how that impacts physical and mental health, but we don’t often talk about the HPA axis, and its profound impact on health…

It got me thinking - why is that?

After some informal research, I realised that this is because yoga teachers don’t really understand what the HPA axis is, or why it’s important to understand as a yoga teacher.

So - this episode is all about why it’s important to understand the HPA axis as a yoga teacher.

We’re starting with an overview of what the HPA axis is; and don’t forget I’ll go into more detail on our free workshop, we’ll look at what cortisol is and take a quick look at the impact of cortisol on the body, and finally, we’ll investigate why yoga is such a powerhouse in managing the impact of stress on mind and body.

Coming up: super duper free workshop:
 
Un-stress: The yoga tonic

This workshop is part of my mission to educate yoga teachers to understand WHY yoga works. Why yoga is helping people manage their autoimmune disorders. Why, people say, I always sleep so well after yoga! Why the Washington Post said yoga may help protect against cognitive decline. I think as yoga teachers, we know it works. We know why we practice yoga, and why we teach it.

And - wonderfully - the evidence base is starting to catch up, and I’m really really exciting to share this with you.

There will be some science, but my style of teaching is to make sure I’m only teaching what I really truly believe is useful, I break it down into manageable chunks, and I repeat it so you can be sure it goes in. 

So, whether you’re deeply in love with internal human anatomy or it quite frankly scares you, I promise, this workshop is for you! 

I can’t wait to see you there. 

Big love,
Holly

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

Our 300 hour training is underpinned by three golden rules: 

1. Everything you learn will be inherently useful, immediately usable, or both
2. All bold claims will be backed by research 
3. The entire training will stay true to the roots of yoga

Enjoy!

Take a look: Yoga Hero's 300 hour yoga teacher training

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

If you’ve been really enjoying teaching private yoga lessons, but you’re finding that people will book 1, or maybe a block of 4 with you, and then they don’t really get back in touch to rebook, this is the episode for you! 

And it might not be what you think…

In this episode, we start with something that we seem to talk about a lot a lot - defining your ideal yogis. If you’ve heard us chatting on about this before and thought ‘well I just really don’t know where to start’ - this really is for you, you can expect all the help, support and resources to finally nail down who it is that you want to work with. 

We then look at: 

- Finding those ideal yogis

- How to encourage recurring block bookings

- How to set up a referral scheme and I’m sure that this is more simple than you first expect!

- And we round up with some inspiration for finding your perfect private yoga clients.

OK, let’s crack on!


Useful resources:

Define and find your ideal yogis: Your free workbook

Yoga adjustments: Your free checklist

Book a Momence demo

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

If you’ve ever received an enquiry for a private yoga lesson, and your first thought is ‘Oh no, how much am I going to charge?’, well, yoga teacher, you most certainly aren’t on your own. 

“How much should I charge for….” must be the question I (Holly, hi by the way!) have been asked the most over the ten or so years that I have been working with yoga teachers, so you are most certainly not on your own!

The good news is that defining a pricing structure is actually pretty simple, and once it’s done, it’s done forever! 

And the great news is that over on The Base, we have a pricing matrix template ready for you to put your numbers in, and it’ll pop out your pricing matrix for you. Boom! 

The episode is everything you need to create a pricing matrix that ensures all your costs are covered, that you’re priced in-line with similar offerings in your area (if you want to be), and how to keep the matrix accessible for future you. 

Useful resources:

Get the show notes here 

Episode 51: How to teach private yoga lessons

Shatter Imposter Syndrome Challenge - Join us! 

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🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

Yoga teacher, if you’ve been hoping to pick up reliable, repeating private yoga clients, but it’s not (yet) happening, this episode is for you.

You’ve been posting about your services, you’ve mentioned them in classes you teach, you’ve even included it in a newsletter - but it’s not working. 

Does that resonate with you? 

The good news is that setting up private yoga clients is actually pretty simple, in-fact, in just five simple steps, you can be feeling totally confident about your private yoga lesson offering. And this episode is the first of a three-parter that breaks down every part of getting, and retaining, a solid private yoga client base. 

So yoga teacher, if you’ve been looking for a step by step guide to set up a solid, reliable private yoga client base, this three-parter is exactly what you need to make it happen! 

Useful links: 

Episode 6: Sharing your yoga

Episode 27: Setting up your own yoga classes

Episode 32: Teaching yoga workshops

Episode 8: Renting a space for yoga

Your free ebook: A complete guide to teaching private yoga lessons

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

Today,  we have a short but punchy episode to remind you: 

Yoga teacher: you are doing a great job. 

Honestly, you really are!

You’re consistently turning up.

You’re invested in making people feel better through yoga. And yoga teacher, they are - they really are! 

So when you notice you’re thinking about the 'shoulds' and the 'have tos', can you refocus your attention to a nice thing someone said about your class or a testimonial someone wrote about your last workshop. 
 
Because yoga teacher - hear this: 

YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. 

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

One of the three values that underpin For Yoga Teachers is ‘avoiding burn out’; and there’s one key way to do that: Have a consistent personal yoga practice. However, when you’re a busy yoga teacher, and you have a busy life, sometimes there just isn’t the time for a consistent practice alongside everything else that you need to do!
 
BUT, having a consistent yoga practice is SO important that we’ve even created a whole retreat dedicated to nurturing your self-practice, which is being held in Ibiza (whhooo!!) this September. Take a look at this wonderful week here:

In this episode we look at: 

• What does a consistent yoga practice look like?  
• Practical suggestions to make it easier to get onto your mat.  
• How to congratulate yourself to build even more consistency.  
• What to do on hard days. 
• The benefits of a consistent yoga practice as a yoga teacher

As ever, the episode is completely practical; taking the many spinning plates of life in to account. 

Enjoy, yoga teacher, and perhaps see you in Ibiza!
 
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Useful links:

Ibizan Intensive

Restorative Yoga with Polyvagal Theory Training

Shownotes for this episode, including a suggestion on a habit tracker we love, and insight in to 'Rewire' by Nicole Vignole

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🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

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Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

A few weeks ago now we launched The Base - a network and resource hub for yoga teachers. 

This episode is an exciting audio tour around The Base to tell you everything that you need to know, because we’re closing the doors at midday on Thursday 13th June for a little while, to focus on giving all the Base members the best possible experience! 

Expect a whistle stop tour around the network; the community aspect of The Base, then the knowledge base, which is our resource hub and lastly the meet ups that we have scheduled. 

Use code COMMUNITY for 25% off your first three months on The Base! Yes please!

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge

This ep is taken from a super important masterclass held recently on The Base:

How to boost your short term yoga income.

Now many of our trainings for yoga teachers at Yoga Hero are £400... So I thought rather than talking about generating extra income in a hypothetical way, wouldn't it be great to have a figure to work towards, so, how about £400?!


There's four suggested methods of boosting your short term yoga income.

Within each of the four methods, we'll look at:
- the general requirements so that you can determine what you already have in place, and as such, which method is going to be the easiest for you to implement.

- common barriers, including mindset

- next steps so that you can just follow the step-by-step to boost your income

- how to hit 400 pounds with each method!

In the interest of a disclaimer and full disclosure. I haven't taken into account any costs and there are no guarantees. You have to do the work. Some methods may work better for you than others, or they may not work at all.  (Hopefully they will.)

Enjoy yoga teacher!

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See the show notes here

Shatter Imposter Syndrome, your FREE 3 day challenge, join here

A complete guide to planning yoga workshops is here 

--
🤝 The Base
A community for yoga teachers Take a look

📚 Training for yoga teachers
Restorative Yoga & Polyvagal Theory Nov 24
Myofascial Release, Energetic Anatomy and Yoga Mar 25

--

Follow @foryogateachers

Struggle with low confidence and self-doubt? Try the free Shatter Imposter Syndrome challenge