As we begin a new year, I’m reflecting on a question that quietly shapes every yoga teacher’s journey: why do you teach? In this episode, I share personal insights from my own path, the lessons that only time and experience reveal, and why certifications alone don’t create longevity in teaching. I also share details about the upcoming 300-hour online teacher training, live Q&A session, and important dates if you’re considering taking the next step in your practice or teaching.

Episode Highlights:

• Why certifications and accumulated hours don’t guarantee confidence or sustainability
• The difference between loving yoga and being able to teach it long-term
• How burnout, injury, and doubt reveal the importance of a deeper “why”
• Why purpose in teaching is personal, evolving, and not meant for performance
• The connection between discipline, consistency, and Sutra 1.14
• 5 Important things about your why
• Key updates on the upcoming 300-hour online teacher training and live Q&A

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This episode feels like a full-circle moment as I wrap up the final episode of 2025. Before we step into a new year, I take some time to share what’s coming up in 2026 for the Let’s Talk Yoga and Aham Yoga community. There’s a lot unfolding, from a brand-new 300-hour online yoga teacher training to in-person study and international travel, and I wanted to lay it all out clearly so you know what’s ahead and how to be part of it.

After the updates, I’m joined by Rebecca from the Working in Yoga podcast for a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation on creativity in yoga teaching. We explore how teachers can stay innovative without crossing into performance, why reverence still matters, and how professionalism, boundaries, and self-inquiry shape longevity in this work. It’s a reflective conversation about teaching, aging, motivation, and remembering why we came to yoga in the first place.

Episode Highlights:

• Exciting Announcements for 2026
• 300 Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training
• 200 Hour In-Person Training
• International Yoga Retreat in Italy
• Time-Sensitive Updates Recap
• Creativity in Yoga Teaching
• Balancing Tradition and Creativity
• Engagement vs. Entertainment in Yoga
• Evolving Yoga Teaching Methods
• Student Agency and Teacher Guidance
• Learning and Teaching Yoga
• Exploring Cultural Appropriation in Yoga
• Finding Your 'Why' in Teaching Yoga
• Markers of Success in Yoga Practice
• Personal Motivations and Aging Gracefully
• The Importance of Professional Boundaries
• Reverence and Cultural Differences in Yoga
• Navigating Marketing and Authenticity in Yoga
• Final Thoughts and Upcoming Trainings

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Hormones influence how we move, rest, recover, and show up on the mat, yet they’re rarely discussed clearly in yoga spaces. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Manasa Rao to explore what yoga teachers need to understand about the hormonal body through both modern science and yogic wisdom. We talk about stress, rhythm, pranayama, women’s hormonal cycles, and how yoga can support balance through listening and alignment without overstepping into medical advice.

Episode Highlights:

• Are hormones a modern concept, or something yoga has always addressed through a different language?
• Hormones as internal messengers and their connection to yogic ideas of prana, ojas, tejas, and balance.
• How yoga works across the physical and subtle bodies to regulate internal harmony.
• The relationship between chakras, glands, and pranic flow, and where confusion often arises.
• Why hormonal balance is the body’s natural state and how modern lifestyle disrupts rhythm.
• Cortisol, stress, and the importance of restoring rhythm rather than suppressing hormones.
• Pranayama as a key regulator of the hormonal and nervous systems.
• How to think about different pranayama practices, including ujjayi, with more discernment.
• Pratyahara as a lifestyle-based practice rooted in routine, rhythm, and sensory regulation.
• Understanding women’s hormonal transitions, including menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause.
• Menopause reframed as a phase of reorganization and inward movement, not decline.
• How yogic practices can support different phases of the menstrual cycle.
• The importance of personalization and sensitivity when teaching hormonally affected students.
• Body-to-mind versus mind-to-body, and why dissolving that duality matters.
• The central takeaway: hormonal health comes from listening, alignment, and rhythm rather than fixing.

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Inversions don’t have to be intimidating, flashy, or reserved for advanced students. In this episode, I break down the three pillars of teaching inversions and share how to approach being upside down with structure, progression, and nervous system awareness. If you’ve ever felt unsure about when, how, or why to teach inversions, this framework will bring clarity and confidence to your teaching.

Episode Highlights:

• Why inversions were traditionally practiced as tools for regulation, not performance.
• How modern yoga culture has distorted our understanding of being upside down.
• What actually qualifies as an inversion, beyond handstands and headstands.
• The difference between mild, moderate, and intermediate inversions.
• Personal reflections on unlearning unsafe inversion habits.
• Pillar One: Structure before shape
• Pillar Two: Progression before performance
• Pillar Three: Nervous system literacy
• Situations where inversions may not be appropriate to teach.
• Where inversions fit best within a well-sequenced class.
• How inversions cultivate humility, discernment, and emotional awareness.
• Why the deepest impact of inversions is internal, not physical.

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If you’ve ever felt like you’re “winging it” when planning your yoga classes, this episode will help you fix that for good. I break down my Sequence Smarter Framework and walk you through seven simple questions that will instantly make your sequences clearer, more intentional, and easier to teach. Whether you’re new to sequencing or ready to level up your teaching, this guide will change the way you plan your classes.

Episode Highlights:

• Why many yoga teachers struggle with sequencing and end up “winging it.”
• The purpose of the Sequence Smarter Framework and why it matters.
• How the three pillars—Purpose, Pathway, and Pose—create intelligent sequencing.
• What it really means to define the purpose of a class with clarity.
• How to build a pathway that prepares the body, breath, and pranic flow.
• Why pose selection should be the last step, not the first.
• The most common reasons yoga sequences feel disjointed or ineffective.
• How to use the seven audit questions to evaluate any sequence.
• A breakdown of applying the 3P framework to Trikonasana.
• Why thoughtful sequencing supports mixed-level rooms and aging bodies.
• How intelligent sequencing builds confidence, clarity, and longevity in teaching.

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If you’ve ever felt stuck repeating the same physical cues in your classes, this episode is going to open up a whole new way of thinking about teaching. I’m breaking down what it really means to move from gross to subtle, how subtle cueing works, and why it’s the key to creating deeper, more meaningful yoga experiences. You’ll walk away with practical tools you can use right away—no fluff, no woo, just clearer teaching.

Episode Highlights:

• Explanation of the Teach Smarter module and how this episode builds on the “Gross to Subtle” workshop.
• Why two teachers can teach the same pose but create completely different student experiences.
• The difference between the gross (sthula) body and the subtle (sukshma) body.
• Why most modern yoga teaching gets stuck in the gross physical layer.
• The limitations of staying in purely physical cueing—repetition, boredom, overthinking alignment, teacher burnout, and lack of depth.
• Clear signs that a teacher may be relying too heavily on gross cueing.
• Introduction to subtle cueing as a precise and grounded practice—not vague or woo-woo.
• Overview of the six types of subtle cueing:
  • Attention cues
  • Breath cues
  • Pranic-direction cues
  • Sensory cues
  • Interoceptive cues
  • Energetic sequencing
• A practical example of Warrior II comparing gross cues vs. subtle cues.
• Guidance on how teachers can begin practicing subtle cueing:
  • Use intentional pauses
  • Let the breath lead the teaching
  • Choose one subtle layer per class
  • Stop micromanaging alignment
  • Practice receiving your own cues
  • Trust your students’ intelligence
• Why subtle cueing matters for long-term student development and sustainable practice, especially as students age.
• A self-inquiry checklist for teachers to evaluate their cueing approach.
• Reflective questions for both teachers and students to deepen their awareness in asana.
• Encouragement to revisit the episode, reflect, and apply the concepts.
• Invitation to explore the 300-hour YTT and how the training weaves ancient wisdom with modern teaching needs.
• Brief overview of the three modules:
  • Sequence Smarter
  • Breathe Smarter
  • Teach Smarter

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After years of saying no, I’m finally bringing back my 300-hour yoga teacher training — and I can’t wait to tell you why! In this episode, I share how this new online program came to life, what makes it different, and how it’s designed to help you teach, sequence, and breathe smarter. If you’ve been craving more depth, clarity, and confidence in your yoga journey, this one’s for you.

Episode Highlights:

• Why I decided to finally relaunch my 300-hour training after years of saying no
• The gaps I’ve seen in most 200-hour trainings, and how this course bridges them
• My vision for reimagining yoga education: depth without overwhelm, authenticity without dogma
• How this online format differs from traditional in-person teacher trainings
• The three main modules:

1. Sequence Smarter – The Living Body of Asana
2. Breathe Smarter – The Living Body of Prana
3. Teach Smarter – The Living Body of Teaching

• A deep dive into Module 1, including:
  • The evolution and origins of asana
  • Yoga for the elderly and creating accessible practice
  • Breathing in asana: the missing link in most yoga trainings
  • The Sequence Smarter Framework for confident, intelligent sequencing
• Course structure: year-long online program with recorded and live sessions
• Access details: when it begins, early-bird pricing, and options to register module-by-module
• How this training integrates manuals, reflection workbooks, and done-for-you sequences
• A preview of what’s to come in Module 2: Breathe Smarter and Module 3: Teach Smarter

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Our feet are our foundation, but most of us don’t give them much thought until something goes wrong. In this episode, I chat with physical therapist and movement educator Michelle Edmison about how reconnecting with your feet can transform not just your yoga practice, but your whole life. We explore foot anatomy, posture, brain-body connection, and why strong, mobile feet are key to balance and longevity.

Michelle also shares practical tips you can start right away to restore strength, sensitivity, and awareness in your feet. Whether you’re a yoga teacher, mover, or simply curious about how to support your foundation, this conversation will have you looking at your feet in a whole new way.

Episode Highlights:

• Why the feet are considered the true foundation of the body
• How modern footwear has weakened natural foot function
• Common ways our feet change as we age, and why it’s not just about aging
• The powerful brain-foot connection and how movement shapes neuroplasticity
• The nervous system’s relationship with the feet and sensory input
• Emotional sensitivity, trauma, and how they can manifest in the feet
• The real purpose of the toes: stability and propulsion, not gripping
• What dancers, athletes, and yogis can teach us about foot function
• Understanding bunions and common foot issues: what causes them, how alignment affects them, and how yoga can help
• The truth about arches, pronation, and flat feet
• How women’s feet change during perimenopause and menopause
• Michelle’s top three non-negotiable practices for foot health
• Why a “foot problem” is never just about the foot

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Autoimmune diseases can feel isolating and unpredictable, but yoga offers both science and hope. I sit down with yoga therapist and researcher Renu Jain to explore how stress, the gut, and the immune system are connected; and how personalized yoga, pranayama, and mindfulness can support healing from the inside out.

Episode Highlights:

• Introduction to guest Renu Jain and her background at Kaivalyadhama.
• Understanding what autoimmune diseases are and how they affect the body.
• Exploring common shared patterns and root causes behind autoimmune conditions.
• Exploring the connection between stress, the gut, and immune function.
• Understanding the pranic system and how energetic imbalance mirrors physical symptoms.
• The role of yoga in managing autoimmune conditions holistically.
• Importance of personalization in yoga therapy: why no one-size-fits-all approach works.
• Go-to questions yoga teachers should ask students before planning a practice.
• Pranayama practices that support balance and calm for autoimmune health.
• Restorative yoga, relaxation, and mindfulness as healing tools.
• How meditation helps regulate the nervous system and supports emotional healing.
• The mindset and empathy yoga teachers need when working with these students.
• Why yoga philosophy and ethics should always guide therapeutic teaching.
• Final reflections on patience, compassion, and using yoga as a bridge between science and spirit.

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Yoga doesn’t just live on the mat; it’s how we show up in everyday life. I share 30 simple ways to live like a yogi, from practicing gratitude and silence to decluttering, serving others, and reconnecting with nature. Small daily acts that bring awareness, compassion, and joy into the ordinary.

Episode Highlights:

• Updates on the upcoming 300-hour teacher training and free cueing workshop
• Inspiration behind the episode: a personal 30-day mindfulness list
• The cultural meaning of the word yogi and why Aru uses it thoughtfully
• Reminder that yoga is awareness, not limited to the mat or a single class hour
• Encouragement to bring yoga into everyday life through small actions

30 Ways to Live Like a Yogi

1. Practice gratitude (Santosha)
2. Notice beauty (Pratyaksha)
3. Use your hands
4. Invite color
5. Wish well for others (Maitri Bhavana)
6. Exhale your worries
7. Ask what lights you up (Swadhyaya)
8. Light a candle or diya
9. Clap your hands or ring a bell
10. Drink water
11. Practice Abhyanga
12. Clean up and declutter (Aparigraha)
13. Notice negative thoughts
14. Remember someone who has passed (Shraddha)
15. Take a mindful walk
16. Notice other beings
17. Smile
18. Avoid gossip and negative news
19. Touch the soil
20. Detach from drama (Vairagya)
21. Reduce sensory input (Pratyahara)
22. Move your body
23. Explore a craft
24. Cleanse your space
25. Practice silence (Mauna)
26. Serve others (Seva)
27. Practice Yoga Nidra or body scan
28. Journal
29. Cleanse the body (Saucha)
30. Sit in silence

Waitlist for the Online 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training (launching January)Sequence Smarter – The Living Body of Asana
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