Ever feel the tug between tradition and innovation in your teaching? In this episode, we get real about creative tension, versatility, and the art of making your yoga practice your own. We’re talking curated inspiration, themed classes, and the power of choosing creativity—on and off the mat.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Creative tension is real — and necessary. Balancing yoga’s roots with personal expression isn’t easy. Honoring lineage, serving your students, and staying true to your creative self can coexist—but not without a little healthy friction.

Versatility feeds inspiration. Whether it’s teaching different styles, exploring new students, or shifting focus, creative growth often lives outside our comfort zone.

Style and emphasis shape your teaching voice. Every teacher brings something unique to

familiar sequences. Instead of “happy accidents,” make your personal style a conscious part of your class design.

Curate your inspiration. Be intentional about where you draw creative energy—online or off. Cook, read, move, explore art—whatever fuels your imagination will fuel your teaching.

Themes give form to freedom. Teaching around an idea, like exploring discomfort vs. suffering, brings depth and cohesion to your work. Creative parameters can actually unlock greater play.

Creativity is a practice, not an accident. You must choose creativity—schedule it, honor it, and make space for it in the middle of real life.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

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Julia’s IG

Welcome to a new series on creativity in the yoga professional space.

We are going to deep-dive for 11 episodes into the creative experience we have as yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and business owners.

I love this topic so much, and I am thrilled that so many other people were enthusiastic to have this conversation with me.

Shelly Auld is up first, and the way she comes out and describes her work in the first five minutes of this chat got me so excited for what was to come.

🎧 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Employee wellbeing is yoga’s next big frontier. From schools to hospitals to corporate offices, yoga professionals can lead programs that support healthier, more grounded workplaces. Why aren’t we talking about this more?

Presence fuels creativity. The moment you look up from your notes and meet your students where they are, that’s when real creativity begins. Responding to the energy in the room is one of the most powerful tools a teacher has.

Social change isn’t a checklist. True transformation—personal or societal—can’t be reduced to “checkbox” activism. We need imagination and courage to create an equitable world, not perfectionism disguised as progress.

Students are co-creators. Yoga is a dialogue, not a performance. Our students bring their own creative intelligence—through their bodies, nervous systems, and hearts—to the practice. As teachers, our job is to hold space for that magic to unfold.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

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Colice Sanders Episode

Shelly’s Website

In this solo episode, Rebecca shares the biggest news yet for Working In Yoga: the launch of a brand-new digital trade magazine for yoga professionals. After years of conversations on the podcast about teaching, therapy, creativity, and the business of yoga, it’s time to create a professional home for our community. Rebecca dives into why the magazine matters, how it carries yoga’s countercultural roots into a modern professional space, and how you can get involved from the very beginning.

RESOURCES

Subscribe To Inside Yoga Magazine

Pitch A Story for Inside Yoga Magazine

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Podcast Shop

Offering Tree Discount For Working In Yoga Listeners

✨ Yoga biz isn’t just about mats and malas anymore—it’s about data, confidence, and community. In this episode, we’re diving into why your studio needs a clear point of view, how COVID secretly did us a favor with tech, and why vibes alone won’t keep the lights on (sorry, not sorry). We’ll talk rethinking service, making “giving back” the hottest trend of 2026, and building real business confidence—without ditching the soul of yoga.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Studios need a clear point of view. Having a distinct perspective on what kind of yoga you teach and who you’re serving makes marketing easier and business stronger.

People pay for feelings, not just services. Whether it’s yoga or a custom frame, what clients truly value is the way your offering makes them feel—proud, connected, transformed.

Service work needs rethinking. Giving away too much for free or over-discounting hurts your sustainability. True service means supporting your community without sinking your business.

COVID fast-tracked tech growth. Online classes, automations, and digital systems were coming anyway, but the pandemic sped up adoption—and that’s something to embrace.

2026 trend: Giving Back. Imagine if yoga became synonymous with community care—whether through donation nights, local cleanups, or food drives. Giving back can (and should) be an industry standard.

Data > vibes. Real-time data is a must for decision-making in yoga businesses. Intuition is important, but numbers tell the full story.

Business confidence is the goal. Let’s release the false tension between “true yoga” and profitability. The two can co-exist beautifully when we let yoga guide how we lead, serve, and run our businesses.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

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Register for the FREE webinar

Offering Tree Discount For Working In Yoga Listeners!!

Michael Jay’s Website

✨ What if yoga history forgot half the story? In this episode, we dive into the missing voices of women, the power of everyday acts of resistance, and why who tells the tale of yoga matters just as much as the practice itself. Spoiler: every pebble counts, and radical love is the real revolution. 💥🧘‍♀️

🔑 Key Takeaways

Who tells history matters. When yoga’s history is mostly written by white men, women’s contributions disappear—but they’ve always been here.

Practitioner vs. scholar perspectives. Yoga histories told by scholars may miss the lived depth that practitioner-first writers bring.

Exceptionalism skews narratives. Everyday people, not just “great leaders,” shape yoga and social change.

Change happens in quiet moments. Real transformation often comes from behind-the-scenes work and small acts of care.

Every pebble counts. Small, consistent gestures of radical love build a more just and beautiful world.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

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Register for the FREE webinar

Pre-order Anjali’s Book

Anjali’s Website

Have you ever wondered what those $300 online teacher trainings were like?

Well, I asked someone who both teaches online and also has looked through more than one of these.

What really makes a yoga teacher training “good”? In this episode, we explore the realities of online vs. in-person YTTs, why pacing and feedback matter, and how affordability impacts accessibility in the yoga profession.

Katlyn Greiner and I delve into the myth that higher costs equal higher quality, the role mentorship can play in shaping new teachers, and the financial realities of studios running training sessions. Plus, we unpack the tension between brand cohesion and creativity in the yoga business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Online vs. in-person training
Asynchronous, low-cost YTTs aren’t inherently “less than.” We need to rethink perceptions of online vs. in-person education.

2. Pacing matters
Dumping all the content at once isn’t effective. Pacing supports integration and embodiment of teachings.

3. Feedback is essential
Integrated feedback—live or asynchronous—is key to learning, relationship-building, and quality in online trainings.

4. Financial accessibility
Low-cost trainings expand access. Eliminating them would reduce opportunities for many aspiring teachers.

5. Mentorship as the missing link
Imagine affordable online YTTs paired with paid local mentorship—a model that supports both new teachers and experienced guides.

6. Rethinking “quality”
High price ≠ high quality. Metrics for strong training should include teaching skill, student engagement, and practical business acumen.

7. Teacher trainings ≠ cash cow
For many studios, YTTs aren’t highly profitable—they’re a labor of love or a way to train new teachers.

8. Creativity vs. brand cohesion
Studios must balance cohesive branding with honoring yoga as a creative practice. Navigating that tension is key to sustainable growth.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

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Register for the FREE webinar

Katlyn’s IG

This week I am chatting with yoga trainer, studio owner, and data maven, Gina Ward.

Gina ran some data for yoga studio owners, so she could better inform her yoga teacher trainees what the realities of studio ownership are like.

Wanna know what the data said? Yeah, I did too.

Take a listen find out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Studio profitability isn’t guaranteed
Profitability means revenue exceeds expenses—but 20% of yoga studios never reach that point. Only 25% are profitable in year one, while 55% take 1–5 years. Most studio owners earn less than people assume.

2. What studio owners really earn
52% of yoga studio owners make $12–60K per year, often working 40+ hours a week. Only 12% earn more, while 18% make less than $12K. These numbers show two truths: (1) owners aren’t the “big winners” of the yoga industry, and (2) we can’t fix money problems we refuse to discuss.

3. Headcount ≠ success
For membership-based studios, headcount is often a vanity metric. It looks good on paper but doesn’t always reflect real revenue or financial health.

4. Pay for prep time
Gina compensates teachers for reading emails and prep work—a small but powerful shift that values teachers’ time. This should be an industry standard.

5. Rethinking hiring culture
Studios often expect teachers to “fit in” socially before being hired. This mindset undervalues professionalism and holds the industry back. Fair, transparent hiring practices are essential for credibility.

6. Professionalism vs. friendship
In wellness, blurred boundaries between “boss” and “friend” are common. But leaders set the tone: if owners expect professionalism from teachers, they must model it themselves

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

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Register for the FREE webinar

Offering Tree Discount For Working In Yoga Listeners!!

Gina’s Website

For those of you following the topic of licensure in the yoga space, this is for you.

Should we be a licensed profession?

Should we leave it all up to self-regulation within the industry?

What would that even mean for us?

I ask a literal licensing expert, Kris Maul, and he provides us with all the details.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Gatekeeping with integrity
Not all gatekeeping is bad. We need clear professional standards to differentiate yoga therapists from yoga teachers offering “therapeutic yoga.” At the same time, licensure must remain accessible to neurodivergent practitioners and those who struggle with standardized testing, as well as those who might need financial access. Professionalization should include equity and inclusivity.

Public protection matters
Licensure creates accountability. Right now, a yoga professional could abuse a client, move towns, and start over with no consequences. If we truly care about student welfare, we must create systems that reflect that responsibility.

Licensure ≠ Insurance
Being able to bill insurance could expand access, but it should be addressed separately from licensure. First, we need clear definitions of our scope of practice and how yoga therapy fits into healthcare systems.

Financial sustainability
Currently, yoga professionals are split between “high-ticket clients only” and “self-sacrifice for service.” Both models are unsustainable. We need a third path that honors our education, ensures fair pay, and expands accessibility without burning us out.

De-centering organizations
Professional growth should center on practitioners, not gatekeeping organizations. Recent leadership choices (like hiring non-yoga professionals to lead major orgs) show how disconnected these bodies are from our lived reality. Just as farmers need farmers to lead co-ops, yoga professionals need leaders who understand our industry firsthand. If orgs don’t reflect that, it’s time to build structures that do.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

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Kris’s Website

It’s a wrap, friends.

I have finished my talks about AI and tech, for now, and here is what I learned.

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Discussion Guide

How Yoga Competes With AI. An AI's Response

This final interview in our AI & Tech series is one of my faves. It isn’t often I meet someone so decidedly pro-tech in the yoga space, so chatting with Ram Bhakt was a true breath of fresh air.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

*AI can undoubtedly help us with our businesses.  Ram listed a whole lot of things AI can help with–marketing, emails, scheduling, and more.  Which ones do you feel confident in implementing sooner rather than later?

*Colleagues who are using AI are going to pass you by.  This is undeniably true.  If you consider our market saturated or competitive, you might want to consider exploring how AI can help you stand out in your business.

*While AI yoga teachers are not prevalent now, they absolutely do exist.  If you didn’t catch that article from NPR on nursing home facilities using AI yoga teachers in Colorado, I will link that in the show notes.  And what I want you to think about is how you will offer something different than those AI teachers.

*Wearable AI and yoga is SUCH a good idea!!  Is anyone doing this already?  Dr. Steffany Moonaz, I am looking at you.  Could we get Ora rings for everyone to measure biomarkers as they practice yoga from anywhere in the world?  That could potentially have a huge impact on our research wing of the industry. 

*Our orgs could help us with some of this!!  They could be building chatbots for us to help folks looking for resources about yoga.  I am giving a solid side-eye to you, International Association of Yoga Therapists.  But let’s be honest, the org most likely to give us this is the American Yoga Council, the new kid on the block.  So if you are listening, we want you to build us chatbots that help practitioners find their way to teachers, yoga therapists, and more.  DM me, Andrew, and Scott–I could go on for a while on this.  In fact, maybe I will do a final wrap-up episode and add more details. 

*Self-actualization in business and yoga is something we need to talk about.  Because we need to be careful as sincere yoga practitioners AND business owners.  The improvement of both of these requires a path of self-actualization.  I feel like I have made this joke on the podcast, but certainly I have said it in talks and in person–when you run a yoga business, it feels like you cannot escape self-improvement.  And sometimes I just want to eat chips and scroll TikTok.  So it is worth building up some practices to give yourself a break.  Yoga folks, as I have experienced them, are often intense people, and we need to make sure that we are balancing out this dual journey of self-discovery with some hobbies (yoga is not your hobby, babe) and relaxation.

*Ram made a couple of comments on the over-intellectualization of yoga, and those folks who are deep sticklers for traditional yoga, and I want to mention that I have been, at one time, both of those things.  For me, personally, some of that came from a place of feeling like I had learned all I needed to from yoga–a sure sign I hadn’t learned nearly as much as I thought; and the fact that it feels good to think we are morally superior to other people.  That is a trap in thinking that I see a lot in the West.  If you want to think your way out of it, then go ahead and wrestle with the idea that you and I have the same job as anyone who teaches hot, Buti, goat yoga with wine chasers.  I am gonna gently hold your hand and remind you we all have the same job.  K, love you. Truly.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Tell Us A Story!  Funny Stories via SpeakPipe

Ram’s Website

AI & Tech Discussion Guide

NPR Article on AI in senior living facilities