Working in Yoga

Yoga therapy is creative work. In this episode, we explore how yoga pros adapt tools to clients, transfer their skills into new industries, navigate evolving client relationships, and build burnout-proof self-care habits for 2026.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

✨ Yoga therapy is inherently creative.

Yoga therapists practice creative application of yogic tools—adapting techniques to the individual instead of using prescriptive methods. That flexibility IS the creative process.

🔄 Your yoga skills transfer further than you think.

Creativity also shows up in how yoga professionals apply their skills in new industries—psychotherapy, nonprofits, corporate well-being, education, and more. Skill transfer is a major 2026 trend for yoga pros.

🧩 Relationship-building is creative work, too.

Re-evaluating client dynamics, setting boundaries, and showing up authentically is ongoing, nuanced, and deeply creative. It's a steady practice, not a one-time decision.

💛 Self-care requires structure, not spontaneity.

Burnout is real in the yoga industry. Defining non-negotiables for your own well-being—and turning them into daily habits—matters. Tiny, consistent actions > occasional self-care sprints.

RESOURCES

2026 Industry Forecast

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Mandy’s Website

This episode explores practical and compassionate business strategy for yoga professionals. From setting bold 2026 goals to understanding systemic challenges, making meaningful connections, gathering simple data, identifying your ideal students, and trying new ideas without pressure—we break down what it really takes to grow your yoga business with intention and curiosity.

1. Make a 2026 Plan (Big + Simple!) 📅🌟

Set business goals for next year—one easy, a few medium, and one bold “stretch” goal. Dream bigger than you think you can.

2. Systems + Personal Change Coexist 🧩🌍

Capitalism impacts our lives AND personal choices shape our future. Real transformation happens where systemic struggle and accountability meet.

3. Outreach Matters: Go Make Work Friends 🤝💛

Build genuine relationships—not transactional ones. Human-first networking is the heart of yoga business growth.

4. Please Collect Simple Data 📊🧘‍♀️

Feedback helps you understand what your clients need. Keep it easy—short check-ins, occasional surveys—and use it to improve your teaching or therapy work.

5. Envision Your Ideal Teaching Day 🌅🪷

Instead of “find your niche,” imagine your perfect teaching environment. Inside or outside? Who’s in the room? Build your business for those people.

6. Try Stuff. Seriously. Try Stuff. 🎥🧪

Once you gather insights, experiment—networking, marketing, teaching ideas. Don’t overthink it. Just test, refine, repeat. (I’m trying regular video posts—even if I feel weird!)

RESOURCES

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Carol’s Website

In this episode, we explore the creative side of yoga marketing—from ethical strategies to avoiding predatory coaching “containers,” to understanding why generalists thrive. You’ll learn how to build your business with intention, creativity, and clarity while putting in the reps that lead to confidence and long-term success.

1. Marketing = Creative Problem-Solving 🎨✨

Marketing is a creative act—it helps your people and your business. Get curious about who you serve, experiment, and enjoy the process.

2. Beware “Coaching Containers” 🚩💸

If someone tries to sell you a “container,” triple-check the value. Most yoga pros don’t walk away feeling supported—look for real training, not vague vibes.

3. Your Worth ≠ Your Work 🌱🧘‍♀️

Detach your self-worth from your output. Try, test, adjust. Creation is iterative—not a referendum on you as a person.

4. Drop “Pain Points” & Market With Ethics ❤️🔍

Most yoga pros hate the term “pain point” because it feels exploitative. Reframe marketing as helping your favorite people solve meaningful problems—ethically and compassionately.

5. Anti-Niche Is Valid for Yoga Pros 🌈📚

Many yoga teachers and yoga therapists are generalists—and that’s normal. Your business can thrive without a tiny niche, especially if your work is diverse and service-driven.

6. Creativity Requires Reps 🎹🖊️🏋️‍♀️

Marketing gets easier the more you do it. Try a 42-day creative streak (5 minutes/day counts!). Keep the streak alive and watch your confidence grow.

RESOURCES

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Kiki’s Website

In this episode of Working in Yoga, Rebecca & Per Erez explore how creativity isn’t just for the “naturally gifted.” It’s a practice — cultivated through curiosity, courage, and daily choices. Featuring Per’s perspective on yoga, mindset shifts, and creative evolution, this episode helps yoga teachers reconnect to the imaginative spark that fuels their teaching and business.

Key Takeaways:

🧠 Creativity is learned, not luck.
Like yoga, creativity grows through daily practice and intentional choice — not talent alone.

💫 Curiosity is your superpower.
That same impulse that led you to yoga can spark creative breakthroughs in your teaching.

🌍 The inner and outer worlds dance together.
Our creative growth happens in the tension between self-reflection and societal pressure — and both are essential.

🕉️ Yoga is bigger than asana.
True creativity comes from using the whole practice — philosophy, mindfulness, and movement — to inspire students.

🎭 Try the ‘Yes, And’ mindset.
Your yoga business can be an improv playground — experiment, say yes, and let possibility lead.

RESOURCES

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In this episode, Rebecca explores how creativity shows up in yoga classrooms—from responding to students in real time to weaving storytelling through your teaching. With insights on AI, community, and cultural representation, this conversation invites yoga professionals to embrace their creativity as a core part of their teaching craft.

🌟 Key Takeaways

🧘‍♀️ Responsive teaching = creative teaching.
Reading the room (in-person or online) and adjusting in real time is the mark of a skilled yoga teacher. Co-regulation and connection matter more than perfect sequencing — that’s where true creativity lives.

🤖 AI can’t replace human creativity.
AI yoga teachers might track data, but they can’t replicate the magic of co-creating with real humans. Our creativity and intuition are the future of yoga teaching — not automation.

🎨 Invite your students into the process.
Let them see you experiment! Try new props, play with movement, explore discomfort vs. suffering. Shared curiosity keeps classes fresh, builds trust, and turns your teaching into art.

📖 Teaching yoga is storytelling.
Think of your classes like a four-part series — each one building a narrative that carries your students somewhere meaningful. Storytelling keeps people engaged and deepens connection.

🌍 Yoga’s cultural story matters.
From commercials to memes, how yoga is portrayed affects how people see your work. Be part of reshaping that story — through your teaching, your marketing, and your creative voice.

RESOURCES

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What does it mean to be creative royalty? In this episode, Rebecca and Cheri Dostal Ryba explore how yoga professionals can tap into curiosity, move past fear, and stay grounded through the ups and downs of creative work. Whether you’re building a yoga business, creating new classes, or just trying to feel brave enough to share your ideas, this episode reminds you that you don’t have to be perfect to create something powerful.

🧘‍♀️ Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Curiosity starts the creative process.
Creativity doesn’t just appear — it begins with curiosity. Ask questions, stay open, and allow yourself to explore without knowing the outcome. In yoga and business, curiosity is the spark that leads to inspired work.

2️⃣ Fear is not the boss of your art.
Fear blocks creativity more than anything else. Remember Seth Godin’s wisdom: art is anything creative, passionate, and personal. Whether you’re designing a new class, writing, or building a business, don’t wait until you feel fearless—create anyway.

3️⃣ You are not your output.
It’s easy to tie our self-worth to how our work is received. But your value doesn’t depend on class sign-ups or Instagram engagement. Detach your identity from outcomes; each iteration teaches you something vital about your creative and professional growth.

4️⃣ Iteration = evolution.
Refining and adjusting your ideas over time is what makes your teaching and business sustainable. Small tweaks can bring your creative vision closer to what your audience truly needs while staying true to your authentic expression.

5️⃣ Creativity is relational.
The best ideas grow from both introspection and connection. Tune inward to discover your inspiration, then share outward with your community. Yoga is, after all, a practice of union — creativity works the same way.

RESOURCES

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Cheri’s Website

SATISFY Retreat

Running a yoga business isn’t all incense and inspiration—sometimes it’s spreadsheets, stress, and shame spirals. In this episode, we dive into what it really takes to lead creatively. From finding the right coach to using AI without guilt, you’ll learn how to free up your mental space, ditch the “I should know better” stories, and reconnect to the spark that made you love this work in the first place.

🧘‍♀️ Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Coaching fuels creativity.
Stepping outside the day-to-day hustle with the support of a coach can reignite your creative energy and help you see your yoga business from a fresh perspective. The right coaching relationship can shift you from reactive problem-solving to intentional, inspired leadership.

2️⃣ Problem-solving is a creative practice.
Just like teaching yoga, creativity in business comes from perspective. Move beyond putting out fires and start zooming out to see patterns, possibilities, and new approaches. The most successful yoga entrepreneurs think like creative problem-solvers—balancing micro, macro, and visionary views.

3️⃣ Release shame to unlock flow.
Shame is one of the biggest creativity blockers for yoga teachers and studio owners. Acknowledge it, feel it, and then let it move through you. Freedom and lightness—hallmarks of creativity—only come when we stop holding ourselves hostage to “getting it right.”

4️⃣ AI isn’t cheating—it’s a tool.
When used with intention, AI can act as your creative assistant. From brainstorming class ideas to managing admin tasks, this tech can support your vision so you can stay focused on your purpose and your students.

RESOURCES

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Bridget’s Website

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

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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.

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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.

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