Yoga Teacher Chats

hOMe Yoga just celebrated its first birthday, so it feels like the perfect time to share a little of the story behind how it all began. In this solo episode, Ashley takes a trip down memory lane to the first time she tried yoga, the practice that changed the trajectory of her life, and the teachers and community members who helped her find her way into teaching. Spoiler alert: opening a yoga studio was never the plan!

Plus, Ashley shares what’s coming up at hOMe Yoga for the rest of the year, including community yoga classes, the studio’s first birthday celebration, a Thanksgiving donation class, and some exciting workshops on the horizon.

Whether you’ve been part of the hOMe Yoga community from the beginning or have never stepped foot in the studio, this episode is a little glimpse into the journey, the people, and the unexpected turns that got her to where she is today.

Check out Ashley's first yogahour playlist here =)

Connect with Ashley on social media: @ashleysimonisyoga and @homeyogamo

Register for upcomings at hOMe Yoga here

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley sits down with Gianna Purcell for a conversation about devotion, the evolution of practice, and what it means to live your yoga beyond the mat.

Gianna shares her unconventional journey into yoga, from leaving her life in Chicago to study in India to years of traveling, teaching, and studying across traditions. They explore how our relationship with practice changes over time, the difference between feeling good in our bodies and becoming obsessed with them, and why a full practice should support our lives rather than dictate them.

The conversation also dives into the importance of continued study, seeking out different teachers and perspectives, honoring the roots of the tradition, and questioning the systems that shape the modern yoga industry. Gianna shares how grief, loss, and unexpected life experiences have transformed her understanding of devotion and continue to shape the work she's drawn to do.

This is thoughtful conversation about staying curious, making space for what matters, and allowing the practice to help us navigate the parts of life we can't control.

Connect with Gianna on social media: @giannayoga

Study with Gianna here: https://giannayoga.com/

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley chats with the one and only Ben Kalra about the many paths of a yoga practice. From Ben’s journey from working in finance to teaching yoga, to the ways his personal practice has continued to evolve, this conversation explores what can happen when we’re willing to step outside of what we know.

They chat about finding your own approach to teaching, the teachers and practices that challenge us, and why there isn’t one right way to practice yoga. They also get into social media, Yoga Alliance, and the importance of questioning the things we participate in rather than simply accepting them as the way things are done.

At the heart of it all is a reminder that we don’t have to stay where we started. There’s room to change our minds, explore new approaches, and find what resonates. All it takes is a curious mind.

Find Ben on social media: @benkalra - www.ben-kalra.com - Find his Sacrd Swag drop of merch swag study with him.

Come practice with him IN REAL LIFE at hOMe Yoga in St. Peters, MO on Friday, December 4th and Saturday, December 5th! Register at homeyogamo.com/schedule

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley sits down with Chloe Haynes, a yoga teacher, musician, software engineer, and all-around fascinating human.

Chloe’s yoga journey started in a pretty unexpected place. As a teenager dealing with autoimmune issues, yoga was introduced to her as something that might “fix” her. Understandably, that framing didn’t exactly make her want to roll out a mat. Years later, she found her way to yoga through Yoga with Adriene and a much different message: find what feels good. What began as a home practice eventually led her into a studio.

They talk about what happens when you slow down enough to actually pay attention. Chloe shares how holding postures initially felt “sandpapery,” how the challenge of staying still eventually became one of her favorite parts of practice, and how learning to zoom in has changed both the way she practices and the way she teaches.

They also talk about the nerves and anxiety that come with being a new teacher, finding confidence through experience, staying a student while becoming a teacher, studying the Yoga Sutras, and why there is always another thread to pull.

And they come back to something Chloe wishes she had heard when she was younger: you are not broken. Yoga isn't something you have to do perfectly, and it isn't here to fix you. It's a tool. One that can help us navigate the human experience, exactly as we are.

Connect with Chloe on social media: @chlo.haynes and @chlo.yoga

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley chats with Jenn Choi Bemis about following what feeds you, staying curious, and trusting that you don’t always have to know where something is leading.

Jenn’s path into yoga wasn’t exactly a straight line. From hot yoga in Portland, to Anusara, to studying with teachers all over the country, to teaching free yoga from climbing areas while living in a van, Jenn has spent years following the things that genuinely spark something in her.

They talk about what it means to be a student, to collect tools and ideas without needing to immediately put them into a box, and to let your teaching evolve by following what excites you. Jen shares how one thing she resisted for years, yogahour, ultimately changed the way she teaches and cues.

They also get into abundance, comparison, the yoga industry, and the question of whether we really need to have everything figured out before we take the next step. Because sometimes the path becomes clear by walking it. And sometimes the best thing you can do is simply follow what feeds you.

Connect with Jenn here:

https://www.movementwithjennchoi.com/

@jennchoimis

[email protected]

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley chats with Kathy Withrow about grief, finding your voice, and what can happen when you give yourself just a little bit of space to listen.

They talk about how yoga helped Kathy move through grief, reconnect with her body, and begin making choices from her own voice rather than from the voices of expectation and “what I’m supposed to do.” They explore topics like discernment, courage, and the way small choices on the mat can become practice for making bigger choices in life.

Kathy also shares what it has looked like to leave a long career in corporate tech without knowing exactly what comes next. It's a conversation about intentional living, creating space, trusting the unknown, and having the courage to choose something different.

Sometimes the beginning of something life-changing doesn't look particularly significant. Perhaps, it's just one hour a week.

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley chats with Josh Holder to talk about practice, consistency, devotion, and what happens when yoga becomes less something we do and more something we live.

Josh found yoga while looking for a way to work with chronic pain and understand his body differently. What started with a $30-for-30-days yoga challenge quickly became a deep dive into practice, philosophy, meditation, and eventually teaching.

They talk about the importance of returning to the practice over and over again, especially when life gets in the way. Josh shares what consistency has taught him, how stepping away from teaching eventually brought him back to it, and why the practice doesn't always look like being on a yoga mat.

They also discuss finding your own voice as a teacher, being open to what the practice brings, and what it means to practice with an open heart. Because sometimes the practice is the posture. Sometimes it's the breath. Sometimes it's sitting on a bus. And sometimes it's simply coming back.

Connect with Josh on social media: @joshua_tree_wellness

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

What if fear isn't something we need to eliminate, but something we can practice moving through?

On today's episode, Ashley sits down with the wonderful Debby Siegel to talk about her winding and unexpected journey with yoga and all the ways the practice has shaped how she moves through the world.

Debby shares how a Warrior 3 in a yurt at a summer camp became the beginning of her yoga journey, how the practice carried her through divorce and major life transitions, and how a barter for a yoga teacher training eventually opened the door to teaching.

They talk about climbing, creativity, injury, aging, teaching without demonstrating, and the importance of continuing to learn. Debby shares how her meniscus injury changed the way she practices and teaches, giving her a deeper understanding of bodies that don't move the way hers always has.

Ashley and Debby talk about fear and how Debby sees climbing as a way to “shrink your fear muscle,” and the same idea applies beautifully to yoga: we encounter something that scares or challenges us, we breathe, we stay curious, and we discover that maybe we're capable of more than we thought.

At the heart of this conversation is Debby's belief that she'll never stop being a student. Yoga doesn't ask us to arrive. It keeps giving us opportunities to grow, change, listen, and learn.

In this episode, topics of conversation include:

How Debby found yoga during a major life transition. The Warrior 3 that started it all. Why “the ego brought me in”. Yoga as more than fitness. Shrinking your fear muscle. Creativity and the labels we inherit. The importance of being a lifelong student. How injury changed Debby's practice and teaching. Teaching without demonstrating. Refining our language as teachers. Finding a teacher who speaks to you. Yoga, community, and relationship. Debby's relationship with Yoga Alliance. Kindness, gratitude, and what we put out into the world

Connect with Debby on social media: @debby_yogogirls

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

In today's episode, Ashley sits down with Wendy Webb, a longtime yoga teacher and student living in Maine, to talk about what it means to keep learning.

Wendy shares her journey from a first teacher training filled with self-doubt and discomfort to more than two decades of teaching, countless trainings, studying with Darren Rhodes, and eventually leading teacher trainings of her own. Along the way, they talk about lineage, the desire to keep studying, and how every teacher training becomes an opportunity to study something much deeper: ourselves.

They also explore discomfort, perfectionism, Yoga Alliance, adapting teacher training to meet the needs of individual students, and the idea that yoga isn't necessarily about making life easier, but about becoming more present and more equipped to navigate the life we're actually living.

Because after all, the teacher never stops being the student.

Some topics of conversation:

Following the pull toward yoga, even when the voice in your head says you're not ready.

The discomfort of being a student and learning to stay with it.

The importance of lineage and the teachers who shape the way we teach.

Why continued study isn't about collecting certifications.

Teaching teacher trainings and discovering that the teacher is still learning.

Meeting students where they are and allowing the practice to evolve.

A complicated relationship with Yoga Alliance.

Yoga as a lens for navigating the world with more presence.

And why the conversations we have on our mats might matter far beyond the mat.

Connect with Wendy on social media: @wendywebbyoga

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com

On today's episode, Ashley sits down with Kate Bee of Somavia for another chat, and this time they're going deeper into what it actually means to study yoga beyond the 200-hour certification.

Ashley and Kate talk about the difference between learning information and learning how to teach, why becoming a teacher requires a deeper level of discernment, and what it means to hold a space that is both supportive and challenging.

Kate breaks down the philosophy behind Somavia's 300-hour training, including moving from teaching shapes to teaching principles, developing more diverse and resilient ways of responding, working with the individual rather than the generalized group, and exploring Ayurveda, fascia, breathwork, pranayama, meditation, and therapeutic applications, and so much more.

But ultimately, this conversation isn't really about another certification.

It's about what happens when you're still hungry.

When you know there's more to learn. When your yoga practice starts asking more of you. When you want yoga to become a life practice rather than something you simply teach or practice on a mat.

Because, as Kate says in this episode, sometimes the deeper wisdom doesn't yell or scream. It whispers.

If you've been wondering what's next in your teaching, your practice, or your own relationship with yoga, this conversation is for you.

Find Kate's website here: https://soma-via.com/500-hr-ytt

Book your discovery call today: https://calendly.com/somavia/500hr-discovery-call?month=2026-08

Find Kates first interview on Yoga Teacher Chats here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QRB6IKBWsBnlq0wE1Oqs4

Thank you for listening. <3

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ashleysimonisyoga.substack.com