Yoga Teacher Chats

What happens when you stop waiting to feel qualified and simply begin?

In today's episode, Ashley sits down with entrepreneur and 30HOT Studio owner Kendel Locke to talk about building businesses, cultivating community, and discovering that sometimes the greatest opportunities come from paying attention to what's missing.

Before opening 30HOT Studio, Kendall had only attended a handful of yoga classes. While completing her 200-hour teacher training, she opened the studio anyway and learned to teach, lead, and grow alongside her community.

Together, Ashley and Kendal explore:

Why waiting until you feel "ready" might keep you from building something meaningful.

How Hula Bowls was born from recognizing an unmet need in her hometown.

Opening a yoga studio before finishing teacher training.

The value of teaching a simple, familiar sequence instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

Finding your voice as a teacher through repetition, curiosity, and experience.

Why beginners often make the best teachers for beginners.

Building authentic community where strangers become familiar faces, and familiar faces become friends.

Creating spaces that are accessible, welcoming, and centered on belonging rather than perfection.

Kendal's perspective on the Yoga Alliance and why she chooses not to register.

This conversation is a reminder that confidence is often built after we begin, not before. Because sometimes the best thing you can do is see a need... and build the thing.

Connect with Kendel on social media: @kendellocke - @30hotstudio - @hulabowlshannibal - @hulabowlsquincy - @hulabowlswebster

Visit 30HOT's website here: https://www.30hotstudio.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

What happens when we have the courage to question everything we've been taught?

In today's episode, Ashley sits down with the incredible Gioconda Parker- teacher, mentor, and lifelong student for a deeply honest conversation about faith, curiosity, the practice and the winding path that brought her home to herself.

Gia shares how yoga didn't change who she was, it helped her remember who she had always been. Together, they explore what it means to question with openness instead of fear, why remaining a student is one of the greatest gifts a teacher can offer, and how our unique life experiences become part of the lineage we carry forward.

This conversation is for you if you've ever wondered where you belong, wrestled with your beliefs, or found yourself returning to the practice again and again. Not to become someone new, but to come home to yourself.

Connect with Gia on social media: @giocondayoga and @one.om.yoga.school

Visit her website: https://giocondayoga.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 sits down with the one and only Christina Sell to talk about the long game of yoga, and the slow, steady process of learning, growing, and becoming.

Through stories, laughter, and lessons learned along the way, they explore what it means to keep showing up when progress feels slow, when the body challenges us, and when the practice asks us to be patient.

From elephants to hamstrings (yes, really), this conversation reminds us that yoga isn’t about arriving at some final destination. It’s about the journey. Remaining curious, staying humble, and continuing to practice.

Because the greatest transformations often happen not in the moments when everything feels easy, but in the moments when we choose to keep going.

This conversation is for you if you’ve ever wondered whether the slow work is worth it, if you’ve been humbled by your own practice, or if you’re learning that the journey itself is the point.

Connect with Christina on social media: @christinasellyoga

Learn from her by visiting her website: https://www.christinasellyoga.com/

https://christinasell.heymarvelous.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 sits down with Desirea Penton-Crosley, owner of Dragon Asana in Gunnison, Colorado, to explore a journey shaped by resilience, reinvention, and an unwavering commitment to the practice. From triathlons and teacher training to opening multiple studios, navigating heartbreak, rebuilding after loss, and finding the courage to begin again, Desiree shares the lessons that only years of practice can teach.

Together they talk about lineage, mentorship, community, studio ownership, the realities of teaching yoga, and why perseverance is less about pushing through and more about continuing to show up. This is a conversation about remaining a student, trusting the process of growth, and discovering that yoga isn't something we perfect, it's something that quietly transforms us over time.

Connect with Desirae on social media: @yogides and @dragonasana

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 Ayurvedic practitioner Priya Chandel to explore what it really means to live in and out of balance. Priya shares her journey from the fast-paced world of nightlife and entertainment to a life rooted in Ayurveda, yoga philosophy, and service. Together they discuss the Bhagavad Gita, finding purpose through life's challenges, the importance of daily practice, and why balance isn't a destination, but an ongoing relationship with ourselves. Whether you're new to Ayurveda or have been studying it for years, this conversation invites you to see health, healing, and the human experience through a new lens.

Connect with Priya on social media: @priyachandel.ayurveda

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 bonus episode, Ashley shares a personal update on buying her first home and the unexpected challenges that arrived almost immediately afterward. Through stories of uncertainty, resilience, and a little plumbing chaos, she reflects on what it means to practice yoga beyond the four corners of the mat.

She also shares what's happening at the studio this month, including the new Sunday Sangha, schedule changes, upcoming workshops, special events, and the studio's Christmas in July class pack promotion.

This episode is a gentle reminder that sometimes the deepest practice isn't found in perfect circumstances.. it's found in learning to trust the process.

Register for classes and workshops at hOMe Yoga here

Register for Yoga and Sound at Lucky Dog Farm 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 chats with Keri Kugler, leadership mentor and strategist, and host of The Aligned Woman Podcast for a conversation about the lifelong process of becoming. Keri shares how she found yoga after not even enjoying her first classes, why her 200-hour teacher training changed the course of her life, and how the practice continues to shape her work as a leadership and business coach.

Together, they explore self-study, trusting the quiet nudges that lead us forward, finding your authentic voice as a teacher, navigating burnout, and why the deepest lessons of yoga continue to unfold long after teacher training ends.

Whether you're a yoga teacher, a student, or simply someone finding your way, this conversation is a reminder that there is no final destination, only the process of becoming, one layer at a time.

Find Keri on social media: @keri_kugler_

Listen to her podcast: The Aligned Woman

Visit her website here: https://www.kerikugler.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 one of her longtime teachers Sam Rice for a conversation about lineage, curiosity, and what it means to keep evolving in practice. Sam reflects on the teachers and experiences that shaped her, the importance of learning the "scales" before finding your own voice, and the humility of recognizing that there are many ways to approach the practice.

Together, they explore the tension between certainty and openness, the wisdom that comes from changing your mind, and why the best teachers never stop being students. This is a conversation about honoring tradition without becoming rigid, trusting experience without clinging to absolutes, and allowing both yoga and life to continue to teach us.

Because perhaps the greatest lesson of all is this: there is a way, but rarely the way.

Connect with Sam on social media: @samriceyoga

Visit her website here: https://www.samriceyoga.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 todays episode, Ashley sits down with longtime teacher, educator, and mentor Candace Glass for a heartfelt conversation about finding yoga through life's hardest moments, the courage it takes to truly know ourselves, and the communities we create through kindness.

Together, they explore the practice beyond the poses, touching on mindfulness, the Bhagavad Gita, teaching children, creating spaces where everyone belongs, and the quiet inner work that allows us to show up more fully in the world. Through her shares Candace reminds us that joy matters, acceptance is a practice, and perhaps most importantly: kindness is the rule.

Connect with Candace on social media: @candace_glass and @wandering_wondering_one

Take class from her on Sunday's from 9:15-10;30am at Pack Dance.

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 bonus episode, Ashley shares reflections from her ongoing teacher training journey and the unexpected lessons emerging along the way. From studying yoga philosophy for the third time to wrestling with questions of purpose, lineage, and what it means to truly practice, this conversation explores the deeper layers of yoga beyond the postures.

Ashley also opens up about a recent realization: that hOMe Yoga may be the very work she's been searching for all along. Along the way, she reflects on the teachers who shaped her path, the value of continued study, and why choosing to learn in a distracted world can feel like a radical act.

Plus, hear about all the workshops, classes, and community events coming up at hOMe Yoga this month.

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

Register for events at hOMe Yoga: https://www.homeyogamo.com/

Register for Yoga and Sound at Lucky Dog Farm: https://www.luckydogmo.com/

Learn more about The Oxygen Project here: https://www.oxygenproject.org/ourstory

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