Yoga Teacher Talk

Power Yoga and its sister practices of Vinyasa Flow and Hot Power Yoga have important roots in India where a unbroken line of gurus (beginning with Krishnamacarya, and his student Sri K Pattabhi Jois), have led Ashtanga Yoga classes for a century. Ashtanga (the eight limbs of yoga), is a highly-structured style of yoga that is based on an individual student’s personal practice and growth, rather than the Westernized power flow yoga which is taught as a group lesson, where students are flowing in sync. Both utilize Sun Salutations to develop strength, discipline and focus.

This episode features Mauren Dinkins, a Florida-based Ashtanga Yoga teacher and studio owner, who studied Ashtanga yoga over many years with Sharath Jois, in Mysore India. She then studied with Ajay Kumar at Ashtanga School Sthalam 8, where she deepened her methodology. While in Mysore, India, Dinkins spent many afternoons in the home of Dr. M.A. Jayashree & Professor Narasimhan learning Sanskrit, the Yoga Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras, as well as transcendental meditation. These two teachers had the biggest effect on her yoga journey, she says, because they explained how to truly live the Eight Limbs of Yoga.

In this episode, Dinkins also shares how she incorporates the Eight Limbs in her daily life, and importance of an individual learning path and practice.

Quick Links

Website: ashtangaorlando.com
Pinterest: Ashtanga Orlando
Instagram: @maureendinkins

What if the reason your students keep hitting the same wall in a pose has nothing to do with their muscles? In this episode, host Becca Schmidt sits down with Dusti Meeks to pull back the curtain on fascia — the body's mysterious, interconnected support web. What is it actually made of? Where does it live? And why are seemingly unrelated body parts secretly talking to each other through it?

Get ready to have some long-held assumptions challenged:

🔗 Flexibility isn't just a muscle game. Fascia wraps around every muscle, bone, and organ in one continuous web — which explains why some students plateau in poses no matter how much they stretch.

🔗 That injury might not be coming from where you think. Many injuries trace back to fascial restrictions in completely different areas than expected. Learn to spot compensation patterns before they spiral into chronic pain.

🔗 The tongue and the toes are connected. Seriously. Discover how the ribcage shapes your breath capacity, how a hip opener can melt away shoulder tension, and why slow, deliberate fascia work often beats static stretching.

Plus: practical ways yoga can support healthy fascia — think cross-body movement, soft repetitive stretches, and intentional breathwork — so you can bring this game-changing knowledge straight into your teaching.

Once you understand fascia, you'll never look at a yoga pose the same way again.

Dusti Meeks, certified Licensed Massage Therapist with 13 years experience including specialties in Sports, Orthopedic, Neuromuscular, Arthritis and Prenatal massage. Currently Head of Therapy at New Dimensions Wellness

New Dimension Wellness Club:  ndwellness.com 

Additional resources: 

TheFloss.com 

Fascia – What It Is, and Why It Matters, Second Edition by David Lesondak

Yoga: Fascia, Anatomy and Movement by Joanne Avison

A Yogi's Guide to Fascia: What it is, Why and How to work with it by Erin Bourne

Yoga Teacher Talk is back! Join us next week as Becca sits down with Dusti Meeks to talk about all things related to Fascia. 

In this episode, host Becca Schmidt shares ideas on how using the scientific method can help your students understand Svadhyaya — the practice of self-study. Just like the scientific method, Svadhyaya emphasizes observation, questioning what appears to be true, creating some educated guesses, experimentation through trial and error, and oftentimes a paradigm shift. 

Yoga teachers typically cue our students to make an intention at the beginning of class. In this episode, Becca suggests we cue our students not to to start their yoga practice with intention (knowing the outcome) but rather, with inquiry (not knowing the outcome). Throughout the practice, encourage your students to question “why” and “what if”,  prompting them to create a series of hypotheses, exploring the effects of subtle adjustments in breath control, energy management, alignment, drishti and transitions between poses. 

By experimenting with incremental shifts, students will better understand the importance of deep self-study and change, as it pertains not only to the yoga pratice, but in life as well.  

Becca Schmidt has been teaching yoga since 2004 and strives to help students understand yoga philosophy as it pertains to Twenty First Century Living. Reach out to Becca with your ideas for future podcasts at [email protected] 

Why does flowing yoga feel so good? 

Because flow is the natural order of the universe. When we move like water, or air, or fire, we are experiencing an extraordinary connection with life all around us. This experience is known as life force, or prana or chi.

Becca shares stories from the book “The Well-Lived Life” by Dr. Gladys McGarey, who believes that movement is a human’s most natural state, and stagnation is detrimental to a person’s health. This episode demonstrates how yoga teachers can help their students recognize where mental and physical energy is blocked, and, with a flowing yoga practice, learn to release stagnation and connect to the natural rhythms of the Earth.

Bask in the vibrant colors of New Delhi. Walk in the footsteps of the Beatles at the Maharishi Mahesh ashram and visit the sacred Kunjapari Temple in Rishikesh. Experience Ayurvedic foods and treatments from master instructors. Dance to sacred music, and even get a gorgeous henna tatoo! In this episode, Krystal Gignac, yoga instructor and founder of Adventure India, takes Becca on a virtual tour of Northern India, and shares her tips on the best ways to plan a life changing trip to the land of aromatic spices.      

Contact Krystal / Adventure India / Grounded University at 

[email protected]

FB/Insta Krystal Gignac 

FB/Insta: Grounded University 

Website: www.grounded.university

Background music via https://www.FesliyanStudios.com

Are you ready to co-teach your next yoga class or workshop? Becca invites you to the inside lane of tag-team teaching, with dynamic duo, Holly Idzick and David Ricklck, who share their five best practices for a seemless class. Discover why co-teaching with someone you trust is guaranteed to bring an game-changing energy to your programs. A few highlights from this episode:

Holly and David present Five Best Practices for Co-Teaching: 

  1. Clear Communication: Establishing open and transparent communication channels.

  2. Defined Roles: Clarifying each co-teacher's responsibilities and strengths.

  3. Seamless Integration: Ensuring smooth transitions between teaching styles.

  4. Trust and Flexibility: Being adaptable to changes in the classroom setting including equipment failure or inclement weather.  

  5. Reflective Practices: Regularly evaluating and improving co-teaching strategies 

To find out more about Holly, find her here:

Instagram: @yogabyholly

Sweatpals - Yogabyholly

To reach David check him out here:
Facebook: David Ricklick
LinkedIn: David Ricklick

To connect with your host, Becca Schmidt, take a look here: 

www.yogateachertalk.com 

[email protected] 

Welcome to Yoga Teacher Talk (formerly The Language of Yoga) and what a season premiere it is! Host Becca is joined by her guest Rachel Chase, a dancer-turned-energy healer, yoga teacher, and therapist whose path is anything but ordinary.

Rachel's story begins where all great stories do: in the body. She came into this world moving, and dance became her first language — her communion with the divine. But the road from semi-professional dancer to Reiki master, yoga teacher, past life regression practitioner, and Holistic Mental Health Counselor and Spiritual Guide was paved with injuries, personal breakthroughs, and a courageous journey that has brought her to where she is today.

Rachel shares how she blends gentle yoga, somatic processing, energy work, breathwork, creative movement, and self exploration into an integrative healing practice, and why she intentionally stepped away from rigid alignment cuing to hold space for her students' inner wisdom instead.

Join us as Rachel and Becca share practical advice on the creative spirit of yoga teachers, leading your first workshop, and giving yourself permission to teach in your own beautifully imperfect way. Enjoy!

Connect with Rachel Chase:
Rachel's website: www.rachelchase.com
Her ebook Healing with Self Compassion: www.freecompassionbook.com
Somatic Healing Sessions Podcast: www.rachelchase.com/podcast
Online on-demand courses: www.rachelchasecourses.com
Hummingbird Medicine Wisdom School, a devotional community for wise women:
www.rachelchase.com/hummingbird-medicine/html

Connect with host Becca Schmidt, E-RYT500 / YACEP:
Email: [email protected]
Website: yogateachertalk.com
Instagram: @bluemoonyogaorlandofl

Welcome to a sneak peak of our newly rebranded show, Yoga Teacher Talk. We have transitioned away from our name "The Language of Yoga", but the spirit is still very much alive. Make sure to tune in to our first episode of Season 4 with Rachel Chase. Thanks for listening!

Bethanne Weiss, Author of the book  "Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank", and founder of FUNIQ Fitness®, shares her strategy on keeping students motivated to move. A big secret is using humor and radient positivity. Join Becca and Bethanne in this fun episode where you will begin to feel  "more joy and less oye” about teaching!

Find out about Beth’s programs at BethanneWellness.com.

Podcast: MoreJOYLessOYpodcast.com 

Book: Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank on Amazon or you can purchase a signed copy from me at a live event.

Email: [email protected]

Contact host, Becca Schmidt, E-RYT500 / YACEP
[email protected]
Website: bluemoon.yoga
Instagram: @bluemoonyogaorlandofl