Conversations for Yoga Teachers

Teacher Spotlight on Meagan Donoghue (EP.13)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 13 and I’m your host, Karen Fabian, the Founder of Bare Bones Yoga.  Today we’re going to talk to a fellow yoga teacher and have an in-depth conversation about a number of topics that all teachers face throughout their teaching career. We’ll cover the business side of teaching, to the transition you make when you graduate from training to teaching, some of the fears that come up and a whole host of other thoughts.

 

As teachers, I’m sure you can relate to the idea that we’re all just ships passing in the night; we’re all busy and often don’t have time to sit down and have a chat. This conversation is just that; a time for teachers to meet and talk about teaching related topics, share ideas and thoughts on personal and teacher development.

So, to hear all about it, listen right here!

Decision Making: From the Head or From the Heart (EP.12)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 12 and today we’re going to talk about one of my favorite subjects: BRAIN SCIENCE! Now, let me tell you; as yoga teachers, it’s imperative we understand more about the brain then just a passing few bits of information here and there because we’re in the business of teaching movement. And, to understand what’s behind that, there’s more than the mechanical aspects we discuss in the anatomy; there’s also the impact of course, of the brain on movement, learning, memory, sensation and more. 

 

Let me start out by saying this: This guest, whom I’ll introduce to you in a moment, is part of my special wellness event coming up in January called The Bare Bones Yoga Urban Wellness Weekend. This event is a two day opportunity for you to practice yoga, meditation, learn myofascial release, hear from expert speakers on different aspects of wellness, including today’s guest who will be talking about neuroscience, eat healthy food, hear inspiring stories from the speaker panel and more. It’s really a life changing line up that’s meant to shift your ways of thinking in positive ways and give you real information, not fluff stuff, about how to improve your health!

This event is Jan 12/13 in Cambridge MA. To sign up, all you need to do is go on my website home page. And guess what? Early bird rates apply until 12/15 AND for being a podcast listener, you get a $25 discount off registration! To get it, just email me BEFORE YOU SIGN UP, say you want the podcast listener discount and I’ll send you a special link to pay. AND, I’m also running a REFER a friend discount so you can get $25 just for referring a friend! (Details on the event page)

What are we going to cover? Today, we’re going to dive into an aspect of neuroscience that’s critical to personal development: that of how to decide whether to listen to your head or your heart. While this might not, at first glance, seem like a topic central to teaching, think again. I’ll dive into the rationale behind it shortly.

 

So, let’s get to the next step, introducing Jen Riggs!

 

Jennifer Riggs, JD, CNTC is a certified neuroscience coach, speaker and former lawyer who helps people shift out of a surviving brain to a thriving brain. Her 5-part framework integrates neuroscience, coaching, mindfulness and mind-body principles. Jennifer’s whole-person approach to change builds brain integration, resilience, leadership capacities and well-being. Jennifer is certified by the Coaches Training Institute and is an accredited member of the International Coaches Federation. She is certified as a neuro-transformational coach (CNTC) by BeAbove Leadership. Jennifer researches neuroscience, stress and change for her coaching program and blog (at jenriggs.com). In addition, Jennifer has a 20-year yoga practice, over 700 hours of yoga-teacher training, and a mindfulness meditation practice. In her interactive presentation,

 

Now, there are many different aspects of neuroscience and Jen’s presentation at the Urban Wellness Weekend will focus on how the brain reacts to stress, how stress affects our thinking, and how you can improve your response by connecting to your thriving brain. Today what we’re going to discuss is a dilemma many of us have had before:

 

Have you ever felt like your head said one thing and your heart said another? Which one should you follow?
It's a tough one, because whatever you decide, it seems as if either your rational thoughts or your feelings are going to lose out. Now, while this doesn’t specifically apply to yoga teaching per se, if you think about it, there are many applications of this to our development as people. And THIS most certainly applies to teaching. If you’ve listened to some of my earlier episodes that highlight personal growth topics, I’m a huge supporter of teachers doing personal development work in order to improve their teaching. Teaching effectively comes from a deep knowledge of oneself and if we’re struggling with personal issues, it’s hard for us to be effective as a teacher. 

 

So let’s begin!

Overcoming Challenges: Meet Jenny Sichel, Coach and Competitive Rower (EP.11)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 11 and today we’re going to be talking about overcoming challenges. This is certainly a topic we ALL can relate to and my guest has a unique perspective on it. She works with people with physical disabilities, coaching them in one of the toughest sports out there: crew.

 

Let me start out by saying this: This guest, whom I’ll introduce to you in a moment, is part of my special wellness event coming up in January called The Bare Bones Yoga Urban Wellness Weekend. This event is a two day opportunity for you to practice yoga, meditation, learn myofascial release, hear from expert speakers on different aspects of wellness, eat healthy food, hear inspiring stories from the speaker panel and more. It’s really a life changing line up that’s meant to shift your ways of thinking in positive ways and give you real information, not fluff stuff, about how to improve your health!

This event is Jan 12/13 in Cambridge MA. To check out the event, all you need to do is go to the link above. And guess what? Early bird rates apply until 12/15 AND for being a podcast listener, you get a $25 discount off registration! To get it, just email me BEFORE YOU SIGN UP, say you want the podcast listener discount and I’ll send you a special link to pay.

So, let’s get to the next step, introducing Jenny Sichel!

Jennifer Sichel is an American coxswain. She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, won 3 silver medals from the World Rowing Championships and a silver medal from the 2016 Paralympic Games. She is a Royal Canadian Henley Regatta champion, a five-time Head of the Charles Regatta champion, and three-time U.S. national champion. She is the coordinator for the Youth Para Rowing (Adaptive Rowing) Department at Community Rowing in Boston. 

So, think about this. Think about something you really want to do but you’ve got an obstacle in the way. It could be a mental block, a fear; it could be a physical challenge.. maybe you don’t think you’re strong enough or have the endurance. A story that you might hear now and again is that of someone who wants to run a marathon and they’ve never run one before. They might have both mental fears and physical obstacles that get in their way. How do you handle challenges? That’s in large part what we’ll touch on today.

Let’s get to it!

Anatomy, Foundation and Design: Meet Plank Designs, product innovators in yoga (EP.10)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 10 and today I’ve got a special podcast because we have TWO guests on! This is going to be an episode that shares inspiring stories as well as anatomy information. I’m sure you wondering how those two things will blend together? Well, you’ll have to stay tuned to find out.

 

Let me start out by saying this: These two guests, whom I’ll introduce to you in a moment, are part of my special wellness event coming up in January called The Bare Bones Yoga Urban Wellness Weekend. This event is a two day opportunity for you to practice yoga, meditation, learn myofascial release, hear from expert speakers on different aspects of wellness, eat healthy food, hear inspiring stories from the speaker panel and more. It’s really a life changing line up that’s meant to shift your ways of thinking in positive ways and give you real information, not fluff stuff, about how to improve your health!

This event is Jan 12/13 in Cambridge MA. To sign up, all you need to do is go on my website home page, www.barebonesyoga.com . And guess what? Early bird rates apply until 12/15 AND for being a podcast listener, you get a $25 discount off registration! To get it, just email me BEFORE YOU SIGN UP, say you want the podcast listener discount and I’ll send you a special link to pay.

What are we going to cover? So, today, as I said, I’m going to introduce you to some product innovators in the area of yoga. Plank Designs is a company dedicated to improving your practice by giving you access to their trademark yoga mats. We’ll hear from their Founder and Chief Evangelist officer today but lest you think this is a commercial, think again.  The story here really lies in the inspiration for creating this kind of product, which lies in the Founder’s appreciation and knowledge of anatomy as well as how her approach to practice helped shift the Chief Evangelist’s officer’s life in amazing directions. 

Let’s get going!

Teacher Chat about Anatomy: Meet Gabby DeLorenze PART 2 (EP.09)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 9 and today I’ve got a special treat for you. Some of you may have caught episode 6, which was one of the most popular episodes so far. In it, I interview yoga teacher Gabby DeLorenze, founder of Soul to Sole Wellness, as she specializes in anatomy just as I do! And from the responses, you loved it so much, that we decided to get together to do another one! Truth be told, we had a long list of topics for part 1 and just could not get to each one so we already knew then that we’d do another. I’m so happy Gabby was able to make time in her busy teaching schedule to join me here!

 

Now listen up because we both have something to offer you, beyond the podcast itself. Gabby tells you how you can get her anatomy book online at a discount and I share how you can get a $25 discount off my fun and inspiring health and wellness conference I’m hosting in January called The Bare Bones Yoga Urban Wellness Weekend! 

 

Listen up for those offers!

Teacher to Teacher Chat, Meet Kristen Wilson (EP.08)

Hello and welcome to a special episode, Episode 8, of the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast, Conversations for Yoga Teachers. Today, I want to introduce you to Kristen Wilson, a yoga teacher in Canada, who is almost a year out from graduating from teacher training. Kristen is one of my online course students, as having purchased my premier anatomy training program called, “Your Yoga Anatomy Blueprint.” She’s gone through this online course and has had two of my coaching sessions as well, as part of the program. She’s an integral part of my online community and contributes her thoughtful questions in my anatomy workgroup, called “The Bare Bones Yoga Anatomy Workgroup” on Facebook. I asked Kristen to join me on the podcast to share some of what inspired and motivated her to get into teaching and what some of the challenges have been for her in this first year of teaching. I think you’ll really appreciate her honesty and inquisitive nature, not only about her own practice but about her teaching. 

 

Learning from other teachers and hearing what they’re up to is a great way to expand your own knowledge of what’s out there as well as helping you realize that a great deal of those thoughts you may be having about teaching are shared by other teachers too. I thank Kristen for joining me! 

Types of Cues to Use in Yoga Teaching (EP.07)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 7 and today we’re going to be talking about one of my favorite teaching topics: Cues! Yes, the CUES you USE can really make or break your students’ experience. Why? Because say it in a certain way, they’ll have no idea what you mean. Say it in an effective way, they’ll remember it forever!

What are we going to cover? Today’s episode is called: “Types of Cues to Use in Yoga Teaching.” HMMMMMMM…when I say TYPES of Cues, what comes to mind? Think for a second… what categories of cues might there be? Well, we’re going to cover all that and more in this one AND at the end, I share a special resource I have that can help you learn even more about cues, so stayed tuned for it!

Teacher Chat about Anatomy: Meet Gabby DeLorenze (EP.06)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 6 and today I’ve got a special treat for you. Instead of another solo episode where I share anatomy and other yoga related information with you, today I’m bringing on another yoga teacher, Gabby DeLorenze, who specializes in anatomy and we’re going to break down a ton of your questions about anatomy!

What are we going to cover? Well, we’ve got a packed agenda for you. Gabby and I have been at work over the past several weeks putting our heads together to come up with some of the most common questions we get in our trainings, workshops and classes. We’re going to format this as a “Q and A” kind of thing, so that you get to hear from both of us on the questions.

And, we both will share special FREE resources you can get from both of us to learn more about anatomy. We share these at the end of the episode and you’ll see the links to both in the show notes on my website’s podcast page, www.barebonesyoga.com.

Five key anatomy concepts to build your confidence in sharing anatomy with your students (EP.05)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 5 and today we’re going to be talking about one of my favorite teaching topics: Anatomy! Yes, this is my specialty, my passion, one of the reasons I LOVE teaching yoga so much; the chance to teach people about their bodies in an understandable way so they are empowered with accurate information and can take care of themselves both on and off the mat. 

What are we going to cover? Today’s episode is going to teach you 5 key anatomy concepts which will help you build your confidence in sharing anatomy with your students. What do understanding ANATOMY and CONFIDENCE have to do with each other? Well, the more you know about this subject, which is so much a part of the movement practice of yoga, the greater confidence you’ll have in sharing this critical information with your students. 

I also want to share that there is a special offer at the end of the episode so don’t miss that part!

Who are you BEING as a yoga teacher? (EP.04)

Hello, and WELCOME to the Bare Bones Yoga Podcast: Conversations for Yoga Teachers! This is EPISODE 4 and today we’re going to dive DEEP in the mind. We’re taking about “ways of being” as a theme and what “ways of being” you’re BEING as a yoga teacher. I’m going to start out by asking you some questions aimed at getting you to connect to how you feel when you teach. These questions are meant to get to the heart and soul of what drives you as you teach, even more than what techniques you use, what cues you offer, what sequences you teach and what poses are involved. It’s meant to be an exploration of what you consider to be your identity as a teacher.

 

I’ll then describe certain “ways of being” as a yoga teacher and I’ll go into strategies you can use to help you better connect to these ideas and concepts as you continue to grow as a teacher. This episode needs your input! Meaning, I really want to know what you think when you listen. So leave a comment on i tunes, podbean or on my website’s podcast page. Let me know!