The Mentor Sessions

Today I'm revisiting one of the ideas I talked about when I first started the podcast nine years ago: the idea that yoga teachers need to find their "ideal student" or a very specific niche in order to build a successful teaching career.

I still believe there is some value in getting specific about who we're speaking to when we communicate about our work. Specific language can make our marketing more compe...

In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm revisiting an idea I first explored many years ago: that teaching yoga asana primarily with words rather than relying on the body to demonstrate every pose is a skill many teachers benefit from working on.

I demonstrate as little as possible when I teach. And while I don't think demonstrating is inherently bad, I do think it can become a habit that keeps us from ...

There is no cookie-cutter approach to private yoga teaching.

The most effective private teachers learn to listen carefully, think critically, stay curious, and trust their ability to adapt. Private teaching is not about giving someone a customized version of a group class. It's about creating a collaborative practice that responds to who they are, what they need, and where they are right now. 

In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, Francesca talks with Andrew Tanner, founder and CEO of the American Yoga Council (AYC), about his vision for creating a healthier, more sustainable yoga ecosystem.

Andrew brings more than 20 years of experience as a yoga teacher, studio owner, business consultant, technology leader, and former Yoga Alliance executive. His career has taken him from teaching and owning...

If you've ever felt like building a successful yoga career means becoming an influencer, constantly creating content, or perfecting your personal brand, this episode is for you.

Today I'm sharing a different perspective—one that's rooted in the way I believe sustainable yoga careers are actually built. While marketing and visibility have their place, the longest-lasting teaching careers aren't create...

Many yoga teachers are intrigued by the idea of teaching private clients but feel held back by self-doubt, uncertainty, or the practical realities of self-employment. In this episode, I unpack the most common concerns I hear from teachers who want to teach one-on-one but don't yet feel confident enough to begin.

Drawing from more than two decades of experience teaching private yoga clients, I explore why c...

Teaching yoga involves far more than the hours we spend with our yoga students. Behind every yoga class we teach there is a significant amount of planning, relationship-building, scheduling, administration, marketing, and financial management. In this episode, I share the practical systems that have helped me build a sustainable yoga teaching career over the last two decades.

Following up on our recent con...

As yoga teachers, we spend a lot of time talking about teaching techniques, sequencing, cueing, and professional growth. But there's another side of this work that often goes unnamed: the hidden labor of teaching yoga.

In this episode, I explore the physical, emotional, mental, and administrative work that happens behind the scenes of a yoga teaching career. From building a business one class at a time to ...

Have you ever been in a yoga class where the yoga teacher gives a long dharma talk about ahimsa, and then when the movement practice begins the teaching style feels very aggressive? Or maybe you have been that teacher yourself. I know I have!

I think there are really subtle and beautiful ways to teach the movement part of yoga in a way that has the deeper philosophical teachings embedded within it, but mos...

In this solo episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm sharing a more personal, behind-the-scenes look at my life right now and the things that are genuinely helping me stay grounded, connected, and functional during a very full season of teaching, parenting, and activism.

After asking on Instagram what kinds of episodes you wanted more of, one request came up again and again: more real-life context about how I ...

You may not have known it, but if you teach public yoga classes you have taught someone who's life has been touched by cancer. In this episode, I'm joined by Tari Prinster, a true pioneer in the field of oncology yoga. Tari is a cancer survivor, author, and founder of Yoga for Cancer (Y4C), a methodology that has trained thousands of yoga and healthcare professionals around the world.

We go deep into what ...

Yess Yoga is a yoga studio in Minneapolis one block from where Alex Pretti was murdered by Border Patrol agents in January of this year. 

In this episode, I'm joined by Minneapolis-based yoga teacher and studio owner Lucia Yess. Our conversation is both heartbreaking and deeply inspiring as we explore what it means to truly live our yoga off the mat, especially in moments of crisis.

Lucia...

In this solo episode, I'm zooming out from the quick, in-the-moment burnout strategies I shared in Episode 171 and looking at the bigger picture. I want to talk about why so many yoga teachers are burning out—and what I've seen actually work instead.

My core premise is simple: the career model most of us were trained into doesn't work for most people anymore. If you're exhausted, underpaid, and ques...

If you are feeling stretched thin by endless group classes, long hours, and low pay you are not alone. In this episode, I share six simple, actionable things you can do this week to start shifting out of overwhelm. These are not big, life-changing plans—just small, powerful adjustments that can immediately help you feel calmer, clearer, and more grounded in your teaching life.

Burnout doesn't always ...

In this expansive conversation, I got a chance to talk to yoga and Ayurveda teacher, mentor, and author Indu Aurora to explore what yoga truly is — and what it is not.

We started by unpacking one of Indu's powerful statements:

"The goal of yoga is yoga. Everything else is a side benefit."

This conversation invites teachers to look beyond flexibility, strength, and stress rel...

In today's podcast epsiode, I sat down with a yoga therapist, teacher, spiritual caregiver and a good friend of mine, Sarah Capua. We explored what it means to practice—and teach—yoga in a time of political upheaval, climate crisis, and cultural fragmentation.

In this conversation, we reflect on power, misperception, collective responsibility, spiritual bypassing, and the role of yoga teachers ...

American yoga teachers have a unique role in fighting fascism. We are deeply practiced in the tools that help us (and our students) feel clear, steady, focused, calm and resilient. And if you read the teachings the way I do, we have a powerful directive to engage in direct social action. 

Lovingkindness meditation says, "May All Beings Be Safe And Free" and that is not just a nice idea, but a mandate ...

I am so honored to be joined on the podcast by my teacher Cyndi Lee. As a senior yoga teacher, author, and Buddhist chaplain—Cyndi talks to us about what's being gained, lost, and misunderstood as artificial intelligence enters yoga, writing, and teaching spaces.

Cyndi reflects on her five decades of practice and teaching. As the founder of Om Yoga Center in New York City, a global hub for yogis from...

In this episode of The Mentor Sessions, I'm joined by Lizzie Lasseter for a wide-ranging conversation about teaching yoga in a rapidly evolving world. Lizzie is a designer, educator, and second-generation yoga teacher with over 20 years of experience. As the daughter of Judith Hanson Lasseter, Lizzie grew up immersed in the Iyengar lineage, while also carving out her own path as a teacher, business owner, and working p...