Yoga Teacher Confidential: Secrets of Becoming a Great Yoga Teacher

Sage Rountree
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Yoga Teacher Confidential is your backstage pass to the unspoken truths of being a yoga teacher. Sage Rountree, PhD, E-RYT500, dives into the real challenges and rewards of teaching yoga, offering expert advice and secrets to help you build confidence, connect with your students, and teach with authenticity. Sage draws on her two decades of experience teaching yoga, owning and running a studio, mentoring yoga teachers, and directing yoga teacher trainings to share practical insights you can use right away. You'll also hear advice from her books, including Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses, The Art of Yoga Sequencing, and The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook. Yoga Off the Mat is coming out in July 2026. Whether you’re navigating imposter syndrome, mastering classroom presence, or refining your skills to teach specialized niches like athletes, this podcast empowers you to lead your classes with clarity, grace, and ease.

  1. 2D AGO

    73. When to Drop a Class: How to Know It's Time to Walk Away

    I recently dropped a class I'd been teaching for nearly 23 years. Monday nights at 6 p.m.—since the literal day when the studio opened in 2004. Walking away from that class was one of the most bittersweet decisions I've ever made. In this episode, I'm sharing the full story of how I came to that decision, along with the signs that it might be time for you to let go of a class: declining numbers, a gut sense that the chapter is complete, burnout, the math not adding up, or a change in your life circumstances. I'm also sharing practical advice for walking away with grace—how to calculate your real hourly rate, how and when to tell your students (including the approach my friend Lisa recommended that worked beautifully), and what to do about the class after you leave. Whether you've been teaching a class for two months or two decades, the process is the same: pay attention to the signs, trust your gut, and give yourself permission to make a change. Listen now! Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    19 min

  2. FEB 10

    72. You Get Who You Get: Teaching Yoga to Unpredictable Audiences

    I was teaching a free yoga class at an outdoor gear store in Edmonton when a woman walked in with a toddler and an infant. Not a sleeping infant in a carrier: these children were alert, wandering, making noise. And if you've ever taught yoga, you know exactly what happens to your nervous system in that moment. In this episode, I'm sharing what I've learned about staying composed—and student-centered—when you truly don't know who's going to show up. From the student who took my breath cues so literally she thought she wasn't allowed to exhale, to people showing up in jeans because they wandered in from the hiking boot section, teaching in unpredictable environments tests everything you think you know about holding space. Here's what saved me in Edmonton: I teach in chunks. When you structure your classes with clear segments-warmup, standing, floor, finishing—you create natural transition points that give you flexibility to redirect, check in, or offer someone a graceful exit. You'll learn why structure is actually what gives you freedom, how to stay student-centered when everything goes sideways, and when to be more explicit with your cues than you think you need to be. Listen now! Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    7 min

  3. FEB 3

    71. What Yoga Teacher Sponsorships Really Look Like

    I once sat next to the drummer from Loverboy on a plane, and we realized our lives were almost identical: city to city, same performance, different crowd, trying to find a salad somewhere. Except he was an actual rock star, and I was coming back from teaching yoga at an REI store in Minneapolis. In this episode, I'm sharing what sponsorships and brand ambassador deals actually look like from the inside. I'll walk you through my journey from cold-pitching Athleta in 2008 to a multi-year, five-figure deal with prAna that sent me touring REI and MEC stores across North America. You'll hear about the wonderful moments—meeting colleagues' parents, visiting cities I never would have seen otherwise, even writing most of my book Racing Wisely during airport downtime. But I'm also honest about the reality: most of the time wasn't spent teaching. It was logistics, travel, and trying to find fiber. If sponsorships aren't on your horizon yet, I've got something practical for you. I'm breaking down the discount programs that major yoga apparel brands offer teachers right now, including 50% off at prAna, 25% off at Lululemon, and 25% off at Athleta. These aren't sponsorships; they're perks of being in this profession. Listen now! Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    8 min

  4. JAN 27

    70. The Planning-Confidence Cycle: Finding the Middle Path Between Overplanning and Winging It

    If you've ever spent three hours planning a sixty-minute yoga class—or shown up with nothing but vibes and hoped for the best—this episode is for you. I'm unpacking what I call the Planning-Confidence Cycle: the exhausting trap that keeps yoga teachers bouncing between meticulous overpreparation and chronic underpreparing. Here's the thing: neither extreme gives you what you actually want. Overplanning leaves you too in your head to see your students. Winging it leaves you uncertain whether your class is even balanced. And both feed the anxiety that keeps the cycle spinning. The ancient yoga teachers understood this tension deeply. In this episode, I'm exploring how sthira and sukha (steadiness and ease) and abhyasa and vairagya (practice and nonattachment) offer us a framework for finding the middle path—where preparation enables responsiveness instead of rigidity. You'll learn practical steps for breaking the cycle: recognizing your tendency, embracing the power of repetition, developing a framework you trust, and experiencing your sequences before you teach them. Plus, I'm inviting you to join the February Lesson Plan Challenge inside The Prep Station—four weeks, four complete lesson plans, practiced in your body and ready to teach. Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    19 min

  5. JAN 20

    69. Applying the Service Mindset to Social Media (Minimalist Instagram for Yoga Teachers)

    Instagram can feel like a second job-especially when you became a yoga teacher to teach, not to perform online. In this episode, I share a simple reframe that takes the pressure down fast: your job on social media is not to entertain the algorithm. Your job is to help the right students find the next step into yoga with you. I walk through three struggles I hear from yoga teachers all the time: hating social media and feeling guilty, spending lots of time on Instagram without seeing fuller classes, and feeling confused about what Instagram is even for if you teach locally. You'll leave with a clear, minimalist way to treat Instagram like a calm little "foyer"-a reassuring business card for the nervous beginner who has already heard your name. Listen now! Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    19 min

  6. JAN 13

    68. Teaching at Gyms and YMCAs: The Best Training Ground for New Yoga Teachers

    When I started teaching yoga at the UNC Wellness Center, I had to complete hospital safety training about bloodborne pathogens and biohazard spills. I was teaching yoga in a gym. The odds of encountering a biohazard during downward-facing dog were essentially zero. But they paid me for that training time, and there were snacks at the meetings—so I wasn't complaining. Teaching at gyms and YMCAs isn't a consolation prize for yoga teachers who can't get hired at studios. It's one of the best possible training grounds for becoming a skilled, adaptable teacher. In this episode, I'm sharing why those six years at the UNC Wellness Center made me a dramatically better teacher than I would have been starting in a boutique studio. You'll learn why the straightforward application process, surprising benefits like free childcare and gym memberships, and exposure to large diverse classes build skills you can't get anywhere else. I'm also covering the real challenges—fluorescent lighting, multipurpose rooms, limited equipment—and how those constraints actually make you a more versatile teacher. Whether you're a new teacher looking for your first position or an experienced teacher considering a gym opportunity, this episode will help you see why teaching in less-than-perfect conditions creates the strongest foundation for your teaching career. LINKS: 🎙️ Listen to all episodes: https://sagerountree.com/podcast?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=show-notes&utm_campaign=e64_gyms 🧘 Join The Zone: https://www.comfortzoneyoga.com?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=show-notes&utm_campaign=e64_gyms 📚 The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook: https://sagerountree.com/the-professional-yoga-teachers-handbook?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=show-notes&utm_campaign=e64_gyms Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    25 min

  7. JAN 6

    67. How to Approach a Yoga Studio for Your First Teaching Job

    Most new yoga teachers approach studios completely wrong. They send generic emails, mention how much they need the work, and haven't taken a single class at the studio they're asking to teach at. Some even copy-paste so carelessly that they mention the wrong studio's name. In this episode, I'm sharing the exact approach that gets yoga teachers hired—the one that makes you stand out from the hundreds of other applicants studio owners receive every year. This isn't about luck or connections. It's about professionalism and intentionality. I walk you through the seven-step process I teach in The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook: from choosing your studio strategically, to becoming a student first, to writing an email that actually gets read, to following up professionally without being pushy. I also share what NOT to say in your initial approach—the red flags that get your email deleted immediately. Whether you're a newly certified teacher looking for your first gig or an experienced teacher relocating to a new area, this episode gives you the roadmap for approaching studios in a way that demonstrates you understand you're entering both a community and a business. Resources mentioned: The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook by Sage Rountree: https://amzn.to/3X7XknB Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    25 min

  8. 12/30/2025

    66. How We Can Work Together in 2026: Programs for Every Stage of Your Teaching Journey

    I've spent twenty years watching yoga teachers struggle with the same pattern. They finish their training, start teaching, and then something happens. They're standing in front of three students wondering what they're doing wrong. They're scrambling every Sunday night to plan Monday's class. Or they never start teaching at all because the imposter syndrome is too loud. Here's what most teacher trainings won't tell you: more knowledge doesn't cure imposter syndrome. Clear, confident teaching cures imposter syndrome. That comes from having practical systems you can actually use. In this episode, I'm walking through how we can work together in 2026—not what trainings you should collect, but how working together could actually transform your teaching. Whether you're the teacher staring at a blank page every Sunday night, ready to master core sequencing skills, drawn to specialization, or not even a teacher yet—there's a pathway designed for exactly where you are right now. You'll learn about the Yoga Class Prep Station for immediate help, Mastering the Art of Yoga Sequencing mentorship, specialization programs that build toward your 300-hour advanced training, and the 200-hour training I'm co-teaching with Amy Boerner in Dominica this May. Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there! For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials: Instagram Facebook Threads Bluesky Pinterest And come explore my mentorship program, my Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at ...

    16 min
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About

Yoga Teacher Confidential is your backstage pass to the unspoken truths of being a yoga teacher. Sage Rountree, PhD, E-RYT500, dives into the real challenges and rewards of teaching yoga, offering expert advice and secrets to help you build confidence, connect with your students, and teach with authenticity. Sage draws on her two decades of experience teaching yoga, owning and running a studio, mentoring yoga teachers, and directing yoga teacher trainings to share practical insights you can use right away. You'll also hear advice from her books, including Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses, The Art of Yoga Sequencing, and The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook. Yoga Off the Mat is coming out in July 2026. Whether you’re navigating imposter syndrome, mastering classroom presence, or refining your skills to teach specialized niches like athletes, this podcast empowers you to lead your classes with clarity, grace, and ease.

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