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. 1D AGO

    76. Why Every Yoga Teacher Needs a Newsletter (And How to Start One)

    Have you ever noticed how even your most loyal yoga students eventually drift away? Life happens—schedules change, people move—and without a way to stay in touch between classes, those connections fade. In this episode of Yoga Teacher Confidential, Sage Rountree breaks down why a newsletter is one of the simplest, most ethical tools yoga teachers have for building lasting relationships with students. You'll learn what permission-based marketing actually means (and why it should make you feel good, not guilty), how often to send your newsletter, and what to offer as a lead magnet to grow your list—using things you're probably already creating. Sage also covers the ethics of collecting email addresses, including how to get explicit consent and why unsubscribes are a feature, not a failure. Plus, she tackles the often-overlooked topic of studio non-solicitation policies and how to navigate them professionally. Ready to get started? Join Sage on March 19 at 2 p.m. Eastern for the Newsletter Launch Pad—a free live call inside Comfort Zone Conversations where you'll walk through choosing a platform, collecting addresses, and planning content without the overwhelm. RSVP at the link in the episode, and if you can't make it live, you'll get the recording. Next week on Yoga Teacher Confidential: copywriter Sara Joelle joins Sage to talk about storytelling for yoga teachers—because once you have a newsletter, you need to know what to put in it. 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 ...

    12 min

  2. MAR 3

    75. Why Teaching Yoga Is Not Like Teaching Other Subjects

    A vivid dream about teaching Spinning brought me face to face with something I've known for years but never quite articulated: teaching yoga is fundamentally different from every other kind of teaching I've done. In this episode, I'm drawing on my background in Spinning instruction, university English literature, and public radio to show exactly where those skills help in the yoga room—and where they actively work against your students' experience. From the constant monologuing of radio to the performance energy of Spinning, I had to unlearn a lot to become an effective yoga teacher. I'm also sharing the surprising overlaps—like helping students find comfort in their setup, using breath as an anchor, and navigating students' desire for intensity. These are transferable skills that serve you beautifully when you know how to adapt them. If you've come to yoga teaching from fitness, academics, broadcasting, or any profession where you were trained to fill space and hold attention, this episode will help you identify the habits you're carrying and give you concrete steps to shift from performing to witnessing. 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 ...

    16 min

  3. FEB 24

    74. When It's NOT Your Choice: Losing a Class You Didn't Choose to Leave

    Classes end in a variety of ways. Last episode, we talked about choosing to drop a class on your own terms. But what happens when the decision isn't yours? Maybe the studio cut your class. Maybe an illness or injury forced you to step away. Maybe life circumstances made it impossible to keep showing up. This is a different kind of loss—and it deserves its own conversation. I'm coming at this from both sides: over 20 years as a yoga teacher and 15 years as a yoga studio owner. I've had classes that didn't work out, and I've been on the other side of that conversation too. Studio ownership is hard, y'all. In this episode, I'm walking through the different scenarios, validating the emotions that come with each one, offering reframes that might help, and sharing practical steps for moving forward. I'm also getting honest about what studio ownership looks like from the inside—because understanding the other perspective can take some of the sting away. 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 ...

    14 min

  4. FEB 17

    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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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
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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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