Today I awoke to find that I’m sore in every single muscle of my body. I know. I checked them all. Pinkie toe? Check. I undertook a photo shoot yesterday at a studio in SoHo, where my husband works. He took over 500 images of me in every conceivable pose, so that I can use them to create visual sequences for online sources, magazines, and of course, my loyal readers. After all, you deserve high resolution too! I did yoga for 3 1/2 hours straight. It was intense, but I wanted to do it for myself, and for my Tribe, those yogis, past, present and future, who might get a spark from something I teach that lights their inner fire. To continue giving so freely, which means finding more free time, I recently did what some yogis consider to be the unthinkable: I recently signed with a yoga talent agency. Here are a few more reasons: * Way more people want me to come teach at their studios, conferences, or events, than I can handle communicating with by myself and still stay sane, much less focused on my classes. * I want to be free to continue doing what I do best, which is to create and teach my beloved practice, not emailing 20 people a day about booking arrangements. * My life’s purpose is to teach the healing benefits of yoga to as many people as I can, not teach less people because I think being on TV is “unyogic”. *I seem to have the right combination of things that makes me attractive to the national level, and that level requires a skill set of negotiation and organization that is not my strong suit. Don’t even ask me to balance a checkbook! I’m proud of the direction in which my 15 years of study and commitment are taking me. I also love that people pay me to do what I love, so I don’t have to do anything else. Most of all, I adore connecting with so many students. In all of this I want to be represented as accurately and with the same level of integrity as the photos I worked so hard to create this weekend. YAMA , started last year by Ava Taylor, a lifelong yogi, is changing the paradigm of what an agent can be, from greedy to generous, from competitive to conscious. I’m incredibly happy that Ava is there for those of us who want more help, and like their representation to come with a dash of good karma. Some in the community aren’t feeling it, yet this yoga-life-money balance is possible, it’s happening . . . and I hope the yoga world will embrace it more and more as a part of the practice–not separate from it. Sometimes, though, when it comes to making a shift, you can’t wait for everyone around you to ‘get’ it. If you believe in yourself, and you feel called to what is a right action for you, then you will simply have to go first. This is the first step towards leading by example. Core Questions: What do you think about this direction of yogis in the mainstream? Do you think we can hold our ground while dealing with the entertainment world and money, or are we just seeking fame for its own sake? When have you had to lead by example, and what happened? A Core Tip: To get more grounded, try my free Slow Hip and Leg Stretch Flow video for a great root energy release using the earth for support! See it here .

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For Success . . . or Sanity

Two yogis walk into a bar . . .  No, it’s not the beginning of a joke. It was my last Saturday night! I’d just finished two visiting workshops in Boston, and I was ravenously hungry. I’d meant to grab a power lunch between classes, but I was enjoying questions from the students so much that time slipped away. My friend and fantastic teacher Ame Wren invited me to join her for a post-class meal. Nestled into velvet chairs, with ivories tickling in the background, Ame and I began a conversation about yoga, teaching, life, love, and each other. It was rewarding, inspiring, and somehow made the already yummy food taste even better. As we spoke, I noticed two young women sitting at the table next to us. One was complaining to the other about the no-good man in her life. From what I could gather, the list of no-goodies went something like this: “He doesn’t love me. He disrespects me. He’s out all night. He lies to me. I’m miserable with him . . . but I love him. What am I going to do?” Then the other woman would say something in response, and the litany of complaints would begin all over again. This maddening audio loop went on for a good two hours. Luckily, I was able to draw in and focus on Ame, but every time I checked back with the ladies, it was the exact same story. No resolution, just more words. In yoga we say “repetition is magic,” but we must also learn the difference between a constructive action and a destructive one lies in the type of repetition we choose. A circular repetition means that you say you want change, yet you do the same thing over and over again, only to end up in the same place as when you began. An example of this is doing gentle yoga classes, yet expecting big gains in strength and endurance. A linear repetition means that, though you repeat certain behaviors, they are ones that move you forward toward an outcome. For example, holding your poses a little longer each week and then expecting more strength and endurance. Think of the difference in power and purpose between a bog and a river. It gets even better when within the quest for more linear repetition in your life, you can cultivate tapas and dedicate your energy towards something that serves you to reach the goals you set for yourself. Tapas, often understood as just plain “heat,” as in a vigorous asana practice, also translates as the “fires of transformation.” Linear habits partnered with tapas direct our energy towards those repetitive thoughts, words and actions which light our fire, inspire us to live with passion, and keep us shining bright from the inside out. After Ame and I left dinner, and I walked home in the brisk Boston night, I felt more invigorated and alive. I wondered, though, how the other women were feeling. If it was anything like I’d experienced after similar conversations, perhaps drained, and certainly not more vibrant. An old yogic saying goes, “Save your breath to cool your porridge.” I wished those girls had spoken about the guy for 10 minutes, and then spent the rest of their energy on enjoying the food, the night, and each other. After all, life is to be lived, and tapas–like a great meal–is to be lit into at any possible opportunity. Core Question: Where in your life could you move from circular to linear habits? What lights your fire? How can you bring more passion into your days? Core Posture: A great pose for stoking the fires of transformation: Core Plank: From Down Dog, split one leg into the air, and on the exhale, sweep the knee into your chest, and draw shoulders over wrists. As you press your hands into the earth, round your hips and back sky high to build arm and core strength. Repeat this move 3-5 times before stepping forward to your standing poses. If it’s too challenging, back it off by doing Core Plank on hands and knees.

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Going in Circles

I’m going to go ahead and admit it: some days I really, really don’t want to teach. I know–I’m always supposed to be a bright, happy yogi who would rather chop off an arm that have to miss a yoga class, let alone miss the opportunity to make someone else’s day brighter through teaching–but, you know what, some days the natural light and love that brought me to yoga teaching in the first place just cannot find a way to shine through. On those days I grumble and complain and wish I didn’t have to teach and then drag my sorry little behind to the yoga studio. And then a funny thing happens. As my students start to walk in I find my mood lifting. I start to teach and I completely forget all of the reasons I really didn’t want to be there in the first place. And by the end, I almost always leave feeling lighter, happier and wondering why I don’t teach a whole lot more often. That, to me, is the power of teaching. Hopefully my students gain a thing or two from a class but I know that I always, always gain so much from them. Now all I have to do is remind myself of that each time I get the teaching grumps.

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For Those Times When You Just Don’t Want to Teach

It’s just after Valentines Day, and I got two bouquets of flowers. One from my husband, and one from Sadie Nardini. That’s me.   While at the flower store, ordering a nice bunch of orchids to honor the longest-term relationship I’ve ever had—with myself, I noticed that many people were more focused on what to get or do for their significant others, or what they were getting done for them, than how to celebrate their own selves. In fact, out of the 20 or so other people who were there, not one of them were wrapping up blooms from them, to them. When they found out I was, it was like a kitten had popped out of my jacket pocket. Ohmigosh–Thats SO cute!, they said, eyes wide with the sheer quaintness of it all.   It struck me then, how weighted we can get towards our external offerings and relationships. It’s more rare indeed to see someone taking themselves out for dinner, and choosing the nice restaurant over the quick fix, or taking the time to appreciate themselves with a love letter, a kind remark or even the simple beauty of flowers.   I’d like to see this trend reverse. I began turning it around personally a few years back when I realized I was speaking to, feeding and loving myself abysmally. If I was dating me, I would have been well on the road to a break-up or a breakdown.   It’s the same with yoga. When I say I teach Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, people usually point to their bellies and say, “Yeah, I need some of that!” or “My roommate does Pilates!”   As we progress in our practice here in the West, I see many students and teachers are beginning to get so outer-body strong that they have begun to freeze themselves out of the deeper power that lies in their internal core. I was one of them, until my too-tight abs and back muscles began compressing my spine and causing me pain. I knew I had to find some length, and let go of my ego-driven tendency to want to get into the advanced poses at all costs. It’s easy to get externally-focused, and use the outer body too strongly in the asanas, which can harden it into tension or put added strain on the joints, instead of using our outer selves in balance to support a much more profound inner strength.   It’s not serving us to practice with a focus on our external bodies only if we want our yoga practice to be a balance of Sthira-Sukha, or stability and mobility. There are a whole lot of things the core is, and one thing its not: just the abdominal muscles. Your spine and pelvis, taking in Prana (life energy), your inward attention, and the muscles that support your skeleton all comprise my idea of the deeper core connection we can each make happen more profoundly in yoga and in our lives.   In my teaching, I focus on our Deep Core Line, or the series of muscles that line your legs, pelvis, spine and skull, and I invite students to release any death grip on the poses, and instead focus on a softer strength at the level of the superficial body (Think Rodney Yee’s abs vs. the cover of Muscle Magazine) in order to access the support at true center.   This experience of diving inside has a bunch of happy side effects, including empowerment, self-centering, and the ability to rock your Handstand much sooner than if you try to just power into it.   In my view, the abdominal muscles should serve the underlying structural strength, not the other way around. When you can move your poses from the outside in, some of the pockets of tension found at the legs, hips and lower back, shoulders and neck will start to dissolve as your inner takes over for the outer, and they both begin to move back into harmony.   Best of all, when you move from center as your practice on the mat, you’ll begin to experience vijnana-maya-kosha, a state of all-pervading recognition that who you are is strong, capable, and worth nourishing on all levels. And one day, I’ll be in the flower store, peering into the case to see what Sadie might like best of all, and someone will say “pardon”, and reach past me to grab their favorite tulips.   I’m betting it will be you.   Core Questions: Where are you on the journey to cultivate your inner relationship as much as your outer ones? And how do you practice this in your yoga poses? Do you think it’s harder to give in than give out?   Core Pose: To try moving from your inner body: Next time you’re doing handstand preparations, no matter how low or high you’re hopping now, keep your top leg straight but bend your bottom knee into your chest as you lightly jump. As you kick, pretend you have a golden egg at the pit of your belly, which you’ll squeeze around as you exhale. This will bypass the tendency of your lower back to arch and take the pelvis out of alignment. It will activate your low belly and still let you practice pulling the stacked hips up with the squeeze of your deeper pelvic muscles.

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What’s Your Core Strength?

Hi yogis, Sadie Nardini here. I’m the founder of Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, which is a set of anatomical, energetic and core living principles I offer to teachers and students of any style, in order to bring the yoga practice back to true center. This year, I’m joining the yoga touring circuit, which means I’ll leave my New York City apartment, three cats, and hubby for half of every month to lead workshops and trainings at conferences and studios across the country. I love being home, and luckily, I adore adventuring to meet new students and share my take on yoga with my community.  I’ll be writing some blog posts here at YJ to share my experiences as a teacher moving onto a more national stage, and offer you ideas on how we can all access the inner strength we hold in our poses, and in our lives, to make our yoga goals more attainable and our present moment more empowering and effective. All this, and more, I will do… … But right now, I’m freaking out. It’s 10:44 pm on Friday, and I’m sitting on the bed here at Kripalu, writing out my three hour “Core Strength” session for tomorrow by hand. After tonight…I have no choice.    I was teaching my first session ever as a faculty member here at this huge and impressive hub of mind/body education, and I quickly realized that 20 pages of notes for an hour and a half class was slightly over the top.   So I had to close the book halfway through, and wing it.   It went better than expected. In fact, I didn’t really need the book at all. Tomorrow is 3 hours, and I have 30 pages of typed notes. I can’t read and teach. What was I thinking? Here’s what: It’s my first time here as an instructor, there are a whopping 40 people signed up for my weekend, and the over-preparation I’ve been exhibiting is due to one main factor: I’m nervous as hell. Yes, I’ve studied, prepared, taught thousands of hours, teach at the Yoga Journal Conference and others, have two DVDs out and a third one on the way, thousands of students each week in person and online–and yet I still believe that writing every sentence down on paper is going to serve me better than trusting my own knowledge, and going with the flow. This is how I began teaching yoga 15 years ago: me, a mat and 10 sheets of laminated paper spread out in front of me with every pose written on it. Font size: 22.   I must’ve looked insane (and nearsighted) sitting there, surrounded by a sea of huge notecards, yet the students kept coming back for more. Eventually, I gathered the courage to shelve the big type and write some new classes in a journal. These days, I just quickly jot down a few main points on the subway while traveling to the studio, and I’m good to go. Every new level of experience I reach is another doorway into Center, yes, but my doorway always has a really tall bouncer standing at the threshold asking me, “Are you sure you know enough? Are you really good enough for this?” My first answer, from years of self-conditioning, tends to be, “no”.   But I know, from years of yoga conditioning, that’s not the whole truth. I love what I do, I have a unique teaching to impart, and I offer everything I have to my students, yet it’s not until I can relax past the fear, draw deep inside, and allow myself to access Satya, or my inner truth that the answer the bouncer hears becomes a resounding yes.   This circling into who we really need to be, then taking action from there, instead of from that fearful ego-self cowering in the corner, clutching all her notes, is a centerpiece of core strength, the one that helps us go that extra inch into handstand–or back off an inch–because we know it’s how we really need to express the pose.   Next time you find yourself at that doorway, ask yourself, “WWCD” (What Would Center Do)? And make your move from there. The fastest way to let out my inner voice, which at times like this threatens to stick in my throat, is to take a deep breath in, all the way down to my belly, and then HAAAAAAAAH!   Stick out the old tongue, and roar like a lion .   I do it until I laugh, and then I know I’ve gone deep enough.  Now, it’s back to my writing project, only this time….it won’t be nearly as many pages. I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend! Wish me…well, not luck, but to express the most of me.  Namaste! Update: Well, I have to say, the Immersion was a resounding success (I know, because they let me read the comment cards)! Every session was easier than the last, and tonight, as my week-long teacher training gets underway, I feel confident that I can totally represent. Now…I just have to tell that to The Bouncer when I’m writing out the Immersion for YYoga in Vancouver next month! Core Question : Do you ever have trouble speaking your truth? Teachers, how do you overcome your nerves in class?  Everyone: How do you find the courage to express yourself even so? Share your victories and strategies, and inspire us all to express from Center today!

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Nerves and Namaste

This week began a new teaching schedule for me with a new day, new time, and new “mellower” take on my style. As students trickled in to my first Monday night class, I was thrilled to see some familiar faces, but I was equally happy to have some students who were new to me. I always feel like having a new student is a bit of a gift. They have taken a leap of faith to go to a teacher and class that is unknown to them. I hope to repay that gift by giving them a great yoga experience. Sometimes I notice with seasoned practicioners that they are more hesitant to try out someone new. They have their teacher — who they adore — and really don’t want to bother with anyone else. That always seems a little sad to me (although I have to say I have fallen into this trap myself from time to time). Shouldn’t we as yogis be open to new possibilities, new avenues of learning and new teachers? I challenge you in the new year to try out some new teachers and new styles. Take a chance on a class that you have been meaning to try for ages. Or go to a class randomly without even knowing what style or teacher you will be experiencing. You never know — you may just learn something completely, magically new.

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Welcoming in the New — Teachers that Is

Even though I love Thanksgiving for its abundance of stuffed tofurkey , candied yams , and cranberry sauce , my favorite Thanksgiving memories all involve the true spirit of the holiday: Giving Thanks . As a yogi I try to practice karma yoga , the practice of serving others, as often as I can, but I have to admit that sometimes I lose site of helping others as I get caught up in my daily life. Thanksgiving is always that brilliant reminder to refocus, give thanks, and give back. In my classes this past week I have tried to inspire my students to think of ways they can give thanks or give back this holiday. Some of my favorites from Thanksgivings-past are volunteering at a soup kitchen to give back to the community, teaching a free yoga class to give back to your students, going to a donation yoga class and giving back to the charity of choice, and simply telling all the people that you love why you are so thankful that they are in your lives. Now I hope that you can inspire each other with your own favorite stories. What is your favorite way to give thanks for Thanksgiving?

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How Do You Give Thanks on Thanksgiving?

Friends often ask me if it’s possible to make a living as a full-time yoga teacher. I always say absolutely! But at times it can be a hard road to venture down. As a newer teacher (under the five year mark), I feel much more secure maintaining a full-time job outside the yoga studio and teaching on the side. (I’m also lucky enough to work for Yoga Journal where I can continue feeding my yoga passion every day in a different format.) I have other teacher friends who I can barely drag out of the studio. They teach ten to twenty classes a week and sometimes more, if the opportunity arises. They work hard and make enough to make ends meet through sheer number of classes. And they love what they do. But I’m not so sure this excess outpour of teaching energy is sustainable. I’ve seen it lead to burn out more than once. And then there’s the Uber-Teachers. You know the ones — they teach four classes a week and pull in enough people to fill a stadium. They’re doing well and so they should. They’re great teachers, well loved, and they are getting compensated for what they do. So my question is — how do teachers make the jump from teaching as many classes as they CAN to make ends meet to teaching as many classes as they WANT instead? At what point and in what way does yoga teaching transform into a job that is just as monetarily sustainable as being a banker or a web designer or a school teacher for that matter?

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Can Yoga Teachers Teach Full-Time AND Pay the Bills?

There appears to be an unspoken debate about using music in yoga class . Sometimes classes are accompanied by soothing melodies, devotional chanting, or even all out of rock. Other classes lean towards no music at all. It’s gotten me to wondering — is there a version that’s best? Or, like most things in yoga, does it simply come down to what feels right for you? In my own teaching I have covered all sides of the spectrum. When I started teaching, music always accompanied my words. I found that music helped to calm my new-to-teaching-nerves. It created an anchor that I could draw inspiration from to structure a class and inspire my students. Plus, some of my favorite teachers use music woven masterfully into their classes so I thought it seemed like a great idea to follow suit. And yet, after a few years of teaching and, frankly, listening to my small selection of mixes over and over and over, I decided I needed a bit of a musical break. I’d like to say I was inspired by the desire to move towards stillness but, really, I was just tired of all my songs. I’m not a DJ and I didn’t want to be one. So I turned the iPod off and just taught. And then an interesting thing happened. I found that, for me, turning off the music helped me to focus on the energy of the room and the rhythm of my students’ breath. It allowed me to feel more in sync with my students and it felt like they were able to reach a depth of stillness that I hadn’t seen before. And so it stuck. Has this experience caused me to swear off all music in yoga? Definitely not. Sometimes it feels like the room (or maybe me) could use a bit of a musical lift and so I pull my iPod out. I also love live chanting so I weave that into the beginning and end of class as often as I can. I love going to yoga classes with music and without. So I guess I would say I am firmly planted somewhere… in the middle. For those days that you lean more towards the musical side, visit our monthly playlists for inspiration or check out this Jivamukti sequence set to a downloadable musical track .

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Does Music Have a Place in Yoga Class?

Recently I came across An Offering of Leaves by Jivamukti yoga teacher Ruth Lauer-Manenti. This new book is a collection of “‘dharma talks’ — stories from her life that accompany her classes and represent the yogic commitments to ahimsa (non-violence), compassion, and service.” Usually when I pick up books based on yoga philosophy, all full of enthusiasm to absorb some yogic wisdom, I get lost after three pages and end up abandoning ship. Thankfully, this book was a very welcome exception. Ruth writes with such simplicity, humor and authenticity that I was immediately drawn into each story. It was easy to see the connection to the Sanskrit verse with which the story began. By the end I felt like I had delved into the ancient texts of The Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita in a way I never had before and in a way that made sense to me. I’m hoping I can bring this new-found knowledge into my days and to my students. What other books have helped you deepen your understanding of yoga philosophy in an easy and accessible way?

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Sharing Wisdom through An Offering of Leaves

Recently a friend and newly anointed yoga teacher asked me for advice on how to pick a yoga studio to teach at. I thought it was a great question from a newbie since I see so many new teachers salivate over ANY class they can call their own, even if it’s at 4:30am AND 20 miles outside of town AND they have to pay for cleaning AND the list goes on… After several years of trial and error I think the best way to ensure success is to make sure you consider all aspects of any teaching opportunity: Do you like the studio & its students? A studio you teach at should be a place you feel at home in and you would want to practice there yourself. Every studio has a very different personality so some will fit and some just won’t. Do you like the owner? The owner/management has so much influence on a studio and your experience in it. Make sure your personalities mesh before committing to a class Do people like working there? Talk to other teachers and get their experience. Are you going to get a time slot that works well? While it can be good experience when you’re starting out to get any slot (especially at a studio you really want to teach at), it can also be a real bummer to show up and have just a few students (or none at all some days). Figure out what attendance that slot currently gets and what you are willing to live with. What don’t you know yet? Do you get paid per student or a flat-fee? Is there a minimum you will be paid or if you show up and no-one else does do you go home empty-handed? Do they take anything out of your pay per month (like insurance or a cleaning fee)? Are you required to have liability insurance on your own? How often are you paid? Do they have front desk people working or do you have to sign people in? How early are you expected to be there for your class? Are you responsible for getting your own subs? Is there a sub list or can you get anyone to sub? What is the process? Are there any other things you will be expected to do? For those more seasoned teachers out there—what else do you consider before committing to a new studio or new class? Need ideas on how to get your chosen studio to notice you? Learn how to catch a studio’s attention .

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Where to Teach

That is the questions I ask myself each week as I start to think about my classes. Some weeks the answer is a clear “yes” and I will plan a class around a pose, a sequence, a story, or even a feeling. And some weeks it feels better to just, well, go with the flow. Yet, I still wonder what the right balance is between planning and spontaneity. As a student or a teacher. which approach do you prefer? Or do you even notice a difference from your blissful place on the mat? To read more on this topic, go to Yoga Journal’s article, ” What’s Your Plan? ”

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To Plan or Not to Plan

Four years ago I graduated from yoga teacher training and was declared, officially, a “yoga teacher”. I have to admit that declaration scared me to death. Did I know enough to teach? Had I absorbed enough alignment, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, sequencing and Sanskrit to really teach others? What I be a fabulous success or a total flop the first time I stood in front of a group of brand new, paying (!) students? Yup, I was scared. But as all of us “teachers” do, I went out and I taught. Because I knew deep down that I love yoga and I had to share this joy with others. Now, four years later, I have noticed a shift. I feel confident in telling others that I am a yoga teacher. I no longer shake (yes, literally shake) when I stand in front of a group of students. I am more able to pour my heart and soul and love of yoga into my teachings. But some days, those questions still crop up. And, not surprisingly, a whole new crop of questions has emerged, big and small. What voice do I want to express in my yoga teachings? Do I use music or not? Should I adjust alot or a little? I am very excited to be writing for Yoga Journal’s Teacher Tells All blog so that I can explore these questions and more with all of you. I will be so grateful if you will post any questions, comments, advice, or words of encouragement below. Let’s form a teaching community and get our questions answered so that we can go out and shout from the rooftops: I am a Yoga Teacher. To follow me on my journey please keep reading .

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I am a Yoga Teacher

Hannah O’Reilly is Yoga Journal ’s Online Production Manager by day and a San Francisco Flow Yoga Teacher by night (and sometimes early morning). She simply loves yoga and wants to share it with as many people—in as many ways—as she can. She is thrilled to be contributing to Yoga Journal’s Teacher Tells All blog as a new way for her to talk about and form community around yoga. As a yoga teacher, Hannah is known for her joyful spirit, flowing movement, focus on the breath, and occasionally, some kick-your-butt ab work. Hannah pulls yogic inspiration from far and wide including yoga teachers Stephanie Snyder and Jason Crandell, San Francisco city life and (more often than you might care to know) reality tv. She encourages lightheartedness on and off the mat and finds laughter every day playing with her pup Zeke. For more information about Hannah please visit her website or become a fan of Hannah Yoga on Facebook.

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Meet Hannah