Teach

The trendy go-to remedy for a tight IT band—foam rolling—can actually do more harm than good. Here’s why, plus 3 yoga poses that’ll help you keep this thick fascial tissue healthy.

"I think one of the most important things we, as teachers, need to do to help keep yoga moving forward in a positive direction is be diligent in continuing our learning and personal growth."

Meet our YJ Influencers — fifteen expert yoga teachers and social media giants who are dedicated to changing the world through their practices. Get their expert tips, exclusive practices, must-try retreats, and how-to video right here on YJ.com.

Yoga teacher Meagan McCrary spoke to a handful of prominent vinyasa yoga teachers about the current state of the practice and their concerns for the future of the flow. Here, she highlights some of the top-line thought and conversation starters for teachers.

As the yoga community continues to transform, we look to the next generation of leaders for clues about what’s next. These 15 rockstar teachers, all age 30 or under, have their mudras on the pulse of the millennial yoga scene.

With our community more than doubling in the last decade, yoga is quickly evolving. (Goat yoga gone mainstream? Couldn’t have called it.) This National Yoga Month, we asked respected teachers across the yoga spectrum: what’s happening now and what’s next? Despite wildly different styles, many shared unified perspectives—and predictions.

On August 11th, YogaWorks, Inc. held its initial public offering, becoming the first yoga "chain" to be publicly traded. To get the scoop on what this means for the company and for yoga going forward, we chatted with YogaWorks CEO Rosanna McCollough.

Have you ever wondered whether you should ask students to sign a liability waiver? Here, attorney Jessica Passman breaks down why the answer is yes and what else you can do to protect yourself.

When an asana is out of reach, yogis frequently blame their flexibility. But Bernie Clark explains that one pose simply doesn’t fit all. So he’s laid out a road map for getting to know your own unique anatomy and determining what actually is stopping you from doing a given pose.

Flexible and strong, hamstrings are key to a healthy, happy yoga practice. Here's what you need to know in order to lengthen and strengthen these muscles.

There’s a myth that a strong muscle is a tight one, and a flexible muscle is weak. It seems counterintuitive, but identifying and strengthening weak areas can actually help tight areas release their grip. Your challenge for this week is to address one or two of your dormant areas with targeted strength work. Share your progress on social media with #YJflexichallenge for a chance to be featured on our @YogaJournal Instagram page!

Did you finish yoga teacher training with more questions than you started with? That’s why we’ve recruited seasoned teacher trainer Gina Caputo to speak frankly to some of the most common post-TT questions submitted by YOU. In each of the four posts in this series, she’ll address a new subject and offer both insight and practical tips on how to work skillfully with the challenges you face as a yoga teacher.

Did you finish yoga teacher training with more questions than you started with? That’s why we’ve recruited seasoned teacher trainer Gina Caputo to speak frankly to some of the most common post-TT questions submitted by YOU. In each of the four posts in this series, she’ll address a new subject and offer both insight and practical tips on how to work skillfully with the challenges you face as a yoga teacher.

Whether you aspire to open a studio or teach yoga online, these insights from biz-savvy yogis can help you craft a yoga career to outlast the trends.

Did you finish yoga teacher training with more questions than you started with? That’s why we’ve recruited seasoned teacher trainer Gina Caputo to speak frankly to some of the most common post-TT questions submitted by YOU. In each of the four posts in this series, she’ll address a new subject and offer both insight and practical tips on how to work skillfully with the challenges you face as a yoga teacher.

Former Kripalu CEO David Lipsius shares how he plans to support the yoga community through this period of exceptional growth and change at Yoga Alliance's helm.

Standards are nice—they make it much easier to learn how to guide students into the large number of poses taught in yoga classes, but unfortunately students are not standardized.

Did you finish yoga teacher training with more questions than you started with? That’s why we’ve recruited seasoned teacher trainer Gina Caputo to speak frankly to some of the most common post-TT questions submitted by YOU. In each of the four posts in this series, she’ll address a new subject and offer both insight and practical tips on how to work skillfully with the challenges you face as a yoga teacher.

Meet your next teacher, Aadil Palkhivala, Purna Yoga™ co-founder and mentor in Yoga Journal's upcoming online Master Class course.

This joint plays an important role in knee and foot health, balance, and more. Here’s what you need to know about your ankles.

Check out Jennifer D'Angelo Friedman's author page.

Shiva Rea, this month’s featured teacher in Yoga Journal’s new online Master Class series, calls herself a movement alchemist. Here, she shares her love of Sun Salutations. Read on for her inspiring story and an exclusive practice.

More and more yogis are realizing a 200-hour YTT just scratches yoga's surface.

Senior Yoga Medicine teacher Rachel Land breaks down the anatomy of fascia and four effective ways to keep it fit through yoga practice.

For anyone who has ever thought, “If only my partner were a yogi...,” we asked six top yoga teachers to share what it’s like to live, love, and teach together.

“When someone walks out of my class before it begins, I often wonder if it’s because of who I am or what I look like,” shares Chelsea Jackson Roberts, who leads Yoga Journal’s new Inclusivity Training course.

Tabay Atkins is not your typical 11-year-old boy. And being the youngest certified yoga teacher in the United States is only a small part of what makes him so special.

You may quickly pick up on outdated alignment cues, but what about common words and phrases that inherently single out gender, ability, race, socioeconomic status, or age? Learn how to realign your language in yoga class.

How much can you REALLY learn from a yoga mentor in three days? You might be surprised when you read about two teachers' experiences.

If, as a yoga teacher, you feel unsure how to teach in a way that includes and resonates with everyone in our diverse community, you're not alone.

Want to unleash the true potential of your middle? 
Turns out crunches—yes, the exercise you’ve avoided for years in favor of holding Plank—are key to a stronger core and more stable yoga practice. Discover how they can serve you in every pose.

How to protect one of the most vulnerable joints in the body.

Senior Yoga Medicine teacher Rachel Land says don’t worry if you’ve never considered the health of your fascia before. As a yogi, you may already be taking good care of it anyway. Here, she outlines what it takes.

We asked him to share his views on the evolution of yoga, and why, as the once-master of contorted asana, he now places so much emphasis on yoga nidra.

You're going to like how this feels.

D.C.-area yogis, head to the Smithsonian Institution this month for an educational weekend exploring yoga's holistic healing power.

As politics become more and more divisive, women’s circles offer empowering connection, community, and a refuge of trust and love. In honor of International Women's Day, consider starting your own.

Yoga Journal LIVE presenter Amy Ippoliti explores where politics fit into the yoga space.

While yoga careers come with plenty of perks, paid vacation isn’t usually part of the package. Some companies, however, are offering yoga teachers pretty appealing travel opportunities—if you're willing to work for them.

All industry experts are sure of right now is that yoga’s popularity is at an all-time high and the number of studios will continue to skyrocket this year.

When done properly, twists have the potential to help your low back feel great. Here are three poses to help you relieve low back pain.

Ray Long, MD, explains the anatomy of twists and how to support the action with proper muscular engagement to prevent low back pain.

Leading a yoga retreat can be a deeply rewarding experience. Organizing a yoga retreat, however, can be an overwhelming endeavor. Here, veteran retreat leader Chrissy Carter lays out 6 steps to nail it.

Want to share your passion for your yoga—and possibly turn a profit? Chesley Long founded Camp Yoga two years ago and has some tips to share with other aspiring yogapreneurs.

You can learn to consciously utilize muscles, like the psoas, that tend to do their own thing, and when you do, it can transform your yoga practice.

These poses help to awaken the psoas, activating different parts of the muscle so that it’s ultimately easier for the brain to fire it up.

Hip openers aren’t always the answer.

Do you practice yoga regularly but still feel “stuck” in certain spots? Senior Yoga Medicine teacher Allison Candelaria created this muscle-and fascia-freeing flow to tune up the lateral sides of your body.

In part four of our series on teaching trauma-sensitive yoga, teacher Daniel Sernicola shares five practices to help your students get grounded and cultivate mindfulness.

In part three of our series on teaching trauma-sensitive yoga, teacher Daniel Sernicola offers tips for being more considerate with your language and tone in every yoga class.

Annie Carpenter dove deep into the core at YJ LIVE! San Diego, offering accessible alignment cues and a creative sequence to help maximize core stability.

As part of our series of posts on teaching trauma-sensitive yoga, teacher Daniel Sernicola offers tips for establishing trust and a sense of safety in your yoga classes to help trauma survivors feel welcome.

Cut out any awkward conversations and place a card on the edge of your mat so your yoga teachers knows if it's okay to give you hands-on adjustments.

In honor of Veterans Day, we’re introducing a series of posts with yoga teacher Daniel Sernicola educating yoga teachers on the importance of taking a more trauma-sensitive approach to every class. Start using these 4 strategies today.

In part 1 of our series on teaching trauma-sensitive yoga, teacher Daniel Sernicola offers tips for setting up a safe space for practice.

Amy Ippoliti is masterful at breaking poses down into their individual components, making them accessible and beneficial for all levels and body types. Here, her creative and thorough new pathway to Urdhva Dhanurasana.

Finding the right yoga teacher mentor can be challenging. Here, Alexandria Crow shares her thoughts on how to tell if you’ve found a good match.

This North Carolina–based teacher and 
Instagram star is changing the perception 
of what a yogi looks like.

The proliferation of 200-hour yoga teacher trainings may be good for business, but is it keeping the practice safe and true to tradition?

Whatever the root cause of your slumping, your yoga practice can help alleviate any resulting pain or dips in mood by bringing more balance to the muscles in your chest, upper back, and neck.

With so many yoga methods and lineages to choose from, confusion about asana alignment is common. Here, Yoga Medicine teacher Dana Diament uses smart anatomy to debunk some common alignment myths.

One yoga teacher discovers how much more there is to learn about teaching yoga beyond the 200-hour YTT.

Balancing forces is particularly crucial when it comes to addressing the feeling of “tightness” many of us have in our hips.

Learn more about 10 people making a deep impact in the yoga world.

Every yoga teacher should learn the core concepts of yoga philosophy before building their own teachings.

Kathryn Budig has created a career that’s the envy of yogis around the globe, but here she debunks some common misconceptions about what it means to be a big-name, internationally traveling yoga teacher.

Urban Zen helps sick patients and their caregivers overcome pain, 
anxiety, nausea, insomnia, constipation, and exhaustion through yoga.

These poses help release tension from the belly, ribs, and back. Try them before belly breathing—or any pranayama practice.

The founder of DeafYoga Foundation brings yoga to the underserved hearing-impaired community.

Yoga students often bring their off-the-mat problems into the studio, looking for guidance. While it’s easy for teachers to get sucked into these conversations, it can be tricky to know what to offer in response.

Making ends meet while building a following as a yoga teacher can be draining. Take heart and start employing these simple self-preservation strategies.

There are a variety of ways to modify poses that are problematic for the general public. Here, five solutions to common challenges in all-levels classes.

It’s yoga’s unofficial arms-overhead anthem. But Yoga Physics founder Alexandria Crow is on a mission to ban this widespread cue. Here, she breaks down what you need to know.

We asked 19 senior teachers to share with you the kind of advice that can move you closer to their caliber of talent. You're welcome.

Supportive adjustments can transform someone’s practice. Learn the fundamentals of what makes a fantastic assist so you can safely and intuitively guide others

Your next creative idea may come from where you least expect it. Here, Mary Beth shares some of her favorite ways to get inspired.

We follow various rules of vinyasa for a reason—but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be broken every once in a while. Steal LA-based yoga teacher Mary Beth LaRue's secrets to inspired sequencing.

This humble teacher is 
reinvigorating yoga’s spiritual side. Kristin Laak tells us about her journey to India and how it has influenced her practice and life's purpose.

Mary Lyn Jenkins, a yoga teacher in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida is the winner of Yoga Journal’s 2016 reader cover contest.