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The Mentor Sessions — Fitness & Nutrition
The Mentor Sessions

With amazing guests or solo, I explore the craft of teaching yoga, as its own practice. I’m seeking answers to the questions about why we teach something the way we do, how we could be more expansive and inclusive in our teaching, and how we can continue to grow and evolve in our teaching practice.

I’m so glad you are here because I believe the depth that arises in teaching comes from inquiry and relationship. Join me as I offer nourishing support to help you feel more confident in your teaching and realistic strategy to help you find more clarity on your career path.

Francesca Cervero (she/her) has been a full-time yoga teacher since 2005. Her teaching is inspired by her foundational training with Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga Center, the years she spent as a dancer and the subsequent years she spent in physical therapy. Her teaching is also influenced by her love of Buddhist teachings and a constant curiosity about anatomy and biomechanics. She is in private practice teaching a full schedule of 1×1 clients, mentors yoga teachers in The Science of the Private Lesson™, hosts the podcast, The Mentor Sessions: Support & Strategy for Yoga Teachers and is the founder of the adjoining community, The Mentor Sessions Sangha.

Latest Episodes:

67: Evolving as a Yoga Teacher- A Live Mentoring Session Feb 18, 2020

Show notes

Today you're going to hear a live, unedited 1x1 mentoring session!

I love connecting with teachers in 1x1 mentoring sessions because I get to listen deeply to the challenges they are facing and together we troubleshoot solutions to their biggest teaching conundrums. While the questions we ponder might seem small, I have seen, again and again, how holding space for teachers to think critically about their teaching can have a significant impact. Supporting teachers in being in compassionate inquiry about their teaching practice transforms not just their teaching, but their careers and their lives.

I invited Mary Reddinger to join me on the show today because she is super smart and asks great questions! She has been a part of my teacher's community for a long time, and took The Science of the Private Lesson™ with me last year. She has been teaching since 2018, but she teaches seven group classes and four private clients each week and she speaks about teaching like someone who has been teaching much longer!

In this episode you'll hear:

what I recommend teachers do to help connect with private students when we don't see them consistently
the best way to work with students who have particular pose goals in mind, especially if that goal pose doesn't seem appropriate
If we should communicate changes in our teaching priorities to our students, and if so, how and when
some advice about "finding a niche" in your teaching (and why my recommendation is a little different from most!)

I think this conversation will be super useful for all you teachers who are wondering how you can grow and evolve in your teaching even more skillfully!

66: An Intro to Low Back Pain with Jesal Parikh Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

Back pain is complex and many students end up in yoga classes because they heard it would be good for their "bad back" so I'm super excited to share the wisdom of my friend Jesal Parikh with you today.

Jesal has been teaching yoga since 2010, is the co-creator of the Yoga is Dead podcast and serves as a volunteer for World Spine Care Yoga Project. She has a strong background in anatomy, kinesiology and biomechanics for yoga teachers and teaches these topics in several yoga teacher trainings.

In this episode you'll hear:

a basic overview of the anatomy of the spine and related structures
the most important role a yoga teacher can play in supporting someone working with low back pain
specific guidelines for teaching students with lower back pain
the most skillful and least skillful cues yoga teachers use when it comes to addressing low back pain in group classes
and so much more!

Learn More From Jesal:

On her website
By following her on Instagram
By following World Spine Care Yoga Project on Instagram

65: Marketing for Yoga Teachers with Nikki Naab-Levy Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

What do you think of when you hear the word "marketing"? Does it make you think of sleazy sales tactics? Or does it remind you of all the things you think you are supposed to be doing, like social media and email lists, and make you feel immediately overwhelmed??

Whichever camp you fall into, this episode has something for you! Y'all have been asking me to talk about marketing for yoga teachers for YEARS, and I have resisted until now. I met someone who I am TOTALLY in agreement with when it comes to marketing and I'm so excited for you guys to learn from her.

Nikki Naab-Levy is a Pilates teacher, licensed massage therapist, and certified functional strength coach with over a decade of experience helping clients build strength and overcome injury. She holds B.S. in Exercise Science and B.S. in Magazine Journalism from Ohio University and when she's not teaching a sneaky hard Pilates class, you can find her using her journalism experience to help yoga and Pilates teachers find creative and effective ways to market their workshops, classes, and online programs.

In this episode you'll hear:

what marketing actually is and why it is important
the several phases of a yoga teaching career and the different kinds of marketing that is appropriate for each one
the main obstacles yoga teachers run into when they market their offerings
three simple things you can do right now to make your marketing more effective
some specific homework from Nikki and I to help you get started with some marketing basics if you're not doing anything right now!

64: Yoga for Arthritis with Dr. Steffanny Moonaz Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

Did you know that arthritis is not one single disease, but a category of over 100 medical conditions that is actually the leading cause of disability in the US?? Before talking to Dr. Steffany Moonaz (and reading her book) I didn't either!

Dr. Steffany Moonaz founded Yoga for Arthritis after 8 years at Johns Hopkins University where she studied the effects of yoga for people living with arthritis. She now serves as the Director of Clinical and Academic Research at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, which offers the nation's only Masters of Science in Yoga Therapy.

She continues to conduct research on the effects of yoga for chronic pain and joint conditions, and is joining us on The Mentor Sessions today to talk about making yoga practices safe, welcoming, and appropriate for people with arthritis.

In this episode you'll hear:

some of the biggest myths about arthritis
why the multifaceted practices of yoga are so supportive for people living with arthritis
what is lost when yoga teachers and researchers focus only on asana
the difference between chronic pain and acute pain as it relates to the brain
how chronic pain impacts the anatomy and function of the brain circuitry and what yoga teachers can do about it
how to teach yoga classes that are safe, welcoming and inclusive for people living with arthritis

63: Self Care is Bigger Than You Think with Gracy Obuchowicz Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

The term self care is ubiquitous in our world today and since yoga practice is an important part of self care for some people the topic comes up for us yoga teachers quite often! Also, it can be difficult to practice good self care as a yoga teacher running all over town trying to make ends meet, so I am really excited to introduce you to my friend Gracy today!

Gracy Obuchowicz is a Washington, DC-based group facilitator, retreat leader and self-care coach and a very good, real life friend of mine! She is also a certified Integral Facilitator, a 500-hour registered yoga teacher, and a continuing scholar of Ayurveda.

She has written a book about self-care called selfcarefully that covers a wide range of topics and the relationship they have to self care including self-care & setting boundaries, self-care & soaking grains, self-care & the patriarchy, self-care & the moon, self-care & consumerism and self-care & perfectionism, just to name a few!

In this episode you'll hear:

how the phrase self care originated and became part of our everyday language
some thoughts about the criticism that self-care is consumerism thinly cloaked as wellness and that self-care individualizes systemic problems
some of Gracy's foundational self care practices
a self care growth edge for Gracy
and the one self care practice she recommends to the yoga teachers all the time!

62: Q + A About Private Lessons with Francesca #2 Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

Teaching yoga one-on-one requires a totally different skill set than teaching group classes and these unique skills are left out of most teacher trainings so if you have lots of questions about teaching 1x1 lessons that makes sense. I've been a full time yoga teacher since 2005, teaching 15-25 private clients a week for most of the last 14+ years so I've got plenty of experience in this realm and am so happy to answer your questions!

In this episode I do a Quickfire Q + A and answer these questions:

Is it rude if I bring a swiffer and clean my student's practice space?
What should my cancellation policy be? And does it have to work both ways?
Do you have an initial assessment/interview session to get to know your client and their needs?
How do you best serve a client that you feel would benefit from a slower paced practice that always asks for a more challenging, faster pace class with difficult poses?
What is the protocol for raising rates on existing private clients?
What does it mean to meet students where they are?
And more!

61: Rethinking Yoga Teacher Training with Cecily Milne Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

I'm honored to call Cecily Milne a friend. She is thoughtful, smart and an amazing force for change in the yoga world. As the creator of Yoga Detour, she is seen as a yoga "integrator", helping people bridge the gap between the yoga they already love and the other things, like strength and mobility, they're becoming increasingly curious about. You can find Cecily teaching digitally through Detour Method Online and traveling around the world introducing people to the transformative power of intentional, inquiry-based learning and movement.

To hear more about Cecily and her approach to incorporating "non-yoga" movements into asana classes listen to our previous interview on Episode # 32!

In this episode you'll hear:

a conversation about yoga teacher education and critical thinking
what might be missing from many yoga teacher training programs and how we can add it back in
the hallmarks of high quality teaching in yoga and movement spaces
the most important skills a yoga teacher needs to develop and the best ways to do that

Learn More From Cecily:

On her website
On Instagram
Read this blog post Cecily wrote about creating high quality teacher training programs

60: A Union for Yoga Teachers Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

A large group of yoga teachers at YogaWorks in New York City is working together to create a labor union that would be the first of its kind. (!) This is what they have to say about it,

"We are Yoga and Mindful Fitness Educators. We're coming together to have a voice in our industry, raise industry standards and create a more equitable and sustainable profession for all. Our goal is for employees, students, and businesses to thrive."

I'm excited to share their work, stories, hopes, and goals with you all. This is a big deal. In Episode #56 (Avoiding Burnout: Self Care, Boundaries + Daily Routines) one of the first things I said was that as a culture we don't really value care work and making a living as a yoga teacher (and staying healthy and sane yourself) can be really tough. That episode focused on the daily rhythms of life and what yoga teachers can do to keep their wells full. I'm excited in this episode to talk about the wider world we inhabit and how we can work to create a new culture, one that values the kind of work yoga teachers do.

In this episode, you'll hear from Markella Los, Toya Williford, and Julie Dohrman and we'll talk all about:

the inception of the Unionize Yoga campaign
when it became clear that a union was what was needed
how unionizing will help all the teachers at YogaWorks (and beyond)
how unionizing helps the studio and the industry as a whole
some of the biggest union myths out there (and we'll correct the record)

Learn More From Unionize Yoga:

On Instagram
Check out some of their press
Subscribe to their newsletter for updates

59: ROM, Neuroscience + Yoga with Garrett Neill Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Garrett Neill, or Dr. Yogi Gare as he's known online, is a Chiropractor and a yoga teacher and I LOVE following his work on social media. He shares tons of helpful information for yoga teachers and holds the space for really interesting conversations for our community.

In his work with patients Dr. Garrett employs Chiropractic Manual Therapies, Soft Tissue Techniques and Corrective Exercises that emphasize stability, strength, and efficiency to ensure his patients are capable of moving in the best way possible. He writes and lectures about anatomy, biomechanics, & neuroscience and how they relate to yoga and he teaches weekly yoga classes.

In this episode you'll hear:

all about the difference between Active Range of Motion and Passive Range of Motion why it is important for yoga teacher to understand the difference between the two
a discussion of the three main barriers to range of motion that show up in our joints
some of the reasons the body might "tighten" and limit our range of motion
what we should we be thinking about in terms of how we teach movement when it comes to creating stability
how mobility and flexibility are different from one another

Learn More From Garrett:

On Instagram
On Facebook
On Shut Up And Yoga (this is the article our conversation was based so, so read it to dive even deeper!)

58: All About The Shoulder with Diana Zotos Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

The shoulder is a notoriously complex and even injury prone joint, but we don't have to be afraid of it! Today we have Diana Zotos, our resident Physical Therapist, joining us on The Mentor Sessions to dive into everything yoga teachers need to know about the shoulder!

Diana is the co-founder and co-director of Threes Physiyoga Method™ which is dedicated to teaching yoga teachers applied anatomy and kinesiology, and bridging the gap through advanced teacher training between yoga teachers and the healthcare industry.

In this episode you'll hear:

an overview of all the bones that make up the shoulder, including a deep dive into the scapula
a description of the many joints that actually make up the whole shoulder complex
the over AND underuse issues that come up in yoga practitioners
some things that yoga teachers can do in class to encourage healthy and full use of the shoulders
a quickfire Q+A about rotator cuffs, thoracic outlet syndrome, frozen shoulder, sore serratus anterior and overused trapezius muscles

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