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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:

154: How I Make Posting On Social Easier Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Social media can be a wonderful tool to help us connect with friends, communities or potential students. It can also be a black hole of despair and panic. Some people say it is necessary to participate and post on social media to be a successful business nowadays.

I don't think engaging on social media is a requirement for having a thriving yoga teaching business at all, but if you use it right it can be a cheap way to market your services. It is also really easy to waste countless hours creating posts that go nowhere and do nothing for you. This is not what we want!

I've been in a good routine with the way I am engaging with social media, and it's been working for my business without me having to spend hours on the apps. Today on the podcast I'm sharing the things I've been doing that make social media both easier for me, and actually useful!

In this episode, you'll hear:

why it only makes sense to post on social if it is easy
how to know your outcome goal
why you have to pivot to video and some easy ways to do that
different suggestions for creation schedules
my hot take on AI and how I'm using it in my business

Resources and posts mentioned:

Screen Zen App
WorkPlay Branding (company that did my photoshoots last year)
IG post I mentioned

153: 12 Ways I Stay Engaged In The World, Protect My Nervous System And Uplevel My Teaching Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

My understanding of the spiritual teachings is that my liberation doesn't mean anything unless everyone else is free too. The teachings of Buddhism say over and over again that a huge part of our practice is about creating a world where the safety and freedom and happiness of all sentient beings is possible. So from that I take that being engaged in working for a better world is a necessary part of my spiritual practice.

This is a really dark timeline. The things the American government is doing are truly horrific. I want to stay out of the spiral of despair and overwhelm so that I can be engaged, focused, supportive and actually helpful.

Today we are taking a deep dive into the 12 things I do regularly to stay engaged without overloading my system, find ways to be helpful and let it all be part of my practice and teaching. Let's dive in.

In today's episode you'll hear:

4 suggestions for staying informed without mainlining the news, because no one's nervous system is built for that
a soap box speech about social media and how I recommend you engage with it
the things I am doing to try and make both my small world and our wider community places better for everyone
4 things I do every day to keep my nervous system regulated

Resources

152: Advice For New Teachers PART TWO (The Business Stuff) Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

In episode 148 I collected all my best advice for new teachers. The episode centered around the idea that the most important thing new teachers can do is start teaching and figure out what kind of teacher they want to be.

But once you've started that process, there are some important business foundations you want to have in place so you have solid ground upon which to build. This episode (152) is a deep dive into those business fundamentals, including lots of recommendations for specific software.

If you are a new teacher, or an experienced teacher without an online presence, this episode is a must-listen!

In this episode, you'll hear:

why you don't need to worry about social right now
why you do need liability insurance, but not necessarily an LLC
my recommendations for online booking for 1x1 sessions
the software options to have students register for group classes
where to host your email list, and why you need one
options for website builders

Resources Mentioned

Liability Insurance:

How to book private lessons:

A place for people to register for group classes

Email list options:

Website Options:

151: What To Look For In A Retreat (And What To Expect At Mine) Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

How do we pour into ourselves so we have enough energy, time and focus for all the people who need us?

How do we stay connected to our practice, since it should be the foundation our whole teaching life is built on?

How do we stay inspired in our teaching without investing thousands of dollars in continuing education each year?

It is not easy! But creating time for our own practice and study is essential.

Today on the podcast I am going to share a story from a retreat I was on in Thailand. I was two weeks into a three-week trip when I realized I was as busy and exhausted as I was at home. The truth hit me like a ton of bricks, and that moment was the beginning of a lot of change for me.

In this episode, you'll hear:

what was happening the moment I realized I needed to make some big changes
how I think about spiritual study and self care now
what well digging and well refilling looks like in different seasons
the difference between being burned out and being overwhelmed
and how to address each one
what I'll be doing at my retreat to address all of these needs!

Resources:

Refill Your Well Retreat

150: Daily, Weekly + Monthly Routines That Make Me The Teacher I Want To Be Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Being a yoga teacher, heck being a PERSON, is TOUGH right now. But having a job that requires presence and vulnerability and groundedness all the time requires we pour into ourselves so we have something to give.

I LOVE hearing the behind the scenes details of people's lives and routines. And I'm so happy to say that after a pretty stressful few years, I have my self care routines DIALED IN right now! In today's episode of the podcast I am sharing the daily, weekly + monthly routines that make me the teacher I want to be.

It might sound kind of silly, but I treat being a fulltime yoga teacher and parent as a high performance job and it is WORKING for me!

In this episode, you'll hear:

what I do every month (and day) to keep me connected to my spiritual practice
how I care for my body with weekly routines
the ten things I prioritize every day to keep my nervous system healthy

This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. The best thing about OfferingTree is you can get up and running in 10 minutes with no tech skills needed. As an added bonus, If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you'll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan)! OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up. I'm proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.

149: What I'm Doing to Keep My Private Teaching Calendar Full Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

Teaching yoga, and maybe especially teaching private clients is, to be candid, an unstable way to make a living. But I have done it successfully for twenty years, so it can be done!

I'm in a season in my life where I have limited spots available to teach, but financially I need every single one of those spots filled every week. I have about ten standing private clients and then I have at least five spots every week that need to be filled.

So in today's episode, I am giving you all the details about what I am doing to keep my private teaching calendar full. It is working really well!

In this episode, you'll hear:

why I recommend having at least one virtual private yoga client
how having a list of people who I see infrequently has helped
how I talk about my work with confidence and seriousness
why I STILL offer free private lessons, and recommend you do too
how I manage my calendar booking software so I don't miss out on filling a spot
advice I have changed my mind on, and why I invite students to have their friends join their private lesson

148: My Advice For New Yoga Teachers Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Anytime I connect with a new-ish yoga teacher I end up giving a lot of the same advice, so I collected all of it in one place, right here in today's podcast episode! Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one in a phase of rebuilding (haven't we all been rebuilding lately??) this episode has all my best pearls of wisdom, hard won over the last twenty years of full-time yoga teaching!

In this episode, you'll hear:

why you should start a business bank account
the most important thing you can do as a new teacher
the difference between teaching and creating content
how important (or not) a website and branding is
what kind of teaching gigs I recommend for new teachers
how to get your first teaching jobs

This episode is sponsored by OfferingTree! Sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor to get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan). With OfferingTree, yoga teachers put their schedule on a personally branded website where students can book classes and even pay or donate online. All of this can be set up in 10 minutes or less. OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up.

147: Foundational Business Practices Every Yoga Teacher Needs with Lauren Schoenfeld Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

You all know that I am only minimally interested in business-- I'd much rather talk about the actual craft of teaching yoga. But we do need to make money, and if we have chosen yoga teaching as our job, we need to be SMART about business because it is not the easiest way to make a living!

Having some smart foundational systems in place can make a huge difference in your yoga teaching career path, and today we have Lauren Schoenfeld (she/her) on the podcast to help us out!

In this episode, you'll hear:

the foundational systems that all solopreneurs should have in place
what yoga teachers should look at if they want to cut unnecessary expenses
how to establish a cash flow plan for our businesses
Lauren's suggestions for helping yoga teachers to increase revenue

Lauren Schoenfeld is the founder of Active Core Consulting, offering fractional CFO, bookkeeping, sales, and operations coaching for health and wellness entrepreneurs. A self-proclaimed numbers nerd and athlete, Lauren empowers CEOs and business owners to confidently manage their finances and prioritize profit. She has grown her business while healing her body through nontraditional modalities and is on a mission to end hustle culture for entrepreneurs!

Learn More From Lauren:

146: What The Teachings Say About Current Events with Hari-kirtana Das (PART 2) May 20, 2025

Show notes

More than ever our work as yoga teachers is challenging and important.

We don't want to be like this lady, right? Trying to sell people something they don't need while their house burns down? People need yoga, but they need the kind of yoga that supports awareness, connection and care (which could mean lots of different things for different students and teachers!). People do not need the kind of yoga that encourages disconnection and shutting down.

Over the last two months we've been exploring how to address current events in your yoga classes, first wth a solo episode: Should You Talk About Current Events In Yoga Classes?? ... and then I looped my friend Hari-Kirtana into the conversation and he shared How To Give a Dharma Talk When The World Is On Fire.

And today we are diving into Part 2, What The Teachings Say About Current Events with Hari-kirtana Das (PART 2)!

In this episode, you'll hear:

how to make the connections between current events and yoga philosophy
what are "the teachings?" ...an observation of the range of yoga wisdom traditions to draw from
what does yoga epistemology (pramana) say
what do yoga's core principles / ethics / values say
advice for Red State yoga teachers
examples of on the spot created dharma talks based on actual current events

Hari-kirtana das (he/him) is a yoga teacher, spiritual mentor, and the author of two books on yoga philosophy: Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita: A Guide to Exploring Timeless Principles of Transcendental Knowledge and Integrating Them Into Your Life and In Search of the Highest Truth: Adventures in Yoga Philosophy.

Hari has been practicing devotional and other yogic disciplines for over 40 years, has lived in yoga ashrams and intentional spiritual communities, worked for Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley start-ups, and brings a wide range of spiritual knowledge and life experience to his classes, workshops, and presentations.

Learn More From Hari-kirtana Das:

Hari-kirtana das' website
Hari-kirtana das on Facebook and Instagram
Hari-kirtana das' book Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita
Free Dharma Talk EBook
Free Community Conversations
On-Demand Workshops and Other Free Resources

OfferingTree is a proud sponsor of this episode and I am honored to be an affiliate. Visit OfferingTree at www.offeringtree.com/mentor and you'll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan). OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up and I'm proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.

145: How To Give a Dharma Talk When The World Is On Fire with Hari-kirtana das (PART 1) May 13, 2025

Show notes

You don't me to tell you that the world as we know it is burning to the ground. This makes teaching yoga hard, important and strange. A few episodes back I answered the question, "Should we talk about current events in our yoga classes?" By essentially saying, "maybe… but most likely YES." In that episode I talked about how important it was to have an understanding and point of view about what the yoga teachings would say about current events. I received a ton of great feedback about that episode, and also a lot of questions.

So we are diving deeper into those questions with my friend Hari-Kirtana Das.

Hari-kirtana das (he/him) is a yoga teacher, spiritual mentor, and the author of two books on yoga philosophy: Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita: A Guide to Exploring Timeless Principles of Transcendental Knowledge and Integrating Them Into Your Life and In Search of the Highest Truth: Adventures in Yoga Philosophy.

Hari has been practicing devotional and other yogic disciplines for over 40 years, has lived in yoga ashrams and intentional spiritual communities, worked for Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley start-ups, and brings a wide range of spiritual knowledge and life experience to his classes, workshops, and presentations.

He's on the faculty of numerous Yoga Teacher Training programs, offers live online workshops and courses throughout the year, and his mission is to illuminate the many ways in which the yoga wisdom tradition can guide us toward meaningfully transformative spiritual experiences.

In this episode, you'll hear:

why it makes sense for yoga teachers to talk about current events and politics in class
how teachers can start to make the connections between current events and yoga philosophy
Hari's formula for delivering a great dharma talk
ideas to help teachers integrate philosophy into asana class

And stay tuned for Part 2 of this conversation coming soon!

Learn More From Hari-kirtana Das:

Hari-kirtana das' website
Hari-kirtana das on Facebook and Instagram
Hari-kirtana das' book Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita
Free Dharma Talk EBook
Free Community Conversations
On-Demand Workshops and Other Free Resources

This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you'll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan)! OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up. I'm proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.

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