As a student of yoga, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is one of the major texts you will see and study. A good portion of the text discusses the mind and you either learn to control the mind or it eventually controls you. In book 1, sutra 2, Patanjali introduces the concept of âChitta Vrittisâ which refers to âthe fluctuations of the mind.â
Yoga Sutra 1.2 states: âYogas citta vritti nirodhah,â which can be translated to, “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” This sutra stresses the importance of being in control of the mind and being able to recognize that the mind isnât always allowing you to see what the truth actually is. The mind is often compared to the ripples you see when you look at an active lake or even like the filters you put over your photos on social media.
The âChitta Vrittis,” or the fluctuating states of the mind, are: correct perception, delusion, imagination, deep sleep, and memory. âNirodhaâ is the cessation of all of these fluctuations. This doesnât necessarily mean that you no longer think or see with your mind. It means that through the practice of yoga, you become an observer of your mind. You become able to watch when your mind moves through these fluctuations and you can take action from a place of awareness.
Yoga Sutra 1.2 is a reminder that, through consistent practice, you can acquire the tools to be in control of your actions and reactions. You can make decisions that are well thought out as opposed to being at the mercy of your emotions and reactions.
This week our peak pose is Full Wheel, or Urdhva Dhanurasana, and it has a lot going on! This is certainly a pose where your mind can go in a million directions and it can cause a lot of frustration if you havenât arrived at a place where your mind is calm and youâre in the present moment. This pose requires the front of the legs to be open, strong hamstrings, awareness of the side body, an open heart, strength and mobility in the arms and back, and also overall trust in your ability to maintain balance while incorporating mental and physical strength.
This pose helps build awareness in the feet, length through the lower back, and elongation in the front of the thighs. There is a beautiful feeling of grounded-ness and also lightness. Itâs a great introduction to the elements that made up Full Wheel and a great pose to begin to allow your body to feel the patterns that need to be applied to the peak pose.
From a low lunge, lower your back knee to the ground. You can use a blanket beneath the back knee if youâd like. Ideally, youâre not directly on the kneecap, but a little above it and closer to the thigh. Uncurl your back toes so all of your toenails are on the mat.
How to:
Encourage your hips to move a bit forward of your back knee. If the hips are directly above that knee, you may not feel much in the quadriceps.
Bring your hands to the top of your front thigh and then extend your arms up high overhead. You may look forward to slightly up, but be mindful to keep the back and sides of your neck long.
Think about your front heel and your back knee moving towards one another. They wonât physically move, but itâll help draw your outer hips inwards to create more stability.
Supporting Pose #2: Supported Bridge Pose with Blocks (Supported Setu Bandha Sarvangasana with Blocks)
If you have access to yoga blocks, this is a great option because it allows your body to release without you needing to engage too much. The props almost do the work for you and you can stay in this pose for a few minutes. This is an excellent moment to come back to your theme or dharma talk, or to give the class a few moments of silence.
How to:
Bring one block on its highest height for beneath your head and one block on its middle height for behind your shoulders.
Sit in front of the blocks, making sure your feet and your sitting bones are one the mat.
Begin to recline onto the blocks, adjusting the placement as you come down.
You may lengthen your legs if it feels okay and also either extend your arms overhead or keep them out to your sides.
After moving the blocks away, itâs great to come into the full expression of Bridge Pose because it will help you understand what your feet and legs need to begin to do. Itâs a great pose to understand how strong your legs need to be when practicing bridge and itâs a nice time to become more aware of the lift of your chest.
How to:
Begin on your back with your feet on your mat and your knees bent. Have your feet about hips with apart and your ankles right under your knees.
Ground your feet into the mat and use the strength of your legs to lift your hips towards the sky. Use the strength of your upper back to lift your chest a little higher.
Look straight up and be sure all of your toe tips are facing forward.
Either interlace your fingers and drive your knuckles towards your heels or press your hands into the mat to help keep your chest lifted.
Peak Pose: Full Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)
From bridge pose, brings your hands beside your ears.
As your breathe in, ground your feet. As you breathe out, come to the crown of your head.
Remember to keep your legs within the frame of your body and your toes facing forward as you press your hands into the mat and lengthen your arms.
Use the strength of your legs to help you lift your hips higher and send your heart towards the space that youâre looking at.
Relax your jaw and remember to breathe. Stay for a few cycles of breathing (even one full round is great!) and come down with the same amount of effort that you came up with.
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Breathwork is the intentional practice of observing or changing your breathing pattern to support physical and mental well-being. Rooted in yoga’s traditional practice of pranayama, breathwork includes techniques that may help manage stress, improve breath awareness, support relaxation, and influence heart rate variability. Its effects depend on the breathing technique and the individual.
Breathwork, or pranayama, has long been an important part of yoga practice. Working with your breath offers powerful health benefits, including:
Dramatically improving your ability to deal with stress
Increasing your heart rate variability
Letting go of unconscious negative breathing habits
Learning to breathe with more ease
In this article, weâll look at each of these in more detail.
Why practice breathwork?
One of the reasons yogis put so much attention on the breath is that they recognized that while we have some voluntary control over the breath, most of the time breathing is unconscious. They saw the breath as a way to link conscious and unconscious aspects of ourselves.
You can easily feel this dual nature of the breath. For instance, you could take a deep breath right now, or even hold your breathâat least for a little while. Eventually, youâd need to breathe again, but the point is that the muscles that you use to breathe are voluntary. You have some conscious control over them.
Of course, most of the time youâre not breathing consciously. Until you started reading this post, you probably werenât even aware that you were breathing. Thatâs good because you need to breathe all the time, and youâve got other things to think about. In fact, even if youâre not conscious at allâlike when youâre sleepingâyou need to breathe.
This ability to consciously control the breath makes it different from other vital functions, such as your heart beat, blood pressure or digestion. All of those functions are necessary to keep you aliveâas is breathingâbut theyâre controlled by a part of your nervous system that you donât have voluntary control over, called the autonomic nervous system. Most of the time youâre not even aware of this part of your nervous system. Itâs working in the background.
TL;DR:Â Breathwork is beneficial for your overall health because it can help reduce stress, improve vital functions of the body and offer a cathartic release. Learn more about Breathwork & Pranayama.
How Breathwork Works
The autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system has two major divisions. The sympathetic division is the bodyâs stress response. Itâs often referred to as the âfight or flightâ system, because it helps you either fight off or flee a threat. The parasympathetic division, on the other hand, is sometimes called the ârest and digestâ system because it helps you return to baseline when the threat is over.
Imagine youâve just finished having dinner with your friends at a restaurant. Youâre walking home and you pass a dark alley. You see someone lurking in the alley. They might be a threat, so your sympathetic nervous system kicks in.
If you have to run from this person, or fight them, your muscles will need fuel. Your sympathetic nervous system will dump epinephrine, aka adrenaline, into your bloodstream, increasing blood sugar. Your muscles will need oxygen, so your breathing rate will go up and your airway will open. Your heartbeat and your blood pressure will increase to ensure you can pump that blood to your muscles. Your muscles will produce heat, so youâll start sweating.
At the same time, your dinner is sitting in your stomach. Itâs going to take hours to digest that meal, so itâs not going to help you run right now. The blood flow to your digestive organs will be reduced.
This the bodyâs stress response. It can be life-saving. You need that ability to rev up your system to cope with threats. However, the same stress response can kick in when thereâs nothing life threatening happening. Maybe youâre just stuck in traffic or you had a fight with your spouse. Your body will go through the same physiological sequence.
And, while that stress response can keep you alive when Itâs needed, chronic stress has a lot of negative health consequences, including to your blood pressure, blood sugar and immune response. Spending too much time in that sympathetic mode isnât good for you. So having tools available that can help you shift toward a more parasympathetic state can be very helpful.
Because you can control your breath voluntarily, it offers a way to indirectly influence your autonomic nervous system. The regions of the brain that control the autonomic nervous system and the areas that control the breath communicate with each other. The autonomic nervous system influences breathing, and breathing influences the autonomic nervous system.
When your parasympathetic system is active, your breathing slows down. If you intentionally slow your breathing, even if youâre feeling stressed, youâll send a signal to your nervous system that things are ok, that thereâs nothing to worry about. This can actually help you shift in reality toward a more parasympathetic state.
Heart rate variability
A marker of the health of your autonomic nervous system is heart rate variability. You might imagine that having a steady, metronome-like heart beat would be healthy, but in fact itâs not. A healthy heart rate varies from beat to beat.
This is due to the influence of the main nerve of the parasympathetic division, the vagus nerve. The vagus is a cranial nerve. It exits directly from the brain through an opening in the skull. Itâs a long nerve that branches throughout your neck and upper torso. This long, meandering pathway is where it gets its name. Vagus is derived from the same root word meaning âwanderingâ that we get âvagrantâ and âvagabondâ from.
The vagus runs to most organs in the upper part of the torso, including the heart and lungs. When the vagus is active, is slows your heart rate.
Interestingly, this activation is coordinated with your breathing. When you exhale, your vagus nerve tells your heart to slow down slightly. When you inhale, the vagus takes its foot off the brake (metaphorically, of course), and the heart speeds up slightly. This is called respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
When you see âarrhythmia,â that may not sound like a good thing, but it is. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is normal, and a sign of a healthy autonomic system. It indicates that the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions can switch back and forth smoothly.
This link between the exhalation and the parasympathetic response offers another way to indirectly influence the nervous system. While slowing your breathing down overall can help you cope with stress, lengthening the exhalation in particular can help even more.
Breathing muscles
Another benefit of breathwork is that it can train the muscles you use for breathing and help you identify habits that may be making it harder to breathe than it needs to be.
The main muscle you use for breathing is the diaphragm. This is a dome shaped muscle that lies in the lower part of your ribcage. When you inhale, it contracts, pulling the roof of the dome downward. Because the lungs are sitting on top of the diaphragm, that contraction stretches open the lungs, expanding their volume, and air flows in to fill up that space. When you breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and the lungs shrink.
The diaphragm is very efficient. It contracts multiple times every minute over your entire lifetime, and it never gets tired. So, in general, the diaphragm should do most of the work of breathing.
As the diaphragm contracts, it pushes down on the abdomen. If the abdominal wall muscles are relaxed, the diaphragm can descend. But if you tend to chronically contract your abdominal wall muscles, that can make it harder for the diaphragm to do its job. The same thing can happen with other muscles, such as the chest wall or the pelvic floor muscles.
Many of us habitually hold unnecessary muscle contraction in these areas, making the diaphragm work harder than it needs to. However, weâre often not aware of those habits.
Breathwork is grounded in breath awareness. It begins with paying attention to your breathâobserving without trying to change it or make judgments about it. Through that process, you may discover areas where youâre holding or gripping that are affecting your breath.
This process can begin with something as simple as lying on your back with your knees bent. Place your hands on your abdomen and observe whether you feel it moving. If you can relax your abdominal wall muscles, youâll find that your belly will rise toward the ceiling when you inhale and descend toward the floor when you exhale. Thatâs simply the result of your diaphragm moving up and down as you breathe.
You may find itâs not so easy to relax those muscles, if your habit is to keep them contracted. The process begins by simply noticing, but eventually those muscles can learn to let go, and youâll find that you can breathe with more ease.
Give this simple exercise a try, and you may find that not only can you breathe more easily, but your breath may naturally slow down and your nervous system may begin to quiet. Even a few minutes of lying on your back like this with your hands resting on your belly, bringing your attention to your breath, can have enormous benefits, both for your body and your mind.
The Anatomy of Breathwork
Breathwork is the intentional practice of changing or observing your breathing pattern to influence your physical and mental state. To understand how breathwork works, it helps to look at three interconnected systems: the respiratory system, the diaphragm, and the autonomic nervous system.
The respiratory system brings oxygen into the body and removes carbon dioxide. During inhalation, the diaphragmâa dome-shaped muscle beneath the lungsâcontracts and moves downward, allowing the chest cavity to expand and air to flow into the lungs. During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward as air flows out.
The diaphragm and breathing muscles play an essential role in how comfortably and efficiently you breathe. Gentle diaphragmatic breathing encourages movement through the lower rib cage and abdomen rather than relying only on the upper chest. Becoming aware of unnecessary tension in the abdomen, chest, and shoulders may help you develop a more comfortable breathing pattern.
The autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary functions such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion. It includes the sympathetic branch, which helps the body respond to demands and stress, and the parasympathetic branch, which supports recovery and rest. Research suggests that certain controlled breathing practices, particularly slow breathing, can influence autonomic activity and may support relaxation and emotional regulation.
The key takeaway is that breathwork is more than simply taking a deep breath. By bringing awareness to the rhythm, depth, and ease of your breathing, you can explore how different breathing techniques affect your body and mind. The effects vary depending on the technique, the individual, and the circumstances in which the practice is used.
How to Practice Breath Awareness at Home
You can begin exploring the benefits of breathwork with a simple breath-awareness exercise. This beginner-friendly practice focuses on observing your natural breathing pattern rather than forcing your breath to change.
Find a comfortable position. Lie on your back with your knees bent, or sit in a supported, upright position.
Observe your natural breath. Notice the movement of your abdomen, rib cage, and chest as you inhale and exhale.
Release unnecessary tension. Allow your jaw, shoulders, and abdomen to soften without forcing relaxation.
Breathe comfortably. If it feels natural, allow your exhalation to become slightly slower, without straining or holding your breath.
Finish gradually. After a few minutes, return your attention to your surroundings and notice how you feel.
Start with a few minutes and adjust according to your comfort. The goal is to develop awareness, not to achieve a particular breathing rate or sensation. Stop if you feel dizzy, breathless, or uncomfortable.
Breathwork Techniques for Beginners
Different breathwork techniques serve different purposes. The best starting point depends on your experience, comfort, and goals.
Diaphragmatic breathing: Focuses on comfortable movement of the diaphragm and lower rib cage to develop awareness of breathing mechanics.
Slow breathing: Involves breathing at a comfortable, slower pace. Research suggests that slow breathing can influence heart rate variability and autonomic activity.
Extended-exhalation breathing: Emphasizes a gentle, unforced exhalation that lasts slightly longer than the inhalation. Some people find this helpful for relaxation.
Ujjayi breathing: A yogic breathing technique involving a gentle narrowing of the throat to create a soft, audible breath.
These practices are not interchangeable, and no single technique is best for everyone. Beginners should prioritize comfortable breathing and learn more advanced or intensive methods from a qualified instructor.
Is Breathwork Safe for Everyone?
Gentle breath awareness is generally accessible to many people, but not every breathing technique is appropriate for every individual. Rapid breathing, forceful techniques, and prolonged breath retention may cause dizziness, tingling, anxiety, or other uncomfortable symptoms.
Begin with natural, unforced breathing and stop if symptoms develop. If you have a respiratory or cardiovascular condition, a history of fainting or panic triggered by breathing exercises, or another relevant health concern, consult an appropriate healthcare professional before trying intensive breathwork. Never practice techniques that cause distress or compromise your ability to breathe comfortably.
Frequently Asked Questions About Breathwork
1. What are the main benefits of breathwork?
Breathwork may help manage stress, promote relaxation, improve awareness of breathing habits, and influence autonomic nervous system activity. Research on slow breathing also suggests potential benefits for heart rate variability and emotional well-being.
2. How does breathwork affect the nervous system?
Breathing and the autonomic nervous system influence each other. Certain controlled breathing techniques, especially slow breathing, can affect heart rate and autonomic activity and may support a calmer physiological state.
3. What is the difference between breathwork and pranayama?
Breathwork is a broad term for intentional breathing practices. Pranayama is the traditional yogic discipline of breath regulation, encompassing practices with different purposes, methods, and levels of intensity.
4. How long should you practice breathwork?
Beginners can start with a few minutes of comfortable, unforced breathing and gradually adjust based on their needs. There is no single ideal duration for every technique or person. Stop if you feel dizzy, breathless, or uncomfortable, and avoid forcing the breath or prolonged breath holds without appropriate guidance.
Written by Anatomy Expert Joe Miller
Joe Miller is a New York City-based yoga and movement teacher who teaches anatomy and movement science around the U.S. and internationally for 20 years. He completed his initial yoga teacher training at OM Yoga Center in New York in 2000, then went on to earn a masters degree in applied physiology at Columbia University. He has written about yoga, anatomy and physiology for various print and online publications.
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Breathwork & Pranayama Certification
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The power of language can help to elevate us mentally, or emotionally and propel us between the gap of where we are and where weâre looking to go spiritually. There are many powerful quotes that can help build this bridge.
Here, weâve compiled a list of quotes for you to pull from â not just as a source of personal inspiration but also as a potential tool for you to utilize in the classroom as a yoga teacher.
Yoga Teacher Quotes:
1. “A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves.” â Terri Guillemets
2. “Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.”â B.K.S. Iyengar
3. “Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divinity within you.”â Amit Ray
4. “Thatâs why itâs called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value.” â Allan Lokos
5. “Silence is not silent. Silence speaks. It speaks most eloquently. Silence is not still. Silence leads. It leads most perfectly.”â Sri Chinmoy
6. “Yoga does not always cure stress. It neutralizes it through increasing awareness and by changing self-perception.”â Debasish Mridha
7. “It isn’t arrogant or egotistical to feel good inside. You had nothing to do with it. It’s simply the honest response to clearly perceived reality.”â Erich Schiffman
8. “The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.”â Jason Crandell
9. “Yoga begins right where I am â not where I was yesterday or where I long to be.”â Linda Sparrow
10. “Yoga is not a work-out, its a work-in – and this is the point of spiritual practice, to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are.” â Rolf Gates
11. “What yoga philosophy and all the great Buddhist teachings tells us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant.” â Donna Farhi
12. “The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.”â Sakyong Mipham
13. “The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”â Buddha
14. “There will always be people who can do it better than you, but thats a good thing! Start to see competition as inspiration – without envy.”â Kathryn Budig
15. “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”â The Bhagavad Gita
16. “Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being yoga.”â Baron Baptiste
17. “Yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s about what you learn on the way down.”â Jigar Gor
18. “True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesnât care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.”â Aadil Palkhivala
19. “Yoga begins with listening. When we listen, we are giving space to what is.”â Richard Freeman
20. “Remember, it doesnât matter how deep into a posture you go â what does matter is who you are when you get there.”â Max Strom
21. “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”â Patanjali (Yoga Sutras)
22. “Body is not stiff, mind is stiff.”â Sri K. Jois
23. “We have never arrived. We are in a constant state of becoming.”â Bob Dylan
24. “The yoga mat is a good place to turn when talk therapy and antidepressants arenât enough.”â Amy Weintraub
25. “In truth, yoga doesn’t take time – it gives time.”â Ganga White
26. “You’re only as young as your spine is flexible.”â Bob Harper
27. “Have only love in your heart for others. The more you see the good in them, the more you will establish good in yourself.”â T.K.V. Desikachar
28. “Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga is the poetry of movements.” â Amit Ray
29. “By our stumbling, the world is perfected.”â Sri Aurobindo
30. “Yoga is about remembering that we are already one with the divinity and weâve never left it.”â Sri K. Jois
31. “If you have time to breathe, you have time to meditate. You breathe when you walk. You breathe when you stand. You breathe when you lie down.”â Ajahn Amaro
32. “Yoga is the bringing together of that which was never separate.”â Richard Miller
33. “When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.”â Hatha Yoga Pradipik
34. “If it weren’t for my mind, my meditate would be excellent.” â Ani Pema Chodron
35. “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny.” â Upanishads
36. “Before you’ve practiced, the theory is useless. After you’ve practiced, the theory is obvious.”â David Williams
37. “Peace comes from within, do not seek it without.”â Anonymous
38. “Remember that sometimes, not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”â Dalai Lama
39. “The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind.”â Rodney Yee
40. “What Iâm looking for is not out there; it is in me.”â Helen Keller
41. “You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.”â Sharon Gannon
42. “What we want out of yoga is ourselves, not something better than ourselves.”â Douglas Brooks
43. “Most people come to yoga expecting to learn how to stand on their head but end up learning how to stand on their own two feet.”â Dana Flynn
44. “Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.”â B.K.S. Iyengar
45. “What yoga philosophy and all the great Buddhist teachings tells us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant.”â Donna Farhi
46. “You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”â Wayne Dyer
47. “When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world.”â B.K.S. Iyengar
48. “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”â Rumi
49. “Yoga is the art work of awareness on the canvas of body, mind, and soul.” â Amit Ray
50. “Beyond meditation there is the experience of now.”â Ryan Parenti
Incorporating these quotes into a yoga class
Dharma talks are a great way to begin any yoga class. An easy way to get started is usually by summarizing one of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, or by using one of these quotes and expanding on it by tying it back to the yoga practice. We’ve even developed full courses centered around learning more about yoga philosophy and online teacher training courses to get you started with teaching!
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A yoga class can be a fun place… until you get a whiff of something pungent – and it’s not the incense! Hey look, it happens. Sometimes there is a lingering odor in class and you know it’s coming from a student but you don’t want to hurt any feelings or disrupt the energy of the room.
Here’s our take on how to handle it.
One-Off vs. Chronic Hygiene Issues: Knowing the Difference
The “One-Off” Bad Day
Example: A student coming in after a long workday, forgetting deodorant, or having an off day. How to handle it: Keep it simpleâavoid standing directly over the area if possible, let the air circulate, and move on. It is rarely worth making a student feel self-conscious over a single incident.
The Chronic or Recurring Issue
Scenario: A regular member whose hygiene consistently causes surrounding students to move their mats or complain. Why it matters: Repeat issues affect student retention, create studio-wide discomfort, and require intentional steps to resolve. Understanding root causes: Recognize that students often do not realize they smellâthey may be reusing unwashed yoga clothes while changing straight from work attire.
Step 1: Optimize Your Studio Environment & Amenities
Stock Bathroom Amenities: Offer complimentary spray deodorant, body sprays, or hygiene products in studio restrooms so students have easy access to quick fixes.
Improve Ventilation: Run overhead or floor fans during and after intense classes to keep air moving.
Clear Room Air Between Classes: Open windows, light candles, or burn incense between sessions to clear heavy air before the next group arrives.
Step 2: Utilize Indirect & Group Communication
Studio-Wide Hygiene Memos
Community Email Reminders: Send a general studio policy update covering overall etiquette, mat cleanliness, and personal hygiene reminders.
Targeted Roster Emails: If the issue persists in a specific recurring class, send a gentle, broad reminder to the entire attendee roster of that specific class session.
Step 3: Direct & Gentle Communication Tactics
Using Light Humor in Class
The Playful Approach: Teachers with a lighthearted or humorous style can address the room generallyâoffering room spray or deodorant in a fun, non-judgmental way to break the tension.
Having a One-on-One Conversation
Lead with Compassion: When indirect methods do not work, address the student privately and gently.
Protect Dignity: Emphasize community and care so the student does not feel shamed, embarrassed, or unwelcome in your space.
This week’s yoga class theme is âbelieving in yourselfâ as explored through Yoga Sutra 1.20:
ĹraddhÄ-vÄŤrya-smášti-samÄdhi-prajĂąÄ-pĹŤrvaka itareᚣÄm
Faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom support the journey.
Yoga Sutra 1.20 speaks to the power of *ĹraddhÄ*âfaith, trust, and confidence in the path ahead.
Believing in yourself doesn’t mean you never doubt yourself. It means learning to trust your ability to meet whatever comes your way. Every time you step onto your mat, you have an opportunity to practice that trust: to listen inwardly, honor where you are today, and take the next step without needing to know exactly where it will lead.
Let your practice today be less about proving what you can do and more about remembering what you already carry within you.
Dharma Talk:
Here are a few quotes you can utilize in your Dharma Talk at the beginning of class. Be sure to weave them into your teaching throughout class and apply them to the peak pose.
Can you trust yourself enough to try something that feels challengingânot because you know you’ll succeed, but because you trust yourself to meet whatever happens?
You don’t have to be certain to believe in yourself. You simply have to be willing to trust yourself enough to begin.
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Class Outline
Puttering:
Cat/Cow
Downward Facing Dog
Lizard Lunge
Prasarita Padottanasana (lower onto forearms or lower forearms onto blocks)
Low Lunge Twist
Plank
Cobra
Standing Poses:
Warrior Two
Extended Side Angle
Half Moon
(+ any others you might like to add!)
Balance & Twists:
Eagle
Warrior Three
Revolved Extended Side Angle
Peak Pose Prep + Peak Pose:
Have students practice Dolphin first, they can choose to remain there during Pincha Mayurasana or practice it at the wall if they choose to.
Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand) either at the wall or on their mat without support if they are comfortable enough
Wind Down:
Bridge
Supine Twist
Happy Baby
Savasana
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If you’re considering transitioning from a yoga teacher to a studio owner, it can be an exciting leap. But many aspiring entrepreneurs ask, “What is it really like to own a yoga studio?” Beyond teaching classes, managing a physical location comes with unique rewards and steep business challenges.
Let’s get into it…
The Reality of Yoga Studio Overhead Costs and Profit Margins
“Is owning a yoga studio profitable, and how much do yoga studio owners make?” is another commonly searched inquiry, and rightfully so. There are a few key things to note when considering the profit margins of opening your own studio:
Thin Profit Margins: Running a brick-and-mortar studio comes with high fixed overhead costsâsuch as rent and maintenanceâthat mirror other fitness spaces like Pilates studios. However, compared to other boutique fitness classes that charge $40â$50 per drop-in, yoga studios often face customer resistance to higher pricing, making margins exceptionally tight.
Realistic Earnings: Owning a studio is generally not a path to becoming an overnight millionaire. While owners can make a comfortable living, expectations often outpace the reality of revenue potential.
Hands-On Operations: To manage expenses and afford competitive teacher pay, owners frequently work inside the businessâteaching a high volume of classes, managing the front desk, writing newsletters, and handling social media themselves.
Key Yoga Studio Owner Challenges (The Cons)
Ultimate Responsibility: As an owner, you are no longer just responsible for your own classes; you are accountable for every teacher, every student, and every operational detail.
Focusing Beyond Teaching: Being a great teacher alone does not guarantee a studio’s success. Owners must handle unglamorous duties like cleaning floors, resolving plumbing issues, managing locked doors at 7:00 AM, and handling customer complaints.
Wearing Multiple Hats: Studio owners must acquire diverse business skills on the fly, including marketing, staff management, facility maintenance, and financial planning.
The Benefits of Studio Ownership (The Pros)
Control Over Your Destiny: Ownership gives you the autonomy to scale your success, expand your offerings, launch workshops, or open new locations on your own terms.
Curating the Entire Experience: Owners get to shape every aspect of their spaceâfrom lighting, scent, and music to front-desk interactions and yoga stylesâcreating a cohesive, welcoming environment.
Building Deep Community: A well-run studio becomes a second home where students build lasting relationships, make lifelong friends, and connect with their practice.
An Inspiring Place to Work: Having your own studio offers a creative, uplifting environment where you can practice under instructors you admire and work alongside a supportive team.
Yoga Business Advice: How to Run a Successful Yoga Studio
Build a practical business plan because passion alone isn’t enough! Before opening, outline clear financial projections, define your unique offering, and understand your local market. Get in touch with your community and find what gaps you can fill or how you can stand apart from other yoga studios in the area.
Learn to embrace the “Teacher Entrepreneur” mindset. You must be prepared to step out of the studio room to manage operational strategies, content creation, and staff development. You’re the boss, now!
Keep overhead lean! This is a secret tip. In the early stages, wear multiple operational hats to keep labor costs manageable while your member base grows.
If you are deeply passionate, willing to handle the business demands, and equipped with a clear plan, studio ownership can be a deeply rewarding career path.
Check out how Kate & Patrick did it in their most recent podcast episode:
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Eka Pada Koundinyasana, named after the sage Koundinya, is an intermediate to advanced level arm balance pose. This pose develops strength and agility of body; coordination and concentration of mind, and lightness and equanimity of spirit. One thing to remember when practicing or teaching a pose that is physically challenging like Koundinyasana 2 is that there are numerous points in the process to be able to work even if the full posture isnât available on this particular day. So… just do your best and enjoy the ride.
In this vinyasa yoga sequence, we are focusing on the legs moving from bent to straight through a variety of different poses. This is one of the key actions when working on Koundinyasana 2. Straightening the legs fully, while suspended above the mat on the hands, will encourage a feeling of lightness throughout the body.
While moving through this sequence, keep in mind the challenge ahead and be cognizant of exhaustion. It is important to have preserved the mental and physical focus necessary to work on Koundinyasana s while at the same time opening and preparing the body to be ready. A good vinyasa class is both challenging yet achievable and should leave a student feeling light and equanimous, not foggy or drained.
As with most âleg over shoulderâ arm balances the body needs to be opened in a variety of ways that open the shoulders, hip flexors, hamstrings, and spine. Poses like Triangle Pose, Wide Legged Standing Forward Fold, Lizard Pose, and Yogi Squat are great poses to build a sequence around when working on Koundinyasana 2.
Puttering/Warm-Up:
Child’s Pose
Lizard Pose
Wide Leg Forward Fold
Skandasana
Sun Salutations:
3-4 Rounds
Standing Poses:
Triangle Pose
Extended Side Angle Pose
Half Moon Pose
Devotional Warrior
Yogi Squat
Balance Pose:
Eagle Pose
Peak Pose:
Koundinyasana 2
Wind Down Poses:
Supported Fish
Bridge
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Reclined Spinal Twist
Happy Baby
Savasana
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If you teach yoga, you already know that one of the trickiest moments is getting asked to sub a class last minute. Maybe the original teacher is stuck in traffic, thereâs an emergency, or the schedule has changed and now youâre stepping in with almost no warning.
In this episode of Yoga Teacher Problems, we discuss what makes last-minute substitute teaching so challenging, why students sometimes react strongly, and how teachers can handle the situation while protecting the student experience.
Why Last-Minute Subbing Feels So Awkward
Last-minute subbing is difficult because you are not just teaching a classâyou are stepping into expectations that already exist.
Students may arrive expecting a specific teacher, teaching style, sequence, playlist, and energy. When that changes at the door, the room can begin with a sense of disappointment. That does not mean the class is doomed, but it does mean the substitute teacher is starting from a different emotional place than usual.
Yoga teachers also care deeply about the complete class experience. The sequence, music, lighting, pacing, cues, and atmosphere all contribute to the way students feel. When you are called in at the last minute, many of those details may no longer be within your control.
You may not have your usual playlist. You may not know the students. You may not know exactly what they expected. And if the regular teacher is especially popular, you may feel as though you are being compared with someone before you even begin.
Watch the Full Episode:
What Students Are Really Reacting To
When a student leaves after discovering there is a substitute teacher, it can feel personal. However, students are often reacting to the change in plans rather than rejecting the substitute teacher.
Their response may come from:
Expectation mismatch: They came for one teacher and received another.
Perceived value: They feel they paid for a specific class or experience.
Routine disruption: They wanted something familiar and now have to adjust.
These reactions may not feel good, but understanding them can help substitute teachers avoid taking the situation personally.
There is also an important difference between a planned substitute and a last-minute substitute. When a teacher announces coverage in advance, students have time to prepare. A last-minute change gives them little opportunity to adjust, so the emotional reaction can be stronger.
As the substitute, your role is not only to teach the class. You are also helping students move from disappointment into presence.
A helpful mindset shift is this: the student may not be rejecting you as a teacher. They may simply be disappointed by the unexpected change.
How to Step In Confidently When You Did Not Prepare
The best last-minute substitute teachers are not necessarily the ones with the most elaborate class plans. They are the ones who can adapt quickly and remain calm.
1. Get Clear on the Class Level
Before class begins, confirm whether the class is beginner, mixed-level, restorative, vinyasa, power, or another format. If possible, ask what the regular teacher typically offers.
Even a small amount of information can help you create a class that feels appropriate for the students in the room.
2. Use What You Have
If your music is unavailable, borrow a playlist or teach without music. If you do not know the students, use clear and accessible language. If you are unsure of the roomâs energy, begin with a grounded opening and allow the class to build naturally.
The goal is not to recreate the regular teacher perfectly. The goal is to offer a thoughtful, safe, and supportive practice.
3. Acknowledge the Situation Briefly
You do not need to give a long explanation. A simple statement can help reset the room:
âI know this is a change from what you expected, and Iâm glad to practice with you today.â
After that, move forward. The more attention you give the disruption, the more significant it may feel.
4. Lead with Steadiness
Students often decide whether they can trust the experience during the first few minutes. If you appear calm and preparedâeven if you are adapting in real timeâthey are more likely to relax.
Last-minute subbing is an opportunity to practice teaching the people who are actually in front of you, rather than the class you imagined in advance.
Why It Can Be Worth Staying for the Substitute
Students may miss out on a valuable experience if they leave immediately after discovering there is a substitute. If a trusted studio or teacher has selected the substitute, there is usually a reason. The class may still be excellent, even if it is not the experience the student originally expected. In some cases, students discover a new favorite teacher simply because they stayed open to the change.
There is also a deeper lesson connected to yoga philosophy: non-attachment (aparigraha).
Practice is not always about receiving the exact experience we planned for. Sometimes it is about meeting the experience that appears and noticing what it has to teach us. That lesson applies to teachers as well as students. A substitute teacher does not have to be the expected person to create a meaningful class. They simply need to show up with care and presence.
Of course, financial considerations are valid. If someone paid for a specific class and feels that the substitute experience is significantly different, it is reasonable to ask about the studioâs policy. Outside of those concerns, however, staying open to a substitute can turn an initially frustrating moment into a rewarding practice.
How to Make Last-Minute Subs Enjoyable for the Students & Yourself
You cannot eliminate every awkward substitute situation, but you can make the experience smoother for teachers and students.
Communicate as Early as Possible: Even when the change is unavoidable, communicate it quickly. The sooner students know about the substitute, the more time they have to adjust.
Set the Tone at the Front Desk: Studio staff can help introduce the change in a positive and respectful way. A calm announcement can prevent students from feeling blindsided when they enter the room.
Keep the Class Strong and Simple: Do not try to prove yourself with an overly complicated sequence. Teach what you know well. Clear instruction and steady pacing are more valuable than a perfect performance.
Respect the Original Teacher: Avoid turning the class into a comparison. You can honor the regular teacherâs style while still teaching authentically as yourself.
Stay Flexible: If the room feels tense, begin with grounding. If students seem skeptical, give them time to settle into the practice. A strong class does not need to win everyone over immediatelyâit needs to create enough trust for students to participate.
Why Subbing Can Help Your Teaching Career
Even if subbing is not your favorite part of teaching, it can be an important opportunity for growth. Substitute teaching places you in front of students who may not attend your regular classes. It allows you to build relationships with new people, gain experience in different teaching environments, and potentially attract new regular students.
For newer yoga teachers, subbing can also be one of the most effective ways to become known within a studio community. Each class gives you another opportunity to practice adapting, reading the room, and communicating clearly. The more you sub, the more comfortable you may become with the uncertainty.
Key Takeaways for Yoga Teachers:
A last-minute substitute request can be stressful, but it does not have to become a disaster.Students are often reacting to surprise rather than to you personally. If you remain calm, teach clearly, and acknowledge the change without making it bigger than it is, you can often transform a difficult beginning into a meaningful class.
For teachers, the goal is not perfection. It is steadiness. For students, the lesson is that remaining open to the unexpected may lead to a richer experience than the one they originally planned.
If you teach yoga, you will probably face a last-minute sub request more than once. The good news is that it becomes easier when you stop trying to control every detail and focus on creating a grounded, supportive experience with the resources available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first when I am asked to sub a yoga class at the last minute?
Confirm the class type, level, time, and any important expectations. If possible, ask what the regular teacher typically offers so you can create a familiar experience for the students.
How should I handle students who seem disappointed?
Acknowledge the change briefly, then focus on teaching. Students usually need to see that you are calm, prepared, and respectful of their experience.
Is it bad if a student leaves when they see a substitute teacher?
Not necessarily. The decision may be related to finances, timing, personal preference, or disappointment about the change. It does not automatically reflect your value as a teacher.
Can substitute teaching help my yoga teaching career?
Yes. Subbing introduces you to new students, builds your reputation, and helps you develop the ability to adapt quickly.
What if I do not have my usual playlist or studio setup?
Use a backup plan. Borrow music if available, teach without music if necessary, and focus on clear instruction. Your presence and teaching usually matter more than perfect production details.
If you teach yoga, practice regularly, or run a studio, chances are you have strong feelings about hands-on assists. Some students love them. Some teachers miss them. And for many people, the conversation has become impossible to separate from the very real history of inappropriate touch, boundary violations, and abuse in yoga spaces.
So do hands-on assists still have a place in an asana class in 2026? In this post, weâll look at the difference between unsafe touch and skillful teaching, why many studios have become more conservative, and how to approach assists in a way that respects both student consent and the original benefits of hands-on guidance.
Kate Lombardo, Yoga Director of YogaRenew, giving a student a hands-on assist to help them learn!
Why Hands-On Assists Became Such a Big Topic
Hands-on assists were once considered a normal part of yoga class. If you walked into a studio, especially in places like New York City, the expectation was often that the teacher would touch you. You might get a physical adjustment in triangle pose, support in a balance, or even a head massage in savasana. It was just part of the experience.
That tradition did not come out of nowhere. In many yoga lineages, hands-on guidance has long been part of helping students understand alignment, deepen posture, and progress in practice. For years, many students genuinely welcomed it. Some even came to class expecting it and associated it with feeling cared for, relaxed, or more connected to the room.
But the story also has a darker side. The rise of the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s gave students a place to speak publicly about harmful experiences, and many of those stories involved inappropriate touch, harassment, and full-on sexual assault. That history changed the conversation forever.
The important thing now is not pretending that history did not happen. It did. And because it did, modern teachers have to approach touch with far more awareness than before.
What Kind of Assist Are We Talking About?
One reason the debate around hands-on assists gets messy is that people use the phrase to mean very different things. Not all assists are created equal, and not all of them carry the same risk or purpose.
A helpful way to think about it is to separate assists into three categories:
Directional or safety-based assists: These are the assists that help with safety or alignment. For example, helping someone straighten an arm in triangle pose, or preventing a student from falling out of a headstand. These are often the most defensible assists because they support clarity and safety.
Experience-deepening assists: These are adjustments that help a student feel more grounded, open, or organized in a pose. A childâs pose assist that lengthens the spine or helps the hips settle is a good example. The pose may already be âcorrect,â but the assist makes the experience more useful or more spacious.
Feel-good assists: These are the massages, shoulder rubs, and savasana touches that are meant to be pleasurable or soothing. Students may love them, but they are also the most subjective. What feels supportive to one person may feel intrusive to another.
That distinction matters because the more an assist moves from safety into subjective comfort, the more consent and relationship matter.
From left to right: A safety-based assist, experience-deepening assist, and a feel-good assist.
A teacher may reasonably assume that some safety-based correction is part of the teaching role. But no one should assume that every student wants to be touched just because they showed up to class.
Consent Changed the Standard â And It Should Have
One of the biggest shifts in recent years is that teachers can no longer rely on the old âyou entered the room, so touch is impliedâ mindset. That assumption used to be common. It was treated almost like a social contract: if you came to class, physical assists were fair game.
That standard is outdated.
Today, the more responsible approach is to treat touch as something that must be earned through communication, trust, and context. Students are not a default âyes.â They are people with different bodies, histories, injuries, preferences, and boundaries.
This is especially important because the reasons someone does not want to be touched are not always visible. A student may have trauma in their past. They may be injured. They may simply not like physical contact. Or they may not want to be singled out in front of a group.
That last point is easy to miss. Even consent systems that are designed to help â like colored tokens, bracelets, or cards â can create discomfort for some students if they make refusal feel public. What seems clear and organized to one person may feel exposing to another.
The takeaway is simple: consent should reduce pressure, not increase it. If your system makes students feel watched, judged, or separate, it may need to be rethought.
What a Thoughtful Assist Policy Looks Like in 2026
The strongest modern approach is not âalways assistâ or ânever assist.â It is intentionality.
A thoughtful teacher or studio tends to ask a few core questions:
Is this assist helping with safety or understanding?
Does this student already know me and trust me?
Have I asked permission in a way that feels easy to decline?
Is this a class setting where touch makes sense?
Have I considered whether the assist is for the studentâs benefit or my own habit?
For many teachers, the answer starts with a simple verbal check-in: âCan I help you?â or âDo you mind if I assist you here?â That language matters because it gives the student an immediate out without making them explain themselves.
For brand-new students, a conservative approach is often best. Introduce yourself. Ask if they have any injuries or anything you should know about. Build some rapport before touching them. Once a student has come to class several times and you know they are comfortable, you may have more room to offer a deeper assist.
The studio side can be more complicated. Some studios choose a no-touch policy. Others leave it to each teacher. Both approaches can work if they are communicated clearly and matched to the culture of the space.
What matters most is consistency. If students do not know what to expect, they cannot make an informed choice.
Why Many Teachers Are More Conservative Now
A lot of experienced teachers have moved toward less touching, and not only because of boundary concerns. There are at least three other reasons this shift has happened.
First, teachers are better at cueing now. Many have spent years refining language, sequencing, and demonstration, and they can often help students discover the shape on their own without stepping in.
Second, assists take energy. Teachers who once gave a lot of hands-on support often realize that physically moving through the room is exhausting, especially in a full schedule of classes. The student may enjoy a head massage in savasana, but the teacher may be drained by the sheer output of doing that repeatedly.
Third, the pandemic changed the baseline. During COVID, many teachers had to stop touching entirely. That pause gave a lot of people a chance to reconsider what touch was doing in their classes, why they were using it, and whether some of it had become automatic rather than useful.
That reset was revealing. Many teachers noticed they could still deliver a strong class without touch, and many students adapted. At the same time, some teachers also realized that certain moments of touch â especially safety interventions â still had real value.
Even in a more cautious yoga culture, there are still situations where hands-on assists can be valuable.
The strongest case is safety. If a student is about to fall out of an inversion, collapse into a vulnerable shoulder position, or overextend in a way that could cause strain, an assist may be not only appropriate but necessary. In those moments, the teacher is supporting the studentâs wellbeing.
Alignment-based assists can also be useful when verbal cues are not enough. Sometimes a student hears âstraighten your armâ or âlengthen your spine,â but their body does not translate the instruction correctly. A brief physical cue can bridge that gap.
Experience-deepening assists can work too, especially when the teacher already knows the student. A well-timed childâs pose adjustment, for example, may help someone find more space and grounding than words alone can provide.
But here is the key: even when the assist is good, it still should not be automatic. The best touch is responsive, not entitled. It should feel like an invitation, not a takeover.
The Question Every Teacher Should Ask
If you are a teacher, the most useful shift may be asking yourself this before you touch anyone:
Am I doing this because it truly helps the student, or because I think it is just what a good yoga class is supposed to look like?
Some assists are genuinely useful. Some are outdated. Some are more about creating a vibe than serving the student. And some, even when well-intentioned, are not worth the risk if they require too many assumptions. The good news is that you do not have to choose between being warm and being respectful. You can create a class environment where students feel seen, supported, and safe â with or without touch.
That might mean:
asking permission before any assist
avoiding touch with new students
reserving deeper assists for students you know well
being more conservative in group classes
letting students decline without explanation
trusting your cueing more than your hands
Frequently Asked Questions
Are hands-on assists still allowed in yoga classes?
Yes, but âallowedâ is not the same as âappropriate.â Whether hands-on assists make sense depends on the studio culture, the teacherâs training, the studentâs consent, and the reason for the touch.
What is the safest way to ask before giving an assist?
Keep it simple: âCan I help you?â or âDo you mind if I assist you?â That language gives the student a clear chance to say no without needing to explain.
Should yoga studios have a hands-on assist policy?
They can, but there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some studios choose a no-touch policy, while others leave it to the teacherâs judgment. The best policy is the one that is clear, communicated, and respectful.
Are feel-good assists like savasana massages still appropriate?
Sometimes, but they require even more care than alignment assists because they are more subjective. If a student is not someone you know well, it is usually better to avoid that kind of touch unless they have clearly welcomed it.
Why do some students not like hands-on assists?
The reasons vary. Some students have trauma histories, some have injuries, and some simply do not like being touched. Others may not want to feel singled out in front of a group.
Watch or Listen to the Full Episode:
Watch the full conversation about hands-on assists, consent, safety, and the evolving role of touch in yoga classes. Hands-on assists are not gone, but they have changed. The old assumption that every student wants touch no longer holds, and that is a good thing. What remains is the useful part: consent-based, thoughtful, and truly supportive touch when it serves the student.
If you teach, the next step is not to decide whether you are âforâ or âagainstâ assists. It is to decide how you want to use them responsibly, intentionally, and sparingly. If you practice, notice how touch feels in your body and give yourself permission to say yes or no.
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These three yoga poses require strength, stability, concentration as well as fluidity and grace. The poses Julie picks to support the challenging transitions focus on arm strength, stretching of the hamstrings and hip flexion. While she picks specific poses, you are able to utilize any poses that support those muscle actions to build the skill necessary to work with these asanas.
In our yoga practice, we always want to listen to our bodies – but challenging ourselves in an appropriate way that makes sense for our anatomy is a great way to explore the yoga practice more deeply.
We invite you to make any modifications or implement any variations you see fit for any portion of this practice! If you want to see more classes from Julie, be sure to follow our YouTube channel or download the YogaRenew app.
Here is Julie’s entire class:
Were you able to transition into 1? 2? All 3? No matter where your practice takes you, it’s right where you need to be!
Challenging Transitions Yoga Class Sequence
This intermediate/advanced Vinyasa practice focuses on mindful transitions. The class systematically warms up the shoulders, core, and outer hips to prepare for a peak sequence of advanced arm balances.
Warm Up (Puttering)
Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana)
Reclined IT Band Twists
Cat/Cow (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana) and Hovering Tabletop
The autonomic nervous system
