Hormones influence how we move, rest, recover, and show up on the mat, yet they’re rarely discussed clearly in yoga spaces. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Manasa Rao to explore what yoga teachers need to understand about the hormonal body through both modern science and yogic wisdom. We talk about stress, rhythm, pranayama, women’s hormonal cycles, and how yoga can support balance through listening and alignment without overstepping into medical advice.

Episode Highlights:

• Are hormones a modern concept, or something yoga has always addressed through a different language?
• Hormones as internal messengers and their connection to yogic ideas of prana, ojas, tejas, and balance.
• How yoga works across the physical and subtle bodies to regulate internal harmony.
• The relationship between chakras, glands, and pranic flow, and where confusion often arises.
• Why hormonal balance is the body’s natural state and how modern lifestyle disrupts rhythm.
• Cortisol, stress, and the importance of restoring rhythm rather than suppressing hormones.
• Pranayama as a key regulator of the hormonal and nervous systems.
• How to think about different pranayama practices, including ujjayi, with more discernment.
• Pratyahara as a lifestyle-based practice rooted in routine, rhythm, and sensory regulation.
• Understanding women’s hormonal transitions, including menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause.
• Menopause reframed as a phase of reorganization and inward movement, not decline.
• How yogic practices can support different phases of the menstrual cycle.
• The importance of personalization and sensitivity when teaching hormonally affected students.
• Body-to-mind versus mind-to-body, and why dissolving that duality matters.
• The central takeaway: hormonal health comes from listening, alignment, and rhythm rather than fixing.

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Sequencing doesn’t start with themes or peak poses, it starts with understanding the pose itself. In this episode, I introduce pose literacy and explain why it’s the missing link behind clearer, safer, and more intelligent sequencing. Using Downward-Facing Dog as a real example, I break down how learning to read a pose beyond alignment can completely change how you teach, sequence, and support your students.

Episode Highlights:

• Why modern sequencing often skips the most essential step
• What pose literacy is, and why alignment alone isn’t enough
• How low pose literacy leads to guesswork, overload, and unsafe sequencing
• A pose-literacy breakdown of Downward-Facing Dog
• How a pose-first approach transforms sequencing and teaching confidence

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A deep dive into yoga sequencing, what it actually is, why it matters, and the most common mistakes yoga teachers make when planning classes, I break down the difference between choreography and intentional sequencing, explore the role of the pranic and nervous systems, and share nine sequencing missteps to avoid for safer, smarter, and more sustainable teaching. This episode is especially relevant for yoga teachers who want to build confidence, longevity, and depth in their classes.

Episode Highlights:

• What is sequencing
• Why sequencing is a skill, not a formula
• What yoga sequencing truly means beyond pose choreography
• How thoughtful sequencing supports safety, longevity, and nervous system regulation
• The role of structure, progression, intention, and integration in class planning
• Why sequencing shapes the energetic and pranic arc of a class
• How intelligent sequencing builds trust, confidence, and professional credibility

The 9 Sequencing Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Treating sequencing as simply linking poses together
2. Over-focusing on peak poses at the expense of purpose
3. Skipping joint preparation and intelligent warm-ups
4. Overloading classes with too many poses
5. Neglecting counter-poses and proper class closure
6. Designing sequences based on personal preference instead of student needs
7. Ignoring the energetic arc and pranic system
8. Forcing philosophy or over-theming without embodiment
9. Failing to teach toward longevity and sustainable practice

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Find all the resources mentioned in this episode
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