Mapping the Real Landscape of Yoga Teaching Today — With Alexia Walker

There's a real and growing gap between yoga teachers who built their careers in the 2010s and those trying to build one now — and we're not talking about it enough.

Alexia Walker, a yoga teacher working in Michigan, joins Rebecca for an unfiltered conversation about what the current landscape actually looks like.

They get into the devaluing effect of free offerings, why the people who find you through free content rarely become paying students, how the yoga world built a training system that rewards wealth and travel over actual teaching skill, and what it means to build a truly bespoke career when no two paths look the same. They also touch on transferable skills, community care as a framework for service, and the harm that gets quietly replicated when we don't pay attention to the patterns we're inheriting. This is the conversation about where yoga is right now — not where it was ten years ago.

Rebecca SebastianMay 14, 2026yoga teacher career 2026, yoga industry today, sustainable yoga teaching, free yoga offerings, yoga teacher training privilege, yoga career advice, yoga transferrable skills, community care yoga, yoga teacher income, boots on the ground yoga, Alexia Walker, working in yoga podcast, yoga teacher burnout, yoga studio culture, yoga career pathComment

The Economics of Yoga — Curiosity, Community Spaces & Staying in the Work With Reika Shucart

If we keep training yoga teachers without honestly addressing how they're going to get paid, we're doing everyone a disservice — the teachers, the students, and the practice itself.

Reika Shucart, host of the Full Time Yoga Teacher podcast, joins Rebecca to talk about what it actually looks like to build a sustainable income as a yoga teacher right now.

They get into the shift away from studios toward community spaces like YMCAs, senior centers, and libraries; why online teaching needs to be a YTT requirement, not an afterthought; the quiet shrinking of the continuing education market; and the honest conversation nobody wants to have about yoga's cultural moment fading. There's also something genuinely hopeful in here — about curiosity, artistry, and the kind of passion-led teaching that keeps both teachers and students coming back. This one is practical, a little uncomfortable, and worth every minute.

Rebecca SebastianMay 7, 2026full time yoga teacher, yoga teacher income, economics of yoga, yoga teacher salary, teaching yoga at community centers, online yoga teaching, yoga industry 2026, yoga continuing education, yoga teacher training, yoga studio business, Reika Shucart, working in yoga podcast, yoga career advice, yoga teacher burnout, sustainable yoga careerComment

Debt, Standards, and Who's Really Looking Out for You — With Dr. Stevie Inghram (Part 1)

Nobody talks about debt-to-income ratios in the yoga world. Stevie Inghram does. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Rebecca sits down with naturopathic doctor and yoga therapist Dr. Stevie Inghram to dig into some of the most under-discussed structural problems in the yoga and holistic health professions — including whether it's even ethical to keep training people at current income levels, how poor working conditions quietly erode professional standards, and what it would take to build an organization that actually advocates for the people doing this work, not just the practice itself. If you've ever felt like the system wasn't built for you, this conversation will help you understand why — and start you thinking about what comes next.

Rebecca SebastianApril 23, 2026yoga therapy training costs, debt to income yoga, holistic health career, yoga therapy ethics, yoga industry standards, yoga professional advocacy, naturopathic doctor yoga, community led yoga organization, yoga working conditions, yoga therapy income, Stevie Inghram, working in yoga podcast, yoga therapist career, yoga professional community, yoga industry reformComment

Do Higher Standards Actually Help Us? A Conversation with Steffany Moonaz

What good are higher yoga standards if teachers can't pay their bills? That's the question that sparked this conversation with researcher and yoga therapist Steffany Moonaz. Together we dig into what the data actually says about yoga training, student safety, and whether the industry's push for updated standards from Yoga Alliance and IAYT can coexist with building real economic viability for yoga professionals. We also get into the anatomy curriculum problem, the difference between a licensed healthcare provider who "knows a few poses" and an actual yoga professional, and whether higher education is the direction we're all heading—or just some of us.

Let’s Get Weird: Neuroqueering Yoga, Teaching, and the Art of Doing Things Differently

In this final conversation with Becky Aten and Theo Wildcroft, we dive into the concept of neuroqueering—the practice of disrupting what’s considered “normal” in both neurotypical and heteronormative culture. Through laughter, curiosity, and deep reflection, we explore how yoga spaces can move away from rigid, productivity-driven ideals and instead celebrate unusual bodies, brains, and ways of being.

We talk about queerness as a refusal of capitalist productivity, the deep intersections between neurodiversity and trauma, and why morality has quietly shaped how yoga is supposed to look and feel. This episode invites yoga professionals to embrace experimentation, question the “why” behind their teaching choices, and allow a little more weirdness—because that’s often where freedom, healing, and creativity live.

Rebecca SebastianJanuary 29, 2026neuroqueering, neurodiversity and yoga, queer theory yoga, trauma-informed yoga, inclusive yoga spaces, neurodivergent yoga, yoga and capitalism, productivity culture wellness, yoga teaching philosophy, working in yoga podcast, neurodiversity trauma, queer wellness, yoga culture critique, yoga professional education, The Back Room yogaComment

Designing for Everyone: Neurodivergence, Experience, and How We Build Yoga Spaces (Part Two)

In this follow-up conversation, we go deeper into what inclusive design actually looks like in yoga spaces. From sound engineering and sensory considerations to universal design principles and the social model of disability, this episode explores how centering neurodivergent people from the beginning—not as an afterthought—can radically change how yoga is taught, experienced, and shared. We also reflect on how trauma-informed practices translate, why lived experience must guide decision-making, and how training future teachers needs to evolve.

Rebecca SebastianJanuary 22, 2026neurodivergent yoga, inclusive yoga spaces, universal design yoga, trauma-informed yoga, accessibility in yoga, yoga space design, sensory-friendly yoga, social model of disability, disability justice yoga, neurodiversity and wellness, yoga teacher training reform, lived experience in yoga, inclusive wellness design, working in yoga podcastComment

Making Room for Everyone: Neurodivergence, Grace, and Inclusion in Yoga

What does it actually mean to create inclusive yoga spaces for neurodivergent people? In this episode, we explore the intersection of trauma-informed yoga and neurodivergent safety—while also modeling what it looks like to learn in real time. You’ll hear moments of curiosity, missteps, and grace as language evolves in the conversation, offering a powerful reminder that inclusion isn’t about perfection. It’s about willingness, reflection, and designing spaces that welcome everyone from the very beginning.

Rebecca SebastianJanuary 15, 2026neurodivergent yoga, neurodiversity and yoga, trauma-informed yoga, inclusive yoga spaces, accessibility in yoga, yoga for neurodivergent people, disability justice yoga, inclusive wellness culture, learning in public yoga, perfectionism in wellness, yoga professional education, working in yoga podcastComment

Structure, Skill, and Soul: Rethinking Creativity in Yoga Teaching with Arundhati Baitmangalkar

What if creativity in yoga isn’t about novelty—but about depth, structure, and purpose? In this episode, we unpack the difference between engagement and entertainment, why foundations matter, and how knowing your “why” shapes sustainable, skillful teaching.

Creativity & YogaRebecca SebastianDecember 18, 2025creativity in yoga teaching, yoga teacher creativity, structure and creativity, yoga teaching skills, engagement vs entertainment yoga, yoga class design, foundations in yoga practice, sustainable yoga teaching, yoga philosophy in teaching, yoga teacher purpose, why we teach yoga, yoga professional development, working in yoga podcastComment

We’re Gonna Party Like It’s Issue 0-99 🎉🧘‍♀️ — Announcing Inside Yoga Magazine

A new digital trade magazine for yoga professionals

Yoga has always lived at the edge of culture—part art, part profession, and always a little counterculture. Inside Yoga Magazine is where those threads come together. Built from the conversations of the Working In Yoga podcast, this magazine is unapologetically professional, but never sterile.

We’re creating a space where yoga teachers, therapists, and studio owners can talk shop, challenge industry norms, and share the stories that make this work so much more than a job. Expect industry insights, book reviews, conversations about equity, and real perspectives from the people who keep the yoga world turning.

Rebecca SebastianOctober 2, 2025Inside Yoga Magazine, yoga trade magazine, yoga industry news, yoga professionals resource, yoga teachers career, yoga therapists community, professional yoga publication, working in yoga podcast, yoga counterculture, yoga careers supportComment