Let's Talk Yoga

What does it really mean to be a good yoga student? In this conversation, I sit down with Medha Bhaskar to explore the framework described in the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika for cultivating a meaningful yoga practice. We talk about the importance of understanding the principle before the process and how the mindset we bring to our practice shapes what we learn from it.
Medha walks us through the Badhaka Tattvas (the habits that weaken a practice) and the Sadhaka Tattvas (the qualities that strengthen it), while reflecting on how these classical teachings apply to modern yoga students and teachers. From boundaries and energy management to perseverance and self-awareness, this conversation offers a grounded look at what it means to truly grow through yoga.
Episode Highlights:
Introduction to the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika, its historical context, and its role as a practical manual within the broader body of classical yoga texts.
Understanding the difference between principle and process in yoga practice, and why focusing only on techniques can lead to a narrow understanding of yoga.
Exploring the mindset of a yoga student and why self-awareness and intention matter more than simply showing up to practice.
The Badhaka Tattvas and the six behaviors described in the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika that diminish practice, beginning with overconsumption and excess sensory input.
How overexertion and constant striving can weaken a practitioner’s energy and lead to imbalance.
The impact of excessive talking and scattered communication on focus, clarity, and the integration of learning.
Why rigid rule-following without reflection can create guilt, imbalance, and disconnection from the purpose of practice.
The role of over-socialization and lack of boundaries, including how modern lifestyles and digital engagement affect a practitioner’s focus and energy.
The final diminishing factor: inner instability and scattered attention, and how it can lead to burnout, confusion, and lack of direction in practice.
Shifting to the Sadhaka Tattvas, the qualities that nourish and strengthen a yoga practice.
The importance of enthusiasm and genuine interest in sustaining long-term engagement with yoga.
Why courage and perseverance are necessary when confronting personal limitations and challenges on the mat and in life.
Developing discernment and clarity in understanding the deeper principles behind yoga practices.
Cultivating commitment and steady resolve to remain engaged in the process of self-inquiry and growth.
The role of mindful association and supportive community, while still maintaining independence and personal responsibility for one’s path.
Reflecting on how yoga evolves from something we do into something we become, shifting from practice as action to practice as a way of being.
Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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Teaching mixed level classes can feel overwhelming, especially when your students are all at different stages in their practice. In this episode, I share simple, practical ways to structure your classes, offer options, and create a more inclusive and confident teaching experience.
Episode Highlights:
Mixed-level classes are the norm and should be approached with that mindset
The distinction between mixed-level and all-level classes
The importance of shifting from sequence-focused to student-focused teaching
Building sequences that include a variety of pose categories
Why full-body sequencing works better than peak pose sequencing in mixed classes
Including standing poses, balances, backbends, twists, seated, supine, and inversions
Using progression and regression options for every pose
Maintaining a middle path that supports both beginners and experienced students
Why themed sequencing is more effective than peak pose sequencing
The importance of developing strong pose literacy
Offering benefit-based alternatives when poses are not accessible
Setting expectations at the beginning of class to normalize options and autonomy
Encouraging students to move at their own pace and take ownership of their practice
Using props as an essential teaching tool for accessibility and adaptability
How mixed-level classes can build trust, community, and long-term student engagement
Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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Are we actually studying yoga, or just consuming it? In this episode, I explore the traditional frameworks that shaped authentic yogic learning and why modern education often skips the foundations. If you’re serious about deepening your practice beyond certifications, this conversation will shift your perspective.
Episode Highlights:
The difference between modern yoga education and traditional teacher-student learning
Why student qualification (Adhikari Bheda) mattered before receiving teachings
The method of progressive revelation (Arundhati Darshana Nyaya)
Traditional classifications of yoga students in Hatha Yoga
The threefold process of learning: listening, reflection, and deep assimilation
The three valid means of knowledge outlined in the Yoga Sutras
The four foundational qualifications for serious spiritual study
The structure and progression of the four chapters of the Yoga Sutras
Kriya Yoga as a practical framework for disciplined study
Why slowing down and refining your approach changes everything
Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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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.
Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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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
Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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