In this episode, I’m joined by Brenna Barzenick, yoga teacher, studio owner, and physical therapist with over 30 years of experience. Brenna shares her journey from traditional PT to yoga and how she now bridges both worlds of science and yoga.

Brenna shares her journey from working in orthopedic physical therapy to discovering yoga later in life, and how that path eventually led her to become a SmartFlow teacher and co-owner of a thriving yoga studio in Louisiana. With a deep background in biomechanics and anatomy, she offers a grounded and refreshing perspective on movement, one that prioritizes longevity, accessibility, and presence over performance.

Connect with Brenna:

Instagram: @dptyoga

Brenna & Britni's Studio: @downtwonyogala

Yoga Studio Website: https://hammondyoga.com

Connect with Reika:

• ⁠Apply for the Mentorship program⁠
• Ethical Yoga Retreat in Nicaragua
• Free Community Yoga in Costa Mesa
• ⁠Social Media for Yoga Teachers Workshop⁠
• Website: ⁠www.reikayoga.com⁠
• Instagram: ⁠@reikayoga

In this episode, Sunny returns to share how her teaching career has completely shifted, from teaching over a dozen classes a week to intentionally scaling back for a more sustainable and aligned life. We talk about the real process of valuing yourself as a yoga teacher, setting boundaries, and making difficult decisions around work and finances.

Sunny also shares how her path has expanded beyond studio classes into events, collaborations, and community-driven opportunities, along with insights on social media, networking, and avoiding burnout. This is an honest conversation about redefining success and building a career that actually supports your well-being.

Connect with Sunny:

YouTube: @sunnysideyogalates Website: https://www.healingwithsunny.org/Instagram: @sunnysideyogalates

Connect with Reika:

Apply for the Mentorship program

Social Media for Yoga Teachers Workshop

Website: www.reikayoga.com

Instagram: @reikayoga

In this solo episode, I share a real-time update on my teaching life: what my current schedule looks like, the different streams of income that support my work as a full-time yoga teacher, and a continuing education program I’m in that’s been expanding how I see movement, pattern recognition, and teaching. In the second half of the episode, I answer two of the most common questions I hear from newer teachers in my mentorship progra: Am I over-cueing? and How do I learn to teach without demoing? I offer practical, experience-based insights on how to refine your voice, teach with more intention, and develop the skill of observing bodies in real time, so you can become a more adaptable, confident, and skillful teacher.

Reika's Ethical Nicaragua Yoga Retreat:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠⁠

Advanced Hands-on-Assist workshop with Kallie:

April 4th, Saturday 2-4pm PST

In-person in Long Beach, CA

Price: $35

⁠⁠Register⁠⁠

Connect with Reika:

Instagram: ⁠@reikayoga⁠

Website: ⁠www.reikayoga.com

In this episode of the Full-Time Yoga Teacher Podcast, Reika Shucart speaks with longtime yoga teacher and yoga therapist Rebecca Sebastian, the host of the podcast Working In Yoga. Rebecca shares her unconventional path from nonprofit fundraising into a 25-year career in the yoga industry, including becoming a yoga therapist, studio owner, nonprofit co-founder, and now a full-time media creator covering the realities of working in yoga. Together they discuss building a sustainable yoga career, the economics behind teaching yoga full-time, and why popularity on social media doesn’t necessarily translate to financial success. Rebecca also offers candid insights into yoga therapy training, studio ownership, and how yoga teachers can build a profitable career through workshops, referrals, and professional relationships rather than relying solely on group classes or online visibility.

Connect with Rebecca:

Podcast: Working in Yoga

Media Company: Sunlight Media

Reika's Nicaragua Yoga Retreat:

⁠⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠⁠

Intro to Meditation Workshop with Cayce:

March 15th, Sunday 2-4pm PST

In-person & on zoom (recording will be available)

Price: Donation-based (min $20)

⁠Register⁠

Cayce's Interview Podcast Episode 77

Connect with Reika:

Instagram: @reikayoga

Website: www.reikayoga.com

In this episode of the Full-Time Yoga Teacher Podcast, host Reika Shucart sits down with Elizabeth Clark, a full-time yoga teacher, prenatal and postnatal yoga specialist, birth doula, and founder of Looma Birth. Elizabeth shares her decade-long journey of building a sustainable yoga career rooted in motherhood, birth work, and entrepreneurship. From becoming a yoga teacher in the same year she became a first-time mom to teaching yoga while navigating postpartum recovery, Elizabeth offers an honest look at what it means to grow alongside your work in the yoga industry.

This conversation explores how Elizabeth carved out a niche in prenatal yoga and postnatal yoga, transitioned from studio teaching to running her own business, and ultimately launched Looma Birth. Elizabeth reflects on the realities of being a full-time yoga teacher, balancing family life, and evolving her business alongside motherhood. This episode is a must-listen for yoga teachers interested in the yoga business, yoga entrepreneurship, and creating a career that aligns with real life, especially for those curious about prenatal yoga, postnatal yoga, and long-term sustainability in the yoga industry.

Connect with Elizabeth:

Website: https://www.loomabirth.com

IG: @loomabirth

Reika's Nicaragua Yoga Retreat:

⁠⁠Learn more⁠⁠

Intro to Meditation Workshop with Cayce:

March 15th, Sunday 2-4pm PST

In-person & on zoom (recording will be available)

Price: Donation-based (min $20)

Register

Connect with Reika:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the online yoga studio for $20 for two weeks!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Reika's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of the Full-Time Yoga Teacher Podcast, Reika sits down with Lauren Cohen, a San Francisco-based yoga teacher and retreat leader, to talk honestly about what it takes to build a sustainable life in yoga.

Lauren shares her journey from ballet and competitive figure skating to discovering yoga during a deeply challenging period in college, an experience that ultimately changed the course of her life. She reflects on transitioning from a corporate job into full-time teaching, navigating financial uncertainty, and learning to trust the path even without a perfect plan.

Together, Reika and Lauren explore teaching through the pandemic, building and maintaining community, leading retreats, and the very real experience of burnout. They also discuss the importance of mentorship, continuing education, and why having a teacher matters, especially for long-term growth and longevity in teaching.

This episode is a grounded, candid conversation for yoga teachers who are questioning sustainability, redefining success, and seeking a more aligned way forward in their teaching and life.

Connect with Lauren:

Website: https://www.laurencohenyoga.com/

IG: @laurencohenyoga

Reika's Nicaragua Yoga Retreat:

⁠Find out more⁠

Connect with Reika:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the online yoga studio for $20 for two weeks!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Reika's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, Reika sits down with Aimee Echo, a yoga teacher and educator devoted to preserving the integrity of classical Yoga while making its tools accessible to modern practitioners. Aimee is the owner of Community Yoga Club, home of Ashtanga Yoga Long Beach, where she leads a daily Mysore-style program and offers Individual Yoga Therapy.

Together, they explore what it means to remain a lifelong student of yoga, the humility required to stay in relationship with the practice, and why believing you’re “done” often marks the moment growth stops. Aimee reflects on her decades of study in the Krishnamacharya lineage, her experience weaving together Ashtanga and Yoga Therapy, and her perspective on holding tradition with care while meeting students where they are. This conversation speaks to the responsibility of teaching yoga in a way that is both deeply rooted and profoundly human.

Connect with Aimee Echo:

• Website: https://www.aylb.org/

Reika's Nicaragua Yoga Retreat:

Find out more

Connect with Reika:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the online yoga studio for $20 for two weeks!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Reika's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, I sit down with Jivana Heyman, founder of Accessible Yoga, to reflect on over 30 years of teaching, learning, and evolving within the yoga world.

Jivana shares his journey into yoga, early influences from Integral Yoga, and how his experiences shaped a lifelong commitment to accessibility, service, and community. We explore the realities of teaching yoga beyond the poses, power dynamics in teacher-student relationships, the role of ego and feedback, emotional awareness, and what it really means to teach yoga as a form of service.

Our conversation also touches on the evolution of Accessible Yoga as a nonprofit, financial accessibility in yoga education, lessons from leading 200-hour trainings, and the challenges teachers face as they navigate sustainability, self-awareness, and growth. Jivana offers honest reflections on creativity, collaboration, parenting, and staying connected to practice while teaching full-time.

This episode is a grounded, insightful look at the heart of yoga teaching, and what it means to remain devoted to the practice over decades.

Connect with Jivana:

Website: http://www.jivanaheyman.com/

Instagram: @jivanaheyman

Podcast: Accessible Yoga Podcast

Reika's Nicaragua Yoga Retreat:

⁠⁠Early-Bird Discount: Use code EARLYBIRD100⁠⁠

Reika's Mentorship for Yoga Teachers:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentorship 2026 Application⁠⁠⁠

Connect with Reika:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the online yoga studio for $20 for two weeks!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Reika's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  Reika's Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@reikayoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠