135: Moving Forward After Our Teachers Let Us Down with Karin Carlson
I had a profound conversation with yoga teacher and writer Karin Lynn Carlson (she/her) and I can’t wait for you to listen. Karin is a thoughtful teacher and a beautiful writer and has so much to share on the intersection of ethics and yoga teaching. This episode is packed with both valuable insights and practical advice.
We talked about implementing a code of ethics akin to those in social work and discussed problematic behavior and abuse within the yoga world. Karin offered insights about how to support survivors, foster a healthier yoga community and move forward together. These are crucial topics as we envision a future where yoga communities are more accountable, supportive, and ethical.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
the importance of implementing a code of ethics in the yoga community
boundaries, teacher-student relationships and who is responsible for holding the container
the essential role of believing and supporting abuse survivors in the yoga community
advice for teachers who are struggling to move forward after their teachers have let them down
Learn More From Karin:
In this solo episode, I’m zooming out from the quick, in-the-moment burnout strategies I shared in Episode 171 and looking at the bigger picture. I want to talk about why so many yoga teachers are burning out—and what I’ve seen actually work instead.
My core premise is simple: the career model most of us were trained into doesn’t work for most people anymore. If you’re exhausted, underpaid, and questioning how sustainable this path really is, I want you to hear this clearly—it’s not you. It’s the model.
I’ll walk you through the structural issues I see over and over again, help you look honestly at the math of your teaching schedule, and introduce a shift that has made a huge difference for me and for so many teachers I’ve worked with: integrating private clients into your practice.