Episode Details

If you teach in any climate with real seasons, summer attendance has its own logic. The first beautiful spring day empties the studio. A July heat wave fills it back up. By August you're juggling subs, outdoor classes, your own travel, and a schedule that no longer makes sense.

After twenty-plus years of teaching and fifteen years of co-owning a studio in North Carolina, a state with four seasons including a warm summer, I no longer take this personally. Summer isn't a problem to solve. It's a season to work with. In this episode, I share four moves to summer-proof your teaching: build a small repertoire of go-to classes, sequence for the heat, lean into the gift of small classes, and take real time off without guilt.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Zone, my free community for yoga teachers, where the Greatest Hits Lesson Plan (built on the 6–4–2 framework) is waiting for you: https://comfortzoneyoga.com
• The Prep Station, with a full month of summer-themed lesson plans, sequences, and tips in June, including the legs-up-the-wall sequence: https://www.comfortzoneyoga.com/prep
• Episode 24, "What If No One Shows Up?"—for more on teaching to small classes

A lighter summer is not a smaller career. It's the foundation for a steady fall. If this episode was useful, share it with a teacher friend who is staring down June with dread.

September’s lesson plan in the Prep Station is Balance Play Trio. The recording is already waiting in the Movement Library, and I teach the plan live on Mondays, September 14, 21, and 28, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, with 15 minutes afterward for your questions. Every class posts as a recording. It’s all part of the Yoga Class Prep Station, $39 a month.

Join us:

The next cohort of Mastering the Art of Yoga Sequencing Mentorship Membership—MMM, my six-month group mentorship for yoga teachers—starts in January 2027, and the wait list is open now. Doors open to the wait list first, in December, before anyone else hears about it. MMM is also the required half of the Comfort Zone Yoga 300-hour yoga teacher training.

Add your name:

Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Join Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you!

For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Threads

And come explore my mentorship program, Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education and 200/300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at sagerountree.com.