7 Secrets of a Successful Yoga Teacher: Using the Chakras as a Guide for Teaching

For Dr. Lisa Dana Mitchell, being a successful yoga teacher has a very specific meaning. It’s a commitment to a series of core values—including courage, honor, and integrity—and to giving everything to the teaching of yoga without complaining or expecting recognition. A successful yoga teacher is authentic and puts the needs of others ahead of his/her own.

This is the governing philosophy of 7 Secrets of Being a Successful Yoga Teacher, which conveys the significant benefits of the yoga practice for student well-being. As the author points out, a teacher can be committed to the student in theory, but the reality of the instructor-student relationship is complicated because students have such a broad range of abilities, needs, personalities, and preferences. Given this reality, Mitchell is convinced that by encouraging a sense of community among yoga teachers, in which they all feel simultaneously supported and accountable, the teachers will gain confidence as contemporary yoga instructors and will seek guidance from the ancient texts.

Ultimately, the seven secrets of being a successful yoga teacher lie in the seven main chakras, an essential knowledge that successful yoga teachers will impart to their students.

Dr. Lisa Dana Mitchell has more than five hundred hours of training and years of professional experience as a teacher and student of yoga.

On top of all her experience and training, for the last ten years, she has co-owned three Philadelphia area yoga studios, where she cofounded and directs the Dana Hot Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training Program. She also participates in International Yoga Retreats around the world.

Mitchell is the author of Don't Be an Asshole Yoga Teacher.