Leadership and Yoga Rey Cardenas on Teaching Yoga in Rhythm: Astrology and Seasonal Practice
In this episode of Leadership and Yoga, I sit down with Rey Cardenas, Austin-based yoga teacher, and co-studio owner of Practice Yoga Austin, to explore what it means to teach yoga in rhythm with the seasons. We talk astrology in the yoga class, the relationship between the sun and our bodies,consciousness, Ayurveda and seasonal practice, burnout and sustainability for yoga teachers, and how presence, sound, and language shape a truly transformational yoga experience. Rey also shares insights from Rudolf Steiner, yoga therapy, and his philosophy on teaching yoga as a co-created experience rather than a performance.
Practice with Rey at Practice Yoga Austin:
https://practiceyogaaustin.com/
Yoga Therapy program:
https://practiceyogaaustin.com/yoga-teacher-training/practice-yoga-therapy-training/
Rey’s instagram: @reys.awareness
https://www.instagram.com/reys.awareness/
Rey on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@reysawareness
Find Shawna on instagram:
@shawnakru - https://www.instagram.com/shawnakru
Try OfferingTree for free with my link here (My sponsor)
Ayurvedic consultation with Art, TEND https://www.tend.eco/collections/consultations
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Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
03:53 Welcome back & why Rey’s teaching stands out
05:38 When astrology entered Rey’s yoga teaching
07:23 Scientific materialism, burnout, and losing rhythm
08:38 Rudolf Steiner, cultural ages, and the zodiac
10:38 Western vs Vedic astrology: personality vs karma
13:08 Why astrology belongs in a yoga class
14:48 Capricorn season, liminal time, and seasonal support
17:23 Teaching with the seasons instead of against them
19:58 Forward bends, backbends, and seasonal consciousness
21:58 Fall energy, overthinking, and teaching to what students feel
23:08 Introducing new ideas without alienating students
24:13 Going against trends and trusting your teaching path
26:58 Living and teaching yoga in rhythm at Practice Yoga Austin
27:59 Ayurveda and seasonal yoga practices
29:00 Summer vs winter yoga: heat, yin, and balance
30:08 The three gunas: tamas, rajas, and sattva
31:43 Cycles of life, injury, aging, and sustainable practice
34:38 Karma, grace, and trusting the unfolding path
36:28 Making mistakes before and after 35
39:28 Ascension, service, and responsibility on the spiritual path
43:18 What makes an exceptional yoga class
45:28 Presence, attention, and co-creating experience
48:33 Advanced cueing and anchoring awareness beyond the body
51:38 Sound, mantra, and the meaning behind language
54:28 Poetry, tone, and shaping the mood of a class
56:13 Mantra yoga, Sanskrit, and sound consciousness
58:13 Yoga therapy as “grad school for yoga”
1:00:13 Science, yoga therapy, and medical integration
1:03:13 Billboard question & Rey’s message to the world