Right now, three tracks are playing inside you. One is heavy—the energy that makes you hit snooze. One is wired—the one drafting tomorrow's class at 2 AM. And one is clear—the energy that shows up when teaching just flows. Yoga philosophy has a name for this trio: the gunas.

In this episode, I walk through one of the most practical frameworks in all of yoga philosophy. Your students will grasp it in thirty seconds, you can use it to theme an entire class, and it will change how you understand your own energy as a teacher.

We dig into Chapter 28 of my new book with Alexandra DeSiato, Yoga Off the Mat. You'll learn how tamas, rajas, and sattva show up in your teaching, why "sattva begets sattva" is one of the most useful ideas in the tradition, and how to bring this language into your classroom without making it sound like a Sanskrit lecture.

If you've been looking for a way to teach yoga philosophy that actually lands with your students, this is the framework to start with.

Pre-order Yoga Off the Mat (out July 14), join The Zone (my free community for yoga teachers), and learn more about Mastering the Art of Yoga Sequencing—links below.

Join the Comfort Zone Yoga 200-hour yoga teacher training—curriculum is open now and our live cohort runs September through November 2026. Be sure to tell your students who are interested in teaching, too!

Read all about it here.

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.