Every yoga room has a smell before you say a word of your opening—the space itself, the scent you add on purpose, and the students who walk through the door. In this episode, I’m working through all three: how to get a room ready before class, what to do with your own products and oils, and the real difference between a student who arrives already smelling strong and one who gets that way forty minutes into a good workout.

Strong smells in a classroom tend to fall into one of three buckets—perfume, smoke, and body odor—and they are not equally hard. Perfume is a room-level fix. Smoke calls for patience, since a movement practice is often part of how someone eventually quits smoking. And body odor is where teachers most often collapse two very different situations into one uncomfortable moment.

I’ll also walk through how to actually have the conversation when one is warranted: which channel to pick, how to keep it brief, and how to end with a question that hands the problem to the student to solve alongside you, instead of handing her a verdict.

And yes, we get to gas. Bodies do what bodies do when you fold people in half and ask them to breathe deeply on purpose for an hour. I’ll tell you exactly what to do about it (nothing, on purpose) and why that’s the kindest response you have.

Listen now!

Live online classes are back in the Prep Station this fall: one lesson plan a month, taught live by me on three Mondays, 6:00–7:00 p.m. Eastern, with 15 minutes afterward to talk teaching. Balance Play Trio in September, Yoga for All Athletes in October, Meet the Warriors in November. Every class posts as a recording. Membership is $39 a month.

Practice with me

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.

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