Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, YACEP When conducted skillfully and appropriately, a physical adjustment can be a very powerful way to develop a trusting relationship with your student. By providing them with a simple technique, it can open up their eyes to a new limit for their body. While verbal adjustments are more common due to the controversy of physical adjustments, there are no other types of assisting that could lead to a new realization of physical limits.
For some people, lying on the back is not going to be comfortable. For pregnant women, you should avoid having them on their backs altogether. Some women find it to be welcome relief to learn modified postures instead of lying in Shavasana. Yoga can be a great way to keep the body healthy during pregnancy, but it is important that your students never push themselves too far with their poses.
By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, Sangeetha Saran, and Gopi Rao The first step to addressing fear in a Yoga class is to become aware of and tuned into any of your students who may need additional support to be comfortable in class. Through the process of meeting and talking with each one of your students, you will …
When you take a hatha yoga teacher training course, you meet people of all kinds of people, but they have one physical aspect in common…
In an ideal world, the idea of practicing Yoga solicits feelings of calm equipoise, energy and vibrant health. However, for many people the idea of practicing Yoga in the context of a structured class can bring up feelings of apprehension and fear. There may be any number of reasons for this apprehension. Some of these reasons include being physically or emotionally fragile. This sense of being physically fragile can come from being injured or in the process of healing from a surgical procedure.
As a newly minted prenatal yoga teacher who is eminently qualified to teach pregnant students, you’ll want to stay away from particular techniques. Poses that require women to rigorously twist their abdomens from side to side can ultimately compress this region of the body. During the first trimester, women should likewise avoid jumping in and out of asanas, headstands, handstands and other poses that require them to hold their bodies in a delicately balanced position for several seconds. As an instructor, you should also advise women to avoid abdominal work. Since the stomach area is designed to expand during pregnancy, women can forget about the “no gain, no pain” methods for training their abs until after the baby has been born. Compressing the fetus is just not in your baby’s best interest.
For instance, the practice of Warrior II may quickly highlight a lack of concentration and a wandering mind. As you practice Warrior II, take a moment to see if your mind quickly becomes bored with holding a steady drishti, or gazing point on the horizon, as you hold the posture. Does this lack of patience and focus translate into a lack of patience and focus on daily tasks at work or at home?
Just as Yoga poses (asanas) increase the body’s strength, spiritual exercises increase mental fortitude. Your students live hectic lives filled with emotional stressors. Spiritual Yoga exercises can build up mental reserves, making it easy for your students to navigate the challenges of life. When your students spend several hours a week, communicating with themselves and their Greater Power, they are building up their emotional strength. Your Yoga classes will empower your students to live a more peaceful, enjoyable life.
Could Yoga really empower you enough to conquer your worst fears? Very few people are able to overcome fear, without a serious effort…
Whether you are a practitioner or you have taken a few yoga teacher certification courses, you know that a regular practice helps to keep the body the body young. In fact, some seniors who practice yoga refer to it as a “fountain of youth.”