Correcting Yoga Students – Value of Compassion
Showing compassion means drawing from your inner patience and understanding. When a Yoga student is floundering in a pose, or perhaps…
Yoga Sequencing Lesson Plans
When designing a safe Yoga Asana sequence, it’s important to remember one thing: Don’t take chances. The body isn’t designed to move in…
Teaching Hatha Yoga: Difficult Students and Fitness Centers
A Power Yoga teacher is called, by the fitness center she works for – to substitute her class for the regular step aerobics class; this…
Eliminate Back Pain with Yoga Poses
Eliminating back pain is one of the greatest reasons why people choose to practice Hatha Yoga. Yoga can truly serve as a therapeutic exercise in relieving tension and stress from the back muscles. There are all sorts of Yoga poses that one can learn, which will help eliminate or reduce back pain. Before practicing Yoga poses, new students should seek professional guidance, do diligent research, and perform a proper warm-up before practicing the following postures.
Can Kids Yoga Help Relieve Stress?
Yoga may help kids on different levels. Practicing physical postures (asanas) can increase the production of endorphins, which generate feelings of well-being. Breathing techniques (pranayama) help regulate the nervous system by activating parasympathetic (relaxation) neurons and calming sympathetic (flight or fight) neurons. Guided relaxation techniques benefit kids by giving them an alternative way to respond to the stressors in their lives.
Tips on Becoming a Yoga Master
A true Guru, Swami, or Yoga master does not present him or herself as such, instead the yogi or yogini’s level of accomplishment would be evident through his or her behavior, understanding, speech and affect on other people. According to Indian tradition, a true Yoga master would also be a disciple of a long lineage of authentic Yoga masters, stretching far back in time, even as far back as Shiva. A true Yoga master would also usually have a group of dedicated initiates following his or her teachings.
Common Mistakes of Yoga Teachers
If students seem to be dropping away from a class, perhaps some of the common mistakes of yoga teachers are being made. Here are some of the mistakes, and how to correct or avoid them in our yoga classes.
Independent Study for Yoga Teachers
Yoga teachers might consider going into a more specialized area of Yoga. If you like working with kids, perhaps children’s Yoga is an area to explore deeper. Maybe you recently had a baby, realized the benefits of prenatal Yoga, and would like to continue helping expecting mothers. Perhaps your interest lies in the meditation and pranayama (Yogic breathing) aspects of Yoga, and you would like to learn how to help others heal through breath and meditation.
Teaching Hatha Yoga: Yoga on the Ball
Some Yoga certification courses devote a day or two to the the use of stability balls for a prop or for therapeutic use. With that said…
Should an Obese Person Become a Yoga Teacher?
There seems to be a stereotypical view of what a Yoga teacher should look like. Worse yet, there seems to be a preconceived notion about what a Yoga teacher should…