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By Bhavan Kumar Many athletes turn to yoga to provide a balance to their usual vigorous and demanding workout routines. Yoga training gives athletes' muscles and ligaments the necessary stretching that they need after intense work. Postures help prevent soreness, strain or injury. Power yoga combines the best of both worlds by giving athletes a more intense, cardio-based workout combined with the stretching and lengthening of muscles. In addition to the physical aspects, physically challenging classes help athletes work on focus and concentration through breathing and meditative practice. Power yoga teachers can pinpoint some key areas of the body to work on to give students a satisfying workout.

By Faye Martins Many people opt to become yoga instructors, oftentimes by taking yoga teacher training online. However, there are many yoga students who have considered undergoing teacher training, but aren't sure if this career path is right for them. While there is certainly a difference between a student who's passionate about yoga and a full-fledged instructor, both share a passionate interest in yoga, meditation and advancing their practice. To help determine whether or not teacher training is right for you, here are some of the qualities that make for a good yoga instructor.

By Kimaya Singh There are certainly no guarantees in life for perfect health, but practicing the yoga lifestyle can truly make a difference. When it comes to cancer prevention, there are preferred foods, meditation, breathing techniques (pranayama), and postures (asanas) that do wonderful things inside us that support and strengthen the immune system and major organs. Yogic practices allow the student to discover a healthy relationship between the mind and body. That connection focuses on concentration and living in the moment.

By Michael Gleason What should teachers and students know about Yoga after a knee replacement? Making the time to exercise, as well as being present, in our fast-paced culture can prove challenging. And sometimes we get lucky and have a good exercise routine supplemented with the right mix of yoga and meditation down to a science. Unfortunately, something unanticipated happens, such as a serious accident (traffic) or fall prey to something heredity like osteoarthritis.[1] One of these events could lead to needing a knee replacement. In addition to frustrations such as being in traction or limited mobility this knee replacement needs a game plan for getting back to the gym and our yoga practice.

By Sangeetha Saran Prenatal yoga offers a host of benefits for women. Pregnancy is an important time for women to be as healthy as possible as their babies grow and change inside them for nine months. Exercise is an important component of overall health and should not be overlooked during pregnancy. Many women choose yogic exercise because it is a gentle and low-impact way to keep their bodies agile and strong. Meditation and breathing techniques help reduce stress and increase blood flow to the fetus. Women can also learn specific postures and breathing that will benefit them during labor and delivery.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Creating healthy habits can be difficult for many of us. Establishing a regular time to practice Yoga is one of the primary keys to benefiting fully from this ancient system of physical postures, pranayama exercises and meditation techniques. For instance, engaging in a thirty-minute practice several times a week, or even daily, will benefit you much more fully than a longer Yoga practice of two hours or more, once in a blue moon. When I was first starting to practice Yoga on a consistent basis, I didn't believe that this was true! I would wonder to myself why a practice that is 2 to 3 hours in length, once a week, would not benefit me more fully than a 30-minute practice on a daily basis?

By Bhavan Kumar In 1998, I bought a book called The Art of Happiness, A Handbook for Living. The book begins with these words from the Dalai Lama: "I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness." In 2005, I attended a 4-day workshop entitled "The Art of Living." This workshop focused on Pranayama breathing, meditation and some simple yoga postures.

By Kimaya Singh When we think of fitness training, Yoga training is not the first discipline that comes to mind. To overlook Yoga's benefits, however, as an independent discipline or an addition to an established training program would be a mistake. While Yogic philosophy can be helpful in every phase of life, challenging Yoga postures, meditation, and breathing techniques enhance physical and mental fitness.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Have you learned about effective themes for summer Yoga classes? In many Yoga teacher training programs, you will learn about organizing your classes around specific themes. This concept encapsulates the idea of constructing a sequence, or krama, or Yoga postures, pranayama techniques and meditation instructions around a specific theme or goal. This theme may be the successful practice of a pinnacle posture, such as Crow Pose or Handstand. Or the chosen theme may be centered on a process, such as physical detoxification or calming an overactive mind.

By Kimaya Singh Yoga studios are places of meditation, spirituality and fitness. They are places where people can feel safe, and where the fundamentals of yoga can be taught. They can also be places were accidents are waiting to happen. It can be tough to know where exactly an accident is going to happen, or what part of your studio is unsafe, but there are some signs that you can look for.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Choosing effective themes for teaching Yoga classes is one of the subtle nuances of teaching that will help to keep your classes fresh and engaging. Sequencing a series of physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques that nurtures your students' well being, in a balanced and effective manner, is similar to a stringing a handful of loose pearls together. Choosing effective and appropriate themes for your classes is the very glue that holds together the individual postures and gives the class itself a deeper and more profound meaning than the simple practice of individual asanas and pranayama exercises.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed A daily Yoga practice offers a practitioner many benefits. These benefits range from an increased range of flexibility to a more positive outlook on life. On a physical level, a daily practice of asanas, pranayama exercises and meditation will energize your body and calm your mind by balancing the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. Of course, a regular practice of asanas increases flexibility and muscular strength and helps to prevent injuries due to misalignment and repetitive stress. There are even Yoga postures that help to undue some of the tension and stress that ultimately lead to Carpel Tunnel Syndrome!

By Seema Deshpande Practising yoga consistently can be extremely rewarding. Yoga can be practised in various forms such as pranayama or breathing exercises, meditation, and yogasanas or yoga postures. Furthermore, yoga can be practised by anyone - young or elderly, athlete or a normal person-yoga can be suitably modified to match everyone's need. While yoga can improve your physical and mental fitness significantly, research studies are being conducted to study the effectiveness of yoga in preventing and/or treating various physical and psychological disorders. In this research article, we will see whether yoga can lower blood sugar level in diabetic people.

By Rachel Holmes This session of yoga exercises for runners is a combination of beginner, intermediate and advance techniques that will aid and boost the runner. Yoga for runners is proven to enhance the abilities of the runner through meditation, techniques on how to breathe and exercise techniques.

By Kimaya Singh Stress and mental health issues are unfortunately a part of our lives. They can affect your relationships and even your physical health. Many people suffer from panic attacks. They often occur during times of high stress, such as a major life change or a traumatic event. Panic attacks often feel like heart attacks. The symptoms include dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and even fainting. Although it can be very frightening, it is a common and treatable condition. The best way to reduce or prevent panic attacks from occurring is to reduce the amount of stress in your life and find better ways to deal with the stress and anxiety that you do have. One of the most natural ways to do that is through Yoga.

By Rachel Holmes Yoga is a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and ascetic discipline that is commonly practiced worldwide. It involves breath control, hearty meditation, and subjection of the body to a number of specific postures for the purpose of balancing and aligning the body and mind. Yoga is usually practiced for its health and relaxation purposes. Attendance in yoga classes helps a tennis player prevent injuries. This is because it makes the player's body flexible in a number of ways and thereby improves performance and effectiveness at the court.

By Sangeetha Saran Restorative yoga is a form of passive asana, pranayama and meditation practice. Students who practice restorative based yoga sessions use props to support their bodies while they hold asanas. These props include blankets, chairs, pillows, straps, blocks and bolsters. While practicing this form of yoga training, students hold each posture for several minutes.

By Faye Martins Most of us feel anxious when we interview for a new job or make a speech in front of an auditorium filled with people, but anxiety can go far beyond sweaty palms and shallow breathing. Some people experience rapid heartbeats, nausea, or chest pain so intense that the symptoms themselves create a state of panic. Panic attacks often accompany other illnesses, creating a cycle detrimental to physical and emotional health. Researchers have confirmed that Yoga can be a powerful complement to traditional health care, especially in conditions like anxiety and depression.

By Rachel Holmes Yoga is a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and ascetic discipline that is commonly practiced worldwide. It involves breath control, hearty meditation, and subjection of the body to a number of specific postures for the purpose of balancing and aligning the body and mind. Yoga is usually practiced for its health and relaxation purposes. Attendance in yoga classes helps a tennis player prevent injuries. This is because it makes the player's body flexible in a number of ways and thereby improves performance and effectiveness at the court.

By Faye Martins One of the interesting aspects of teaching Yoga is finding out how many students actually take their practice home with them. Most students give honest feedback through a show of hands or a survey. My point is that some students won't practice meditation, pranayama and asana on their own, while others will practice almost daily. The reasons for this can vary depending on the results experienced, the student's desire to practice, how much spare time a student has to practice, and many other factors.