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By Faye Martins What can yoga teachers do about preventing joint injuries in class? As yoga made the move from a spiritual practice to a fitness craze, the incidents of injury naturally began to climb. Factors such as students with pre-existing injuries, "no pain, no gain" classes, overcrowded studios, overzealous students, and aggressive instructors have all contributed to an increase in injuries.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed How do we go about nurturing harmony in our Yoga classes? According to BKS Iyengar, who is one of the most well loved and highly respected Yoga teachers of our time, "Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit." He goes on to state that, " When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open up." Ultimately, the goal of all Yoga practices is to know God intimately in the depths of one's own being. Along the way, of course, you may experience a stronger, lighter, more flexible body and a trained mind.

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 Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 Offering hands-on assists in a yoga class can be an incredible gift. Through the power of touch, you can connect with students and help them connect with themselves. While it is important to focus on the positive aspects of providing touch, understanding where an assist can go wrong is also critical.

By Kathryn Boland There I was, in my typical Tuesday night yoga class. We were warmed up and moving into some vigorous Warrior flows. Having been on my feet all day long, my quads whimpered for mercy as I bent deeper into Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose). Ok, true, maybe my alignment got a little sloppy as I backed off my deep bend slightly. The instructor, whom I looked up to highly (both as a student and a new, quite green instructor myself), came over and gave me a physical cue to deepen me in the posture. "They're watching you!" she whispered in my ear.

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 Sylvia Borden Creating a focus for a yoga class can help to keep the students, as well as the instructor, engaged throughout the class. Many ideas, that surround our lives, can inspire and translate into great plans for a yoga training session. Changes in the seasons, something that happened recently in the world, or to the instructor, and life's challenges, are all great areas to start with building a theme. A winter solstice, for example, could be used to challenge the body, mind, and spirit to a change, just like the change in the season. Taking thoughts to paper, and then destroying the piece of paper that holds those thoughts, can allow for a transition during the class that can be carried away long after the class had ended.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 The most talented and experienced yoga teachers do a lot more than teach students how to achieve poses. They go well beyond the physical by teaching students how to be more mindful and aware of their bodies too. Body awareness is an intrinsic part of yoga. After all, the word "yoga" itself translates to mean, "to yoke," which is another way of saying "to unite." Without making students aware of this exciting benefit, though, they could easily miss out on it. Therefore, yoga teachers should make a point of explaining the concept of propioception to their students.

By Gopi Rao How can we protect the knees of our students during class time? Knees are one of the most vulnerable parts of the human anatomy. No matter what type of fitness regimen you choose, the knees will often take a beating. Very few sports spare the vulnerable knee, and it is common to see all kinds of athletes, including runners, tennis players, and dancers wearing knee stabilizers.

By Faye Martins How can we establish guidelines for preventing hip injuries in Yoga classes? Yoga is good for you. No, yoga is great for you. No one should ever dispute or deny that. However, the adage, "too much of a good thing," can also be applied to practicing yoga and we have to create systematic methods for preventing injuries in our classes. Just because yoga has a good track record in comparison to other activities is not good enough. As more people become educated, the popularity of yoga continues to grow. Some people come into yoga classes with an overzealous approach that often backfires. It seems that the hips have proved to be a particularly vulnerable area to this overenthusiastic diving-in to the practice.