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A very effective way of improving Yoga student safety during a class is by modifying the postures and using appropriate props when needed. By modifying...

Many Yoga teachers often strive to balance offering their students a challenging and creative series of Yoga postures and breathing exercises, while still maintaining a high degree of student safety in their classes. For some Yoga teachers, this quandary may prove to be quite difficult. This balance can be especially challenging to establish if you are a new teacher.

Before and after a class, make certain you leave enough time to clean up the yoga studio you have just used. Store mats and any other equipment you may...

In Yoga classes, we often hear instructions about where to focus our drishti or gaze while doing Yoga postures. A Yoga practitioner or a...

By Faye Martins Vinyasa comes from the Sanskrit word meaning, "flow," and the flowing movements from one position to another are the essence of the many forms that constitute Vinyasa yoga practice. Vinyasa is often compared to a dance, and this aspect of the practice can pose special problem when teaching vinyasa yoga classes.

Yoga Heals Back Pain Quickly - Yoga works on stretching and strengthening, and the key to long-term healing is strength, says Liz Owen, who studied with B.K.S. Iyengar, founder of the Iyengar yoga discipline. Since the emotional effects of chronic pain are often devastating, the calming, grounding benefits of yoga can be very therapeutic. Viniyoga is an modified form of yoga that focuses on slow stretches and deep breathing and the use of several yoga accessories such as blocks. It is used in many medical institutions such as UCLA's Pediatric Pain Program which features yoga, and the Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center which offers yoga classes along with acupuncture and nutritional counseling.

By Sangeetha Saran After finishing my first yoga teacher training, I was lucky enough to land my first teaching position at a local dance school. Yoga and dance are natural partners. In fact, vinyasa flow seems like a sort of dance, as the practitioner moves smoothly through a variety of asanas in time to the rhythm of their breath. A whole class full of practitioners doing their cued sequences looks a bit like a chorus line. Dancers who practice yoga experience many benefits to their minds, bodies and spirits.

By Faye Martins Among our Yoga certification requirements should be and ethics agreement that should contain a message about ahimsa (non-harming). I'm sure most Yoga teacher training courses have a form similar to the ethics agreement that interns in my class signed. Ahimsa is so important that you can't have compassion for others without it. When teaching Yoga students who have any neurological disorder, the instructor must show compassion.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Throughout the ages, there have been innumerable stories of individuals who faced their fears and surmounted unbelievable odds, in order to achieve their ultimate goals. These goals are far ranging. Some examples of courageous individuals who achieved their goals with courage and persistence are the first blind man to climb Mt. Everest and a veteran who is a certified Bikram Yoga instructor, even though he is a double amputee. In fact, Iyengar, who is credited with being one of the very first teachers to bring the practice to the west, healed himself of a disabling physical condition, through the rigorous and dedicated practice of Yoga postures.

By Bhavan Kumar If you teach hatha yoga to younger adults, their minds focus on the muscles during asana practice. If you are a hatha yoga instructor who teaches asana to older adults, the mental emphasis of the average student is on the bones and joints. Although a yoga teacher asks students to be present for class, there is some outside thinking going on in the minds of our best students.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed There is great power in becoming aware of the truth and speaking the truth, when appropriate. This can be especially true during a Yoga class. A balanced and comprehensive practice of Yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditative techniques can quickly clarify any areas of physical weakness or imbalance. A balanced Yoga practice can also uncover painful and confusing life experiences, which may be lingering just under conscious awareness. These experiences may not have been completely understood or resolved by a student.

By Faye Martins If you practice and teach Yoga daily, you probably have a handle on anxiety. One intern in a Yoga teacher training intensive had entered the course to master a method that would reduce or eliminate his anxiety. A few years later, he let us know that it had worked for him. His objective was self-mastery first and possibly to teach Yoga classes down the road.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed In the United States, the annual holiday of Thanksgiving is here. This is the annual time of year that many of us gather with family and friends to celebrate all of the abundance in our lives. Many of us celebrate this abundance with an elaborate meal, followed by a movie marathon or watching football games for the remainder of the day. There are also a number of opportunities during the Thanksgiving season to give back to our own communities, by serving meals to the poor or raising money during various charity events.

By Kimaya Singh Those of us who teach yoga classes on a regular basis know the wonderful side effects it has on our lives. Those who have never practiced before may have heard of the benefits, but they may not necessarily put a lot of stock into them because they haven't seen firsthand results. If you're a beginner, follow a few practical tips to get the most out of your beginning yoga experience.

By Jenny Park Most yoga teacher training courses don't go into running partner sessions. Many of us learn more about it after yoga certification. If you've never taught partner yoga it is a wonderful way to not only connect and bring people together, but a great way for one who is very much into yoga to share the benefits with a loved one who may be a little timid about starting a routine.

By Faye Martins Yoga teacher training courses enhance an interns ability to connect with children on many levels. Teaching yoga to children is very rewarding, but there will be challenges in your classes. Perhaps if adults had the energy, optimism and honesty of children, the world would be a different place. Looking at the world through the eyes of a child means taking things one moment at a time, stopping to appreciate seemingly insignificant moments and attractions, and releasing your emotions as you feel them. Essentially, children are living some of the most fundamental of yogic principles: mindfulness, gratitude and inner peace. It makes sense, then, to teach children yoga postures and breathing while they are young and eager to accept healthy, lifelong concepts.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 If you teach pranayama in your classes, you may have come across a student who has a lung disease. We may learn how to modify asanas in a yoga certification course, but how do you modify pranayama? Think from the perspective of a student who struggles to breathe all day long. You have to make your modifications simple, but effective.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Yogic exercise is a very popular activity in many communities, as people increasingly come to recognize the myriad benefits it has to offer our bodies, minds, and lives. Yoga teacher training programs that specialize in training instructors for teaching children are also becoming quite prevalent, but what sort of classes should kids participate in?

By Faye Martins When you teach yoga classes, how often do students ask about techniques to reduce back pain? Study after study shows that yogic exercise helps significantly with managing back pain in conjunction with medical treatment. Yoga strengthens and balances the body while it grants students more control of their minds. Each of these factors alone become huge benefits, when dealing with back pain, but together, they feel like a miracle. Participants of one study reported a decrease in pain, functional disability, and depression. Sixty-eight percent of the participants of that study assigned to practice yoga training also continued to practice the art after the study concluded. Even though chronic back pain can be one of the hardest common conditions to live with and treat, yogic exercise can significantly improve the quality of life of back pain sufferers.

By Kimaya Singh As a yoga teacher, you are going to accept many students, who are all going to be of different weights, heights, body frames, levels of flexibility, and more. Typically, you don't have to worry too much about the average student you teach because most can practice the techniques, but when dealing with pregnant women, you should consider changing up your class.