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By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. How can your students learn to apply mindful breath awareness to life? The warm, balmy months of summer easily lend themselves to teaching Yoga classes in an outdoor environment. Traditionally, Yoga postures and breathing exercises were practiced outside, or at least within the natural confines of a cave, grove of trees or on the banks of a river. Most of the traditional sadhus of India practiced Yoga in tandem with either the dawn or the dusk hours. The reason for this was that practicing Yoga in alignment with the rhythms of the dawn and dusk hours helps to facilitate a deep connection to the natural world.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Is music generating enthusiasm in your classes? There is nothing quite as unsettling in a Yoga class as showing up for a Power Yoga class and having melodic new age music playing in the background, or attending a Yin Yoga class with hip hop music playing at a high enough volume that you can feel the reverberations through the floor boards. As a Yoga instructor, a very simple and straightforward way to generate enthusiasm in your classes is to choose appropriate musical selections that match and enhance the postures and breathing exercises through which you are guiding your students.

By Faye Martins The human back is a miraculous assembly of bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. Backs should be both incredibly strong and supremely flexible at the same time. The back supports the whole body from the neck, through the upper back into the lower and then to the bottom of the spine. We use it for every single movement we make. If your back is hurting nothing seems to go right. Your back is the entire support system for your body and keeping it strong and supple is important for your overall wellbeing.

By Faye Martins Are you practicing Bikram yoga or hot yoga and what's the difference? Bikram Choudhury is the creator of Bikram Yoga. Bikram's style is a type of heated Hatha practice. Bikram's style falls under the auspices of Hot Yoga because it is practiced in a heated room. In this series of postures, 26 asanas are performed twice, as well as two breathing exercises. The sequence of postures and the dialogue of the teacher leading the series is very set. The studio must also be heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity level of 40%. The class itself lasts for 90 minutes. These guidelines must be strictly followed in order for a class to be considered a Bikram class. Additionally, the Bikram style Yoga teacher must be certified by Bikram's Yoga College of India. Any modulations of these criteria make the class a heated class instead of a Bikram class.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How can Yoga improve the state of health for children? Hatha Yoga is an ancient series of physical postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques, which help to balance and rejuvenate the entire body-mind system. Practicing Yoga, on a regular basis, can tremendously support children's health, both physically and emotionally. A regular practice of Yoga, in the range of one to five times a week, has been shown to strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, heighten self-esteem, and lower stress and anxiety levels that can contribute to the development of depression.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed As we enter into the heart of the summer, many Yoga practitioners are beginning to enjoy a challenging and vigorous outdoor exercise regime. Those of us who spend a lot of time indoors during the colder winter months often participate in a variety of outdoor activities during the summertime. Depending on where you live and the availability of different outdoor activities, you may choose to go backpacking, play in a tennis league, surf, or even learn how to rock climb. You may even choose to do several of these activities over the course of the summertime, in addition to your regular Yoga practice.

By Faye Martins Should there be chair yoga precautions before a class? For those with knee or hip problems, or decreased mobility, Chair Yoga can be a great modification, allowing practice to continue. Chair Yoga consists of poses and breathing exercises performed in a seated position or with the use of a chair, allowing it to be performed even in hospitals or nursing homes. Through Chair Yoga, the physical and spiritual benefits of a healthy practice are available to everyone.

By Kimaya Singh Life can certainly be stressful at times. It seems that we are always on the go, always trying to juggle multiple things at once. Family, work, and school are just a few of the responsibilities that most people deal with on a regular basis. Worrying about financial obligations or health issues are also common contributors to high stress levels. All of that takes a toll on us. Today, more than ever, it seems as if people are constantly in states of high anxiety or even depression. Practicing Yoga might be a viable and healthy way to decrease stress and lower one's blood pressure while strengthening the body. It is a form of mental and physical exercise that can be both invigorating and calming. A Yoga training session helps us to focus on what is going on around us in a more constructive manner.

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 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 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: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed If you are a Yoga instructor who is teaching one or more students who are recovering from surgery or living with a chronic illness, modifying the practice in order to tailor the intensity level to each student's current ability is critically important. The awareness and application of therapeutic Yoga asanas, breathing exercises and contemplative practices can be profoundly healing to students who are working toward regaining their health. Your inner attitude or "bhav" towards your students' efforts in Yoga class can also substantially impact the healing effect of the class on your students.

By Kimaya Singh People who endure the long, grueling process of chemotherapy are often depleted of energy, strength, and overall well being. For cancer patients, yoga techniques have been found to be extremely beneficial in increasing an individual's sense of well being, decreasing anxiety levels, and prompting a better "mind-body" connection, which is extremely helpful when fighting cancer.

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!

Yogaadi provides Practise yoga in the lap of nature, detox with Ayurvedic massages, and refresh your senses at these yoga retreats in Rishikesh. Our experienced teachers design personalized programs for balancing mind, body etc.

Bhujangasana or the Cobra Pose, is one of the main backward bending asanas used in yoga. This helps in belly fat reduction. Learn and practice this yoga asana @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK6OqTIqlZs You may also refer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkeXtEV_0ks for developing a complete plan for flat abs.

Bhujangasana or The Cobra pose is one among those asanas which carry a number of benefits. This basic posture boosts fertility, helps in controlling hormones- especially thyroid, manages stress and improves circulation of blood.

The Ardha Halasana or Half Plough Pose beneficial for building six pack abs as well as curing stomach disorder. Learn and practice Ardha Halasana @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HutChT4Zu2U You may also refer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkeXtEV_0ks for developing a complete plan for flat abs.

For the people who seek yoga for beginners and find it difficult to perform a full plough pose, Ardha Halasana is the perfect pose. Easier than the halasana, this half plough pose helps cure indigestion, constipation and several other stomach disorders.

Hasta uttanasana or raised arm pose is a great pose to stretch and tone the muscles of abdomen and arms. It helps to remove unwanted belly fat and achieve a flat stomach. Learn and practice Hasta Uttanasana @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuRvneuIYg You may also refer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkeXtEV_0ks for developing a complete plan for flat abs.

Hasta uttasana pose, otherwise known as the Hand raising pose is one of the most effective asanas that help you achieve flat abs if done regularly. This intense stretching pose tones your abdominal muscles and also improves the digestion.

Yoga exercises give your body an internal stretch, helps to realign and rebalance your energy. Yoga postures improve your sense of body awareness. So you feel lighter, your posture is enhanced, you become more flexible and more in tune with what your body needs in the present moment.