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By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed With each passing day, we are growing closer and closer to the heart of the holiday season. Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice and Christmas are just around the corner. The holidays can be a time of great festivity, fun and full of the warmth of family and friends. The holidays can also be a time of sadness for people who have lost loved ones or who are separated by circumstance from their loved one. This can be particularly true if you have lost a loved one at this time of the year or if the loss is recent.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. As I sit down to write this article, the holiday season is firmly underway. Many local Jewish families have just completed their celebration of Hanukkah, which marks the power of the light to penetrate the darkness. Additionally, many Christian families are now preparing for the annual celebration of Christmas with festive lights, gift giving and memorable gatherings with family and friends. Of course, during this time of year, there always seems to be an endless assortment of tasks to accomplish before the holidays are actually upon us; including buying gifts, preparing beautiful meals and making travel arrangements if you are going out of town to spend time with family and friends.

Holidays are not meant for playing cards, idle gossiping, feasting, sight-seeing or aimless wandering. It is very difficult to get a human birth. The aim of life is to attain God-consciousness.

As many of us begin to settle back into our regular routine after a busy holiday season, we may be confronted with the reality of implementing the New Year's resolutions that we made a few weeks ago into the fabric of our lives. It is not uncommon for many Yogis and Yoginis to make New Year's resolutions that are quite far-reaching and beautiful, but difficult to obtain.

Yoga poses that make us feel better overall will help us to feel less irritable and more compassionate. To do a full Yoga practice, you...

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. During the frenetic pace of the holiday season, you will probably find that many of your Yoga students are desperately in need of a dedicated period of time at some point during their week when they can simply just relax. Although many traditional cultures value periods during which they have leisure time to dedicate to socializing with others, creating art or beautifying their environment, our current culture tends to more highly value being busy, constantly multi-tasking and getting financially and professionally ahead of the proverbial eight ball.

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 Sangeetha Saran Can Yoga teacher training prepare you for the temptations in life? Especially during the busy holiday season, it's easy to pick up a cookie or grab a glass of eggnog without even thinking about it. Amidst the hustle and bustle, we forget to practice the habits we use during the rest of the year. When it's all over, or before, we can restore a little balance and eliminate stress with a regular Yoga training session. Asanas, deep breathing and meditation all contribute to clean mind and body.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Can you think of effective themes for Yoga sessions that are based on the seasons? Although many of us visualize the carefree days of summer, the summertime can also be filled with long "to-do" lists, as many of us plan assiduously to fit in all of the activities we had planned to do, during these supposed "lazy days." The same is true of many of the seasons during the year. For instance, during the fall many Yogis and Yoginis rush to fit in that final trip to the wilderness or to the ocean. In a similar fashion, the holiday season, as festive as it is, is also often a time of heightened stress, because of all the extra gatherings with family and friends.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Can you think of effective themes for Yoga sessions that are based on the seasons? Although many of us visualize the carefree days of summer, the summertime can also be filled with long "to-do" lists, as many of us plan assiduously to fit in all of the activities we had planned to do, during these supposed "lazy days." The same is true of many of the seasons during the year. For instance, during the fall many Yogis and Yoginis rush to fit in that final trip to the wilderness or to the ocean. In a similar fashion, the holiday season, as festive as it is, is also often a time of heightened stress, because of all the extra gatherings with family and friends.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Can you think of effective themes for Yoga sessions that are based on the seasons? Although many of us visualize the carefree days of summer, the summertime can also be filled with long "to-do" lists, as many of us plan assiduously to fit in all of the activities we had planned to do, during these supposed "lazy days." The same is true of many of the seasons during the year. For instance, during the fall many Yogis and Yoginis rush to fit in that final trip to the wilderness or to the ocean. In a similar fashion, the holiday season, as festive as it is, is also often a time of heightened stress, because of all the extra gatherings with family and friends.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Can you think of effective themes for Yoga sessions that are based on the seasons? Although many of us visualize the carefree days of summer, the summertime can also be filled with long "to-do" lists, as many of us plan assiduously to fit in all of the activities we had planned to do, during these supposed "lazy days." The same is true of many of the seasons during the year. For instance, during the fall many Yogis and Yoginis rush to fit in that final trip to the wilderness or to the ocean. In a similar fashion, the holiday season, as festive as it is, is also often a time of heightened stress, because of all the extra gatherings with family and friends.

The good part of Italian yoga retreats is that they have been practicing it since long. Due to this, they have training people towards the right direction and helping people, mentally and physically. This has increased the popularity of yoga and the different amazing ways of doing it in Italy. So, if you want to make your yoga special try going to Italy.