By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Are there reasons why someone should not be a Yoga teacher? Truthfully, there are no reasons why any of us cannot be, or do, what we want, as long as you are not hurting anyone. You should always strive to be the best you can be. However, you may find that many people create obstacles, in front of themselves, to avoid success.

By Shahid Mishra It has long been understood that yogic methodologies have strong medical benefits. This connection is so widely understood by those who practice yogic arts that there has been little interest in finding out just why this is so. A suitable analogy would be like finding a fountain that permanently replenishes the thirst of every one who drinks from it. Additionally, every additional drink from this fountain produces still more benefits. Faced with such a proposition, it can be understood if people choose to drink rather than to investigate.

By Faye Martins Does Yoga decrease blood pressure? At Long Island University, researchers and Yoga teachers are working together to find out. Approximately one out of every three adults in the United States has high blood pressure, a silent killer that puts us at risk for strokes, heart disease, kidney failure, and other illnesses. Although our blood pressure rises as we get older, we can often prevent complications by living healthy lifestyles.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 What is the measurement of a successful Yoga teacher? Should a Yoga teacher take money for classes? How do you define success for a Yoga teacher? Is it your contribution to the common good? Is it by producing successful teachers? Is it by technical prowess? Is it by how many students you have? Or, is it a combination of these factors?

By Faye Martins Does Yoga have a mysterious past? If sages knew its secrets thousands of years ago, why has it taken so long for us to find out about its benefits? Like other forms of shamanic wisdom, Yogic philosophy was handed down orally over thousands of years, staying in the hands of those who protected and preserved its teachings.

By Faye Martins What is heart rate variability (HRV)? How does it relate to our health and our Yoga practice, especially Yoga Nidra? First, let's define a few catch phrases to make this relationship easier to understand. * Heart rate - the number of times the heart beats within a given time, usually a minute.

By Sangeetha Saran Could practicing yoga raise your resistance level and protect you from the flu? It seems as if yoga training is being credited with preventing everything these days. Is there something to the therapeutic application of yoga for flu prevention? Let's look deeper into the subject to see if there is something to the hype.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed When we think about teaching Yoga classes that facilitate weight loss, we often think of vigorous Power Yoga routines or physically challenging Yoga practices performed in heated studios. These types of kramas or Yoga asana sequences certainly do help to boost students' metabolisms, burn calories and expedite weight loss. However, it is also important to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems of your students through a regular practice of pranayama exercises, in order to facilitate mental well-being and hormonal balance.

By Gopi Rao Sometimes we refer to our instinctive wisdom as "gut feelings." Maybe we don't know why we feel the way we do or how we know the answer to a question. We just do. Some of us chalk it up to instinct or a sixth sense while others discount the phenomenon altogether. Could there be a scientific explanation? The answer may be the vagus nerve, a physical link to the mind-body connection.

By Faye Martins Everybody struggles with stress these days. For many of us, Yoga is the perfect remedy, but what makes it so effective? Stress operates in a cycle. To prevent it from escalating, we need to recognize our triggers and reactions in their early stages. Doing so requires self-awareness and skill. Yoga increases our awareness, but it helps us to control our physical and emotional reactions.

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 Kathryn Boland A summer or two ago I was browsing a local newspaper and saw an advertisement for a $5 sunset yoga class on the beach. Everything in that description appealed to me, so I penciled it right into my calendar. When I arrived at the small local beach for the class, however, there was nary a yoga mat in site. I asked a few beach-goers if they knew anything about the class - if it was perhaps farther down the beach, or had changed to another day of the week or time of night. No better idea from anyone.

By Faye Martins Osteoporosis is a serious condition that threatens millions of men and women around the world. Characterized by bones that thin with age to the point of becoming brittle, it can lead to fractures, debilitating pain, and lack of mobility. Yoga therapy for osteoporosis has been found to be an effective form of treatment for the condition. When used as part of the daily regimen, yoga could actually slow the progress of osteoporosis in the body. In some cases, it has even been found to reverse the damage that has already occurred. Researchers believe that yoga can actually prevent osteoporosis from setting in.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Teaching Yoga to students who are recovering from surgery, living with chronic illness or contending with an injury poses a unique challenge to both the teacher and the students. A challenge can also be viewed as an opportunity to sink more deeply into the Yogic teachings that underlie asana practice. One of the primary contemplative practices of Yoga is the awareness and implementation of ahimsa or non-violence into every level of one's life, including all of the various aspects of Yoga.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 When or if, you want to become a Yoga teacher - would you be thinking of litigation, business, and Yoga? The old saying, "the truth hurts," applies to legality, ethics, and teaching Yoga. You can always "bury your head in the sand" and hope that you are never involved in a legal battle. After all, what kind of a student would sue his or her Yoga teacher? Doctors must ask each other this question every day. Sorry, but denial will not help you in a court of law.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, YACEP What should Yoga instructors know about giving an assist before a potential legal problem arises? Are there some general guidelines for assisting? Have you ever had an assist that did not really help much? Have you ever had a physical assist that hurt you physically or in any way? Do physical assists during asana practice make you feel uncomfortable? Is it really necessary for teachers to give a physical assist?

By Faye Martins Teaching a yoga class is a big responsibility. You have to know how to get all of your students to relate to what you are teaching them despite everyone in your class having a different learning style as well as differing ability levels. What are some ways that you can learn how to teach yoga classes in an effective manner?

By Faye Martins In spite of Yoga's many benefits, not every pose is good for every person. In the case of glaucoma, an eye condition that causes increased pressure in the eyeball and can lead to gradual loss of vision, there is no clear-cut way for instructors to know which postures are safe. Danger is greatest for untreated glaucoma; risk may be minimal when it is properly treated.

By Bhavan Kumar Any posture has some degree of risk. The picture of Virasana brings to mind the contraindications regarding knees and pre-existing knee conditions. What does this have to do with hip replacements? Just getting to the floor after a hip replacement presents some degree of risk and physicians may differ regarding postures they approve.

By Kimaya Singh, CYT 500 Pranayama - It's just breathing, right? How much harm could a little more breathing possibly do? You would be surprised. In some cases, we regard breathing simply as means to an end. It keeps us alive, and that is both the beginning and the end of its purpose.