By Rachel Holmes As anyone with experience practicing yoga can attest, the discipline does a lot to calm stress and anxiety, boost mood levels, reduce the symptoms of mild or seasonal depression, and possibly even aid the treatment of PTSD. But you don't have to take our word for it: a Harvard mental health study, published in 2009, supports all of these positive effects and more, highlighting the benefits of yoga for those suffering from anxiety and depression, the latter of which can be a major source of mood swings.

By Faye Martins Getting a Yoga instructor certification can be an enlightening and uplifting experience. It will allow you to bring the power of Yogic methodology to others so that they may improve their health and reduce stress levels. There are different levels of certification and once the most basic one is achieved, there are also training courses offered in specific types of Yoga. Of course, it is also a good idea to have some basic knowledge and experience with Yogic practices before deciding on a teacher training course. You should be comfortable within your own practice before you begin teaching others.

By Faye Martins One of the interesting aspects of teaching Yoga is finding out how many students actually take their practice home with them. Most students give honest feedback through a show of hands or a survey. My point is that some students won't practice meditation, pranayama and asana on their own, while others will practice almost daily. The reasons for this can vary depending on the results experienced, the student's desire to practice, how much spare time a student has to practice, and many other factors.

By Sangeetha Saran When a practitioner decides to become a yoga instructor, he or she won't be prepared for every teaching niche. This is the case with teaching those who participate in running events. Runners often turn to asana practice as an effective cross-training activity. Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga give an effective and complementary option for dedicated runners and those who are training for 5ks through full marathons.

By Michael Gleason Welcome to the great outdoors! Our sprawling urban centers are always alive, pulsating with subway cars or other rapid transit, forward thinking universities and their researchers, and technology firms consistently coming out with exciting innovations. And all of that is wonderful most of the time. Access to coffee shops, arts and culture, and progressive or unusual ideas are a delight. The city is awake and requires everyone to muster a definite amount of energy to keep themselves going but also to propagate all of these concepts.

By Jenny Park It seems safe to assume that the majority of yoga instructors start out as students. It is usually a process of metamorphosis from that first day on the mat to making the decision to become a certified teacher. Yoga beginners often are unaware of what they will experience, as they become seasoned yogis. Yet, many experience a transformation so profound they feel propelled to move on from student to instructor.

By Rachel Holmes This session of yoga exercises for runners is a combination of beginner, intermediate and advance techniques that will aid and boost the runner. Yoga for runners is proven to enhance the abilities of the runner through meditation, techniques on how to breathe and exercise techniques.

By Rachel Holmes Yoga for golfers has a proven track record for improving your posture, which controls your swing because flexibility and stance can dramatically affect your game. These yoga techniques can help prevent golf injuries and even help the golfer recover from injuries sooner. Yoga for golfers can be practiced year-round to help you keep your edge.

By Sangeetha Saran Restorative yoga is a form of passive asana, pranayama and meditation practice. Students who practice restorative based yoga sessions use props to support their bodies while they hold asanas. These props include blankets, chairs, pillows, straps, blocks and bolsters. While practicing this form of yoga training, students hold each posture for several minutes.

By Kimaya Singh Stress and mental health issues are unfortunately a part of our lives. They can affect your relationships and even your physical health. Many people suffer from panic attacks. They often occur during times of high stress, such as a major life change or a traumatic event. Panic attacks often feel like heart attacks. The symptoms include dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and even fainting. Although it can be very frightening, it is a common and treatable condition. The best way to reduce or prevent panic attacks from occurring is to reduce the amount of stress in your life and find better ways to deal with the stress and anxiety that you do have. One of the most natural ways to do that is through Yoga.

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 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 Rhonda Harrison Runners frequently turn to yoga as a form of cross training. As runners progress in their training, most begin to notice that their flexibility worsens as their personal records improve. Yoga training is a perfect compliment to a runner's training program because a regular practice gives runners benefits that they can't get from just running.

By Faye Martins Most of us feel anxious when we interview for a new job or make a speech in front of an auditorium filled with people, but anxiety can go far beyond sweaty palms and shallow breathing. Some people experience rapid heartbeats, nausea, or chest pain so intense that the symptoms themselves create a state of panic. Panic attacks often accompany other illnesses, creating a cycle detrimental to physical and emotional health. Researchers have confirmed that Yoga can be a powerful complement to traditional health care, especially in conditions like anxiety and depression.

By Bhavan Kumar Our aging bodies often betray us by presenting an annoying array of pain and physical impairments, which prevent participation in athletic endeavors that we once took for granted. Being physically active is essential for our well-being, so it is crucial to find a way to clear the hindrances blocking our path to good health.

By Junaid Ghouri Yoga is a holistic practice that has been around for thousands of years. There are many of us who have given up of the spiritual side of the yoga exercise program, and have used its methods to embrace many physical, emotional, and mental advantages. You will notice that there are ways in which you'll be able to use the stretches and strength building exercises for you to improve upon your self-image.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed As we rapidly approach the zenith point of the Summer Solstice, the temperatures are rising steadily and the deep-green color of the leaves is expanding into its fullness. By aligning yourself with the expansive and abundant energy of summer, you will feel energized and rejuvenated. The warmth of the sun's healing rays also helps to increase the function of the immune system, lower inflammation throughout the body and boost your mood naturally. By exercising out in nature under the warmth of the sun's rays, you will increase the benefits of your exercise regime substantially.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed The New Year is upon us and with every New Year many of us make resolutions to better our lives and ourselves. In these swiftly changing times, it is said that the frequency of energy that surrounds us in increasing. With an increase in vibrational energy and light, many of us are being challenged to let go of old habits and beliefs that dim our own light. One of the most common habits that are dimming is carrying around excess weight and eating an unhealthy diet.

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 Kimaya Singh Yoga can be a great way for someone to recover from a variety of painful and debilitating injuries, such as pulled muscles, torn ligaments, and broken bones. The gentle, low-impact movements of yoga can help strengthen muscles, soothe the mind, regain full use of limbs, and reduce overall pain. However the practice, if done incorrectly, can exacerbate current injuries and even lead to new ones. It is all too easy for an inexperienced yoga practitioner to push him or herself too far or get into a pose incorrectly. As a yoga teacher, it's important to stay up-to-date on how to prevent student injuries in the classroom. There are many continuing education options for this topic, and they can help any yoga instructor avoid having student injuries occur in their classes.