By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Could Yoga really empower you enough to conquer your worst fears? Very few people are able to overcome fear, without a serious effort. Fear holds us still, stifles our progress, and distorts our view of reality. Worse yet, some of our fears stem from childhood - whether they are rooted in reality or not.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Some interns enter into Yoga instructor training as a mile stone in their training. The reason for intensive Yoga teacher training might be as simple as self-mastery. Yoga teaches us how to make life changes from within. Within all Yoga styles are the tools of self-realization and transformation. Once a Yoga practitioner has managed to empower him or herself, a positive direction will become the easiest path to follow.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 What would you do if a health club manager had to substitute your class for an aerobic step class? What if one of the step aerobics students gave you a case of misplaced aggression because he or she was disappointed the step aerobics class was canceled? If you are considering teaching Yoga in a fitness center, or health club; imagine the following situation. A Power Yoga teacher is called, by the fitness center she works for - to substitute her class for the regular step aerobics class; this is her story.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Where did this ball come from? Is the stability ball a legitimate Yoga prop or just a marketing gimmick for equipment sales? Who could benefit from the use of the ball in a class? When can the stability ball fit into a Hatha class? Where did this ball come from? Stability balls have been around since 1963, originating in Italy. The first time I saw a stability ball, we called it a, "Swiss Ball." Yet, the Swiss Balls at that time, were all made in Italy. American Physical Therapists saw the ball, in use, within physical therapy Swiss units.

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: 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.

By Faye Martins Yoga can be a wonderful form of therapy for joint health and a number of skeletal ailments. This is the reason why yoga teacher training courses spend so much time on skeletal anatomy, precautions, and alignment. The bodies' joints provide cushion where two bones intersect. Some of the major joints in the body are the knees, ankles, shoulders, spine, wrists and elbows. Over time, because of disuse or as a result of specific ailments, like arthritis, the joints can become inflamed and painful. Yoga can help reduce or eliminate the discomfort of joint pain.

By Shahid Mishra During the course of a Yoga teacher training many interns discover that shoulder stand (Sarvangasana) is a good asana for thyroid health, but the reasons why might not be explained. The reason is actually quite simple: Gravity encourages good blood flow toward the neck.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Yoga is a great relief from feelings of anxiety, but anxiety is part of life; and some of us have more anxiety than others. No matter how many years you practice Yoga, you are still human. You are bound to have feelings of frustration, angst, irritation, and anxiety.

By Gopi Rao During Yoga teacher training, many interns daydream about working with athletes, but what about muscular imbalances caused by a sport? The fact is: A Yoga teacher will spend just as much time nurturing students with a musculoskeletal imbalance as he or she will with a couch potato.

By Faye Martins When attending a yoga teacher training intensive, Paul gave a lecture about pain that I could never forget. Basically, he said: "We usually take life for granted, when we are healthy, but when we are in pain, we can think of nothing else." Yogic science directly addresses suffering and does its best to let us enjoy a pain free life. As you know, there are no guarantees in life, but we can be proactive toward living the best possible life during each precious moment.

By Bhavan Kumar Like many other conditions we learn about in Yoga teacher training, pain in the tailbone can be both helped and aggravated by exercise. Although some asanas present problems, others alleviate pain and relieve inflammation. The key to success is knowing your own body and finding a good yoga instructor. Pain in the coccyx, or tailbone, is a common condition that affects five times as many women as men. Although the disorder stems from a variety of causes ranging from falls to pregnancy, an unstable coccyx is frequently the culprit. Discomfort varies from mild to acute and is usually aggravated by sitting.

Written By Noel Halpin This article gives you all you need to know if you wish to make yoga a major part of your life. Yoga is for every man, woman, and child on this planet, regardless of age. In fact it seems to benefit the elderly as much as it does the younger people. It is probably the only activity which is so beautifully designed that there is no stress on the body , because everything is done at the individuals own pace. You can be very selective as to the exercises you wish to perform, and you can ease into every movement without causing any pain.

Yoga is not about self-improvement or making ourselves better, it is a process of deconstructing all the barriers we may have made in order to prevent us from having that true connection with ourselves and our world. We cannot strive toward something that we already are.

While I am sure that the philosophy of yoga will vary according to who you speak to, my basic version can enhance your life. The simple philosophy of yoga can be applied even in our lives over 3000 years after yoga was documented. Yoga is a practice of developing your mind and body's energies to produce a happier and healthier lifestyle. My philosophy? Be good to yourself and share the good with others.

By Faye Martins When sitting through a lecture in yoga teacher training, one intern raised a hand and said: "I never knew there was mindfulness in yoga." Over the years, a few fitness yoga teachers have said the same. In Sanskrit: smrti or smiriti means mindfulness. When a yoga teacher asks the class to focus on the present or to be present for class that is also the state of mindfulness (awareness).

By Faye Martins Anatomy is such an important part of hatha yoga instructor training. As you learn in Yoga teacher training, the neck is the most fragile part of the spine. The neck supports the weight of the head during the hours we are awake. When you consider our skeletal structure, it's a wonder that many of us are lucky enough to have pain free days. Luckily, you have learned enough about Yoga to help others have many more pain free days.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? What is the primary form of therapy for OCD? In what ways can Yoga training help as a form of therapy? Which combination of therapeutic methods would be most beneficial? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is classified as an anxiety disorder. OCD is also classified as a psychiatric disorder. Either way, the person suffering from OCD experiences involuntary, intrusive thoughts. When a person begins to take these intrusive thoughts seriously, anxiety grows - based upon exaggerated internal fears, which are not based upon reality.

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.

Chronic Pain sufferers deal with pain most of the time with no relief. With awareness, the gentle movements of Yoga can relieve some of that pain. Studies have shown that a Yoga practice can reduce the amount of pain in people who suffer from fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic back pain and many other painful ailments.