By Jenny Park There doesn't seem to be a Yoga teacher training course that is specifically designed for reaching out to teens. It may be based on the perception that teens aren't interested. Maybe some instructors get so much positive feedback from working with younger children that working with teens looks difficult at best.

Yoga is a way of living and not a religion; it aims to have a healthy mind and a healthy body. We are all in a mental, physical and spiritual being. It helps us to promote balanced development of the three aspects. Another form of physical awareness is to exercise, which can only assure only physical well-being, yoga comes in a different way.

I was getting a little older and I had decided it was time to take better care of my physical health, so I joined the local YMCA. I didn't pick that gym for any particular reason, it just happened to be close by and it looked nice, so I signed up. One day, after working out on the treadmill, I walked by the front desk on my way out and saw a display of class schedules for the different locations around town. One of the locations was very close to my current gym and it advertised mind/body classes such as meditation and yoga.

By Kimaya Singh When I was attending Yoga teacher training, one student wanted to understand where toxins come from. In the physical sense, we are surrounded by toxins. If you go for a healthy walk, you are sure to inhale a variety of toxins from the exhaust fumes of cars that drive by. You can grow the best organic food, but the rain that fed the plants may have toxins that should be filtered before you consume it. Additionally, it has been stated that rain water is less polluted than well water.

By Faye Martins How can a yoga teacher explain wellness and its relationship to yogic methodology? When new students ask how yoga can help improve their lives, many teachers shrug and say, "It helps with everything." While this may sound like a flip answer, the truth is that asana, meditation and pranayama can help students with virtually every aspect of their physical and mental well being.

The yoga programs that are for seniors or older people are generally a little easier on the joints, and require less extreme stretching. Any beginning class is also good for seniors as long as they know their own limitations. Of course, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor before you start taking any type of class, and that includes a yoga class.

If you are not a regular yoga practitioner prior to becoming pregnant, while pregnant is not the best time to begin. Why, because you are unfamiliar with yoga and have not given your body the opportunity to adjust to the practice of yoga, the stretches, the bends, the positions, etc.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Choosing effective themes for teaching Yoga classes is one of the subtle nuances of teaching that will help to keep your classes fresh and engaging. Sequencing a series of physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques that nurtures your students' well being, in a balanced and effective manner, is similar to a stringing a handful of loose pearls together. Choosing effective and appropriate themes for your classes is the very glue that holds together the individual postures and gives the class itself a deeper and more profound meaning than the simple practice of individual asanas and pranayama exercises.

Now, that you are teaching classes, you might wonder which of the many pranayama techniques you learned in yoga teacher training to...

In the case of Yoga treating depression, this is a subject that needs to be focused on considering how individuals in a depressive state often question their significance, the meaning of life and what they can offer to this world and the people around them. The practice of Yoga enables us to slow down and more calmly respond to our thoughts, rather than impulsively react to them.

f you are considering a yoga certification course, you may want to understand diabetes and many other ailments. For those of us who already teach classes, all of the progress we have seen against diseases and suffering do not count in the eyes of scientific research.

In this example, you have the opportunity to model a state of gracious acceptance for your student, by asking the student to pause for a moment and notice how his or her body feels right now. As your Yoga student becomes aware of what his or her body truly needs in the moment, without negating, minimizing or justifying another course of action, you will have the opportunity to model a state of gracious acceptance of "what is" for your student. In this way, your student will feel more accepting of his or her own physical aptitude and level of fitness. This state of open, gracious acceptance will then allow both you and your student the ability to choose appropriate Yoga postures and breathing exercises that will truly nurture the student's strength, flexibility and a deep, inner sense of respectful equanimity.

Depending on the exact style you studied in yoga teacher training program, you might know how to use props for therapeutic reasons. This...

Muscle tearing, bone fractures, lacerations, bruising, and edema are common physical manifestations of trauma. This type of damage causes pain and discomfort, but yoga can be used to relieve both of these unpleasant sensations. The artful stretching involved in yoga improves blood flow to the skeletal muscle in the body, resulting in better oxygenation of the tissues and more flexibility in the muscles. Yoga promotes healing through improved circulation; muscle pain is relieved by this.

Despite my best efforts to do just that, some of the children have difficulty maintaining focus and following the postures and movements I have been guiding them in. The atmosphere has therefore sometimes devolves into overall chaos, me losing control of the group. At those times, the teachers have sometimes not intervened. At other times, they strongly and clearly have. For instance, one teacher has taken children out of the group, for what I sometimes perceived as minor infractions. Other teachers have yelled at the children, with clear anger in their voices, to stop "fooling around" and listen to me. I haven't felt comfortable attempting to override those disciplinary actions; though they have been directly against my philosophies and instruction practices, and the groups are mine to lead, they are still the teachers' classrooms. To me, it hasn't been worth it to create more negative energy through further objections.

Ever since you decided to become a yoga instructor, you've dreamed of teaching a full class of athletic students. Now that you have them, you're concerned about safety and you want your students to have the best possible experience in your classes.

Many Hatha Yoga teacher training courses don't have an oath for graduates, but maybe we should all have one. In this way, instructors would be reminded to be constantly mindful of ethics, compassion, safety and loving kindness at all times.

There are still a lot of precautions for women in their first trimester and beyond. Additionally, practicing yoga for years before pregnancy is much different than spending years on a couch. It seems like common sense, but some women believe they have to join a class because they just became pregnant. The first place to start getting proper advice is in their doctor's office and then, if they are cleared, they can inquire about prenatal classes.

The connective tissues in the body often hold surgical trauma and emotional bracing. Yin Yoga postures are very effective for releasing some of this deeply held fear and tension, by undoing the physical constriction in the body and washing away some of the anxious thoughts in the mind, in a safe and effective manner. The deep sense of relaxation and release that comes from a practice of Yin Yoga will help to further support you during your cancer recovery process, which is understandably a very challenging and difficult time for most Yoga practitioners.

You might not understand why skeletal health is such a big part of a yoga teacher training course. Anyone who has suffered joint pain...