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By Faye Martins Yoga is an extensively popular form of stress reduction, a way of life, and has been recently classified as a form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by the National Institutes of Health. The physical postures, or asanas, forms of meditation, and breathing techniques, called pranayama, are the most popular practices associated with yoga in modern culture. They are known to aid individuals in not only improving physical fitness and cardiovascular efficiency, but also in lowering stress and anxiety levels, as supported by data compiled from multiple research studies in an article published in the International Journal of Yoga in late 2011.

By Asha Saith The word yoga has been a part of my existence since I was a child. My mother employed the exercises for an injury to her spine and my grandmother, noting the benefits started Yoga in her forties and was able to achieve an unassisted headstand in her fifties! For me personally, I do Yoga classes because I leave each class feeling good - rejuvenated and relaxed and also recharged - and ready to face whatever life has in store for me. In my humble opinion this mental state is a strong contributor to good health.

By Kimaya Singh Yoga can be a wonderful tool for supporting you in your weight loss efforts. Many of the standing Yoga poses are very strengthening and vigorous. When you learn how to enter more deeply into the postures, in correct alignment, you will greatly increase the beneficial effects of the practice. Yogic standing postures increase balance, coordination, flexibility and strength. Each Yoga posture targets different areas of the body. Engaging in a regular practice of standing Yoga postures that are linked together by a series of Sun Salutations will enliven and invigorate you. It will also strengthen all of the major muscle groups in your body, keep your spine strong and flexible, and enhance the circulation of fresh blood and nutrients throughout your entire being.

By Faye Martins It has been known for thousands of years that a regular practice of yoga and meditation techniques will have numerous benefits for the body and mind. It is no surprise that some researchers are starting to discover that incorporating yoga and meditation into a student's daily schedule can improve cognitive function and reduce stress. This can result in improved concentration, focus, and subsequently, improve one's school grades.

By Faye Martins It is not a new idea that yoga can alleviate and even eliminate tension in one's life. People have been practicing yoga training for thousands of years. Some devote their entire lives to their practice. It is no wonder these days that people seem more stressed, and that more people are seeking out medications and other ways to feel more energized and happy. In an age of long work hours, technology leaving us hypnotized, and a culture of bad dieters, it is especially important to make sure that some time is set aside to let it all go, center ourselves, and move beyond the stress in our lives.

By Dr. Rita Khanna To live in peace and harmony, without being thrown out of balance by the ups and downs of life is really not so hard and yet not so easy though it is the aim of every living being. From a Yogic perspective this means to live life fully, to flow with life and to accept whatever life brings, rather than fighting against life and the circumstances that we live in. Yoga, as an age-old system, has always been a practical science of living which teaches us the tools for a balanced, harmonious life. It is a system which explains the functioning of the human mind and the various levels of consciousness with the aim of unfolding the dormant potential in everyone.

By Bhavan Kumar One of the key elements to using Yoga as a therapeutic tool to heal traumatic memories is to remember to breath throughout your Yoga practice. If you forget to breath, you are still somatizing and freezing the feelings, memories and emotions in your muscle tissues. Somatization is often an unconscious protective mechanism for many trauma survivors. Unfortunately, it keeps the traumatic memories just below a conscious level and perpetually recycling in the mind and heart of a trauma survivor. Yogic pranayama exercises that teach you how to breath fully and deeply are very important for trauma survivors. Intermediate pranayama exercises that purify and energize the entire body/mind system are also very effective tools for releasing traumatic memories.

By Faye Martins Laughter Yoga has been clinically shown to be an effective practice for relieving symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Chronic stress has long been known to lower the functioning of the immune system. A compromised immune system leaves an individual open to a variety of diseases and chronic health problems. Laughter Yoga practitioners claim that not only does Laughter Yoga lighten their mood, it also energizes them and boosts the functioning of their immune systems. Many of the "club" members also report a lower incidence of respiratory infections and a quicker recovery time if they do catch a cold. With a regular practice of Laughter Yoga, a participant can anticipate better mental and physical health as well as a more optimistic outlook on life.

How does yoga help the body and mind? Living in a fast-paced, stress-filled society, most people find that they are anxious even while trying to rest and sleep. Anxiety and stress have become an accepted part of life, although they can both be unhealthy for the mind and body. Yoga can help a person eliminate or reduce the chronic stress and anxiety that one feels so that he or she can begin a journey toward complete holistic health.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Are you interested in methods for improving Yoga student safety? The safety of students can be improved by encouraging open and forthright communication, between a Yoga teacher and his or her students. Whether or not a student is new to your class, encouraging open lines of communication is of paramount importance when you are guiding a student through a series of physical postures and pranayama exercises. Over the course of weeks, months or years, a student's physical and emotional health may shift and change with various experiences in life. By encouraging open communication, you will be able to guide your students in their practice through your professional feedback and recommendations.

By Faye Martins How can yoga help young athletes? The American Heart Association recommends that all kids ages two and over participate in at least 30 minutes of medium-intensity physical activity every day. Children enjoy physical activity, and many get involved in competitive sports, but more and more, parents and whole families are coming to see the value of cooperative activities. Yoga helps children increase balance and body awareness, and relieves social pressure from trying to "win."

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Facing a cancer diagnosis can be shocking and terrifying for many people. A cancer diagnosis can "come out of left field" for many people and cause so much distress and heartache that the person may become immobilized in the face of such a serious health crisis. However, being proactive in the face of a cancer diagnosis and the ensuing treatments has a profound ripple effect on your ability to navigate a challenging situation with as much grace, dignity and ease as possible. There are many different ways to help support your mental and physical health if you are diagnosed with cancer.

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 Gopi Rao If 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. Science only recognizes its testing, studies and research as factual. At first, we might resent science for throwing out thousands of years of yogic research and claiming it is all biased information. For us to prove yogic methods work, yoga schools have to open the doors to medical and scientific scrutiny. We also have to be prepared to deliver proof and name sources of studies.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Springtime is upon us, and for many Yoga practitioners who live in areas that experience long winters, the increasing light and warmth of this season is very welcome. Just like the seasons in temperate climate zones, there are also different types of Yoga practices. Some practices are cooling, and other sequences of asanas are quite warming. For example, practices that are cooling and restorative are Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra. Practices that are quite warming are Ashtanga and Bikram Yoga. Both of these types of flowing sequences will help to stoke the inner fire or agni of your students.

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 Rachel Holmes There are many types of yoga schools, teachers and styles available today, but most of them focus on physical techniques. Additionally, most styles are a variation of Hatha, which emphasizes physical mastery through posture (asana) and yogic breathing (pranayama). Above all else, the student will probably focus on asana and the alignment of postures during the first years of training. For this reason, let's discuss the physical and mental importance of asana alignment for yoga teachers and students.

It greatly enhances digestion, elimination, flexibility of legs and arms, and it releases tension in the shoulders, neck, and spine. It tones the legs and arms and lengthens the hamstrings.

By Kimaya Singh Our children live in challenging times, and teaching them how to build a peaceful world is at least as important as passing tests and being good athletes. We must teach them how to work together, resolve problems, accept differences, and take care of their bodies and their environment. We also need to teach them social skills like compassion, anger-management, and empathy. Yoga teacher training graduates, who work with children, are likely to see many changes in education in the near future.

By Faye Martins When we teach yoga classes, what are our students taking home with them? Do some students see it only as an exercise? Yoga has exploded into a popular fitness trend, around the world, for the past two decades. Well known for its relaxation and breathing techniques, yoga as a way of life has spread like fire through studios across the world and into gyms, fitness clubs, senior centers and even public schools. There are many different styles and techniques, with each style focusing on a specific emphasis that tends to characterize it. Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, for example, is a practice that highlights the physical challenges of yoga whereas Iyengar is a slower version of Hatha that allows practitioners to concentrate on pose mastery and yogic philosophy.