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By Santosh Dhanaji Patil Yoga and India aren't strangers, yet we find Yoga's popularity suddenly spiking after it's embraced by the west. It has become the thing to do to be fit with celebrities swearing by it. It is as if Yoga is a 'novel' concept or is reinvented by the west. After it has become the 'in' thing, there are two sets of people- the ones who do it and others who don't. Most of people who do it, adopt yoga for life while the others don't want to do it because of the myths around it or don't know how.

By Kathryn Boland Do your students ask you questions, give you feedback, and share any physical or other concerns they may have in regards to practice? Do you wish they did that more often and/or in more depth, and wonder how you can encourage them to Do so? Students know themselves - body, mind, and spirit - better than we instructors ever could. Yet they Don't always know what to Do with that knowledge.

By Don Steensma When you mention yoga to most guys they think of women from the 1970s in purple leotards and pink leg warmers Doing some passive form of stretching. Or maybe they think about some far-out guy chanting. Those images probably Do not appeal to most guys. When I mention that I teach yoga to male acquaintances, many give me a funny look and shrug. They Don't know the yoga secret.

By Faye Martins What can Yoga do for chronic lower back pain? Residents of the developed world are doing plenty of things our ancestors of only a few thousand years ago never would have dreamed of doing. Among other things, the modern world has us sitting far more than our body was designed for. We sit at desks, on couches, we sit to drive, and we sit to eat. All this sitting has created a number of health problems unique to modern society. People of the modern developed world are fatter than ever before, engage in less physical activity than ever before and, as a result of all this sitting, lack of exercise and extra weight, they have weaker backs that are much more prone to lower back pain.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How can teachers lead classes effectively? Behavior toward neighboring Yoga schools, teachers, and their students, should be cordial. Like the old saying goes, "If you do not have anything good to say, do not say anything at all." When we speak of other Yoga instructors, or former teachers, in a hostile manner, what do we teach our students?

By Kathryn Boland Do you recognize ways in which your students could have richer yoga practices experience if they could release their strongly held views of "wrong" and "right"? Do you wish they could just trust what their inner knowing can tell them is best for them as individuals? In the first part of this series, I introduced this dynamic through describing a student of mine who presently seems unable to look to herself for her own answers, instead constantly seeking reassurance from me that she's Doing it "right". I suspect, dear readers, that you've encountered similar students.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Are there any difficult Yoga students? For the most part, our students are the best part of what we do. Many student / teacher relationships are friendships as well. However, at least once a week, I receive an Email about how to handle difficult Yoga students. Unfortunately, you could be the kindest and safest teacher within a 100-mile radius, but eventually you will run into a difficult student. One common reaction to being verbally assaulted by a student is to think, "Why me?"

If you do not take yoga classes, but enjoy practicing, you are not alone! Many yoga en thusiasts prefer the comfort of their own home and enjoy doing yoga on their own schedule. While this approach to yoga can slow down progress, mostly by not having a teacher explain and correct, it is still easy to progress with a rewarding home practice.

Having a yoga instructor can really help to boost your yoga practice. They will demonstrate the asanas (postures) so you can really see what you need to be doing and they will help you by watching what you do and making small corrections to keep your body aligned and safe. However Yoga is a wonderful tool for stress management that you can learn on your own with the help of a DVD or book.

Do you want to meditate? Well if you Do, there are a lot of meditation methods that one can choose from

By Helena Lucas My greatest sources of joy are spending time with my cats, living in the ever watching jungle, belly-dancing, ballet and rock-climbing. I studied Psychology at … What qualities do you long to perceive in yourself? do you feel that you can only change 'that' much of you? If this is so, you are not yet familiar with the fundamental truth of Yoga: "The body is the temple of the spirit, conceived in the image of its maker". Through consistent yoga practice, students soon become aware of the infinite power and beauty of their own individual body. Indeed others around will be quick to perceive "something different" in you- be sure to share your secret with them. Yoga's breathing, stretching and meditation exercises promote optimal physical and mental health that shows.

There are some contraindications to doing downward dog. If you have a wrist, shoulder elbow or neck injury it is better to modify it or skip the pose if you don't know how to modify. During a head cold, sinus or ear infection, eye problem or after recent dental work it's advisable to avoid the full pose because it puts your head upside down and increases swelling and inflammation and may decrease healing time.

By Kathryn Boland Are you curious about balancing your brain? Do you enjoy taking yoga classes, when you're not teaching? Do you find your instructor "brain" talking to you, even when you're in a student role? Many sources that I've encountered affirm that taking class can greatly expand your skills as an instructor. You can learn new ways to enter into postures, helpful accommodations for certain types of students, and more. On the other hand, not allowing yourself to sometimes be a student can limit your abilities to understand your students' experiences in class, and to otherwise develop as a yoga practitioner. Like many aspects of being a yoga instructor, it's a fine balance that we learn to more skillfully walk with time, experience, and engaging with those in our yoga communities.

By Kathryn Boland Do you see students practicing backbends in similar potentially dangerous ways? Do you have strategies for working against this - proactively and/or retroactively? Backbending has incredible benefits- contributing to strength-building, stretching out various muscles, and offering energy boosts. We're dealing with the spine, however, so the potential for significant damage is very real.

By Kathryn Boland Do you see students practicing backbends in similar potentially dangerous ways? Do you have strategies for working against this - proactively and/or retroactively? Backbending has incredible benefits- contributing to strength-building, stretching out various muscles, and offering energy boosts. We're dealing with the spine, however, so the potential for significant damage is very real.

By Kathryn Boland Do you hear students talking about the news? Do they seem tense, tenser than usual? Does it seem like they're coming to yoga to find tension release from all the craziness? No matter what side of the political divide people fall, we all feel - and likely internalize - the enormous amount of partisanship and tribal fighting currently happening in America.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. We often her that Yoga benefits cancer patients, but how does this happen? For those of us who are regular Yoga practitioners, and who are facing a cancer diagnosis, maintaining a daily or weekly Yoga practice can help to engender a sense of normalcy and promote self-care during a very difficult time period in your life. This is particularly true if you are accustomed to practicing several times a week, in order to generate energy, balance and well-being. However, if you are undergoing treatment for cancer, you may find it difficult to do the same kind of Yoga practice that you are used to doing for months, or even years to come.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. Can you think of effective themes for Yoga sessions that are based on the seasons? Although many of us visualize the carefree days of summer, the summertime can also be filled with long "to-do" lists, as many of us plan assiduously to fit in all of the activities we had planned to do, during these supposed "lazy days." The same is true of many of the seasons during the year. For instance, during the fall many Yogis and Yoginis rush to fit in that final trip to the wilderness or to the ocean. In a similar fashion, the holiday season, as festive as it is, is also often a time of heightened stress, because of all the extra gatherings with family and friends.

By Jenny Park This article will either make you laugh or make you mad. My intention is to make you laugh. Right now, we live in a world of selfies. People are taking pictures of themselves all the time. I know someone who has hundreds of her own pictures doing yoga poses for wallpaper in her bedroom. She is naturally flexible, doesn't put any effort into practice, can do a variety of postures well, and she is obnoxiously proud of herself. Her pictures are all over Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Therefore, I devote this article to people who practice postures only for their ego's sake.

By Kathryn Boland Do you see students practicing backbends in similar potentially dangerous ways? Do you have strategies for working against this - proactively and/or retroactively? Backbending has incredible benefits- contributing to strength-building, stretching out various muscles, and offering energy boosts. We're dealing with the spine, however, so the potential for significant damage is very real.