Yoga For Beginners Guide

By Jenny Park Why has yoga fitness become so popular? Although there are many hot spots for studios, there is hardly a health club that doesn't have a fitness based version of yoga. Many people learn the basics in a health club and they begin to appreciate the results of a steady practice.

By Kimaya Singh Could anyone firm up with yoga? People start practicing yoga for a variety of reasons. If your primary goal is to achieve a firmer, leaner physique, it can certainly help. Of course, practicing yoga alone isn't enough. Certain poses are more conducive to building strong, toned, lean muscles than others, too, so you'll want to learn the best ones and make them a regular part of your routine. Can yoga be used to get the lean body of your dreams? When combined with the right diet and exercise regimen, it can help you achieve incredible results.

By Kimaya Singh Is firming up with yoga possible? Yoga is a fantastic way to tone up your whole body. Many poses are weight bearing, which are extremely effective in firming problem areas. In addition, Pranayama breathing techniques have the ability to burn fat. Therefore, by combining weight-bearing exercises with Pranayama, you have created a vortex of calorie-burning and firming bliss.

By Kimaya Singh The way one chooses to earn their living is an important life choice. Most people need to work to support themselves, that's a given. Not everybody does what they love, though. If you have a passion for yoga and would like to share what you know with others, teaching could be your ideal employment solution.

By Faye Martins Body shaping is not an exact art. Athletic bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Those who lift weights have bulky chests and arms; runners have lean legs, but often lack in upper body strength. Swimmers have broad shoulders, and dancers have thick muscled thighs.

By Faye Martins How do we start to train the mind and body? Many people practice yoga for its fitness benefits. However, this ancient system of complete health maintenance should be comprehensive when we train the mind and body. If you take specified yoga teacher courses that focus on training the mind and body, then you can help your students obtain the complete art from their practice.

By Kimaya Singh What is aerial yoga? Are there any risks for students? What can teachers and students expect to gain by this modern practice? Wendy: "But, Peter, how do we get to Never Land?" Peter Pan: "Fly, of course. It's easy". The very name anti-gravity aerial yoga will inspire curiosity in most people. Certainly many questions will arise.

By Gopi Rao How can we protect the knees of our students during class time? Knees are one of the most vulnerable parts of the human anatomy. No matter what type of fitness regimen you choose, the knees will often take a beating. Very few sports spare the vulnerable knee, and it is common to see all kinds of athletes, including runners, tennis players, and dancers wearing knee stabilizers.

By Bhavan Kumar Those who survive a traumatic experience are subjected to a long and difficult journey through life and the process of recovery. Whether this trauma is related to an accident, a war-related injury, emotional or physical abuse, or multiple important losses in life, it can be difficult to overcome. Additionally, it requires time and effort to put one's past in its place. Patients who have suffered from some form of physical or psychological trauma can benefit greatly from practicing yoga on a regular basis during their recovery process. Yoga has enormous healing benefits for both physical and psychological injuries, and many people find that they can effectively utilize the art of yoga to reclaim not only their body, but also their mind.

By Faye Martins Osteoporosis is a serious condition that threatens millions of men and women around the world. Characterized by bones that thin with age to the point of becoming brittle, it can lead to fractures, debilitating pain, and lack of mobility. Yoga therapy for osteoporosis has been found to be an effective form of treatment for the condition. When used as part of the daily regimen, yoga could actually slow the progress of osteoporosis in the body. In some cases, it has even been found to reverse the damage that has already occurred. Researchers believe that yoga can actually prevent osteoporosis from setting in.

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 Faye Martins How can we establish guidelines for preventing hip injuries in Yoga classes? Yoga is good for you. No, yoga is great for you. No one should ever dispute or deny that. However, the adage, "too much of a good thing," can also be applied to practicing yoga and we have to create systematic methods for preventing injuries in our classes. Just because yoga has a good track record in comparison to other activities is not good enough. As more people become educated, the popularity of yoga continues to grow. Some people come into yoga classes with an overzealous approach that often backfires. It seems that the hips have proved to be a particularly vulnerable area to this overenthusiastic diving-in to the practice.

By Faye Martins How can we help our students with arthritis? Arthritis causes pain and joint stiffness, decrease a positive mindset, and make it hard to function normally (mentally and physically). This condition takes the fun out of the day and discourages a person from participating in outdoor activities, such as swimming and biking. Even walking takes its toll on a person with Rheumatoid arthritis or a person with advanced stages of Osteoarthritis. Depending on the stage and type of arthritis, exercise can actually help to reduce those painful symptoms, and yoga provides a pleasurable alternative to strenuous exercise for people who suffer from arthritis.

By Faye Martins Can Yoga teachers create policies for preventing back injuries in class and why should they? Suddenly the yoga world is abuzz with concern over potential injuries. Why is the warning flag suddenly flying? Well, a few reasons come to mind.

By Kathryn Boland Do you crave teaching more yoga than you presently are - even full-time? Have you crunched the numbers and thought out the logistics, to see if that might be possible for you? Teaching can be fulfilling and magical like nothing else, but it's not exactly an easy career path. Our bodies, bank accounts, and free time can take a hit. It often requires sacrifice. Let's break this down into things to consider in your decision whether or not to teach more.

By Faye Martins What can yoga teachers do about preventing joint injuries in class? As yoga made the move from a spiritual practice to a fitness craze, the incidents of injury naturally began to climb. Factors such as students with pre-existing injuries, "no pain, no gain" classes, overcrowded studios, overzealous students, and aggressive instructors have all contributed to an increase in injuries.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed The practice of the physical postures of Yoga is a wonderful tool for increasing our awareness of the way we move in the world. When we are practicing Yoga postures, the subtle nuances of how we move our bodies, our habitual thought patterns and a commitment or lack of commitment to the postures becomes strikingly evident. With an increase in self-awareness, it is much easier understand how the obstacles we are encountering in our life are generated by our habitual ways thinking and moving in the world.

By Faye Martins How can you educate prospective yoga students? You don't have much time to capture the attention of anyone these days. People are distracted by the beeps and chirps of electronic devices. Therefore, when prospective yoga students seek you out for information about your classes, you must be prepared.

By Shalise Nichols At 28, I did my first yoga poses with the yoga deck. Within a month or so the asana/ affirmation combo caused shifts in my mindset and I realized I had work to do with yoga. While practicing I opened my mind to moments of quiet and reasoning, they were new and valuable. As I factored these into my daily life, I knew I had discovered gems, I wanted to teach children. Done, that was it, it was not a call. It was as certain as the sun.

By Marie Jerard, RYT 500, E-RYT 200 Where are you on your Yoga teaching path? As you follow the yellow brick road toward continuing education or becoming a yoga teacher, you will certainly come to many forks along the way. The decisions that you make will determine where your Yoga teaching path will carry you. Many say that Yoga was a calling, not a choice. Others choose Yoga based on the holistic lifestyle it affords them or the desire to become more than they are.