Yoga For Beginners Guide

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. One definition of fear is to be anxious about an unpleasant or painful event that you feel is likely to happen in the future. For instance, if you are pursuing your Yoga teacher certification, you may be afraid that you are going to fail your final anatomy exam because you have not spent an ample amount of time studying. This fear may be completely reasonable and understandable, or this fear may be largely exaggerated if you have spent an adequate amount of time preparing for the anatomy final, but you are prone to anxiety.

By Sangeetha Saran The physical benefits of yoga are well known and well documented, but practicing it provides many exciting benefits for the mind too. Like most people, you may feel like thoughts are zipping through your mind at 100 miles per hour during every waking hour. The hectic nature of modern life is largely to blame for this phenomenon, but practicing yoga on a regular basis can help. If you'd like to learn to live in the moment and to stop fretting endlessly about the past and future, yoga can help you get there.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed. In an ideal world, the idea of practicing Yoga solicits feelings of calm equipoise, energy and vibrant health. However, for many people the idea of practicing Yoga in the context of a structured class can bring up feelings of apprehension and fear. There may be any number of reasons for this apprehension. Some of these reasons include being physically or emotionally fragile. This sense of being physically fragile can come from being injured or in the process of healing from a surgical procedure.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Teaching Yoga can be uplifting, inspiring and challenging. In many ways, this is never truer than when you are teaching a group of teenagers how to focus, concentrate and complete a series of challenging Yoga postures! Teenagers, by their very nature, often vacillate between period of intense focus and periods of lethargy, apathy and oppositional behavior. This is particularly true when a teenager is struggling with any number of difficult issues, which frequently produce defiant and uncooperative behavior patterns.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 Although the benefits of yoga training are becoming increasingly more well-known, its effects on specific illnesses are still being researched. One area of debate is yoga's effect on bone health, especially osteopenia and osteoporosis. Both terms apply to bone density, which decreases with age, but the two conditions differ in degree.

By Faye Martins There are challenges of teaching kids inherent in many activities. Quite frankly, the challenges of teaching kids yoga could be endless! These challenges could range from protests about stomachaches and sore arms to not having the correct clothing. There may also be a lack of Yoga mats or the room may be too hot or too cold. The challenges will be similar to the same kind of issues a teacher would run into trying to teach kids chemistry or how to avoid dangling modifiers, with a P.E. twist of course.

By Kimaya Singh Yoga is an ancient physical and spiritual practice that has become a part of the western mainstream culture. A regular practice of Yoga has many physical, emotional and spiritual benefits. A Yogic workout is also quite easy to customize to a particular group of people. Since a regular practice is so beneficial and easy to modify in order to accommodate different flexibility and strength levels, Yoga training has become one of the most popular offerings in the fitness industry today. Many health clubs offer at least a few Yoga classes per week, if not per day. This popularity makes Yoga much more accessible to the general public and also creates many positions for certified Yoga instructors in gyms, spas and health clubs.

By Seema Deshpande Practising yoga consistently can be extremely rewarding. Yoga can be practised in various forms such as pranayama or breathing exercises, meditation, and yogasanas or yoga postures. Furthermore, yoga can be practised by anyone - young or elderly, athlete or a normal person-yoga can be suitably modified to match everyone's need. While yoga can improve your physical and mental fitness significantly, research studies are being conducted to study the effectiveness of yoga in preventing and/or treating various physical and psychological disorders. In this research article, we will see whether yoga can lower blood sugar level in diabetic people.

By Seema Deshpande Yoga can be practised in various forms - asanas or postures, meditation, positive affirmations, and pranayama or breathing exercises. All forms of yoga have countless advantages and can benefit human beings to the fullest if they practise any of these forms sincerely and consistently. In this article, we will specifically learn more about the benefits of practising pranayama, the safest and relatively easier forms of yoga. We will specifically examine if pranayama can help ease anxiety in people, which is the root cause of many psychological illnesses, and some physical disorders too.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Can asana practice create an environment for a healthy spine? Due to individual habits, movements, illnesses, injuries, and genetics, each spine is unique in its strengths and weaknesses. This means that one asana (posture) may be beneficial to one person's spine, while it may cause extreme pain to another. When the spine is misaligned, the circulation of spinal fluid, and the nerve responses throughout the body, is affected. With that said - any person who has pre-existing spinal problems, should consult with a medical professional before practicing Yoga postures or any form of exercise.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Helping teenagers cope is a positive side effect of Yoga practice. Many teenagers, today, struggle with a degree of anxiety and depression unknown to previous generations at the same young age. There is a great deal of pressure on teenagers from their parents, teachers, and work obligations. In addition, there is a substantial amount of peer pressure surrounding many teens - both at school and during extra-curricular activities. Some of these causative factors of anxiety and depression have not changed much from generation to generation. However, the contemporary context of a fast-paced, insular and impersonal world, with a distinct lack of family and community structure, in addition to an unclear set of expectations and ethics, can increase the physical and psychological isolation and vulnerability of teens.

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 Many of the same physical and emotional benefits of a regular practice of postures and breathing exercises can also be found in the practice of Chair Yoga. If you are Yoga student who is living with a chronic health condition that necessitates the use of props in order to safely practice asanas, by participating in chair classes, you will gain many of the benefits of a traditional class, while still maintaining your safety. If you are teacher, offering Chair Yoga classes to those students who need to practice a modified set of postures with the support of a chair will greatly increase your marketability and adaptability in a variety of different teaching environments.

By Faye Martins Sometimes, you read that yoga helps everything. Is all of this "good yoga talk" a bunch of hype to market classes? Here's the truth: Yogic breathing techniques and some postures (asanas) that open the chest are a big help to someone who can't breathe. About hype: Maybe somebody promises cures, but I can't give promises because even a medical prescription doesn't work for everybody.

By Faye Martins What are the rewards of yoga for arthritis? For those suffering with arthritis, every movement is a painful event. The irony is that individuals with arthritis need physical movement more than the average person in order to keep their disease under control. Yoga training is a practice that provides opportunities for careful, mindful movement.

By Faye Martins How can Yoga help stroke recovery? The fact that a human can survive and potentially recover from a stroke is a testament to the intricate design of the brain. A stroke essentially kills an area of the brain, thus causing the typical symptoms of a stroke. Depending on the location, the brain can make adjustments and compensations, basically rewiring the other areas of the brain to perform the duties of the damaged section of the brain. This is an amazing feat.

By Seema Deshpande Practicing yoga, either in the form of yoga postures, pranayama or meditation, has innumerable benefits. Consistent practice of yoga can help one stay fit both physically and emotionally. In addition, yoga has the potential to improve one's spiritual quotient as well. In comparison to other forms of exercises, such as strenuous gym exercises, practicing safe yoga has relatively lower risks, and can be tailored to suit the needs of various people - young or old, healthy or physically weak, normal or athletes. Yoga can be performed by anybody and everybody.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Extreme stress-related health problems are so prevalent in our society, that the United States Public Health Service has actually set a goal to see that changes are made. While some stress can be motivating, no one benefits from long-term anxiety, extreme stress, and chronic worry.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How does Yoga Nidra work for sleep disorders? Many people, in our contemporary society, experience difficulty sleeping well on a consistent basis. In fact, it is estimated that fifty percent of adults, in the United States, struggle with insomnia. The types of insomnia range from difficulty falling asleep, to waking frequently during the night, and waking up too early. There are many different factors that can precipitate insomnia. An individual may experience insomnia because of a medical condition, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or periodic limb movement. Insomnia can also be caused by an inability to relax due to stress, anxiety, an overactive nervous system, and depression.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How serious should teachers be about student safety precautions? Yoga is considered healing for injuries, but that does not mean the potential for damage does not exist. Accidents and injuries are possible in every Yoga class, and instructors must be aware and take steps to minimize these problems. Beginner classes are especially fraught with potential for injury: Students unfamiliar with any particular movement have the potential to push themselves too far, fall from an unstable position, or try to compete with the practitioner on the next mat.