Secrets Of Teaching Yoga

What you are about to read applies to teaching, in general. In fact, we are all teachers, to some degree. You teach your friends, co-workers, strangers and family members on a daily basis.

The example you set teaches someone in some way. Whether you are a positive role model, or not, people, and the world, react to you. Sorry to say, you have more responsibility than you thought possible.

Do you realize that when you hurt one person, it will set a chain of events into motion? Even worse is that, most violent acts were stimulated by smaller, seemingly unimportant events.

When you talk to your students, always show mutual respect. Don’t take advantage of your position as a Yoga teacher to temporarily feed your ego.

The first thing a Yoga teacher should instill, in his or her students, is self-motivation. The serious Yoga student must be a self starter. This is a person who practices Yoga at home, as well as in class. They don’t depend on their friends to come to class, and they show up like “clockwork.”

How can you make your Yoga students become self motivators?

You must show up to class early, enthused, and energized. Encourage all of your students and sincerely praise their achievements. The truth is, Yoga is like music, you can teach a student the basics, but to be a master teacher, you want to stir the creativity from within.

When your students become creators, you can help them refine their Yoga practice and watch them become self motivators.

A truly great teacher will produce teachers, who surpass him or her; and isn’t “passing the torch” what it’s all about?

Benefits And Importance Of Bhujangasana

Bhujangasana is known as the snake or cobras pose because it reflects the look of a raised hood. As you raise your head along with your chest it represents a snake hood. The rest of the body lies down representing the body of the snake. This asana can be one of the best asanas for your back as well as your spine.

Inhaling and exhaling plays a very important part in this or any other asanas. Bending and stretching of your back may differ between individuals. As some has their youth to help whereas some manage even without that. It all depends on how flexible your body is and how much can you bend, to make the utmost use from your asana.

It has been said that, as long as your back is flexible you still have a long way to go. Every muscle of your body is pulled and stretched which gives the elasticity and suppleness to your backbone. With the passing of age our back starts throwing tantrums and becomes very stiff against our wishes. Before any such thing happens tone your body and other parts of your body by doing this asana.

By stretching, it tones the spinal column which reflects your back and with the extra pull entire abdominal muscles get toned too. Torpid muscles like uterine muscles and ovaries get toned too while doing this asana. It is one of the best asana which serves as a medicine for wet-dreams and leucorrhoea. It also helps in developing your chest as well as firming the bust due to the raising hood position.

This position helps in creating the necessary pressure to the adrenal glands which provides rich supply of blood for the entire body. Liver and other organs next to it also benefits from this asana. Problems of irregular menstrual cycles can be solved with this asana. The pressure applied on your stomach and muscles helps in relieving you from constipation problems. Acute gas troubles are also resolved if the asana is done on a regular basis. People suffering from slip disc problem gain due to the stretching of spinal column giving it a proper toning. Your backache problems may just leave you forever if you do this continuously.

Yoga The Natural Master Of All Remedies

Yoga is practised the whole world over by people wanting to free up their mind from stress/anxiety and to strengthen their concentration pattern.

Pressure from stress and a great many other disorders are some of the main reasons why people turn to yoga. And why wouldnt they when in return they gain a healthy body and a new outlook on life. Without doubt it is a force in its self to help combat anger outbursts, frustration and depression.

By practising yoga under the hands of dedicated followers then you are certain of results in banishing any displeasures you may have. Yoga is very effective in the way it takes control over those displeasures and replaces them with positive thoughts.

People are taking to such exercises because of the relaxed thinking pattern it imposes on the mind where all your cares and woes are put on hold. It also helps relieve those discomforts that come with every day life. Exercising your body in yoga movements is a satisfying master of all remedies achieved naturally.

All ages can participate in yoga. Even school children are practicing the moves to overcome their anger outbursts, in other words tantrums when not getting their own way. Remember workouts can be done at home if preferred.



In fact, yoga practiced at home can prove to be more relaxing because you are in control over your own moves unless of course you are following a routine put together on a video etc.

Exercises like the Hatha Yoga may be the best for you. For effects to take place this exercise has to be practiced consistently otherwise no results for body improvement? For the digestive system to respond accurately to your yoga actions then empty your bowels and clear your nose from mucus before practice takes place. Concentration is very important to adhere too when doing yoga; any distractions can upset the apple cart. When in practice at home there are no set times to when you start and finish. You may find first thing in the morning is perfect where no interruptions from salesman at the door

Set your self in the mood then choose which room in the house your yoga will take place and open a window for ventilation.

Peace and quiet are key features behind your WORKOUT WORKING OUT.

Benefits Of Pincha Mayurasana

The meaning of this asana is peacock feather pose. Before displaying the beautiful feathers, the peacock happens to lift its tail upright. This upright pose before dancing is known as Pincha Mayurasana. This represents the peacock in all its grandeur. The fierceness that is described in the peacock has to be imbibed in our day to day lives.

You can also call it as the elbow stand or the forearm stand pose too. As the entire weight falls on your shoulders, it has tremendous strength to withhold that balance for a specific period of time. As the shoulders are not joined together but kept at a distance distributing your weight on both the shoulders.

Similar to Adho Mukha Svanasana and Adho Mukha Vrksasana this pose also tests the inbuilt fear of falling. This fear factor is very common while doing all these kind of asanas. It is different to Vrksasana as the arms are not bended and in this asana it is bended giving you the extra support.

It may not be an easy asana to do on your own. You can use the wall as a support. The help of a friend or a teacher around would be worth the effort while doing this asana. Even though it may look like a simple asana, but doing it can be a different ball game all together.

This asana is a stress buster. It helps you tremendously to relax due to the position of the asana. The tension that would be residing in shoulder area is easily removed. Every muscle happens to do their bit making you more proactive towards your knowledge of mind and body.

As your chest opens helping your ribs, it also helps the shoulders including your upper arms and upper back. As your rib area and stomach area keeps the body straight they get toned too. Every part of your body is benefited while doing this asana.

The legs and buttocks are also strengthened because of the need, to keep your body in a straight line. This position lets you strengthen your thighs as it has to be kept straight without bending over. Thigh muscles benefit a lot by doing this inverted pose.

In this pose too the blood from the legs rushes down to the head, supplying it with fresh blood, which rejuvenates you as well as refreshes your mind and body to the highest proximity.

While doing any of the yoga asanas please confirm with your yoga teacher or doctor. People with back or any other problems should avoid such asanas.

There S Help For Asthma In Yoga

Perhaps it was predestined that I should have had asthma as a kid, discover Yoga as an adult, correct my respiratory health with it and now be blessed to write about my experiences with using Yoga (amongst other things) to control my asthma symptoms.

If this is the case, then I am honored. Either way it goes, I can say with much confidence that based on my experiences, one helpful exercise for alleviating Asthma symptoms and dealing with its many inconveniences is Yoga.

Owing to its gentle poses and stretches and the deep breathing involved in Yoga, certain poses-when used correctly-can be very helpful for smoothening the chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (airways) that causes swelling and narrowing (constriction) of the airways as is the case in Asthma patients.

Furthermore, when using Yoga as an exercise for asthma control, one need not worry about the common exercise-induced asthma attacks that may come as a result of vigorous activity as these poses are very calm and involve very little motion…hey, it’s Yoga after all.

Now, friends, based on my experiences and several studies that support these facts, the following poses can be a powerful add-on therapy to reduce the frequency and intensity of asthma attacks as well as to decrease medication use.

The Shoulder Stand & It’s Counter Poses for Asthma.

Inversion poses in yoga drain excess mucus from the lungs and balance the immune system. Now, let me introduce you to perhaps the simplest of these poses, the shoulder stand pose.

Although the Shoulder-Stand has been coined by several Yoga sages as a near panacea or cure-all, as far as Asthma is concerned, it is indeed very helpful in regards to relieving excess encumbrances in the respiratory organs and owing to its deep breathing, it increases the lung’s airflow, capacity, stamina and efficiency.

Here comes the best part, its counter poses. You see, some yoga poses, owing to the execution of them that is, have to be offset by a pose in an opposite spinal direction (another subject, but hopefully you get the gist).

Now friends, this Shoulder-stand pose has 2 main counter-poses: the Bridge and the Fish Poses. (No worries they are very simple to perform.) Both of these poses are back bending postures that open up the chest improving both lung and heart functioning.

As a matter of fact, the very last pose (the fish pose) is one of the specific poses mentioned by Sri Swami Devananda and IBS Iyengar (two of the most authoritative figures in modern day yoga) as being specifically useful for removing spasms from the bronchial tubes and thus relieving Asthma.

Other Helpful Poses:

There are other poses such as the forward bends which you can practice specifically if it is more difficult to inhale. These include the Head-knee Pose (Passchimothanasa) and it basically involves grabbing your toes, ankles or feet with the head lowered as far as possible to touch the knees.

Now, friends, remember I mentioned counter-poses right? Well, for this particular pose, its counter-poses basically are backward bending poses that include the Incline Pose and Bow Pose.

Both of these (especially the latter) open up the chest and should be practiced to aid with exhaling during asthma attacks.

Last, but not least is the simple, yet extremely effective Relaxation Pose.

Yes, you guessed it right, just simply lie flat on your back and breathe in a controlled and rhythmic pattern. By practicing rhythmic, controlled breathing techniques daily, the respiratory muscles and lungs develop the ability to breathe more slowly all the time, meaning less stress on the airways in general.

In addition to these poses, let me briefly mention the ‘Bellow’s breath exercise’ (a yoga breathing exercise) as this helps tremendously. As the name may suggest, it involves purposely pumping the stomach in an inward motion and exhaling through the nose simultaneously in controlled movements. This removes spasms and tones up the respiratory system significantly.

At this point, it must be mentioned that Yoga does call for a healthy diet in its use and

as a physical and spiritual system; it does call for a mostly vegetarian diet.

Friends, for asthma problems, you may want to strongly consider this as giving up all processed foods and animal products such as meat, milk, eggs and the like from your diet is a must and a fact that has been in effect in several programs aimed at correcting respiratory health such as the “Breath Retaining Program For Asthmatics” developed by the Russian, Dr. Buteyko. Within weeks of adhering to this advice, many a chronic asthmatic has been able to give up the use of ventolin inhalers.

So the next time asthma sends you to the doctor, you may do well to ask for a new prescription for asthma treatment-Yoga. I believe it won’t hurt and possibly could help you immensely.

The Best Benefit Of Yoga Efficiency In Work Is Yoga

Sometimes, what a voluminous book cannot explain can be explained in a single sentence! It is true about yoga. Yoga is not a mere word; it is a vast subject with many dimensions.

The wise saying goes, “Yoga karmasu kaushalam!’-which means, ‘Efficiency in work is yoga!”

What you do is not important. How you do what you do, is important!

Yoga also means union. What union? Whether union between the body and the mind? Or the mind with the spirit? The traditionally accepted belief (or truth, depending upon the level of your spiritual progression) is the union between the Jeevatman and the Paramatman- between one’s individual consciousness and the universal consciousness.

Yoga is a very vast subject. Attempting even an introduction in a small articles is an impossibility. Nevertheless, some important observations need to be understood when you speak of yoga.

Yoga has got something to do with the health of your physical body.

Yoga has got something to do with your mental health.

Yoga has something to do with your intellectual health.

Yoga has got everything to do with your spiritual being.

The ultimate stage can only be realized. No amount of assertions, explanations, and arguments and counter arguments can take you up there. The domain of silence can only be achieved through silence!

Yoga is intensely linked to breathing. It is about channeling the energy through breath. Another intimate alley of yoga is meditation. You can not think of yoga without understanding at least some of the basic techniques of meditation! Spiritual appreciation as to the nature of the human body, who controls it all of the time, is absolutely essential for proper understanding of various practices that make the science of yoga.

A word about Karma Yoga. The fundamental principle Karma Yoga is, “Do your duty and do not ask for the reward.” What youngster of the modern generation would accept this principle? If I do my duty, I must get the reward! Aren’t there people who don’t do any work and still get the reward.

The word yoga makes its entry at this level of thinking of an individual. The correct interpretation of this principle of yoga is that ‘do your duty but don’t ask for the reward’ You will get the right reward, at the right moment!’

‘Every action has a reaction and the intensity of the reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action.’ Over this the scientists and the spiritualists agree! One of the rare agreements between the two contending forces. Normally opposing forces! If you agree on this, don’t you think that it is necessary for you to agree that your every action, good or bad, will be rewarded as per the proportion it deserves?

Benefits Of Chair Yoga Part 4

Chair Yoga can easily work in harmony with most physical rehabilitation prescriptions. Many physical therapists have knowledge of Yoga or are teachers of Yoga. Many doctors, physical therapists, and medical professionals recommend Yoga to patients who are making a “come back.”

Yoga gives these patients the strength to move ahead, when many would be discouraged. The comebacks that I have personally witnessed are inspiring to me as a Yoga teacher. Over time, I have seen come backs from strokes, heart attacks, and car accidents.

It touches me that they thanked me for teaching them Yoga or Chair Yoga.

The courage to go on came from within their minds, but Yoga became a significant part of their lives. As a Yoga teacher the inspiration was mutual and made me feel helpful. After all, being of help, and being appreciated, are prime motivations for teachers of any subject.

Muscle tone is a result of stretching and flexing any muscle group. Active muscles display themselves on anybody that chooses to use them. This is also a good way to relieve oneself of anxiety, stress, tension, and prevent depression. Like the other benefits, previously mentioned, this results in whole body health. A healthy body does, indeed, compliment a healthy mind.

For those clients who are confined to a chair, it is wise to include some form of a weight bearing, or weight resistance, exercise program. For those who can stand, Chair Yoga is another weight bearing exercise that will stimulate bone building.

With progressive weight resistance, you use free weights or machines, but with Yoga you bear your own body weight. The end result of these exercise programs would be increased bone density and prevention of Osteoporosis.

Seniors spend more time alone, than any other age group. Sometimes, we all need a little solitude, but too much solitude can lead to depression, in some of us. Living life like a monk is not for everyone.

Chair Yoga classes offer a social activity that helps to stimulate the mind and body in a positive way. This becomes an uplifting activity that participants look forward to. Regular attendance, and socializing in Chair Yoga classes, is a healthy activity that leads to building strong relationships.

It also exposes seniors to the many activities that are going on within the community center. Participants of chair Yoga classes are exposed to whole health and gain a nutritional education as a member of a senior, community, or wellness center.

Lastly, all participants in Chair Yoga classes learn to relax and quiet the mind, through breath awareness, meditation, stage-by-stage relaxation, a combination, or another method. The end result being that these Yoga students can control their minds, focus on the good things in life, and prevent depression.