Archive for October, 2009

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Let us look at some ways to group techniques, within a Yoga class, and keep them interesting for each session. Please keep in mind that there are thousands of ways to design lesson plans. The only time a lesson plan is wrong is if it can potentially hurt a student.

Centering: This is a time for students to bring their full awareness into the classroom. If I were to compare Yoga to any other discipline, this is similar to the ceremonial bow at the beginning of a martial arts class. Some teachers go into a brief meditation, at this point, while other teachers may focus on seated or standing breath awareness. The point being – there are many ways to approach this, but time should be taken for the centering, because Yoga is not an “exercise” class.

Warm-ups: This might consists of circular movements, which are commonly seen in Kundalini Yoga and some Hatha classes. The slow circular movements create a flow of energy within your core. At the same time, they warm up your joints, create flexibility within the muscles, and massage your vital organs. Some styles practice Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) instead of the circular warm-ups. This is completely acceptable, as long as the initial flows are performed slowly and gradually increase in speed. By gradually increasing the speed, we want to keep in mind that this is warm-up time and time spent preparing to avoid injury.

Pranayama: There seems to be a debate on when to perform pranayama during class time. We should be practicing pranayama throughout the class, even when we are practicing other techniques. For example – if your students were practicing Sun Salutations, they should have also been practicing Ujjayi breath at the same time.

Some teachers guide students through pranayama at the beginning, middle, or end of the class – as a separate segment. Personally, I see nothing wrong with this. In my classes, pranayama is usually taught as integration throughout the lesson plan. For example – you could open, or close, a class with Udgeeth pranayama while teaching other Yogic breathing techniques throughout the class.

Asanas: There are many ways to approach asanas. Some teachers start from a seated position, going to Table, and then standing, and so on.

Here is a contemporary template for grouping asanas in a typical Hatha class:

Standing Poses

Balancing Poses

Seated Poses

Kneeling Poses

Table Poses

Prone Poses

Supine Poses

This is just a sample guideline. There are many ways to approach asana sequencing. If this were a private session, for a student with a neurological disorder, the entire lesson plan would have to be customized to meet the needs of that student.

The above-mentioned lesson plan did not take into account teachers who organize Vinyasa classes, which continuously flow through all of these groups of asanas, within their flow sequences.

Meditation: This is a special time, during classes, that can be performed at the beginning, end, or at the beginning and the end of a class. In other words, there is no “bad” time for meditation. If you survey your students, and they answer you honestly, you will find that most of them do not make time for meditation during the week.

Relaxation: I have never met a teacher, who ran two relaxation segments, in a single class; however, it seems that some teachers perform guided relaxations at the beginning of class. Most often, guided relaxations are performed at the end of class, or just before the last meditation session, which is near the end of the class.

There are a variety of relaxation methods. The classic method seems to be stage-by-stage relaxation, but body scanning has also become very popular, and it does not take as much time. This may be important if you are trying to schedule time. There is also the relaxation-through-visualization method – where the teacher guides the student through a mental exercise, with the focus being on one thought, or object, at a time, in that sequence.

With all that said – relaxation-through-visualization existed in Yantra Yoga for centuries before some of the popular methods of this time. If you want to research Yantra Yoga, it would be wise to seek out a competent Guru, who is familiar with the many methods of that discipline.

In summary, Hatha Yoga is much like music, in that careful creativity can be a good thing. It is a matter of preference, as to whether the teacher or student likes a particular sequence. This does not make it right or wrong, but any methods taught from other branches of Yoga, should be carefully studied under the guidance of a competent Yoga teacher from within that style.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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By Keval Gajjar

THE HISTORY OF YOGA

Most of the Hatha yoga forms taught today throughout the Western world is influenced by the great yogi Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who was born in 1888. He is considered the father of modern yoga and is responsible for pioneering the refinement of postures, specifically sequencing them and giving therapeutic value to each one.

He is also responsible for combining the postures with breath control to create a form of moving meditation. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who developed the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of Hatha yoga, studied with Krishnamacharya from the age of 12 and continued to teach yoga.  Inspired by his great teacher, in Mysore, India. B.K.S. Iyengar also studied with Krishnamacharya, albeit for a brief time.

He has spent his life perfecting the asanas that his first guru taught him and is the founder of the Iyengar style of yoga. He has a yoga center in Pune, India.T. Desikachar, the son of Krishnamacharya, developed the Viniyoga approach to Hatha yoga and currently has a yoga center in Chennai, India. He also teaches throughout the world.

THE EIGHT LIMBS

One of the founding principles of Hatha yoga to which dynamic yoga adheres is that of the eight limbs, which the literal translation of the Sanskrit word ashtanga is. Devised by the famous sage Patanjali in about 200 B.C, the eight limbs are described by him in the historical yoga text, the Yoga Sutras. The eight limbs can be likened to the form and nature of a tree. For, as a tree stands strong against every adversity and continues to grow, producing fruits from its labor, so do yoga students, through consistent practice and dedication, begin to reap the benefits of their labor and nourish the fruits of their love. The first five limbs are concerned with the body and the brain. They constitute the outer phase of yoga. The final three limbs are concerned with the reconditioning of the mind and constitute the inner phase of yoga.

The first limb of yoga is called Yama. Its purpose is to promote moral and ethical principles within the individual. Yama has five principles or social disciplines: ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (purity), and aparigraha (non-attachment).

The second limb is called Niyama. Its purpose is to create an inner integrity and it also has five principles: saucha (cleanliness, purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhaya (self-study), and isvarapranidhana (surrender to God).

The third limb is called Asana. These are the yoga postures, which are practiced to calm the mind, enabling a deep state of meditation to occur. This is based on the principle that if the body is restless, the mind will also become restless, inhibiting the true realization of the self.

The fourth limb is Pranayama, or extension of the breath. Prana is the life-force energy, and ayama is the voluntary effort to control and direct this energy. Pranayama helps contemplation and eliminates distractions of the mind, so it becomes easier to concentrate and meditate.

The fifth limb is Pratyahara, which means mastery of the senses. Through the practice of asana and pranayama your mind’s attention is turned within; through pratyahara this internal focus is maintained.

The sixth limb is Dharana, or concentration. It is the ability to focus your full attention on one point to the exclusion of everything else. It is essential to realizing the true self.

The seventh limb is Dhyana, or meditation, which is the effortless flow of awareness toward the object of concentration. The difference between concentration and meditation is that in concentration there is a peripheral distraction or awareness of your immediate surroundings, whereas in meditation the attention is not disturbed at all; you are completely absorbed.

The eighth limb is Samadhi, which means the absorption of object with the mind. In this enlightened state there is no duality of consciousness. It is one step beyond being completely absorbed in the meditative state. When you have achieved Samadhi, the “I” becomes nonexistent. You become one with God or one with all. This is the fruit of the tree or the fruits of your labor.

MY DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTER IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS THEN VISIT www.indianyogaandmeditation.com

By Kathi Duquette

In yoga, like most things, you need a healthy balance. Your yoga routine should include a variety of poses; avoid practicing the same ones and neglecting the rest of your body. Practicing a variety of different poses will provide the most benefit to your entire body.

There are many poses that simply feel good. They are easy to sink into and they can relieve tension and stress. A ‘rag doll’ pose is a good example of a feel-good pose. Hanging around in such a comfortable inversion releases stress on many physical and mental levels. Another example is the ‘legs up the wall’ pose. These are restorative and comfortable.

Practicing something as simple as ‘easy seated pose’ (comfortable seated cross legged pose) can cause an imbalance. Consider if in your easy pose you always keep the same leg crossed in front. One hip will be more open than the other. Conversely, if one hip is more open than the other, it is easier to sit that way. If you can work the other leg gradually into the front position you can balance out the hips. You really need to focus on working on specific areas like these gradually, over time.

Allow your body to progress in its own time – never forcing into any pose. Instead of focusing on looking a certain way in the pose, focus on releasing a certain body part or muscle. Think inside the body rather than how it looks on the outside.

Challenging your body to move deeper into poses will bring even greater flexibility and stress relief. The deeper breathing associated with focusing on sinking deeper into a pose, while tuning in to how your body feels each step of the way, is stress relieving. On the physical level, different poses offer different strength building and flexibility. While some poses offer benefits to many parts of the body in a single pose, others are more specific to isolated muscle groups.

Inversions, twists, side stretches, forward bends and back bends should be included in each practice session. Your yoga routine should include some inversions such as the standing forward bend, which gives your brain a fresh dose of oxygenated blood. A side stretch, a twist, and a back bend will keep your spine lubricated and supple. By moving the spine in different directions with awareness you are improving flexibility and decreasing risk of injury. Back bends stretch the front side of your body; forward bends stretch the back side. Twists give your organs a gentle massage, while lubricating and increasing flexibility in the spine.

Including all parts of your body into your yoga routine will bring some balance to many imbalances that occur from repetitive motions or poor posture. Over time you will start to notice imbalances that your didn’t know you had. Keep practicing a variety of poses to bring balance to all of your different parts. Keep in mind that your spine is truly the backbone of your body. Many yoga poses focus on keeping the spine strong, flexible and agile while strengthening the supporting muscles around it. Mixing in the forward, backward and side flexions will help to keep your spine strong and supple.

Be sure to practice safely for your body and include the basic five types (inversions, forward bends, back bends, twists and side stretches) of poses in every practice. Create balance and infuse your body with fresh oxygenated blood. Add some balance poses to further balance out the two sides of your body and to build on your body and mind connection. Don’t forget your savasana (relaxation) to give your body a few minutes to absorb its work.

Getting to know your body and all of its magical parts can only be good. Be aware of any weaknesses, but generally acknowledge all of the wonderful aspects your body holds. You can always work on straightening out imbalances and strengthening weak muscles. Appreciate all that your body and your breath do for you and reward yourself with a consistent yoga routine.

By Kathi Duquette

Certified Yoga Instructor

Certified Personal Trainer

http://www.basic-yoga-information.com