Archive for the ‘yoga teacher training’ Category

By Clyde Granger

The word “chakra” literally means wheel. Traditionally, they are thought to be energy centers with the body. Chakras generally do not correspond to any western idea of the anatomy of the body. More commonly they are thought to be part of the subtle or astral body rather than the “gross” body. Kundalini Yoga attempts to awaken these energy centers though meditation. In Kundalini Yoga, seven principle Chakras are recognized (Tantric Buddhists recognize only four).  There are numerous minor and lesser chakras, but let’s focus on the seven major chakras.

1. Root or Muladhara Chakra is found at the base of the spine. It’s symbol is the lotus with four petals. The color yellow is associated with the Chakra as is the creator god Brahma. Element: Earth Goddess: Dakini

2. Pelvic or Swadhistana Chakra is located at the genitals. The six petal lotus is its symbol. The color white and the god Vishnu are also associated with this center. Element: water and Goddess: Rakini

3. Solar Plexus or Manipura Chakra is located at the solar plexus and is associated with the color red and the god Rudra. Its element: fire and Goddess: Lakini These three bottom chakras we hold in common with all sentient beings.

4. Heart or Anahata Chakra is located at the heart. The lotus with 12 petals and the god Isha are associated with the Heart Center. The element is air, the color is blue, and the Goddess is Kakini. Interestingly, the Buddha is said to have been born from side of his mother at the Heart Chakra.

5. Throat or Vishuddha Chakra is located at the base of the throat. The symbol is the sixteen petal lotus. God: Sadashiva Goddess: Sakini Element: ether Color: White

6. Brow or Ajna Chakra is located between the eyes and is sometimes called the “third eye.” The symbol associated with it is the two petal lotus, it’s sound is OM, the color is snow white and the goddess is Hakini.

7. Head or Sahasrara Chakra is located at the crown of the head at the cerebrum.  The symbol is the lotus with a thousand petals. The presiding god is Lord Shiva.

The first five charkas are said to correspond to the five elements of the universe and hence tie us to the earth. The last two charkas must be awakened in order to achieve self-realization. It is highly recommended that you practice Kundalini Yoga with an experienced practitioner because of the severity of the ordeals that result from experiencing full awakening without a qualified Yoga teacher present.

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Not so long ago, Yoga teachers, in the West, taught small groups of dedicated students in basements, garages, lofts, backyards, barns, or any other place that was convenient. As seasons changed, the location of the Yoga class would have to change too.

For example: If you live in a northern climate, practicing Yoga in a barn might not be suitable as winter approaches. The same would be true if you live in an area where temperatures exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, during the summer months. Students, who can accept extreme temperatures and inconveniences, are the exception, but not the rule.

As Yoga classes grew in the West, classes moved into Yoga studios, large ashrams, fitness centers, spas, and large public areas. Suddenly, Yoga became something that teachers could devote their whole day to. As a result, some part-time Yoga teachers became full-time teachers.

It was not uncommon to see Yoga teachers gathering in local book stores, libraries, and ashrams. The reason for these daytime gatherings was networking, mentoring, learning, and sharing information. Along came the Internet, with instant access to resources for teachers, such as videos, forums, Blogs, and podcasts.

Suddenly, there was a need for business consulting, Yoga coaches, and online mentors of teachers. Where would a Yoga instructor start to search for a trainer of teachers? The place he or she graduated from might be a logical choice, if that trainer would share business and marketing knowledge.

If that option was not open, there were still a number of alternatives available, but let’s leap frog into the present. If you are looking for a Yoga teacher consultant or coach, you may want to make certain you are getting reliable knowledge. Consider the following criteria before hiring a consultant or coach that specializes in working with Yoga teachers.

Is the coach in question a Yoga teacher?

The person you hire may be a great consultant for local restaurants, but Yoga students are not exactly the same as a restaurant owner’s customers. Dedicated students are not motivated by the same methods as customers.

Has the coach in question ever owned a successful Yoga studio or ashram?

If he or she previously owned a large and successful chain of gas stations, would that information be relevant? Almost every adult has purchased gasoline, at least once, because he/she had to – unless they lived right next to their place of employment, didn’t transport their children, have their food and clothing delivered, or own a $100,000 electric car. On the other hand, some studies indicate the majority of American adults never participated in one Yoga class.

If you live in Colorado or California, you may find it hard to believe, but a large percentage of American adults are still sitting on the couch. How do you get them off the couch and make them realize the rewards of good health? In truth, it is a lot easier to sell them discount gasoline; especially right now.

Does the coach in question have any experience with teaching Yoga or running a studio in a tough economy?

Economic trends tend to change. Lately, it seems as if we see economic changes every 10 -15 years. If your coach has been successfully teaching Yoga since the early 90’s, you are getting reliable information.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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.

Yoga’s ingenious postures trigger positive changes in your metabolism and functioning of your endocrine, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, reproductive, and urinary systems by direct stimulation of organs and glands. The Shoulder Stand stimulates your thyroid gland, having an important direct positive effect on weight regulation. Yoga breathing techniques (pranayama) are designed to trigger burning of excess body fat, to enhance detoxification processes and expulsion of toxins through our breath, and prove extremely effective for tension-relief, promoting a relaxed state and elevated awareness. Charismatic people transmit beauty through this irresistible combination of positivity, humility and self-confidence.

Positive changes in your mood and stability, and improved well-being, are essential factors contributing to your choice of foods that have a desirable effect on your organism and keep a healthy chemical balance in your brain. Awareness of your body’s response to different foods is crucial in unmasking food allergies that place an unnecessary burden on your organism.

Toning of your muscles from head to toes is achieved in yoga by holding poses for extended time durations (as with the Locust for firming your legs, the Bust Exercise for firming and developing your chest and bust, or the Bow for firming flabby areas of your back), by attaining postures in slow motion (as with the Slow Motion Firming for intensive firming of the abdomen and thighs), and by executing fast paced routines in a rhythmic flow to encourage flux and reposition of somatic energies (as with the Sun Salutations). Yoga breathing techniques are extremely powerful in developing your abdominal wall.

As well as working on your figure, yoga exercises promote beauty of your complexion, as does the Lion by firming the muscles of your face and neck, and healthy appearance of your hair, as does the Scalp Exercise. Still, yoga goes further to enhance your beauty. Its techniques, inspired to some degree by stretches seen in our feline friends, will impart unprecedented flexibility to your spine, and this you can maintain throughout your life. An ancient yogic adage claims “You are as young as your spine is flexible”. As you develop an erect posture and gain poise and balance in your movement through yoga exercises like Rishi’s Posture or the Dancer’s Posture, you will feel a youthful spring return beauty to your movements, this blended with growing confidence and stability.

In terms of evolutionary theory it makes perfect sense: healthy in and out is beautiful, the law of the fittest. It is no secret that a great part of admired personalities turn to yoga practice and meditation for health, beauty, inspiration and clarity and alertness of the mind. You too owe yourself to embarque on this journey to your unprecedented wellness.

Helena Lucas is qualified in psychology and is engaged in the practice of alternative healing techniques and treatments. She has travelled throughout Europe and Africa to care for rescued chimpanzees in primate sanctuaries, always sharing her bed with her two cats Fairy and Aisha on board. Be it in jungle or metropolis, Helena greets each sunrise through Yoga for strength and motivation. To open your life to ancient techniques that will have you shining in no time visit http://yogainyourlife.com

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 Diane M. Cruz

I used to think that in order to teach yoga I had to know everything there is to know about yoga. How limiting is that? That assumption overwhelmed me so much that I almost gave up on the whole idea of teaching in the first place. The big huge world of yoga knowledge was just too vast, and sometimes confusing that I wondered how many teacher trainings I would have to take before I “felt” ready. Yet this is not something that can be taught in teacher training. You decide when you are ready, you decide when you are a teacher. The door was wide open and I was too timid to walk through even though I was fully equipped.

Then one day I wasn’t afraid. I don’t remember what changed, but I “felt” ready. I knew I would never know it all and that the knowledge I have come across so far was plenty to at least start teaching. So I stepped boldly on the teacher’s path and never looked back.

I do the best that I can studying on my own and with constant contact with my yoga teacher who lives on the other side of the states. My own yoga practice, students and class teach me daily what I need to learn.

To not know it all is o.k., to pretend like I know it all is NOT o.k. Some of my favorite yoga classes have been from teachers who are honest, open and love yoga. Should it be anymore than that?

Diane M. Cruz is an inner-preneur, Yoga Teacher and Life Coach in San Diego, California. She believes in cultivating a strong body and mind to keep you moving on your life path. Her classes and coaching sessions will empower you by providing life-enhancing tools to apply immediately to your life. Visit her website http://www.thebijacenter.com.