Yoga

Yoga, which means discipline, was developed in the year 300 by an Indian Hindu named Patanjali. Its purpose is to stretch the muscles, strengthen the body and increase concentration. It can also help you relax, if you have trouble doing that.

No wonder this ancient discipline has become popular among modern entertainers and athletes. Depending on who practices it, yoga can be simply a set of exercises or a total way of life.

Some who practice yoga, called yogis, try to use the discipline to reach a high level of consciousness. They respect certain abstentions (things not to do), such as not lying, stealing, being greedy or harming other people. They also practice certain observances (things to do), such as being clean, content, self-controlled, studious and devoted.

Physical control is also important in yoga. Yogis train themselves to take full, deep breaths. They consider breathing a life force, counting a lifespan not in years but in the number of breaths taken.

Unlike exercises that work only on strength, yoga also helps the body become flexible. As a result, some yoga exercises (called asanas) look a little strange, and you may think you need to be a human pretzel to do them. Not so. You just have to relax.

In yoga, you ease into stretches, never forcing yourself. The saying no pain–no gain simply does not apply. You do only the best you can at the moment, and at some later moment you will do more.

All yoga poses demand balance. And since you can’t balance if you’re thinking about last night’s TV show, yoga also demands concentration. Learn to concentrate in yoga, and you will be better able to concentrate in baseball, tennis or even school.

Yoga exercises copy nature. Many yoga poses can be traced to the shapes of creatures, such as the cobra, cat, dog, tortoise, crab and eagle.

In the cobra pose, for example, you ask yourself, What would it feel like to be a cobra. You lie on your stomach with your forehead to the floor. As you inhale, you slowly roll your head back, supporting yourself with your hands. You hold that pose, then come down slowly, trying to move as a snake would move.

All yoga exercises promote strength and calmness. Each move’s effects on a muscle, a gland or a nerve center are carefully thought out.

You can choose certain exercises to rid yourself of particular pains, such as back pain from back-packing or leg pain from jogging. Yoga can help condition you for skiing or help you control feelings of depression or fear.

Any good book on yoga will describe various asanas and tell how each works. You may even have done yoga exercises already. Ever done a handstand, or the wheel. Many exercise programs borrow from yoga.

While bounteous people have always thought of Yoga as some mystic Hindu practice, that model is rapidly disappearing as fast as the increasing stresses of our contemporary lives.

There are countless kinds of yoga to study, and there can be endless years of practice for the willing student. Many of the problems suffered in contemporary life can be erased by following a regular yoga routine.

As an sufficient design of stress management, yoga is spreading into the business world, the helping professions, nursing and old age homes. It is also being used in the treatment of alcoholics, hyperactive children and youngsters with training disabilities. Yoga centers are getting stiff competition from adult education classes of community colleges, boards of education and parks and recreation departments.

Why Should I Practice Yoga?

1. Yoga can release the tense muscles caused by hours of sitting at a desk. Yoga differs from other forms of exercise in that it involves motions that don’t determinent strain on the body. It isn’t an aerobic exercise, but it uses every muscle in your body. Over time your limbs are strengthened, helping to combat the aches and pains caused by our sedentary lifestyles.

2. Mediation during Yoga can enhance concentration.

Breathing deeply can improve vitality by increasing the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain. All forms of yoga incorporate the practice of suitable breathing techniques for relaxation, to rest the mind from its steadfast chatter, to affair an internal calm, and to energize and purify the body.

3. Yoga is fun an simple for children.

Yoga is immense fun for children and teenagers and it’s painless for them to do, as they are already flexible. Yoga can help them retain that flexibility. It can also a remedy to develop their self-discipline. Practicing yoga is admirable for developing coordination and can assistance to improve concentration – which various children and teens acquire difficult.

4. Yoga is the consummate exercise during pregnancy.

Practicing yoga can improve backache and help to lift depression. Various women who practice yoga have said that it helped to make their labor easier and shorter. The meditation side of yoga is also calming and centering during pregnancy.

5. Yoga can resist feelings of anxiety and depression.

Practicing yoga can diversify your brain chemistry. Some yoga positions in particular are sufficient in stimulating the pituitary gland to release endorphins and to reduce the level of cortisol (the stress hormone).

As stress levels in our civilization reach new heights, yoga can provide you with the means for handling stress, diffusing tension and increasing the condition of your life!

There is plenty of competition to go around in this world. If you are a Yoga teacher, you should not encourage competition within a Kids Yoga class. This is not easily done. Each child wants praise, but this can be accomplished by making your Yoga class a nurturing event, where every child who participates, can feel a sense of self-worth.

This atmosphere, which is designed by the Yoga instructor, will develop a child’s character “from the ground up.” Each child is unique and special in his or her own way. Children have to be taught to appreciate themselves as they are. Self-worth cannot be calculated by the skill of one single activity, and Yoga is the sum of many different activities, within a given class.

When I first started teaching Yoga to children, I began to integrate Vinyasa Yoga into the warm-ups of our children’s martial arts classes; some parents wondered why? Soon, some of the children, who had Attention Deficit Disorder, and other attention span problems, became more focused for the rest of the class. Still, other children, who regularly practiced Vinyasa Yoga warm-ups, started to develop a more pronounced muscular appearance. This may have been due to many factors, such as the cross training involved in practicing Vinyasa Yoga and martial arts, on a regular basis – while many other children, who attended these integrated classes, went home, did their homework, and slept better.

Eventually, we established a pure Kids Yoga class, and it was scheduled between two children’s martial arts classes. The children were enthusiastic and the parents were, and still are, very supportive. In the above-mentioned examples, different children gained different benefits from learning Yoga.

As children continue to learn Yoga, they should also be taught to refrain from comparing themselves to other children in the Yoga class. This is not easy for a Yoga teacher to do, but can be accomplished by teaching children to accept themselves as they are, and that trying their best is really good enough.

Regular attendance to Kids Yoga classes is the key to getting rid of emotional baggage. Children must be taught to appreciate themselves in a positive way, and the study of Yoga can give any child self-empowerment. When children gather and participate in Yoga instruction on a steady basis, they also make new friends. The parents who send their children to study Yoga sincerely care.

Therefore, any child who learns Yoga is surrounded by children of “like-minded” parents. Yoga training for children is, in essence, a controlled atmosphere – even though the Yoga class setting is relaxed.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Yoga exercises strengthen your body and make it more flexible. Yoga also calms your mind and gives you energy. In active sports or strenuous exercises, you use up energy. In yoga classes, students report that they feel tranquil after a class, yet have more energy. Slow and steady motion is the key to going into or coming out of the postures. You hold a yoga pose for several seconds or even minutes and give attention to full, quiet breath. Your yoga instructor will always encourage you to relax as the exercises are being done.

You gently place your body into a yoga posture. Done correctly, there’s very little chance of injury or muscle stress. A particular asana is not repeated dozens of times, nor are you ever encouraged to push yourself too much.

A yoga session is designed for balance. You stretch to the right and then to the left. You bend back and then forward. You learn to recognize when one side is stronger or more flexible than the other. Thus harmony and balance are achieved with yoga practice.

People of all ages can practice yoga exercises. They are easily modified to meet your needs and physical condition. Don’t be put off by the difficult looking postures you may see in a yoga book. A skilled teacher can adapt most asanas by using chairs, cushions, even a wall or other props. A yoga practice can be tailor-made just for you. If something is really impossible for you to do, just forget it. Never compete with yourself or others. Yoga is a stress-free but powerful way to exercise.

Yoga is good for increasing your flexibility and relieving stress, but it doesn’t take the place of aerobic exercise. You should still do regular, aerobic exercise, which increases your cardiovascular fitness, helps you lose weight, and, for people with non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes at least, improves blood glucose control.

Proponents of yoga exercise argue that it has a multiplicity of techniques to counter that cause and, unlike drug therapy, attack the cause, not just the symptoms. It offers, they say, a holistic approach to health and fitness. Many professional athletes, looking for the edge have turned to yoga as a supplementary form of training. They have found that yoga aids their state of mental and physical relaxation between training sessions, and their crucial build-up to big meets, where a competition is usually won or lost in the mind.

We are all overweight these days. Probably something to do with the types of lives we live.

Even with the multitude of diets and exercise routines out there we, as a nation, are still fat and something needs to change.

I think that it has a lot do to with stress. Stress causes all kinds of health problems and I believe it makes some people gain weight or hold on to the weight that they already have and are trying to get rid of. If we are truly going to become a healthier country, I believe that we need to focus more on the importance of stress relief.

One of the best and most popular ways to relieve stress is yoga. Beginners Yoga has become wildly popular in this country and the world over. Many people get great results by doing simple yoga exercises regularly and these people also report that a great deal of stress relief comes with the exercise.

Before you get started with beginners yoga there is one very important thing you need to get your hands on – some yoga mats. Yoga mats can be found everywhere now, even at your local K-Mart. They can be very inexpensive so there is no reason not to have an extra one. I keep one in my house for home exercise and one in my car for when I go to the gym. Having two yoga mats just makes it easier on me because I won’t be able to forget to bring one with me or take it back inside the house.

Having your own yoga mats is crucial when it comes to doing yoga. If you do to a yoga class without one you will quickly find that you are the only without one. As I said, you can find very affordable ones all over the place now so you will never have to be without one.

I suppose that I ought to say that you really do need to use yoga mats while doing the exercises. There is a reason that people use them and you should follow their lead. Yoga mats cling to the floor and make it easier for you to hold those crazy positions without shifting or sliding around. I have, on more than one occasion, had to learn this lesson the hard way and I do not recommend it. Don’t forget that there is an enormous amount of information online about yoga and how to begin yoga safely. Beginners yoga is the start of a rewarding experience.

What are employers looking for in a newly-hired Yoga instructor? The needs of employers are straight forward: Any facility, which hires a Yoga teacher, is looking for safety, competence, and certification. When considering a Yoga teacher training program, a prospective intern must consider the depth of the course in the above-mentioned areas.

Online Yoga teacher courses are an outgrowth of recent technology and the demand for affordable training options. Home study programs exist for aspirants, who want to advance, and deepen their knowledge, in any given aspect of Yoga.

At a time when most new Yoga instructors are teaching a few hours per week, who wants to spend the monetary equivalent of college tuition to earn part-time wages? It is a fact that most instructors begin teaching Yoga on a part-time basis.

This is the most conservative approach toward breaking in to a new field, while you continue to earn your full time income. Although you may have been participating in Yoga for years, it is not the same as teaching classes, marketing, networking, advertising, and all that entails a small business.

If you find the concept of a business to be offensive, the best option to take is working for someone else as an independent contractor or a part-time employee. In this way, you work for an agreed rate and do not have to be concerned with expanding your student base; that is, unless your student participation suddenly drops, and the facility cannot afford to keep you on.

Sometimes, companies cut back programs permanently, or temporarily, during a slow season. Therefore, if you are teaching Yoga, you have a vested interest in learning all you can about marketing, networking, advertising, and business skills, to keep your classes going.

This is why most veteran Yoga teachers do their best to learn many skills that apply to the business world. There is also the choice to operate as a non-profit, but you still have to file taxes and make sure you are within the guidelines of the law.

Now, let’s get back to: Is an Online Yoga Teacher Certification Reputable? In short, yes, it is, as long as you become certified to teach. Make sure you will receive a teacher’s diploma upon successful completion of your course. Of course, safety, competence, and some basic business survival skills, are a pre-requisite to a comprehensive course, which would prepare you for the world of teaching Yoga.

Do you still feel that business and Yoga is not a good mix? Consider this: Some Yoga teacher graduates have spent over ten thousand dollars for their training. In the process, they never learn anything to prepare for interviews or business survival. There is no harm in preparing for success as a certified Yoga teacher.

Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Yoga is a form of exercise that offers a range of benefits to those that practice it, from improving flexibility and stamina to increasing muscle tone, strength, and joints, and cleansing the body and mind. Yoga can help to increase circulation and reduce stress and fatigue levels, and can help you to relax, bringing together your mind, body, and spirit. There are different levels of yoga to suit different people, so no matter what your experience with yoga, and no matter what your age, you can find one that suits you perfectly.

In fact, the health benefits of yoga are so highly regarded that even those with illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, and thyroid problems can benefit, and many say that the symptoms if such health problems can be ease through the correct practice of yoga.

Key differences between Hatha And Vinyasa Yoga

There are various different types of yoga, some more advanced than others, but all work towards the same goal. That is, they all seek to unify the mind, spirit, and body; and to increase strength and flexibility. Asanas, or physical postures, are emphasized when the body is out of shape, in need of healing, or not flexible enough. The different styles of yoga, however, approach the practice of asanas in individual ways.

Two of the most popular styles of yoga used today are Hatha Yoga, and Vinyasa Yoga. Although vinyasa yoga is derived from hatha yoga, classes are very different. One of the features that make it unique is the pace. Another is the way postures are linked together in a series of movements. This produces effects in the body, especially in the cardiovascular system, that hatha yoga does not.

Hatha Yoga is a gentle and slower paced form of yoga, although it can be quite challenging physically when you move deeper into the practice of it. The word Hatha, when split in to ‘ha’ and ‘tha’, means ’sun’ and ‘moon’. This style is ideal for those that are new to yoga, and haven’t yet built up experience or confidence. Due to its’ slower pace, it is easier for people to learn the principles, postures, and the breathing methods involved in yoga.

Vinyasa Yoga, on the other hand, is a far faster paced, and more advanced form of yoga. Instead of simply doing individual exercises on the mat, with pauses in between, the asanas are linked together in synchronization with the in-flow and out-flow of breath. This produces a very dynamic effect, and it allows heat to build up in the body. An increased body temperature helps loosen the muscles, and people find they can go deeper into a stretch than if they were doing the posture in a more traditional way.

Both Hatha and Vinyasa yoga offers a range of health benefits. There is certainly no reason why you cannot start off using the slower paces Hatha Yoga, and once more experienced and flexible, move on to practice the more challenging form of yoga, Vinyasa. Both offer a great way to increase mobility in the joints, tone up your body, and find a sense of peace and stillness often lacking in daily activity.

In order to understand many male yoga practitioners, we might first examine the legendary female yogi: lean, lithe, flexible, fit, emotionally open, “centred,” and friendly. In other words? Sexy.

Women who generally fit this description make up about 95% of yoga classes.

Upon realizing this, single males everywhere raise a single eyebrow and hatch a less-than-original plan.

The plan ends with a significant percentage of female yoga fans complaining of being inappropriately propositioned by men during yoga glasses. In some areas, as many as 70% of female yoga practitioners endure pick-up lines, passes, unwelcome suggestions, and general clinginess, as men looking for a date only serve to interrupt the women’s private haven, their “me-time.”

Fortunately, good, assertive yoga teachers are likely to notice such propositioning and confront unwelcome oglers in private, either to give a warning, or dismiss them from the class altogether.

Yes, the flexibility and mood-enhancement encouraged by yoga can be conducive to better sex, but that doesn’t mean yoga asana is in any way about getting slingle guys laid. Men who have been considering joining a yoga class just to pick up should head over to YouTube and search “Inappropriate Yoga Guy,” to see just what a nuisance they might turn out to be.

Yoga asana class should be a quiet place of solice, meditation, and the occasional challenge. It is not a place for picking up – especially not when the pick-up style is the same one you use at the bar. What men should remember is that while they might try yoga because they want to pick up, picking up is the last thing on most female minds at yoga class. Therefore, horny men are more likely to be seen as a irritants than playmates.

Still, some men – like the entire LA Lakers basketball team, for example, as well as many other manly celebrities – have taken up yoga and enjoy it for its own sake. Fitness isn’t merely a matter of bench-pressing as much weight as you can; it’s about agility, balance, and grace, too, which is very useful in sports. Advanced yoga poses are a great way for men to enhance all of the above traits, as well as build physical and mental endurance, concentration, and relaxation skills. Yoga makes a great complement to more rigorous exercise routines.

Men who want to try yoga for yoga’s sake should definitely take the step and sign up for a class. While appealing to women, it isn’t women’s exercize – rather, it’s an artful, unisex exercise style originally introducted to North American by male Indian yogis.

What’s really sexy is a man not wholly (but only partially) concerned with sex. If a man makes yoga his top priority in yoga class by paying attention, practicing introspection, following the instructor, and treating his classmates equally and respectfully, his physical appearance as well as his observable attitude become attractive.

So, guys: don’t be shy. Throw on a t-shirt and sweatpants and start your yoga asana practice. It’s not girly, and yes, it might win you girls – that is, if you give the asana practise itself its fair share of your attention.

Maybe you should start out easy, just as in yoga itself, and try to make a few friends first. And if you have to flirt, be subtle and watch for cues and never, ever interrupt someone else’s yoga practice while trying to get her attention.

Hatha Yoga is mainly practiced for health and vitality. Hatha Yoga was introduced in the 15th century by Yogi Swatmarama. Hatha yoga focuses on the purification of the physical being which leads to the purification of the mind or vital energy. The exploration of these physical-spiritual connections and body centered practices led to the creation of Hatha Yoga. Today In the West, hatha yoga has become wildly popular as a purely physical exercise regimen divorced of its original purpose.

Whatever the historical details, Krishnamacharya has become the undisputed father of modern-day hatha yoga. Krishnamacharya’s first lessons in yoga were from his father and his grandmother and passed on through generations of practice.

Hatha Yoga follows in that vein and thus successfully transcends being particularly grounded in any one religion. This exploration of these physical and spiritual connections and body centered practices led to the creation of Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga has been included in the life style of these traditions. Hatha Yoga classes tend, among other things, to emphasize physical mastery.

Hatha also means a force or determined effort, and yoga, of course, translates as yoke or joining together. The very name hatha yoga, a combination of “ha,” meaning sun, and “tha,” meaning moon, denotes the union of opposites. Through the practice of yoga an individual can gain information about physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being.

Hatha Yoga represents opposing energies: hot and cold, fire and water following the theme of ying and yang, male and female, positive and negative. Hatha yoga attempts to balance the mind and body. The balancing of the mind and body is brought about via physical exercises (also known as asanas), controlled breathing (pranayama) and relaxation or meditiation.

Pranayama refers to breath control in yoga. In this yoga is defined as a means of binding or controlling the breath and the mind using the syllable Om. In this case yoga has extremes, practices of fasting, breath control, and postures to transcend the body, and not cultivate it. Asana body postures that are contemplative in nature and are designed to align the body and bring about the optimum situation for relaxation.

Traditional yoga is a holistic yogic path and is becoming wildly popular.

Across the Globe, nutritional and fitness experts are baffled at the results of a study, conducted by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Dr. Alan R. Kristal, the lead researcher of this study, remarked, “I was very surprised with the results. Considering that people gain about a pound a year during this time, this is pretty substantial.”

Shortly afterward, from nutritional and fitness experts in New England, the first question I heard right away was, “How can Yoga burn that many calories?” Soon to be followed by comments from many fitness experts, across the United States, were remarks like, “Most Yoga students don’t practice vigorous styles of Yoga.”

While this is debatable, my questions to them were as
follows, “How many of you practice Yoga?” Have you ever heard of Kundalini Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Hot Yoga, Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga, and more vigorous Hatha Yoga styles?

To make a small comparison, I can’t really comment on the game of Cricket, just because I am familiar with baseball. I can appreciate the similarity and skill, but never had the experience of playing the game. Also, just like Yoga, Cricket requires time, practice, and patience, in order to acquire skill.

Now, instead of jumping to conclusions about Yoga from the sidelines, my first suggestion is to join a Yoga class. This would allow the top nutrition and fitness experts to experience the many benefits that Yoga has to offer.

However, this will not be the case with all the experts. The lack of male presence in a typical American Yoga class is visibly apparent and worthy of a study in male insecurity. This is a subject that I promise to address in a future article, but let’s get back to the point.

So, female fitness, nutrition, and medical experts will confirm what most of them already know. Yoga is a complete health maintenance system and has been for around 5,000 years.

When a Yoga student becomes serious about practicing on a regular basis, this is a lifestyle change. Burning over 200 calories per hour in a gentle or Restorative Yoga class is not the foundation of weight control. Most Yoga students engage in some form of cross training.

Many of them walk, take other fitness classes, and are conscious of what they eat. Being mindful of what you eat is a point that the masses have lost. Eating nutritionally dense food, in moderation, and being mindful at the dinner table is a recipe for a lifetime of weight control.

© Copyright 2005 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications