By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Does Yoga have solutions for middle-aged spread? Are your knees, back, hips and shoulders begging for mercy? Restorative Yoga is a complete health maintenance system, and a low impact form of cross training, that will not cause premature wear in your joints.

Let’s be honest, have you noticed a spare tire around your mid-section? You could justify it by looking at teenagers. After all, it took you nearly 50 years to become overweight. Then, one day, you saw that spare tire in the mirror or a photograph.

Walking is a wonderful form of cross training, but if you carry a pedometer, you know that 10,000 steps per day is a “mission.” If your knees, ankles, plantar fascia, and Achilles tendons are fine, then an aggressive walking program will probably suit your body.

We have to do something, but this is not the time to abuse body parts. Walking is still a great form of exercise, but not to the point of pain. Luckily, Restorative Yoga is great for aches and pains. This is not a pass to abuse oneself with high impact exercise or over do it with excessive amounts of low impact exercise.

At middle age and beyond, everything is about moderation. In fact, moderation is a lifestyle for longevity. Restorative Yoga, walking, and a moderate diet are good additions for a complete health maintenance program.

“I don’t eat that much,” you say to yourself. The truth is - most people in middle age, often eat less than they ever did because we are much more aware of what we eat. An additional factor is that over eating is very uncomfortable.

Granted, there is always the exception to the rule. For instance: The “skinny guy,” who could always eat because of a quick burning metabolism, never seems to gain weight. The vast majority of us will notice our metabolism has slowed down.

According to Madelyn H. Fernstrom, Ph.D., the director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, “Your metabolism slows by 5 percent each decade. Compared to age 25, you’ll burn about 100 fewer calories a day at 35, and 200 fewer at 45. Do nothing and you could gain eight to 12 pounds a year.”

For most of us, this is a “warning bell.” We have to burn additional calories, but our joints must be treated like gold. Again, a gentle and restorative form of Yoga is a logical solution.

In general, everyone burns calories at a different rate from an identical activity. The most common reason cited for the difference in calories burned is body weight, but there are many factors to be considered, such as metabolism and body fat.

For the sake of comparison, let’s look at a gentle Restorative Yoga session and the calories burned over the course of one hour. You could do this, without breaking a sweat, on your living room floor - about an hour or two before bedtime. You could also walk to a local Yoga studio depending on its location.

A person who is 150 pounds would burn an average of 178 calories in one hour of Restorative Yoga practice. A larger person, who is 200 pounds, would burn an average of 238 calories in one hour. Generally speaking, the larger you are, the more calories burned. Lastly, keep in mind - this is a very gentle style of Yoga.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Within the training, practice, and scriptures of Yoga are many treasures for humankind. How many people completely understand the Yogic path toward a trained mind? How many students of Hatha Yoga call their practice a workout?

It is true that physical mastery will be realized through the practice of Hatha Yoga, but the mental benefits are usually not realized within an exercise class. If a student is not made aware of the true value of mental attention during practice, the mind training benefits will still trickle through. Let’s look at daily steps you can take to train, balance, and get the most out of your mind.

Within Hatha Yoga there are many aspects, which will improve your mind, but meditation is thought of as a chore by some students. The reason: People are not at peace with themselves. To be alone with oneself is sometimes seen as a prison sentence.

Instead, look at solitary time as a chance to meet an old friend. Meditation does not have to be a chore. You can read, write, pray, visualize, walk, or practice mantra while you meditate. Consider this: Meditation is a matter of constructively focusing the mind.

Meditation should never be something to worry about. Many beginner students of Hatha Yoga begin to judge themselves for not being able to concentrate. This is why so many Yoga teachers place meditation at the end of the lesson plan.

The teacher’s strategy is to let negative energy, stress, and tension out of the body by practicing asana, pranayama, mudra, mantra, and other methods. In this way student will fully experience the benefits of a complete Yoga practice.

To begin to train your mind, start with planning the next day on the night before. Make a list of what you will do on the following day. Please do not make this into a stressful thing. This does not have to be complicated.

Just a simple “to do” list with five to ten tasks for tomorrow, will be fine. Then, leave it where you sit at the kitchen table. In this way, you will separate yourself from those tasks, sleep easier, and avoid needless worrying.

Upon rising on the first morning, take the time to read, write, pray, visualize, walk, or practice mantra. Just one task will do for five to twenty minutes. If you want to go longer, that’s fine, but do not make it a chore.

This is the first of many days of practice toward training your mind for stability, balance, maximum output, and longevity. As you greet people, throughout your day, show them compassion, understanding, and listen to them.

Control your words. Do not participate in harmful, negative, or intolerant conversations. This practice alone is a challenge for most of humanity, but it is worth it. The fruits of your effort will be the cultivation of a focused and trained mind.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

There are so many traditional and contemporary styles of Yoga that it is hard to keep track of them. Yet, each of them shares, at least, one aspect in common. Each style of Yoga will help the practitioner to find happiness and prosperity by finding oneself, and by truly understanding the depth of Yogic teachings.

It is interesting to note that some teachers feel Yoga has spread too far and too fast. No matter how much people try, Yoga cannot be controlled by humankind. Yoga is an evolving system, going in many directions at once. You cannot control a living philosophy. Yoga will continue to evolve regardless of any attempts people make to control it.

In fact, the puzzle of how to control Yoga has baffled humankind. Yoga has spread worldwide, but some people complain about it. Should the Eight Limbed Path have been kept a secret?

Should those who have found the keys to self-mastery and self-worth regret it? Is having a peaceful mind and serving others wrong? It is, if you look at the world from a purely selfish point of view.

Selfishness is not reality, but it is powerful enough to create the appearance of reality. Those who selfishly desire to control everything are usually good at creating illusions. This can be accomplished in many ways, by playing on the fear of new ideas.

The tranquil mind of a Yoga practitioner will be able to see through a superficial layer. Those who create illusion do not want to see the worldwide spread of a “free thinking” philosophy. The worldwide proliferation of Yoga creates difficulty for those who desire absolute power and authority.

Yoga continues to interconnect itself within every culture, no matter how many outrageous claims are made against it. Anyone of any religious background, or political affiliation, can practice Yoga because it peacefully crosses all boundaries.

Now, let’s look at prosperity. Is prosperity selfish? Prosperity is good fortune. Therefore, it is not always tangible. Prosperity could be many things, but we commonly think of it as wealth, success, or the good fortune of having a loving family.

For the sake of debate, let’s look at tangible wealth for selfishness. Money and wealth are forms of energy that have the power to create good or evil. It is a matter of what you do with tangible prosperity that creates rewards or consequences.

To a point, you can control money. If a trained mind, or a group of trained minds, has control of tangible wealth, it is possible to create prosperity. Charities do this all the time. However, governments “gone wrong” can use wealth to make war and conquer their neighbors.

We can see the consequences of combining untrained thinking and wealth throughout our history. If the mind is trained it can create happiness from within. In turn, the goodness within will proliferate worldwide.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Much like any other subject, there are three basic ways to learn Hatha Yoga. In order to effectively process information, it is best to understand our strong or weak points. Each of us learns Yoga in a different way, but it all comes back to the senses of sight, sound, and touch.

Some students may have a dominant sense or two, but rarely are we attuned to all three. It is important for Yoga teachers to reach out to all three groups - even when he or she also has one or two senses that are weaker.

Let’s take a look at each learning style to understand ourselves and enhance our abilities. It is rare to access all three senses equally during class, so do not judge yourself. Just observe from an objective viewpoint.

The Visual Yoga Student: Learning by sight is a strong point. This student learns by taking notes and reading books. In Yoga classes, this person will usually see the subtleties of alignment, when a teacher demonstrates an asana.

Yet, this same person may not pick up the concepts of Pranayama or meditation as easily. Pranayama and meditation may require audible instruction, and feeling them is important. If you require silence to study, are good at written language, dream in colors, understand maps easily, and close your eyes to remember, or visualize, the past - visual learning is one of your strong points.

The Auditory Yoga Student: Learning by sound is his or her strength. This student responds well to a Yoga teacher’s cues, while some students in class are looking around to see what the teacher or other students are doing. Verbal directions are easy for an auditory learner to follow.

Although an auditory learning has many advantages, students with this strength may find themselves reading out loud to retain written information. Some will catch themselves moving their lips in silence while reading. If you retain information from audio books, are good at explaining, remember verbal directions easily, and read slowly - auditory learning is one of your strong points.

The Kinesthetic Yoga Student: This student learns by doing. The feel, touch, and experience of an event, gives this student firsthand knowledge to perform better next time. With experience, this student becomes exceptional at Yoga and any other hands-on activity.

Therefore, physical or mental practice makes the kinesthetic learning student much better over time. A physical assist is most beneficial to a Kinesthetic Yoga Student.

Kinesthetic learning has a distinct advantage, as the student continues to experience Yoga through steady practice. If you use your hands to express yourself, and easily develop athletic skills - kinesthetic learning is likely to be one of your strengths.

Students, and teachers of Yoga, can benefit by understanding the differences in each of these three learning traits. When teaching groups of people, instructors should address the senses of sight, sound, and touch, throughout the class.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) - Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul
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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Within Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, you learn many things, such as the Yamas and Niyamas. Yet, the moral ethics found within the Yamas and Niyamas are not always easy to apply to your daily life. The following is an example of using one Yama and applying it to your life.

Some of us may work, socialize, or live with people who have very difficult personalities. For example: How do you handle someone, who sees compassion and a willingness to negotiate, as weakness? If you are trying to negotiate with him or her, you are in the way. This person has needs, wants, and desires. If you speak in terms of logic, it sounds like an unknown language to him or her.

This personality envisions victory over perceived enemies and uses negotiation as a form of deception. How can you reason with someone who will lie, cheat, and steal from you? If you have the ability to see reality, and your vision is not distorted, you still hold some “valuable cards.”

A self-centered personality will not bother to open dialogue with you, unless you have something of value. Take the time to see his or her hidden agenda. All is not lost when you see each matter as it truly is.

This situation could possibly become a very basic form of “carrot-and-stick” negotiation. The carrot is a positive reinforcement, and the stick is negative reinforcement. You really have no choice but to use this tactic, because this person would like to beat you with a stick rather than negotiate with you.

You do not have to resort to any form of conflict, but you have to make a difficult person aware that there are potential consequences for the “wrong action.” At the same time, he or she should realize there are rewards for the right action.

If you are an “even handed” person, you may see negotiation as an art form, but you have to adapt to each situation. When negotiating with someone, who is always looking for your weakness, you might consider resorting to the art of influence. To initially offer concessions will likely be misunderstood and possibly seen as a gateway to victory.

One way to influence this person is to paint a picture of a gateway to loss. Even if this is an illusion, a bullying personality will usually back away from the potential to lose, and opt to take the gentler route of “playing at” negotiations.

So, which Yama would you be practicing in the above-mentioned circumstances? Which Yama would teach us about loving kindness, mercy, and non-violence? You would be practicing “Ahimsa,” the Yama of the non-harming with our thoughts, words, or actions.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) - Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste
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