Archive for March, 2007

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

How do you find tranquility and inner-peace? The answer is simple, but for the masses to practice regularly is another matter. The answer is Yoga.

Yoga contains many physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, aspects for the holistic health of mankind. Yet, how many real pro-active people do you know? If you visit a Yoga studio, Yoga class, or an ashram, you will meet many people who take care of themselves.

Some of the more well known Yogic techniques are asana, meditation, pranayama, mantras, mudras and bandhas, but there is a lot more to Yoga than techniques. It is the “Yoga off the mat,” which causes life changing results. For example: Let’s look at meditation a bit closer.

Many people practice meditation in the morning or evening, when the rest of their family is in bed. If you wake up early, the morning should suit you. However, if you go to bed late, then meditate at night.

This is the easiest way to develop a regular routine, create a steady practice, and calm your mind. It will take a few weeks to feel results, but they come from practice. What kind of results can you expect from meditation?

Some of the many meditation benefits include: happiness, emotional stability, creativity, and clear thought. You can also reduce stress, anxiety, moodiness, and depression, with a regular meditation practice. There are many more benefits from meditation, which can be measured on the physical and mental levels.

When you are not meditating, you can forgive others, give to others, be mindful, avoid judging others, show loving kindness, and do not seek rewards. You will see that rewards will come back to you, which is fine, but do not refuse loving kindness from others.

This is the Law of Karma. You perform an action and the universe responds with a reaction. You accept the reaction. You help people and people help you. We do not have to hoard our possessions, but we have a moral obligation to help those who need us.

Yoga and meditation have sometimes been accused of having self-indulgent practitioners by religious fundamentalists. This is interesting because Yoga and meditation have practitioners from every religion.

Self-indulgent materialism often occurs, when people are spiritually disconnected. Yet, Yoga opens the spiritual connection to God, which will result in the unification of mind, body and spirit.

So, how do you find tranquility and inner-peace? Forgive the foolish because it will do no good to hate them and it is a waste of energy. Give to those who need because giving is the greatest reward in life. Become a “fountain” of loving kindness and good things will be magnetized to you.

Some will ask, “Why should you forgive, give, be mindful, or show loving kindness?” The answer is: Because it is right, every religion agrees, and it is too much work to avoid helping those who need it.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor
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FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Free Yoga e-Book: Yoga in Practice

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
On-Site Yoga Training: http://www.riyoga.com
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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, feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Thank you and Namaste, Paul
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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Have you ever seen a Yoga student who was so competitive that it caused an injury? How do you reason with a person who cannot put competitive feelings aside during a Yoga class?

Concerning students who push themselves too far – A Yoga student’s number one teacher is his or her body. If the student does not listen to the body, the lowest form of awareness cannot be developed.

In this case, a Yoga student will not reach higher levels of consciousness (meditation or Samadhi) because awareness of the body is one of the fundamental steps in Yoga training. Physical awareness will eventually lead to mental and emotional awareness, at a later point, in a Yoga student’s training.

Finally, spiritual awareness will result in a “spiritual awakening.” This spiritual awakening will cause a Yoga student to connect physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, which will result in finding one’s true purpose in life.

When we find our purpose in life, we find self-worth. Now that you have seen the formula to self-worth, you must realize that none of this can happen if we are struggling back at “square one,” dealing with our ego.

Adults who cannot suppress their ego are often in touch with their inner child, but have taken a wrong turn, if they are on a path of self-improvement. It is good for adults to have some care free qualities, but we cannot afford to push our bodies like children often do.

Children commonly push their bodies too far, because they are not familiar with physical limits and their consciousness is limited, but children will usually listen to adult warnings.

When adult Yoga students physically push their bodies too far, it can cause permanent injury to a joint, and possibly, halt physical Yoga practice completely.

However, adult students do not always listen to their Yoga teacher. This is why it is important for Yoga teachers to repeatedly cue students in regard to basic contraindications for specific Yoga postures (asanas).

Sorry to say, the adult Yoga student who still continues to push the physical body too far, after repeated warnings, from his or her Yoga teacher, needs a “baby sitter.” You may have to talk to a competitive Yoga student, in private, and express realistic concerns about potential injury, which can result from using force.

Unfortunately, if you have a student who does not listen to your repeated warnings, you may have to ask him or her to leave. This person should not be allowed to hurt him or herself in your Yoga class.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

——————————————–
Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor
——————————————–
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Free Yoga e-Book: Yoga in Practice

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
On-Site Yoga Training: http://www.riyoga.com
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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, feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Thank you and Namaste, Paul
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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

What is Universal energy? Due to science, and our unwavering belief in scientific research, we have found that huge amounts of energy exist at the atomic and astronomic levels. Now, no one can doubt that a rock contains energy within it.

In Yoga, we refer to universal energy as Prana or life force. In Chinese medicine, and Chinese martial arts, this same energy is referred to as “Chi.” In Japanese martial arts, this same force is known as “Ki.” Reiki, a hands-on healing art, literally means, “Universal life force.”

How could the ancients be so “in tune” with nature, without our scientific instruments? The ancient scholars took the time to observe nature and be a part of it. They observed the workings of the body and developed Yoga for complete health maintenance.

Today, we have children who barely take the time to observe birds. In fact, the virtual world of video games, iPods, and PC’s, is more real to some children than physical existence itself. The virtual aspect of life creates a culture of unconscious existence. Some of us do so much unconscious eating, that we are not mindful of what we ate last night or how much.

Unplugging ourselves from the latest technical advances allows us to get back to nature and realize the existence of Prana (Universal Energy). Getting “back to nature,” allows us to cultivate Prana, and literally, “recharge our batteries.” Cultivation of larger amounts of Prana is much like a vacation.

So, where does Prana exist in greater quantities? The ancient and modern Yogis agree that Prana is more abundant in open spaces. We can feel it at the beach, lakes, mountains, fields, and in the desert.

Science now tells us that we need negative ions, which we will find in abundance, when we visit any body of water. There are machines that can create negative ions in your home, but to take a “Prana vacation” – you will need much more than a machine.

To cultivate Prana for a single day, you must be in harmony with nature and the universe. Just by taking a walk to an open space, being mindful of nature, and practicing Pranayama for part of the day, will easily make you feel at peace with yourself. In fact, you may sleep like a baby, when you “wind down,” later in the day.

It is wise to invite friends and family for a mini-vacation, when possible. You do not even have to mention Prana, Universal Energy, or Yoga, to observe the benefits they will receive from a short “Prana Vacation.”

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

——————————————–
Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor
——————————————–
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Free Yoga e-Book: Yoga in Practice

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
On-Site Yoga Training: http://www.riyoga.com
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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, feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Thank you and Namaste, Paul
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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Could there really be a Yoga teacher who is struggling to find success in life? If every Yoga teacher training program taught the spiritual aspect of abundance, and the Law of Karma correctly, this should not ever happen.

The abundance theory allows Yoga teachers, and anyone else who is interested, to acquire what is needed, and more, through positive thinking and by using universal energy (Prana) for good and noble purposes. When you show loving kindness, and help others, the universe will respond, despite social and economic circumstances.

However, if a person completely believed in pre-determined fate, and was full of negative thoughts, it would be difficult for that person to believe in the abundance theory. This should have been purged from the prospective Yoga teacher intern’s personality, when he or she was a Yoga student.

However, what kind of a Yoga teacher training program avoids teaching the spiritual aspect of abundance and the Law of Karma? How could a Yoga teacher be unfamiliar with the Law of Karma?

If you train Yoga teacher interns to believe that Yoga is an exercise program, with a couple dozen asanas, and a quick certification scheme, then they understand nothing about the spiritual, mental, and emotional benefits of Yoga.

In this case, a Yoga teacher, who is trained in this way, could not even help him/ or herself. How could this person be qualified to help his or her Yoga students? In a quick Yoga certification program, you do not have to learn about Yogic philosophy, meditation, Pranayama techniques, japa, the subtle body, mudras, nadis, chakras, or the causal body.

If a person is taught Yoga as an exercise only, and then trained to teach the public, they should be titled, “Yoga Exercise Instructor.” If a person has tremendous physical prowess and flexibility, they should be titled “Yoga Gymnastics Instructor.”

This would be great for fitness centers and for Yoga studios. Most fitness centers want an exercise instructor, and most Yoga studios want a 200-hour minimum trained Yoga teacher.

The fitness center clientele would not have to meditate, practice Pranayama, or learn much about Yoga, except for the exercise aspect. The Yoga studios and ashrams already know what a Yoga exercise instructor is, even if he or she has the title “Yoga Teacher.” My feeling is: Be honest with the students. If all they want is exercise, get them an exercise instructor.
Now let’s get back to unsuccessful Yoga teachers. The initial training is in question because Yogic philosophy was never covered, but marketing and business skills, specific to teaching Yoga, would have helped.

It has been said, “A leopard cannot change its spots,” which indicates that the inherent nature of something will not change. Now, if a new Yoga instructor finds that a weekend fitness certification was not adequate, go back to the drawing board and find a comprehensive Yoga teacher training course.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
——————————————–
How to Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor
——————————————–
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
Sister Blog: http://yoga-teacher-training.blogspot.com/
On-Site Training: http://www.riyoga.com
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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 Al Lipper

How to Talk About Your Studio’s Services in a Way That Will Grab Someone’s Interest

Imagine you’re at a friend’s party. You’re introduced to someone new, and she asks, “So, what do you do?” You explain you own a yoga studio and teach Hatha yoga, including advanced classes and private sessions, perhaps you mention where you studied and how you’re planning to go to an intensive yoga workshop this summer. After a few minutes she smiles politely and says “Oh, that’s interesting…” and either shifts the conversation elsewhere or excuses herself.

Perhaps you dismiss it as her being disinterested in what you do. Later on, your friend (the one who introduced you to this woman) mentions that the woman you spoke with had chronic back pain. Why didn’t she say anything about it? Why didn’t she seem interested in yoga?

This woman could have been a potential student and perhaps an ongoing client for private sessions. Unfortunately, you not only lost out on potential business, but she missed an opportunity to ease her back pain. If she tried yoga, and her pain was reduced or eliminated, she might have been your best source of referrals (“Remember I used to have that awful back pain, but since I started doing yoga, it’s gone!”) We often look for win-win situations, but this was a lose-lose disaster. You didn’t get a student and she still has back pain. So, what went wrong and how could it be done better?

First impressions are always a learning experience about each person from both sides. However, we don’t ask what we really want to know, instead we ask other questions we think will bring the desired answers.

One key question we use is “So, what do you do?” This is really asking, “What can you do for me?” However, giving a face value answer is a big mistake because what people ask and what they really want to know are two very different things. If you answer the question they ask, they don’t get the answers they want. For example, if the person says, “I am a filesystems quality engineer for Apple,” this translates ok now I have your label, but I don’t know what that means to me.

At face value we don’t communicate much real value because the person you meet may not understand what you do or how it benefits them. One of the greatest perplexities in talking about, and marketing, professional services is we tend to answer questions about our services at face value.

You should never miss an opportunity to connect with a potential student or client again. Next time give an answer that will leave them feeling like “I want that!” This answer is sometimes called a “Tag line.” How do we create a compelling tag line? First, a couple of guidelines:

When you first start answering these questions, you usually have 15 seconds to catch someone’s interest before their eyes glaze over and they start wondering about what’s for dinner.

After you say your brief piece, listen! Their story is just as important as yours.

The key is to identify yourself and then target your specific audience.

1. “I’m a mechanic. I fix Volvo’s that have troublesome engines and transmissions.”

2. “I’m an accountant. I help small business owners with little tax experience easily make it through an IRS audit.”

3. “I am a yoga studio owner. I work with people who suffer from chronic physical pain to eliminate the pain and resume the active lifestyle they used to have.”

These answers are much more compelling than,”I own a yoga studio. We teach Hatha yoga, including advanced classes and private sessions.” Now the person you’re talking to may not suffer from chronic physical pain, but if they do (or know someone who does), you’ve made a lasting impression with your answer.

Here’s is the formula:

1. First, start with a short “I am _______.” statement. (“I am a yoga studio owner.”)

2. Next, “I [insert a positive adjective (help, fix, teach, support, etc.)] followed by who you wish to appeal to (“I help people who suffer from chronic physical pain”)

3. After that, describe what you will do for the problem or challenge (“to eliminate the pain”)

4. Finally, you can optionally add a positive outcome (“and resume the active lifestyle they used to have.”)

Yes, I know it starts by focusing on a problem or trouble people have instead of just extolling the virtues of yoga. Most people will take action to eliminate a problem they have or to relieve pain, but are less likely to do something good for themselves.

Once they experience it, they’ll be hooked! How would the studio owner in the beginning of this article feel if two years later the woman with back pain came in, still suffering, and within a few months of yoga, the pain was virtually gone? Because the studio owner didn’t know how to effectively share how she could help, this woman spent two years unnecessarily suffering. Remember, you’re helping people – this is what it’s all about.

Tag lines are not just for the studio owner either. Once you refine it on your own, share it with your teachers and staff. Have them improve your ability to help people (and get students) by describing themselves in a similarly compelling way. It also helps them learn more about your target customers.

Wouldn’t it be great if it got easier after the tagline? Well, it doesn’t because will continue to speak in this code.

The second key question is, “That’s great, how do you do that?” But don’t use a face value answer again. Translate the question as follows: “What kind of results do you produce for your clients?” Then answer like this:

“The clients who work with me get these results: They alleviate their pain through a gentle yoga routine by six months and begin to live an active and healthy lifestyle again.”

Successful results are a language that everybody understands. This kind of marketing language gets attention and interest from potential clients. You’re going to get more coded questions:

The third key question is, “That’s terrific. But how does your service work?” The vast majority tends to answer this difficult question in one of two directions:

They go into “tech-talk” that explains their approach or process in excruciating detail. Tech-talk can be confusing to the average person: “The sub-optimal performance horizon undermines the maximization of variable input factors in the productivity matrix.” Huh??

Or they use generic terms to explain their service that loses the needed impact. “Well, we’re all about productivity, and commitment. When we get those things going, our results improve pretty fast.” Well, Duh!

Nobody really wants to know how your service works. The hidden question behind the question is: “Do your services actually work?” Answer with something they can understand.

Tell a story. Success stories that outline how you helped a specific client will get listeners hanging on to your every word:

“We met a very distraught woman who suffered from chronic back pain for years and who was unable to go to work since it affected her so much. We created a gentle routine for her body to ease into and to help her build strength, release muscle tension, and improve flexibility, bringing her body back into balance, thereby alleviating her pain. Nine months later she was able to go back to work, play with her kids, and actually go shopping for hours again.”

If your studio does really alleviate chronic back pain then it isn’t that hard to come up with a few student success stories, because they create a powerful persuasion tool for gaining the interest of potential students.

Remember, most students/clients have chosen to spend just a few hours per week on yoga where you have devoted your life to it – it may mean something entirely different to them than it does to you. Learn what it is all about in their lives, and you will be able to serve more people (not to mention create even better tag lines). You may be amazed at the new students you gain and the results you achieve.

Coach Al Lipper

Business Coach for Yoga Studios
Destiny: Success
Website: http://www.CenteredBusiness.com
Email: coach@centeredbusiness.com
Telephone: (805) 544-3938

Coach Al Lipper of ‘Destiny: Success’ helps Yoga studio business owners smoothly run and expand their yoga studio business. He helps stressed and overwhelmed yoga studio business owners who spend most their time wrapped up in daily business tasks, who can’t handle any more clients, or who can’t make any more money out of the yoga studio.

Coach Al helps clients find new yoga business strategies which result in generating more clients, increased profits, and more free time for the business owner. The amount invested was small compared to the results. Contact him today to discuss your yoga studio challenges at (805) 544-3938 or visit http://www.CenteredBusiness.com

——————————————–
How to Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher
——————————————–
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
Sister Blog: http://yoga-teacher-training.blogspot.com/
On-Site Training: http://www.riyoga.com
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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Would you believe that someone could claim that Samadhi is dangerous, unholy, and counter productive? Samadhi is the eighth limb of Yoga. There are different degrees and types of Samadhi, but all of them require a state of meditative absorption.

It never ceases to amaze me how often meditation has been perceived as an evil practice, when meditation has been practiced by religious leaders of every faith. Meditation has also been practiced within every corner of the earth.

To quote Swami Krishnananda: “The temptation from the evil one comes, first, in the form of unsettled thinking, which makes one immediately forget the Presence of God. This is at once followed by the implementation of the evil move, whether in the shape of passion or anger.”

Swami Krishnananda says this so well that you may have to read his words many times before complete realization. Unsettled thinking does make one forget the Presence of God.

Look at the cruelty man inflicts on his fellow man. Do you think an oppressor is considering the Presence of God, or meditating, during his “off hours?”

So, where does this concept of “evil meditation” and “bad Yoga” come from? It originates from people who would rather keep the world divided. World peace could take their power away. Some of them pretend to be holy men, and some pretend to be peace-loving politicians.

Rudolph Hess spoke of world peace in a speech he gave on July 8, 1934. Some people, who heard or read it, believed his words. Unfortunately, the world “paid the price,” for believing his words, during World War II.

There are many good and kind politicians, but absolute power is very hard for the human mind, and the ego, to handle. There are so many hidden agendas, that a well-meaning politician could be smothered by them. It has been this way since democracy was created in Athens.

True, and noble religious leaders, should never incite violence or endorse any elitist philosophy. Inciting violence, in the name of God, is morally wrong.

Should we really be concerned with how our neighbors pray to God? Since God is all around us, what is wrong with praying to him as often as possible? At a time when this world, and its families, need to be more connected to God – religions should show much more mutual respect toward each other.

Back to Yoga: Yoga is for mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health. Who would deny the obvious, and why should anyone worry about it? Why should Yoga practitioners be at odds with any organized religion? In fact, they are not.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

——————————————–
How to Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher
——————————————–
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
Sister Blog: http://yoga-teacher-training.blogspot.com/
On-Site Training: http://www.riyoga.com
——————————————–
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

How can Yoga have a positive impact on your emotional health? How does your emotional health affect your heart? What can Yoga do for the health of your heart? Let’s look at taming our emotions for a more holistic and peaceful approach to a quality life.

How can Yoga have a real positive impact on your emotional health? Have you ever noticed that your heart, and the area around your solar plexus, feel terrible during times of severe anxiety? Medical and scientific experts often say, “Your heart cannot think,” and we know this must be true. Yet, how do we explain that “gut wrenching” feeling, we have, when we feel stress, anguish, or remorse?

Let’s look at the sequence of events, which create extreme anxiety, and learn how Yoga can help your emotional health. Firstly, you receive a thought, which creates images, within your mind. If they are good, your heart feels fine, but if they are not, you feel a “heart ache.”

It is the mind’s perception, which creates imagery, but how can we control that? Let’s look at an extreme situation – instant grief. There is hardly anything worse than the death of a friend or family member. We have no control over death. We are helpless, and we mourn, because we will not see that person again in this life.

It has been said, “Time heals,” but does it really? No, time goes by, filling your mind with chatter over weeks, months, and years. If you do manage to get over your grief, it was mind chatter that might have saved you.

There are cases where people carry loss around with them for the rest of their lives. Some people seek professional counseling for grief or loss because they cannot “get past it;” while some people may even die from a “broken heart.”

How could Yoga help in this “worst case scenario?” When my mother passed away, at 50 years of age, it was a shock. She had one heart attack and she was gone. I was at the hospital, that night, and did not believe the doctor, who told me, “She has expired.” I dashed into the room to see for myself, but he was right.

Did Yoga change my grief? Could I meditate the heart ache away? No, but I did practice Pranayama, focused on positive memories, and quit smoking cigarettes, that day. Yes, once upon a time, I was a smoking Yogi.

Many of you have far worse stories to tell, but we have to take back control of our minds, or we will perish from the resulting damage to our hearts.

Consider this: If your heart is aching over something you know is “small stuff” – you know you need Pranayama right now, positive affirmations, and a Yoga session soon. Why waste time in negative thought? None of us will “win a medal” for it.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

——————————————–
Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor
——————————————–
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Free Yoga e-Book: Yoga in Practice

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
On-Site Yoga Training: http://www.riyoga.com
——————————————–

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

Pain is without doubt an integral part of yoga practice. But is it really something that should be avoided at all costs? Of course pain is our body’s way of telling us that it’s not comfortable with the posture we’re holding. Throughout our practice we should be conscious and listen to our body’s messages. To really start gaining the benefits of yoga we need to practice to make the unbearable bearable.

There’s pain, and then there’s PAIN

Before going any further, it’s important to understand that there are two different types of pain we can experience when practicing yoga and our reaction to each should be very different.

The first kind of pain is bad pain, and should be avoided to prevent serious injuries. Bad pain is a sharp shooting pain that we could experience as we enter into the posture or if we suddenly adjust our alignment while in the pose. Bad pain basically indicates that we are not in the pose correctly or we are aggravating a previous injury. If we experience bad pain then we should exit the pose and seek guidance before trying again. Common locations for ban pain to occur are the relatively weak knee joins, and our back.

The other kind of pain is ‘good’ pain. This is typically felt in the muscles as we stretch, lengthen, extend and hold asanas. Good pain is the kind of pain we need to experience and overcome as we progress on our yoga journeys.

Why does there have to be so much pain?

Pain comes when the body is not familiar with the exertions being placed on it by an asana. By submitting, surrendering and relaxing into the pain we can pass it and our bodies will become able to perform the asana more easily and without pain.

Many yoga teachers encourage their students to practice yoga without discomfort or exertion. Such an approach to the practice may make it more enjoyable, but we are not practicing yoga solely for the pleasure of the experience. By looking only for an enjoyable yoga experience we restrict ourselves to practice within our comfort zone. Without confronting or extending the limits of our body’s ability we will not improve our yoga practice or receive all the benefits that yoga has to offer.

Through practice it becomes bearable

Rather than run from, or avoid the inevitable pain of asana, there is much to learn from it. This does not mean that we should suffer and hold the asana or move deeper into the asana before the body is ready. But you should listen to your body, persevere and face the challenge of overcoming the pain rather than run from it convincing yourself that you’re just not able to practice that asana.

While we should not hide from the pain, we should not fight against it either. Rather we should find ways to make the pain bearable by submitting to it and relaxing into it.

Start with the parts of the body where resistance is most evident. Relax your face, your forehead, your eyes and mouth. This helps to relax the mind to stop your brain fighting against the pain. With a clearer mind, bring awareness to your body to understand the causes of the pain. If you have poor alignment, correct it. If the muscles are tight, fighting the asana, relax them.

You can relax further by understanding your breathing habits. Fast tense breathing leads to tension in the mind and body, which leads to resistance to the asana. Try to slow and lengthen your breath to help you relax and clear you mind, and relax deeper into the posture.

Learn about yourself

Yoga can tell us as much about our approach to life in general as it can about our physical abilities. By observing and understanding our approach to pain in yoga, we can start to understand how we approach discomfort, adversity, set-backs and failure in our general life.

By modifying our approach to the pain of yoga, we hope to eventually erase the pain completely. Using these principles to make behavioural changes to our general life, maybe we can erase some of the pain there too.

Being able to understand our reaction to pain and modify that approach requires time in the posture for the appropriate awareness and reflection. To achieve this, you need to follow a practice of deep stretching where the positions are held for longer. This is exactly our approach at Total.Yoga.Practice. To find out how we can help you benefit from pain in your practice, visit our website.

Jez Heath is helping real people to achieve the health benefits that yoga has to offer, even if they can’t make it to yoga class. To find out how online yoga video instruction can help you commit to a regular exercise routine necessary to improve your health, visit http://www.TotalYogaPractice.com

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By Michael Russell

Yoga may be as old as 5000 years, according to some. One of the six schools of Hindu philosophy and very much a living tradition today, it antedates other major religions of the world. Its wisdom is timeless and its perspectives on health and wellness prescient.

Yoga, like all major religions and religious philosophies explores the relationship of mind, spirit and body. The Bhagavad Gita (“Song of the Lord”), written perhaps between 400 and 100 b.c.e., defines four major branches of yoga. Each is focused on an aspect of mind, spirit or body and explores their relationship from a different perspective.

* The first, Karma yoga, is the yoga of action in the world.

* The second, Jnana yoga, is the yoga of wisdom and intellectual endeavor.

* The third, Bhakti yoga, is the yoga of devotion to God.

* The fourth, Dhyana yoga, is the yoga of meditation.

Hatha yoga, a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama of the 15th century is based on the yoga of Patanjali, who wrote sometime between 200 b.c.e. and 300 c.e. Patanjali’s eight-step yogic system is a form of Raja yoga, meaning it presents meditation as the path to the ultimate goal of enlightenment.

Hatha yoga is the style most well-known in the West today. It focuses on purification of the physical as the path to purification of the mind and prana (vital energy). In this respect, it is very different from Patanjali’s yoga in that Patanjali’s yoga focuses on the purification of the mind as the path to purification of the prana and body.

In viewing the body as the path to the mind and spirit, yoga is similar to those western religions: which emphasize ritual practices as the path to spiritual understanding.

Hatha yoga practices Yoga applies a broad holistic approach that teaches people a different way of being in the world. Hatha yoga teaches this approach by way of a series of asanas, or positions. Asanas should be “steady but comfortable, firm but relaxed”, according to the teachings of classical yoga. A first step is to learn rhythmical yoga breathing (pranayama) and to maintain this rhythmical breathing throughout a posture.

For this reason – that is maintaining good breath – one of the first postures that is taught is savasana, or “the corpse” pose. Savasana is a supine asana. Lying on the back, one lets the arms and legs fall naturally at about a 45-degree angle from the body. Starting with the toes and moving upward through the body, one concentrates on each body part, feeling the rhythm of the blood moving through that part. The effect is to produce alert relaxation and regular deep breathing.

Asanas include standing exercises, sitting exercises, exercises which start from a position lying on one’s back, exercises which start from a position lying on one’s stomach and twisting exercises. Each position is held for a few moments. Early on in the practice of yoga, there may be a tendency to become so relaxed that one falls asleep. The proper state, however, is one of relaxed alertness. While doing the exercise, one should check that breath remains rhythmical throughout – and also that muscles which are not the current focus of the stretch remain relaxed.

Health effects of yoga practice: Yoga concentrates on the spine, which we know today is the sheath, which protects the central nervous system and thereby controls all parts of the body as well as mood and mental functioning. Indeed, manipulation of the spine for the benefit of health is the basis of chiropractic, with which many in the West are very familiar.

In a survey conducted by Yoga Biomedical Trust in 1983-84, 3000 individuals who engaged in yoga to treat a particular condition were asked how beneficial the treatment was. It was reported as most effective for back pain, benefiting 98% of respondents. It was also reported to be 96% effective in cases of nerve or muscle disease. In regard to heart disease and anxiety, respondents reported 94% improvement. And finally, with regard to alcoholism, respondents reported a whopping 100% improvement.

Based on chiropractic information, we can safely assume that yoga might be directed toward treating specific physical issues like, for example, thyroid dysfunction. If the T6 (thoracic) vertebra is affected in such a way as to impinge on the nerve that goes to the thyroid, it will affect thyroid function. Conversely relieving this stress on the nerve, if appropriate yoga practice is introduced early enough, can reverse the problem.

Yoga nutrition

Yoga nutrition emphasizes foods that promote prana, or vital energy and to eat them in such a way that these foods have the maximum opportunity to do their work. This means that, according to yogic principles, one should eat small quantities of the best quality foods – those that produce the minimum of toxins and in quantities such that the body is not overtaxed through the process of digestion. These foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

According to yogis, the best food is fruit, which contributes most to life force. It is a source of energy, which, all else being equal, does not produce toxins in the process of digestion. Yogis emphasize freshness and raw foods. A food, which must be approached with great caution, is meat, which does produce toxic waste products as it is metabolized in the body.

Interestingly, these principles are those which modern medical science is demonstrating are valid today. Drs. Roizen and Oz, in The Owners Manual Diet, recommend eating when hungry, not famished and including at least two snacks. Foods to eat on a daily basis and the foundation of the diet are fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. This diet goes hand-in-hand with a program of physical activity directed toward flexibility and strength, as is the yoga “diet”.

Conclusion

On a recent Oprah show, Dr. Roizen indicated that the next important medical development will be a greater focus on “energy” medicine, bringing us full circle to the perennial puzzle, the one with which we began: the connection between mind, body and spirit and how we integrate between them to reach our fullest potential as human begins. This is the question that hatha yoga addresses, and the teaching is that by learning to speak with our body, we address our minds and souls, increasing the clarity and strength of each.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Yoga

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By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Yoga teachers of all the Hatha sub-styles should reflect on the Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali. Perhaps beginner students will not gain much from them, without the guidance of a Guru, but an experienced Yoga teacher should be able to transcend the physical plane of Hatha Yoga practice.

Remember that Asana (posture) practice is the third of the eight limbs of Yoga. Asana practice is very valuable, but it is just one of the eight limbs of Yoga.

1:16 “Tat param purusakhyater guna vaitrsnyam.” This particular Sutra deserves to be looked at in its natural state, before looking at an English translation.

“Complete freedom is a result of a spiritual quest, which will reveal an inner self, without limits, by transcending the three Gunas (the qualities of nature).”

The three Gunas are: Sattva (purity or light), Rajas (activity or vibration), and Tamas (inertia or darkness). When energy takes shape, one of these three qualities will usually be dominant. However, when a person becomes unattached to outcome; he or she would go beyond the natural limits or the limits of nature.

1:17 “To experience a settled mind (Samadhi), one must go through four steps. These four steps are: Self-analysis, insight, bliss, and the awareness of I am.”

These are very big steps. Real self-analysis, requires honesty, and is quite difficult for most people to accomplish. Insight is hard work and usually requires some significant life experience or guidance from a Guru. Bliss can be learned, but some people are never happy.

Lastly, “I am” is your spiritual connection with the supreme consciousness, Supreme Being, or God. This is the final step to Samadhi, but many people are confused because of thoughts about the correct path. Sometimes intolerance holds us back from taking the right path.

In truth, all noble paths lead toward God. Mankind wastes too much time judging each other over “small stuff,” but God is the final judge. Why waste time on earth? Our time on earth is limited. Know your place in the universe, make peace with your fellow man, and actively open your connection to God.

Patanjali was way ahead of his time to cover these four steps to Samadhi. Yes, I have elaborated about the concept of “I am,” but this is the hardest of four very tough steps to Samadhi. This is also a reason why only a handful of enlightened souls exist each century.

1:18 “There is another plane of meditation where only the Samskara is left.” Samskara is latent impression of the unconscious mind, which affects our natural tendencies, and molds our character. To settle the mind, in this way, requires much practice, but upon observation of our Samskara without judgment, we learn who we are and what we are made of.

Some may regard this as a lesser plane of meditation. This is highly debatable, because this meditation method sounds easier than it is.

This particular meditative practice will also reveal another form of Samadhi.
Many people have the greatest difficulty “coming to grip” with their natural tendencies. This may not be a “pretty picture.” This meditation practice will truly settle the mind.

To find one’s true nature, and possibly learn why we instinctively react, is a gift. Within all of us are characteristics, which we might want to purge, but some are for self-preservation. The opinion of others has only a small effect on your Samskara.

Here are just three profound Yoga Sutras, but you could easily spend much more time reflecting, meditating, and taking Maharishi Patanjali’s advice.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
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How to Become a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor
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FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter.
Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/docs/Yoga-in-Practice-eBook.pdf

Visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Affiliates: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/signup.html
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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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