By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
Let’s face it, Yoga teachers who live in Northern climates have been looking forward to a break from the “winter chill.” Your Yoga students have also been looking forward to the warm weather and they want to take a vacation. What can Yoga teachers and Yoga studios do to compensate for the “Sumer Slow Down?”
You have taught your Yoga students about empowerment all year, but some students may not return to your regular classes, without a reminder. Many North Americans take a couple of weeks off in July and some summer vacations will be planned for August. Most of my friends in Europe take August off, therefore, Yoga teachers are looking at a minimum of one month during the summer that is predominantly slow, depending on your exact location and culture.
Some Yoga teachers in the Southern United States will experience a slow down, if the temperatures rise too much and too soon. Yoga classes can become sparse, especially if the temperatures jump to the 90′s Fahrenheit during late spring or early summer. So, what action can Yoga teachers take to deal with this vacation season?
How about special classes? Did you ever think about teaching Yoga classes in a pool? What about testing Yoga classes that you had not considered during a busy season? What about an “Introduction to Hot Yoga” or a Vinyasa style Yoga class that is a little warmer than usual? What about testing a short-term Pranayama class or Yoga meditation workshop as a “pilot class” for the busy season?
Once again, I ask you to enlarge your vision and “think outside the box.” Do enough ground work and research to become an innovator, rather than “follow the crowd.” Even if your Yoga classes do slow down a bit, you can cater to your “regular students,” who are with you “through thick and thin.” Ask your Yoga students for feedback.
One last major point to bring up: Make sure you are working on “reminders” to your Yoga students who regularly attend classes during cooler weather. It is best to use this time to get a list of all of your Yoga students and prepare for a mailing in late August, or early September.
This is the time when children go back to school, and family plans are made for the fall schedule. If you teach Yoga for a living, your first priority is to thank your students for their past participation and remind them that you still teach Yoga.
It is very easy for anyone to forget their priorities, and Yoga students are no exception. Yoga teachers contribute to the well being of their student’s mental, physical, and spiritual health. When you see inactive Yoga students around town, they often thank you for what they have learned from you.
Therefore, do not take a summer slow down personally. This is a season that you should make the most of by taking action and testing new ideas for your Yoga classes.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
Some Yoga instructors feel that one method for teaching Yoga is better than the rest; but which one is it? If a Yoga teacher does not give a physical assist, is that wrong? If a Yoga instructor does not demonstrate poses, how can students who learn visually make progress? What about the Yoga instructor who makes an assist before verbally cueing?
There are many methods for teaching Yoga, but students either learn by seeing, feeling, hearing, or a combination of senses. With this in mind, there is no right or wrong method, but Yoga teachers should be aware that some students may have a dominant sense when it comes to learning. This is why teaching methods for Yoga should be integrated.
There will always be a Yoga student who does not like your method, but you should be able to effectively communicate with the vast majority of your students.
Ever since the first Hatha Yoga teacher trained the first Yoga student, there had to be a bonding for the relationship to progress, and for Hatha Yoga to flourish into the many physical Yoga sub-styles, we see to this day.
There are times when, despite all the verbal cueing skills imaginable, a Yoga teacher must make a physical assist. No matter what is said, some Yoga students will learn more from a solid assist than by cueing. This helps a student “feel” where he or she should be. A verbal explanation is close, but is not the same as feeling proper alignment while an Asana is practiced.
This is difficult, if you are from a culture where men and women do not casually touch each other. Sometimes, some students just do not feel comfortable getting physical assist from their Yoga teacher. So, what do you do?
Firstly, before giving an assist, during Asana practice, a Yoga teacher should ask permission. If anyone has an objection, you are better off to demonstrate the Yoga technique or explain it verbally. It is not worth the potential conflict, and each Yoga student has a right to his, or her, own space. With that said, “Tread carefully,” when volunteering to give a physical assist to any Yoga student.
Demonstrating Asanas also has its pitfalls for Yoga teachers. Too much demonstrating can make some Yoga students feel like they are just an extension of your workout. Too little demonstrating and some Yoga students may grumble that it is easy for the Yoga teacher to say, when the Yoga teacher is “just walking around.” So, what do you do to please most of your Yoga students?
Make sure your Yoga students are exposed to a combination of Assisting, Demonstrating, and Verbal Cues. In this way, you will have satisfied most of them.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
By Kim Black
People have always believed that yoga can do more for your body than just keeping it fit and flexible. Research now shows it can help weight control, lower back pain, insomnia and even heart disease. Studies indicate yoga helps with weight loss and maintenance. In a study of 15,000 adults, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that those who did not practice yoga gained approximately 18.5 pounds more over a 10-year period than those who practiced for at least four years.
There was also a study done at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California. This study found people who regularly practiced yoga and meditation, exercised and watched their diet lost more weight than those who exercised, and ate a balanced diet, but did not practice yoga.
Additionally Yoga can improve your range of motion in your hips, reducing lower back pain. A study done at The American College of Sport’s Medicine, suggest that yoga increases lower back flexibility and decreases pain. It was a small study conducted on older women age 44-62. Persistent back pain however should always be professional diagnosed before embracing on any exercise program including yoga. Yoga’s back bends and forward bends may exacerbate some back conditions.
Yoga can also calm your body and your mind, which can help people who suffer from insomnia. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD., an instructor of medicine, division of Sleep Medicine at the Harvard Medical School recently published a study. He found a half hour to 45 minutes of daily yoga practice with a focus on meditation and breathing, helped chronic insomniacs sleep through the night. The subjects increased their overall sleep by 12%.
Yoga breathing can help lower your heart rate and calm your nervous system. The breathing techniques can help alleviate serious anxiety and depression and reduce stress. Practicing yoga for an hour and a half three times a week can make your heart healthier in just six weeks. A recent study out of Yale University School of Medicine had 33 men and women who practiced yoga at that rate. This lowered their blood pressure and improved their blood vessels’ ability to expand and contract by 17%. Researchers believe the improvements are based on the stress-reducing benefits of yoga.
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By Michael Russell
Do you feel stressed all the time? 24 hours in a day not enough? Don’t have any personal time to do your personal projects? Co-workers driving you crazy? Don’t worry. Yoga and meditation can provide the answer. For the stress can be reduced by managing and controlling it. Our mind controls whether we adapt to live with stress or reducing it and living a stress free life.
The factors that mainly control the kind of person we have become are genes we inherit, surroundings and standard of living we live. While the genes cannot be changed since we cannot decide who our parents can be, nor can the surroundings we grow up in, which can also be tough to overcome, we can certainly change our way of life. Simply controlling what we eat, how we eat, exercising more frequently and learning to deal with everyday issues with a open mind and positive attitude can help us lead a stress free life and Yoga can provide the answer for you. Once a person chooses to practice yoga he is naturally lead to choose a healthier lifestyle.
Yoga can help us solve issues, which cause stress on a daily basis. Performing yoga not only strengthens and tones the muscles but also helps the internal organs perform better, thus keeping us from getting diseases. The structural alignment and reinforcing the spine can be achieved by performing standing asanas (postures). The blood pressure gets lowered and central nervous system gets relaxed by doing forward bends. Performing inverted asanas purifies the lymphatic system, while the internal organs can be massaged with the body twists. Also the nervous, digestive and immune system gains strength and tone by the breathing exercises and asanas.
While the effects of yoga on physical human body were mentioned above, yoga also affects the human mental state in a positive manner. Yoga will make you approach everyday problems, which cause stress, with a positive attitude. Once you start performing yoga you can feel your mind opening up and become clear and aware, your concentration and focus improves, gain self esteem, depression vanishes, healthier feeling. All these factors in turn reduce stress. Once the physical and mental states of the human body get in sync then you get projected into a new dimension where your perception of everything improves, your love and compassion for every living thing improves, you feel a connection to the Supreme Being.
Listed below are some practical techniques for dealing with everyday stress with a brief explanation.
1. Using your office chair for performing. Yes, that’s right you can take care of your body while you work by performing this simple yoga posture while sitting in your office chair. Grab the side or back of the chair then perform a twisting motion from one side to the other. Start with arching your back then come back to the initial position in a circular fashion. A good neck stretch can be obtained by moving your head up and down then side-to-side several times, Stretch your arms while standing up. Lifting the shoulders in shrug and releasing them suddenly can release tension in the shoulders.
2. Steps to relax. A crucial part of stress management is learning to relax. After completing any yoga asanas (postures) or any form of exercise try lying down in a relaxing pose for some time. You will find out for yourself that your body and mind gets in sync. A person can awaken his inner self and wake up feeling refreshed and stress gone. This is hard to do in the office but for those lucky ones who have their own office, lie down on a mat for around 20 minutes and perform this posture. Be sure when you wake up you will find the stress gone.
3. Relaxation using focus – once your body is relaxed, focus your mind on every body part starting with the feet and train your eyes to follow upwards towards your head. This will be difficult at first to concentrate without falling asleep. Do not give up as you keep trying it you can feel the tension and stress go away each time you perform this posture. In conclusion try these simple steps while you are at your work or at your home, you will find out that you’re enjoying your life more and have become a better human being. You will experience success in your career and life.
Michael Russell – Your Independent Guide to Yoga
