Posts Tagged ‘hatha yoga’

Hatha Yoga for Improving Posture

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

yoga certificationBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Yoga teachers have found many opportunities for teaching positions within the corporate sector. In office Yoga training sessions, and corporate fitness centers, the need is based around holistic health, and proper posture plays a major role in maintaining good health.

These days, improper posture is so prevalent that it is eye catching to see someone with proper posture. It is not healthy to have improper posture for a variety of reasons, but fixing it is a bit more difficult than just making a conscious effort to sit up straight.

In the past, a lot of emphasis was put on proper posture; and it would have been considered unrefined to slouch. Nowadays, our culture is largely casual and sedentary, while proper posture is not a topic of concern at all. Surely, the rise of obesity, and the fall of exercise, has contributed to this unhealthy trend of poor posturing. When so many people are at risk because of being overweight, posture seems to be the least of their worries.

In addition, many jobs require hours of sitting. Until recently, workstations, desks, and chairs were designed with little, to no regard, for the structure of the human body. In situations with prolonged sitting in an improperly designed setting, slouching is a natural response. The rounding of the back feels like a relief at first, but it’s temporary. In time, pressure is put on places in the back that were not designed to carry that kind of weight load, resulting in back problems over time.

A physical Yoga practice, which includes posturing, creates many positive changes within the body. One of the many changes that Yoga causes is a healthy back. Most people think about the skeletal structure when they consider the back, but they are missing something important. Bones are not the only part of the body that provides back support; the muscles are of, at least, equal importance. With the practice of Yoga postures (asanas), he muscles work in harmony with the bones; and they actually serve to hold the bones in place, in addition to providing lots of flexible, yet solid support of their own.

In order to cure improper posture, the core muscles should be built up and strengthened. Once this has been done, the posture will improve naturally, with a minimum of conscious effort, because it no longer hurts to sit up straight.

The movements in Hatha Yoga are designed to stretch and strengthen the core muscles, which include not only the muscles in the back, but also the abdominal wall, as well. Strengthening the abs is vital to supporting the back and improving posture.

As the core muscles are engaged, and conditioned, during Yoga training sessions, the spine will be brought into proper alignment, which will automatically create improved or proper posture. Having a firm, strong foundation, in the form of a conditioned and flexible core, makes everything in life, even sitting, much easier.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our complete selection of Yoga teacher training courses, please feel free to visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/Teacher-Courses/

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If you are a Yoga Teacher, studio owner, 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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The Five Most Popular Yoga Asanas Today

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

yoga teacher training

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Although we refer to Yoga in the singular (“Yoga is practiced…”), there are, of course, many styles of practice. Around the world, we refer most often to the Hatha style when we discuss it generally. Hatha is a style of Yoga linking breath, movement, and meditation. Yogi Swatmarama, a 15th century Indian Hindu sage, is often credited with developing this style, which became well-known in western countries, starting in about 1850. Hatha Yoga training involves a series of asanas, or positions, performed with specific breathing patterns. Some of the asanas have very picturesque names, such as Ardha Matsyendrasana, or Half Lord of the Fishes. Others have less flashy names, such as Chaturanga or Plank pose.

Yogic practices have gained in global popularity – to the point where asanas have become recognizable even to non-practitioners. The following five most popular, or at least familiar, asanas, according to an unscientific poll, could be considered as high ranking candidates for the list.

1) Adho Mukha Svanasana, or Downward Facing Dog

The name of this asana finds its way into blogs, books, and other popular media, as synonymous with Yoga itself. Practiced at least once in nearly every Hatha class, bringing the heels to the floor is a goal for everyone new to Yoga training. Yet, skeletal compression may prevent the heels from coming down to the floor.

2) Balasana, or Child’s pose

Child’s pose has been adopted by other forms of exercise, and even dance, as a gentle stretch and resting pose between muscle movements. It has become so common that even Zumba instructors rarely need to explain when saying, “Now push back into Child’s pose.”

3) Savasana, or Corpse pose

Much like Downward Facing Dog, Savasana is part of nearly every practice. The quiet, relaxing, resting pose is the high point of class for many practitioners of all levels. People, who are unfamiliar with Yogic terms, sometimes refer to this pose as “when you just lie there.”

4) Virabhadrasana I, or Warrior I

This pose, preferably done on a beach, or in a tropical setting, is the archetype asana for promoting Yoga. The long lines created, photograph very well, which perhaps, explains why many class brochures seem to feature it.

5) Sirsasana, or Headstand

This asana finds its way into the plotlines of movies for character development, when someone needs to be shown doing something difficult. It can also be seen during chase sequences, when a bad guy must be pursued through a Yoga school full of students in headstand.

All joking aside, the recognition of asanas, in general society, is a positive development. Encouraging everyone to think of their “five favorite asanas” could be a great conversation starter at your next social event.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

Free report, newsletter, videos, podcasts, and e-Book: “Yoga in Practice.”

If you are a Yoga Teacher, studio owner, 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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Posted in yoga asana archive | 1 Comment »

Yoga for Self-Transformation

Saturday, May 7th, 2011

yoga certificationBy Gopi Rao

Yoga training changes all of us for the best. The benefits of our practice are completely holistic. Below is a simplified way to explain Yogic techniques for self-transformation. If you are a student just read on. If you are a Yoga teacher, please feel free to explain these concepts in your classes or print this for a student handout.

There are many benefits that come with the practice of asana, meditation and pranayama. Yogic methods can help clear the mind, reduce stress, help in weight loss, help to tone muscle, increase strength, and promote restful sleep. These are just a handful of the many benefits of practice. Physical and mental benefits are often the main reasons for practicing. However, Yoga, which means unity, should also be viewed from a holistic perspective in order to reap the full range of benefits of this sacred practice.

Yogic Meditation

Meditation is a basic element of Yogic methodology. Through meditation you are able to free your mind of the day’s anxieties and stresses which will recharge you and prepare you to confront the new stresses of the next day. Meditation will refresh you and help you enter into a restful slumber. You will wake up, the next morning, focused and ready to face the day. This focus will help you to achieve short-term and long-term goals.

Yoga meditation will give you a sense of renewed internal strength and focus. You can use this renewed strength and focus to balance the things in life which are most important to you, such as: your family and your job. You will have the proper balance between the things you enjoy in life so as to enjoy them to the fullest.

Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga Cause Physical Changes

The poses (asanas) in physical practice, change your metabolism and can help you to gain lean muscle and reduce body fat. The act of stretching and holding asanas help you to tone muscle, which will enable you to achieve the physical appearance and healthy body you desire.

The various postures of Hatha Yoga help you to maintain hormonal balance. This, in turn, helps you to maintain mental and spiritual balance. Such poses have a positive impact on the glands and organs of the body, which bring about the hormonal balance.

Yogic Lifestyle

Repeated practice of Yogic methods is motivating and can give you the inspiration and strength needed to continue practicing while you learn to step away from destructive habits that you may have. You will be refreshed and ready to face the challenges of life.

The benefits of Yoga are not limited to physical and mental ones. If you practice Yoga training on a regular basis, you will experience harmony and balance in all phases of your life. You will be able to make major changes in your life that will benefit you and the loved ones you care most about. As you incorporate Yoga into your daily life, the gradual changes that you make through steady practice will become a way of life and will no doubt allow you to reap many more benefits.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

Free report, newsletter, videos, podcasts, and e-Book: “Yoga in Practice.”

If you are a Yoga Teacher, studio owner, 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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Yoga Teaching Opportunities Outside The Studio

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500

There are a variety of wonderful Yoga teaching opportunities outside of the context of a formal studio. The benefits of a regular practice are becoming widely recognized, and Hatha Yoga is definitely entering the main stream. Due to this general acceptance and appreciation of Yogic exercise, you will find many teaching opportunities available to you that were not previously accessible. There is a growing interest by administrators in schools, hospitals, and prisons to bring the benefits of Yogic practices to their residents. There are even training programs available to Yoga teachers that specialize in bringing the art and practice to these populations.

There is a very strong growing interest in the educational system for bringing Yogic methodology to students of all ages. Yogic methodology has been documented to help students cope better with anxiety, improve their focusing abilities, and heighten a positive sense of self-esteem. Many of today’s students struggle with ADHD, mood swings, and depression. A regular practice will help them to address all of these issues. Incorporating Yoga into a school’s curriculum, or even into the classroom teacher’s daily lesson plan, has become quite popular. If you are a Yoga teacher looking for opportunities to teach and serve outside of a studio, your local school district is a great place to start.

Hospital administrators and physicians are recognizing the profound benefits of a regular Yoga training practice as an adjunct therapy to increase the well-being and health of their patients. Of course, some patients will only be able to do a modified asana practice. Even an asana routine done from a bed or a chair will help to improve muscle tone, coordination, circulation, and generate feelings of optimism. These are very important physical and mental areas to strengthen as a patient recovers from a serious illness or injury. Scheduling a meeting with a hospital administrator about the possibility of bringing Yogic exercise to the hospital’s patients is a great way to facilitate teaching within various medical facilities in your area.

The prison system is another alternative teaching opportunity. There is a movement to bring both meditation and Hatha Yoga practices into the prison system. These practices will help prisoners to regulate their emotions and reactions to various provocations. Additionally, practicing asana, pranayama, and meditation will help prisoners to focus on the positive aspects of life. They will learn the dignity of honoring other people, while generating feelings of well-being in their own bodies and minds. Exploring the possibility of teaching Yoga in your local Juvenile Detention Center or adult correctional facility is a great way to bring the gift of Yogic teachings to an under-served population.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

Free report, newsletter, videos, podcasts, and e-Book: “Yoga in Practice.”

If you are a Yoga Teacher, studio owner, 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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Yoga for Releasing Anger

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Gopi Rao

Yoga training offers many tools for reducing and releasing anger. Yogic methodology includes not only physical postures and breathing exercises, but also meditation and relaxation techniques. The fluid movements of Hatha Yoga allow the over-stressed and anxious body and mind to release the tension that can easily escalate into anger and even rage.

On a physical level, Yogic practices help to reduce adrenalin and cortisol levels that help to fuel an anxious and overly-agitated body and mind. The practice of Hath Yoga allows a practitioner to channel and express his or her anger in a positive, life-affirming way. As the energy that comes from anger fuels one’s asana practice, the negative energy (negative thinking patterns) are used as fuel and released, while endorphins such as: dopamine and serotonin levels are raised. These “feel-good” hormones help to balance out the more aggressive hormones of anger such as cortisol and adrenaline.

Asana practice also helps to release anger by promoting self-awareness on all levels within a student’s being. Usually anger or a continual state of hostility is fueled by negative underlying beliefs and stories that we ascribe to certain situations or people. Yoga training sessions help to develop cognitive awareness of these beliefs and stories, so that we can rationally evaluate their accuracy.

Within this Yogic state of self-awareness, one develops an keen understanding of the triggers that lead to a blow up, which makes a problem easily identifiable and leads to permanent solutions. A Yoga student will develop mindfulness skills to more easily identify the signs of an impending anger attack, such as shortness of breath, feelings of anxiety, heart palpitations, and chest pains. Not only will asana practice help to channel this negative energy constructively, the Yogic practices of pranayama and meditation will also help to calm an overactive sympathetic nervous system.

Yoga teachers should be making the public aware of the effectiveness of channeling anger in a constructive way. Practicing asana for releasing anger is a great tool for finding inner peace. Not only does asana help the practitioner to channel and release excess anxious and angry energy, the breathing and meditation techniques also assist the student in soothing a very agitated and potentially explosive inner landscape.

At the very least, the inner awareness that a student gains during a mindful asana practice supports the student in understanding the process of the escalation of anger and the stories underlying that escalation. With this awareness comes the power to identify and challenge one’s underlying beliefs and thus disarm the triggers, so that a potentially explosive situation may be handled with more diplomacy.

Over time and with consistent effort, a student will be able to shift his or her hormonal balance from one driven by anxiety and anger to contentment and peacefulness, which in turn will support a Yoga practitioner in living a healthier and happier life.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

Free report, newsletter, videos, podcasts, and e-Book: “Yoga in Practice.”

If you are a Yoga Teacher, studio owner, 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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Posted in Yoga for Emotional Health, Yoga for Mental Health | No Comments »

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