Posts Tagged ‘yoga student’

How to Prevent Yoga Student Injuries

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

yoga certificationBy Jenny Park

Yoga has become more popular in the last few years, with classes popping up in gyms, and fitness and community centers across the country. Its popularity is exciting to those of us who have been reaping the benefits for years and want to “share the wealth.” However, along with its newfound popularity comes an increase in yoga-related injuries. In some cases, inexperienced students might be pushing themselves too far, and in other instances yoga instructors might not be doing the best job of educating participants on potential risks of each pose. Both instructors and students need to make sure they are doing all they can to prevent injuries when practicing yoga.

Students should always check with their doctor before beginning any type of exercise regime to make sure they aren’t putting themselves in a risky situation. Although yoga is beneficial for many types of ailments, high blood pressure, arthritis, back soreness, and more, it is still important to be aware of the potential risks. Pregnant women can also participate in yoga right through the last trimester, but they should always be aware of poses that could cause injuries and learn how to modify them. Since not all yoga students show obvious symptoms, like pregnancy, it is their responsibility to let the instructor know of any specific concerns so the instructor can guide them accordingly.

Although instructors share some of the responsibility of keeping their students safe, it is impossible for them to know every malady of every student. It is therefore important for instructors to educate themselves thoroughly on the common risks associated with each pose, as well as modifications. Yoga instructors should make modifications a part of the routine, by casually mentioning them during each pose, and while walking around to help specific students obtain proper form.

Self-awareness is a large part of any yoga practice. Students should be taught to listen to their bodies, breathe through each pose, and adjust when they feel discomfort. It is the instructor’s job to emphasize this importance, as well as the idea that yoga is not a competition, and there is no wrong way to practice the poses, when they are modified for the student’s body. Whatever feels right to each person is right for that person. People should always avoid comparing themselves to others, or the instructor. Yoga instructors should be sure to create a comfortable class atmosphere where people feel free to practice yoga that will benefit them. Yoga student injuries can happen at home or in a class, but prevention based safety guidelines and compassionate education will reduce the chances.

© 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/

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Practicing Yoga before Receiving Shaktipat

Monday, October 31st, 2011

yoga certificationBy Bhavan Kumar

Many ardent spiritual aspirants may wonder about practicing Yoga before receiving Shaktipat. Shaktipat is the transmission of divine spiritual energy from a meditation master to a student. In Yogic philosophy, the dormant spiritual energy that exists in seed form in every human being lies coiled like a snake three and a half times at the base of the spine. When an enlightened meditation master awakens this energy by channeling divine grace from God to the devotee, the devotee’s spiritual energy is awakened. This awakened energy will help to enliven and guide the student’s quest for health, well-being and divine realization.

Receiving the gift of Shaktipat from a realized master is incredibly helpful in energizing and illuminating the depth and meaning of spiritual practices and teachings. However, awakening the Kundalini energy through Shaktipat is not absolutely necessary before beginning a strong practice of Yoga asanas, pranayama exercises and meditation techniques. These ancient and time-tested Yogic practices offer great benefits to a Yogi or Yogini with or without the gift of Shaktipat. In ancient India, Yogic practices were often practiced for many years in preparation for the experience of the awakening of the Kundalini energy.

Yoga asanas or postures and breathing exercises prepare a student for Shaktipat initiation by strengthening and balancing all of the muscles, ligaments and other connective tissues in the body. The physical postures also increase flexibility and the ability to sit comfortably for extended meditation sessions. Additionally, Yoga asanas in conjunction with pranayama exercises help to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which allows the student to be in a state of alert calmness and witness-consciousness, thereby alleviating a sense of preoccupation, anxiety and depression. The physical postures also cleanse and invigorate all of the internal organs and the energy body that is comprised of thousands of pathways referred to in Yoga as “nadis.”

All of these physical benefits are energizing and life-sustaining for a Yoga student. Yoga asanas and breathing exercises will help to keep a student’s body and mind healthy, strong, balanced and relaxed. These benefits are life-enhancing prior to or after receiving Shaktipat. The meditation techniques espoused by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras are also wonderful tools that can help to prepare a Yoga student for the awakening of the Kundalini energy and/or support a Yoga student in optimizing good mental health and a sense of optimism. Both the physical and mental/emotional benefits of a regular practice of Yoga are incredibly important to maintaining a Yoga student’s balance and well-being in today’s fast-paced world.

© 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/

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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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Yoga Nidra for Emotional Resolution

Monday, September 5th, 2011

yoga teacher certificationBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Yoga Nidra is an ancient Yogic practice that has been utilized, for hundreds of years, by spiritual seekers. It was used to support the rejuvenation of the body and for a balanced, healthy mind, by promoting the emotional resolution of a variety of life experiences. Yoga Nidra means – the sleep of Yoga. The goal of Yoga Nidra is not actually sleep, but a state of deep relaxation and witness consciousness. So, although the Yogi or Yogini is resting in a deep, dreamless state, he or she remains awake and alert of body sensations, thoughts, and emotions.

Yoga Nidra techniques are referred to in the Mandukya Upanishad, which was written in the first or second century AD. The Mandukya Upanishad details three levels of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. The goal of Yoga Nidra is not only progressive relaxation, it is also for the Yoga student to by-pass the waking and dreaming states, and come to rest in the dreamless, deep sleep state, where he or she can be aware of the causal field of consciousness from which all experiences that arise. As a Yogi or Yogini witnesses his or her thought patterns and habitual tendencies in this deep sleep state, the underlying beliefs that are counter-productive to happiness and serenity, can be uprooted at their very foundation. In this way, a Yoga student can purify his or her habitual patterns and choose more life-affirming thoughts and behaviors.

In Sanskrit, deeply ingrained beliefs and thought patterns are referred to as “samskaras.” These samskaras can be quite binding and limiting if they are fueled by overly-negative thinking patterns and beliefs. Resting in the causal field of awareness, during a Yoga Nidra session, will allow a Yoga practitioner the time to be aware of these samskaras and the opportunity to attenuate their strength. As a Yoga Nidra practitioner witnesses and evaluates the veracity of his or her beliefs, the samskaras begin to loosen their hold, if the Yoga practitioner realizes that they are not quite as true as he or she had previously believed. With this new-found freedom from some of the more limiting samskaras, a Yoga student is able to uproot unsupportive beliefs and behaviors, effectively changing his or her karma for the better.

By engaging in Yoga Nidra practices, a Yoga student can literally merge with the causal field of reality, or at least his or her causal field of reality, and eliminate non-sustaining habitual thought-patterns and beliefs that may be causing negative repercussions and stagnation in his or her life. As a Yoga practitioner moves through the various exercises of Yoga Nidra, he or she will be more easily able to integrate difficult and painful emotional experiences into a more compassionate and wiser framework. This state of “eagle vision” and compassion will support a Yoga student in releasing unnecessary emotional burdens. As these unnecessary emotional burdens are released, a practitioner is free to choose healthier, more positive thoughts and beliefs that will support his or her quest to create a life filled with health, joy, love, and abundance.

© 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 Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Traditional Spiritual Initiation from a Yoga Guru

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Yoga practitioners often wonder if it is necessary to receive spiritual initiation, or Shaktipat, before embarking on a serious study of Yoga. Shaktipat is the descent of divine grace through an enlightened Guru to a student. The awakening of the divine Kundalini energy supports a Yoga student in his or her practice of Yoga asanas, pranayama exercises, meditation, scriptural study, and the practice of kirtan or devotional singing. All of these practices nurture the Kundalini Shakti, as it ascends from the Muladhara Chakra, at the base of the spine, up through the crown chakra.

Receiving Shaktipat initiation will enliven and strengthen your Yoga practices, but it is not necessary in order to benefit from practicing Yoga on a regular basis. It is said that if you do receive the gift of Shaktipat from a Yoga Guru, before commencing a dedicated practice, you will experience great benefits from your efforts. However, practicing Yoga asanas and pranayama techniques will give you many physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits, without receiving divine initiation.

In ancient India, the gift of Shaktipat was only bestowed on an ardent Yoga student, who had dedicated many years of service and study to the particular path of the guru with whom he or she was dedicated. In fact, practicing Yoga asanas, and breathing exercises, was considered to be a prerequisite to preparing the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies to hold and nurture the great energy of the awakened Kundalini Shakti. The Yoga postures and breathing exercises were seen as a way to cleanse and strengthen the vehicle of the student’s body and mind, in order to be able to hold this great gift in a balanced and honorable manner.

Traditionally, the practice of Yoga asanas and pranayamas were likened to molding a golden bowl that was strong enough to hold the milk from a mother tiger without wasting a drop. A bowl of lower quality was seen as being unable to adequately hold this divine nourishment. The other Yogic practices of scriptural study, selfless service, pranayama, meditation, mantra repetition, and the singing of sacred bhajans also support a Yoga student in his or her quest for divine knowledge, physical health, and emotional well being. All of these Yogic practices deeply nourish a Yoga practitioner, in either preparing for Shaktipat initiation, or nourishing the divine Kundalini Shakti, once it has been awakened by a realized master. Either way, these Yogic practices are tremendously beneficial on all mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels.

© 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 Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Posted in Yoga for Spiritual Health | 1 Comment »

Liability Insurance for Yoga Teachers

Friday, July 1st, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

If you teach Yoga, you may have always assumed that if anything happened to one of the students in your class, the studio’s insurance would take care of it. More and more Yoga instructors, however, are considering whether they need liability coverage; and if so, how much? While most studios do not require instructors to carry their own policies, it may be worth it in the long run.

There have been a number of lawsuits against instructors in the past few years. In May 2008, a Chicago-area Yoga student filed a lawsuit against a Himalayan Institute – trained teacher of Yoga, after receiving “severe and permanent injuries” during one of the instructor’s classes in November 2006. The student attended a Yoga class at Northbrook YMCA, during which the instructor apparently “grabbed and maneuvered her,” causing permanent injury. The YMCA was also blamed for not reviewing the instructor’s qualifications before hiring her. In December 2008, a Boulder, Colorado studio was sued by a student for a teacher’s “unsolicited physical manipulation,” which resulted in a torn medial meniscus requiring surgery. The student alleged that the studio should be held responsible for employing teachers who adjust clients’ Yoga positions without permission, and create “hazardous conditions.”

Should you decide to pursue coverage, there are four general areas of coverage for Yoga instructors to consider.

Professional liability insurance (malpractice)

General liability insurance (trip and fall)

Product liability coverage

Rental damage coverage

These cover situations where harm has been done, due to an alleged lack of skill or competence from the instructor; due to a product used on or by the client; due to general negligence or if the rental area is somehow damaged. Some policies also cover identity theft or allegations of molestation or sexual misconduct. Coverage is typically capped at $4 million total, but higher or lower limits are available.

Insurance is available through a number of sources, including Yoga magazines, publications, and online research.  This insurance coverage is tied to the Yoga instructor. This allows the teacher, who works at a number of studios, to be insured in every location. Many of the resources offer professional memberships for Yoga, as well as coverage, with premiums ranging from $159 to $404 annually. The National Association of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which is one provider of coverage, offers a handy chart, comparing coverage from various insurance companies on its website. Some providers also offer reduced rates for instructors, who teach part time. Insurance costs may be deductible for Yoga instructors who are self-employed, as well. Complete your research before purchasing a policy, and enjoy a safety net beneath your mat.

Additionally, Yoga teachers should establish the following guidelines for students and classes.

1. Establish firm safety guidelines for students and Yoga classes.

2. Make sure you are familiar with each student’s current health situation.

3. Design application, informed consent, and waiver of liability forms.

4. Do not assist a Yoga student without permission.

5. Never allow students into your classes once the class has begun.

6. Each new student should be interviewed before entering a Yoga session.

In comparison to many activities, Yoga is reasonably safe.  On the other hand, it is possible to be injured during any activity.  With this in mind, we need to establish safety protocols for every possible situation.  In the case of some pre-existing health conditions, such as pregnancy, a Yoga teacher specialist is required.  This is just one example, among many, but Yoga teachers want to make sure students leave class feeling better than when they initially walked through the door.

© 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 Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Yoga for Releasing Anger

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Gopi Rao

Yoga offers many tools for reducing and releasing anger. Yoga 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, Yoga 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 a Yogi’s practice, the toxins from negative thinking patterns are 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.

Yoga 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 helps 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 Yoga asanas help to channel this negative energy constructively, the Yogic practices of pranayama and meditation will also help to calm an overactive sympathetic nervous system.

Practicing Yoga for releasing anger is a great tool for finding inner peace. Not only does Yoga help the practitioner to channel and release excess anxious and angry energy, the breathing and meditation techniques of Yoga also assist the student in soothing a very agitated and potentially explosive inner landscape.

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 Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Posted in Yoga for Emotional Health, Yoga for Mental Health | No Comments »

Yoga Meditation – Where do I start?

Friday, September 10th, 2010

By Sanjeev Patel, CYT

Many Yoga teachers have difficulty explaining their meditation practice to students.  What is Yoga meditation? Yogic Meditation is a discipline in which a Yogi transcends the reflexive mind into a deeper state of awareness (consciousness). There are many forms of meditation, with many different lineages. Some are based on a philosophy, or a religion; and some are contemporary styles.

To name all the forms of meditation practiced in Yoga would make a large and handsome book. Rather than approach all forms of meditation, let’s look at the easiest way to meditate, and enjoy the benefits, in the shortest amount of time. After you have successfully practiced meditating for one month, then feel free to experiment with other methods.

The spine should be straight. This is the first factor of successful meditation. Some Yoga students have a difficult time sitting still. If a student comes from a chair sitting culture, he or she will have even more difficulty sitting still and keeping the spine straight.

Instead of focusing the mind, this student is uncomfortable and thinks of pain in the back. Paulji has a method for being comfortable while meditating right away. “Legs through the chair pose” is the posture he advises to keep the back straight. Hence, the student can focus on meditation instead of a pain in the back.

Legs through the chair is easy. Put a blanket on the seat of a chair with an open back, and roll out a Yoga mat in front of that chair. Lie on your Yoga mat. Bring your knees to your chest, and extend your lower legs onto the seat and through the open back. Let your lower legs relax on the blanket that covers the seat. Adjust until you are comfortable with your spine completely flat.

Now, let your body relax, place one hand on your navel and one hand on the center of your chest. Let your elbows gently root into the ground and close your eyes. Focus on your navel and notice how it moves up with inhalation and down when you exhale.

Observe your breath and nothing more, Don’t make judgments, try to control your breath, or extend your breath. Just enjoy each breath like you are on a peaceful ride to a blissful destination. You are now meditating because your mind is only focused on one task.

Do this same Yoga meditation technique for 30 days and feel your mind change. This simple breath awareness technique has changed many Yoga students lives. Students who had difficulty with other meditation methods had no problem learning how to do this. You can always change the asana or extend your breath cycles after you have mastered the foundation of Yoga meditation.

Hari Om Tat Sat

© Copyright 2010 – Sanjeev Patel / Aura Publications

Sanjeev Patel is a certified Yoga teacher and an exclusive author for Aura Wellness Center.

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Posted in Recent Articles, yoga and meditation, Yogic Meditation | 2 Comments »

Finding the Best Yoga Teacher Training – Teaching New Students

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Many Hatha Yoga certification courses emphasize the value of teaching students who have flexible bodies or have invested years of asana practice. Yet, how many students will meet these criteria? Most students who come to Yoga classes have very little experience.

In addition to this, many new Yoga students are over 40, have health conditions, and physical limitations. Their doctors recommend Hatha Yoga classes because it has a reputation for being a therapeutic health maintenance system. Yoga was not designed to be a whipping tool for punishing less physically inactive adults.

This is not a criticism of Yoga classes that are physically challenging; but if you decide that you want to teach athletes, you should describe the type of class you will be teaching, completely. A beginner student is only going to feel worse about himself or herself if you are performing a marathon of Sun Salutations over the course of your class.

Beginner, Gentle, Restorative, and Therapeutic classes should also have complete descriptions on your website or brochure. It is estimated that more than 60% of the students, who walk through your door, will have no, or very limited, experience in studying Hatha Yoga.

Most schools, or studios, who have large followings of advanced students, have grown them within. In other words, new students began to practice and stayed over the long term. Since students are different in their minds and bodies, it makes perfect sense to have a variety of classes.

For example – some studios have Vinyasa or Hot Yoga classes for students who are seeking a physical challenge. At the same time, the same studio may have Gentle, Restorative, or Therapeutic styles for students who want classes that are less vigorous.

The main point to make is that when one person goes to a restaurant – he or she does not necessarily order the same dish as someone else. The same principle applies to Yoga classes within studios or health clubs. That being – people will gravitate toward the type of Yoga that suits their needs.

To put everyone in a 105 degree Fahrenheit room is going to bring about a variety of reactions; especially, if they come from a climate where they consider anything over 80 degrees Fahrenheit to be hot. People tend to be comfortable within the normal temperatures of their geographic location.

There are many forms of Yoga that are not focused on the physical body. Meditation may be the primary objective in these classes. If a new Yoga student is seeking an effective method to train the mind, a “trial by fire” may not be needed.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Yoga Teacher Question About Pre-existing Knee Problems

Monday, April 26th, 2010

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Q: At the moment, one of my Yoga students has a pre-existing injury to his knee joint caused by football in February this year, and there still is fluid on it to this day. I am not exactly sure what to do with the knee. Yet based on my understanding, hamstring stretches and quads stretches will be useful for him, as well as advising him to elevate his knee higher than the heart, as much as possible.

Would that be a right assumption? In regards to his back, shall it be treated as lower back injury or just stiffness? I know both of these would be advised with a different set of poses.”

A: Elevating the knee is a good idea because he should stay off his feet when possible; Viparita Karani (legs up the wall pose) is one suggestion. Seated asanas, without putting stress on the knee, are another consideration.

Related to this, it is very important that he visit a doctor, because a fluid build-up that lasts for months indicates a serious injury. He may have damaged connective tissue, and the fluid is a result of his body’s natural protection to an inflammation within the knee joint.

His physician will likely recommend some ice and heat therapy, but he needs to schedule an appointment for a hands-on inspection of his injury. He might also have to get an X-ray and MRI of his knee for his doctor to give him the best solutions. Seated forward bends should help, but he really needs to see a doctor first, and get approval for the type of postures he practices.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

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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Posted in Frequently Asked Questions, Hatha Yoga Safety, Yoga for Physical Health, Yoga Teacher Issues, Yoga Teacher Training | 6 Comments »

Discover How Yoga Can Turn Your Life Around

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

VrksasanaBy Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

How can Yoga turn your life around? Where do you start? If you are a Yoga student, a steady practice is a good start. If you teach Yoga classes, and have students in need of help, where should they start? At least some of us see a need for a starting point, which is an early form of self-awareness.

In making a decision to change our lives, we need to know our perceived limitations. This viewpoint of limitations may not be based upon reality. Sometimes, a limitation is only a projection of our self-image. In other words: If I have low self-worth – are my thoughts about myself realistic?

The answer is: No; if I have a poor self-image, my thoughts would be limited by a negative mindset. In turn, a negative mindset blames everyone for everything. In such a case, nobody ever does anything right. Many complainers have poor self-esteem. Instead of designing a plan for the future, and searching for answers, it is easier to sit around and complain.

One more point about perceived limits: If your thoughts are based upon pure reality and logic, these thoughts will change with time. Any form of thinking is subject to change because it evolves with each life experience.

Therefore, when you design a plan to make a lifestyle change, you want to know yourself first. Any changes to the world around us must come from within – first.

Yoga allows the mind to find its natural balance. This Yogic state of balance may occur in the physical body first.

These subtle, physical changes, within the body, may be noticed if one practices Hatha Yoga (Union through Physical Self-Mastery). This is an early step for contemporary Yogis. People easily believe what they see when they notice physical changes in their own bodies.

The more subtle changes that occur within one’s mental, emotional, or spiritual health, take more time and patience to develop. Hatha Yoga practice may be considered the ultimate answer to physical mastery, but it is only a stepping stone on a path toward happiness.

For many of us, our biggest step is training the mind to become our best ally. Self-induced negativity is one of the greatest setbacks to humankind. Sometimes, whole countries and cultures believe they are worthless.

This state of cultural worthlessness occurs when a society’s leadership promotes pessimistic thought. Whether or not we live in a free society, the answer is to re-program our thinking toward a path of progress. Every form of Yoga contains methods for positive thinking.

© Copyright 2009 – 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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