Posts Tagged ‘yoga teachers’

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Yoga Teacher Training: Mindfulness

Friday, July 27th, 2012

yoga trainingBy Faye Martins

When sitting through a lecture in yoga teacher training, one intern raised a hand and said: “I never knew there was mindfulness in yoga.”  Over the years, a few fitness yoga teachers have said the same.  In Sanskrit: smrti or smiriti means mindfulness.  When a yoga teacher asks the class to focus on the present or to be present for class that is also the state of mindfulness (awareness).  

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of yoga teacher training is that of mastering mindfulness. It can be easy to overlook all the aspects of your life that awareness improves. The process of connecting your mind with your body is really the heart of what yogic philosophy. Ancient practices of yoga training were centered on meditation, and improving the mind to body connection. The perfect yoga class will have students engaging in that same practice.

Benefits of Being More Mindful

As yoga is practiced on a daily basis, your body begins to change. You become more aware not just of your body but of your surroundings and how they affect your day to day activity. You realize all the things you may be doing to sabotage your health, and make the changes necessary to become more completely healthy. Mindful individuals are less stressed as they approach obstacles with ease and conquer them with much less effort.  Additionally, intuition is enhanced as you begin to see signs that may not be so apparent to the average person.  Developing  a higher level of awareness and intuition can save you much grief in life.

Yogic Practice

When it comes to the actual practice of mindfulness, it is important to focus on the meditative side of the spectrum. It is amazing what the mind and body can accomplish when pushed to their limits. Combining the physical and the mental in a yogic routine is basically giving us complete holistic health. For an advanced practitioner, it is possible be mindful and concentrate on multiple subjects at the same time, allowing focus on objects, emotions, sensations, and thought patterns all at once. This may not be suggested for everyone, but in this day and age who doesn’t multitask?  There are three skills to teach when it comes to mastering mindfulness. They are non-attachment, focus, and expansion. Students should focus on the movements, let go of stray thoughts, and be willing to open their minds to new levels of consciousness.  

Notes for Yoga Teachers

One point Marie Jerard made me aware of was to see the obvious in subtle actions people make.  This is a method to practice for expanding your consciousness for practical use.  Paul often says: “She is my eyes and ears.”  The truth is: Both of them have equally explained non-attachment, focus, and expansion in detail.  We have our limits when faced with non-attachment, because most of us are attached to someone or something.  Paul often explains the advantage of  non-attachment to outcome, because it gives us mental clarity to see the many possibilities and the ability to be prepared for changes regardless of the exact outcome.  

Many public and private schools are beginning to implement yoga training in the school curriculum to promote mindfulness. They’ve noticed improvement in imagination, empathy, self-awareness, and self-esteem. Studies show that practicing mindfulness led to a decrease in overall anxiety. It just goes to show it is never too early, or too late to practice yoga training and improve your overall health and well-being. Yogic methods truly changes lives and makes us better individuals and perhaps, better citizens.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of 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 manager, 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 Teacher Education for Cardio Health

Friday, June 29th, 2012

yoga teacherBy Bhavan Kumar

Continuing education for Yoga teachers isn’t simply about techniques.  The complete profile of the benefits our practice can deliver should be stressed at every yoga teacher training.  When you think about a cardio workout, you probably consider running, kickboxing, tennis, basketball, football and other sports. Yogic exercise might not cross your mind as a high-intensity, heart-pumping workout. Technically, yoga is low-impact and gentle on the heart. However, practicing yogic exercises does improve your cardiovascular health due to the deep breathing and increased blood flow encouraged by the postures.

Types of Yoga

Since yoga’s introduction to the west in the 19th century, several different types  have evolved to suit the needs of modern people. Ashtanga, Bikram, Hatha, and Vinyasa are just a few of the different types of yoga we commonly practice today. Some classes have more focus on finding an inner peace, while others focus more on the physical body. People who strive for a more vigorous workout often look to power yoga to fit their needs. In Vinyasa, students perform a series of poses in a swift manner, causing the heart rate to rise as in other forms of cardio workouts. Vinyasa can result in improved flexibility, stamina and cardio benefits.

Heart Benefits

People suffering from heart disease often find yogic techniques can have healing benefits. Yoga is good for the heart because it is an all-encompassing sort of exercise that takes into consideration the body, mind and breathing. The asanas work to stretch and strengthen the muscles while improving flexibility. The meditation portion of classes allows practitioners to focus on finding an inner sense of calm, and the breathing portion of class allows students to concentrate on bringing fresh oxygen into the body so it can carry fresh blood to the organs. The heart benefits because it doesn’t have to work as hard to keep the body functioning, when the blood cells can easily do their job.

Find a Balance

While yogic exercise might not be as vigorous as other types of exercise, it can still be a valuable piece of the fitness puzzle in maintaining a healthy heart. Get your heart pumping faster by flowing through a series of poses swiftly, or combine stretches with a more rigorous workout. Asanas are wonderful ways to stretch and cool down the body after the heart rate has risen. Concentrate on deep, deliberate breathing while performing each posture to ensure the heart gets ample amounts of oxygen. Release your heart from stress, anxiety and fear by opening up during workouts to let positive energy into your body. All of these things will help maintain a strong, healthy heart.

Tips for Teachers

If you teach a physical style but it is therapeutic, you can easily modify your classes for cardio health and there is nothing wrong with props.  Paulji has shown slow flow vinyasa using a chair.  Instructors who don’t know how to change, should enhance their education with specialized yoga teacher training.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Yoga teacher training and continuing education 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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What Should a Yoga Teacher Know About Meditation?

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

yoga trainingBy Sanjeev Patel

Meditation is the process of calming and focusing the mind. It can effectively relieve anxiety, stress, or depression. Many people use it every day to calm and refresh the mind. There are many positions to take upon meditation, but we often think of the image of a person sitting with his or her legs crossed, hands resting on the knees, and eyes closed.

Modern Yoga and Meditation

Most basic Hatha yoga classes include some type of meditative aspect, but it usually is not the central focus of the class. New Yoga instructors don’t need to be experts on meditation, but they should know how to teach basic meditative practices and they should continue to study and practice in order to become the best possible guide.

In some Yoga training sessions, meditation is at the beginning and end of the session. In a typical Hatha Yoga class, meditation takes place at the end of the session. The instructor normally cools the students down with some floor poses, and then eases them into a meditative pose, such as corpse pose. As the students lie there feeling any new sensations in their bodies, the instructor leads them in a short meditation session.

Stage-by-stage Relaxation

Although, relaxation is not meditation, it is a valuable building block toward meditating and focusing. A relaxed mind is more willing to meditate than an over-stimulated mind. As a Yoga teacher, you want to direct your class by giving cues to relax each body part, from the toes to the tip of the head. The students are usually asked to breath deeply and focus their thoughts on their breath, while letting other thoughts flow through the mind without dwelling upon them. After about 10 minutes, the instructor gently eases students back into the world by asking them to wiggle their hands and feet, arms and legs, and then come to a sitting position.

Mudras

Yoga teachers, at the 200 hour level, should know a few basic hand gestures, or mudras. Mudras help focus energy to specific parts of the body, and can aid in healing. To perform the Guyan mudra, place the tips of the thumb and forefinger together, while leaving the other three fingers straight. Guyan mudra can relieve stress, insomnia, anger, laziness, and indecisiveness.

Another common mudra is Varun. Perform Varun by resting the thumb on top of the smallest finger, while the other three fingers remain idle. It can help cure skin problems, dehydration, blood disorders, wrinkles, and excessive body heat.

Hold the tips of the thumb and middle finger together to perform Aakash mudra. Aakash should not be performed while walking. It will help improve bone strength and result in improvements in overall body weakness.

Asanas

Basic meditation postures include easy pose, corpse pose, or half lotus. Most importantly, yoga instructors should teach students to sit in a posture that is comfortable for them. If an asana is not comfortable, the student will focus on his or her discomfort instead of meditating.  With that said, some your Yoga students may need to sit in a chair or on a cushion.

Breath Awareness Meditation

The basics of meditation begin by focusing within.  To ask our students to observe the breath seems easy for us, but try to remember how hard it was to suppress that little monkey that runs rampant within the mind.  Paulji may find monkeys comical, but I know, first hand, they are trouble.  Breath awareness may keep the monkey quiet for a while.

Mindfulness Meditation

This could be mindfulness of breath, an object, or a function like walking.  Mindfulness is similar to breath awareness because your students learn to observe and appreciate.  This is much different than controlling and judging.  Teaching yoga students to let go and relax through mindfulness is a challenge, but it has many rewards.

Many More Techniques

Mantra, Tratak, and Yantra meditation are worth the effort.  For Yoga teacher training interns, these techniques can be challenging.  One point to remember: Practice, study, and practice again.  When we become a certified yoga instructor, this is the first step of a life-long journey.  Every yoga instructor invests time in intensive studies and all aspects of the yogic way of life.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Yoga teacher training and continuing education 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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Teaching Laughter Yoga for Cancer Patients

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

yoga teacher trainingBy Faye Martins 

Laughter Yoga – are you serious?  Many Yoga teachers don’t even consider it.  Yoga is a serious art, science, and way of life.  Should we make it into a joke?  Paul Jerard often says, “we have to learn to laugh at ourselves.”  In fact, taking life too seriously could kill us.  Next time you think about adding a new class to the schedule, you might want to smile while you’re doing it.

Evidently, laughter really is the best medicine. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, known for its innovative research and cutting-edge technology, recently added an unexpected weapon to its arsenal of complementary care alternatives. Laughter Yoga, a technique developed by an Indian doctor in 1995, provides a light-hearted, healthy break from the grueling pace of medical procedures and offers patients a chance to play and connect with each other.

Already growing in popularity, the use of laughing Yoga in the medical field gives additional credibility and exposure to a practice that can potentially help cancer patients deal with anxiety and find support. Consisting of three techniques, laughing Yoga engages practitioners with chanting and clapping, laughter, and meditation.

A study based on results from 20 people at the University of Maryland suggests that laughter might be as effective as aerobic exercise in keeping arteries healthy. According to “Psychology Today,” humor has far-reaching emotional and physical benefits:

• It increases creativity and problem-solving abilities.

• It creates a sense of connection and synchronizes brains within a group setting.

• It increases pain tolerance.

• It lowers blood sugar levels.

• It increases the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain.

• It strengthens immunity and regulates blood flow.

• It provides support by bringing people together.

“Science Daily” reported in 2008 that health care workers who care for terminally ill patients say that constructive wit is the key to coping on a daily basis, and evidence shows that students learn more quickly when humor is part of the lesson. At Swedish Cancer Hospital in Chicago, laughter Yoga accompanies chemotherapy, potentially helping patients and caregivers at the same time.

Although researchers are not sure exactly how laughter works, some theorize that it may increase feel-good endorphins or stimulate the production of nitric oxide in the walls of arteries. Clinical studies conducted in India, Austria, Bangalore, and the United States, however, claim their studies offer proof that Laughter Yoga lowers levels of stress hormones and decreases the likelihood of helplessness and depression.

People who have cancer live with stress and uncertainty, states that foster negative feelings. Laughing offers emotional and physical relief that can improve the quality of their lives and possibly allow them to live longer.  Sometimes, Yoga instructors need to have a sense of humor.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Yoga teacher training and continuing education 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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What Should a Yoga Teacher Know About Anatomy?

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

yoga certificationBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

There are a few Yoga teacher training programs that do not view anatomy as a priority. This may be true if the Yoga teacher certification is based upon teaching a style without movement. For example: The practice of Bhakti, Karma, or Jnana has little to do with asana (posture). Our view of what Yogic methodology is can be very different from our colleagues.

Movement

The essence of Hatha and many contemporary styles of Yoga is movement, with each part of the body moving in relation to a counterpart for optimum “body balance.” Yoga instructors need to know how body parts are connected, in order to be able to help students adjust, when they feel discomfort. Anatomy is defined as the study of the structure of the body. When you study anatomy you learn the names of all the bones and how they are connected, as well as how the joints, ligaments, muscles, and organs, work within the body. All of these concepts are crucial to an understanding of how the body moves, the benefits of proper movement, and the dangers of incorrect movement. Yoga teachers do not need to be experts of human anatomy to be good instructors, but basic understandings of alignment, skeletal compression, and tension, are helpful.

Human Skeletal Structure

Understanding Yoga anatomy, in the most basic sense, means knowing the names, location, and purpose of the bones within the human body. Yoga instructors should know the difference between the femur and the fibula. You do not have to use those terms with your students, but they should be a part of your knowledge base. When students ask questions about specific poses, you will be prepared to answer them intelligently. Keep in mind that most students are out to achieve an overall sense of the mind-body connection and total relaxation. They do not necessarily desire to be confused by scientific information during class.

The Relationship Between the Human Body and Asana

Perhaps the most important anatomical information Yoga teachers need to understand is the relationship between the body and the poses.  Instructors must be aware of which parts of the body are affected by each asana, and how certain parts of the body work together while a student is holding a posture. You must always provide guidance, safety information, and cues for your students in order to protect themselves from injury. A Yoga teacher without any knowledge of anatomy might not fully understand the dangers of improper alignment.

Dangers of Speculation

Since most Yoga teachers are not anatomy experts, make sure you do not act like one. If a student asks a question that you do not know the answer to, advise him or her to seek help from someone who knows. Give advice only about matters, which you are familiar with. Many students come to our classes for relief of back pain, neck pain, headaches, or other chronic issues. Instead of speculating about what could possibly be going on within the body, offer advice only about techniques that should relieve the issue. Always advise a student to consult with his or her physician.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Yoga teacher training and continuing education 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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The Dangers of Pushing Kids in Physical Yoga

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

teaching yoga to childrenBy Faye Martins

Yoga teachers are often considering the development of new programs for adults, seniors, and children. Sometimes, we consider giving children the opportunity to get the level of exercise needed to rid extra energy. This extra energy needs to be released in a positive way, but children need proper guidance and yoga instructors need to make sure classes are safe.

Power and vinyasa are generic physical styles that often derive their roots from the Ashtanga school of yoga. These generic styles emphasize the physical practice over the mental and spiritual practice. They are often offered at gyms as a form of exercise that can build strength and help with weight loss while encouraging flexibility and stress relief.

Additionally, more and more families are realizing that these health benefits are not lost on the younger generation.

It is important to note that despite being an advantageous way to stay healthy and fit, yoga can also present its own challenges to safe practice. With this in mind, parents should expect that there might be dangers in physical yoga for kids, and should refrain from pushing their children too hard.

The Risks

Power, vinyasa, and other physical forms of yoga can be risky for kids for several reasons.

First, children’s developing bodies and immature attention spans pose a special challenge for yoga instructors or parents who wish to guide youths through the refreshing practice of physical yoga. To prevent injury, students should take pose progression slowly, starting first with only the most basic postures and working on each pose series until the technique is nearly-perfect. Moving on to the trickier poses too fast can put a young person beyond his or her strength and flexibility capacities. As part of this idea, yoga teachers must keep an eye on balance and stress the importance of paying attention. In this way, children can avoid falls or muscle strains from incorrect posture. Practicing creative teaching can also make this challenge a lot easier by engaging kids’ attention in more lasting ways.

Second, even poses that children have mastered can present dangers. Inversion poses, for example, can place stress on the spine and neck, and abrupt forward bends are known for aggravating or causing back pain. With these risks common among adults, instructors should be careful not to place undue amounts of stress on young people’s immature musculature.

Third, there is a difference between pushing children to fulfill their potential and pushing children beyond their abilities. Some instructors or parents become impatient with children who struggle with pose alignment, but it is important to maintain an encouraging and supportive role during a yoga session. While some kids may need more guidance than others, continuing to assess the student’s abilities during a difficult pose is absolutely necessary. Remember that baby steps will get a person to the goal just as well as steps that over-reach.

© Copyright 2012 – 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 Men

Friday, April 20th, 2012

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

When you think about men working out, you probably conjure images of weightlifting, push-ups, running, or physical sports, such as football or basketball. While these activities certainly offer lots of health benefits, men can also gain strength and stamina from lower impact activities like Hatha Yoga. Some men might not be attracted to the thought of contorting their bodies into various positions, but this is all a misunderstanding. Yoga stretches and strengthens the muscles, lubricates the joints, increases blood flow throughout the body, and provides a healthy way to release stress. Modern western society has gone along with an image of Yoga as more of a women’s activity; but in fact, it is a part of  history that the first Yoga teachers in ancient India were men. As more modern men are giving it a chance, they are realizing that Yoga is for men too.

Professional athletes are catching on to the benefits of Yoga for men. They are finding that through regular Yoga sessions, they can increase strength and endurance, and prevent future injuries. As men gain strength, it is important to balance the strength with flexibility, or injuries will occur. Yoga can provide the balance necessary for athletes to achieve peak performance levels.

Since Hatha Yoga can be challenging, it is best to start slow. A few stretches to warm up and cool down, during a normal workout session, is often all it takes for men to start realizing the benefits of Yoga. As they become more comfortable with the poses, they will be more likely to attend a full session Yoga class. Forward bend pose, downward facing dog, crescent lunge, warrior pose, and bow pose are nice poses to warm up and stretch the muscles, before beginning an intense workout. They can also be used to cool down and stretch at the end of the workout.

Many Yoga poses are excellent strength builders. Men can continue to build strength in any area of the body by practicing these poses on a regular basis. Boat pose strengthens the abdomen muscles, spine, arms, and hip flexors. Chair pose strengthens leg and thigh muscles. Thunder Bolt pose strengthens the legs, bottom, lower back, and shoulders. Modified plank pose strengthens the arms, chest, back, shoulders, and core muscles. All of these can be done without weights or any other equipment, and they work to stretch the muscles while building strength. Yoga truly can provide the best of both worlds for men – when they give it a chance.

© Copyright 2012 – 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 Teachers Can Prevent Injuries

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

yoga instructor courseBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Most Yoga teachers are certified instructors, who have gone through a lengthy training process, in order to be qualified to teach Yoga. If you have not already done so, you should look into Yoga teacher training courses to undergo the proper training to support your status as instructor. Typically, an advanced Yoga practitioner, who has years of experience, needs intensive training before being qualified to teach.  However, even qualified Yoga instructors might be in need of strategies to help reduce, or prevent, injuries in their classrooms.

When Yoga Injuries Occur

Practitioners are most at risk for injury -  when attempting a Yoga pose too challenging for their strength or health level, when doing a pose incorrectly, when not warmed up, or when distracted or unable to focus. As a result, Yoga teachers must remember that their primary job as instructors is not to perfect their own Yoga practice, but to keep their students focused, while they practice a variety of Yogic techniques safely.

Yoga Class Sizes

The size of of the class can impact an instructor’s ability to teach Yoga effectively. For example:  If a beginner Yoga class is too big, the instructor may be unable to give enough attention to each student, as needed. As a result – beginner and youth classes should be smaller, with intermediate and advanced classes, allowing more Yoga students per session to balance business needs. Similarly, participation in athletic schools of Yoga makes injuries more likely, so teachers in these schools will see fewer injuries in classes that have smaller student-to-instructor ratios.

Feedback

To prevent injuries from occurring, instructors need to be completely focused on teaching, especially paying attention to each student’s technique and alignment. Good correction tends to be in-depth and verbal, rather than physical, since students might lose their balance if you make the change for them or may be uncomfortable with physical correction.

What to Watch For

Yoga instructors should be on the lookout for certain behaviors to help prevent student injuries.

First – since Yoga injuries happen when students are distracted, teachers should be careful to guide their students in concentration techniques to encourage focus. Instructors should not hesitate to speak with a distracted student if the issue does not resolve quickly.

Second – since injuries also happen when Yoga practitioners push themselves beyond what they can handle, teachers should take care to emphasize a slow mastery of poses, and to demonstrate this themselves, with the free use of props. Some practitioners feel embarrassed using props or get frustrated, if they do not move on to more complicated poses quickly; therefore, Yoga instructors must take care to model the safest practice techniques themselves.

Third – instructors should watch for trembling or wobbling, especially in balancing poses, since this can indicate muscle fatigue or weakness. Encouraging students who are tired, or too fatigued, to rest will help them avoid injuries that result from incorrect Yoga techniques, improper alignment, or falling.

© Copyright 2012 – 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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A Sample Kids Yoga Class

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

yoga certificationBy Sangeetha Saran

Teaching yoga to a class of children can be a daunting task for any teacher- experienced or otherwise. Learning how to keep it fun is especially important, considering the short attention span of the average child. Kids yoga classes vary in age as well as length, so it is important that teachers tailor their activities with time frame and age capabilities in mind.

Beginning

Many yoga teachers like to keep their youth sessions traditional, starting out with a chant or OM. Others take that practice and tweak it by weaving a story or song into the beginning of class.

Do warm-up exercises for five to ten minutes. Keep it fun and light-hearted, and keep the kids moving. Encourage physical awareness by asking the students to push their bellies out while inhaling during breathing warm-ups, and make sure to keep the poses short.

Middle

Break the class up into segments. Longer classes can be broken down into 15 to 20-minute segments, and shorter classes into five-minute ones. In between segments, do a yoga game like freeze-pose, where children move as fast as they can in different poses until the teacher yells freeze, or downward-facing dog tunnel, where the students form a tunnel with their pose and one by one race underneath it.

The middle of the class is a great time to put together a balance clinic, which is an essential skill for young children to develop, and which works well with the standing and inversion postures.

Choose yoga poses that flow easily into each other. The typical yoga movement still works- salutation poses together, then standing postures like tree and warrior poses together, and then a segment of sitting poses. The progression should get kids from fun and more active poses to quieter, more restful poses.

Take advantage of the fact that many yoga poses are named for animals. Encourage children to come up with animal names for other yoga poses, as well.

End

The end of a yoga session is a very important time, for children as well as traditional yoga students. Transition into sitting and restful poses to quiet the energy and allow kids time to relax and focus.

Corpse is always a restful pose that teachers can use to finish the session. Combine the corpse pose with an OM or with a visualization exercise, where kids are asked to focus on their breathing and imagine themselves walking through a forest or meeting their favorite person.

© Copyright 2012 – 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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Improve Child Literacy with Yoga Stories

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

yoga certificationBy Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 

Teaching Yoga to children is a non-competitive method for enabling them to gather many positive life skills. One life skill that is essential for success throughout life is literacy. Literacy includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and a general appreciation of language. Children begin to work on literacy from the moment they are born, as they are introduced to the sounds of the language. As they grow, their ideas of literacy expand to books, songs, poems, and rhymes. The more children are exposed to rich language, creative stories, songs, and books, the more literate they become. Elementary teachers often focus the entire academic year around literacy activities. Yoga instructors can also help develop children’s literacy through stories.

While the concept of storytelling is rather simple, the concepts and skills children learn from a good story are simply priceless. Through stories, children learn valuable life lessons about virtues, feelings, emotions, conflicts, and resolutions. In a Yoga class, they can learn important Yogic principles, including respect for others, positive thinking, releasing negativity, and using your body to help you through emotional issues.

Children learn the basic components of a story through storytelling. They learn that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. They learn about characters, setting, plot, and conflict. These are all important literacy concepts. Yoga stories ignite the imaginations of children, exposing them to a variety of ideas and concepts. Stories show no discrimination, engaging kids with different backgrounds, prior knowledge, and learning levels.

Yoga teachers should use stories to help children learn and remember Yoga poses, and to teach important Yogic philosophies. Yoga stories can be interactive, where the students act out the poses as the story unfolds. Yoga instructors can also use props to add interest to the story, and to allow kids to use their imaginations, as they transform their bodies into various animals and objects.

The options, of learning through stories, are limitless. Yoga instructors can use books, or make up their own stories. They can allow the children to participate by adding bits and pieces to the story. Children also love when a story is familiar and take pride in being able to retell stories in their own words.

Children can make valuable connections when they realize that stories are a part of many different venues in life, including school, home, and even Yoga class. Share a story during your next Kids’ Yoga class and you might be surprised how well the children respond.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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

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