yoga certificationBy: Virginia Iversen 

The summertime is upon us and many active Yoga students may be cross training on the waves. Whether your students are avid board surfers or wind surfers, the inclusion of balancing Yoga asanas into your classes will help your students to improve their balance tremendously. Balancing Yoga asanas may not feel as vigorous as a series of Sun Salutations, but these postures are very challenging and rewarding in their own right. If you are teaching intermediate Yoga students, you may wish to seamlessly link the practice of balancing asanas together with Sun Salutations and Ujjayi pranayama.

* Warrior Three 

Warrior Three is a wonderful Yoga pose to include in your class in order to enhance your students’ sense of balance on the water. It will also strengthen your students’ legs and buttock muscles. Before practicing Warrior Three pose, have your students warm up with a series of Sun Salutations and Warrior One and Two poses. When they are ready, have your students come to Tadasana at the front of their Yoga mats.

Guide your students to feel the solidity of the earth beneath them. You may want to ask them to become aware of the distribution of weight between their feet. If the amount of weight is unequal, have them equalize the distribution of weight between both feet. You may wish to ask them to take a few deep, Yogic breaths in order to enhance their sense of presence and grounding. With their next exhale, guide your students to come forward and balance on their right foot as they raise their left leg to hip height with their left toes facing the floor.

Instruct your students to extend their arms in front of them and parallel to the mat with their palms pressed together in prayer position. Encourage them to hold this pose for five full breaths while maintaining their gaze or drishti on one spot in front of them on the floor. Maintaining a steady gaze will further develop their abilities to focus and concentrate. After five complete breaths, guide them to come out of the pose with their next exhale and back to Tadasana at the front of their Yoga mats. Repeat on the left hand side.

© Copyright 2012 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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