Yoga teaches its practitioners how to
reflect their inner calm onto the outside world. Unfortunately, as of late,
many yoga studios have allowed the outside world to affect their practice. The
culture and practice of yoga has existed for centuries as a method of achieving
balance and harmony with one's body. However, in many studios around the world, yoga is being twisted into a way to sculpt abs and burn fat.
While those are benefits of yoga, they are merely side effects, and were not originally what a guru or student aimed to accomplish.
Fast, aerobic yoga in a hot room has
its place, but slow flow yoga forms the core of yogic methodology and teaches vital concepts
that a student might miss if he or she only participates in classes
designed around burning calories. Slow flow yoga is also safer and easier for
children and the elderly, and develops the mindfulness and meaningfulness of
breath that is so crucial for new students.
Yoga is one of the safest forms of
exercise in the world. However, just as with any other exercise, performing
poses improperly can lead to injury. Slow flow yoga will allow students to
focus on proper form and can decrease the chance of harm. Older students can
also do it. Many seniors desperately need the heart, lung, and muscle
development that yoga can bestow and fortify, and slow flowing yoga sequences
allow them an avenue to gain those benefits.
Many new pupils will have difficulty
with the deep and coordinated breathing that is so crucial to proper yoga. Fast
yoga meant to flatten stomachs is a great way for improper breathing methods to
become ingrained in new students. It encourages quick and unstable breathing.
Conversely, slow flow yoga will keep the trainee's breath in their body and
will allow them to experience the harmony of breath, body, and mind.
Without this unity, yoga becomes just another form of
exercise. With slow flow yoga, students learn and teachers reconnect with what
makes yoga such a healthful, stable, and singular practice.
The technological revolution of the twenty-first century has brought about profound changes to every aspect of our day to day lives, and education has not been spared. Online yoga teacher courses vary widely in their formality, accreditation and cost, but one thing is certain: They can be a huge help in these tough economic times. Online courses can provide convenience, individualized pacing and often a reduced cost that is simply unparalleled by any brick and mortar options. Even the less obvious benefits do have an economic effect. A complete lack of commute and the ability to take yoga courses on your own schedule, making it much easier to work, are a huge boon.
There are many different kinds of online courses that can meet different individual needs. At the barest level, there are lectures posted with no other component. These are sometimes free and are excellent for personal enrichment or as an introduction to a topic, but they provide no accreditation of any kind. They are also likely not ideal to learn a skill in-depth, as there are no practice exercises or measures for progress. Inspired by the open-source movement, some big name universities, such as MIT, do release course materials in addition to lectures. At this stage, these are still largely in this category. As exciting as this development may be, these materials often don’t contain the tools for learning with the reward of a credential, and they certainly don’t provide accreditation.
There are courses available that feature no formal accreditation from recognized academic institutions, but nonetheless do provide a certificate of completion. These are sometimes free and contain many practice exercises and opportunities to expand the teaching concepts. These are great for learning marketable skills, though the completion of the course itself is not guaranteed to be marketable.
Another type of online course is a natural evolution of Yoga correspondence learning. These typically do cost money, though at a reduced rate, and are accredited by official Yoga institutions. They are offered by yoga schools that deal only online and by brick and mortar schools who are expanding their reach. These courses provide all the advantages of any other yoga course with a real resume building credential at a reduced cost and can fit into your schedule.
Online yoga teacher training expands our opportunities exponentially by providing the flexibility that so many of us need by lowering costs and also by leveraging the power of the Internet.
The word
“diligence” is often used to mean persistent hard work that is focused on
accomplishing a specific goal. An example of diligence is the persistent effort
required to build a house or master a new skill, such as playing the piano.
According to several online dictionaries, diligence is defined as the
consistent effort to accomplish one’s goals, through the persistent application
of one’s physical or mental abilities and skills. Another slightly different
definition of diligence is the application of painstaking effort and attention
to detail in pursuing one’s chosen goals or pursuits.
This
definition of diligence is very close to the term, “skillful means.”
According to some teachings, it is important to fine-tune one’s skills
and aptitudes, in order to accomplish specific goals and endeavors in an
efficient and successful manner. Inherent in this definition of diligence is
the antithesis of negligence or carelessness. To pursue your goals or dreams in
a haphazard, sloppy or negligent manner is the exact opposite of
diligence!
As a Yoga
instructor, negligence or sloppiness in your teaching would not serve either
you or your students very well. Interestingly, the Latin word for
diligence is “diligo.” Diligo essentially means to work or act with love. When
I came across this translation of diligo, a light bulb went off in my mind. Of
course, if love underlies all that we do, we are much more likely to pursue our
goals with careful attention, patience and perseverance. All of
the qualities that we associate with the term diligence are both tempered and
nurtured by a loving intention.
Additionally,
by continually honing your teaching skills, you will continue to learn and grow
in your own personal practice, as well as in your abilities as a Yoga teacher.
With dedication, time and experience, your ability to guide your students
through a full Yoga practice will become second nature to you. In terms of
teaching classes that are challenging, safe and uplifting, instructing your
students with love will quite naturally lead you to guiding your students
through a comprehensive Yoga practice in a loving, kind, focused, and skillful
way.
If you
are a newly certified Yoga teacher, remember that it takes time to fine-tune
your teaching methods and to learn how to fluidly modify postures for each one
of your students, when necessary. Remember to show yourself the same level of
love, kindness and patience that you give to your students. If you
approach your growth and development as a Yoga teacher in diligent way, with an
underlying focus on serving your students with love and skill, your students
will be positively impacted by the care and attention that you take when you
are teaching a class.
On the
other hand, imagine for a moment the unease you would create in your students
if you arrive a few minutes late to teach a class, and then proceed to guide
your students through a Yoga practice in a distracted and haphazard
fashion! Alternately, the positive impact that you can have on your
students by embodying the inner virtuous states, which are recommended by
spiritual teachers from many different traditions, is an often-overlooked
aspect of teaching Yoga. When you approach teaching a Yoga class with
dedication, love and a keen eye to detail, your students will quite naturally
begin to approach their own practice with the same level of diligent effort.
By
continually fostering a diligent attitude during your classes, your
assiduous pursuit of excellence will naturally rub off on your students. By
maintaining keen attention to detail, while continually striving to teach your
Yoga classes in a skillful and loving manner, you will teach your students how
to pursue their own chosen goals in a diligent manner outside the context of a
Yoga class. This is one of the many ways that you as a teacher, and the
practice of Yoga itself, can help to transform a student’s life, both on and
off the mat.
Virginia
Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty
years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she specializes in writing
customized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting Yoga and
health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
In a few
days, the annual celebration of Valentine's Day will be in full swing. Almost
every store is displaying romantic gift items, imported chocolates, iridescent
Valentine's Day cards, and even occasionally large teddy bears with hearts
decoratively hung around their necks. If you are in a relationship that is
mutually satisfying and engaging, these romantic gift items will be appealing
and fanciful. However, if you have just left a relationship or you have
lost somebody you love, these romantic gifts may generate more pain than
happiness.
Much of
the time, we are focused on securing our love from the outside. From the time
most of us are very young, we are taught that securing an idyllic romantic
relationship should be at the top of our priority list. Unfortunately, this
unrelenting focus on securing love outside of us tends to create dependency on
other people. Of course, when the people to whom we are attached and dependent
on for love and support love us in turn, this external dependency is not quite
as problematic as when a relationship is not as mutual or beneficial as we
would like.
In
addition, when we continually strive and struggle to secure another person's
love, we often forget to rest in the spaciousness and kindness of own heart. As
a certified Yoga teacher, you have the ability and the opportunity to help your
students to reconnect with the love in their own hearts. One of the most effective
physical ways of supporting your students in the process of connecting with the
love in their own hearts is to guide them through the practice of a series of
supported back bending postures. Back bending Yoga postures help to release
constriction and tension throughout the front of the chest area, which often
becomes closed down when we experience heartbreak and disappointment.
If you
are regularly teaching Yoga classes during the month of February, you may want
to creatively sequence your classes to focus on expanding your students'
self-love. When your students get in touch with the love in their own hearts,
their dependency on romantic relationships will be lessened. By weaving in a
number of supported back bending postures into your Yoga classes, you will help
your students to release the constriction around the heart and throat chakras,
as they replenish their prana or vital life force energy.
Supported
Reclining Goddess Pose is a wonderfully restorative pose that easily lends
itself to the generation of self-love and is very approachable for most levels
of Yoga students. This expanding back bending posture is usually practiced
towards the end of a Yoga class and either in lieu of, or just prior to, the
practice of Shavasana. Supported Reclining Goddess Pose is optimally practiced
with a number of props. If you are planning on using props during your class,
it is advisable to have your students place the props near their Yoga mats at
the beginning of class, so the flow of the class is not disrupted when you
guide them into supported postures.
Your
students will benefit most optimally from the practice of Supported Reclining
Goddess Pose when their legs are supported by rolled blankets or Yoga bolsters
and their thoracic spine is supported by a small rolled blanket, placed just
under the shoulder blades. It is also lovely to offer your students an eye
pillow to place over their eyes for deeper rest and relaxation. As your
students rest in this supported back bending Yoga posture, you may wish to
gently lead them in the practice of offering loving kindness to those around
them. The practice of offering love and kindness to others helps to open the
heart, which will increase their awareness of the love that resides in their
own being at all times.
Virginia
Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty
years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an
academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related
writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
As most are aware, practicing yoga regularly contributes to
the body’s well being. Yoga can strengthen, but can also inform of weakness; if
the encounter is with back or neck pain, yogic methods can be beneficial in creating a healthy spine.
Common Complaints
Soreness, stiffness, and achiness, are misalignment signals. The body can
easily become imbalanced by everyday factors. Some are: stress, repetitive
motion (in the workplace or in a sport), carrying a purse on the same arm,
sitting improperly in a chair, poor mattress and pillow, and bad shoes (heels
as well as flip-flops).
Serious Complaints
Neck and back pain can be results of true injury or illness. Whiplash,
arthritis, nerve degeneration, herniated discs, and sciatica are some causes of
spinal discomfort and/or disability. As with most ailments, proper diet and
exercise can relieve many symptoms and promote healing. Exercise, specifically
applicable to spinal complaints, would be stretching and yoga.
Yoga Application
The vertebral column is categorized into three sections. The lower portion of
the back is called the Lumbar. The middle is identified as the thoracic, and
the upper, the neck, is the cervical region. Professionals will refer to discs
as C2 (cervical 2) or L3 (lumbar 3), for example, when discussing specific
backbones. As an instructor and one who practices yoga, it is important to
choose poses that emphasize each spinal area.
Poses for the Spine
The Hero Pose (Virasana) is a great posture for aligning the upper back.
Kneeling, reaching the torso up, out—pressing the shoulder-blades back.
Breathing in deeply, chin up, exhaling, holding the proud posture. Another
advantageous position is the Cow Face Pose.
The Half-Moon Pose (Ardha-Chandrasana) is super for stretching the middle back.
Lie face down, straight legs, tops of feet flat touching floor, heels touching
each other. Palms at side of chest. The move pushes with arms to lift the chest
off the ground, head back, chin up, inhaling, and holding. Exhale, slowly
releasing chest back to floor.
The Child’s Pose is a perfect lower back stretcher. Kneeling, buttocks down,
head down, arms straight, extended, palms on floor. Reaching fingertips way out
in front adds to the stretch.
Conclusion
There are virtually hundreds of poses that could benefit spinal relief, promote
healing, and strengthen the backbone. Maintaining a steady, yoga training is the
key to overall optimum health.
