mario

... However, if a Yoga student has an existing knee ailment, or is prone to knee problems, the knee should stay directly above the ankle and not beyond it. This may be considered very cautious by some teachers, but Hatha Yoga teachers are supposed to teach restraint and safety during asana practice, at all times.

As a Yoga teacher, your form might be very good, but you will still need to correct all student alignment problems when they arise. In Warrior II, some of your students will need to be reminded to keep the back arm level. It feels normal to them when the back arm is lower. Tree Pose: Are some of your students are pressing the foot against the side of the knee on the balancing leg? The knee is not designed to take pressure from the side. This could cause premature wear over time. The foot should always be above, or below, the side of the knee - and never to the side.

Copyright 2006 Paul Jerard / Aura Publicationsmore

The Qualities of a Great Yoga Teacher

.... He regularly volunteers as a teacher at churches, synagogs, retirement homes, and works with cancer patients to help them harness the health-giving power of yoga to fight their disease. His studio in Mira mesa, CA Yoga and Meditation Center is a thriving yoga practice that he started a few years ago with no marketing budget. 99% of his student base was built upon word of mouth, and the other 1% came by way of walk-ins or the yellow pages. (Here is a great hint in your search for a teacher talk to that persons students and find out how enthusiastic they are about the training and guidance they are receiving.)

Besides his experience and credentials in traditional Hatha yoga, he has degrees in science and business, and was an executive for pharmaceutical company based in india. From this connection to the scientific community, he participated in scientific research studies of the affects of yoga on the body and immune system. This experience gives him a unique perspective, one based on both the traditional eastern philosophy of Ayurveda and Yoga, and the science based Western philosophy of show us proof and we will believe.

Admittedly, it may be very hard to find a teacher that happens to have this unique combination of experience, background, and credentials. And to begin studying yoga, you dont necessarily need someone as qualified as my teacher.

The important thing is that the yoga teacher has some verifiable training or certification that can vouch for the fact that they know both the theory and application of what they are teaching. Ideally, this will be someone that has valid certification as a teacher. Whether your teacher attended free classes...more

Yoga Instruction Certification

...your yoga instruction certification under your belt and your certification in your possession, you can begin teaching yoga. Your hard work will pay off as you enjoy a more free-form life and schedule. As you teach others how to manage their health with yoga, youll be grateful you went through the certification process to become a contributor to the general well-being of others.<...more

Practicing Yoga Can Help children Appreciate the Environment

...er exploration of why the flowers are important to the bees and why certain birds look for worms rather than eat birdseed.

It sounds so simplistic, but this really works. Take a child away from their electronic music/game gizmo for a while and place them in this state of rest and they will begin to appreciate their world. Yoga is the fulcrum by which children can receive exercise, relax, and learn to smell the flowers again. Dont we owe it to our children to give them this inner peace so that they can face the environmental challenges ahead and care enough about them to do whats right. We can also learn so much from the world around us. We can see positive character traits all around in nature patience, perseverance, trust, acceptance. Our world, our animals, our air, our treesthey are worth fighting for. Lets help give our kids another tool so that they can face the challenge. That tool is yoga!

# posted by 30315 : 11:03 PM