...How much of the spiritual aspect of Yoga should be incorporated into Yoga teacher training? Swami Vishnu Devananda, founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, believed that spiritual and physical aspects were the two most important, in relation to Hatha Yoga.

Yet, most Hatha Yoga teacher training courses offer only a small taste of the Vedas, Upanishads, or Yoga Sutras. In a 200-hour Yoga teacher training course, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, by Swami Svatmarama, (which was written in the 15th century), might be skimmed over or not mentioned at all.

Since its beginning, approximately 5,000 years ago, Yoga has been attached to Hinduism. (Hinduism is the oldest of todays major religions.) The many forms of Yoga were created for mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health.

Today, Yoga has many more branches, and many of the branches of Hatha Yoga, outs...more

Meditation through Yoga

...or health club. It is crucial to perform the postures correctly. A certified yoga instructor will help you to properly align your body and point out any areas for improvement. This feedback is essential so that you can receive the maximum benefits of yoga. An instructor can also talk you through meditation helping you to clear your mind and thus reduce your stress.

The basics of yoga cover four steps: breathing, meditation, posture, and relaxation. Lets focus on the meditation aspect of yoga. The purpose of meditation is to free your mind of worries. You literally want to wipe your mind slate clean. This can prove to be difficult as thoughts about the dry cleaning you need to pick up or the work report you need to finish race around your mind. A yoga instructor or audio tape can lead you through the steps to achieving deep meditation. They will lead you through focusing on the present.

When you focus on the present you automatically release any tensions that come from activities you need to do or things you are worried about from the past. Meditation allows you to look into yourself. Your mind becomes clear as stress and tension are swept away. This is sometimes referred to as ...more

Do Yoga Teachers Struggle for Success?

...m the prospective Yoga teacher interns personality, when he or she was a Yoga student.

Yet, what kind of a Yoga teacher training program avoids teaching the spiritual aspect of abundance and the Law of Karma? How could a Yoga teacher be unfamiliar with the Law of Karma?

If you train Yoga teacher interns to believe that Yoga is an exercise program, with a couple dozen asanas, and a quick certification scheme, then they understand nothing about the spiritual, mental, and emotional benefits of Yoga.

In this case, a Yoga teacher, who is trained to instruct the public, in this way, could not even help him/ or herself. How could this person be qualified to help his or her Yoga students? In a quick Yoga certification program, you do not have to le...more

Yoga For The Elderly

...se recommendations further suggest that combinations of moderate and vigorous exercise can be used to meet the requirements and that bouts of moderate-intensity exercise lasting a minimum of 10 minutes can be accumulated to achieve the 30 minute minimum. Yoga is a safe, inexpensive, non-impact form of exercise that improves cardiovascular health.

Breathing

Yoga practice, which involves rhythmic stretching movements and breathing, may help improve and stabilize mood. Spend a few moments of quiet here, listening to your breathing and clearing your mind. Thus, a 30 min program of yogic stretch and breathing exercises which is simple to learn and which can be practised even by the elderly had a markedly 'invigorating' effect on perceptions of both mental and physical energy and increased high positive mood....more