...Recently, a Yoga teacher contacted me with the problem of students who have closed their minds to the benefits of Pranayama. She teaches classes in her own Yoga studio and has a very warm relationship with all of her students.

To give you a little background on this teacher and her class: She teaches a Vinyasa style Hatha Yoga class with Ujjayi Pranayama synchronized into her flows.

She starts with a brief five to ten minute meditation before postures, but she has a five to ten minute Pranayama segment before the conclusion of her Vinyasa Yoga class.

One of her more radical students has decided to publicly challenge the value of Pranayama in her Yoga classes - stating that, You do not have to be a rocket scientist to learn how to breathe. Some of her students have decided to follow ...more

Five Reasons for Yoga Instructors to Teach Chair Yoga

... yoga class to the people where they are already congregating. One of the biggest markets for chair yoga is seniors, and seniors are easy to find already in a group together.

Just where to go will vary depending on where you live, but here are a few ideas to get you started thinking about this:

Retirement villages, retirement centers, assisted living centers, nursing homes

Adult day care

Seniors' groups at places of worship

Community centers/Parks and recreation programs

Fraternal organizations

Libraries

YMCA/YWCA

People suffering from particular ailments such as multiple sclerosis or arthritis tend to get together to help each other cope with the disease. All you have to do is find the organizations in your neighborhood that are addressing this need and approach them with the idea of helping the group practice chair yoga. Yoga has been shown to effectively ease the symptoms of many types of ailments, and yet few have anyplace to go where there is a yoga program appropriate for them.

With some brainstorming you can probably come up with a pretty good list appropriate for the circumstances in your community.

The beauty of approaching these groups is that you almost always are proposing to teach yoga to people that never imagined they'd be in a yoga class. That means you aren't competing with all the yoga teachers trying to capture classes out of the existing pool of practicing yogis and yoginis.

Just how you go about approaching these types of organiz...more

Awaken Your Diva Spirit Through Yoga!

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I have been teaching yoga to children for many years now. The one thing I have noticed as mothers bring their children to class is that they tend to congregate in the back of the room as if yoga wasnt something for them only for their children. It may be because they are unfamiliar with yoga, perhaps they feel insecure about exercising in front of a group, or possibly, they dont feel the fun time is meant for them. I always encourage the mothers to come forward sit with their children and experience the wonderful gift of yoga. As they do, amazing things start to happen. T...more

Caring For And Selecting A Machine Washable Yoga Mat

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The great thing about yoga is that you don't need much equipment. Basically a yoga mat, a towel, and some water and you're off to the races. Of course if you've been to a yoga class or two you'll notice that people spend a lot of money on this equipment if they truly love to do yoga. This is really not necessary. Just buy the best quality that you can afford and spend your time and effort focusing on the exercise. The main thing you want to consider a course is your yoga mat since this is the only thing between you and the hard surface you're working on. Many people choose machine washable yoga mats simply because they are very easy to take care of but they also tend to be the highest quality mats as well. But even given that information it still may be difficult to pick the perfect one for you. Why? Because this is going to be the one piece of equipment the associate with the practice of yoga. You'll become intimately familiar with this piece of equipment and hopefully you'll be spending a lot of time tog...more

Cl Diego Yoga