In the West, there was a time when practicing Yoga was kept secret. When I was a child, it was considered, ?a bit strange.? During the 50?s and 60?s, Yoga practice was associated with being part of counter culture movements, such as living the life of ?beatniks? or ?hippies.? Interestingly, I was told by a school teacher that I would some day grow up to be a beatnik.
Well, time has passed and Yoga has ?come out of the closet? in a giant wave. Yes, Yoga has gone ?Global.? The world society, as a whole, has been affected positively by Yoga classes and Yoga teachers.
Let?s look at some of the ways Yoga teachers, Yoga classes, and the many styles of Yoga have gently changed the world today. There is much more to Yoga than ?meets the eye,? at first glance. In fact, there is a Yoga style for every need, purpose, and personality.
When you consider the number of Yoga students, who want to change their lives on the physical level, union by physical mastery (Hatha Yoga) is easy for most students to grasp.
This is why you are seeing so many people gravitate toward Hatha Yoga, but I predict that Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Raja Yoga will become more popular in the near future. So, there is much more to Yoga, beyond exercises; but let?s continue with the benefits Yoga teachers make available in a typical Hatha Yoga style
Pranayama, or breathing techniques, are commonly taught in many Yoga classes. Yoga students learn to take control of their lives and regulate their health, just by breathing correctly. This is a form of preventative medicine, when you consider proper breathing as a practical deterrent to panic attacks, high blood pressure, chest pains, and many more stress-related ailments.
Yoga and Ayurvedic medicine address dietary needs based upon your ?dosha? or constitution. If a Yoga student wants to pursue this subject further, he or she can take a dosha test and develop a sensible, practical, and moderate Ayurvedic diet.
Kriyas or Shatkarmas are traditional Yogic cleansing techniques for detoxifying the body. Detoxification is needed more than ever - with so many unnatural foods available. At the very least, students of Yoga should be consuming eight glasses of quality water per day.
? Copyright 2006 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
Showing posts with label Physical Mastery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Physical Mastery. Show all posts
February 23, 2009
Restorative Yoga for Stress Management
We now know that stress contributes to a multitude of ailments, such as: headaches, backaches, high blood pressure, stomach disorders, lowered immunity, muscular tension, depression, heart attack, and much more. Stress is definitely a ?killer? and the source of many health problems.
In fact, stress will prevent and distract your body from healing itself. While you are feeling ?stressed out?, your body and mind make dealing with stress the number one priority. Your mind and body need to cope with regular maintenance and overall health, on a daily basis, by putting stress on the back burner.
Are you looking for a way to release stress, tension, and pain from your body? Are you tired all the time and feel the need to rest, but you know you should get some exercise? How can you do both? The answer is to start regularly attending Restorative Yoga classes, and reap the rewards of healing without a tremendous amount of effort.
There are many styles of Yoga to choose from. In India, there are nine main styles of Yoga, and Hatha Yoga is just one of them. Hatha Yoga, ?the union of physical mastery,? and its many sub-types, are the most popular in the West.
Among the many Hatha styles of Yoga, are traditional and contemporary types of Yoga. Restorative Yoga is classified as a contemporary type of Hatha Yoga. Some might also say that Restorative Yoga is an evolutionary form of Hatha Yoga. The use of props, ?sinking into? postures, safety factors, and attention to the internal body, is very rewarding.
This is not usually a class for the vigorous Yoga practitioners who want to move, push, and sometimes strain, in a Yoga posture. Unfortunately, straining will cause long-lasting injuries. Learning Yoga does not have to be a strain or struggle. Restorative Yoga usually attracts a person who is interested in healing his or her body, in the process of attending a Yoga class.
If you have ailments, feel nervous, or are attending your first Restorative Yoga class, you should consult with your Yoga teacher, before class time. Your Yoga teacher may be able to advise you in regard to techniques that will alleviate stress or pain. You can expect that your Yoga teacher will be compassionate and modifications to postures will be taught.
Your body and mind will feel the benefits of relaxing into a Yoga posture. As a result, you be able to balance your life, and feel the benefits of integrating good posture, stillness, movement, relaxation, proper breathing, and meditation.
Every one of these aspects is covered within a typical Restorative Yoga class. So, you can expect to start healing your body and mind during your first Yoga class. You will also continue to keep your priorities in order, while keeping worry, stress, depression, and fatigue on the ?back burner.?
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
In fact, stress will prevent and distract your body from healing itself. While you are feeling ?stressed out?, your body and mind make dealing with stress the number one priority. Your mind and body need to cope with regular maintenance and overall health, on a daily basis, by putting stress on the back burner.
Are you looking for a way to release stress, tension, and pain from your body? Are you tired all the time and feel the need to rest, but you know you should get some exercise? How can you do both? The answer is to start regularly attending Restorative Yoga classes, and reap the rewards of healing without a tremendous amount of effort.
There are many styles of Yoga to choose from. In India, there are nine main styles of Yoga, and Hatha Yoga is just one of them. Hatha Yoga, ?the union of physical mastery,? and its many sub-types, are the most popular in the West.
Among the many Hatha styles of Yoga, are traditional and contemporary types of Yoga. Restorative Yoga is classified as a contemporary type of Hatha Yoga. Some might also say that Restorative Yoga is an evolutionary form of Hatha Yoga. The use of props, ?sinking into? postures, safety factors, and attention to the internal body, is very rewarding.
This is not usually a class for the vigorous Yoga practitioners who want to move, push, and sometimes strain, in a Yoga posture. Unfortunately, straining will cause long-lasting injuries. Learning Yoga does not have to be a strain or struggle. Restorative Yoga usually attracts a person who is interested in healing his or her body, in the process of attending a Yoga class.
If you have ailments, feel nervous, or are attending your first Restorative Yoga class, you should consult with your Yoga teacher, before class time. Your Yoga teacher may be able to advise you in regard to techniques that will alleviate stress or pain. You can expect that your Yoga teacher will be compassionate and modifications to postures will be taught.
Your body and mind will feel the benefits of relaxing into a Yoga posture. As a result, you be able to balance your life, and feel the benefits of integrating good posture, stillness, movement, relaxation, proper breathing, and meditation.
Every one of these aspects is covered within a typical Restorative Yoga class. So, you can expect to start healing your body and mind during your first Yoga class. You will also continue to keep your priorities in order, while keeping worry, stress, depression, and fatigue on the ?back burner.?
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
Universal Laws of Yoga - Part 3
Why do some religious fundamentalists fear Yoga?
For many non-practitioners of Yoga, it is Intolerance for something they do not understand. This seems harmless at first, but cries of witchcraft are never a good omen. However, every method of healing has its critics.
Yoga has also been accused of being a ?launching point? to export Hinduism. This is very interesting, considering the large numbers of Yoga practitioners who are not Hindus. Some Yogis and Yoginis do convert to Hinduism, but the ?calling? had to come from within themselves. Within North America, most Yoga teachers are not Hindus at all and I have yet to witness religious conversion in progress.
For fundamentalist Hindus that believe Yoga and Hinduism cannot be separate, sorry to break the news, but it has already happened. Yoga was interpreted in many ways by a variety of cultures and partial facets of Yoga have grown independently. Some Hatha Yoga styles do not even practice meditation.
Yoga students outside India, pick and choose what they want to learn from Yoga. At this time, physical mastery seems to be most popular. This is why Yoga teachers outside India focus primarily on physical health. Many western students think only of Hatha Yoga, when they hear the word ?Yoga.?
This is why Yoga cannot really be controlled, regulated, or patented. How do you control people?s thoughts, actions, physical practice, prayers, meditation, or songs? The whole concept of controlling Yoga is ludicrous.
Fundamentalists of different religions work together, quite by accident, to divide the world?s religions into mobs of intolerance. Their real fear is loss of control. So they speak in ?absolutes.? For example: ?You will burn in hell, if you do not, do as I say? and ?All of the non-believers are going to Hell.?
The real problem with Yoga, for the fundamentalist of any religion, is that it can be practiced by anyone from any religion. Yoga is not exclusive: The laws are universal and interchangeable with every religion. This allows a Yoga practitioner to work independently on his or her spiritual health and work toward enlightenment.
What is wrong with working toward the common good? The idea of working toward enlightenment and self-perfection are considered blasphemy to some. However, can you imagine a world where men and women did not try to improve themselves?
The objectives of Yoga are complete heath, self-improvement, self realization, and tranquility. With these benefits acquired any Yoga practitioner can help others and work for the common good.
? Copyright 2006 by Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
For many non-practitioners of Yoga, it is Intolerance for something they do not understand. This seems harmless at first, but cries of witchcraft are never a good omen. However, every method of healing has its critics.
Yoga has also been accused of being a ?launching point? to export Hinduism. This is very interesting, considering the large numbers of Yoga practitioners who are not Hindus. Some Yogis and Yoginis do convert to Hinduism, but the ?calling? had to come from within themselves. Within North America, most Yoga teachers are not Hindus at all and I have yet to witness religious conversion in progress.
For fundamentalist Hindus that believe Yoga and Hinduism cannot be separate, sorry to break the news, but it has already happened. Yoga was interpreted in many ways by a variety of cultures and partial facets of Yoga have grown independently. Some Hatha Yoga styles do not even practice meditation.
Yoga students outside India, pick and choose what they want to learn from Yoga. At this time, physical mastery seems to be most popular. This is why Yoga teachers outside India focus primarily on physical health. Many western students think only of Hatha Yoga, when they hear the word ?Yoga.?
This is why Yoga cannot really be controlled, regulated, or patented. How do you control people?s thoughts, actions, physical practice, prayers, meditation, or songs? The whole concept of controlling Yoga is ludicrous.
Fundamentalists of different religions work together, quite by accident, to divide the world?s religions into mobs of intolerance. Their real fear is loss of control. So they speak in ?absolutes.? For example: ?You will burn in hell, if you do not, do as I say? and ?All of the non-believers are going to Hell.?
The real problem with Yoga, for the fundamentalist of any religion, is that it can be practiced by anyone from any religion. Yoga is not exclusive: The laws are universal and interchangeable with every religion. This allows a Yoga practitioner to work independently on his or her spiritual health and work toward enlightenment.
What is wrong with working toward the common good? The idea of working toward enlightenment and self-perfection are considered blasphemy to some. However, can you imagine a world where men and women did not try to improve themselves?
The objectives of Yoga are complete heath, self-improvement, self realization, and tranquility. With these benefits acquired any Yoga practitioner can help others and work for the common good.
? Copyright 2006 by Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
Universal Laws of Yoga - Part 1
What is Yoga? Why do some religious fundamentalists fear Yoga? What is the objective of Yoga? These questions about the true purpose of Yoga always arise, but the answers are not quite clear. So, let?s get to the heart of the matter.
Yoga is many things and there are many forms of Yoga. For example: Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of devotion) is commonly practiced in India, but is rarely practiced in the West. The most popular form of Yoga in the West is Hatha Yoga (Yoga of physical mastery).
It is understandable that Hatha Yoga and its many sub-styles would take hold in the West, especially on the American continents. Physical mastery, in and of itself, is much easier to absorb than over 5,000 years of Indian culture. The physical aspect of Yoga is the easiest to master, but the study of Yoga is a long journey.
Bhakti Yoga, as mentioned earlier, is the Yoga of Devotion and more emphasis is placed on spiritual and mental health. Religious practices, of any faith, will be much more pronounced within a group of Bhakti Yoga practitioners.
To put it simply, Yoga is the union of mind, body, and spirit for complete health. There are far more benefits to be realized through the constant practice of Hatha Yoga, or any other kind of Yoga, but this is the foundation of ?unity.? Physical mastery is constructive and, at the very least, keeps us healthy.
Please bear in mind that all forms of Yoga may overlap in aspects of complete and whole health, but the emphasis within each style will be different. For example: In a Hatha Yoga class, physical, mental, and spiritual mastery may be practiced. The aspects taught depend on the curriculum, the exact style of Hatha Yoga, and the Yoga teacher.
Once a Yoga practitioner embarks on the path of unity, self realization and tranquility are acquired. The Yogic path is filled with many steps before self realization, tranquility, and oneness with God. The following are some of the steps we should take toward self-improvement.
Purify your inner being by freeing yourself from vanity, intolerance, anger, attachment to material, and the ego. We are only human and self-perfection is a difficult road to travel, but we must keep going one step at a time. What do we do when we make a mistake or sin? We pick ourselves up, learn from our mistakes, and amend our behavior.
? Copyright 2006 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
Yoga is many things and there are many forms of Yoga. For example: Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of devotion) is commonly practiced in India, but is rarely practiced in the West. The most popular form of Yoga in the West is Hatha Yoga (Yoga of physical mastery).
It is understandable that Hatha Yoga and its many sub-styles would take hold in the West, especially on the American continents. Physical mastery, in and of itself, is much easier to absorb than over 5,000 years of Indian culture. The physical aspect of Yoga is the easiest to master, but the study of Yoga is a long journey.
Bhakti Yoga, as mentioned earlier, is the Yoga of Devotion and more emphasis is placed on spiritual and mental health. Religious practices, of any faith, will be much more pronounced within a group of Bhakti Yoga practitioners.
To put it simply, Yoga is the union of mind, body, and spirit for complete health. There are far more benefits to be realized through the constant practice of Hatha Yoga, or any other kind of Yoga, but this is the foundation of ?unity.? Physical mastery is constructive and, at the very least, keeps us healthy.
Please bear in mind that all forms of Yoga may overlap in aspects of complete and whole health, but the emphasis within each style will be different. For example: In a Hatha Yoga class, physical, mental, and spiritual mastery may be practiced. The aspects taught depend on the curriculum, the exact style of Hatha Yoga, and the Yoga teacher.
Once a Yoga practitioner embarks on the path of unity, self realization and tranquility are acquired. The Yogic path is filled with many steps before self realization, tranquility, and oneness with God. The following are some of the steps we should take toward self-improvement.
Purify your inner being by freeing yourself from vanity, intolerance, anger, attachment to material, and the ego. We are only human and self-perfection is a difficult road to travel, but we must keep going one step at a time. What do we do when we make a mistake or sin? We pick ourselves up, learn from our mistakes, and amend our behavior.
? Copyright 2006 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
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