What Should a Hatha Yoga Teacher Know? – Part 4
Yogic Methodology: When thinking about Yogic Methodology, there are two kinds that come to mind. One is the application of Yoga techniques to daily life, and the other is Yoga teaching methodology. Competent Yoga teachers should thoroughly know both.
When considering the application of Hatha Yoga techniques to daily life, we know that Yoga will change a student's health for the best and improve his or her lifestyle, but it must be gradual. The mind, body, and spirit will not change much in a month, but a year of regular Hatha Yoga practice will yield some significant health changes.
How many Yoga students want an instant life change? Too many - and this is why we should not make unrealistic promises. It is up to the Yoga student to take action, come to classes regularly, and practice what you have taught in your Hatha Yoga classes. It is up to the Hatha Yoga teacher to fill the student's mind with knowledge and encouragement.
If it took decades of neglect for a new student to achieve poor health, how can he or she expect a little bit of Hatha Yoga practice to perform miracles? Every aspect of a student's health will be changed for the better by regular Yoga practice; but this is an "on demand" world, where some people are willing to risk the side-effects of a pill rather than take positive action toward better health.
The natural effects of regular exercise, proper breathing, better posture, improved diet, and self-discipline will result in a Yoga student who is less stressed, has fewer ailments, lives longer, and sleeps better.
When a Yoga student continues to make Hatha Yoga classes a part of his or her life for years - the true value of good health will be felt and seen. This same student will most likely practice Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga or other forms of Yoga "down the road." The benefits of Yoga, in any form, will cause a student to go deeper into his or her personal Yoga practice.
Yoga teaching methodology is how a teacher reaches out to the audience - through the use of teaching, communication, or observation methods.
Student corrections, in regard to Yoga techniques, should be straight to the point; but every Yoga teacher should take care to be tactful in the process. Yoga students come to you for guidance, so keep your ego "in check." A few "rogue" Yoga teachers, who are gruff and condescending, can ruin any student's desire to continue practicing Yoga.
What are the qualities of a good Yoga teacher? There are many, but being able to spot students in need, and still show compassion, is very important. Being able to teach any student is another strong trait. The realization that each Yoga student is uniquely different from each other, and cannot be "cloned," is a milestone in teaching.
Demonstrating and correcting Yoga techniques is only part of the job when teaching Yoga classes. A successful Yoga teacher must communicate with all students throughout the class, and keep the passion for Yoga going.
Copyright 2007 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
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When you teach a friend, co-worker, or family member, one Yoga technique, you have taken the first step toward becoming a Yoga teacher. This is the traditional way Yoga was initially taught before Hatha Yoga classes became such a "magnet" to the public. Large Yoga classes are not a bad thing, but it is easy to forget the way Yoga was taught for centuries.
Now, let's fast forward into the 21st century. Today, we have access to instant information. You can learn Yoga from television, the Internet, books, DVD's, MP3's, CD's and e-Books. It would seem anyone who wants to become a Yoga teacher has all the tools, at hand, to pursue his or her dream of teaching Yoga.
Should you read Yoga books to become a Yoga teacher? Yes, you will have to read and much more. Yoga books, DVD's, and CD's set a foundation of Yoga teaching knowledge, but there is much more to this, in order to become a Yoga teacher.
It is daily experience, gained through teaching Yoga students, which causes a Yoga teacher to further evolve beyond the initial teacher certification process. Practical knowledge and experience becomes a "treasure chest" for any Yoga teacher.
Teaching Yoga is a journey. If Yoga teachers sit still, without expanding their knowledge, they will become stagnant. Yoga books are great references, but Yoga teachers are works in progress. In fact, Yoga is a work in progress. Yoga changes as teachers make new and innovative discoveries along the way.
Hopefully, innovative Yoga teachers will record their discoveries for future generations. None of us has a life long enough to learn all that has been written over 5,000 years, but we learn everything that will help our students live a better quality life and more. Every student ailment is researched again and again.
Yoga teachers may eventually run into a situation where the right Yoga book is not available, or perhaps it was never written. Always remember that Yoga books are very valuable, but they are learning tools for the beginning of the journey, and good references, to come back to, when you put Yogic principles into practice.
So, when do you know if you are ready to become a Yoga teacher? If you have been practicing Yoga for years, reading Yoga information, and showing your friends Yoga techniques, you have already taken the first step.
There is no promise that the journey to become a Yoga teacher will be easy, but it is rewarding. Yoga has much history behind it, but many new chapters are being written at this moment, and many more will be written in the future. The public is always in need of competent and innovative Yoga teachers.
Copyright 2007 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Yoga Teacher Training India
India is often recognized as the center of the Yoga world. Certainly, there are more practitioners here than anywhere else. However, the practice of yoga has spread throughout the world. As it has spread, it has been changed and modified through experimentation and the application of creative approaches. In the West, yoga practice has taken on many different dimensions. Yoga purists may find it easy to be critical of many of the new ways and would not agree that these ways are “real” yoga. Be that as it may, the experiments in West have come up few very unique aspects, which have the potential to deeply impact your yoga practice and your relationships. One the these is “Couple Yoga”. It is one of the most successful techniques used by the Yoga teachers in USA and Europe.
Couple yoga is a method in which you team up to learn and practice yoga. Most often, the “couples” are what we understand by the traditional interpretation of the term – a man and a woman. In fact, most of the couples who are practicing couple yoga are men and women who are involved in a loving relationship. But, the term “couple” here can also mean two people. They can be friends of the same gender, a girlfriend or a buddy. They can be a parent and a child. What seems to be most important to a successful yoga “couple” is that they share a caring relationship.
In the practice of couple yoga, each person not only performs individual Asanas, but also performs many yoga exercises together with their partner. Some couple postures involve only minor physical contact, like holding your partner’s back as they bend. Others are such that they cannot be performed alone. A Pascimottanasana is an example in which the couple is seated on a mat with the bottoms of there feet together and their hands clasping their partner’s wrists. Together, they perform a double forward bend and help each other stretch leg, back and arm muscles.
One might ask, “what are the advantages of practicing couple yoga? There are many.
Couple yoga helps each person to perform the most difficult postures with greater ease.
Mutual practice creates a greater level of intimacy. It can take the relationship to a different level and helps develop deeper understanding of ourselves and our partner.
In our busy lives when we do not know how to create time for rejuvenation of our own individual health, sharing the practice of yoga with a loved one can become an important means of improving both personal health and the strength of a relationship.
Practicing couple yoga helps each partner to understand their own and their partner’s strengths and weaknesses and creates the opportunity for each to add to their own and their partner’s strengths and to help improve each other’s deficiencies.
Couple yoga can create a surge of energy in the relationship. It can improve the way you “dance” together. The supportive hand of a partner helps to unlock all those blocked energy areas in your body.
It is difficult for many people to perform postures like chakraasana alone. When you have a partner to give you a helping hand you can do it without any effort at all.
Doing yoga with your kids enhances their feelings of being safe. Your loving touch and protective presence will make them confident and will help in them to grow into healthy adults.
We all know that there are two basic forms of communication – verbal and non-verbal. Doing yoga with your partner will improve the quality of your non-verbal communication and this communication without words gives another dimension for the expression of emotions.
Doing yoga with your partner will help you become sensitive to when your partner is in need and aware of how to help. The combination of touch and caring adds to the healing capacity of your shared yoga relationship. Because partner yoga creates the space and the opportunity to hear each other beyond words, each will be able to hear “inner sounds” of the other. This heightened awareness adds to the feelings of peace and grounding often noted as one of the main benefits of traditional yoga.
Couple yoga creates a feeling of mutual harmony and helps each partner stay in touch with the other. It is one of the best ways to sustain health on physical, emotional and spirit to spirit levels..
The yoga couple will be more flexible and together they will have more energy.
One of the most important advantages of couple yoga is the atmosphere it creates. Humor and laughter are not characteristics of traditional yoga. They are common in couple yoga. They contribute to an atmosphere of lightness, which is one of the best signs of health and happiness.
Couple yoga is not for everyone.
Many people benefit from their daily, solitary practice of yoga or from the yoga classes they attend with others. Many need the individual time as much as they need the benefits they derive from yoga practice. Some people are not comfortable with physical touch or with performing asanas with others watching.
For those who are beginning a new relationship or have been in a comfortable and caring relationship they would like to take to another level or for people, who are looking for a unique and mutually beneficial way to be with their children, couple yoga can open the door to wonderful new relationships.
Partner or couple yoga is about health and happiness and caring.
Find a Great Yoga Teacher: 5 Questions You Must Ask to Find a Qualified Yoga Teacher
Yoga provides great stress relief and other health benefits. The Mayo Clinic recommends yoga for stress management and relaxation, and medical journal articles have proven yoga's effectiveness in treating serious medical conditions such as arthritis, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression and multiple sclerosis.
How do you make sure that you get the great stress relief and other benefits of yoga? Easy! Ask any yoga teacher the questions listed below. If the teacher's answers closely match the ideal answers, you have found a great teacher.
QUESTION 1: DO YOU PRACTICE YOGA NOW?
IDEAL ANSWER 1: YES, I PRACTICE YOGA EVERY DAY.
If you wanted to learn to ride a bicycle, would you take lessons from someone who wrote a book about bicycles but had never actually ridden a bike? Only if you wanted to find the quickest way to fall off the bicycle! No amount of reading or theoretical knowledge will enable you to understand how to ride a bicycle. Sooner or later you have to get on the bike. The same is true of yoga. Only someone who is currently practicing yoga can safely and effectively teach you how to do yoga.
QUESTION 2: ARE YOU CURRENTLY TAKING LESSONS WITH A YOGA TEACHER?
IDEAL ANSWER: YES, I STUDY WITH A QUALIFIED TEACHER IN A RECOGNIZED YOGA TEACHING STYLE.
Even your yoga teacher needs a yoga teacher. Why? Yoga is a process, and there is always more to learn. Everyone learns more about yoga by getting feedback from a great teacher. You want your yoga teacher to be aware of the latest discoveries on how to teach yoga. The best way for your teacher to do this is to take lessons with another yoga teacher.
QUESTION 3: WHAT TYPE OF YOGA DO YOU TEACH, AND HOW DID THAT STYLE OF TEACHING YOGA DEVELOP?
IDEAL ANSWER: I TEACH "Y" STYLE OF YOGA WHICH HAS EXISTED FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS.
If a yoga teaching style has existed for at least 10 years, the teachers in that system know the best ways to teach and the pitfalls to be avoided. In addition, if a situation comes up that your teacher does not know how to handle, your teacher will be able to ask a more experienced teacher in that teaching style for advice.
QUESTION 4: WHAT TYPE OF YOGA TEACHER TRAINING HAVE YOU HAD?
IDEAL ANSWER: I HAVE COMPLETED (OR AM CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN) A 500 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM WHICH INCLUDES CLASSES, EXAMS, AND APPRENTICE TEACHING.
Suppose a pipe burst in your house and sent a fountain of water gushing through your kitchen. Uh-oh, you need a plumber! There are two plumbers in your neighborhood: Plumber Smith and Plumber Jones. Plumber Smith used to be an electrician but took a one weekend plumber certification course and is now a plumber. Plumber Jones enrolled in a year long plumbing certification course at a special plumber training school, passed the plumbing certification exam, and apprenticed for one year under a master plumber. Which plumber would you choose?
Since yoga can have an enormous impact on your health, shouldn't you take as much care in choosing a yoga teacher as you would in choosing a plumber? Your yoga teacher should be enrolled in or have completed a yoga teacher training course that lasts at least one year, and includes classes on how to do yoga, classes on how to teach yoga, apprentice teaching under a certified and experienced teacher, and certification exams.
One of the most comprehensive yoga teacher training programs in existence is the Iyengar Yoga Teacher Certification Program. If you are new to yoga, or suffer from a disease or injury, I strongly recommend that you seek out a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher.
QUESTION 5: DOES YOUR YOGA TEACHER HAVE A KIND AND EMPATHETIC HEART?
IDEAL ANSWER: YES.
Only you can determine if the answer to this question is yes.
A kind yoga teacher really cares about his or her students.
This doesn't necessarily mean that a teacher is quiet or a pushover. A teacher may speak loudly because your attention has wandered off and he or she is trying to get your attention back. A kind yoga teacher will carefully watch what you are doing, and guide you into doing yoga more correctly. Find a great yoga teacher, follow his or her instructions, and the health and stress relief benefits of yoga will be yours!