Sample Class: Wall Yoga
Most yoga instructors know how to use straps and blocks to guide students through challenging poses or to teach alignment. Some instructors, however, may not have access to props or, if they do, there may not be enough to go around. There is one piece of “equipment,” however, that often gets underused, and that’s the wall.
Wall Yoga Details
Format: yoga
Total Time: approximately 60 minutes
Equipment needed: mats
MUSIC: not applicable
Mind-Body Research Update
Recently, as co-chair of a medical conference on the metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia, I seized the chance to slip a short discussion of yoga-based lifestyle research into a long day of clinical trial expositions that mostly focused on lipid-lowering drug studies. I felt somewhat meek describing a number of relatively small studies, all done on small budgets, while most clinical trials being discussed were 50- to 200-million-dollar studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry or the National Institutes of Health [NIH].
The Empowerment Series: Lesson One, Staying Grounded
The benefits of yoga go beyond more flexible hamstrings, a stronger core, or less back pain. Yoga has the power to make you more resilient to stress. It reminds you of your inner strength. It can give you back a sense of joy and purpose in your life.
A Yoga Sequence for Runners
Kristi Peacock, a 23-year-old account executive in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was preparing for her first marathon. The intense training was strengthening her body but also taking a toll. As the miles racked up, so did the strain to her iliotibial band, Achilles tendons and back.
Double the Challenge With Partner Yoga
Partner yoga offers an innovative twist on classic yoga postures. Adding one or two partner poses into your regular yoga classes or adding a full partner class to your schedule gives your students an invigorating challenge.
Audio Clinic: Yoga Body Resolution
This audio session will ask you to consider: When you roll out your yoga mat, what is your intention? Why are you choosing to practice yoga? And can this intention make all the difference in what you experience in your yoga practice?
Yoga: Movement as Metaphor
When was the last time you looked at the meaning behind your yoga practice? Attendees got the chance to peel off a layer of learning at the 2008 Inner IDEA Conference, held September 11-14 in Palm Springs, California in Yoga: Movement as Metaphor.
Audio Asana Clinic: Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
When you understand the different actions and intentions of a pose, it’s easy to develop a sequence that offers every person in a mixed-levels class the opportunity to experience some of the benefits of a pose—while also providing adaptations that take into account common injuries or limitations.
Finding the Best Yoga Class for You
Gyms, fitness studios, health clubs and wellness centers around the world are adding yoga classes to their schedules, but how do you find the right class for you? Yoga styles today range from very gentle and meditative to vigorous and technically demanding, says Mara Carrico, the San Diego, California, based author of Yoga Journal’s Yoga Basics–The Essential Beginner’s Guide to Yoga for a Lifetim…
Conscious Fusion Fitness
The popularity of yoga and Pilates has spawned several fun and effective fusion offerings. This particular class uses “traditional” fitness-based exercises as the foundation and then layers on Pilates moves and yoga postures. The design trains strength, balance and flexibility in a conscious manner.
Silver Age Yoga
Silver Age Yoga is a unique yoga discipline designed for seniors that combines hatha yoga and principles of gerontology. The program was developed by seasoned yoga instructors in cooperation with scientists—many of them yoga practitioners—from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD); the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, a department of UCSD; and physicians affiliated with Scripps…
The Latest Yoga Research
As Americans become increasingly interested in the preventive and therapeutic benefits of alternative and complementary medicine, researchers are responding by attempting to quantify the role of yoga in the treatment and prevention of specific diseases and health conditions.
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Yoga Poses Prevent Falls
Iyengar yoga can help improve stability and balance in women over age 65, which could help to prevent falls, finds a preliminary study out of Temple University’s Gait Study Center.Researchers at the School of Podiatric Medicine and the College of Health Professions examined the gait and postural stability of 24 elderly females who were enrolled in an Iyengar yoga program specifically designed for those over 65. They found that at the end of the 9-week program, participants had a faster stride, increased flexibility in the lower extremities, improved single-leg stance and increased confidence in walking and balance.
Asana Audio Clinic: Bakasana
When you understand the different actions and intentions of a pose, it’s easy to develop a sequence of poses that
Meditation and Yoga Top Spa Body-Mind Programs
Nineteen percent of American spas
provide body-mind-spirit offerings, and meditation and yoga are the core
services at those spas, according to the International Spa Association’s 2007
Spa Industry Study. Relaxation classes and tai chi are the next …
Restorative Yoga Poses
Five restorative yoga poses with pictures and how to instructions.
Reclining Bound Angle Pose
This restorative yoga pose provides gentle opening to the hips and chest, and is an excellent time to focus on breathing or to introduce a heart-opening meditation.
Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise in Reclining Position
During this opening restorative yoga pose, take the opportunity to describe the principles of restorative yoga to students who are new to class.
Gentle Inversion
This restorative yoga pose provides an inversion for the lower body and is an excellent way to end a restorative yoga practice.
Supported Child’s Pose
This restorative yoga pose releases tension in the back and hips. The bolster provides a feeling of security and comfort.
