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What does it take to become a yoga instructor? You’ve practiced the positions and breathing techniques, almost every day, for years. You’ve gained a deeper understanding of the benefits of yoga and wish to share your knowledge with others. If you’re willing to find a training program, the steps to yoga certification are simple.

Though the discipline has been popular for some time, yoga teacher training is far from standardized. Most training programs require that you have a minimum level of experience in yoga before being an instructor. Some require yoga postures (asanas), such as headstands. Others insist that you must be approved by the instructor who is training you. Some certification courses can be taken online or by correspondence.

Yoga is an ancient discipline that has traditionally been passed directly from teacher to student on a one-to-one basis. The idea of a class is relatively new. These days, the speed of information being exchanged, has changed everything including traditional forms of training.

Though there is no single “official” certification program, there are groups designed to keep the study organized. Usually, certifying bodies train an intern to become a Certified Yoga Teacher (CYT), after 200 hours of training. This credential alone is usually enough to begin teaching students in public yoga classes. If you are seeking more credentials, you may decide to train for a 500 hour credential or become a Registered Yoga Teacher.

In the United States, yoga registration is optional and is handled by the Yoga Alliance. The Yoga Alliance is recognized, within the industry, as a registration program that helps maintain the high standards of yoga. It has different levels of yoga registration.

The first program requires two hundred hours of training, and is sometimes a requirement for employment in a studio. There is also a five hundred hour program for those who want advanced registration. Finally, there are experienced levels of registration, which have the designation, E-RYT.

Different hatha yoga disciplines, such as Iyengar or Bikram, require you to study under their own certified instructors. Some forms are more lenient in their training programs. The school you choose assists you on your path to becoming a yoga instructor.

You also want to see the length of each certification program. Some classes will meet on weekends only, and run nine months. Others will meet nearly every day, but only last a month. Inquire at a school and find a class that fits your schedule.

Besides yoga certification, it is important to have a basic understanding of human anatomy in order to accommodate students. For example, a thoroughly trained teacher must know how to advise someone with back problems or arthritis.

Besides knowing the positions and techniques of yoga, it is a good idea to understand the philosophy. Study some of the important texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, to gain a deeper understanding of yoga. These works teach a prospective instructor about the philosophy of yoga.

Though there are important texts in yoga, remember that yoga is not a religion. It requires no adherence to a belief system and there are no deities. It is a discipline designed to enable self-awareness. Some teachers adhere to different religions, but they are not connected to yoga.

Becoming a yoga instructor can provide you with the lasting knowledge that you are improving the lives of your students. You will also bring yourself great joy as you learn more about advanced studies in yoga. However you decide to pursue your certification, your new career is certain to bring you much happiness.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Resources: Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. He is an author of many books on the subject of Yoga and has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Walk through or browse online the DVD section of entertainment retailers and you cannot help but become engulfed by a seemingly ever-growing selection of celebrity-fitness ‘gurus’ flogging their soul with a Pilates programme that promises you a better body. If you, perhaps not literally, cut away all the celebrities endorsing the discipline is one with a pretty serious medical grounding.

With figures estimating over 11 million people practicing the discipline and more than 14,000 instructors in, unsurprisingly, America alone, one cannot help but wonder where the idea started. One would also be forgiven for assuming that the majority of those lycra-clad, celebrity-obsessed ‘devotees’ would be unaware that the regime has its origins in First World War Germany.

Developed in Germany by Joseph Pilates, the aim of the fitness sysetem was to improve the rehabilitation program that was in place for the many returning veterans in the belief that physical and mental health are essential to one another. Pilates strongly believed that the mind controls the muscles and he recommended a some precise movements emphasizing control and form to help aid injured soldiers.

Pilates had strong grounding in his methods having spend most his life trying to improve his physical health. As a child, Joseph suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever and would go on to study body-building, gymnastics and yoga. When he was 14 he was in such physical prime that he would pose for anatomical charts and would develop the belief that bad health had it’s roots in the modern life style, poor breathing and bad posture. Having earned a living as a boxer and a self-defense trainer, Pilates was interned by the British authorities during The First World War and he would train other inmates in fitness and exercise.

Contrology, as Pilates named his method, took it’s name from ‘control’ and the Greek ‘logia’ and would publish two books on the method: Return to Life Through Contrology (1928) and Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education (1934). The aim of his method is to create a fusion of mind and body so that the body will move with economy, grace and balance without thinking about it. Odd, then, that so many of its Hollywood practitioners still lack basic grace.

Pilates held the belief that circulating the blood allows the cells in the body to awaken and carry away fatigue-related waste. Accordingly, blood must be charged with oxygen and and freed of waste gas via proper breathing. If you stop breathing during your exercise your practice is flawed so deep and thorough breathing is a part of every correct Pilates exercise. Effective breathing will mean that muscles become oxygenated an gives the added benefit of reduced tension in the upper neck and shoulders.

There are many elements in Joseph Pilates’ exercise programme and each requires a concerted effort and level of discipline if it is to work. The exercises are aimed at giving an increased awareness of breath and alignment of the spine with a strengthening of the deep torso muscles.

Joseph Pilates himself died in New York in 1967 and wasn’t alive when a US federal court ruled that the term “Pilates” was generic and free for unrestricted use, thus allowing anybody to use it and for many an untrained and under-qualified practitioner to set up shop, or dress in lycra and push out celebrity fitness DVDs.

Resources: Patrick is an expert travel researcher and writer currently researching Glasgow Airport Hotels, Bristol Airport Parking and Glasgow Airport Parking.

Core abdominal training and power is perhaps the most important aspect of physical fitness, and yoga is an excellent science to help target and develop this region. According to yoga, the abdominal area is governed by the Solar Plexus Chakra, called the Manipura Chakra in Sanskrit, and this chakra is responsible for not just providing the body with the physical energy it needs, but is also responsible for your willpower and strength of character.

Yoga abdominal exercises work on many dimensions of your being. They not just tone and strengthen the stomach muscles, but they also open and balance the Manipura Chakra mentioned above. Thus, not only is your core strength and power improved, but, also your willpower and strength of character developed. In this article I will give three excellent yoga exercises for developing this all important center.

1. Single Yoga Leg Lifts:

Lie on your back with your hands underneath your buttocks palms facing down. The hand position is to support your lower back. If you feel pressure or discomfort in your lower back, go ahead and roll more of your arms underneath you, this will give even more lower back support.

Now lift your left leg up to ninety degrees in a slow, smooth motion keeping it as straight at the knee as possible. Inhale as you lift you lift up, then exhale and bring the leg back down. Next repeat this exercise with the right leg. Continue in this fashion, lifting alternate legs to ninety degrees for one to three minutes.

Take a break in between if you need to. Remember never to overdo anything when it comes to yoga. Slow and steady is the golden rule.

2. Double Yoga Leg Lifts:

Once you complete your single leg lifts take a short break and then try the same exercise but this time lift both legs together is a smooth motion to ninety degrees and then back down. Again try to keep the legs as straight as possible. Keep the hands underneath the buttocks as above to support the lower back.

3. Criss-Cross Legs:

You will find the above two exercise really target the central abs, and this exercise will attack the obliques, which are the stomach muscles that line the side of the abdominal. For this exercise, again remain on your back with the hands underneath your buttocks palms facing down, then raise your legs twelve to eighteen inches above the floor and keeping the toes pointed begin to rapidly criss-cross them.

By criss-cross here, I mean that let the legs cross over each other at the ankles, where fist the right leg crosses over the top of the left, and then the left crosses over the the top of the right. This action will really work the stomach muscles and is excellent training for abdominal strength and toning.

Summary:

So there you have three excellent exercises for toning and strengthening your abdominal muscles and activating the Solar Plexus Chakra. These exercises also provide the added benefit of helping your digestive system and is an excellent set for those who are just starting out their yoga practice.

Resources: Anmol Mehta is a modern Yoga & Meditation master. His popular website offers the ultimate Guided Meditation Techniques guide, a powerful Third Eye Meditation and free Yoga Exercise Videos.

Many Yoga practitioners are familiar with the value of a silent retreat to an Ashram or another sacred place. An extended silence turns the mind inward, which makes us more mindful during Yoga and meditation practice. Silent Yoga retreats give us “breathing room” and allow our minds a chance to wind down.

This is all well and good, but what if you do not have weeks to awaken your inner light in the company of your favorite Guru? You completely realize the benefits of relaxing and rejuvenating in silence, but you have time commitments or financial restraints that prevent it.

What action can you take that will result in a journey of self-discovery and development of inner strength? If you cannot go to a silent Yoga retreat, there is a way to bring it to you, but it requires a commitment, and you may just discover inner strengths you were not aware of.

How many days would you like to go away? Sit down and write a realistic agreement of how many days you can wake up early and practice in silence. In order to do this, you will have to go to bed an hour or two earlier. On the following morning, you can begin to create an everyday silent retreat in your own sacred space and time.

What should you do? Let’s look at the potential opportunities you have by getting out of bed early and practicing in silence. Many people think Yoga revolves around asana only. This is a good physical activity in the morning, after a warm-up, but you have a large variety of options to choose from.

Silent prayer, mantra, japa, and positive affirmations will steady your mind and purge pessimism from your inner being. The mental, emotional, and spiritual value of this practice cannot be understated.

Pranayama easily helps one connect the mind and body. However, you should practice the silent variations of pranayama, without waking other people in your house. In the case of Udgeeth pranayama, one could recite “Om” mentally, without having to make any noise.

Reading in silence is a perfect way to expand your mind and absorb motivational content. You can read scriptures or motivational books. If you can disconnect your PC, or lap top, and discipline yourself to stay off the Internet, an e-Book could also be beneficial.

The only reason for avoiding the Internet is to stay away from multi-tasking. A silent Yoga retreat is much like meditation in motion. The Internet is a valuable resource, but it is also a distraction from focusing your mind.

Meditation, of all kinds, is a powerful method for starting your day in silence. There are so many methods for meditation that you could easily choose something different each day for weeks.

You could practice a walking meditation, but do take the time to break the silence with friendly neighbors and dogs. Combining meditation, with positive visualization, can change your life with the Law of Attraction.

The positive results of starting your day, as a silent retreat, are profound. All that is required is for you to go to bed earlier and do something constructive in silence.

Resources: Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

There are a variety of vedic books on yoga that inform the reader how to recognize their own destiny in life, but when an individual joins a yoga class, then they are able to get a much better understanding of what yoga really represents. Yoga is self realization of finding your own self and getting it all together basically.

Sometimes an individual may be in the middle of an environment that is completely full of negative energy, which may be caused by their spouse, room mate, co-worker, parent, or friend. For the individuals’ very own health they should remove themselves from this type of situation, but often times they are drawn to this person simply because they care for them. For a situation such a this the true source of negative energy within this personal needs to be located, then it needs to be addressed.

One of the many benefits of the practice of yoga is empowerment and in the Bhakti Yoga empowerment is a type of ritual that a guru gives bestows an enlightened presence to bless the mind and soul of a student that has been devoted. There are times when a student has been so devoted throughout life that a deity is called upon to bless and nurture the student, then as a result of this blessing the student is able to help and teach others. In some parts of the world today, this type of empowerment is still practiced today.

Students to learn how to overcome their obstacles that get in their way each day instead of becoming overwhelmed with them. They need to learn how they can draw on the source of power within themselves when they feel alone and learn that the most powerful tool to empowerment is through power. The constant pursuit of knowledge, especially with the many sources available with modern technology is a source of empowerment. Finally, building your own natural talent to the best of their ability will build your self esteem and become a source of empowerment as well.

Yoga classes are devised to teach students how to survive mental, emotional, and physical hardships when faced with them. While these students are prepared for these types of situations, they become role models for others who would become overwhelmed when faced with the same obstacles. These students are capable to keep a positive attitude due to the fact that they have had the motivation in the past to change themselves.

Many individuals find that contentment is unreal or that it is simply a fantasy, but for individuals that practice yoga know that everything that brings them true contentment is right in front of them such as their family, friends, health, and what ever is close at hand. The true purpose in life must be felt within ones heart and our natural talents are our own destiny. If an individual purchases something at the store, then they will not be happy with it, but if the individual makes something with their own skills and talents, then they will truly be happy and content.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about used books, autographed books, and Vedic books. When shopping for books, we recommend only the best bookstores for used books, autographed books, and yoga classes.

At the heart of personal yoga practice, regardless of whether it is Hatha Yoga or Kundalini Yoga, lies yoga sets. The building block for these sets are, of course yoga poses and exercises, and how to put them together in order to design effective sets and routines is a key aspect of yoga as well. In this article I would like to give you six important guidelines on how to construct these sets.

6 Guidelines for Designing Kundalini & Hatha Yoga Sets:

1. Who Should Design Yoga Sets:

Do not try to design a set if you are just beginning yoga practice. Attend some classes first and develop your personal practice before tying to design your own routines and sets. The last thing you want to do is practice yoga and create more injuries and imbalances for yourself.

2. Yoga Sets Should be Balanced:

This is one of the most important aspects of a yoga set. By balance here I mean that the poses that twist and stretch you one way, should at some point be balanced with poses that twist and stretch you the other way. Similarly, you should design sets that stretch both arms, both legs, etc, equally if possible. In addition, rotations done in one direction should be followed by rotations done in the other direction.

So if in your set you have a backward bending yoga posture, then at some point it is wise to have a forward bending yoga pose as well. As an example, if you employ Cobra Pose early in your set, you can balance it with the Forward Bending Pose sometime later. This will ensure that you don’t end up creating sets after which you feel out of balance and un-centered.

3. Chakras Work Should Be Done Low to High:

In general the rule to follow, especially for Kundalini Yoga Kriyas, is to start working on the lower chakras first and then move up towards the higher chakras. So you would tend to do an exercise like Crow Pose, which works on the Root Chakra, early in the set and do Stretch Pose, which works on the Navel Chakra, sometime after that. This helps to sequentially increase the vibration of the energy higher and higher.

4. Yoga Breathing Guidelines:

For most exercises and postures a corresponding breath is indicated. In most cases, there are several options available that allow you to breathe at a level which is comfortable for you. So advanced practitioners might do Breath of Fire, while a beginner might do Long Deep Breathing with a particular pose.

One rule with yoga breathing though, is that generally you should inhale when expanding the chest and abdominal region and exhale during the movement which contracts these regions. This allows for maximum benefit from the movements and exercises.

5. Rest Periods:

It is wise to design specific rest periods within a set. The one important aspect though of rest, which should be included in every Kundalini Yoga kriya, is a period of relaxation at the end of the kriya.

This relaxation time is critical to allow the body to assimilate all the energy that has been awakened by the yoga exercises. It is during this time, the body heals, grows and nourishes itself.

6. Warm-Ups:

If your set consists mostly of difficult yoga poses and exercises only, make sure you do a warm-up set first before jumping into advanced postures. If you plan to do your set only, then ensure that it first starts off with simple yoga postures and movements, so that you are properly warmed up, then moves on to the more challenging exercises. Warm-ups and not overdoing it are your best defenses against injury.

Summary of Making Your Own Yoga Sets:

The sciences of Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, etc, are tools to help you in your own unique path to spiritual awakening. Designing your own Yoga Sets, to help you overcome your personal challenges, I think is a valuable skill to learn. I hope the guidelines above help you maximize the benefits from your personal yoga practice.

Anmol Mehta is a Yoga & Zen expert. His Free Guided Meditation & Kundalini Yoga Website offers amazing Tantric Yoga Techniques and many Chakra Meditation Techniques.