Fitness Instructor Qualifications: Yoga RYT and ACE Instructor Certifications Defined

 

Fitness Instructor Qualifications: Yoga RYT and ACE Instructor Certifications Defined

You can find out from the instructors themselves, or you can inquire about the qualifications preferred by the studio where you practice. Often studios will list this information in their biographical information online, or in their studio flyers or pamphlets.

RYT: The Yoga Alliance “Registered Yoga Teacher”

When an instructor has the letters “RYT” following his or her name, this stands for any one of various levels of certification through the Yoga Alliance. The internationally recognized entity standardizes and regulates the basic education and training that Yoga instructors must obtain in order to be certified. Yoga Alliance also requires instructors to maintain a certain amount of continuing education and regular practice in order to stay certified.

The Yoga Alliance also offers a free, searchable database online, if you would like to check your yoga instructor’s qualifications, or if you would like to search for a yoga instructor of a particular style or type of yoga in your area.

“Certified Yoga Instructor”

There are any number of reputable schools and organizations that will train and certify group fitness instructors. You may need to research other kinds of certifications to determine whether or not your instructor is truly qualified to meet …

Stress Management Techniques – Part Five of Five: Mindfulness

Part five of this five-part series on easy stress management has to do with the practice of mindfulness. This is another simple technique you can easily incorporate into your emotional responses, easing yourself away from conflicting emotions toward peaceful emotions. Mindfulness practice has been validated in numerous studies as actually reducing anxiety, depression, and symptoms of chronic pain with just eight weeks of consistent practice. Mindfulness or mindfulness meditation is based on the Buddhist vipassana meditation. Vipassana practice is allowing yourself to see the world as it really is, shedding the foggy cloud of judgment and emotion.

Another way to practice mindfulness is to eat a raisin or a piece of chocolate very slowly, savoring the texture, taste, and smell as you slowly chew. If other thoughts or emotions come into play, then just note them and go back to your sensory experience in the moment. Let this be an oasis of calm and peace for you.

Start mindfulness practice slowly, maybe for ten minutes at first and then build up to twenty minutes a day of calm time. Studies show that meditation actually increases activity in parts of the brain associated with positive feelings and also actually encourages healthy …

Kids’ Yoga in the Dallas Metroplex

Dallas students are getting fit thanks to school and after school yoga programs. Find out where area kids can build strength and get their Om on.

Adults in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have access to a vibrant and continuously expanding yoga community. Recently, the enthusiasm for the mind-body practice has spread to the younger generation through an increasing number of yoga programs available for children.

Growth of Kids Yoga in Dallas

According to Ginger Newberg, 200-Hour (HR) Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), the demand for kids’ yoga is growing at studios, gyms and in less traditional locations, such as schools and museums. Says Newberg, “Yoga is now being offered in schools and camps across the city.” Newberg credits much of the growth in children’s yoga programs to Taylor Yoss, owner of Yogees: Yoga 4 Kids. Yoss, a 200HR RYT, is one of the pioneers of yoga for kids ages 4-8 in the Dallas Metroplex. She travels to schools, studios and homes teaching her fun but disciplined style of yoga to children. She believes one reason its appeal has spread is that more people recognize that yoga is something that can help everyone especially over-scheduled, stressed-out young people. “Yoga is about the …

Sukhasana: Easy Pose – Simple Cross-Legged Yoga Pose for Meditation

 

Sukhasana: Easy Pose - Simple Cross-Legged Yoga Pose for Meditation

Schoolchildren call it “criss-cross applesauce”. Sukhasana is the simple seated position frequently used at the beginning of class to center.

This pose is comfortable, grounding, centering, and easy enough for most people to be able to draw their attention inward. It can be modified to be made more comfortable for those unable to sit comfortably on the floor.

In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2:46 – translations of the ancient Sanskrit include “the posture of yoga should be gentle and easy”, “firm and without strain”, or “steady and pleasant”. Many yogis apply this to every asana used in Hatha Yoga, while others contend that this statement is referring only to the meditative posture assumed for hours or days at a time.

Regardless of Patanjali’s original meaning, it is absolutely without question that Sukhasana is meant to be easy!

Benefits of Sukhasana

Comfortable Sukhasana reminds us how to relax. Taking advantage of the intrinsic equilibrium of the spinal cord, Easy Pose forms the solid foundation necessary for a present and meditative mind.

How to practice Sukhasana

  • Find a comfortable seated position on your mat, with your legs crossed however you like
  • Reach around with your hands, and pull the skin out from

Using Mindfulness for Stress Reduction Works: 4 Things You Can Do Today

Using Mindfulness for Stress Reduction Works: 4 Things You Can Do Today

Using mindfulness for stress reduction is a very popular program offered at many health and holistic centers around the world. Mindfulness for stress reduction often involves some form of sitting meditation and also sometimes incorporates different types of yoga.

Did you know you can reduce stress through mindfulness in everyday life without having to necessarily do sitting meditation? Here are some helpful things you can incorporate into daily life starting today, to help reduce your stress by becoming more mindful and aware of your actions.

 

Mindful Walking

This is a meditation technique often taken from the Buddhist traditions of Therevada. It involves walking mindfully, feeling every movement as you walk. It’s best to do this if you’re out walking on a break or if you’re going on an evening walk.

Simply observe the motions of your legs moving up and your feet following them. When you bring your feet back down, feel the ground beneath your feet supporting your weight and the different sensations. Do this enough and you will gain a new appreciation for all the movements in your body and you will feel new sensations you have never noticed before. You will feel like a blind person …

Yoga with Horses

 

Yoga with Horses

Practiced by people for more than 5,000 years, yoga helps improve flexibility, muscle tone, blood flow, and oxygen distribution throughout the body. The meditative elements that are included help increase mind and body awareness. As the practice continues to gain global momentum, more and more people are finding innovative ways to include yoga in all elements of their lives, including their relationships with animals.

Linda Guanti, a yoga enthusiast and horse owner in British Columbia, Canada, has found a way to combine her love for yoga and horses through the unique practice of yoga with horses.

“Yoga with horses gives you a way to connect with your horse if you can’t ride,” she says.

 

Yoga Provides Pain Relief, Improves Flexibility and Athleticism

Linda found traditional yoga several years ago when she was searching for relief from a back injury she suffered following a fall from a horse in her early teens.

“I’d been through years of physiotherapy and painkillers and was still suffering, so I tried including yoga and the benefits were amazing. I had less pain and more flexibility, and as a result, my riding began to improve,” she says.

As Linda’s riding abilities began to improve, …

Yogananda’s The Human Mind: Cities of Thoughts

The speaker in “The Human Mind” declaims from the position of one whose wisdom has given him the ability to choose pleasant, uplifting thoughts, while leaving the “vile-born, unkind” ones behind.

This poem is from the great guru’s soul-inspiring volume of poems, Songs of the Soul . It features five variously rimed quatrains.

 

First Quatrain: “I love to roam alone, unseen”

The speaker metaphorically refers to cities of the mind and asserts, “I love to roam alone, unseen, / In cities of the human mind.” This statement reminds readers that the mind is a private place in which one can retreat for reflection and also where one can create original ideas for entertainment, education, or enlightenment. This unique quality of the mind is available to every living individual; every human being is born equipped with this remarkable vehicle.

The speaker then reveals that he especially prefers the “streets untrod by crooked thoughts,” which are “vile-born” and “unkind.” The speaker avoids the unholy places where evil lurks, choosing instead the soul-stimulating places that remind him of uplifting and inspiring deeds.

 

Second Quatrain: “Incognito I wish to wander”

The speaker reminds the reader that within one’s own mind, one is …

Breathing Exercise in Yoga -an Overview

Yoga is a Sanskrit word, which is meant for certain meditative practices. There are various forms of yoga. In India yoga is being practiced from very ancient period(Right from Veda period-2500 BC).

The following are some of the ancient forms of yoga that has been practiced since the past 1000 years.

  1. Pathanjali Yoga
  2. Hata Yoga
  3. Bakthi Yoga
  4. Karma Yoga
  5. Gnana Yoga

and many more.

Learning yoga is not so easy. It is an art to practice. You need a guru or a teacher to learn yoga and practice the yoga in the right way with his guidance. I would not recommend any CD formats or any audio-visual media that teaches yoga.

 

Yoga can only be taught by the right teacher in the right manner.

Practising yoga will definitely increase your life and you will feel fresh and never become tired. There are many religions that follow yoga in various forms. In India yoga is being followed majority of Hindus then Buddhists, then Jain.

“Bagavt Gita”, a sacred book of Hindus teaches and explains Bakthi Yoga (Yoga of Bakthi through which you can attain eternity), Karma Yoga, the art of attaining eternity through your karma (Work), Gnana Yoga, attaining eternity …

Asana Studies: Shoulderstand Pose: Examining the Physical and Philosophical Dimensions of Sarvangasana

This pose is good to insert later in your workout, once your legs and spine have become active. This pose is demanding, and should not be pursued without very strong guidelines or (preferably) an experienced yogi.

Physical Nature of Shoulderstand

The idea behind a Shoulderstand is simple: you invert everything you’ve done in Mountain Pose, up to the shoulders. Your body should extend upwards from the mat, propped up by your hands and pointing at the sky. Do not try Shoulderstand without much more thorough instruction: here is a place to get it on the web if you can’t find a yogi to teach you.

The extent to which your neck should be bent during Shoulderstand is tricky. According to B.K.S. Iyengar, your neck should be at a 90-degree angle with your body, but that assumes you can do so without injury to yourself. It’s most important that you don’t overreach your limits. By approaching discomfort and then taking a step back, you can find out how straight your body should be.

One of the dangers of Shoulderstand is throat tension. You may find that you can feel your pulse very strong in your neck and that you have trouble …

Be Present Here and Now in Yoga: Santosha, Balance and Focus During Yoga Classes

“Now, Here, or Nowhere” is what some yoga instructors might tell you if you drift away from the present moment when you’re in class.

Balance Practice

It can be challenging to stand for the duration of seven or eight breaths (about 30 seconds) in Vrksasana, or Tree Pose (pictured below). Imagine trying to follow these instructions:

  • Stand balanced on one foot.
  • Focus the gaze on a drishti (a single immobile point used to steady the mind).
  • Concentrate on maintaining the posture properly – spiralling the hips open and the raised knee further out and away from the body, using the pressure of the foot on your thigh to keep it up.
  • … and while you’re doing that, try to figure out what you’re going to have for dinner tonight.

One of two things is likely to happen: either you will fall over, or your mind will refuse to leave the present moment (preferably option 2.)

Use the breath to Focus on the present moment

Much of the stress relief available in a regular exercise regimen comes from spending time in the present moment. Most workouts use the breath in synchronization with movement. Weight lifters exhale as they lift their weights …