Yoga training Methods & Techniques

“Welcome to yoga coaching strategies & Techniques I,” same my educator B as she self-addressed our initial weekend category at Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies in metropolis, NJ. “We come together as strangers, but we leave as a tight-knit community. These are your sisters.”

There square measure 5 ladies, or ought to I say 5 yoginis (female yoga practitioners square measure known as yogini, male square measure yogi), in the YTT200 program this year. By might 2016, once two hundred hours of coaching, we are going to be eligible for our initial yoga teacher certificate from Yoga Alliance.

Discovering My True Self

I was excited and anxious to begin training. I started active yoga regarding seven years agone, once my husband passed on to the great beyond. It helped ME heal my mind, body and spirit and work my grief. It continues to provide an outlet for “letting go” and “slowing down,” which is an ongoing challenge for me since retiring from my fast-paced, full-time job.

Explore your own inventive expression as a yoga teacher, ” said B. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m looking at your growth during this training.”

Om, om, om, I breathed in and commenced to relax on my mat. This journey I am embarking on for the next nine months is sacred. Am I ready to discover more about my own true self? Am I prepared for what lies deep within?

Yes, yes, yes. It’s a bit scary delving deep, yet, at the same time, freeing. Plus, i am needing to improve my very own strength, flexibility and balance throughout my life once fifty and share all the advantages that yoga should provide with others.

The Eightfold Path

B explained the “Eightfold Path” Of Ashtanga Yoga according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, who lived and wrote a long, long time ago between what is thought to be 200 BC and 200 AD. The guidelines start at the base with yamas (restraints such as nonviolence and truthfulness) and niyamas (behaviors and observances such as contentment and cleanliness). The path moves up the hierarchy to asanas (postures), pranayama(controlled breathing), pratyahara (closed eyes to be with yourself), dharana (concentration), dhyana(meditation) and, finally, to samadhi (a blissful state of spiritual freedom).

“It is a roadmap to get to samadhi,” said B. “It can be a lifelong journey. There is always a deeper experience.”

Am I ready to walk this spiritual path? Yes, yes, yes. I have a strong desire to live a balanced life—mentally, physically and emotionally—during my second act.

Sequencing a Yoga Lesson

During our weekday session, we have a tendency to learned a way to produce a lesson set up. “Follow the threefold sequencing approach,” said B. “First centering, next content and finally relaxation/meditation.”

Centering: I Saturday cross-legged with my body in alignment on a blanket on my mat. Centering can be done lying down too. “It’s regarding changing into a lot of responsive to your body and your breath,” said B.

There was a lot of to be told regarding the breath expertise or, as a yogini says, pranayama. Our pedagogue M would cowl a lot of regarding breath on Sunday.
Our yoga pedagogue B tutored U.S.A. a way to begin a category with centering.

“Ask students to line AN intention and browse a quote or piece of poetry or blessing for the start or finish of observe,” said B. (My intention lately has been gratitude for all that I can do in each moment.)

Content: This is the main portion of a yoga class. As a primary step, we have a tendency to learned warm-ups, as well as the joint-freeing series to massage all the joints in our body from head to toe. Then we studied and practiced the six movements of the spine—back bends, forward folds, side stretches to the right and left and twists on both sides

B showed U.S.A. ways in which to make sure that our students square measure safe throughout all of those poses, and that we learned a way to marry movement with breath.

“Breathe steady,” said B. “Whenever you expand your chest, you inhale. Whenever you round your chest you exhale. When you square measure growing, you inhale and when you are going down you exhale.” (I hope my menopausal brain can remember all these steps. It’s a practice, Judy! It’s a practice, I reminded myself.)

Following warm-ups, come energizing poses, such as the warrior series and sun salutations. Then cool-down poses, like happy baby, legs up the wall and supported bridge. There will be many poses to learn in the coming months.