Namaskar,
Happy Easter, Passover, and Earth Day to those of you who celebrate any or all of these holidays. One reminder about April, beside the spring flowers, is that April is Holocaust Month. Take a moment to consider tolerance and understanding. We have to remember the past, and take corrective action now, in order to build a peaceful future together.

How to Teach Yoga in the Corporate Marketplace, Part 1

Many Yoga instructors, and Yoga teacher interns, are seeking methods for reaching into the corporate sector. After all, the corporate sector is almost as alluring as a government contract. Yet, there is a mystery surrounding how Yoga teachers should enter the corporate world. Below are some of the most effective ways to establish a strong business as a Corporate Yoga Teacher.

Yoga offers many health solutions to the masses, but for the corporate world, Yoga offers solutions for accident prevention, injury prevention, employee job performance, and cutting down on "sick time." Some "forward thinking" companies have corporate fitness centers, group fitness classes, and Yoga classes.

However, Yoga teachers still have to explain what exactly they teach. For any Yoga teacher, this is a great chance to redefine the purpose of Yoga. This is an opportunity for Yoga instructors to explain how learning Yoga will fulfill the needs of responsible companies. By taking preventative action, for their own employee's sake, these companies will save money in worker's compensation claims and improve their overall production.

It is unfortunate that greed and fear are the prime motivators involved in buying most products and services. Another prime motivator is the actual need for your product or service. As Yoga teachers, we offer the service of education for the purpose of prevention and complete health maintenance.

Corporate Yoga teachers are addressing something more powerful than fear and need - combined. That is the reality, and experience, of paying more, every year, for worker's compensation claims. Real experience is more powerful than perceived fear. Yoga programs, for the corporate sector, offer very real solutions.

This is where the strength in a Corporate Yoga program shows. All companies, and especially the larger ones, know the harsh reality of paying for accidents or repetitive motion injuries. Most companies have also experienced a dip in production due to increased absenteeism. So, the "bottom line" is that Yoga training offers many solutions for companies, which want to take action.

What should Yoga teachers mention in their brochures, letters, post cards, faxes, Email, and flyers? If you are sending anything electronically, please make sure you have permission. With that said, Yoga training offers businesses solutions such as: Improved physical balance, flexibility, coordination, awareness, self-discipline, goal setting skills, and how to effectively use your body for leverage without causing injury. As a Yoga teacher, you could offer a short-term "Yoga workshop for injury prevention," as an introductory program to "get your foot in the door."

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Use Our Content on Your Own Website: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my articles - Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the credit information shown here.
Namaste, Paul

The Truth about Options for Yoga Teachers, Part 8

Let's summarize and "recycle" a few points in the previous articles I have written about employment options for Yoga teachers, who may be considering specialization. These are not all of the options for Yoga teacher's, to consider, when thinking about how to find employment "outside of the box." You will need to work on your intuitive feelings to get an idea for the next popular Yoga trend, if that is what you are after.

As any experienced Yoga teacher will tell you; there are many more employment opportunities for Yoga instructors outside the Yoga studios and health clubs. Over the years, I have coached, trained, and wrote sales copy for many Yoga teachers who were certified by other programs, but needed to see that employment opportunities for Yoga teachers are everywhere.

One of the most lucrative salaries I have ever been paid, as a Yoga teacher, was for teaching Yoga to teen students within a juvenile correctional facility. Now, this would not be for everyone, but this is a good example of opportunities for employment, when you decide to become a Yoga teacher.

Some Yoga teachers do very well teaching private or semi-private lessons to their Yoga students. Teaching Yoga privately is really a matter of demographics. You have to solicit neighborhoods with residents who have disposable income.

Therefore, to be effective, you must gear Yoga private lesson offers toward "upscale" neighborhoods. As a Yoga instructor, you have to pay your overhead too. If you charge $80 per hour for a private lesson, you will work half as hard as the Yoga teacher who charges $40 per hour.

To find out what price your local market will bear, inquire about the private rates of local Yoga teachers and personal trainers. Then, work your marketing efforts toward those clients who will actually pay for private Yoga sessions. If you have to travel and teach private Yoga lessons, your rate should reflect your travel time.

About your own Yoga students: One way to find out what services, or classes, your current students want is by creating survey forms. This will give you feedback as to what kind of Yoga specialization is in demand, in your local area.

Yoga student feedback is essential, but some Yoga students will walk by your survey forms for months, or years, without giving you any information. How can you create an incentive for honest feedback from your current Yoga students? Offer them a free Yoga class, or two, in return for the time it takes to fill out your survey form.

Continuing education is the most important part of your Yoga teaching career. All Yoga teachers must establish a steady routine of learning more information that applies to their students. The purpose of all this Yogic education is for student safety, liability protection, and to be the best Yoga teacher you can possibly be.

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Use Our Content on Your Own Website: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my articles - Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the credit information shown here.
Namaste, Paul

Yoga For a Good Night's Sleep

The amount of sleep the body needs depends on Age. Babies can sleep as much as 15 to 16 hours while children can sleep 10-12 hours. At the other extreme, elderly people rarely enjoy a sound, unbroken sleep of more then 5 to 6 hours.

Modern life bombards us with stimulation Television sets, cell phones, radios, and late night parties are constantly reminding us to stay alert, our early ancestors did not have these impediments to sleep.

They did not have houses with dark shades to avert morning sunlight, nor did they have light bulbs, T.V., Telephone, and E-mail to stimulate them in the evening. Their Biological clocks were constantly being tuned to the systematic dark and light cycle of the earth's changing seasons.

Insomnia is a disease of the civilized society, during sleep only ten set up muscles and nerves get rest and renovation of the cells takes place.

SLEEP IMPROVING TIPS

A) Ensure that the Bed is comfortable and environment relaxing.

B) Choose the right bed and pillows. Because you will spend approximately one-third of

C) Your life there.

D) All of your body's chemicals and hormones gradually learn an established pattern and will trigger to prepare you for sleep if you follow a daily ritual.

E) Be certain to avoid coffee, tea, soda and chocolate in the evening.

F) Resist napping during the day.

G) Drink minimum at least 15 glasses of water each day.

H) Avoid bring light because it can trick our brains in thinking and heightened states of anxiety.

I) Try to avoid heavy eating before bed because your bed needs to your quiet refuge from the storms of daily life.

J) Take 1 tsp. of Ashwagandha powder in the morning with milk. This will regulate the digestive system and will help in combating stress.

K) Divide all the stresses in your life in to two categories, those you can do something about and those that are out of your control. Work on handling the first type and avoid the other whenever possible.

Regular yoga practice is the very beneficial for insomnia patients (1) Vajarsana (2) Halasana (3) Sarvang asana (4) Uthanpad asana (5) Matsaya asana (6) Shitalai pranayama (7) Nadi shodhan pranayama (8) Yonimudra. (9) Shambhavi mudra (10) Om meditation.

Vajrasana (Thunder Bold pose) a meditative pose.

Method: Kneel on the floor. Bring toes to join at back heals apart and big toes pointed towards each other. Lower the buttocks on to the inside surface of the feet with heal touching the side of the hips. Adjust hands on respective thighs, spine erect, hands and neck straight, close the eyes, relax the arms and whole body.

RHYTHM: Normal breathing.

DURATION: 5 to 10 minutes daily. This is the only Asana in yoga, which can be performed directly after meals.

BENEFITS: This Asana stimulates the Vajra Nada, activates, prana in such umna and redirects sexual energy to the brain for spiritual purposes. It increases the efficiency of the entire digestive system, stomach ailments and in is a preventative measure against piles and hernia.

Yoni Mudra

METHOD; Sit in any meditative pose padmasana or sukh asana, close ears, pressing the lobes of ears with the thumbs of both hands, Index finger on eyelashes after closing the eyes. Middle fingers on either side of nose and remaining two fingers on the upper and lower lips. Retain the pose for minimum 10 to 15 minutes breathing normal and keep yourself motionless as far as possible. Mind is to be calm, and hear breathing sound.

BENEFITS; provides complete rest and muscular relaxation. Helps in psychosomatic and disorders, induces better sleep, establishes muscular equilibrium, complete relaxation, enhance strength and re invigorates the whole body. This mudra makes the body and mind more stable in meditation and develops greater concentration, awareness and internal physical relaxation.

Yoga Guru Suneel Singh
E-mail: singh22002@yahoo.com

How Yoga Works for Weight Loss

Yoga is probably not an obvious choice of activity when it comes to weight loss but despite the speed of the movements it is deceptively effective and here's why.

1. Yoga strengthens and streamlines your muscles

During yoga practise you work your whole body, stretching and toning your muscles, streamlining and firming them. This gives you a lean firm body shape as opposed to the bulkier, short muscles you might get from weight training. With yoga you build strong lean muscle tissue which burn calories even while you are at rest.

2. Yoga calms you and clears your mind

If you are someone who eats due to stress and tension, then yoga will help you reduce comfort eating. The slow stretching movements and deep breathing in every yoga movement calm and relax you. The balance postures in particular necessitate that you clear your mind of all your every day cares and worries and use all your powers of concentration and focus. With regular yoga practise you will find that you become naturally more relaxed and able to cope with everyday problems.

3. Yoga normalises sluggish glands

The toning movements in yoga work not only on the muscles but also on the internal organs of the body stimulating them and normalising their function. Twisting poses, forward and backward bends and inversions are used to stimulate the endocrine system and postures like the shoulder stand and the fish help regulate the mechanism of the thyroid gland in the neck, all of which help boost your metabolism.

4. Yoga gives you energy and increases flexibility

By calming you and gently working on your muscles and increasing the levels of oxygen in your blood and to your brain, you finish a yoga practise (once you are used to the movements) feeling more energetic than when you began. This means that you tend to put more energy and movement into your day rather than sitting around feeling exhausted. And you build flexibility in your muscles and joints so that you enjoy a full range of movement your whole life. Witness the difference between the movements of a young girl and a stiff 80 year old woman. The young girl is bound to move so much more because muscles and joints are less restricted.

5. Yoga uses calories

This is where people believe that yoga is not helpful when it comes to weight loss and it's true that aerobic exercise may very well burn more calories. However you will still use about 240 calories in an average 1 hour classic hatha yoga class and burn many more (about 400) with some highly physical forms such as astanga yoga. And you can practise yoga every day without over-exercising your muscles which is not the case for many forms of aerobic exercise.

6. Yoga offers psychological benefits

Through yoga practise you tend to retune into your body and increase your self-acceptance and self-esteem. You build positive body confidence and help quiet any negative messages that may arise in your mind. Yoga teaches us to respect our bodies and this helps us when choosing our food and avoiding junk food and alcohol.

7. Yoga is for everyone

Most people can take up yoga even if they have been inactive for a while although you should always get your doctor's approval before beginning an exercise program if there is any doubt about your health. While jogging and working out at the gym might seem too much to contemplate you can start wherever you are with a yoga class and make steady progress.

© Copyright 2006, Janice Elizabeth Small

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach, slimming club owner and author of "The Diet Exit Plan", an 8 week coaching program for automatic permanent weight loss.

Get her FREE 15 page report "How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know" at http://www.simplyslimming.com/ TODAY!

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Copywriting Services are available for websites, flyers, or sales letters. We have two copywriters, who specialize in writing for wellness, and Yoga, on our staff. If you are interested, or require a quote, please feel free to contact Paul Jerard or Clyde Granger at: aurayoga@aol.com Reciprocal Link Program for Healers and Yoga Enthusiasts Are you a certified or practicing healer, from one, or more, of the many healing modalities? If you have a website, you can exchange a reciprocal link with us. With more links to similar and like-minded websites, you will enhance your search engine ranking. This, in turn, will bring more visitors to all of our sites – which is, what we all want. A links page, for healers, that brings in more traffic from the internet, will be another added improvement for all of us. If you are interested in exchanging links, please send your website address, and contact information, to Jade Burnside, at the following Email address: resources@yoga-teacher-training.org