Yoga Therapy - How Yoga Teachers Can Facilitate Health and Wellness With Yoga Therapy

How can yoga teachers, holistic health practitioners, massage therapists and other health care professionals facilitate health and wellness? How comfortable are you exploring feelings and emotions, the full spectrum of your being?

1. Yoga Therapy

Yoga techniques can be applied to enhance health and wellness. Postures, yoga breathing, deep relaxation, mantras, meditation and other yoga techniques can be used as you create a safer place for the student to explore the deeper dimensions of his/her being. You'll have to take into account each student's age, culture, religion, and specific health challenge when selecting techniques. Then take it one step further by modifying those techniques according to needs.

As a yoga teacher and or holistic health practitioner, you can select both gross techniques like postures and breathing, as well as subtle ones like deep relaxation and meditation. These would all be included in your Yoga Therapy treatment plan.

2. Body Mind Spirit

Yoga psychology and philosophy are clear that the cause of illness and disease is the lack of knowledge of the true Self. We can explore body mind spirit using the specific 8-fold path (Ashtanga Yoga). This path is given in Patanjali's yoga sutra, and has what is called Outer Limbs and Inner Limbs for a full exploration that leads to the experience of the true Self.

As a massage therapist, or therapist of another discipline, you can create a safer place for the client to examine physical challenges as as explore feelings and emotions. In Yoga Therapy, this is done within the framework of yoga psychology that amongst other beliefs identifies attachment and aversion as 2 of the forces to be investigated.

3. The Yoga Therapist

The most important key to facilitating health and wellness is the therapist herself or himself. The massage therapist, health care professional, holistic health practitioner, or yoga teacher wanting to share yoga as a healing path will bring Presence, Understanding and Compassion, having practiced both outer and inner limbs of Ashtanga Yoga during the formal training required. You, the practitioner would have explored your own feelings and emotions during the training, and your ability to be Present would have increased, as would Understanding and Compassion.

Yoga teachers, holistic health practitioners and individuals with a basic understanding of yoga can become wellness educators and offer a creative student-centered approach to sharing the techniques of yoga through Yoga Therapy. They can create a non-judgemental space for students to discover their true Self as they facilitate health and wellness.

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From Heather Greaves - the Self Care Mentor and Body Therapies Yoga Training

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Personal Practice for Yoga Teachers

When you are teaching a Yoga class, remember that this time is not about your personal Yoga practice. Teaching Yoga is about giving your knowledge to others, demonstrating and explaining the techniques effectively, and putting your students' needs ahead of your own. You will probably still feel the benefits of a Yoga class, but it also might leave you yearning for more, or feeling as if you did not quite get adequate fulfillment. It is up to you, then, to find time when you are not teaching to squeeze in a personal Yoga practice, where you can accomplish a number of things.

First off, you will be able to satisfy your need to stretch, breathe, meditate, and relax. Secondly, this is a great opportunity to work on any techniques you may be struggling with at this point in time. Finally, you might use this practice time to explore other aspects of Yoga that you are not necessarily ready to teach, but enjoy practicing independently. Use this time for personal reflection and fulfillment. Forget about teaching Yoga for a while, and focus on your inner spirit. It might seem counterproductive, but it will actually help you grow as a Yoga teacher.

It is important for all Yoga teachers to take the time to nurture themselves. In order to be able to give so much to your students, you have to keep filling your cup. Seek out time during the week where you practice Yoga alone, or with a mentor or colleague. Explore areas of Yoga that might be too advanced for a class full of novice students, or areas that you do not have the desire to teach, but wish to practice.

Maintaining a personal practice ensures that you stay current in all aspects of Yoga that interest you most. It guarantees that your Yoga classes will remain fluid and interesting, avoiding monotony. Many students prefer a varied routine each class, where they are learning new poses, or working on different areas of the body. Students expect the teacher to be a motivator, instructing them to go a bit further, or to try something new. If you are not engaging yourself in your personal practice, you must ask yourself if you are truly presenting yourself as a positive role model to your Yoga students.

Find the time to add personal Yoga practice to your schedule today. Maybe you fit it in for 15 minutes here and there, in between scheduled classes, or you could block out larger chunks of time a few times per week. Create a schedule that works for you, and stick with it.

© Copyright 2012 - Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

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Yoga Teachers Can Prevent Injuries

Most Yoga teachers are certified instructors, who have gone through a lengthy training process, in order to be qualified to teach Yoga. If you have not already done so, you should look into Yoga teacher training courses to undergo the proper training to support your status as instructor. Typically, an advanced Yoga practitioner, who has years of experience, needs intensive training before being qualified to teach. However, even qualified Yoga instructors might be in need of strategies to help reduce, or prevent, injuries in their classrooms.

When Yoga Injuries Occur

Practitioners are most at risk for injury - when attempting a Yoga pose too challenging for their strength or health level, when doing a pose incorrectly, when not warmed up, or when distracted or unable to focus. As a result, Yoga teachers must remember that their primary job as instructors is not to perfect their own Yoga practice, but to keep their students focused, while they practice a variety of Yogic techniques safely.

Yoga Class Sizes

The size of of the class can impact an instructor's ability to teach Yoga effectively. For example: If a beginner Yoga class is too big, the instructor may be unable to give enough attention to each student, as needed. As a result - beginner and youth classes should be smaller, with intermediate and advanced classes, allowing more Yoga students per session to balance business needs. Similarly, participation in athletic schools of Yoga makes injuries more likely, so teachers in these schools will see fewer injuries in classes that have smaller student-to-instructor ratios.

Feedback

To prevent injuries from occurring, instructors need to be completely focused on teaching, especially paying attention to each student's technique and alignment. Good correction tends to be in-depth and verbal, rather than physical, since students might lose their balance if you make the change for them or may be uncomfortable with physical correction.

What to Watch For

Yoga instructors should be on the lookout for certain behaviors to help prevent student injuries.

First - since Yoga injuries happen when students are distracted, teachers should be careful to guide their students in concentration techniques to encourage focus. Instructors should not hesitate to speak with a distracted student if the issue does not resolve quickly.

Second - since injuries also happen when Yoga practitioners push themselves beyond what they can handle, teachers should take care to emphasize a slow mastery of poses, and to demonstrate this themselves, with the free use of props. Some practitioners feel embarrassed using props or get frustrated, if they do not move on to more complicated poses quickly; therefore, Yoga instructors must take care to model the safest practice techniques themselves.

Third - instructors should watch for trembling or wobbling, especially in balancing poses, since this can indicate muscle fatigue or weakness. Encouraging students who are tired, or too fatigued, to rest will help them avoid injuries that result from incorrect Yoga techniques, improper alignment, or falling.

© Copyright 2012 - Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

View the original article here

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