Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
     Yoga blends spiritual, athletic and artistic disciplines. It promotes health and relaxation through the practices of calming the mind, controlling breathing, and conditioning the body. Students who are serious about fitness and consistent yoga practice can receive training and continuing education for yoga teachers.
How to Become a Yoga Instructor
    Individuals who are interested in becoming yoga instructors should be committed to their yoga practice with concentration on the poses (asanas). Dedicated students will have one or more asanas mastered. However, becoming a yoga teacher is not all about mastering the poses. Yoga is part of a spiritual path. Those seeking to lead others in yoga should be balanced and grounded both spiritually and physically. Yoga instructors are beacons and shed light for their students as they guide them on the path of self-discovery.
What to Consider
     Find a mentor - Teachers are always learning and thus, are always students. Find an experienced mentor to assist with continued personal growth and skill development. The yoga mentor can be a personal yoga mentor, outside the facility conducting the yoga instructor training.
     Know and understand the reasons for wanting to become an instructor - Yoga is a wonderful art that can be shared for the simple joy of sharing. Yet, individuals who will be using yoga teaching as the sole or main source of income should consider the following:
Financial investment for training
Whether to work for someone else or open their own business
Liability insurance
Advertising
Continuing education
Ensure that training fits the desired career/personal goals
Become a Yoga Instructor
Research courses and schools online or in-person
Select and enroll in a program that meets the personal criteria for budget, ultimate goal, and style
Maintain yoga proficiency and master any principles required for entrance into the selected program
Complete program and obtain certification/diploma
Yoga Teacher Certification/Registration
       Students who wish to become a registered yoga teacher should ensure that the training they complete meets the requirement for this credential. Currently no state has a licensing board for yoga instructors. There are a number of organizations that offer certifications. Also, a student can voluntarily choose to be listed with a registry to show that they have attended an approved program and met the required number of training hours.
Continuing Education
      Continuing education is an important aspect of professional development. All yoga instructors should stay abreast of the latest advancements and trends for the industry. There are a variety of programs offering yoga training and continuing education. Students should ensure that agencies offering continuing education are composed of highly experienced board members, concerned with the promotion and evolution of yoga training standards and offer additional benefits or other services to its registered members. Continuing education can be achieved by attending classes, conferences, workshops, and study groups. Teachers can also receive continuing education through distance learning. As the yoga industry continues to evolve, yoga instructors must enhance their professional development. Continuing education will allow yoga teachers to evolve with the industry while providing safe and up-to-date training for their students.
      Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program 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/
     Restorative yoga is intended to allow the practitioner to let go of the demands and stresses of everyday life. This includes letting go of all pressure to do things right and to constantly improve and achieve. These last two criteria are what make teaching this type of yoga so difficult. A teacher's skill in creating the right atmosphere of relaxation and a teacher's skill in providing guidelines in how to perform the poses without applying subtle pressure to do it right or better can make or break a restorative yoga class. These special skills can be learned in a restorative yoga teacher course.
    The restorative yoga teacher has to discard the role of authoritative teacher. Instead, the teacher needs to don the role of a helpful guide or a gentle caregiver. Applying the mental role of caregiver works particularly well when using props to help the student "receive" and relax into the pose. Using the role of a caregiver can be helpful when looking for signs a student needs assistance. Instead of looking for signs that the pose is being performed incorrectly, look for signs of discomfort or effort and try to relieve these symptoms.
    Inexperienced teachers may find it difficult to leave lengthy silences. During a class it is common for students to lie quietly for five minutes at a time. A teacher may feel odd about not teaching, not instructing and not doing anything for these lengthy silences, but they are an essential part of the class. The teacher needs to remember to "let go."
    A great deal of thought should be put into the sequence of poses chosen for each class. One sign of a good teacher is being able to manage gentle transitions from pose to pose without having to fuss too much with the props. Abrupt transitions marked by thumping sandbags and students struggling with blocks and bolsters are very disruptive to the desired goal of relaxation.
    Because teaching restorative yoga is so different from teaching regular yoga, teachers should strongly consider taking a specific restorative yoga teacher course. Most such courses require that the teacher be certified in teaching regular yoga as a prerequisite. In addition to covering the difficult, special skills necessary for teaching this kind of yoga, a good class will also provide information on how to guide students through the poses safely.
    Having the knowledge to adjust or substitute the poses to safely accommodate students with special conditions or needs is particularly important in restorative yoga. Of course it is important in teaching all types of yoga, but students with physical limitations, injuries and other special conditions are likely to try restorative yoga under the assumption that it is not particularly physically challenging.
    An essential part of learning how to teach restorative yoga is learning about the physiology of relaxation. Learning the anatomy of the nervous system and how it affects the body during arousal and relaxation is essential for being able to read students during class. During a class it is important to be able to glance at the students and be able to tell if they are truly relaxed or if instead they are uncomfortable, bored or just having trouble "letting go."
   Most restorative yoga teaching programs offer certification in the practice and are part of an overall yoga teaching certification program. Being certified as a yoga teacher, including a teacher of restorative yoga, will attract students to class. Skillful teaching will keep students in class.
   Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga,
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