Teaching Yoga and the Power of Truth: Encouraging Breathing

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

Well, the title of this article may have caught your eye, and you may be wondering, “Really? Encouraging Breathing? If my Yoga students don’t keep breathing, they will expire before the end of class!” A bit macabre, perhaps, but funny none-the-less. All levity aside, encouraging your students to breath deeply and fully throughout the course of a class is one of the most fundamental aspectsof teaching a Yoga class well. Many accomplished teachers advise practitioners to prioritize deep, diaphragmatic breathing as literally the most essential aspect of an authentic Yoga practice.   

If you find that any of your students are breathing in a shallow manner, or they are literally holding their breath while they practice a Yoga posture, backing off the posture a bit so that the breathing becomes more fluid is recommended. Maintaining a fluid-breathing pattern helps to enhance the circulation of life force energy throughout the body. When we hold our breaths, prana, or life force energy, becomes stuck in various areas of the body, which increases muscular tension and negative, circular thinking patterns. On the other hand, when you breathe deeply and completely throughout the course of your Yoga practice, this life force energy can flow more freely throughout the entire body-mind matrix. 

The same is true of your Yoga students, of course! One way to encourage deep, diaphragmatic breathing during the course of your classes is to introduce Ujjayi Pranayama to your students. This resonant Ocean Sounding Breath will help to expel toxins, balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, as well as increase their energy level. This pranayama exercise is quite simple, just instruct your students to partially close the back of their throat, as they continue to breathe in deeply and exhale fully. If they are performing Ujjayi Pranayama properly, they will make the whooshing sound of the ocean in a conch shell, as the breath flows in and out over the glottis at the back of the throat. 

By continually reminding your students to breath deeply and fully during their practice of the Yoga postures, they will also be less likely to “space out” or become numb when uncomfortable sensations or emotions begin to arise. Many difficult or painful emotions are held in various areas of the body and are manifest as muscular tension and stiffness. When this tension begins to dissolve with each ensuing Yoga posture, the buried emotions, thoughts or experiences will often rise to the surface of a student’s conscious awareness. 

A very natural reaction to painful emotions or feelings is to hold the breath and stuff the feelings back down. However, a mindful Yoga practice allows all of us, students and teachers alike, to explore and air out painful emotions and experiences, so that the uncomfortable feelings and memories can be resolved in the light of conscious awareness. By encouraging your students to continue to breath fully throughout the course of their Yoga practice, you will be encouraging them to feel, see and embrace the truth of their perception of their life experiences.

As your Yoga students learn to tolerate uncomfortable thoughts, feelings and memories, they will be able to consciously work with those feelings and hopefully transform them into pearls of wisdom. Of course, there may be times when a student needs professional psychological support if any of the emotions that arise are too painful or overwhelming for him or her to integrate on the mat. If this is the case, it is advisable to find an appropriate, private time to gently approach your student and recommend that he or she might benefit from some individualized counseling support.

By encouraging your students to continue to breath fully and deeply during a class, you will be fanning the flames of the alchemical process of Yoga. According to biblical scholars, truth can be defined as the self-expression of God. In essence, the very definition of truth flows straight from God. In the context of a Yoga class, the ability of your students to experience their own personal truths, both on and off the mat, will support them in making healthy choices for themselves at every level of their lives. Although being able to hold a challenging asana for several minutes is gratifying; truly speaking, creating and sustaining vibrant good health and well being is one of the most edifying benefits of a regular Yoga practice. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.

© Copyright 2016 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Teaching Yoga and the Power of Truth: Setting an Example

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

One of the most important aspects of sharing the transformational power of Yoga with your students is to truly honor your own truth. This truth could be either physical or emotional in nature. For instance, if you are teaching a Yoga class with a slight back injury, and you are forthright with your students about your current physical limitations, they will be more easily able to identify with you when they come up against their own physical challenges during class. 

As you compassionately and courageously work with your own limitations during a Yoga class, your students will learn how to honor their own bodies. If needed, they will also learn how to modify the postures and/or the sequence of asanas and pranayama exercises, in order to truly support their unfolding well-being through the course of a regular Yoga practice. Of course, it takes courage to be very candid about one’s own physical or emotional limitations during a Yoga class, especially if you are the teacher! 

It is completely understandable if you feel tempted to simply gloss over any pain or discomfort you feel, so that you can impress your students with your level of physical aptitude and dexterity when you are performing any number of challenging Yoga postures. However, the deeper level of learning comes from setting an honest example for your students, by allowing yourself to appropriately share your own struggles with your personal Yoga practice during class. When you do share your own personal life experiences, including your challenges during your own Yoga practice, your students will be emboldened by your perseverance and level of accomplishment. 

If you are training to become a certified Yoga instructor, or you are currently certified and teaching classes on a regular basis, without a doubt you have persevered through any number of obstacles, in order to hone your skills as a teacher and to continue to deepen in your own practice. For instance, it may have taken you months or even years to learn how to link the postures together with your breath in one long, dance-like vinyasa. Or you may have found it to be particularly difficult to balance in Handstand in the middle of the room for more than a few seconds at a time. 

By sharing the challenges you have encountered during your own personal Yoga journey with your students, they will be inspired by your level of dedication to the practice and by your determination to honor and work with your own body, until you developed the necessary strength, balance and flexibility to perform many asanas safely and effectively. The underlying respect, compassion and fortitude that you exemplify in your own practice will teach your students how to honor their own transformational process during their time on the mat, as they practice Yoga in an honest, compassionate and nonviolent way. 

Compassion, or nonviolence, is one of the primary injunctions of the practice, according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In these short, timeless aphorisms, Patanjali systematically explains how to follow a Yogic path, while engaging in a balanced practice of postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques. Ultimately, by following the precepts and recommendations found in the Yoga Sutras, a practitioner ideally reaches a state of enlightened perfection. Although a state of enlightenment may remain elusive for many of us, honoring our own truth is a critical first step to achieving a basic level of peace and well-being. 

By modeling truthfulness during your Yoga classes, you will be setting a very real and practical example for your students. As they learn to compassionately honor and work with their fluctuating physical and emotional needs during a class, they will truly begin to learn the power of seeing, speaking and moving in a truthful fashion. By sharing your own journey with your students, you will set a shining example of the transformative power of candor and nonviolence. You will also set an example for your students of the power of courage and the benefits committing to a regular Yoga practice. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Teaching Autumn Yoga Classes that Open the Heart: Sphinx Pose

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed 

One of the most creative and rewarding aspects of being a professional Yoga teacher, is the opportunity to sequence your classes in such a way that you allow your students to deeply benefit from this transformational, ancient practice. There are many different themes and intentions that can underlie your choice of various Yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques that you offer to your students. One guiding theme for choosing a certain series of asanas, pranayama practices and relaxation techniques during the course of a Yoga class, is to use the cues of the earth around you, including the wisdom of the changing seasons.

As I write this article, the brilliantly colored leaves of the fall season are gently wafting through the air and settling into patterns along the ground. This is the time of the year in the Northeastern United States when the deciduous trees around us burst into brilliant colors, and then gently drop their leaves to the earth below. As the trees release their leaves to the earth, the seeds below are softly ensconced in a blanket of colorful foliage. By taking into consideration the seasonal aspects around you when you are creating a sequence of poses to teach during a Yoga class, you will help to facilitate your students’ awareness of the flow of the seasons, and you will also help to align and infuse their practice with the wisdom of the natural rhythms of the earth. 

In the autumn season, both the energy of fullness and release are accentuated. A wonderful way to honor this natural rhythm is to teach Yoga classes that open the heart. By opening the heart, your Yoga students will be more able to release muscular tension, negative emotions and rigidly held thought patterns that tend to reside both in the front and the back of the heart chakra, and also in the shoulder, neck and throat areas. When these areas of tension are released, the life force energy is more able to flow unimpeded throughout the entire body and mind. This enhanced flow of prana will facilitate the detoxification process, as well as energize and nourish your Yoga students. 

* Sphinx Pose

Sphinx Pose is a very accessible, beginning heart-opening Yoga posture that most students can safely and effectively practice. Sphinx Pose can be practiced either during the initial portion of a Yoga class, when your students are flowing through a series of Sun Salutations, or it can be practiced after a series of standing postures and balancing poses. Sphinx Pose effectively opens up the front and the back of the heart area and increases the flow of blood and fresh oxygen throughout the abdominal region. This gentle back bending posture also releases tension in the front of the throat and the back of the shoulders. 

When you are ready to teach your students Sphinx Pose, have them come to a prone position on their Yoga mats and rest for a moment with one cheek flat on the mat. When they are ready, with their next inhale ask your students to place their elbows directly underneath their shoulders with their fingers pointing straight ahead, as they expand fully into Sphinx Pose. As they hold the posture, remind your students to keep their elbows in line with their shoulders and the palms of their hands flat on the mat. Instruct your students to continue to breathe slowly and deeply, as they gently press the palms of their hands against the Yoga mat and progressively expand their heart area with each successive inhalation. 

Ask your students to hold Sphinx Pose for 3 to 5 complete breath, and then release the posture with their next exhale and rest the alternate cheek flat on the Yoga mat. When they are ready, repeat Sphinx Pose two more times. At the end of their practice of Sphinx Pose, you may want to recommend that your students slowly move back into Extended Child's Pose, in order to release any tension that may have built up in the lower back area, during the practice of this gentle back bending posture. Before continuing on to the next Yoga posture, ask your students to come to a kneeling position on their mat and quietly reflect on the expansive quality of Sphinx Pose. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Teaching Yoga to Brand New Students: Introducing Props

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

The fall season is often a time of year when people begin a new exercise regime or sign up for new activities. This is also true of Yoga classes and workshops. At this time of the year, you may find that you have a number of brand new students in your classes. Guiding a group of mixed level students through an hour long Yoga class is often challenging. When you have a number of brand new students in your class, effectively teaching a mixed level class that meets the needs and expectations of more advanced students, while honoring the needs of new students, can entail quite a bit of teaching finesse. 

As a general rule of thumb, having an ample supply of appropriate Yoga props available to your students is important. In this way, you will be able to safely and effectively lead a group of mixed level ability students through a balanced sequence of asanas. Most of the props used in Yoga classes help to facilitate students in their practice of personally challenging postures, without sacrificing practicing the poses in correct alignment. As a certified Yoga instructor, you are well aware of the necessity and importance of practicing the postures in correct alignment. 

When you are teaching Yoga to brand new students, the use of props can be intimidating, to say the least! Just walking through the door of a Yoga studio may have caused waves of anxiety and trepidation in the hearts of some of your new students. Brand new students may feel intimidated by the easy camaraderie of your regular students, as well as the foreign sounding, Sanskrit names of the postures and the fashionable Yoga attire of many of the class attendees! New students may also have concerns about their physical limitations and about being able to practice the poses safely and comfortably. 

In order to put your brand new Yoga students at ease, it is optimal to greet your new students personally and introduce yourself. It is also important to have your new students fill out a health questionnaire, so that you are aware of any particular health problems with which they are contending. In addition, by being available during class for any questions, as well as for ten minutes or so after class to address personal concerns, your new students will feel more at ease during the initial phases of establishing a Yoga practice. 

Remember that your brand new students will be unfamiliar with the Yoga poses, and most will be completely unfamiliar with the Sanskrit names of the postures. In order to make the practice a little more “user-friendly,” you may want to introduce the postures with the English names, such as Eagle Pose, Tree Pose or Child’s Pose. In this way, the names of the postures will correlate with the form of the postures themselves. In addition, by having a set of Yoga props with you at the front of the class and briefly reviewing how to use the props for a few minutes at the beginning of your class, the brand new students in your class will feel more comfortable identifying and using the props at the appropriate time. 

As your new Yoga students begin to understand the flow of the practice, and the modifications and props available to them to help make the practice more accessible to them, they will begin to relax and be able to enter more deeply into the postures and breathing exercises. In addition, by warmly inviting your new students to approach you with any questions about their practice, they will feel much more comfortable returning to your class again and again. Soon, your brand new students will become dedicated practitioners, as the myriad benefits of a regular Yoga practice becomes evident in their own lives. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

Please feel free to share our posts with your friends, colleagues, and favorite social media networks.