Translate

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Questions about Yoga Teacher Training Online


By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

There are many Yoga certification courses available for those who seek to teach. Among the programs, for someone who seeks to become a Yoga instructor, are online, home study, and correspondence programs. We could easily classify all of the above-mentioned programs as Yoga teacher distance learning courses. Below are some of the most common questions about correspondence courses, for students who wish to become a Yoga teacher.

Q: I found a Yoga course that will make me a teacher over a weekend. How many training hours do I need for it to be acceptable for potential employers?

A: The most common International standard for Yoga instructors is the 200 hour minimum. Almost every potential employer will want to know how many hours were devoted to your training.

There are many different courses, with training from 200 to 750 hours, of study. When you look at the variety of training available, to those who aspire to teach, two hundred hours is the absolute minimum. Anything less is not enough to establish a foundation of knowledge.



Q: Why are practical exams necessary? Can't I just send a stack of photos of me doing poses?

A: Think about it. Your practical exam is designed to demonstrate your teaching skills. Still pictures cannot demonstrate your cueing, observation, or assisting skills. How you teach your own self-created lesson plan tells volumes about your ability to teach Yoga classes.

With technology as it is today, a video of you teaching a 60 to 90 minute Yoga class is not a tough requirement. Many people have video cameras in their laptops and have access to a separate camera. An examiner cannot determine your level of teaching skills from a still photo. In addition to this - Hatha Yoga is not just asana practice.



Q: Why should Yoga teachers have to be concerned with continuing education?

A: Yoga liability insurance companies like the idea of continuing education and the re-certification process. The reputable Yoga organizations, which determine the licensing of Yoga instructors, believe in continuing education courses and the re-certification process to enhance teacher competence and experience.

Therapeutic Yoga, Medical, Physical Therapy, and Sports Medical knowledge is moving forward at a rapid pace. All of these fields pertain to you as a Yoga teacher, if you want to design safe classes and prevent potential student injuries.

© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

See our testimonials to find out what our graduates have to say about our selection of online yoga teacher certification courses.

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


Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Practice Yoga for a Clear and Happy Mind

500 hour hatha yoga teacher training program
By Kimaya Singh

Stress is sapping the happiness out of people. Chronic stress in linked to heart disease, assorted pains, cancer and premature death. If the ever was a time for people to find happiness and ditch stress, it's right now.

Today's World

You find yourself, or a student of yours, unhappy, stressed, discontented, and even depressed. Like many in our culture, you may seek fulfillment through material things, status or money. In fact, contentment or happiness is better found from within. Yoga offers a route to joy through regular practice of asanas (postures) and pranayama (the breath). Yogis have been teaching these methods for centuries and the time-honored practices offer not just a path to happiness but also to peace and contentment.

A Sure Path to Happiness

It can be difficult for others to see the cultivation of prana as a path to happiness until they first try it intentionally. Pranayama is the Sanskrit word which means, simply, the breath of life. There are many exercises you can practice to improve the way this breath of life travels in and out of and enhances you body, but let's use one simple cleansing yogic breath here. Breathe in for eight counts, hold for four, breathe out for eight counts, hold for four, and breathe in again for eight counts. What are you noticing? This breath of life can cleanse your body and release tension, abolish negative thoughts and wash away the stress of the day to return you to a state of contentment.

This is the beginning. Think of pranayama as carrying spirit or life energy and reaching to all areas of your body. As you practice yogic breathing you have the capability to reach and carry that energy through your system, relieving distress, healing and energizing. Following the yogic tradition, you will continue to learn how to unleash the potential of mind, body and spirit through the breath. Adding yogic techniques like alternate nostril breathing will further enhance your state of being.

Now turn to the asanas. You can utilize yogic positions to enhance the manner your body finds its way to happiness: the child's pose, the plough, the warrior, the bridge and the lion. Science believes now what yogis have known for centuries (Harvard Mental Health Letter, April 2009): that the asana practices cure depression (by raising dopamine and serotonin levels in the body), lift the energy levels of the body, enhance thinking, change eating and digestion patterns, give a brighter outlook on life and make one feel happier. As you regularly move through these asanas, you massage the organs of your body and enhance your lymphatic and cardiovascular systems. Doesn't it follow that yogic methodologies will help you feel happier?


© Copyright 2013 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

Saturday, August 28, 2010

How to Find an Affordable Yoga Teacher Certification Course


By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

It is true that not all Yoga teacher training programs are created equal. The reason for such a wide variety of difference is based upon the individual needs of potential Yoga instructors. Some interns are seeking spiritual knowledge. Some future Yoga teachers want to share a science that has improved their lives; while other interns may want to teach an alternative health maintenance system.

It also seems that a significant number of graduates have no intention of teaching Yoga at all. The primary reason for taking a Yoga teacher course, and not teaching, is self-improvement. While this may appear to be unique – it is not. In fact, I would venture to speculate that one out of five graduates is seeking Yogic knowledge for personal growth.

Therefore, those who take a Yoga certification course are seeking the best possible program, that matches their needs, at an affordable price. This search, for the right Yoga course, may turn out to be an Internet quest that lasts days, weeks, or months. You may also want to research if there are any student complaints against the training center.

After that, you want to find a training facility which picks up the phone, returns your calls, or answers your Email inquiries. Regardless of how long it takes, one can always find the right course. If you are open to online and correspondence courses, there are many more affordable options.

However, you will want to take the time make sure that an online, or correspondence course, was designed by an actual Yoga teacher trainer. If the prospective school has courses in pet grooming, child day care, and electronics – do they have a teacher trainer on staff for Yoga?

In addition to this, research the school, studio, ashram, or center. Is your prospective school a mail box or a wellness center? What is their track record with graduates? Does the Better Business Bureau, or the town clerk’s office, know who they are? If you have difficulty getting a live person on the other end of the telephone line, during business hours, you may want to think twice before entering a course.
Take the time to explore each of the Yoga teacher training facilities on your list. For some of us, affordability is an overriding factor, but we should also consider all of the possible options available to us. Sometimes, inexpensive options are available, if we research just a little bit deeper.

© Copyright 2010 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: 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 blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

Find Your Inner Calm

A relaxed day begins with a good night’s sleep. Aura Wellness Center offers an online Yoga Nidra course which includes content to help you l...