...you become more in tune with your body, mind and spirit. These studies show that when you get these aspects of your life in harmony, you are able to improve your health, happiness and other areas of your life.

There are numerous reasons to start practicing yoga for your health. Many people take up yoga simply as an exercise program because of medical reasons, such as a back injury. Others take up yoga because of a knee injury prevents them from jogging or other strenuous exercise. Many athletes take up yoga to improve their flexibility.

As with any exercise program, yoga can improve your health by increasing your muscle strength and flexibility and your respiratory endurance. It also tends to reduce pain and inflammation by increasing the oxygen supply into the blood stream which helps to flush the body and eliminate toxins.

Another health benefit of yoga is increased positive mental s...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga: Should a Yoga Teacher be a Vegetarian?

...of meat consumption and its consequences.

Due to the cultures people are raised in, they are used to the taste of a particular meat. An example of this is the global beef consumption. The Japanese had been used to eating whale meat. There are cultures that have acquired the taste of dogs and cats. Luckily, cannibalism has been outlawed worldwide.

Most of us are in agreement that our forests should be preserved. The forests serve as a filtering system for all of the fossil fuels we expel into the atmosphere.

Global warming may not be the only problem, if the last human on earth is gasping for oxygen. Removing any more forests, to make room for cattle to graze, is a slow form of global suicide. This only makes environmental sense.

Health problems, due to meat consu...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga: What is Normal?

...o in harmony with the best prepared plans. If you are commuting, by car, to teach your next Yoga class, and you are delayed by an auto accident, or a mechanical break down, your priorities have changed instantly. You are not in control of this situation and all you can really do is damage control.

Therefore, we cannot count on a Yoga class, or life, to be normal. earth quakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, death, and behavior are very hard to predict. All a Yoga teacher can do is help one person, one student, or one Yoga class at a time.

Discard any ideas about what is normal. The universe, Yoga students, ...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga: The Transformation

...s happen often. When a Yoga student feels the physical or mental benefits of practice he or she becomes transformed by discarding pain and gaining new found enthusiasm.

Within any given Yoga class, there is a form of collective transformation that students and Yoga teacher experience. If you take a typical hatha Yoga class and consider the warm ups, Pranayama, Sun Salutations, asana practice, meditation, relaxation, or an integration of any other Yogic components; the transformation is quietly happening to the entire group.

There is no mystery here. Transformation of mind, body, and spirit is a result of steady Yoga practice.

Copyright 2006 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

...It's strange that people still associate the phrase "yoga guru" with a person of Indian heritage. Although yoga has a slightly different meaning here than in India, there are more people practicing yoga in the lower east side of Manhattan than there are in all of India! Surely not all of those yoga instructors are Indian. Surely they didn't even all learn from Indian gurus of their own. No. Cultural heritage truly no longer matters to yoga guru-ship.

Yoga's continual evolution has taken a Westward turn. Americans in particular have turned yoga into an exercise regimen and ideal of perfect health. It has become an integral part of the multi-million dollar fitness industry. Some of this is due to America's fascination with celebrity. When stars like Madonna embrace something like yoga, thousands of fans follow suit. Madonna is known throughout the world as having one of the most fit physiques of any entertainer. This inspires imitators.

But another industry, the fashion industry, is also tremendously impacted by the yoga trend. Som...more

The 4 Paths of Yoga

... karma Yoga is that what we experience today is created by our actions in the past. So if what goes around comes around - we will be inclined to live a less selfish life. It teaches us to detach ourselves from the results of our actions, lets us let go of the ego, and purify the heart.

Bhakti yoga - (devotion) - the path of worship. Seeing the divine in all of creation - it provides us with an opportunity to cultivate acceptance and tolerance for everyone we come into contact with. It is the yoga of the heart. This is the most popular path in India, and it involves surrendering yourself to the devine through prayer, worship and ritual.

Jnana Yoga - (wisdom) - the yoga of the mind, the path of inner enquiry. This path requires development of the intellect through the study of the scriptures and texts of the yogic tradition. It involves serious study and will appeal to those who are more intellectually inclined.

Benefits of Yoga

...xercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body.

For those just starting out doing yoga, you will find that your body may be rigid when performing the various poses. If you keep yoga as your workout routine, you will notice quite a remarkable increase in your flexibility in a short bit of time.

Be sure to have the necessary Yoga Accessories.

In addition to the joint, ligament and tendon benefits yoga brings, yoga also benefits the body's internal organs. Yoga may be the only workout type that massages and stimulates the body's internal organs.

All of these benefits have an ultimate one of keeping illness and disease at bay. Those performing yoga are in tune to thei...more

Nude Yoga - Would You Try It?

...portantly understand that nudity in yoga has a very different meaning to that of sexuality and sexual behavior. It is very important to gather information about nude yoga centers or classes in your area prior to booking a session. Nude yoga should be run by a qualified yoga practitioner that is devoted to creating a safe and non-threatening environment. The atmosphere should be non-sexual in nature and the atmosphere should be a comfortable and relaxed one. In certain nude yoga classes lights are dimmed, clothes are removed as part of a yoga ritual and focus is always kept on the yoga practice and not those practicing around you. There are certain nude yoga classes that do not follow these guidelines and are groups that have changed the art into a sexual experience. If you ar...more