Comprehensive guide to yoga training

Yoga courses guides, this seems like a popular topic in 2019. Stress is high, life is fast, big problems clouds our mind and yoga seems the best answer. What is Yoga? Yoga originated in India thousands of years ago. Sri Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali around the second century BCE and is said to have called himself simply a “compiler of yoga principles” from ancient Vedic texts. Sutras means threads, or philosophical guidelines. Patanjali describes yoga as chitta vritti nirodha, which roughly translates to “you are in a state of yoga when you can still the mind into presence.” Yoga in Western society often misrepresents the physical practice, known as yogasana, as yoga itself. Jnana Yoga (studying spiritual texts as yoga), Bhakti Yoga (devotion as yoga), and Karma Yoga (community action as yoga) are more ancient forms of yoga with little or no physical posturing. Classical yoga, however, is a holistic practice comprising eight limbs—the physical postures being just one element of finding peace in oneself.

Sukhasana (Easy Pose): As always, you should sit with your pelvis in a relatively neutral position. To find neutral, press your hands against the floor and lift your sitting bones slightly off the support. As you hang there for a few breaths, make your thigh bones heavy, then slowly lower your sit bones lightly back to the support. Try to balance your pubic bone and tail bone so they’re equidistant from the floor. Sukhasana is a Sanskrit word where sukh means “pleasure” or “happiness”, and asana means “pose”. It creates a calm ambiance in your body and mind. This pose encourages groundedness and a humble atmosphere in your body. During this exercise, try to focus in between the eyebrows. Lift up your energy from the social desires of the world to walk a path towards enlightenment.

The Chair yoga position tones your leg muscles, strengthens your hip reflexors, ankles, calves and back. It stretches the chest and shoulders. It reduces symptoms of flat feet and it stimulates your heart, diaphragm, and abdominal organs. The Vayu mudra is good for diseases related to air imbalances, such as gas-related pain, flatulence, joint pain, bloating, and abdominal discomfort. This mudra helps regulate Vata-related issues, both mental and physical, relieving them by bringing your air element back into its proper flow. Method: At first glance, this mudra may seem very similar to the Gyan mudra. The difference is the Vayu has you connect the thumb to the knuckle or hump of the index finger, as opposed to the fingertip in Gyan. Press down on the index finger to your level of comfort; this gesture is intended to relax not strain the joint. For optimal results, do your Pranayama exercises while holding this mudra.

Prana Mudra symbolizes energy or spirit of life. It provides energy and health. It improves eyesight, increases the body resistance to diseases, reduces deficiency of vitamins, and removes tiredness. Additionally, it reduces hunger pangs during fasting and gives you a good night’s sleep. It also stimulates the entire human body, energizes it and puts the internal organs in motion. All about Yoga Mudras with Their Benefits.

Types of Yoga: What are the four main types of yoga? Answer: karma, bhakti, jnana, and raja. Ashtanga means “eight limbs” and encompasses a yogic lifestyle. Most people identify Ashtanga as traditional Indian yoga. Like Vinyasa yoga, the Ashtanga yoga asanas (postures) synchronize breath with movement as you move through a series of postures. It was brought to the United States by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in the early 20th century. The series of postures are practiced the same way every time and consist of Sun Salutation A, Sun Salutation B, a standing sequence, and a closing sequence. The practice is usually performed without music, and sometimes without verbal instruction (in silence).

If you are not into too much hectic activity, then Yin yoga is just the practice for you. This slow-paced style lets you hold poses for a longer time—from 45 seconds to two minutes. There are also a lot of seated postures and a focus on spirituality, inner peace and relaxation. By holding poses for a longer time, you stretch your connective tissue and make it more elastic. You also improve blood circulation and the qi energy in your body. Props help you relax into the postures instead of keeping your muscles flexed and taut. This style is often practiced in a heated room to help your muscles become more elastic. You must not try this if you are super flexible (as you can get injuries if you over-stretch) or have any connective tissue disease.

An important component of yoga is focusing on the present. Studies have found that regular yoga practice improves coordination, reaction time, memory, and even IQ scores. People who practice Transcendental Meditation demonstrate the ability to solve problems and acquire and recall information better—probably because they’re less distracted by their thoughts, which can play over and over like an endless tape loop. Yoga encourages you to relax, slow your breath, and focus on the present, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system (or the fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic nervous system. The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers breathing and heart rates, decreases blood pressure, and increases blood flow to the intestines and reproductive organs—comprising what Herbert Benson, M.D., calls the relaxation response.

How does it help build muscle? Most poses are held for five full breaths versus the usual one to three breaths. Muscles are challenged as the mind and body have to work together simultaneously to hold a position without giving up. Breathing, posing, moving, and increasing flexibility happen together at one time, which unearths a new level of discipline in your mind and body.

YTTI provides you Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training in India, which is focused on one’s inner improvement. We have Yoga Teachers who practiced yoga for many years and have in-depth knowledge about yoga. Our selection criteria about yoga teacher is so strict that we confirm our students who come for Yoga teacher training in India from different parts of the world get the best yoga education so that they can spread benefits of yoga further. Read extra info on Yoga Teacher Training India.

About the Author