...Bikram Choudhury is the founder of Bikram Yoga. He had studied Yoga with Bishnu Ghosh, who is the brother of Paramahansa Yogananda. It contains a series of 26 poses, and the Yogis practiced it in a hot room of 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit, this is to allow the yogis to go deeper and safer into a pose. In addition, the body becomes more flexible in the heat, and you will notice that you can do many poses with your body that you never imagined you could do it before.

This also helps in toxin elimination by inducing sweating, increasing the blood circulation and preventing injury. The Yogis do each pose twice and hold each for some minutes. Bikram Yoga is so beneficial to the entire body, as it exercises your muscles, bones and works on your internal organs, too, e.g. the stomach, the liver, the colon, the kidneys, the heart and the lung.

At the beginning of the exercise, the Yogis stand upright for a while "do the standing postures", then the backbends, the forward bends, and the twists. Each pose is accompanied with breathing; Kapalabhati Breath (the fire breathe). In each pose, you stretch and strengthen your muscles, joints, and ligaments. At the same time, you are releasing toxi...more

Yoga Teacher Retention Tips

...ure our students of ailments. Yoga definitely does help with many ailments, but when you make guarantees, you leave yourself open for legal grief. A promise is a guarantee, and can potentially put you out of the Yoga business permanently.

When you teach Yoga, stick to the facts, and know the exact sources of research, before making a statement. Most Yoga teachers do not have a medical degree, so avoid medical opinions, unless you are a medical doctor. A wise Yoga teacher would tell his, or her, Yoga students to seek medical advice from a physician. Yoga students should also look into the value of a second opinion from a qualified medical professional.

Make sure your staff, and the person who answers the phone, are very friendly. If this is not the case, find replacements. A rude receptionist will scare off existing, and new, Yoga students. Your receptionist is the keeper of the gateway to learning Yoga from you, and gives the first impression of what you are al...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga: Designing a Lesson Plan - Part 1

...Which asanas, or Yoga postures, should you select? How long should you hold each Yoga posture? What is the benefit of holding a Yoga posture for minutes at a time?

Should you start or finish a Yoga class with meditation? How should you incorporate Pranayama within your Yoga class? These are some of the many questions that Yoga teachers must address and find solutions for.

Which asanas or Yoga postures should you select? Some Yoga posture sequencing is considered so important that a few Yoga teachers and Yoga Masters have gone through the trouble of patenting and copywriting them. This is still a hot topic in some Yoga circles, but sequen...more

Even for Asthma, Yoga can be Helpful

...poses mentioned by Sri Swami Devananda and IBS Iyengar (two of the most authoritative figures in modern day yoga) as being specifically useful for removing spasms from the bronchial tubes and thus relieving Asthma.

Now, lets discuss the breathing exercises associated with Yoga. In addition to these poses, let me briefly mention the Bellows breath exercise (a yoga breathing exercise) as this helps tremendously.

The Bellows Breath Exercise (aka Kapalabathi) involves purposely pumping the stomach in an inward motion and exhaling through the nose simultaneously in controlled movements. This removes spasms and tones up the respiratory system significantly.

In addition to all of this, one commonly overlooked factor in using Yoga is this; Yoga calls for a specific consumption of foods that make up its associated Sattvic Diet or Yogic diet.

Coincidentally, this diet excludes all processed, packaged or animal foods and is mostly (if not all t...more

Kansas City Yoga Teacher Directory