Kevin Pederson asked:


Around the world Yoga is considered an enjoyable way to keep fit and healthy. And, though it has been around for ages, only recently has Yoga caught the American fancy. It is a well-rounded workout designed to tone up and strengthen muscles; at the same time it increases flexibility. Yoga is also an excellent way to shed weight and boost energy and vitality. As you start to practise Yoga or Pilates, for that matter you will notice the need for some basic Yoga or Pilates equipment and accessories.

Yoga Mats

Good Yoga mats help increase balance and coordination. Most folks are not properly aligned. As a result we do a lot of what we do asymmetrically. For those intending to balance and a sense of symmetry a Yoga mat is a must. Then again, we strongly recommend a hand-woven Yoga mat. However, for those into dynamic and vigorous kinds such Power Yoga, Sticky Mats are well worth considering.

Yoga straps

The Yoga strap is highly beneficial for beginners. They are either fabricated from cotton or nylon and let you grasp your limbs, you couldn’t reach. They also help you hold a pose longer. Yoga Straps are especially helpful in bound poses when the hands cannot reach each other or for asanas where you need to hold both feet but cannot reach them.

Yoga blocks

Yoga blocks are also called Yoga bricks and are useful in executing a variety of Yoga poses. Yoga blocks help in execution of poses and offer many other benefits. Some of the benefits of Yoga blocks are that they provide stability and support for proper alignment; they also help reduce the distance between the body and the ground.

Yoga cushions

Yoga cushions help practitioners establish proper spinal alignment so that the posture stays steady, straight, and comfortable. Yoga Cushions are also beneficial to pregnant women and to people recovering from surgery. With Yoga cushions, most poses can be done comfortably as you sit on a chair or using a chair to maintain balance while standing. For added support or cushioning, Yoga Cushions are also used on top of a Yoga Mat or Yoga Chair height.

Yoga balls

Yoga Balls are a versatile prop for many postures. Fabricated from durable vinyl, they help achieve the necessary balance and support for asanas. Yoga Balls effectively increase your flexibility, improve your range of motion and balance, as well as tone up the muscles. Besides, they also help shape the body and relieve of stress.

Paul M. Jerard Jr. asked:


Here are some habits to practice on your journey toward self-perfection. Always remember that you may make some mistakes along the way.

Cultivate love through acts of kindness toward family, friends, and associates. Smile at others and put your “best foot forward.” This alone will open many doors in life and make your journey a pleasant one. Take time for self analysis by observing your past, future, and present. Visualize what you can change and learn from what you cannot. Meditate, pray, and practice your breathing (Pranayama).

Selfless service for the common good is rewarding for the inner and outer self. You do not have to join a group to help others, but a group will have more ability to help than a single person. Either way, helping others will make you a better person. Give to charity and share with others when ever it is possible. Giving to others, especially those in need is a universal law. When it is possible to help another person, we should all help.

Forgive others for their wrong doings and let go of the past. Do this for yourself and you will feel a great burden, lifted from you. Carrying a grudge and frowning all day, takes too much positive energy out of you, so leave bad feelings behind.

The following are some habits to avoid. Avoid practicing Yoga for material gain or to acquire psychic powers. Anything of value should be used to help those you can. There is nothing wrong with earning a living or bettering yourself, but you should always help anyone you can.

As a Yoga practitioner, you are an ambassador of Yoga. An “air of superiority” should be avoided by all Yogis and Yoginis. This is seen as arrogance, and arrogance is only needed to bolster the ego. Therefore, be a diplomat, when speaking in terms of Yogic philosophy or vegetarianism.

Remember to practice Yoga as a lifestyle. Yoga is not just practiced in the ashram, in the mountains, on the beach, or behind the exclusive walls of a particular Yoga studio. Yoga can be practiced with acts of kindness, devotion to God, or in a physical practice at your own home.

Give your family, friends, and work your best efforts. Practicing Yoga is part of your life, but you should never abandon your obligations for Yoga. It is much healthier to live a full life and enjoy your family, friends, and work along the way.

We can take the right actions by practicing the following: Meditate daily and take action to focus your thinking, when your mind becomes restless. Remember that Yoga can be practiced anytime because of its mental, spiritual, and physical components.

© Copyright 2006 by Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul M. Jerard Jr. asked:


Yoga and Yogic philosophy is occasionally misunderstood because some people have not been informed of the universal principles that are not threatening to any belief or disbelief. Many people who do not practice Yoga are often surprised to find detailed dietary suggestions contained within their Yoga training. Yoga aids the student toward better health in every possible aspect. So, Yoga requires and in depth explanation.

Let’s start with the meaning of Yoga, which literally means “unity” or “union.” Your next question might be, “Unity with what?” Yoga does help unify the mind and body, but it also unifies the spirit or soul within you with God. The soul is sometimes known as the “Atman” and can also be referred to as pure or true consciousness. Yoga is not a religion, but it can be practiced in harmony with any religion.

Before we go any further; it should be noted that many students from a variety of religions have practiced Yoga and feel a deeper connection with God as a result of the mind, body, and spirit unification process. Therefore, Yoga is doing no harm to anyone of any religion. Yoga philosophy does not preach a “Better than thou” doctrine. This has been mankind’s excuse to wage war, since history was first recorded and even before.

The concept of another person’s religion, nationality, ethnic background, race, and gender; being less, have always been convenient reasons for bigotry, slavery, and cruelty. Tolerance of others is not a new idea in Yogic philosophy.

There is no group that has the exclusive rights to Yoga. India is the birth place of Yoga and the people of India have gladly shared their gift with the rest of the world. There is no exclusive group that practices Yoga or teaches Yoga classes. Yoga was not designed to be an exclusive practice and Yoga has evolved for the best over 5,000 years to this day.

For the sake of being “politically correct,” many Yoga teachers omit the spiritual aspect of Yoga in their Hatha Yoga classes. This is fine, since the masses of some cultures object to learning about a method to connect to God. However, what does it say about a culture that is to busy to talk or think about God?

It means many things and some societies are showing signs of systematic spiritual illness. However, if you teach Hatha Yoga under these circumstances, you might be best to leave religion outside your classes. Unless, you are teaching Bhakti Yoga or something similar such as Jewish, Moslem, or Christian Yoga, the union of mind, body, and spirit does not usually occur in a typical Hatha Yoga class.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul M. Jerard Jr. asked:


There are many choices, when it comes to advertising and marketing your Yoga teaching skills for Yoga studios and Yoga instructors. As I’ve mentioned in other books, and interviews, the biggest difference between advertising and marketing, is cost. Advertising will usually cost you money. Marketing and public relations can sometimes cost you nothing, if you do it yourself.

You can market by press release, Email, FAX, mail, referrals, public relations, shoe leather (cold call – knocking on doors), and community outreach. Knocking on doors is a very inefficient use of your time. Whatever you do, remember that press releases about charity drives, interesting news in your studio, or your last visit to Tibet, are interesting to the public and cost you nothing.

If you send anything electronically, please make absolutely sure you have permission from the recipient. There are a number of penalties for sending out “Junk Email” (Spam). In the US, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and can result in fines or imprisonment.

You should not Fax prospects without permission either. Within the US, there are penalties for sending “Junk Faxes.” The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 have rules that ban sending unwanted advertisements to a fax machine, without first receiving the receiver’s permission.

Therefore, learn the rules of electronic marketing or hire a service that does. It is in your best interest to know the law. Most Yoga teachers do not want the prospect of teaching Yoga, as an inmate, in prison. It is much less expensive to learn the rules and laws, or hire someone who does.

Advertising your Yoga business, on the other hand, will cost you money, and you want to get the best return for your investment. The return on investment is what makes the Internet so attractive to small businesses, such as Yoga teachers and Yoga studios.

The Internet is your absolute best return on investment. Yes, that’s right, and you will notice every major ashram, wellness center, studio, Yoga school, and Yoga teacher, who is worth their weight, has a website. You won’t see many “fly-by-night” Yoga teaching services, with a strong natural search engine ranking.

The reason is – it takes a little while to establish your business on the web. Realistically, it takes about five months for a website to gain a strong presence in the natural search engine rankings.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Matthew Hick asked:


One of the most popular forms of yoga is Pilates yoga. People all over the world practice Pilates. This form of yoga has been praised for aiding people with developing a spiritual and body connection. By doing exercises to develop strength, muscle tone, flexibility, and better posture, people who do Pilates get themselves into better shape mentally and physically.

Joseph H. Pilates developed Pilates Yoga in the 1920’s. As a child Joseph was sickly and frail. He grew tired of watching other children run around and play sports and became determined to not only improve his health but also strengthen his body. This began his journey on this now popular mind/body fitness movement. He began to overcome his physical limitations through exercise and soon became an accomplished sportsman. When he was detained as a German national during World War I, he trained other detainees with his exercises, even helping bedridden patients.

After Pilates was released, his exercise method was gaining popularity in the dance world. He immigrated to the United States and opened a fitness studio in New York City with his wife, Claire. Many of his clients were dancers, some from the New York City Ballet. Several of his students went on to open their own studios, spreading this form of exercise to places outside of New York City. Pilates continued to teach until his death at the age of 87.

Pilates supports fewer successive repetitions and more control over body movement. It is a method of total body conditioning training and strengthening entire body alignment. It stretches and strengthens muscles, builds endurance and restores muscle balance. It aims at developing graceful bodies that move more efficiently but don’t result in bulky bodies. Pilates believes ‘change happens through movement and movement heals’. By performing movements, the body will learn by its actions. The methodical form of exercise will stretch, strengthen and balance the body while performing proper breathing techniques.

Pilates exercises are done on mats or with the aid of apparatuses. The One Hundred pose is one of the most common poses. It consists of lying on the floor on your back with your waist to the floor. Place your arms by your side and legs pointed up in air. Lift your head, neck and shoulders off mat as you pump your arms like a bird. Hold this for the count of 100. This exercise will strengthen abdominal muscles, as well as, warm up the body for more exercises.

Joseph Pilates combined yoga with stretching, creating the popular form of exercise today. It is known for its ability to produce core strength, which is a balanced development of the trunk muscles that stabilize movement. It also helps to control and expand yoga poses safely. Pilates had much success in treating bedridden soldiers during the war. Today, this exercise program is used not only for fitness but also widely used in rehabilitation processes. He believed you could train the mind to control the body. His discipline program is designed to bring mobility back to the body through a less vigorous, slow, concentrated effort. This makes it safe and easy for anyone to use.

David Silva asked:


One of the great advantages of persuing yoga is that it doesn’t require much in the way of gear. In fact, most folks can get by with nothing more than a comfortable pair of sweats and a litte open floor space. But if you’re ready to get more serious about your yoga, there are some items that you might want to add to your routines. Here are just a few for your consideration:

Mats

Sticky yoga mats can provide a safe and comfortable non-slip surface for your yoga routine. Believe it or not, there are mats that are specifically designed for yoga, as opposed to Pilates mats or other exercise mats. A good yoga mat will tend to be thinner and easy to roll up to place in your gym bag for easy transportation and storage. By the way, most places selling yoga equipment can offer you a variety of mat styles and colors, so you’ll be able to express your individuality in the gear you choose.

Yoga Straps

Yoga straps are less common that some of the other forms of gear listed here. In fact, if you’ve been doing yoga for awhile, you still may not be familiar with them. A yoga strap is a simple nylon strap with a plastic or metal buckle. Usually light-weight, you can find them in a number of different colors. How are they used? Most commonly the yoga strap is used as an aid for those people who just can’t quite reach a specific goal in a pose. For example, they can help you with such challenging poses as the Seated Forward Bend (or Paschimottanasana) where you sit with both legs in front of you and attempt to lay your torso flat over your thighs. If your hamstrings are particularly tight, a yoga strap can be looped around your feet to pull your torso gently forward until you feel that distinctive sensation where you know you want to be.

Blocks

Yoga blocks and bricks are used by many yogis to modify poses in their workouts. These blocks can help you to deepen your stretches, reduce the strain on a particular muscle group when you’re beginning to learn a new pose, and provide a better foundation for proper body alignment. Most yoga stores will sell a variety of blocks in sizes that can help you with both simple and advanced poses.

Videos

Not technically gear, yoga workouts on DVD and video have become incredibly popular today, particularly for those who are too busy to attend a regular class, or who no longer feel the need for the guidance of a yoga instructor. You can find DVD yoga workouts for all levels, from beginner to master, including titles such as Crunch – The Perfect Yoga Workout, The Total Body Yoga Workout DVD, QuickFix – Power Yoga Workout, and ZenMama Prenatal Yoga Workout DVD. There’s something for everyone interested in yoga on DVD.

If you have a yoga store near you (or if you poke around the Interent a bit), you’ll also find that there are a variety of yoga “kits” available as well. These packages typically include all the basic yoga gear: one or two blocks, straps, a mat and sometimes even a video or flash cards of different poses. Yoga kits are a wonderful starting point for the yoga enthusiast, especially if you aren’t quite sure where to begin.