Why Teach Yoga?
I started doing yoga because I had heard good things about it and thought some "gentle stretching" might do my body good. While my body did love that, it isn’t what keeps me returning to yoga over and over again.
Instead, It was this feeling I had when I left yoga class. At first, it was hard to describe, but over time I started realizing that yoga made me feel more connected.
Connected to what you might ask?
So many things: Myself. The present. Other people. The universe. My soul. My spirit. My truth. Love. Prana (which, according to yoga philosophy, is the Divine energy of the universe).
It was the idea of sharing this feeling of connectedness that made me want to teach yoga.
What Makes Yoga Different From Other “Fitness” Classes?
Unlike most fitness classes, which focus primarily on the body, yoga takes the whole person into account with a body-mind-spirit approach. This whole-person approach means that yoga supports us not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
Benefits of Yoga
The number of studies on yoga is growing rapidly and according to the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health yoga may have many benefits including:
Stress relief
Management of anxiety
Improved mental and emotional health
Improved sleep
Reduction of low back and neck pain
Reduction in frequency and severity of headaches
Chronic disease symptom management and improved quality of life
Supporting healthy eating
Supporting smoking cessation
Relief of menopause symptoms
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
For some, yoga is different because it isn’t about physical fitness at all. The root of the word yoga is yuj, which means “to join” or “to unite”. Yoga is about realizing our union or our interconnectedness with all things. Rooted in India, yoga has deep philosophical underpinnings.
Forms of yoga - including pranayama (breathing practices), asana (yoga postures), and meditation - had been practiced for thousands of years and while some techniques were written, many were passed down orally from teacher to student. In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali these traditions were compiled and organized into a practical system.
The word sutra means “thread” and, traditionally, sutras are a collection of observed “truths” about human existence.
You Are Part of All Things, And All Things Are a Part of You
Yoga teacher training is about recognizing and deepening your own connection to all things.
The more deeply connected you become as a yoga teacher, the better able you are to utilize yoga philosophy and your own experience to guide others on their own yoga journey.
Your journey begins NOW.
Click HERE to learn more about becoming a yoga teacher.
Comments