Above all, the essence of Ananda Yoga™ is attunement to the vibration of Paramhansa Yogananda. If you really want to feel the essence of Ananda Yoga™, call upon Paramhansa Yogananda. Ask for his guidance, and try to tune in to his consciousness.
Tadasana, the Standing Mountain Pose
If you were going to develop an affirmation for tadasana, what would it be? On what quality would you focus? Why not go into the pose right now and think about it for a moment? Is it groundedness? We’ve all heard yoga teachers focus on using tadasana to get grounded, become stable, connect with the earth, etc. Certainly some people … Read More
Training Teachers to Teach Yoga in Public Schools
Susan wrote an inspiring article about her teaching of Ananda Yoga in public schools. At that time, she was about to embark on a seven-week series, funded by a Jeannie Ritchie grant, in which she would instruct other classroom teachers in how to integrate yoga into the classroom. Following is her report on that series and on some wonderful subsequent … Read More
Rewire Your Circuits
Recently, Swami Kriyananda said something that is very relevant for yoga teachers: “In anything we do, we should never take credit to ourselves. It’s what we do that makes us the way we are, and if we did differently, we’d be different. We are the result, not of talents, gifts, or qualities, but of actions that reflect those qualities. “When you don’t … Read More
New Twists on Energization
Generations ago, when Naresh’s father passed away, all the relatives gathered at his house for the funeral rites. As Naresh was performing the ceremony, a dog strayed into the house. Someone quickly caught the dog and put it outside. After a short time, the dog wandered in again, and was again put outside. When the dog came in a third … Read More
Meditation Instructions
Meditation is one of the most natural and profoundly rewarding of all human activities. It connects you with your own inner powers of vitality, clarity, and love. First Step: Relax One of the best ways to relax the body is to tense it first. Then, with relaxation, you will find tensions being released that you didn’t even know existed. Begin … Read More
Engineered for Upliftment
Over the past few years, I’ve seen remarkable growth in the number of people who practice and teach Ananda Yoga®. It’s truly wonderful to see so many people taking to Ananda Yoga with such enthusiasm. Why has this happened? Certainly the “yoga boom” is one big reason. With hatha yoga nearly everywhere — gyms, churches, businesses, hospitals, the media — … Read More
Engage Your Core?
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for some years, you’ve heard yoga teachers telling their students, “Engage your core.” This didn’t happen until recently. My guess is that it arose from the popularity of Pilates classes (where “the core” is a key focus) — many yoga teachers simply decided to “import” into yoga some Pilates principles. Although Pilates practice … Read More
How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training Program
If you’re thinking of becoming a yoga teacher, here are some important questions you should ask about any teacher training school you’re considering. 1. What style of yoga is taught? Don’t choose a yoga teacher training just because the dates fit your schedule, or it’s cheap. Rather, train in the style that you want to teach. And if a school … Read More
Future Directions for Yoga in the West
Enjoy Gyandev’s popular keynote address to the 2011 Keynote for Yoga Alliance Leadership Conference. In the audience were hundreds of yoga teachers from all over the world. Many people expressed regret that they couldn’t attend the keynote in person, and a number who were there asked to see it again, so here it is: Gyandev McCord – Keynote speaker at … Read More