From the Kay Erdwinn’s Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies This asana is usually not harder for fat people than for anyone else. However, there are a couple of items to keep in mind. One, usually the hardest part of the asana is lying prone with the head on the ground. It’s hard for a fat person to breathe that … Read More
From the Kay Erdwinn’s Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies The only caveat here is that when fat people place their arms at their sides, their arms are not hanging down perpendicular to the floor. Consequently, when a fat person supports him/herself in this asana, the angle of the arms makes them less efficient in strength for the task. This … Read More
One day, as my students were filing in for their yoga class and waiting for it to start, they began to discuss among themselves the yoga poses that they hated. It was quite a spirited discussion, with people lobbying fiercely for the “worst” yoga pose! Overhearing this, I suddenly had an inspiration. When they were all settled in and ready … Read More
Although I am writing this for the amusement and benefit of all, it is inspired by my experience at numerous yoga sessions. It concerns the following two basic rules of English verb forms, frequently violated by yoga teachers: Transitive verbs take a direct object. Intransitive verbs stand alone (i.e., no direct objects). Here are some examples using the present tense: … Read More
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
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
Question #1: Is it physically safe to round the lumbar spine in a forward bend? Just for fun, I surveyed a number of experienced yoga teachers, physical therapists, chiropractors and an osteopath. Their responses agreed with what we’ve been teaching, i.e., it’s okay to round the spine in the surrender phase, provided: The spine is healthy to begin with. Injured spines (discs, … Read More
Yoga has become well known in the West for its many physical and psychological benefits, such as improved muscle tone, lower blood pressure, stress relief, increased vitality, and mental clarity. Yet the original purpose of yoga was — and its highest purpose has always been — spiritual: Yoga is the art and science of attaining true, lasting happiness. Yoga is … Read More
From the Kay Erdwinn’s Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies Unless there are knee problems, most fat people are comfortable with the first phase of this asana. The second phase is harder for everyone, of course. The fat person performing this asana must be sure of his/her leg strength and knee health, since s/he must carry more weight. The most troublesome … Read More
From the Kay Erdwinn’s Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies A fat student will not be able to bend forward as far as a comparatively flexible thinner person, again due to the size of the belly. Bending the knees aggravates this problem, so be on the lookout for locked knees in your fat students. Another related problem is difficulty breathing. Taking … Read More
