Picture this: You are about to begin teaching your Thursday evening yoga class when in walks a new student: a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, wearing glasses and a smile on his face. In making your usual introductions, you learn that his name is Randy. You ask him, “Do you have any injuries, or anything else that I should know about?” … Read More
Note: This short story won an Energy Expressions contest among Ananda Yoga teachers. Here’s what inspired the contest: There are many expressions in the English language—and many other languages—that directly reflect realities of the subtle (energy) body, even though the speaker might not know about prana at all. For example, expressions such as “I feel high” and “I’m on top … Read More
Question I have recently begun teaching yoga in the only location available in my community — a gym. Has anyone else had experience in this kind of environment? Does anyone have suggestions for dealing with the noise, other distractions, and workout mentality? Answers Pam Blasco Las Vegas, Nevada The energy at the gym is very different, and at first I … Read More
From the Kay Erdwinn Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies Entering this asana may require some extra “arranging” for the fat person. The arms and legs may need to be wider than with a thinner person. Mostly, though, fat is somewhat mobile (the jiggle effect that we so love in Jello, but for some reason hate in people… go figger), … Read More
Have you ever scheduled yourself to teach a “special needs” class with no props, almost no idea of what the special needs were, and no idea of who the students were? I have, and it launched me on an amazing adventure. Nearly two years ago, I gave a couple private yoga therapy sessions to a friend of mine who had … Read More
On September 30, the 177th anniversary of Lahiri Mahasaya’s birthday, Fran (Ananda Yoga Teacher Training graduate, January 1999) bid a peaceful farewell to this physical plane after a heroic battle against acute myeloid leukemia. In her life as well as in her passing, she was an inspiration to many people. Her physicians called her “the strongest person we have ever … Read More
“Will I ever be able to do ____?” [Fill in the blank with a popular yoga asana.] This is a question that I often receive from my students. They have seen the pictures in the books and watched some of their classmates glide—seemingly effortlessly—into a pose that is challenging to the watchers. I never answer with a simple yes or … Read More
See also Pregnancy Posture Tips. Tadasana will usually need to be modified, sooner or later, by placing the feet wider apart. This will help with balance as well as comfort when the pelvis begins to shift and the baby gets heavier. Standing asanas in general will help improve posture if you, as the teacher, make it a priority to constantly watch … Read More
Hey, guess what? We are going to pretend that Randy — you remember Randy from the last therapeutic yoga article, whom we almost sent to the hospital because he had so many complications with his back problem — has responded well to a conservative yoga therapy program. Can you guess what has been his favorite part of his yoga program? Well, … Read More
When Steve first came into my class, he had a pronounced slump, and his body and face were all gray from not being able to take in enough oxygen. He was about 58 years old at the time, a geography professor at the University of California at Davis. Locked into the academic environment, he’d never really “lived in his body”; … Read More
