Articles for Yoga Teachers
from https://www.expandinglight.org/free/yoga-teacher/articles/

Daily Life, Unique Teaching Experiences

Education for Life: Inspired Schools in Master’s Motherland

In 2016, an Education for Life (EFL) team was invited to visit a school 110 km (almost 70 miles) from Rishikesh, in the north of India. The EFL team found inspiration in the school’s uplifting and inspirational beginnings. Rajendra Bhat was a native of this little village in Rishikesh. He left his home to get a higher education. Bhat returned, … Read More

Ananda Yoga, Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Teacher Training

Taking God Out of “God”: A Crash Course in Semantics

by Kyle McDonald As Ananda-trained yoga and meditation teachers, many of us find ourselves teaching in environments where our language skills are put to test, particularly in replacing or avoiding the word “God.” This year, I had the opportunity to work in two very different environments, one secular and one non-secular. Semantics proved helpful in one situation and harmful in … Read More

Ananda Yoga, Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Teacher Training

Yoga for Teens (Part 2)

In addition to instructing teenage dancers in Ananda Yoga (Yoga for Teens Part 1), I also had the opportunity at Langley Fine Arts School to teach a group of beginners, grades 10 & 11, from a Western Civilizations Class who were already familiar with studying different cultures, religions, and spiritual paths. Because Ananda Yoga is richly filled with deep spiritual … Read More

Ananda Yoga, Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Teacher Training

Yoga for Teens (Part 1)

I recently had the privilege of teaching Ananda Yoga and meditation to teenagers at my old high school in Fort Langley, BC— a private school uniquely designed where students major in one of the arts (Dance, Drama, Music, Writing, Photography, or Visual Arts)—and focus on that area of interest from grade 8 through 12. During my own years at Langley … Read More

Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Postures

Higher Awareness Comes to the Gym

Gyandev: How did all this begin? Süheyla: I worked out at the club, and they asked me to start teaching. I hesitated because I didn’t think I could use there what I have learned at Ananda. But my heart said, “Go for it. If it doesn’t work, you can always find another job.” Management was more interested in me teaching … Read More

Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Postures

Yoga as a Healing Modality

Last May, the University of Southern Indiana School of Nursing and Health Professions asked me to talk on “Yoga As A Healing Modality” to their Case Management Seminar. It was quite a new topic for the participants (nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and corporate health insurance managers), as evidenced by other Seminar topics such as: “The Future of Case Management,” “Prospective … Read More

Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Postures

Ananda Yoga Comes to a Women’s Prison

Gyandev How did you start teaching in a prison? Nikki After Ananda Yoga Teacher Training in August 2002, it came to me in meditation that I needed to teach free yoga in the prison system. I heard it loud and clear. So I made some calls, and a friend whose brother and sister-in-law are both judges in Idaho connected me with a … Read More

Personal Transformations, Short Stories, Unique Teaching Experiences

Inspiration for Your Teaching

Short Stories Returning to Yoga after a Back Injury Ananda Yoga Goes to the Movies Holding to Your Ideals The Joy of Teaching Meditation Big Yoga, Small Town Growth on All Levels “Left and Right and All Around”: Yoga in a Restaurant, in a Gym, and in the Bible Belt “This is Why I Come to Yoga!” My Experience of … Read More

Students with Unique Needs, Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Postures

Miss Yoga Goes to Juvenile Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karen Barbarick From the interview: “It seemed that the students were born with a deep understanding, but they rebelled against a world that didn’t understand their understanding, and they ended up in jail—frustrated, purposeless. “Now all of a sudden they had a purpose: they could teach the others, and they were eager to do it. “This was … Read More

Unique Teaching Experiences, Yoga Postures

Lessons in Love and Courage

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