...Many people wonder if yoga can improve their muscle fitness. They recognize that yoga can help reduce stress and increase flexibility, but when it comes to increasing muscle fitness, they think it might be a little too 'weak' to do the job. The fact is that yoga can definitely make you stronger.

A study was conducted at the university of California at Davis. Ten college 'coach potatoes' adopted a yoga routine for eight weeks. Each week, they attended from two to four classes during which they spent 10 minutes on breath control, 15 minutes of warm up exercises, 50 minutes doing yoga asanas, and then 10 minutes of relaxation/mediation. At the end of the eight-week period, the researchers measured the students' fitness and discovered that their muscular strength had increased by up to 31%, their muscular endurance improved by 57%, their flexibility increased by 188%, and their cardio respiratory fitness improved by 7%. These results are pretty amazing when you consider that the study was only conducted for...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga: Assisting, Demonstrating, and Verbally Cueing

...Some Yoga instructors feel that one method for teaching Yoga is better than the rest; but which one is it? If a Yoga teacher does not give a physical assist, is that wrong? If a Yoga instructor does not demonstrate poses, how can students who learn visually make progress? What about the Yoga instructor who makes an assist before verbally cueing?

There are many methods for teaching Yoga, but students either learn by seeing, feeling, hearing, or a combination of senses. With this in mind, there is no right or wrong method, but Yoga teachers should be aware that some students may have a dominant sense when it comes to learning. This is why teaching methods fo...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga - Difficult Students and Fitness Centers

...What would you do if you had to substitute your Yoga class for an Aerobic Step class? What if one of the Step Aerobics students gave you a case of misplaced aggression because he or she was disappointed the Step Aerobics class was canceled?

If you are considering teaching Yoga in a fitness center, or health club; imagine the following situation. A Power Yoga teacher is called, by the fitness center she works for - to substitute her Power Yoga class for the regular Step Aerobics Class; this is her story.

This morning I substituted for another fitness class and had a woman literally scowl, once she found out that Yoga was filling in the time slot for the Step Aerobics class. She looked at me, and said, that it wasn't against me, but she just didn't see the point in stretching. "I can't loose weight by stretching. I need cardio."

I told her that she might be surprised and she m...more

Why Yoga Exercises Are Different From Other Forms Of Exercise

...d one achieves balance and stamina through these yoga exercises, some of which are modeled after the movements of various animals. In yoga exercises, relaxation is taught as an art, breathing as a science, and mental control of the body as a means of harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit.

The advanced stages of yoga require many years of special preparation-practices. Today's mode of living , its tempo and surroundings, mean that this is difficult to achieve. However, practicing yoga exercises and deep breathing and relaxation techniques, with some of the time devoted to concentration and meditation is something everyone can achieve.

Yoga exercises can have a positive effect on individuals who are suffering from disease or illness. Whilst it is not able to cure these things, pr...more

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