When Does One Become A Yoga Teacher?

When Does One Become A Yoga Teacher?

When you teach a friend, co-worker, or family member, one Yoga technique, you have taken the first step toward becoming a Yoga teacher. This is the traditional way Yoga was initially taught before Hatha Yoga classes became such a “magnet” to the public. Large Yoga classes are not a bad thing, but it is easy to forget the way Yoga was taught for centuries.

Now, let’s fast forward into the 21st century. Today, we have access to instant information. You can learn Yoga from television, the Internet, books, DVD’s, MP3′s, CD’s and e-Books. It would seem anyone who wants to become a Yoga teacher has all the tools, at hand, to pursue his or her dream of teaching Yoga.

Should you read Yoga books to become a Yoga teacher? Yes, you will have to read and much more. Yoga books, DVD’s, and CD’s set a foundation of Yoga teaching knowledge, but there is much more to this, in order to become a Yoga teacher.

It is daily experience, gained through teaching Yoga students, which causes a Yoga teacher to further evolve beyond the initial teacher certification process. Practical knowledge and experience becomes a “treasure chest” for any Yoga teacher.

Teaching Yoga is a journey. If Yoga teachers sit still, without expanding their knowledge, they will become stagnant. Yoga books are great references, but Yoga teachers are works in progress. In fact, Yoga is a work in progress. Yoga changes as teachers make new and innovative discoveries along the way.

Hopefully, innovative Yoga teachers will record their discoveries for future generations. None of us has a life long enough to learn all that has been written over 5,000 years, but we learn everything that will help our students live a better quality life and more. Every student ailment is researched again and again.

Yoga teachers may eventually run into a situation where the right Yoga book is not available, or perhaps it was never written. Always remember that Yoga books are very valuable, but they are learning tools for the beginning of the journey, and good references, to come back to, when you put Yogic principles into practice.

So, when do you know if you are ready to become a Yoga teacher? If you have been practicing Yoga for years, reading Yoga information, and showing your friends Yoga techniques, you have already taken the first step.

There is no promise that the journey to become a Yoga teacher will be easy, but it is rewarding. Yoga has much history behind it, but many new chapters are being written at this moment, and many more will be written in the future. The public is always in need of competent and innovative Yoga teachers.

Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Guiding Yoga’s Light: Lessons for Yoga Teachers

Guiding Yoga’s Light: Lessons for Yoga Teachers moves beyond the anatomical aspects of asanas to help instructors present the deeper concepts of yogic philosophy to their students and offer insight into the integration of yogic teachings into everyday life.

Now in an updated, expanded edition, Guiding Yoga’s Light presents 74 easy-to-follow, succinct lesson plans offering instruction in hatha yoga, including asana, pranayama, the yamas and niyamas, the chakras, creating mindfulness, and understanding emotions. The text also includes three new, teacher-requested chapters: Salutations in Motion, Lessons of the Heart Center, and Relaxation. For convenient reference, teachers and students can also refer to the vocabulary of Sanskrit pronunciations included in the glossary.

Lesson plans progress from basic yogic concepts important for beginning students to more advanced material. Each lesson plan offers a written script for use in class. For beginning teachers, these scripts provide a helpful structure and set the stage for mindful yoga instruction. More advanced teachers may use these lessons and scripts as a creative departure point for expanding on the wellness effects of asana or focusing the day’s practice. For ease of planning and organization, each lesson follows a six-part outline:

• The intention provides the focus for the day’s yoga class.
• Approximate time offers the length of each lesson script to help yoga teachers manage class time.
• The lesson embodies the essence of the day’s teaching, which is expanded on in the following three sections.
• Asanas for deepening illustrate and incoporate the lesson through body stretch, movement, and sensation.
• Practice off the mat helps students integrate the lesson into their daily lives by providing an assignment, a reminder, or a discussion topic.
• To end each lesson, wise words offer selected quotes, suggestions, or proverbs to remind students of the lesson as they engage in their practice outside the class.

The text takes beginning students and teachers on a journey through the various aspects of yoga to understand the foundations of hatha practice. Beginning with basics of breathing, Guiding Yoga’s Light progresses to the physical and spiritual philosophy of the asanas and salutations and ends with lessons to bring clarity, calmness, and relaxation into daily life.

Guiding Yoga’s Light: Lessons for Yoga Teachers interprets yoga’s 5,000-year-old philosophy in an effort to inspire, delight, and empower yoga students to enrich their physical, emotional, and spiritual lives both on and off the mat. With each lesson, Guiding Yoga’s Light demonstrates how the strength, balance, and stretching of the physical practice can inspire a healthy, complete, and joyous existence.

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