Yoga Instructors Help Others Experience Mind and Body Benefits
Yoga has deep roots – really deep. Estimated to have originated more than 5,000 years ago, this ancient practice predates written language. What began as a spiritual practice (and still is in some forms) is more commonly used in the USA by lay people as a tool to increase flexibility of body and mind, reduce stress and improve balance. The practice is increasing. According to a 2013 listing by Yoga Journal, the number of practitioners who engage in some type of yoga has stretched from four million in 2001 to 15 million in 2013. While tracking yoga aficionados may be difficult to calculate, the amount of money spent on yoga apparel, equipment, mats and accessories is not. Statisticbrain.com reported that $27 billion was spent on yoga products – an 87 percent increase than in years past. From Anchorage, Alaska to Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, Americans are buying yoga products, signing … Read More
My Journey to Self Confidence through Teaching Yoga
A funny thing happened to me when I taught my first yoga class . . . I was standing front and center in the yoga room, nervously cuing my students into a warrior pose and inwardly praying that my voice wasn’t shaking too much, when I noticed something. A man a couple mats away from me was in Warrior II, with his head turned to the side, and his gaze directed right at me. At first it made me uncomfortable and insecure. “Why does he keep looking at me?” I thought to myself. Then I figured it out – he was listening to me! He was waiting for ME to guide him into the next pose. DUH! Why else would he be there? Quickly I figured out that these students were looking to me for guidance! Whoa – what a realization! Never before had I been in a position of … Read More