Tips For How To Choose A Yoga Teacher By Allen Barkus, Available For Private Lessons In Philadelphia And For Clinics Worldwide. #Yoga #YogaTips #Ashtanga

Tips For How To Choose A Yoga Teacher
By Allen Barkus

https://www.ashtangabyallen.com/  This post has been viewed over 6,000 times worldwide.



As a yoga teacher who has been teaching teachers for many years there are some very important things I recommend you to consider before choosing a yoga teacher, both private and for going to classes at a yoga studio or gym. Ideally I recommend a studio.  A good teacher understands the practice is purely about you and can guide you towards a lifetime practice to keep your body and mind healthy. A not-so-good teacher does not take the time to understand an individual student's' needs, potentially leading to injuries. Recently one of my former students whom has physical limitations trusted a new teacher at a studio and ended up becoming seriously injured, leading me to want to share these guidelines:

1. The first thing you should ask your teacher is about their own personal practice. The guideline I use before teaching a teacher to teach is that they should have 5 years of personal daily practice, not just going to classes. There is a lot to be learned from a personal practice. In Ashtanga yoga the traditional way to learn is Mysore style, a guided practice that allows you to progress only as you are ready and able.

 Ideally your teachers should be experienced and follow a direct yoga lineage. My teachers were taught by Manju Jois, whom brought Ashtanga/Vinyasa yoga to America in 1975 along with his father. I started my practice in 1998.  In 2004 Manju became my teacher and continues to be my exclusive teacher.  Manju's father, K. Pattabhi Jois, originated the modern Ashtanga practice. Pattabhi Jois was taught by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, also the teacher of B.K.S. Iyengar, and is considered to be the "Father of Modern Yoga".

2. Should you go to a yoga studio or gym? Having a yoga studio focused on a style that suits your needs, physical, emotional and/or spiritual is ideal. If a yoga studio is not available to you, yes there are good teachers that teach at gyms. I met my first teacher at a gym.

3. Once you do get to get to a class there are some very important things to keep in mind. The first thing is the time on your mat is purely about you and your teacher should understand that. I've encountered situations when teachers bring their personal issues into their classes, not a healthy environment for students. A good teacher understands their students have busy lives and that is their time to focus on themselves for personal fitness and healing. The second thing to keep in mind is that a good teacher will take the time to observe you and get to know you and your limitations before giving assists in asanas/poses. In one case I had a teacher at a studio that had never seen me before stand on me, something that could have easily injured me, when he could have easily given me a more gentle/thoughtful assist.  The third and possibly most important thing is that you have to be mindful of your own body and not to do things you are not ready to do, an easy way to get injured. Yoga is a life practice; Every body is different and some things will be easy for you and some things harder. Therefore you should be just focused on your own practice, not what anyone else is doing. If something is too hard for you, just take a break and do child's pose.
Your teacher will explain what that is.

 If you make a commitment to your practice you will be amazed about what you are able to accomplish. One of my students lost 70 pounds in 8 months just doing his practice with no other life changes. He also healed a serious breathing problem and some other issues.

4. What about yoga online videos, streaming classes, DVD's, and books? I personally think these sources and be both helpful and damaging without the guidance of a personal teacher since basics including proper breathing and alignment need to be understood. If proper alignment is not practiced injuries can easily happen and an experienced teacher will alter asanas/positions to your personal needs and abilities. Also if not doing proper breathing/pranayama you are doing stretching, not yoga. Therefore if not breathing properly you are not gaining the full benefit of the practice.

By Allen Barkus. Allen has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since 1998 and teaching since 2004. His initial teacher training was with David Swenson and has been the student of Manju Jois since 2004. Manju, along with his father, introduced Ashtanga/Vinyasa yoga to America in 1975. His studies focus on Healing Therapy. He is available in Philadelphia for private lessons and clinics and travels around the world teaching clinics. www.AshtangabyAllen.com

Google Doodle Tributes To BKS Iyengar For What Would Be His 97th Birthday

Hooked On Yoga: Manju Jois in Warsaw #Ashtanga #ManjuJois #AshtangaYoga #Yoga

A wonderful video of my teacher, Manju Jois.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2iFXufCn8U&sns=em

https://youtu.be/j2iFXufCn8U

For Some Ashtanga Inspiration... #Yoga #Ashtanga #AshtangaYoga #Inspiration

Need your breath taken away today?

Watch 2-Authorized Ashtanga yoga teacher Laruga Glaser demonstrate basic, intermediate, and advanced poses from the Ashtanga yoga system.

Her perfectly harmonious body flows seamlessly from pose to pose, literally electrifying the atmosphere with powerful vibes.

An incredible feat of strength and grace, stability and fluidity, flow and restraint, effort and ease, this demonstration leaves you in complete awe of what the purposeful synergy of body, mind, and breath can achieve.

Enjoy and share with your loved ones!

Ashtanga yoga is a type of yoga made available to the modern world by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009). His main purpose is synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of asanas (postures) – a process which generates intense heat of the body, resulting in detoxification of the relevant muscles and organs.

ASHTANGA LITERALLY MEANS “EIGHT GRADES / LEVELS,” EACH OF WHICH IS INTERRELATED WITH THE PREVIOUS ONES AND REPRESENTS THE BASIS FOR LEARNING AND ACHIEVING THE FOLLOWING:

“Yama” (Yama) – self-control or rules of social behavior in interpersonal relationships
“Niyama” (Niyama) – Code of personal conduct (self-discipline)
“Asana” (Asana) – exercise or postures
“Pranayama” (Pranayama) – conscious control breathing
“Pratyahara” (Pratyahara) – withdrawal of the senses and the relative independence of mind from them
“Dharana” (Dharana) – concentration of thought
“Dhyana” (Dhyana) – meditation or retention of mind-intent
“Samadhi” (Samadhi) – self-realization or enlightenment – awareness of the unity of all Creation

These eight stages are grouped into three types:

Moral discipline (Yama and Niyama)
Body self-discipline (Asana, Pranayama and Pratyahara)
Mental discipline (Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi)

VINYASA IS SYNCHRONICITY BETWEEN BREATH AND MOVEMENT: ANY MOVEMENT IS MADE IN ONE BREATH.

This synchronization of the breath with the movement leads to the heating of the blood purification, and diluting it, which facilitates the blood circulation! The improved blood circulation relieves joint pain and removes toxins from organs exported from the body through sweat accumulated during the occupation. This technique makes the body light, healthy and strong!

Ashtanga Yoga is accessible to all – young and old, fat and thin – only not for the lazy! There is a challenge: it requires firmness in bending and softness to achieve power; it breaks the limitations of body and mind, taking them beyond conventional notions of the human potential, expanding our consciousness beyond preconceived limits

Source: http://yogiluscious.com/awe-inspiring-ashtanga-yoga-demonstration-video/

10-Minute Ashtanga Yoga Class With Sharath Jois #HomeYogaPractice #Yoga #AshtangaYoga #SharathJois #Ashtanga #JoisYoga #AshtangaShortPractice

 
 

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Don't have time for an hour-long yoga class? That's okay! Just pull up this video and flow through 10 minutes of pure bliss wherever you are.

October 31, 2014

It’s understandable if you don’t have time for a full yoga session. In just 10 minutes, you can reap very deep benefits of practice by flowing through this sequence with yoga master Sharath Jois. It starts with heating poses and ends with a few quiet moments of meditation and opening. Once you have mastered this sequence you can move on to the 15-minute, 20-minute, and 25-minute yoga classes. Learn more about Sonima’s approach to yoga here and watch the full introduction to Sharath Jois here. For more in-depth instructions on how to do the postures in this sequence, watch the video tutorials for Sun Salutation A, and the finishing postures.

By R. Sharath Jois