Articles by Paul M. Jerard Jr.

Paul Jerard, is a co-owner/director of Yoga teacher training at Aura Wellness Center. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

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Why Should You Forgive?

When I mention letting go of a situation and forgiving others, very often I hear, �What�s in it for me?� or �Why should I?� To be quite frank, you should sincerely forgive for your own health.

Yogic Mind Training Techniques

Within every form of Yoga are the tools of change. Yoga was designed to give you the tools to improve yourself, your health, and your lifestyle - at this moment. Just by practicing your favorite form of Yoga, each day, you reinforce your emotional health; but let’s observe how the principle works and how to do it.

How Hatha Yoga Can Help Anger Management

When anger is out of control, it can turn violent in an instant. Relationships and jobs take a back seat, while anger plays itself out. If it is left unchecked, anger destroys families, friendships, and careers. Through violence, anger leads to crimes of passion.
How can Hatha Yoga help?

Yoga Intensives - How to Maximize Your Experience

Whether you teach Yoga, or not, there are a few methods to help you get the most out of your experience at a seminar, retreat, or an intensive training. When planning to attend any kind of Yoga intensive, here are a few tips to help you get the most from your learning experience.

Yoga Teacher Distance Education and Contact Hours

Becoming a certified Yoga teacher has never been easy. Due to the quality of online courses, and the evolution of distance education technology, the common hurdles of distance, travel, time, and expense have been removed from the process. Below is the dialogue of a recent interview about Yoga distance education and contact hours.

Yoga Therapy - The Future is Now

Many people feel that therapeutic Yoga styles are an alternative form of therapy, because they have seen changes in their lives, or in the life of someone close to them. Yet, Yoga must undergo scientific and medical scrutiny in the form of studies or research.

The Direction of Yoga As a Form of Therapy

How can we expect Yoga to be recognized as a viable therapy, along side traditional western medicine? One might say: "Yoga has no chance of recognition as a genuine therapy, because it has no major financial backing." Yet, all is not lost.

Yoga Teacher Ethics - How Much Emphasis Should Be Placed on Them?

Why is there a code of ethical conduct for Yoga teachers? There is a balancing act between integrity and power. Whether we like it, or not, the position of teacher, in any subject, is a position of power. In the words of Lord Acton, "All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

About Yoga and Integrity

Two different cultures (Latin and Indian) approached a similar concept as a way of life. When we think of integrity, we often think of taking the right action, even when it is unpopular.

Teaching Hatha Yoga - The Relationship of Student and Teacher

Traditionally, students of Yoga sought out a particular guru. They may have been referred to this specific guru by his, or her, loyal students, or knew of the teacher’s skills by reputation.

Teaching Hatha Yoga For Injury Prevention

Yoga is often thought of as a method for preventing injury. How could injuries occur during Yoga classes? How are the postures and pranayama presented during a class? Are postures thoroughly explained or strung together in a sequence and presented "on the fly."

Can Yoga Really Prevent Anger Flare-Ups?

Yoga is said to cure almost every ailment known to humankind, but how do we define anger? Some of us feel anger the minute we wake up, while others never seem to let anything bother them. Anger is hard to place on the emotional spectrum, as it arises from a combination of thoughts, emotions, feelings, and circumstances.

Is Practicing Yoga Selfish?

Some of my best memories are of listening to people talk about the benefits of Yoga; but recently, I had a chance to overhear a conversation about how self-centered Yogis are. This person’s point of view is an interesting one, even if you do not agree with it.

Teaching Hatha Yoga Postures With Mindfulness and Safety

How much attention, to proper alignment, do you see in Yoga classes? How fast is the pace of the class? Are students being asked about pre-existing injuries before participating in a Yoga session?

Yoga in Practice - The Yogic Path to a Trained Mind

Within the training, practice, and scriptures of Yoga are many treasures for humankind. How many people completely understand the Yogic path toward a trained mind? Let’s look at daily steps you can take to train, balance, and get the most, out of your mind.

Yoga of Maharishi Patanjali - The Vow of Ahimsa

What is ahimsa? If the believers of all the world’s religions practiced this, there would hardly be any conflicts.

Yoga of Maharishi Patanjali - The Challenge of Asteya

There is an internal conflict about giving, but the Law of Karma and the Law of Attraction, agree about the end results of giving. When we give time, service, or material toward a person, or a cause, the rewards of giving always come back to us.

Yoga of Maharishi Patanjali - The Promise of Satya

Satya is honesty. If you want to see a controversy, bring up the subject of honesty applied to law, politics, or business ethics.

Yoga of Maharishi Patanjali - The Joy of Brahmacharya

The literal definition of the root words, brahma and acarya, is "brahmic behavior." In fact, Bramacharya is also the first Asrama (stage of life for a Brahman), when a student lives a life of celibacy and purity, while studying the Vedas.

Teaching Hatha Yoga - The Vocal Problem Student

When teaching Yoga classes, you encounter a number of rewards; but from time to time, you may also find your leadership skills challenged. No matter how many students you have taught in the past, you may run into a new and challenging situation.

Yoga Instructor Training - Learning Tools

Can Yoga teachers learn from books? This question may seem silly, but some traditionalists would have you believe that you can only learn Yoga under the guidance of a Guru. While the hands-on experience with a Yoga Guru is valuable, this may not always be practical.

Yoga of Maharishi Patanjali - The Mystery of Aparigraha

We cannot ask Patanjali for an exact clarification, but we can use a bit of common sense to realize his views. To understand Aparigraha, we might want to look at the polar opposite, which is "Parigraha."

Two Benefits of Yoga Meditation

In a typical Yoga session, you may practice meditation at the beginning of class, at the end of class, or both. How can this be useful to a person and the community at large?

Office Yoga - Practice Yoga in Your Office

If you look around the average office, it is not hard to find signs of over-stretched and weak back muscles from leaning forward. This also results in posture problems we refer to as dowager’s hump, the upper thoracic hump, hunch back (kyphosis), and forward head (hyperkyphotic) posture.

Yoga Teacher Training Online - The Hidden Catch

What are the extra costs of a Yoga teacher correspondence course? People are used to "hidden catches" in everything, so where is the hidden catch in an online Yoga certification course? Have you ever priced a personal computer or software, only to see the price double or triple?

Practicing Yoga As Treatment For Holistic Health

Not all forms of Yoga are the same in the therapeutic sense. Yoga has become specialized in many different areas. Some Yoga styles are designed to be physically competitive, while others may focus on specialized health issues, and there are many more specialized styles for a variety of purposes.

Teaching Hatha Yoga - Bhastrika, Kapalbhati and the Fainting Game

It is true that some Yoga teachers and students are unaware of the dangers of prolonged Bhastrika and Kapalbhati. These two Pranayama techniques are classified as hyper-ventilation. If this means nothing, the short example below will open your awareness to the potential hazards.

How Can Hatha Yoga Help Your Heart Health?

While physical forms of Yoga can change the lack of physical exercise factor, how can it be a remedy for all of the other factors mentioned? When looking into the personal histories of dedicated Yoga students, there is one common denominator.

Practicing Hatha Yoga - Recognizing the Signs of Intolerance

Throughout history, how many people were executed by fundamentalists? Some will try to deny holocausts, witch hunts, pogroms, and atrocities in the name of holiness. There is nothing holy about intolerance, sexism, discrimination, injustice, or bigotry.

Jnana Yoga - Finding the Truth

How can anyone take a message of kindness and turn it into a message of hate? Unfortunately, it has happened throughout history because people did not invest the time in education, research, and self-analysis. Jnana Yoga is the path of wisdom, but the truth can be felt in your heart. Ahimsa (non-harming) feels right, but to harm another, always feels wrong.

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