Teaching Peace in Yoga Class

In conjunction with the Global Mala Project designed to unite the worldwide yoga community on the UN International Peace Day (September 22, 2007) I have been inspired to teach yoga this fall through the mantra of yoga as peace in action. Naturally some questions arise: What is peace? How do you teach peace in a yoga class?

Although everybody seems to have an innate understanding of peace, it becomes a difficult state to describe. In the context of a global community peace is understood as the cessation of war. On an individual level peace can be described as calm, serene, silence, equilibrium and harmony.

Yoga naturally lends itself to a quest for peace. Yoga is a process of releasing dis-ease and tension in the body to quiet the mind for meditation. With yoga we can find peace within ourselves. Once the individual achieves peace in their own lives then the belief is that the state of serene, calm and harmony ripples out into the world influencing others.

How then do you teach peace in a yoga class?

Pranayama or breath practice lends itself to the quest for peace. Guide your students to slow down their breath and become aware of the peaceful rhythm of the inhalation and exhalation. Teach your students to passively accept their breath rather than force it to become deeper. You can be more literal about it as well encouraging students to draw peace into their body with each inhalation and release tension with each exhalation. Simply following the breath brings peace to the body and mind.

When leading guided relaxation help students to become aware of the spaces in their bodies where peace already exists. Then use breath and yoga postures to expand that feeling of peace throughout the class.

Mantras are a particularly effective way to shift our minds towards peace. I love Tich Nhat Hanh's mantra from Peace is Every Step "Breathing in I calm my body, Breathing out I smile." Tich Nhat Hanh teaches that peace and happiness are available to use if we can quiet our distracted minds.

The single pointed focus of yoga can help students move away from multi-tasking common in today's frantic world. Yoga postures and breath practice naturally center our students in a way that calms the mind and emotions giving a sense of peace.

When teaching the physical postures remind students to come into the present moment and become fully aware of their bodies. The postures can be an opportunity to let go of the worries of the past and future and come into the present moment of the body.

Teaching peace in a yoga class means reminding students to move with "ease and steadiness" as Rodney Yee says. How many times have you observed students struggling to make their posture look like the photo in Iyengar's Light on Yoga? Encourage students to find their own equilibrium and harmony in a pose, that state where peace exists. Yoga is not about the shape of the posture, rather the feeling of peace being cultivated in the body.

Consider the types of poses that you are teaching. Restorative poses such as legs up the wall can be fantastic for calming the central nervous system and bringing peace to the body. Balancing postures such as tree pose help the students to center themselves and come into the present moment.

Teaching peace in yoga class may simply mean adjusting the way you instruct your students. Move slowly, speak in a calm manner, create limitless space and time. Slow down your sun salutations taking extra time and breath. Remember in yoga we have "infinite time and no ambition."

Teaching peace in yoga class may seem elusive or even unfeasible. However, if we return to the core premise of yoga described by Patanjali as a means to "chitta-vrtti-nirohdah" or cease the turnings of the mind we are reminded that we are teaching peace every time we teach a yoga class. As yoga teachers we simply must return our intention and single pointed focus to this goal.

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Graduation Gifts - What to Get the Grad

It's that time of year again and graduation parties abound. College and high school grads are partying up a storm and your weekends are planned around ceremonies and celebrations. On a budget? You can bring that special graduate a card with money, or you can give them something they'll use when they move into that new house or dormitory, and that they'll remember you by. Of course, what you get this person depends on his or her tastes and lifestyle. Former athlete? How about a comfy thick yoga mat? Many universities offer free yoga classes, and this will help your friend stay focused in his or her classes and avoid the freshman 15! There are many mats out there you can get for around 20 bucks.

And, let's not kid ourselves -- college kids and post-grads the world over celebrate with parties and libations. These celebrations may even carry on throughout the year. How about some cool barware or matching flask and martini glass? Bringing your own closed-container alcohol to the party is pretty smart these days, and your friend (or niece or nephew) will think of you every time they use it!

Maybe you'd like to go more of the sentimental route. You can get some pretty cool photo gifts made nowadays that will again, be under 20 bucks. How about an 8x10 framed collage showing all the good times you had together or funny old photos from elementary and high school activities? You could do the same with a coffee mug or photo coasters. These may even run you around $10 and you can do them for all your friends so they'll each have a personalized, usable gift from you. Everyone moving on to college needs a coffee mug reminding them of the good times back home.

Lastly, do you know of any larger gifts they'll be receiving? New laptop, camera or Wii? You could get them something to complement this new gift like games or software. This may run you a bit more, but if you're going to be around this person after graduation, chances are you'll get to play the game too!

These are just a couple ideas, but you get the picture. You don't have to shell out tons of cash during graduation days. Just get that special someone something that celebrates the next step in their life's journey, and that they'll use, and you're good!

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Clip from Dana Layon's Zen Flow Yoga Class

www.zenflowyoga.com A clip from a typical ZenFlow yoga class taught by Dana Layon. Classes are for all levels and abiliities.

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Cure For Sciatica? 6 Natural Cures For Sciatic Nerve Pain That Will Restore You Back to New!

Fact number one; since you are looking for a cure for sciatica you should know that it is available. Fact number two; your condition is not exclusive to you alone. Sciatic nerve pain affects one to three percent of the world's adult population and this statistics is according to the Journal of Controversial Medical Claims.

Fact number three; sciatica is accompanied by certain physical symptoms, including, but not limited to, the following; excruciating back pain, weakness, a tingling sensation, and numbness, burning of the buttocks and legs, among others.

Fact number four; it is possible to get a cure for sciatica, in fact, you can get many cures for sciatica. Fact number five; the problem is not the availability of said cures, but how to determine which is most suitable for you and who you can trust to provide it.

Fact number six; in this article, you will discover 6 natural cures for sciatica which you can begin to apply today. Pay close attention because at the end you will be given the opportunity to discover a fantastic method to relieve your sciatica which has a 98.7% success rating...Let's move on shall we?

#1. Reiki...
Reiki is a type of deep relaxation technique which is popularly used by the Japanese to promote healing. It is commonly practiced by someone referred to as a Reiki practitioner.

It involves placing the hand on the affected area to clear away the negative energy while allowing positive life force energy to flow into the body in a healthy through the strengthening of the energy pathways.

Although the above may seem like gibberish to you right now, it is actually possible for you to learn how to perform Reiki for yourself.

#2. Rest, Ice and Heat...
Using ice and heat coupled with rest is a fantastic cure for sciatica which a lot of people employ to combat their condition.

It involves pausing what you are doing once you feel the pain coming on and finding a comfortable position to rest until the pain subsides and you are able to resume what you were doing.

You can also use an ice pack to fight sciatica because cold helps to reduce the inflammation of the sciatica nerves.

Ensure that you use an ice pack and not directly apply the ice to the skin so as not to damage your tissue. Use frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel if finding a pack proves difficult.

Alternatively, a heat pack may also be used. Just make sure not to apply the heat directly to your skin.

#3. Yoga...
Yoga is another cure for sciatica that is effective. Ensure that you work with an instructor who is a professional and is very experienced with dealing with sciatica patients, so to speak.

To keep pressure off the sciatic nerves, all forward bends should be done with your knees bent. Stay away from yoga posses that are discomfiting.

#4. Acupuncture...
If you are conversant with acupuncturists, then you will already be aware of the fact that the surfaces of our bodies have energy meridians running through and over it.

What acupuncture does is to cure sciatica by opening obstructed meridians through the use of tiny needles placed at very specific points in the body.

The aim of this is to restore normal energy flow so as to allow the body heal itself as usual while resuming nourishment through the meridians. Again, do not worry if this is not making much sense to you, your acupuncturist will know what to do okay?

#5. Massage Therapy...
For as long as time has existed, massage therapy has been employed as an effective method of curing many a malady; sciatica inclusive.

You can cure your condition using several massage techniques but one of the more popular ones is the use of two tennis balls placed underneath each buttock in a way that balances your spine.

What this does is to take the pressure off of your sciatic nerves by transferring the pressure onto the center of your buttocks and relaxing your gluteus and piriformis muscles.

#6. DTS Spinal Decompression...
This is a chiropractic treatment which consists of a computerized spinal stretching table. It is setup to help your injured disc realign and allow the healing process to begin by creating a vacuum effect.

FACT: Most conventional treatments for sciatica only work as a temporary band aid solution; they all fail to work in the long run!

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