Yoga Practice

50 Yoga Quotes to Inspire Your Practice

By YogaRenewYoga, Yoga PracticeNo Comments

The power of language can help to elevate us mentally, or emotionally and propel us between the gap of where we are and where we’re looking to go spiritually. There are many powerful quotes that can help build this bridge. Here, we’ve compiled a list of quotes for you to pull from – not just as a source of personal inspiration but also as a potential tool for you to utilize in the classroom as a yoga teacher.

A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves. -Terri Guillemets
Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The
Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming
That’s why it’s called a practice. We have to
Silence is not silent. Silence speaks.
Yoga does not always cure stress. It neutralizes it
It isn’t arrogant or egotistical to feel good
The nature of yoga is to shine the light of
Yoga begins right where I am – not where I was
Yoga is not a work-out, its a work-in – and this is
What yoga philosophy and all the great
The body benefits from movement, and the mind
The mind is everything. What you think, you
There will always be people who can do it better
Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self,
Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being
Yoga is not about touching your toes, its about what
True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but
Yoga begins with listening. When we listen, we are
Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture
When you are inspired by some great purpose, some
Body is not stiff, mind is stiff. -Sri K. Jois
We have never arrived. We are in a constant state of
The yoga mat is a good place to turn when talk
In truth, yoga doesn’t take time –
You’re only as young as your spine is flexible. -Bob
Have only love in your heart for others. The more
Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga
By our stumbling the world is perfected.
Yoga is about remembering that we are already one
If you have time to breathe, you have time to
Yoga is the bringing together of that which was
When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady.
If its weren’t for my mind, my meditate would be
Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch
Before you’ve practiced, the theory is useless.
Peace comes from with-in, do not seek it
Remember that sometimes, not getting what you want
The most important pieces of equipment you need for
What I’m looking for is not out there; it is in me.
You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What
What we want out of yoga is ourselves, not something
The most important pieces of equipment you need for
Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and
What yoga philosophy and all the great Buddhist
You cannot always control what goes on outside.
When you inhale, you are taking the
If you are irritated by every rub, how will your
Yoga is the art work of awareness on the canvas of
Beyond meditation there is the experience of now.

better your practice, the brighter the flame. -B.K.S. Iyengar the divinity within you. -Amit Ray practice a practice if it is to be of value. -Allan Lokos It speaks most eloquently. Silence is not still. Silence leads. It leads most perfectly. -Sri Chinmoy through increasing awareness and by changing self-perception. -Debasish Mridha inside. You had nothing to do with it. It’s simply the honest response to clearly perceived reality. -Erich Schiffman awareness into the darkest corners of the body. -Jason Crandell yesterday or where I long to be. -Linda Sparrow the point of spiritual practice, to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are. -Rolf Gates Buddhist teachings tells us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant. -Donna Farhi benefits from stillness. -Sakyong Mipham become. -Buddha than you, but thats a good thing! Start to see competition as inspiration – without envy. -Kathryn Budig to the self. -The Bhagavad Gita yoga. -Baron Baptiste you learn on the way down. -Jigar Gor the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied. -Aadil Palkhivala giving space to what is. -Richard Freeman you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there. -Max Strom extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. -Patanjali (Yoga Sutras) becoming. -Bob Dylan therapy and antidepressants aren’t enough. -Amy Weintraub it gives time. -Ganga White Harper you see the good in them, the more you will establish good in yourself. -T.K.V. Desikachar is the poetry of movements – Amit Ray -Sri Aurobindo with the divinity and we’ve never left it. -Sri K. Jois meditate. You breathe when you walk. You breathe when you stand. You breathe when you lie down. -Ajahn Amaro never separate. -Richard Miller But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath. -Hatha Yoga Pradipik excellent -Ani Pema Chodron your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny. -Upanishads After you’ve practiced, the theory is obvious. -David Williams without. -Anonymous is a wonderful stroke of luck. -Dalai Lama doing yoga are your body and your mind. -Rodney Yee -Helen Keller you can do are yoga exercises which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state. -Sharon Gannon better than ourselves. -Douglas Brooks doing yoga are your body and your mind. -Rodney Yee endure what cannot be cured. -B.K.S. Iyengar teachings tells us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant. -Donna Farhi But you can always control what goes on inside –Wayne Dyer strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world -B.K.S. Iyengar mirror be polished? –Rumi body, mind, and soul. –Amit Ray -Ryan Parenti

June 26, 2018

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9 Great Health Benefits of Yoga

By YogaRenewYoga, Yoga PracticeNo Comments

As yoga’s popularity rises, the health benefits of yoga have become widely understood and accepted throughout medical communities on a global scale. Doctors and scientists have found that yoga is a great cure all for everything from heart health to mind health and even sinus relief.

The more you understand about how yoga can help your students in different ways, the better you can create value for yourself as a yoga instructor. Understanding the health benefits of yoga is an important part of providing a fulfilling and rewarding service to your students. Below we help to break down 9 different health benefits of yoga.

1. Heart

The American Heart Association actually has a fairly thorough recommendation surrounding yoga and its health benefits on the heart. On their site, here they say that “yoga can help lower blood pressure, increase lung capacity, improve respiratory function & heart rate, and boost circulation and muscle tone.” Yoga is a unique exercise because it combines deep breathing, physical exercise, and meditation. All of the these combined, help to reduce our stress levels ultimately helping our heart health to improve. The physical aspect of yoga helps also helps to strengthen our hearts.

2. Sleep

There’s a few different ways that yoga can have a positive impact on sleep. Physical exertion from a healthy yoga practice can help your body seek out rest. When we practice yoga and meditation, it lowers cortisol levels from stress in the body. This in turn, helps our sleep improve. Yoga and meditation helps to quiet the mind’s chatter, also helping us to sleep better. Another way yoga can help you get to sleep better is through breath practice. Breath is an important part of yoga, and as many experts have noted; slow breathing patterns can help to relax the body and help you get to sleep faster.

3. Relieve Back Pain

The “Annals of Internal Medicine” published results from a 3 year study that found a weekly yoga class helped to increase mobility more than traditional treatment for chronic or recurring back pain. There are many other studies with similar results published online – its fair to say that yoga can certainly be an effective method of relief for people suffering from back pain. Yoga helps to strengthen key muscle groups in the back and also stretch them at the same time. It also helps us to maintain proper posture to protect and strengthen our spines.

4. Muscle Tone

As you are putting yourself into different yoga poses, you are using your muscles to support the weight of your body. This is essentially doing body weight training to help tone and tighten our muscles. Power yoga or cardio type yoga classes that focus on high energy yoga poses really help to strengthen and target key muscle groups for toning up.

5. Flexibility

As your body becomes more flexible through yoga practice, that flexibility is actually leads to a list of other health benefits. More flexible muscles can help to prevent injuries and leads to better back health. As our muscles stretch, also help to provide better blood flow and more effective delivery of different nutrients to our tissues.

6. Respiratory

Before famous middle distance runner, Roger Bannister ran a mile in under 4 minutes, it was thought humanly impossible to accomplish it. After Roger Bannister did it, several other people shortly after were able to accomplish this incredible feat. How did Roger pave the way? With his breathing. Breath is an important part of exercise, and even more important part of yoga practice. Yoga promotes a heavy focus on breathing as a way to control the body and body. By enhancing our respiratory system, we begin to improve the the overall health of our bodies, including the brain, heart, and digestive systems.

7. Mind

More than ever we are learning how mental health and physical health are inseparably linked to one another. There is a compelling article here on newsweek that discusses how yoga can help several different mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD, and psychiatric disorders. Ultimately, yoga provides a multi prong approach to quieting the mind through meditation and breathing.

8. Sinus Relief

There’s a great breakdown in the Huffington Post that addresses how yoga can cure sinus pain. In the article, the author breaks down the many different contributing factors to their sinus pain relief such as how inverted poses can help to clear sinus blockage, deep breathing contributes to an increased flow of oxygen. It also explains how our sweat can help to reduce different toxins within the body and how the endorphins from exercise can help to alleviate pressure in our sinuses.

9. Immune System

One of the best health benefits of yoga is an over all boost to your immune system. As we discussed earlier, yoga can help to strengthen your respiratory system. Our white blood cells are critical in helping to fight off colds and other infections. When we work to improve our respiratory function, our blood flow also improves. The improved blood flow becomes a delivery mechanism for this important internal defense. Also, yoga can reduce mental stress which is widely known to reduce the effectiveness of our immune systems.

June 18, 2018

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How To Sequence A Yoga Class For The Theme Ananda

By YogaRenewYoga Practice, Yoga TeachersNo Comments

What Does Ananda Mean?

Ananda is a Sanskrit word that means ‘joy’ or ‘pure bliss’. Joy and bliss are two emotions that are our natural states of being. As children, we are born into this state; light, free, and blissfully joyful.

This yoga class theme helps us all to remember that natural state of being – of pure joy. When we align with this powerful feelings, we find more joyful things in our lives to celebrate. As we ignite ourselves with pure bliss, we are also naturally inclined to want to share that joy with others – by spreading our light and joy into the world through our interactions and choices.

As humans, we naturally experience a wide spectrum of emotions, including some that are the complete opposite of joy, like sadness. But in life, in order to truly appreciate pure joy; experiencing those contrasting emotions actually help us to appreciate the joy in our lives.

The joy that we create in our lives on a daily basis works as a guide to help bring us back to this way of being during times of darkness. And we choose to let it, that light of joy can overpower any sadness we may be feeling.

Through meditation and yoga practice, we can also choose to make joy a choice in our lives. As we experience different emotions, we can learn to become observers of our emotions and learn to be aware of them.

As our emotional awareness increases, we can find that we have the power within us to always choose our emotions, no matter the situation. All it takes is just a little bit of awareness of our choice and a shift in perception.

Class Theme Intro – Mantra Meditation

Begin the class by introducing the theme with a quote, related reading passage, or simply speaking a few sentences on the topic. Ask students to sit in Easy Pose and close their eyes. Instruct them to take a big inhale in, and imagine they are breathing in the word ‘Joy’. As they inhale, also ask them to bring a gentle smile to their faces. As they take a long exhale out, ask them to imagine that they are breathing out the word ‘Bliss’. Repeat for 1-2 minutes.

You could also choose to end the class with this mantra meditation practice or choose a related reading, or quote, to help seal your student’s practice in joy. You could also ask students to bring to mind 5-10 things that they feel joyful for in their lives. This could be experiences, loved ones, goals, past accomplishments, etc.

How To Sequence Poses For This Theme

When sequencing a class for this theme think of poses that inspire joy, bliss, and lightness. Playful poses, and power poses are great to sequence for this weekly theme. Poses such as the Warrior poses, Bow, or Dolphin are good examples of poses that help students to reignite their inner joy and playfulness.

Heart opening poses such as Camel, Cobra, or Upward Facing Dog are also good to include in this sequence. Heart opening poses help us to activate our heart centers so that we can reconnect with our joy.

Namaste.

Nadia Goudy is a yoga teacher, yogi, and owner of Recharg Corporate Yoga – a company dedicated to bringing yoga and mindfulness to the workplace and also the founder of YogaRenew Teacher Training. Nadia received her training in yoga teaching in the U.S. over 12 years ago, and has since dedicated years of teaching yoga to individuals who have not been regularly exposed to it; including non-profits, workplaces, senior centers, and healthcare organizations. She currently resides in Washington D.C. with her husband Nick. Her focus and mission has always been to inspire others through her yoga teachings, especially in situations and areas where individuals might not be regularly exposed to or have access to it. She created YogaRenew Teacher Training as a way to spread the knowledge and wisdom of yoga teaching around the world.

June 12, 2018

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How To Do Dancer Pose: 7 Alignment Tips

By YogaRenewYoga Poses, Yoga PracticeNo Comments

Dancer pose is a fun yet challenging balance and back bending pose that requires the combination of strength, flexibility, and stability. Dancer pose enables us to be more focused, calm, and can promote better balance in our lives. It also grounds us and keeps us rooted. With the opening of the chest and back bend, it is also invigorating and opens us up to new possibilities in our lives. It stretches our chest, shoulders, hamstrings, quads, spine, and hips. At the same time, it strengthens our ankles, shoulders, core, and larger leg muscles.

Due to so many working elements in this pose, it can be a very intimidating pose to attempt especially for newer students. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself in this pose. It is okay to fall from time to time when practicing Dancer pose. Be playful with the pose and get comfortable with getting outside of your comfort zone. Dancer pose will always look different from person to person so try to focus on how the pose feels in your body instead of how it looks. Your balance and flexibility with this pose will develop with patience and practice over time.

How To Do Dancer Pose

1. Begin in Mountain.
2. Begin to shift your weight onto your right foot.
3. Bend the left knee back behind you, allowing the left heel to come towards your left side glutes.
4. Reach your left hand back and grab your left foot inner ankle. If this is too difficult to reach, you can use a strap by bringing it around the top of your left foot and grabbing hold of it with your left hand.
5. Bring your opposite hand, right hand, up towards the ceiling.
6. Find a focus point to keep your gaze and balance.
7. Press into your grounded foot and activate your core to keep you balanced.
8. Begin to tilt your torso forward and at the same time begin to lift the right foot away from the body. Keep the chest open.
9. Bring the back foot up as high as is comfortable for you, working to get your back thigh parallel to the ground.
10. Hold for several breaths. To release, come out of the pose slowly. Lower your back foot down and come back to your Mountain pose.

Alignment Tips For Dancer Pose

1. Firm Your Foundation
Ground down and firm your standing leg without locking it. Engage the larger muscles in your legs – the quads, hamstrings, and calf muscles to protect the knee and also increase your balance. To do this, imagine feeling the kneecap of your standing leg lifting upwards; this automatically activates your upper leg muscles. You can also prep for this by strengthening the muscles in your legs. By increasing our strength we also increase our balance. Try prep poses that tone the legs such as Chair, Goddess, High Lunge, Warrior 2, Warrior 3, or Warrior 1.

2. Root Down In Your Foot
Firm down through all four corners of your standing foot. Aim to feel the ‘lift’ of the natural arch in your foot. By doing so, it will keep you more balanced in this pose. This works because the weight distribution of our bodies will even out through our feet, ankles, and surrounding leg muscles.

3. Square The Hips
In this pose, there is a tendency to want to want to rotate the body towards the side of our lifted back leg. This can take us off balance and can injury our lower back, knees, and hips. Work to get your pelvic and hip area squared to the front short edge of your mat. This will give you a better foundation and allow you to balance better on your standing leg.

4. Open The Chest
As you lean forward and come into the back bend of Dancer pose, one way we can avoid compressing the spine is by broadening out through the chest. Keep the chest lifted upwards and draw your shoulders down and away from the ears.

5. Draw The Lower Belly & Ribs In
As you lean forwards in this pose, draw lower belly in and also knit the ribs in. This will keep your torso from falling too far forward and also increase your balance.

6. Focus On A ‘U’ Shape In Your Back Bend
You want to think of creating a soft ‘U’ shape with your back bend instead of a sharp ‘V’ shape. This will help you to avoid compression of your spine. If you ever feel any sort of pain or pinching, ease out of the pose gently. All parts of our bodies are connected so a way we can deepen our back bend is working on stretching the surrounding areas; the abdominal and pelvic area. Some good prep poses you could practice to increase your flexibility in these areas are Camel, Bridge, Upward Salute with a slight back bend, and Wheel.

7. Be Patient & Ease Into It
Keep in mind, try to not focus on how the pose looks and avoid comparing how your Dancer pose looks to others. Be mindful and always work within the limits of your own body. With time and patience, you will be able to achieve whatever expression of the pose you wish. If you move too quickly in and out of the pose, you could run the risk of injuring your knees, hips, and spine.

More Tips For Beginners
If you find you have trouble balancing on one leg, you can try using a wall or chair for support. Work on just lifting your back leg up and grabbing the foot without leaning forward or coming into a back bend (think of just a simple standing quad stretch). As you work to gain flexibility in your quads and balance in your foundation, you can ease into the pose slowly.

If you find you have have difficult grabbing your back foot with your hand, you can also try using a strap for assistance. To do this, loop one end of a strap around the top of the back foot and the other end in your same side hand. Increase your shoulder and arm flexibility will also aid you in being able to grab your back foot with your hand. Try prep poses that stretch the shoulders and arms such as Downward Facing Dog, Camel, Eagle, Child, Cat, and Cow pose.

Advancing The Pose
To advance the pose, you could try bringing both hands overhead and grabbing hold of the lifted foot with your hands. When grabbing hold with both hands, be mindful to keep both arms knitted into the body, with elbows close to the ears. Be mindful to keep your shoulders drawn down your back.

May 26, 2018

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5 Yoga Poses For Core Strength

By YogaRenewYoga Poses, Yoga PracticeNo Comments

Core focused sequences are often a favorite among yoga students because of the universal desire to have a flat and toned tummy. But strengthening the core has many health benefits too. The core is a central part in our body that helps to stabilize us and keep us balanced in our yoga practice. The teaching cue, ‘activate the core’ is used in virtually every balance pose. Keeping the core strong is also a good way to improve your yoga practice because it will help with your alignment and prevent injuries to your lower back. Strengthening the core also helps us in poses such as Chatarunga because it takes pressure off our shoulders and wrists.

Read on to learn 5 core focused yoga poses you can incorporate into your practice today!

1. Balancing Table

Balancing Table is a great core and balancing pose. Repeat up to 20 times for each side to activate your core.

To begin, start in a table top position. Engage the core to keep you balanced. Extend your left leg back, flexing the toes down. At the same time, extend the right arm forward. Keep a straight line through the arm, spine, and back extended leg. Hold for a breath before switching to the opposite leg and arm.

2. Boat

Boat is another good core focused pose that also helps us to improve our balance. Try to challenge yourself by holding this pose for longer periods of time – anywhere between 20 to 40 seconds or longer depending on your strength level.

Begin in a seated position with your knees bent in front of you. Engage your core muscles and begin to tilt back slightly. Grab on to the backs of your thighs and begin to lift the legs up so that the shins become close to being parallel to the mat. For beginners, keep your hands on the back of your thighs or on the mat behind you. To advance the pose, you can try to bring your arms directly in front of you so that they are parallel to the mat.

3. Side Plank

Side Plank helps us to strengthen our side obliques, another important part of our core. Try to stay in Side Plank for 20 seconds on each side or longer.

Begin in plank pose. Lift your left arm up towards the sky. Stack the feet or place the left foot directly in front of the right foot. If this is too much for you, come down on the right knee. Stack the shoulders and keep the neck in line with your head. Engage the core muscles and pull your obliques up towards the sky. Hold and switch sides.

4. Dolphin

Dolphin helps to strengthen our core and also our upper backs. Aim to hold this pose for 30 seconds or longer. Repeat several times.

Begin in a table top position. Lower your forearms to the mat so that they become flat and parallel to each other. Option to bring palms face down on the mat or clasp them together. Engage the core and the quads. Tuck the toes and begin to peel the hips up towards the ceiling, reaching up through the tailbone. Straighten the legs and press the heels towards the ground. Keep the spine long and broaden across the shoulder blades.

5. Plank

Plank isn’t known as a yoga pose but it is the beginning of the common Chaturanga pose. It is a great way to strengthen not only the core, but also our legs, upper back, and shoulders. Challenge yourself to stay in Plank for 30 seconds to a full minute at a time.

Start in a table top position with shoulders directly over the wrists. Extend your legs out straight so that you come up on the balls of your feet. Engage the quads and core muscles. Option to come down onto your forearms, if this is too much for your wrists. Keep the neck soft and the spine elongated.

May 26, 2018

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7 Yoga Poses For Stress Relief

By YogaRenewYoga Poses, Yoga PracticeNo Comments

Stress is something we all deal with on a daily basis especially in today’s fast paced world. Fortunately, there are a number of tools we can use to combat stress including yoga. Yoga relieves stress by improving the quality of our breath, calming our central nervous system, improving our mood, and also releasing tension in our muscles.

All yoga poses overall can reduce stress but certain specific poses have an amazing ability to significantly relieve stress almost instantly. Stress causes low energy in the body so it’s important to take it easy. Avoid high energy poses and focus more on grounding and restorative poses.

For even added stress relief, you can hold yoga poses for longer periods of time.

Here are 7 poses to help reduce your stress levels – please feel free to incorporate these poses into your lesson plans where it may help others.

1. Child

This restorative pose relieves sore and achy back muscles. It also helps to stretch the lower and upper back muscles.

Begin in a table top position, with your arms reaching out straight in front of you or by your sides. Sink your hips back towards your heels. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths, and repeat as many times as needed to fully relax and stretch the lower back.

2. Easy

Easy pose helps to ground us and relax the body. Adding meditation or mantras are another great way to enhance this pose for relaxation. Breathing exercises or pranayama can also be practiced in Easy for stress relief.

To begin, sit upright and cross the legs comfortably. Root down into the sit bones evenly and lengthen up through the crown of the head. Keep the eyes open or closed and simply focus on your breathing. Stay in Easy for several breaths or for a few minutes.

3. Supine Twist

Twists are a great way to detox the body and relieve tension in our muscles. Because we are lying down on our backs in this particular twists, it creates an even deeper sense of relaxation in the body.

To begin, lie down on your back. Draw the knees into your chest and allow them to gently fall over the right side. Keep your shoulders pressed to the mat as you allow your head to gaze in the opposite direction as your knees. Stay here for several breaths before releasing. Switch sides.

4. Standing Forward Fold

Fold poses in yoga naturally help us to relax because it creates a sense of surrendering and peace in the body. Standing Forward Fold allows helps us relax by bringing more blood flow to our brains and stretching out tight muscles in the legs.

To begin, stand in Mountain. Begin to hinge forward at the hips and allow the fingers to reach towards the ground. Keep the knees slightly bent or straighten them. Let the head and neck be soft and keep length in the spine. Hold for several breaths before slowly releasing back up.

5. Wide Legged Forward Fold

Wide Legged Forward Fold is another great fold that helps to create a sense of peace and surrender in the body. It also helps to stretch the hips and legs, releasing tension in those muscles.

To begin, step the feet out wide about 3 to 5 feet apart. Bring your hands to your hips and begin to hinge forward at the hips. Allow the hands to reach for the ground, a block, your shins, ankles, or toes. Stay here for several breaths before slowly releasing back up.

6. Pigeon

Pigeon is an amazing pose for stress relief because it helps to ground ourselves and also deeply stretches tight hips.

To begin, start in Downward Facing Dog or a table-top position. Bring the right foot in and place it down on the mat behind the right wrist. Extend the left leg back on the mat with the top of the left foot resting on the mat. Stay here or to deepen the pose, begin to fold towards the mat keeping the spine lengthened. Hold for several deep breaths before slowly releasing back up. Switch sides.

7. Savasana

Savasana is the ultimate relaxation pose. Adding pillows, blankets, and aromatherapy are some great ways you can enhance Savasana for added stress relief benefits. You can also do Savasana for longer periods of time, for example up to 20-30 minutes to really relax your mind and body.

To begin, lie down on your back with your arms comfortably by your sides. Let the feet relax comfortably and close the eyes. Focus on your breathing and enjoy the stillness.

May 26, 2018

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6 Tips For Picking Your Yoga Class Playlist

By YogaRenewYoga Practice, Yoga TeachersNo Comments

There’s a lot of debate about the use of music in yoga classes today. Most traditional classes use music that fits the tone of their class, while some teachers argue against the use of music all together. While there be alot of different opinions on what is best – we believe that there is really no right answer.

Most information today related to music in yoga is meant to support a specific objective, or the opinion of one person – but yoga is universal and also a very personal practice. What one teacher prefers may be different from the next.

With all these differing opinions, we’ve created a simple guide for you on how to build your next yoga class playlist.

1. Choose Ambient Music

For many people, yoga is a way to access to their own personal sanctuary. A place where the rest of the world stops and an internal peace calmly rises from within. A ton of studies have been conducted into the power of sound as a way to help provide focus and inner peace. Ambient music can help to quiet the conscious mind, providing an avenue for the deeper parts of a yoga practice to arise. If you’re looking to provide a calming and meditative experience to your class, ambient sounds can be a valuable tool.

2. Use Themes

Themes can be a powerful way to inspire your students in their personal practice. Choosing music that relates to your class theme is a great way to create an empowering class experience. If you have a class theme that focuses on balance, you could choose calming ambient music to help balance the mind, or you could even use songs with lyrics related to balance. Another example would be if your class theme was inner power or confidence, you could use more uplifting and energetic music with your sequence. Planning your music with your class themes is a great way to create a better class experience for your students.

3. Choose Appropriate Music

As a teacher, using your creativity and personal preference when picking your list is great. However, it is important to keep in mind the style of yoga you are teaching when curating your music list. A high cardio power yoga class might be better suited with upbeat and lively music. At the same time, a restorative yoga class might need a more calm and quiet play list. A vinyasa flow class could have a mix of calming music for the warm up and cool down and more upbeat music during the peak poses.

4. Use Music With Lyrics

Often time yoga teachers will avoid music with lyrics for a number of reasons. But sometimes lyrics can actually pull the listener into the song and away from their internal self. Voice is a powerful entity. As teachers, we strive to find a voice that caters to our students. If you do choose to use music with words, make sure it’s appropriate to the theme of the class. Another option is to choose music with light lyrics but mostly instrumental music.

5. Time Your Playlist

Another consideration when picking your class playlist is the structure of the soundtrack itself. As a yoga teacher, you’re leading your class on a journey, and you want to provide a soundtrack which will complement this experience. Think of the different sections of a well sequenced yoga class – the intro, the warm up, peak poses, cool down, and Savasana. In each of these sections, your students will experience something different. For example, the intro and warm up is most likely going to be calm and slow. In contrast, the peak pose section may be more upbeat and lively.

6. Volume Is Important

The volume of your music is also important when planning playlists. You want to make sure the music is not too loud where it drowns out your instructions or distracts the class. Use a good quality speaker for your classes and make sure the volume is timed for each of the different sections of the class. For example, you may have the volume turned down a bit for the intro and warm up section of the class and then turn it up a slight notch for the peak poses. Once you get to the cool down and Savasana, you’ll want to turn down the volume again.

May 21, 2018

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50 Yoga Quotes to Inspire Your Practice

9 Great Health Benefits of Yoga

How To Sequence A Yoga Class For The Theme Ananda

How To Do Dancer Pose: 7 Alignment Tips

5 Yoga Poses For Core Strength

7 Yoga Poses For Stress Relief

6 Tips For Picking Your Yoga Class Playlist

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