Yoga

Create yoga class themes with yoga philosophy, inspirational quotes, and simple concepts that inspire and motivate students.

New yoga teachers are often taught the poses but not themes or phrases that will make students come back and seasoned instructors often want a fresh approach or new theme to explore. Experienced yoga instructors Sage Rountree and Alexandra DeSiato give yoga teachers tools to find a genuine voice and tap into innate wisdom; offer ready-made, detailed themes to use in classes or home practice; and provide guidance and useful, flexible templates for building a toolkit of authentic themes for future use. The workbook begins with a section on voice, authenticity, emulation, phrasing, practice, repetition, and finding inspiration. While offering guidance for new or experienced teachers so that they feel confident speaking from a place of authority and offering their students memorable themes, the authors explore what it means to be authentic and how teachers can approach authenticity without feeling overly exposed or turning their yoga classes into a therapy session. The second section of the book contains 54 complete themes in template form, so instructors can easily use them in a class. These themes are broken down in chapters such as: yoga philosophy, seasonal themes, meditations, quotes, and spiritual ideas and stories from other traditions that translate well to yoga. Each theme is explored in a way that allows teachers to add their own voice, take, and spin. The final section of the book includes gentle advice and prompts with 54 blank templates, so instructors can create their own themes. With a unique angle and a practical feel, this workbook will appeal to yoga teachers, teacher trainers, and at-home practitioners who are moving to the next level.

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Teaching Yoga is an essential resource for new and experienced teachers as well as a guide for all yoga students interested in refining their skills and knowledge. Addressing 100% of the teacher training curriculum standards set by Yoga Alliance, the world’s leading registry and accreditation source for yoga teachers and schools, Teaching Yoga is also ideal for use as a core textbook in yoga teacher training programs.

Drawing on a wide spectrum of perspectives, and featuring more than 150 photographs and illustrations, the book covers fundamental topics of yoga philosophy and history, including a historical presentation of classical yoga literature: the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Pataljali, and the main historical sources on tantra and early hatha yoga. Each of the eleven major styles of contemporary yoga is described, with a brief history of its development and the distinguishing elements of its teachings. Exploring traditional and modern aspects of anatomy and physiology, the book provides extensive support and tools for teaching 108 yoga poses (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation. Teaching Yoga offers practical advice for classroom setup, planning and sequencing classes, as well as the process involved in becoming a teacher and sustaining oneself in the profession. The book has over 200 bibliographic sources, a comprehensive index, and a useful appendix that lists associations, institutes, organizations, and professional resources for yoga teachers.

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Drawing on decades of experience in training yoga teachers, Donna Farhi offers the first book to set professional standards for yoga teachers. Teaching Yoga explores with depth and compassion a variety of topics both practical and philosophical, including how to create healthy boundaries; the student-teacher relationship (including whether a sexual relationship is acceptable); how to create physical and emotional safety for the student; what is a reasonable class size; how much a class should cost; and how to conduct the business of teaching while upholding the integrity of yoga as a philosophy, a science, and an art. A bonus CD features the author speaking about yoga ethics at a 2002 conference.

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