What Is the Difference Between a CYT-Certified Yoga Teacher and RYT-Registered Yoga Teacher?

While there are no set regulations on what level of training is necessary to teach yoga, choosing to pursue teacher certification, demonstrates a commitment to yoga. CYT certification reveals that a yoga instructor has pursued a certain level of education in yoga techniques.

There are many different programs offering certification to yoga instructors, and it is up to individual organizations to decide what the appropriate professional requirements are. Globally, there is very little regulation of yoga. There are some registries, in different countries, which work to set standards for yoga teachers and the public.

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It is important to understand the difference between being certified and being registered as a yoga instructor. You may teach yoga as either a CYT or an RYT. The difference comes from being registered with the Yoga Alliance after a certain level of training has been completed, according to their requirements.

What Is the Difference Between a CYT-Certified Yoga Teacher and RYT-Registered Yoga Teacher?

The Yoga Alliance publishes their requirements for the RYT on their website. As of this writing, they are the only recognized association in the United States that registers yoga instructors. The main difference between these two acronyms comes from the RYT designation, which is a registered trademark by the Yoga Alliance.

To become a CYT, or certified yoga teacher, one goes through an educational program with a yoga teacher training school. Certification is evidence to students that you have pursued an active education in your yoga practice. Certification, as a yoga teacher, allows you to teach yoga classes and start your own practice.

The principal elements of yoga: asana, breath, meditation, mantra, and more, are focused on, in certification programs. Additionally, learning to modify poses for beginners, knowing the fundamentals of posture and alignment, how to explain a pose verbally, and correct common mistakes, is crucial to becoming a certified yoga teacher.

Many training programs set their standards the same as the Yoga Alliance, so that when the certification is completed, graduates move forward and can become registered. Other schools are extensive in their training and offer certified graduates the opportunity to gain higher credentials, in other ways, to reach their training goals. They may choose to register after further teaching.

A minimum of 200 contact (face-to-face training) hours is required by the Yoga Alliance to be considered a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). The framework of these training hours is broken down into five categories of techniques, training and practice, anatomy and physiology, yoga philosophy and ethics, teaching methodology, and practicum. The aim of this program is to have a deep understanding of yoga, as well as a comprehensive ability in teaching others.

Holding CYT, or RYT, status is an indication that you are committed to Continuing Education (CE) hours to maintain the status. Continuing your education, as you teach, is the best way to grow, while adding expertise as a yoga practitioner and a teacher. Possessing a Certified, or Registered Yoga Teacher certification, will provide comfort about competency to students seeking you out.

Consider your training to become a yoga instructor as part of a lifelong learning experience, yet one that has steps and levels to attain. Much like any other profession that requires a progression of degrees, the practice of yoga instruction begins with becoming a Certified Yoga Teacher.

© Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

What Is the Difference Between a CYT-Certified Yoga Teacher and RYT-Registered Yoga Teacher?

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA - http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com - He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Is Bikram Yoga Safe For High Blood Pressure?

Bikram is said to have wonderful effects on people suffering from high blood pressure levels. It is believed to normalize the pressure of blood over time, which makes it an excellent alternative to medication. Caution should be used though by people suffering from hypertension when practicing hot yoga.

Hot Yoga has been proven to be quite diligent in responding to high blood pressure; at times it leaves non believer medical practitioners doubtful about their b.p. monitoring kits. Bikram tends to normalize high blood pressure within two weeks of practice. People suffer from high blood pressure when the arteries shrink in size resulting in increased pressure. Normally when blood pressure levels are equal to or above 140/90, it is considered hypertension.

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Hypertension can be caused by many common factors most frequent of which are stress, injury, obesity and excessive smoking or alcohol use. So how does Bikram help high blood pressure? Well the answer is quite simple, yoga lifestyle management tends to relax both the body and mind, by going through a range of exercises that reduces the stress levels which in turn leads to normalized body functions including blood pressure.

Is Bikram Yoga Safe For High Blood Pressure?

What to avoid:

When practiced with the correct amount of caution, Bikram yoga proves to be very helpful in decreasing high lblood pressure. Although hot yoga leads its participants through a series of 26 yoga postures, hypertension patients are advised not to engage in the following poses until their pressure returns to normal levels:

• The backward bending portion of Half Moon
• The Standing Bow Pulling
• Balancing Stick
• Cobra
• The third part of Locust
• Full Locust
• The Camel

What poses to practice:

The poses of Bikram that are encouraged by instructors to reduce hypertension are listed below, but please note that you should always seek a doctors advice before practicing any of the following:

• Easy pose
• Shoulder stretches
• Stand spread leg forward fold
• Cat Pose
• Half Spine Twist
• Wind Relieving Pose
• Double leg raises

The above listed poses are required to be done with a specific breathing technique called the Anuloma Viloma, which is also called the Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique. This way of breathing requires you to inhale through one nostril, retain the breath for a few seconds and exhale through the other. It helps in bringing down the heart rate, so it is the preferred breathing technique for hypertension patients.

As with any form of treatment or wellness therapy, it is extremely important to use common sense and caution while following your yoga regime. High pressure levels, if not monitored or treated correctly can lead to other serious health problems. So please always inform your instructor if you suffer from high blood pressure and be sure to rest during each set of exercises. Initially all hypertension patients should not overdo their yoga routine. They should start by doing only 5-7 counts of each pose in the beginning and later build it up to a higher count.

Is Bikram Yoga Safe For High Blood Pressure?

Bikram Yoga - DOUBLE YOUR FLEXIBILITY in 28 days... 7 Secrets of Nutrition and Flexibility. Free 7-day email course at link above.

Bikram Yoga Poses - BIKRAM YOGA LOVER? Get the definitive home study course on Hot Yoga. Giant 300-page book, 2 DVDs, pose chart, and more.

YOGABODY Naturals LLC is a yoga educational and nutritional supplement company aimed specifically at students of yoga asana. Founded by Lucas Rockwood in 2007, the YOGABODY community now includes over 10,000 students and teachers worldwide. "Powerful Yoga for Real People."

Are You Willing to Follow Eight Yoga Exercises For the Lower Back?

EXERCISES FOR BACK RELIEF

Many people believe that rest is best for a painful back, but actually, what your back really needs when it's hurt is exercise. Regular exercise relieves back pain by strengthening and stretching the muscles that support the spine and helps to prevent future injury. This is a use it or lose it situation: the more you rest, the weaker your back gets, even if it is hurt. Studies have actually shown that you can heal your back pain faster and get back to your regular activities with just two days of rest. This article will focus on Yoga Exercises. Remember to contact your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

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YOGA EXERCISES FOR YOUR BACK

Are You Willing to Follow Eight Yoga Exercises For the Lower Back?

A good, regular yoga practice will go far in relieving the stress and tension that sometimes cause mild back pain, and in fact, studies have shown that yoga is the number one most effective exercise for relieving back pain. However, not all yoga poses relieve back pain, and some can in fact aggravate existing pain, so it is important to know which poses will be most helpful in relieving back pain. It is best to do these exercises under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor, and if you encounter any problems with these poses, you should consult an expert. Even just one or two sessions with a yoga instructor can help, as an instructor will help you with your form and posture during poses. Here are some of the best yoga poses for relieving back pain. Each pose should be held from five to ten seconds, depending upon your level of comfort, and should be done on a mat or other soft, supportive surface.

CORPSE: Lie flat on your back in a relaxed position, arms resting at your sides, palms down, and legs lying naturally, with knees turned out slightly. If it hurts your back to have your knees turned outward, do this pose with knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Breathe in and out for a few seconds while allowing any tension to leave the body.

CAT STRETCH: Start out on your hands and knees with a flat back. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders with fingers spread. Knees should be directly under the hips. Head is held loosely so that you are looking at the floor between your hands. Inhale, and as you exhale, arch your back toward the ceiling, tuck your chin in to your chest so that you are looking at your navel, and tuck your tailbone underneath. Hold, then release back into your original position.

WIND-RELEASING POSE: Lie flat on your back as in Corpse pose. As you inhale, bend your knee, place your hands right below the knee, and draw your leg towards your chest. Your left leg should remain flat on the floor. Exhale and bring your forehead up to touch your knee. Inhale, and then as you exhale, return to your original position. Repeat with the other leg.

SAGE TWIST: Warning for this pose-it involves twisting your back, so you should take particular care not to twist too far or you risk aggravating any existing back pain. This should be a gentle stretch; twist just as far as is comfortable. Sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you. Bend your right knee, lift your right leg over your left, and place your right foot on the floor next to your left knee. Sitting with spine straight, place your left elbow on the right side of your right knee. Bend your left arm so that your left fingertips are touching your right hip, while at the same time, twisting to look over your right shoulder. This is where you need to be careful not to twist too far. Hold for a few seconds, release, and repeat on the opposite side.

PALM TREE: Stand with feet facing forward, arms at your sides, weight distributed evenly on both feet. Raise both arms over your head, interlock your fingers, and turn your hands so that your palms are facing upward. Next, place your palms on your head and turn your head so that you are looking slightly upward. Stretch your arms upwards, and at the same time, come up onto your toes if you can do so without pain. Stretch your entire body upward and hold, if you can. Some people have difficulty balancing during this pose, so just do the stretching part if you need to.

FISH POSE: Lie on your back with knees bent and arms at your side. Arch your back as far as you comfortably can and raise it off the ground by pushing the floor with your elbows. If you can, tilt your head backwards and rest the crown of your head on the floor. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm and hold pose for one minute if you can.

LOCUST: Lie face down with arms at the side, palms down, and elbows slightly bent with fingers pointing towards the feet. Raise your legs and thighs as high off the ground as possible without causing your back any pain. Hold for one second and repeat up to twelve times. This can be a vigorous exercise so you must take care to strain already injured muscles.

BENDING FORWARD POSTURE: Stand up straight with feet together and arms hanging loosely along your sides. Breathe in deeply and raise your arms straight above your head. While breathing out, bend forward and touch your toes if you can. If you can't reach your toes, grab hold of your ankles or calves. To complete the pose, you should touch your head to your knees, but this may be too difficult for many who suffer from lower back pain. Your movements during this pose should be smooth, not jerky.

Are You Willing to Follow Eight Yoga Exercises For the Lower Back?

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Yoga at Work - How Sitting at a Desk Affects Your Body

If you are one of the millions of people who work a 9-to-5 desk job, you probably already know some of the ways that your body is affected by sitting still all day. You may have a stiff neck or back, tightness in your shoulders or soreness in your wrists and forearms. By taking a look at the way your body is shaped and comparing it to how you position yourself at your desk, you can alleviate tension and be a healthier, more comfortable and more productive worker.

The spine is naturally shaped like an "S" with your head on one end and your tailbone on the other. The top curve of your spine is called the cervical curve, and includes seven vertebrae. The shape of these seven vertebrae give your head the ability to move up and down (the "yes" movement), back and forth (the "no" movement) and around in a circle (what I like to call the "whip your hair around" movement).

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The middle of your spine is called the thoracic curve, and includes twelve vertebrae. These vertebrae are shaped to allow forward and back bending, side bending and side rotation or twisting. The bottom of the spine is called the lumbar curve, and includes five vertebrae with a more limited range of motion. At the base of your spine is your sacrum and coccyx (tailbone), which are made up of fused vertebrae.

Yoga at Work - How Sitting at a Desk Affects Your Body

When you sit at a desk, the three curves of your spine may round or compress. If you tend to lean forward in your seat or rest your elbows on your desk, you may be exaggerating the curve of your cervical spine and rounding your thoracic spine. This motion lengthens the muscles of your neck and back, and they become weaker over time.

If you notice that you lean your shoulders back and your stomach moves toward your keyboard, you may be exaggerating the curve of your thoracic spine, putting excess pressure on the back of your thoracic vertebrae.

If your monitor is too low or your keyboard is too high, you may slouch in your seat or hunch your shoulders to compensate, causing tension in your neck, back and shoulders. If your monitor is too far away and you have trouble seeing what's on your screen, you may be more prone to lean forward.

By noticing how you sit and making adjustments to your desk and posture, you can prevent future aches and pains. There are also many yoga postures that you can do right at your desk to stretch out tired muscles and create space between your vertebrae. If your back feels tight, a simple standing forward bend (Uttanasana is the name of the yoga pose) will help to stretch out your thoracic and lumbar spine. If you tend to round your back at work, try doing a seated version of Cat (Marjaryasana) and Cow (Bitilasana) pose right at your desk. These two yoga poses stretch all three curves of your spine and relieve tension between your vertebrae.

If you're interested in learning even more yoga poses to do at work, there are some instructors who will even come right to your office to give corporate yoga classes in a boardroom or empty office space.

Yoga at Work - How Sitting at a Desk Affects Your Body

Mariellen Brown is a New York City-based designer and writer. She is currently working toward her 200-hour teacher training certification from ISHTA Yoga in NYC and hopes to someday teach corporate yoga classes.

Bikram Yoga DVD - Learning the Basics in Your Home

Normally, in this kind of physical activity, there are studios that are designed purposely for it. The place is spacious enough, so that students will not look crowded during the exercise. But, learning Bikram Yoga can already be done in your home. You can now find Bikram Yoga DVDs out in the market. These DVDs are perfect for those people who have hectic working schedules.

In general, when you want to learn to do the Bikram Yoga, you attend classes. You will get a certain schedule of sessions that will fit into your daily schedule. However, if you happen to own a Bikram Yoga DVD, you would not have to go through all of these. You just have to watch it in your home, and begin to do it alone. In this manner, you can perform it anytime of the day. You need not to miss any class due to unavoidable circumstances. 

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If you are still a beginner, the DVD is very useful. There are people who are hesitant to attend the class because they are still new to it. This is because executing the different postures of Yoga seems to be awkward if you are not used to them. If you happen to own a video of Bikram's method, you can try doing the positions in your home. In this case, you will not have any qualms performing them. You can even have a practice, so that once you attend the class personally, you do not look naive about what is happening in the studio. You already have the idea how it goes.

Bikram Yoga DVD - Learning the Basics in Your Home

Practicing Yoga in your home is an advantage to you. This type of Yoga is considered to be very intense. You expect the level of difficulty of the succeeding postures increases. Thus, constant practice will aid you in familiarizing them. You have to remember that, Yoga instructors can not fully focus on teaching all of their students one by one. They might be checking you from time to time but they do not give their complete attention exclusively to you. There is a need for you to learn the steps alone. This Bikram Yoga DVD will serve as your guide in learning the whole method.

There are a lot of shops that sell Bikram Yoga DVDs. These discs are very informative. They present other necessary links for a better understanding of Hot Yoga. They do not just show the different body postures, they also have Bikram Choudhary's life and his other related experiences. It shows the evolution of Yoga and the different methods. Songs that are played during the session are included as well. These DVDs come at a reasonable price. With all these features, you will definitely have no regrets getting one for yourself.  

Bikram Yoga DVD - Learning the Basics in Your Home

Bikram Yoga Poses * DOUBLE YOUR FLEXIBILITY* in 28 days... 7 Secrets of Nutrition and Flexibility. Free 7-day email course at link above.

Bikram DVD *BIKRAM YOGA LOVER?* Get the definitive home study course on Hot Yoga. Giant 300-page book, 2 DVDs, pose chart, and more.

YOGABODY Naturals LLC is a yoga educational and nutritional supplement company aimed specifically at students of yoga asana. Founded by Lucas Rockwood in 2007, the YOGABODY community now includes over 10,000 students and teachers worldwide.

"Powerful Yoga for Real People" - Lucas Rockwood

Different Types of Yoga/Dosha Formed By Moon in Astrology

The Moon is the lord of sign Cancer, significator of fourth house and mother, represents our deepest personal needs and our subconscious mind. It is a universal feminine energy representing protection, responsiveness and nourishment in our life.

Imagination, character, religious acts and mental capacity are indicated by Moon. Blood, uterus, menses, stomach, urinal and breasts are influenced by the strength of Moon in the chart.

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The association/position of Moon with respect to different planets/houses formed different types of yoga /dosha causing auspicious and adverse influences in the life.

Different Types of Yoga/Dosha Formed By Moon in Astrology

Specific types of yoga/dosha formed by Moon:

Sunafa yoga: planet/s other than Sun is in 2nd from the Moon formed Sunafa yoga, this yoga indicates sportsman, self -made, rich healthy, equivalent to king, learned and egoistic person.

Anafa yoga: planet/s other than the Sun is in 12th from the Moon formed Anafa yoga represents attractive personality, wealthy, good morality.

Dudhara yoga: Planets other than Sun are in 2nd and 12th from the Moon is called Dudhara yoga. The native having this yoga in the chart will be intelligent, rich, having transport business, peaceful Family life and owing very strong personality.

Kendrum yoga: When no planets other than the Sun in 2nd/12th from the Moon than Kendrum yoga are formed. This yoga induces sudden loss, anxiety and stress in the life. Poverty, struggle, mental tension, melancholy nature, constant failures and inconsistent in activities are represented by this yoga.

Amavasya yoga: When Moon and Sun are conjunct in a same sign, Amavasya yoga is formed. Due to supreme power of the Sun Moon loses its virility and show its characteristics will drastically nullify. Mind and the mother are severely affected. The house the moon owns in the chart is also affected badly.Usually the native may have deep interests in literature and reading and have excellent writings skills.

Grahan yoga: When Moon combined with Rahu/Ketu, Grahan yoga is formed. This yoga offers hurdles and suffering to the native, the parents and relatives will also suffer. It indicates inconsistent occupation besides greedy and jealous nature of the native.

Vish yoga: Moon conjuncts Saturn in a house causes Vish yoga or poison combination yoga. This yoga destroys native's auspicious karma; it can make the native mentally and emotionally weak, he may be strict and discipline in nature and can be a good administrator.

Punaraphoo yoga: Any type of relation between Moon and Saturn in the chart establishes Punaraphoo yoga, which causes delay in marriage.

Chandra Mangala yoga: If Mars conjoins the Moon this yoga is formed. This yoga represents earning through unscrupulous means, a seller of women, treating mother harshly and misbehaving with relatives. Restlessness and fickle tendencies are shown by this yoga.

Shakata yoga:Moon is posited in 6th/8th/12th house from the Jupiter, Sakata yoga is formed. This yoga indicates a difficult life and fluctuating fortune

Amala yoga: A benefice placed 10th from the ascendant/moon formed Amala yoga. Represents compassionate and benevolent nature of the native.

Pathira yoga: Mercury in its own/exaltation sign placed quadrant to the ascendant/Moon, formed Pathira yoga. The native's educational achievements will be uncountable and he will get high authoritative position in his life.

BY

GEETA JHA [SPIRITUAL HEALER]

INDIA

Different Types of Yoga/Dosha Formed By Moon in Astrology