The Yoga Teacher Mentor

How do we generate enlivening relationships with our students? Create welcoming and inclusive spaces? Navigate common ethical issues? Remain inspired as we encounter the routine challenges of teaching yoga day-to-day? Full of practical information for new teachers, this book is also much more than a beginner's guide, considering questions that continue to arise through the course of a teaching life. With reflective and experiential exercises throughout, the book is designed to create different lenses through which teachers of all stripes and vintages can view difficult situations and amplify their understanding of what it means to hold rich and meaningful classes. The intention is to invite self-reflection and offer possibilities, without being prescriptive. Emphasising the need for yoga teachers to know about more than alignment and sequencing, The Yoga Teacher Mentor accompanies the reader through the rich, complex and rewarding process of teaching yoga.

In addition to having my own successful yoga career I also offer mentoring to yoga teachers who are just starting out. For newly qualified teachers the transition to the world of teaching can be tricky. So it became a desire of mine to see more teachers gain classes, build a solid client base and organise successful workshops and retreats. I have seen many teachers thrive on the advice I gave them, and it inspired me to share my knowledge in this book so more people can experience this progress.In the space of a few short years, I have seen my career as a yoga teacher take off: I run fully booked classes in top yoga studios, have become a brand ambassador for international companies, been flown to exotic locations to teach workshops and privates, and I earn a passive income through online video downloads. I am not telling you this to impress you. I want you to know that if I can do it, so can you! I do not think of myself as a finished product, but what has worked for me, I want YOU to know too. In this book I share everything I did to get to where I am. I can't wait to see you happy and fulfilled in your yoga teaching career!

Whether you have five minutes or an hour, taking time out each day to relax and renew is essential to living well. This book presents nurturing physical postures and breathing techniques called restorative yoga. When practiced regularly, they will help you to: • Heal the effects of chronic stress • Recover from illness or injury • Balance energy and quiet the mind With clear instructions and photographs, Relax and Renew gently guides the experienced practitioner and enthusiastic beginner—regardless of age, flexibility, or strength—in techniques that will ease your way through this hectic world. The first book devoted exclusively to restorative yoga, Relax and Renew offers: • A general restorative sequence • Programs for back pain, headaches, insomnia, jet lag, and breathing problems • A special section for women during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause • Routines for when time is limited, including one for the office • Practical suggestions that help you prevent stress and live more fully in the present moment

See how a life spent largely outdoors—in the wilds of northern Canada, the underwater wonderland of the Caribbean, and throughout the untamed Himalayas—presented the challenges that shaped a timid mother’s boy into a confident yogi and ambassador for self-transformation. Through humorous and poignant life stories--attending an all-male boarding school, coming out as a gay man, building a successful yoga career--here Yogi Aaron shares lessons in living with empowerment and authenticity. From the creator of Hot Nude Yoga, a global phenomenon during the early 2000’s, a story of struggle and healing found through the practices of Tantric yoga. Today owner and yoga director at Blue Osa Yoga Retreat and Spa in Costa Rica and leader of world-wide retreats through Blue Osa Journeys, Yogi Aaron is known for his humorous yet vastly knowledgeable approach to teaching this centuries-old wisdom. A must-read for aspiring yogis, yoga teachers, world travelers, nudists, gay men, people wanting to manifest positive change in their lives.

A longtime yoga teacher and Buddhist meditation practitioner, Charlotte Bell describes in passionate detail how she applied the eightfold path of the Yoga Sutras and the Buddha’s heed for mindfulness to her hectic Western life—with practicality and precision, grace and guts.Her insights honor these timeless teachings while staying relevant to contemporary life. She recounts personal stories that depict her commitment to practice in her own life: in relationships, music, asana, meditation, teaching, and even writing this book. And it's not all rosy. She writes about self-doubt and struggles, all while welcoming, time and again, the life she has, imperfections and all.Charlotte Bell shows by example how to be a yogi in the particularity of your own life. Her suggestions about how to bring mindfulness into asana will deepen your practice; her recommended daily practices, or Reflections, will reveal new inner landscapes. Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life is an inspiring guide for anyone seeking to live a yogic life.

The long-awaited, complete guide to the popular, vigorous American method of yoga that is deeply rooted in ancient wisdom and scriptures “In this day and age of health and fitness trends, it is assuring to know that Sharon and David encourage their students to draw inspiration from the classical texts of Yoga and timeless scriptural sources. ”—Sri Swami Satchidananda Creators of the extremely popular Jivamukti Yoga method and cofounders of the New York City studios where it is taught, Sharon Gannon and David Life present their unique style of yoga for the first time in book form. As they explain their intensely physical and spiritual system of flowing postures, they provide inspiring expert instruction to guide you in your practice. Unlike many books about yoga, Jivamukti Yoga focuses not only on the physical postures but also on how they evolved—the origins of the practices in yoga’s ancient sacred texts and five-thousand-year-old traditions—the psychotherapeutic benefits that accrue with a steady practice, and the spiritual power that is set free when energy flows throughout the mind and body. Jivamukti Yoga, which means “soul liberation,” guides your body and soul into spiritual freedom, physical strength, peace of mind, better health, and Self-realization–the ultimate goal of any practice. Gannon and Life help you understand each of the practices that comprise the yoga path to enlightenment: AHIMSA–The Way of Compassion: choosing nonviolence, respecting all life, practicing vegetarianism, living free of prejudice ASANA–The Way of Connection to the Earth: postures and sequences, breathing, transforming energy, understanding the bandhas KARMA–The Way of Action: creating good karma, giving thanks NADAM–The Way of Sacred Music: appreciating the sacred sounds of yoga MEDITATION–The Way of the Witness: how to sit still and move inward BHAKTI–The Way of Devotion to God: living with love, grace, and peace Whatever yoga you practice, Jivamukti Yoga will help you to strengthen and deepen that practice and lead you onto a path of spiritual clarity and self-discovery. “If there is only one book you read about the practice of Yoga, this should be the one. . . . This book is for anyone who wishes to find transformation through Yoga. I’m grateful for their work and teaching.”—Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, Co-founder & CEO, Omega Institute

When Margie Hunter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, she embarked on a journey to find wellness. In Transcending MS, she describes a breakthrough and effective approach to reducing or eliminating MS symptoms through an application of both Eastern and Western medicine and techniques-steps she used to conquer the illness. A yoga practitioner, today Hunter is symptom-free and lives a higher quality of life than before her diagnosis. She shares what MS sufferers need to know to return to balanced health: - a simple, straightforward, self-care treatment plan; - comprehensive breathing, meditation, and stress management techniques for all levels; - detailed yoga postures to incorporate into daily life; - a nutritional and supplement guide to adjust the dietary lifestyle for the better; - recommendations Hunter used to overcome MS symptoms; and - a thirty-one-day process that supports the first month toward vibrant health.

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.