The concept of deriving achievement from Yoga practice is nothing new. Yoga has the ability to alter anyone’s direction in life. Throughout history, it has been possible to reach mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial goals by practicing or teaching Yoga.

The debate over whether achievement is good, or not, depends upon what we do with an opportunity. If one makes great financial achievements, and contributes large donations to charity, is that wrong? If one becomes a magnet of mental power, but uses it toward negatively manipulating students, is that right?

Common sense tells you that some people make the most of an opportunity, while some people will waste the same good fortune. Most people will not recognize an opportunity, and many more will not take action toward a successful outcome.

1. Karma: It is often said, that only 5% of those who have an opportunity will act on it. That is why the first method of achievement is action (karma). The actions we take, or fail to take, determine our path in life. We can change our course at any time.

However, our actions should be beneficial to those around us. If we are promoting, or enhancing well-being, this is a just cause. At the same time, any cause or action you take should be something for which you have a true passion. In this way, you will see your actions through, and complete your mission.

2. Transcendental Thought: Limited thinking holds most of us back, but transcendental thought encourages each of us to go far beyond what is expected. It is easy to criticize everything, but the mind works very hard to come up with possible solutions.

The answer to reducing your work is to listen to outside opinions. When we rationally consider the positive and negative opinions of others – there is usually a logical solution buried within the mixture of information. The hard part is to extract information with impartial judgment.

3. Faith: To have faith in oneself is very powerful. To have faith, in the power of prayer, is also very powerful. It does not matter what your religion is, because the answers to your spiritual growth are within your religion. Too much time and energy is wasted on fighting over differences.

If Yoga practitioners truly want unity, it is time to have faith in our ability to establish friendships. Making gestures of friendship, to others, is a start.

War, hatred, and violence, ruin lives. In fact, hatred and intolerance often ruin opportunities for generations.

Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

There are many forms of Yoga. These styles focus on mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Some Yoga styles focus on a combination of the above-mentioned aspects, for a completely holistic approach to good health.

Knowing this – one might think that staff members of Yoga centers would realize what is being taught in their classes.

According to an article, by the New York Times, which was published on July 11, 2009 – Sybil Killian, General Manager for the OM Yoga Center, in Manhattan, questioned whether yoga could fairly claim to be a spiritual pursuit, in an era when, according to an industry estimate, it earns $6 billion a year in the United States.

“People buy $1,000 pants to sweat in, because while they’re getting enlightened, they need to look good,” Ms. Killian wrote in an e-mail message to other New York yoga teachers. “Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, yoga is an industry. One need only leaf through the advertising section of Yoga Journal to know that.”

Perhaps these statements were taken out of context. Heaven knows interviews can be misinterpreted, but our students are having trouble affording a pair of pants in the present recession. At the same time, it is possible that in Ms. Killian’s neighborhood, the rich are becoming incredibly rich – while the rest of the world is figuring how to make ends meet.

Yoga students tend to be full of substance, educated, and searching for logical solutions to their health. Up to this point, I have never encountered students wearing “$1,000 pants to sweat in because while they’re getting enlightened they need to look good.”

Albeit, there is, at least, one Yoga Guru who owns 35 Rolls Royce cars, but he is an extreme exception. Most Yoga instructors teach classes part time as independent contractors for local studios and health clubs. Most studio owners have slim bottom lines; although, we might want to seriously consider selling upscale Yoga clothing to people who will pay outrageous money for them.

If Yoga is a $6 billion a year in the United States, that money is being spread across hundreds of thousands of classes across the country. Let’s draw a comparison: If hot dogs were a $6 billion a year industry in the United States, one hot dog stand owner might manage to do quite exceptional, while many would earn a humble income.

Finally, when did anyone decide accepting tuition or donations was “unspiritual?” Any facility, center, or meeting place, needs funds to operate. It would be a wonderful world if we did not have to be concerned with money. However, all organizations, including charities and trusts, run on money.

Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

It is amazing what a Yoga session can do for personal growth. I am not referring to the physical body, as much as the mindset of the average Yoga practitioner. It is agreed that Hatha Yoga is a great form of physical maintenance, but let’s look at the changes that take place within the mind.

Have you ever met someone who is quick to accept impending doom as the eventual outcome in all matters of life? There is always someone in the crowd who will tell you how your idea will never work. The same person will tell you how the sky is falling and the world will end tomorrow.

This negatively charged mindset knows that the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxies will collide in a few billion years. Then they theorize about how the Earth will be torn apart by a black hole during the collision of our galaxy and its closest neighbor. This is referred to as “galactic cannibalism,” when two galaxies merge and a larger galaxy consumes a smaller one.

My questions are: Why worry about possibilities that are billions of years away? What will be the limits of humankind within a few billion years? Will inter-galactic travel be possible? What advancements will our descendants make in science, engineering, or medicine?

There is no limit to the possibilities that could advance, or end, the existence of humanity. The Earth is still safe, for the time being, and we can look for solutions to the problems of the present. For any of us to be consumed, with looking at our limits, is a form of self-created imprisonment.

Luckily, Yoga allows one to free the mind from dwelling on limitations. This principle of living in the present, and focusing on solutions, can be taught to a room full of students or practiced daily. Limitation is only a perception, which we create. Athletes set new records all the time. In professional sports, records only serve as measurements to be surpassed.

There are two Yogic principles to be considered when finding solutions to anything. These are timeless remedies for realizing the endless possibilities to find logical solutions that surround each of us.

1. Collective thought has more value than being a “lone wolf.” Strong philosophies and societies pool the efforts of all members and progress forward as a result of collective efforts. It is also helpful if people are living within a “free society” that allows one to be creative.

2. What lies within each of us has the power to alter what lies ahead of us. Each of us has ability. The largest difference between two people is how we put our abilities to use.

Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

Where, and how, should a student start to consider becoming a Yoga instructor? When choosing to take any path, we should take notice of where we are, the assets we have, and what direction we are traveling in. To intentionally reach any destination, we must develop a plan that helps us make the best use of time.

If you are interested in a course to learn how to teach classes, you need a support system at home or in the place where you train. A teacher, mentor, or a loved one, who is willing to give you honest feedback, is extremely valuable. Let’s take a look at some of the other assets and steps that will be useful to you.

Make “sacred” time for thinking, planning, and reflecting. Many of us run from one destination to the next and never take time for ourselves. When a Yoga teacher asks students to be honest, most acknowledge that they spend most of their time working and taking care of their children.

This is understandable, because the average Yoga student is concerned with keeping a family together and holding down a job at the same time. To have the time to spend, practicing Yoga or meditating at home, requires one to be very creative with time management.

Make time for positive affirmations. It is so easy to find someone who tells you, “It can’t be done.” Too many people fall into the “well beaten path,” where creative ideas are tossed into the “scrap yard.” Any person, who became successful at anything, can tell you that pessimism is often the driving force behind failure.

We must count our blessings for what we have. If we have the ability to learn, we have the ability to teach. We create our self-image from within. What others say about us can become true if we enable them. If someone says, “You are a success,” choose to believe it.

If someone says, “You are a failure,” choose to prove them wrong. We only fail when we give up. When we make mistakes, it is time to adjust our plans. Very few inventors created, without making mistakes. The difference between a success and failure is the willingness to keep trying.

Therefore, value your abilities, your loved ones, and your natural talents. Listen to your inner voice. If you have decided to enhance your knowledge, by taking a Yoga teacher training course, what could you lose? Knowledge is power, and it opens many unforeseen gateways to a better quality life.

Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

Some Yoga teachers and practitioners get caught up in the pursuit of perfection. Will perfection help those who know us? The pursuit of perfection is noble, but if we become perfectionists, we will likely drive away those who love or care for us.

Have you ever attended a Hatha Yoga class, where nobody could do anything right? In such classes, the teacher spends the session reminding everyone about how much they are imperfect. Nobody can stand, sit, lie down, or breathe to the teacher’s satisfaction.

The entire Yoga session could be devoted to performing one or two techniques until the teacher is 100% satisfied that everyone is absolutely perfect. If this seems a bit odd, or sounds like something similar to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) – that could be the case.

However, let’s avoid a diagnosis, at this point, and grasp an understanding about the aggressive pursuit of perfection. Self-awareness is a little off, when we demand perfection from our students or anyone else. We eventually cause severe emotional damage to our relationships.

If we teach Yoga classes like this, we would have to wonder about the sanity of the students who stay with us through hot summers and cold winters. Would they really need Yoga, or would they have a driving need to be verbally assaulted?

The truth is: None of us is perfect. We are all humans, which unfortunately is less than perfect. We can achieve excellence, and we can win awards, but it is difficult to be perfect in all matters. If we cause ourselves mental and emotional damage, because of unrealistic demands, how can we resolve this?

If the case is severe, or obsessive, one should set up a session for counseling with a professional. On the other hand, if this is a small matter, one should wake up to the fact that every day begins and ends with a few mistakes in the middle.

If every inventor demanded perfection, there would be no inventions. Life is a matter of learning from our mistakes. In order for a child to learn to walk, he or she, will have a few falls along the way. The same principle applies to our path in life.

Life is a matter of taking one step at a time and learning from each step. We adjust our direction and do our best to arrive safely at the next destination. For the Yogi: The same principle applies to practice – whether it is within a class or at home; we do our personal best because that is the best we can do.

Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

What is more valuable to you – a trained body or a trained mind? Most people would think about this for a second and decide that physical appearance, through training the body, is more important to them. In Hatha Yoga, we can easily see the number of students who pursue physical mastery through asana practice.

Not everyone feels asana is the “Holy Grail” of Yoga, but physical prowess is still an attraction. However, for one to pursue physical mastery over mental mastery, one must feel that his or her mental health is going along just fine. If this were so, why are so many people experiencing chronic stress, anxiety, panic disorder, depression, and a variety of mental disorders?

Meditation may not be the solution to all the mental ailments humankind experiences, but it sure can help. Many Western medical doctors recommend meditation as an adjunct therapy. Many counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists, also recommend Yoga to stabilize the mind.

The most common reason why Yoga students want to learn meditation is to relax the mind when needed. To relieve the mind and body of negative nervous energy is the result of a complete Hatha Yoga practice. In other words: Physical exercises (asanas), alone, will not produce optimum results for holistic health.

Asanas will help purge negative energy from the body and mind, up to a limited point. This is the reason why Maharishi Patanjali mentions eight limbs in the Yoga Sutras. He mentions Yoga as a way of life and higher levels of concentrated meditation. He does mention asana, but it is just one of the eight limbs.

The last four of the eight limbs – Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, are concerned with meditation and preparation for it. Therefore, the value and benefits of daily practice, go much further than the skin’s surface.

What are the benefits of meditation? Meditation is the most natural of today’s methods to bring the mind under control. Prescribed drugs, alcohol, and illegal drugs are often used or abused, with the goal of relaxing the mind. Based on the cost of chemical addictions, people will pay a high price, in many ways, to relax their minds. Meditation does not have negative side effects.

In comparison to many forms of therapy, meditation is extremely cost effective. An intermediate practitioner will have no difficulty practicing alone. A few asanas and pranayama (Yogic breathing) techniques will aid to relax the body before a meditation sessions. The end result is a focused and relaxed mind, which is prepared for daily tasks.

Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html