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TEACHING HATHA YOGA Teaching Hatha Yoga

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TEACHING HATHA YOGA Teaching Hatha Yoga TEACHING HATHA YOGA Teaching Hatha Yoga ii Teaching Hatha Yoga TEACHING HATHA YOGA ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Daniel Clement with Naomi Clement Illustrations by Naomi Clement 2007 – Open Source Yoga – Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada iii Teaching Hatha Yoga Copyright © 2007 Daniel Clement All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written consent of the copyright owner, except for brief reviews. First printing October 2007, second printing 2008, third printing 2009, fourth printing 2010, fifth printing 2011. Contact the publisher on the web at www.opensourceyoga.ca ISBN: 978-0-9735820-9-3 iv Teaching Hatha Yoga Table of Contents · Preface: My Story................................................................................................viii · Acknowledgments...................................................................................................ix · About This Manual.................................................................................................ix · About Owning Yoga................................................................................................xi · Reading/Resources................................................................................................xii PHILOSOPHY, LIFESTYLE & ETHICS.........................................................................xiii Why Yoga May Have Happened.........................................................................................14 · The Upanishads ....................................................................................................19 · The Bhagavad Gita...............................................................................................20 · The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.................................................................................21 · Vedanta – The Non-Dual Philosophy of Sankara.................................................23 · Kashmir Saivism and the Tattvas..........................................................................25 · Modern Yoga.........................................................................................................26 · Chronology of Yoga ..............................................................................................27 Diet & Lifestyle...................................................................................................................29 · Sleep......................................................................................................................30 · Practice.................................................................................................................30 · Relationships.........................................................................................................30 The Principle of Attraction..................................................................................................31 · Yoga and the Principle of Attraction.....................................................................31 · Receiving...............................................................................................................31 · Practice.................................................................................................................32 Ethics...................................................................................................................................33 · Yamas and Niyamas..............................................................................................33 · More on the Ethics of a Teacher...........................................................................34 Light & Dark.......................................................................................................................35 Mantras................................................................................................................................36 Overview of Yoga Styles.....................................................................................................37 · Seeing the Big Picture...........................................................................................38 The Business of Yoga..........................................................................................................39 · Marketing .............................................................................................................41 · Yoga at home.........................................................................................................42 Voluntary Simplicity...........................................................................................................45 · Principles of Simplicity.........................................................................................45 · Approach to Simplify.............................................................................................46 · A Look at the Financial Picture............................................................................47 TECHNIQUES OF TRAINING AND PRACTICE............................................................48 Asana Techniques................................................................................................................49 · Alignment Fundamentals......................................................................................49 · Holistic Biomechanics...........................................................................................49 · Structural therapy.................................................................................................52 · Asana Techniques: Posture Categories.................................................................56 v Teaching Hatha Yoga · Form & Action......................................................................................................58 · Navigating the Mat................................................................................................59 · Tailbone/Sacrum....................................................................................................62 · The Asana Practice...............................................................................................62 · Yin & Yang.............................................................................................................63 · Polarities of Physical Energy................................................................................70 · Opposing Forces...................................................................................................70 Cleansing Techniques..........................................................................................................72 Meditation...........................................................................................................................73 Pranayama...........................................................................................................................75 · Nadi Shodhana......................................................................................................75 ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY............................................................................................77 The Vayus ...........................................................................................................................81 Compression and Tension...................................................................................................82 Functional Anatomy............................................................................................................83 · Bones & Joints......................................................................................................83 · The Spine...............................................................................................................85 · Muscles..................................................................................................................89 · Muscle & Posture..................................................................................................89 · Yoga & Posture.....................................................................................................93 The Bandhas........................................................................................................................96 · Mulabandha..........................................................................................................96 · Uddiyana Bandha ................................................................................................96 · Jalandhara Bandha...............................................................................................97 The Breath...........................................................................................................................98 · Ujjayi Breath.........................................................................................................98 The Elements of Nature......................................................................................................99 · Characteristic Qualities of the Five Elements....................................................100 · Ayurveda..............................................................................................................101 The Five Koshas................................................................................................................102
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