Yoga for good health

Most movie stars do it. Athletes do it. Kids and seniors alike do it. Let's all do it. Do what? That yoga thing. A path to enlightenment that stems back 2500 years in its native India, yoga has for almost two decades become so popular, so cool, so right now. It's the exercise and meditation for the new millennium, one that calms you down and centers you while also working you out. Yoga now straddles the globe - from North America to South Africa, from Denmark to New Zealand, yoga is in all of us and is available anywhere you go.

Everywhere people rush from their high-pressure jobs and tune in to the soothing yet direct voice of a yoga instructor, persuading them to form a union (the literal translation of the Sanskrit word yoga) between mind and body. These hardcore business types want to become chilled out bliss balls even if it is only for one hour a day, through asanas (poses) and meditation, to graduate from distress to de-stress.

Reported benefits of yoga include everything under the sun from weight loss, better flexibility, combating addictions, better love life to more energy and better cohesion with workmates.

So do you want to really see what yoga is all about? Wonder who provides this amazing outlet?

Yoga teachers. Why not take a yoga teacher training and become one.

For this phenomenon to be so popular there has to be someone teaching it. Finding a yoga teacher training has become easy as there are plentiful yoga studios around the world. Whether you are looking to challenge yourself by taking your own practice to the next level or if you want to receive a yoga instructor certification, your options are abundant.

In order to obtain a yoga certification to teach, you must first enroll with one of the many yoga teacher trainings available. Upon successful completion from the yoga teacher training school, you will receive a certificate of completion that can then be submitted for a global certification with the Yoga Alliance (providing the school is registered with the Yoga Alliance). A Yoga Alliance certification is not required to teach but is recognized around the world as a standard by which safe, thorough trainings should be constructed. Yoga Alliance training certifications are offered in several ways - a basic level one 200-hour, an advanced level two 500-hour as well as specialty certifications in prenatal and kids yoga. Yoga teacher certifications from yoga schools that are not aligned with the Yoga Alliance may require extra documentation to acknowledge that the standards set by Yoga Alliance have been met.

Obtaining a yoga teaching certification will allow you to be a part of the continued trend of people seeking to find balance in their life. You get to be the motivation, the guidance and the knowledge to help others find that balance, all the while sharpening your own.

There are many beautiful places around the world like Bali, Nicaragua, Thailand and India offering yoga teacher trainings. It is wise to take a look at the Yoga Alliance website to find the ones that are registered with them and email a few to get more information on what is offered.

Whether you are seeking a yoga teacher certification, to deepen your practice or just find some balance in your own life... rumor has it yoga is the way to go.