Yoga Adjustments

Description

The quintessential guide to yoga assisting and hands-on teaching, "Yoga Adjustments" introduces the art and practice of providing yoga assists to yoga students. Addressing one of the most important topics in the yoga field, expert yoga instructor and best-selling author Mark Stephens covers the philosophy of yoga practice, the sensibilities of touch in teaching yoga and improving alignment, the seven principles of hands-on yoga teaching, and the twenty-five most effective methods of tactile cueing. An invaluable resource for all yoga teachers, teacher trainers, and serious yoga students, this book includes a foreword by yoga star Shiva Rea as well as over 850 unique instructional photos and explanatory captions demonstrating precise ways of guiding a variety of flowing sequences. Opening with an in-depth discussion of the philosophy of yoga assisting, Part I--"Foundations" describes the methods and techniques of giving yoga assistance, with detailed discussions of all of the elements of yoga assisting including communicating with students, qualities of touch, the five basic steps of providing hands-on cues, hands-on positioning and stance. Part II--"Applications" demonstrates how to assist students in each of over 100 postures in the seven families of "asanas" (poses). Each chapter begins with background on an asana family and close consideration of its foundation asana. Each asana is presented in a two-page spread with photos that show how to give students effective guidance and support. Part III--"Evolution" offers thoughts on the further development of yoga in the twenty-first century.

Reviews

Praise for "Yoga Adjustments: " "Whether you're in training to be a teacher, just starting your teaching career, or a veteran with many years of experience, Mark Stephens' "Yoga Adjustments" will prove to be an invaluable resource. As with all his work, this book is written with intelligence, insight, and integrity." --Richard Rosen, director of teacher training at Piedmont Yoga and author of "Original Yoga" "I'm very excited about Mark Stephens' new book, which offers an invaluable service to the yoga community--teachers, aspiring teachers, and yoga students. As yoga's popularity grows, we need our yoga teachers to mature as well, and Mark has given them a superb guidebook for making smart, safe, clear asana adjustments that further our understanding and deepen our experience of yoga. In this way, the benefits of Mark's expertise extend beyond the yoga community by demonstrating how healthy environments can be created in which anybody can practice yoga with confidence." --Cyndi Lee, founder of NYC's Om Yoga and author of "May I Be Happy "and" Yoga Body, Buddha Mind" "This book is an important contribution to the ongoing evolution of yoga teaching and practice. Hands-on adjustments provide a quick and amazing two-way communication stream between teacher and student. Used with or without verbal cues, they can bypass most abstract theory and induce good alignment to reveal how a pose might feel when balanced, open, flowing, and free. Conversely, adjustments can be mechanical and even manipulative, seductive, and harmful. Because of this powerful potential in both ways, we all need to look intelligently at their mechanics, purposes, and ethics. Stephens' "Yoga Adjustments" is a wonderfully detailed resource for our investigation." --Richard Freeman, director of The Yoga Workshop and author of "The Mirror of Yoga" "As someone who is regularly called upon to treat yoga students injured by ill-informed teachers, I can confidentlys

Author description

The author of the best-selling "Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations "and" Techniques" and "Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes, " MARK STEPHENS has practiced yoga for twenty-two years and has taught yoga full-time for seventeen years. The founder of Yoga Inside Foundation, L.A. Yoga Center, and Santa Cruz Yoga, Stephens has trained over 1,200 yoga teachers. At Yoga Inside Foundation, he trained and supported yoga teachers in over 300 alternative settings across the U.S. and Canada, receiving "Yoga Journal"'s first Annual Karma Yoga Award in 2000 for this work.