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Yoga Lesson Plan 5: Core Strength

About this series: Each yoga lesson plan provides both a physical focus, to guide your choice of postures, and a practice focus, to help students explore an important principle of yoga practice. The intention of the series is to present guidelines for creating a coherent and thoughtful class experience, with suggestions broad enough to allow you to choose yoga poses that are appropriate for your students.

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Yoga Lesson Plan 2: Twisting from the Core and Intention

This is the second of a three-part sample lesson plan series that will provide both a physical focus to guide your choice of postures, and a practice focus to help students explore an important yoga principle. The intention is to present guidelines for creating a coherent and thoughtful class experience. The suggestions are broad enough to allow you to choose poses that are appropriate for your students.

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Yoga Lesson Plan 3: Shoulders and Liberation

About this series: Each lesson plan provides both a physical focus, to guide your choice of postures, and a practice focus, to help students explore an important principle of yoga practice. The intention of the series is to present guidelines for creating a coherent and thoughtful class experience, with suggestions broad enough to allow you to choose poses that are appropriate for your students.

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How have life coaching services impacted your personal training business?

The relationship that develops between client and personal trainer is vastly enriched when the trainer assumes the role of mentor and life coach. Understanding the important role that life coaching plays in the client success model, we felt it was imperative to add life coaching to our list of services. As we help our trainers develop and hone their personal coaching skills, I have assumed the role of life and training strategies success coach within our facility.

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Yoga for Seniors

You are likely seeing a larger number of older adults walking through your yoga studio doors. Are you prepared to serve them? What are some of the benefits and contraindications of yoga for active seniors? Are there appropriate yoga breathing techniques and pose sequences for older clients? And what can we do to appropriately adapt our yoga classes to accommodate them?

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Yoga Lesson Plan 1: Hip-Opening and Patience

This is the first of a three-part lesson plan series that will provide both a physical focus to guide your choice of postures, and a practice focus to help students explore an important yoga principle. The intention is to present guidelines for creating a coherent and thoughtful class experience. The suggestions are broad enough to allow you to choose poses that are appropriate for your students.

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Teaching Pilates Mat Work, Part 2

In the first installment, printed in August, we looked at how Pilates mat workout is practice for life movement and introduced a four-step system to follow when teaching an exercise. In this installment we explore sequencing guidelines and how to apply all four steps in a Pilates exercise.

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Tricks of the trade

I have been using mentoring within my business for a number of years and have had some amazing results in terms of business growth and effectiveness of trainer-client relationships.

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IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Owners and Managers

As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client. I will provide facilities and staff for effective exercise and lifestyle programs; ensure that staff maintains the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; uphold fair business practices and safety guidelines; and use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.

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IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Group Fitness Instructors

As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately teach classes; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.

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IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: personal Trainers

As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.

Ethical Practice Guidelines for Personal Trainers

Always be guided by the
best interests of the client.

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The Feldenkrais Methodยฎ

Are you recovering from an injury or suffering from chronic pain? The Feldenkrais Method of somatic education may help. It offers a holistic approach to human development and motor function improvement through the medium of movement and sensation. The effectiveness of the method lies in its ability to work with the whole person. It is also useful for elite athletes and expressive artists. Buffy Owens, GCFP, a Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerCM with experience as a personal trainer, yoga instructor, birthing assistant and life coach, explains how the method works.

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Promote Your IDEA FitnessConnect Profile

By now you know it is to your distinct advantage to set up a profile in the IDEA FitnessConnect online directory. Whether or not you use all the features, it at least ensures you one more point of contact for potential clients. Why not take things to the next level and maximize how you promote yourself and your business? Here are 10 ideas (plus a bonus tip) on doing just that.

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2011 IDEA World Fitness Conventionโ„ข โ€œInspires!โ€

Words cannot convey how truly fantastic my experience was at the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention. As a convention veteranโ€”seeing the energetic pulse this year of all the diverse participants across all age groups, all levels of ability and the far reaches of the globeโ€”I was reminded of how much I love our industry and its wide embrace.

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Lolita San Miguelโ€™s Living Legacy

โ€œBoundless energy,โ€ โ€œintense creativityโ€ and โ€œan enduring devotion to Pilatesโ€ are all phrases that Pilates professionals use in describing Lolita San Miguel. A first-generation master teacher, the 76-year-old San Miguel has taught and inspired Pilates teachers and students for more than 50 years.

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Sample Class: Extend Yourself!

Hereโ€™s an idea: Add spinal stabilization (in neutral) and mobilization movement to your core-training repertoire. Studentsโ€™ posture will improve, and the exercises will ensure that daily living activities involving extension and rotation are efficient and pain-free.

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Take a Stand

Why do we usually train the core from the floor? Most people donโ€™t spend the majority of their days on the floor, nor is it common to get injured from lying down or watching television. Injuries typically happen from improper technique, lack of body awareness and limited movement. Standing upright for core training allows you to move your body in all planes of motion and enhances core and spinal stabilization and balance.

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A Smoother Ride

Youโ€™re not likely to find a line of members waiting to use the bike on the gym floor; however, indoor cycling classes often have waiting lists. Why do members flock to ride in a group setting? Because a cycling class is much more than a workout: itโ€™s an experience. A great cycling class is a confluence of motivation and technique from the instructor and inspiration from the music. Here are 10 tips from top teachersโ€”and a few astute cycling class membersโ€”for giving your students the ride of their lives.

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