I realized something the other night after teaching a yoga class...

One of the best ways you can support your students is to remind them of the power of their breath.

Simply being asked to breathe more, and to focus on our breath, has an incredibly healing effect. Our bodies calm, our thoughts slow down a bit, and we become more aware of the present moment.

When you breathe fully in a pose, you are able to receive the benefits of the pose. The pose 'sinks' in. On a physical level, this can translate to muscles relaxing, which can mean you achieve a deeper stretch in a posture.

My friend thanked me the other night after class, and he said, "Thank you for reminding me to breathe. I really needed that."

So, say you want to be a yoga teacher, but you haven't done a training yet?

Practice showing up for someone in your life, and remind them to breathe a little more deeply. Give them a small way to remember to be in their body -- to feel their feet on the ground. To stretch and release some stress.

To breathe.