A week of Sankalpa with Abhijata Iyengar

“Sankalpa is an intention formed by the heart and mind—a solemn vow, determination, or will.” ~ IYNAUS Convention, 2023 - Sankalpa: A Yogic Life of Intent

As an online participant at the 2023 IYNAUS Convention held in San Diego, watching the instruction of students by 39-year-old Abhijata Iyengar, it is hard to miss the lessons on Sankalpa emphasizing the heart is at the core of authentic intent. Abhijata is a dedicated Iyengar practitioner who has studied extensively with her grandfather, BKS Iyengar, aunt, Dr. Geeta Iyengar, and uncle, Prashant Iyengar at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India, She teaches from the heart, not the organ of the same name but the energetic field close to it that is cultivated with ongoing abhyasa and vairagya (practice and detachment).

Abhjata teaches so the beauty of yoga can unfolds naturally within each of her students. Prashant Iyengar was interviewed for the convention’s magazine and also taught via satellite during the week-long event to impart his wisdom on the concept of sankalpa from his years of practice under the tutelage of his father, BKS Iyengar, extensive self-study or svadyaya, and extensive research into the ancient texts. One lesson that stood out for me was that sankalpa is considered “His intent” in some philosophical texts, which seemed to separate ego desires from the concept of intent and move it closer to a motivation toward universal truth.

Abhijata’s heart-centered teaching provided deep insights with disarming authenticity. She began her classes by recognizing the systematic and synchronized process of yoga. Explaining how BKS Iyengar associated the 8-limbs of Astanga yoga to “petals of a flower.” There is of course the idea of systematic steps or petals, “Character first, Yama, Niyama, then Asana, and Pranayama […],” etc. However, she explained that what some practitioners may not understand is that BKS also meant that “within each petal is the essence of the whole flower”. If we teach and learn from a list of techniques or “to do’s,” we lose resonance with the needs of the whole student in front of us or within us. Instruction of yoga requires more organic stages of instruction, lending more value to human instruction and interaction over a computerized form.

Asana practiced with the intent of vairagya or detachment, not comparison or competition with a neighbor, enables a holistic cultivation of mind, body, and spirit. Negative self-talk only yields resistance. Abhijata used her graceful sense of humor and explained if she constantly told you what you were doing wrong or complained about you, you wouldn’t want to be around her. The body responds the same way to our negative self-talk. “There are only two things in the universe, Prakriti and Purusha. Prakriti means nature, and Purusha means that sentient being which causes life.” We are both matter and life. Our body will never cooperate if we apply anger. We need to bring about “togetherness,” “helpfulness,” and “kindness” so the animation of every energetic petal of life, which is constantly seeking homeostasis, can blossom.

Abhijata explained, “What yoga does is that it is spreading the intelligence…permeating the intelligence through the body, so what we think is just in one area is all over, but we live in one area.” When the intelligence only resides in one area, it can cause stress or fear; however, the practice of asana helps us spread the intelligence all over, so the focus isn’t concentrated in, say, the knee to solve its pain or tension alone. Every cell in the body is alerted, so the load on the area is dispersed, creating a calmer approach where the entire system works together to ease the stress and reach stability within the configuration of the asana. Pranayama also serves to calm by “irrigating and generating that energy from within.”

Yoga teaches us to “sharpen the nervous system” to shorten the “lag time” between action and response. It teaches us to seamlessly and swiftly act and reflect. Imagine the reduction in regret from when we act without reflecting properly on the consequences of our actions.

Throughout the week, linking categories of asana such as twists to forward bends, Abhijata demonstrated their interconnections. We gained a sentient experience of how intelligence brought to one area of the body expands and enhances range of motion in another. Waking complimentary bone, muscle, tendons, and joints to their ability to serve in what Dr. Geeta Iyengar referred to as the “mobility and stability” in a particular asana.

As with all aspects of yoga the lessons apply on the mat and off it. Expanding our intelligence so we can recognize the interconnectedness of all things in life. Science continues to uncover the interrelationships within the solar system such as the Moon impact on tides and the Sun’s solar flares on the functioning of electrical systems on earth. Of course, there’s also connections between our social systems, economic systems, and political systems to how well countries, cities, communities, neighborhoods, organizations like IYNAUS, families, and individuals are able to survive, thrive, and evolve.

Iyengar Yoga offers somatic and visceral experiences to deepen our understanding of how the sankalpa of one part of an interconnected system can impact the essence of the whole system. Much heartfelt gratitude goes out to Prashant and Abhijata Iyengar for their invaluable contributions to this event and to their tireless work to spread of the art, science, and philosophy of yoga. Many thanks also go out to Gloria Goldberg, President of IYNAUS, Kathleen Quinn, the Convention Chair, and the many volunteers who gave up their participation in classes to make sure other participants online and in-person got their needs addressed on a moment-by-moment basis to facilitate real learning for more students regardless of their level of practice or infirmity. That’s the beauty of Iyengar Yoga. Namaste.

Introducing Yoga Students to the Profundity of Prashant Iyengar

Any attempt to express the enumerable gifts Prashant Iyengar's instruction can offer students seems futile. Still, it is one I will venture to begin because his teachings speak to the depths of my being, even if my mind and body feel far behind. His instruction works on a plane of existence that most people don't feel they have access to in the mundane sense. Those more grounded in his teaching are encouraged to add or correct information in the comments to bring more clarity. Any expression of perceived knowledge here comes from where I am in my practice and classes with Prashant. My only hope is that my simple attempts to introduce his work can touch those who are in a place to receive it and want to learn more about it.

"Everything that lives is in flux. Everything that lives emits sound. But we only perceive a part of it. We do not hear the circulation of the blood, the growth and decay of our bodily tissue, the sound of our chemical processes. But our delicate organic cells, the fibres of brain and nerves and skin are impregnated with these inaudible sounds. They vibrate in response to their environment. This is the foundation of the power of music.” ~Franz Kafka

From Gustav Janouch, “The Music in Silence”)

We could say that Prashant Iyengar began his yoga career as a violinist. If we consider every activity in life as a yoga posture, he might say having his arms draped around a violin is as much a posture as you standing to brush your teeth. We can't get away from postures. The son of the world-renowned yoga instructor, BKS Iyengar, Prashant’s experience with yoga is so vast and coupled with his attunement to music enables profound insights that the nascent observer might resist. Still, I encourage you to try to open to them and explore his online instructions (7, 8…) and books.  (3,4,5,6…).

 His father, BKS Iyengar discovered from his robust and tenacious practice that to move from the mundane of a posture requires a systematic approach. He developed a global curriculum and a rigorous teacher training. He provided the world with a method of teaching yoga in a sequence of asana that could begin to bring awareness to what Prashant might express as the will of the mind, body, and breath. In the early stages of yoga education with a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor (CIYI), students cultivate and connect the mind, body, and sense organs (e.g., ears and eyes) through mirroring, correction, reflection, repetition, and further instruction on a progressive sequence of asana. 

 The assumption is that yoga mastery requires will, power, and strength. While the three must be present, there are later stages of yoga, which Prashant instructs, the foundations for yog or yogasana. I will attempt to loosely defined it as a practice involving an evolutionary stage of the mind, body, and senses through profound awareness of the breath system's ability to integrate with the other systems and create a "collective will.”

One of my favorite sayings (if recollection serves) that BKS Iyengar quotes in his book, Tree of Life, says something like, "Let the yoga do the yoga." As I continue my journey, my understanding of this saying deepens as the schema of tapas (disciplined practice), svadhyaya (self-study), Isvara pranidhana (unyielding faith) begins to naturally foster Yog.

The flesh is the surface of the unknown. ~ Victor Hugo

 Prashant highlights how Yog (a divine union or collective will) organically or naturally, emerges within and without us. However, our "personal gravities" tend to block this from happening. Gravities include things like our human biological tendencies (procure/consume food, sleep, sex, fear), and our ego, and "cultural strata" such as tamasic (heavy, slow) or rajasic (fiery, fast), to name a few (8). Prashant helps us tap into our "[…]100 trillion cells of 100 trillion different types”. (1). He brings awareness to their participation as a "collective" in yogasana using interdependent kriyas or actions (chakra kriya, prana kriya, etc.). 

He uses the imagery of "confinements" such as the brain, chest, and pelvis; along with geometric shapes to encourage cyclic, rotary, and triangulated use of the breath. He also invokes a series of silent vocalizations that offer different vibratory sensations. The most widely known example is “Om.” Together, his instruction can turn the standing posture tadasana, or mountain pose, into a profoundly different evolutionary experience with every change of confinement, shape, or sound. Aligning and attuning our body, mind, and breath to the infinite wisdom within us.

 Years of preparation are required. Studying with an Iyengar yoga instructor is synchronized to wake the body, mind, and spirit from the gravities of its tendencies. With consistent Iyengar yoga practice we begin to develop regulation naturally: such as Ahimsa (non-violence to the self and others), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing/covetousness), Bramhacharya (control over sex drive), Aparigraha (non-hoarding, non-coveting). Patience increases. The breath becomes more regulated. Cultivation is a word often used by Prashant to express the readiness to begin to explore the deeper levels of yogasana that can be experienced. 

Yogasana creates an internal awakening to the unexplored and unknown whelms inside us and its interconnectedness to the external. So as above so, below is a quote credited to the ancient Hermetics which describes this connection. In an interview with Lee Sverkerson and Kristin Chirhart, Prashant talked about how the planet Jupiter may have prevented the comet Schumacher from crashing into Earth in the 90s (5).

 The discussion seemed to emphasize our interdependence and interconnectedness to the solar system. He expressed how much we may assume and yet how little we know —about any "other’s" purpose. It brings to mind how quick we are to assume people are good or bad, how we dismiss things we don't understand (planets over 400 million miles away can’t possibly impact us at all) or cut them out altogether (who needs a gallbladder?). 

However, yogasana brings an innate understanding of the need for egoic regulation and patience in assessing purpose, internally and externally. Prashant’s students learn to stay in an asana and wait for the nature of things to reveal itself to us without our ego’s constant need to judge, act, and control situations that block the reception process.

 Listening to Prashant's instruction and practicing his techniques has increased my awareness of the intelligence of my cells and the endless depths available to explore within myself. He has shown me a heart-centered path to wake to a wonderland of experiences inside and outside the vessel of the body. It’s brought about a sense of honor and trust in our interconnectedness and the ability to wait for nature to reveal its purpose internally and externally with more grace and gratitude.

 Thank you, Prashant.

 Namaste.

1Iyengar, B. K. S., & Iyengar, G. S. (2003). Basic Guidelines for Teacher of Yoga (2nd ed.). Yog.

2Iyengar, B. K. S. (2002). The Tree of Life (1st ed.). Shambala Classics.

3 Iyengar, P. S. (2011). Chittavijnana of Yogasanas (Second). Yog & Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute

4 Iyengar, P. S. (2011). Discourses on Yog. Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute.

5 Iyengar, P.S. (n.d.) Parampara, The Importance of Family and Tradition to a Yoga Practitioner, and Why the Lyricised Sutras from an interview by Lee Sverkerson and Kristin Chirhart

6 Iyengar, P. S. (2012). Yogasana - The 18 Maha Kriyas. Yog.

7 Sri Prashant Iyengar, Lesson 1: Online Education in yoga

8 Sri Prashant Iyengar, Lesson 26: Online Education in yoga (09:17-Tendencies)

Gratitude

On December 14, 1918, Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar graced the world with his birth. He was the eleventh child born of thirteen during the wake of an influenza outbreak which left his system weak and vulnerable. Having survived devistating diseases such as malaria, typhoid, and tuberculosis, he began serious yoga training with his brother-in-law, Guru Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Guru Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya had harsh training methods, which might be considered abusive in the West; however, BKS Iyengar trained hard and it could be argued what he lacked in physical strength he made up for with will and effort. Within two years Sri T. Krishnamacharya sent him to Pune to teach yoga leaving him to continue his yoga journey without a guru.

A capable student brings fame to his teacher

-Guru Sri T. Krishnamacharya, the Father of Modern Yoga

BKS Iyengar continued his training in essence becoming his own guru. He sought to get to know every cell and sinew of his body through a thorough examination of its function to whole of his being. It could be said, his yoga practice became his way of honoring the vessel that fought for him when diseases threatened his life.

The body is my temple. Asana are my prayers.

~BKS Iyengar

The process of his personal training along with teaching and learning from his students transformed him into the World's Best Yoga Teacher. Passing on August 20, 2014, he left the legacy of his life's work to humankind: developing a systematic method of teaching the eight-limbed path of Astanga Yoga.  

Several years ago, as a tribute to B.K.S. Iyengar and his inexhaustible work, I started a list of reasons why everyone should experience Iyengar Yoga. I urge Iyengar practitioners to contribute, add to, enhance or correct my attempts here. I am a Level 1 Certified Iyengar Instructor. I have been on a very private and personal yoga journey since my father’s health began to decline and I decided to assist in his care and go back to college. I am and will always be a student. What insights I bring are my own. I have practiced silently listening to my body with the imagined fervor of a man I have the utomost respect for and a man who has become the symbol of a generative father for me, whose integrity as teacher and a man never waivered.

I am by no means a master of Iyengar's work. The choice and order of my reasons were approached very organically and based on my humble idea of how to begin simply (some may view it as oversimplified) and progress into less simple reasons. Needless to say, this list is not in the right Krama (sequential order), though some effort has been applied to do so. As I gain more Light from the study and practice of Iyengar's work, I will probably want to change this list.  For now, it is simply a small tribute to a man I will never meet, yet who has affected my life in profound ways. Perhaps it will also serve to encourage at least one person to explore The Iyengar Method for themselves. 

1.  Alignment matters:  Poor body alignment leads to poor bone, muscle, joint, and ligament alignment. improve your body alignment and you extend the life and vitality of the body.

2.  Alignment matters:  Poor body alignment leads to poor health. When the body is misaligned it puts undo stress on all the systems of the body, decreasing function and capability. Improve your body alignment you improve your health.

3.  Alignment matters:  Poor body alignment leads to poor mind alignment.  When the body is misaligned, the mind is constantly troubled by tamasic (dull/heavy) and rajasic (fiery/active) states of mind and unable to reach a harmonious sattvic state. Improve your body alignment you improve the state of your mind.

4.  Alignment matters:   Poor body alignment leads to poor emotional alignment. When the body is misaligned the emotions are troubled and mentally imprisoned by the kleśas (five afflictions).  Improve your body alignment and you improve your emotional health.

5.  Alignment matters:   Poor body alignment leads to poor inner alignment.  Improve your body alignment and you improve your connection to your true self.

6.  Alignment matters:  Poor body alignment leads to poor breath alignment.  Improve your body alignment and you improve your ability to bring this vital nutrient to more areas of the body and tap into your own life force energy.

7.  Alignment matters:  Poor body alignment leads to poor energy alignment.  Improve your body alignment and you improve the alignment of (72,0000) energy or nadi channels in the body.

8.  Alignment matters:  Poor internal alignment leads to poor external alignment.  Improve your internal alignment and you improve you ability to align with the world around you.

9.   Alignment matters:  Poor alignment with your community responsibilities leads to poor community integration and support. Improve your alignment with your community responsibilities and you improve your standing in your community.

10. Alignment matters:   Poor alignment with healthy habits leads to poor alignment with your aspirations in life. Improve the alignment of your personal habits and you clear a path to your goals.

11.  Dedication pays:  Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method will enable your highest self to unfold naturally.

12.  Dedication pays:   Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method will enable you to focus to such an extent that learning anything becomes easier and more accessible.

13.  Dedication pays:   Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method teaches you to know yourself --your habits, your strengths, your weaknesses, your emotional state, your conscious state, your ignorance, your intelligence, your wisdom, your sense of grace and compassion for yourself and others.

14.  Dedication pays:   Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method gives you wisdom and discretion.

15.  Dedication pays:   Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method systematically and compassionately opens new pathways to healing yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

16. Dedication pays:  Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method gives you courage so you can liberate yourself from your fears, stresses, and anxieties.

17.  Dedication pays:  Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method teaches you safe ways to push your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual abilities through the use of props and other resources.

18.  Dedication pays:  Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method demonstrates how small successes can accomplish big goals.

19.  Dedication pays:   Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method gracefully shifts what and how you choose to engage your mind, body, and spirit; whether that's choosing a healthier diet, or reading, watching, and listening with more discernment.

20.  Dedication pays:  Dedicating yourself to the study and practice of the Iyengar Method gives you the tools, the words, and the experience to share what you have learned with others.

21. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: "Transformation is achieved through sustained change, and it is achieved through practice." - BKS Iyengar

22. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  "Knowledge is always something that is universal.  It is not meant for one person.  It is not individual, but every individual contributes.  When knowledge goes in the right direction and ignorance is removed it takes all of us in the same direction. So I learn when you learn.  When you feel, and you understand, that gives knowledge to me.  In a similar manner when I give knowledge to you, you also start to understand."   Geeta S. Iyengar.  

23. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  "The intelligence […] grows faster vertically than horizontally." - BKS Iyengar.  (Vertical = Intelligence, Horizontal = Wisdom).

24.  Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Learning to stand first roots the body's intelligence in the feet first providing what is known as "base intelligence."

25.  Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Learning to root the body from the base enables vertical growth to happen.

26.  Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Learning standing poses enables the practitioner to activate and grow the intelligence in the outer limbs and basic structures of the body.

27. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Mobilizing the mind to activate the outer limbs of the body through extension develops a firm foundation and fundamental intelligence needed for standing forward bends.

28.  Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Standing extensions and forwards bends mobilizes the gluteals and teaches the concavity actions necessary for seated forward bends.

29. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Seated forward bends increase the flexibility in the gluteal, sacral, and coccyx regions to prepare the body for lateral extensions (twisting).

30. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  Standing upright teaches the elements of inverted standing poses on our shoulders, hands, forearms, and head.

31. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  Standing, forward bends, lateral extensions, and inversions, ready the abdomen for deep abdominal contractions.

32. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  Mastering the proper alignment of the sacral and coccyx regions along with the concavity actions of the upper back prepare the body for the introduction of preliminary back bending poses.

33. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Systematic learning enables the body, mind, and intelligence to awaken gracefully and compassionately.

34. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  Sequencing is not provided in a haphazard way according to the instructor's whim, it is progressive to foster maximum growth of the mind and body at every stage of development.

35. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Systematic learning frees the body and intelligizes the mind while increasing awareness how different sequences stimulate the adrenals, while other sequences pacify the adrenals while still others stimulate the pituitary and thyroid glands to balance the hormones.

36. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  The Iyengar Method systematically teaches in order to stimulate specific systems in the body in order to bring more physical, mental, and emotional balance.

37. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: From a more balanced body, "the body becomes a universe for the mind to travel within."  BKS Iyengar.

38. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  Once vertical intelligence is achieved horizontal wisdom can flourish.  The intelligence can spread to occupy every minute area of the body creating space. This is what BKS refers to as a "yogic mind".

39.  Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning: Once a "yogic mind" is developed physical and mental health flourishes and control of intensity in action, relaxation, or stillness are in your hands.

40. Study of The Iyengar Method Quickens Learning:  Once a "yogic mind" is developed the body and mind can evolve in such a way as to ready itself towards deeper inner awareness or "involution".

41. Dedicated Study in the Iyengar Method Makes Discipline Easy: Once the "yogic mind" is developed the Yamas (Global Disciplines) and the Niyamas (Self-Disciplines) naturally follow."They are meant to train, channel and purify the energy of the organs of action and senses of perception ." "The principals of yama tame the organs of action. Yama strengthens dama -restraint of the senses; whereas the principles of niyama bring śama - calmness and quietness in mind due to simplicity in life." --BKS Iyengar Aṣṭadala Yogamālā- Vol. 1

42.  Dedicated Study in the Iyengar Method Makes Discipline Easy:  Once the Yamas and Niyamas are cultivated higher levels of āsana naturally follows.

43.  Dedicated Study in the Iyengar Method Makes Discipline Easy: Once the Yamas, Niyamas, and Āsanas are mastered, the discipline of Prānāyāma follows naturally.

44.  Dedicated Study in the Iyengar Method Makes Discipline Easy: Once the discipline of the Yamas, Niyamas, Āsanas, and Prānāyāma  become a natural part of the practitioners life, a discipline of sense withdrawal or Pratyahara naturally follows.

45.   Dedicated Study in the Iyengar Method Makes Discipline Easy:  Once the discipline of the Yamas, Niyamas, Āsanas, Prānāyāma and Pratyāhāra become a natural part of the practitioners life, Dhārnā (concentration) and Dhyāna (meditation) can be cultivated naturally in succession.

46.   The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity:  Integrity in his physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual life. 

47. The Iyengar Method was Developed by a Man of Integrity:  BKS Iyengar has dedicated over 80 years of his life to analyzing his own practice and discovering ways to give voice to the subtleties required to evolve every āsana. His early practice was up to 10 hours a day.  At 95 he continued a 3-hour daily āsana practice with a 1-hour pranayama practice.  It has been said that he explains he has to continue practicing because he hasn't been able to access "every cell" in his body yet. 

48.  The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity:  He has a rigorous teacher training program to ensure his teachers can safely and systematically develop students physically, mentally and emotionally into a more yogic state of balance and alignment.

49.  The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity: He systematically gives voice to instruction that will eventually bring about an evolution whereby the student begins to experience Sthira Sukham Āsanam (Sutra 11:47, sweet, stable, comfortable yoga pose within a vibration of oneness), so that Prayatna śaithila ananta samāpattibhām (Sutra 11:48, the effort to perform the pose becomes effortless), and Tatah dvandva ānabhighātah (Sutra 11:49 from that dualities cease to disturb or constrain us).

50.   The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity: BKS Iyengar has written over 20 books like some of the following:

• Arogya Yoga

• Light on Asthanga Yoga

• Art of Yoga

• Light on Pranayama

• Astadala Yoga Mala - 1

• Light on Yoga

• Astadala Yoga Mala - 2

• Light on Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

• Astadala Yoga Mala - 3

• Tree of Yoga

• Astadala Yoga Mala - 4

• Yoga - A Path to Holistic Health

• Astadala Yoga Mala - 5

• Yoga – Ek Kalpataru

• Illustrated Light on Yoga

• Light on Life

• Growing Young

• YAUGIKA MANAS

• Yog Depict

51.  The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity:  He trained his children in the art of yoga.

52.  The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity: His daughter Geeta and son Prashant chose to continue their father's work.

53.   The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity: With the help of his daughter Geeta he has developed Guidelines for Teachers of Yoga.

54.    The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity:  He fostered his daughter Geeta's passion towards women's issues and health. Her definitive guide for women Yoga: A Gem For Women has been a great resource for women interested in yoga all over the world.

55.   The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity:  He fostered his son Prashant's exploration into subtler whelms of yoga.  Prashant is the author of several books:

Prashant Uvacha

Yoga and the New Millennium

Organology and sensology in Yogash_stra

Class After Class

Alpha and Omega of Trikonasana

56. The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity:  He doesn't waiver from his roots and yet he is constantly dissecting those roots to learn more so he can share more with all of us.

57. The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity: Please click on this link to read another recent tribute: Ingela’s Reflection, Guruji Turning 95, An Artist, Scientist; Philosopher, forever learning, sharing; helping.  

58. The Iyengar Method was developed by a Man of Integrity: “Yoga, as practiced by Mr. Iyengar, is the dedicated votive offering of a man who brings himself to the altar, alone and clean in body and mind, focused in attention and will, offering in simplicity and innocence not a burnt sacrifice, but simply himself raised to his own highest potential.” ~Yehundi Menuhin, Forward, Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar

59.  The Iyengar Method Works:  It progressively teaches the science of yoga, the art of yoga, and the philosophy of yoga. All of which result in the development of "a fresh mind"state.   

60.  The Iyengar Method Works:  "If we maintain that state in our daily lives, that is known as integration.  To be fully integrated means to integrate oneself totally from the body to the self and also to live in integration with one's neighbors and surroundings." --Tree of Yoga, BKS Iyengar

61.  The Iyengar Method Works: Iyengar constantly analyzes the details of ancient texts such as  Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā and Patañjali's Yoga Sutras. His method is based on developing what these texts define as the primary goal of yoga, which is to “Prana-vrtti-nirodha” or stilling the fluctuations of the breath and “Citta vritta nirodha” stilling the fluctuations of the mind. When movements of consciousness are restrained, a space is created, much like the space between inhalations and exhalations. As that space expands, a realization begins: that consciousness has no light of its own. It is dependent on something else.  Much like the interplay between the Sun- Ha and the Moon-tha.  The Ha=Sun=Hot=day=light=atma=soul and tha=Moon =Cool =night =dark =chitta=consciousness. The moon is merely reflecting the light of the sun. However, without the cooling effects of the moon, the energy of the sun would burn itself out. Iyengar's Method works on the idea that the balance of Ha and tha is an imperative, which puts one on the path to experiencing the even greater force within the various levels of samadhi -absorption.

62.  The Iyengar Method Works:  Iyengar uses personal experience and constant reassessment to teach us how we can use the breath to control the consciousness, while in turn controlling the consciousness through regulation of the breath. 

63.  The Iyengar Method Works: Iyengar has systematically broken through the Western belief that yoga is only a physical exercise by teaching and abiding by the Eight Limbs Of Astanga Yoga: 1) Yama 2)Niyama 3) Āsana 4) Prānāyāma 5) Pratyāhāra 6) Dhārnā 7) Dhyāna 8) Samādhi.

64.  The Iyengar Method Works:  Iyengar's book Tree of Yoga serves as a guide to how yoga goes beyond the studio and permeates in all aspect of our lives to bring us more freedom and peace.

65.  The Iyengar Method Works: Iyengar is known as the first real "class" teacher of yoga.  He has developed a method that communicates according to the students ability. "In the majority of pupils, the intellect of the head is very strong, but the body does not react to the volition of the brain. Usually, their brain acts as the subject, but you have to learn to treat the brain as an object and the body as a subject.  This is the first lesson yoga teaches.  When that is learnt, the effect of yoga is very quick." Tree of Yoga.

66.  The Iyengar Method Works:  The Method works no matter if you are well or sick, young or old, energetic or lazy, well formed or deformed.

67.  The Iyengar Method Works:   Iyengar has a knowledge of the causes of the disease.  His Method integrates therapeutics that work on chronic issues by strengthening surrounding areas before addressing the affected area.

68.  The Iyengar Method Works:  It could be said, The Method's therapeutic approach is based on Sutra II.16, heyaṁ duḥkham anāgatham, which according to BKS Iyengar's Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali is interpreted, "The pains which are yet to come can be and are to be avoided." 

69.  The Iyengar Method Works: In the article linked above, "Therapeutics in Iyengar Yoga: 'Your Job is to Put the Student on the Path to Yoga", by Stephanie Quirk, "[In The Iyengar Method] we have Abhyāsa and Vairāgya. No alternative health method has this. Your job as a yoga teacher isn’t to be someone’s doctor, nurse, or psychiatrist. Your job is to put the patient/student on the path of yoga. They must become followers and practitioners if they are to finally eradicate all trace of what disturbs them (dosha). Abhyāsa (practice) and Vairāgya (detachment) are at the core of everything one has to undertake. They are the irreducible plinths upon which yoga is based, and what truly separates the yogic path from other alternative health therapies."

70. The Iyengar Method Works:  The first book written on the technique of yoga with detailed descriptions and photographs, Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar is still the best resource on the proper practice of the yoga Āsana and Prānāyāma.  First published in 1966, it was written based on Iyengar's 27 years of experience at the time. The book covers 200 āsanas, bandha, kriya, and pranayama with over 600 photographs. 

71.  The Iyengar Method Works:  In addition to descriptive books on technique, the Iyengars also provide "Hints and Cautions" in order to assure the student is learning in the safest and most effective environment.  However, despite the many books and resources, Iyengar always stresses the importance of experience and study with an Iyengar Certified Instructor or Master Teacher to guide your progress. 

72.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  He recognizes the nine obstacles that impede progress on the path of yoga.

Vyadi: Illness

Styāna: Langour, mental stagnation

Samṥaya: Doubt

Pramāda: Heedlessness, lack of foresight

Ālasya: Sloth, fatigue

Āvirati: Dissipation, overindulging

Bhrāntidarshana: False views, illusions

Ālabdhabhūmikatva: Lack of perseverance

Anavasthitatva: Instability, regression

73.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  The physical obstacles, which can range from laziness to disease are overcome through the Iyengar Method with the use of all kinds of props.  Props make poses possible (even in illness) for everyone (removing doubt, laziness, and fatigue) which encourages the perseverance in practice that will begin to break through these obstacles.

74.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali: The other obstacles are mental obstacles. These can range from doubt and illusion to idleness.  Iyengar recognizes that when teachers pace lessons they can begin to develop a student's mental faculties in order to reduce the mental obstacles while sharpening focus and stamina.

75.   Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali: The five kleśas 1. Avidyā (Ignorance) 2. Asmitā (ego) 3. Rāga (attachment) 4. Dveșa (aversion) 5. Abhiniveṥa (fear of death) along with the nine obstacles serve as distractions to that scatter the mind.  Iyengar's method works to significantly reduce the hold the nine obstacles and five kleśas have on the student in order to create a better foundation for progress. 

76.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali: Iyengar encourages self-study or svadhyaya.  

77.   Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali. By concentrating on a particular object the consciousness becomes serene.  Iyengar makes the āsana the object of focus. When the student becomes engrossed in the study of āsana, the mind steadies fostering deeper progress.

78.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 sutras of Patañjali: 

“The yogi conquers the body by the practice of āsanas and makes it a fit vehicle for the spirit. He knows that it is a necessary vehicle for the spirit. A soul without a body is like a bird deprived of its power to fly.”

~ BKS Iyengar, Light On Yoga.

79.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  Though only three (to five according to Aṣṭadala Yogamālā- Vol. 1) sutras are attributed to the practice of āsana. Āsana helps the student move from the gross to the subtle - from the external to the internal.  Iyengar's method concentrates on the external alignment in āsana in order to create the environment to penetrate and align the internal world of the student.

80. Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali: "Whatever āsana one performs, it should be done with a feeling of firmness and endurance in the body, good will in the intelligence of the head, and awareness and benevolent delight in the seat of the heart." BKS Iyengar Aṣṭadala Yogamālā-- Vol 2.

81.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patanjali:  Only after the perfection of asana (Sutras 11:47, 11:48, 11:49) is a student begin Prānāyāma.

82. Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  Pranayama must be introduced gently. In his book Light on Prānāyāma, Iyengar covers the 14 basic types of Prānāyāma broken down into a careful formulation of 82 stages so that the student can safely progress. He outlines the difficulties and dangers while providing a detailed 200-week course to help avoid them. To explain he power of prana he said, “Hindus often say that GOD is Generator, Organizer, and Destroyer.  Inhalation is the generating power, retention is the organizing power, and exhalation, if the energy is vicious, is the destroyer. This is prana at work.  Vigor, power, vitality, life, and spirit are all forms of prana."

83.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali: Iyengar takes great care in his teachings on Prānāyāma. "[…]breath-control, that is Prānāyāma is not merely deep breathing or breathing exercises, normally a part of physical culture.  It is something far more, involving exercises which affect not only the physical, physiological and neural energies but also the psychological and cerebral activities, such as memory-training and creativity." --R.R.  Divwakar in Forward of Light on Prānāyāma.

84. Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  Iyengar offers respect and admiration to those who are credited for the discovery of Prānāyāma, namely Patañjali and the ancient Yogis of India.  He explains how he can write about the subject, but words are limiting.  Practice and experience done with caution, sustained effort, and patience are the only way to gain by this limb of yoga.

85.  Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patanjali:  Avidyā, (ignorance) is what Iyengar deems the "mother of all afflictions." This may be why he encourages the study of Yoga with the guidance of a Guru.  Gu=Light  Ru=Ignorance.  A Guru is simply someone who has mastered the art and science of yoga and can shed light on the dark areas where there is a need or want for knowledge and understanding. Pranayama is said to be "exalted knowledge" according to the Yogachudamani Upanisad. 

86. Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  Patanjali prescribes ways to train the mind.  There are five basic qualities of mind 1) Mūda (dull) 2) Kṣipta (lazy) 3) Vikṣipta (oscillating) 4) Ekāgra (steady) and finally 5) niruddha (still).  One of my instructors, Nancy Mau explained in class once and I will attempt to impart here: that Iyengar describes two banks between a river, one bank being the yamas and the other the niyamas by adhering to the boundaries of the banks we will flow in the right direction.  The two banks align us, irrespective of birth, time, place or sex. The banks keep us going in the right direction where friendliness, compassion, joy and indifference (as needed) naturally spring forth along the way. The mind steadies itself and eventually finds stillness.

87. Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali:  The four chapters or padas of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1) Samādhi Pāda (Sub Consciousness) 2) Sādhanā Pāda (Study) 3) Vibhūti Pāda (Power) and 4) Kaivalya Pāda (Freedom) are according to Iyengar ordered for their interdependent cultivation. "The theory of the first chapter and the practice of the second and third chapters, when converted into science, art, and philosophy, become yoga sastra (teaching), yoga kala (unit/time), and yoga darsana (for sense awareness)." -BKS Iyengar Aṣṭadala Yogamālā- Vol. 1.

88. Iyengar follows the yoga as explained in the 196 Sutras of Patañjali: As a Master Teacher, Iyengar codified the Sutras of Patañjali according themes for quick study for his students in his Aṣṭadala Yogamālā- Vol. 1.  

89. The Iyengar Method believes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action. 

"It must not be just your mind or even your body that is doing the āsana. You must be in it.  You must do the āsana with your soul. How can you do an āsana with your soul?  We can only do it with the organ of the body closest to the soul - the heart." - BKS Iyengar in Light on Life

90. The Iyengar Method believes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action. Iyengar explains that he teaches a "spiritual practice in action."  He uses the body as the vehicle to discipline the mind toward consciousness of the soul. 

91.  The Iyengar Method believes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action."You must feel your intelligence, your awareness, and your consciousness in every inch of your body." - BKS Iyengar in Light on Life

92.  The Iyengar Method believes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action.

"Love must be incarnated in the smallest pore of the skin, smallest cell of the body, to make them intelligent, so they can collaborate with all the other ones, in the big republic of the body." - BKS Iyengar in Sparks of Divinity

93.  The Iyengar Method believes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action. "Sadhana should be pursued even though pain and death are at our throat." Sadhana means self-effort, spiritual discipline. 

94. The Iyengar Method recognizes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action.

"The eyes must go to the region that does not work, not the one that does." - BKS Iyengar in Sparks of Divinity

95.  The Iyengar Method believes three things must be united in yoga:  Love, Knowledge, and Action.

You are in bondage.  So while you are sweating and aching, let your heart be light and let it fill your body with gladness. You are not only becoming free, but you are also being free. What is not to be glad about?  The pain is temporary.  The freedom is permanent. - BKS Iyengar in Light on Life

96.  The Iyengar Method teaches:

"Before peace between nations, we must find peace within the small nation which is our own being." - BKS Iyengar, Sparks of Divinity, The teachings of BKS Iyengar, Compiled by Noelle Perez-Christiaens.

97.  The Iyengar Method teaches, "The seed is the cause for the tree to grow, but the surprising thing is that in the seed there is nothing visible for one to know how the tree grows and with what content. From this apparent 'nothingness' of the seed the tree shoots up. In sthe same way, the seed of our life force, at the core is the Self."  BKS Iyengar, Aṣṭadala Yogamālā- Vol. 7.  

98.  BKS Iyengar teaches: It has been said that BKS Iyengar used to address the weaknesses in a particular part of the body as our “trouble child” giving the trouble child the attention it needs to work through its issues. Be patient with yourself. Pause and be with the difficulties you encounter with your body with compassion and empathy. Together your heart, mind, body, and spirit can work through the troubled areas and bring you to the other side.

99. BKS Iyengar teaches us to be with our pain whether that is mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual. Stay present with it as if you are a curious observer, this way you can get to its source with more awareness to eradicate it for good. I have spend the last few years being with a man who I didn’t grow up with or really know but he shaped my sense of myself. Without the practice of Iyengar Yoga, I would never have been able to face the rawness of the pain I had knotted deep inside me. It took over ten years of dedicated daily practice to get to a point where I was ready to unknot that knot. I did and I have thanks to Iyengar Yoga.

100. Iyengar Yoga is not easy and anyone who has embarked on its path has experienced physical, mental, and emotional discomfort; however, the rewards come: moment by moment.

101: Iyengar Yoga sheds light on the dark places within you. Whether that is a muscle you haven’t connected with or emotion or memory you haven’t faced. It recalibrate you back to wholeness.

102: Iyengar Yoga isn’t an Olymbic sport to compete with others. It is a practice you choose for yourself that takes you on a very personal journey.

103: Iyengar Yoga won’t recognize your progress, yoga isn’t a destination. It won’t put you on the cover of a magazine. In fact, most people will have no idea the journey that Iyengar Yoga takes you on or the healing that takes place along the way. However, you will know. Perhaps, you will feel mentally, emotionally, and physically stronger, clearer, and more at peace, and it inspires you to continue on the path with enormous gratitude.

Namaste

Journeys in Space: Branson, Bezos, and Musk - Revolutionaries or Blind Mice?

It's the question on my lips when I watch Branson, Bezos, and Musk compete for Space Tourism or the Amusement Park for the 1%. Branson's tickets go for over $250,000, and so far has collected over $80 million.

I can't help but imagine what that money could do towards positive social change, but that's my trip. Bezos and Musk made major public contributions in 2020 and 2021 to climate change, feeding the hungry, and education. With the proper media support, they became renowned philanthropists almost overnight. Post-launch, Bezos made public his next philanthropic donation with more media support. It came off as an intentional strategy and tactic to placate the public. At least he's conscious of who feeds his coffers and how quickly those people could pull their spending and ground his dreams.

My American Dream tape got disrupted with the study and practice of Iyengar Yoga, and now I’m trying to rewrite it in profound places. In a recent article in The Week, author Damon Linker wrote:

One way to understand the growing popularity of Yoga and other Eastern forms of spirituality in our time is as a reaction to the unhappiness of living in a constant state of agitation, always moving forward, seeking a state of solace or sense of accomplishment that never seems to arrive. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk reach for the stars for that reason as much as any other.

Damon brings up the idea of Bezos and Musk's "Promethean impulse" as well as our own. He begs the question, should we keep striving farther outward or move inward? Iyengar Yoga teaches from the periphery to the core and vice versa.   I've seen enough science videos to know the awe of outer space or inner space is not that different. The Hermetics seem to agree. Revolutionary events can happen either way. The difference is that a personal inward journey doesn't make the papers. No one knows you are doing it. The good thing is going inward, you don't care who knows, and you can experience a lot more peace.

The Promethean strivers can never rest. They have to keep striving towards the stars to avoid the Existential void and make themselves feel something. The inward movers learn they don't need to go for sensation, so emptiness becomes welcomed. It creates room to be filled with grace and gratitude, which brings light on the simple things: nature, humanity, the breath, and the trillions of cells working diligently to create the body's well-being.

Inward movers awaken parts of themselves and help others see through the illusions that keep Promethean strivers like Branson, Bezos, and Musk tethered to the wheel and blind to what's below, beside, or within them. What they seek is fulfillment through desires beyond them, which by definition will, time and time again, remain just out of reach.

Jaki Nett's Yoga For Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

“Yoga asana is the foundation; anatomy is the insight; precision of postural alignment is the outcome.” ~ Jaki Nett

Jaki Nett is a Senior Level I Certified Iyengar Instructor with almost 40 years experience. She began going to Pune, India to study with BKS and Geeta Iyengr in Pune, India beginning in 1986, and teaches at her Iyengar Yoga Napa Valley studio with her husband Allen.

Jaki’s story unfolded from the Mississippi cloth of her birth into an iconic vocation that removed a layer of society’s fabric to give shape and form to what led to the sexual revolution. Interestingly, her story evolved poetically into an expertise helping to realign misalignments within the anatomical landmark that governs sexual energy: the pelvic floor diaphram.

Her book with a forward by Geeta Iyengar, The Felt Sense Method: The Humanistic Approach to Managing Incontinence outlines her personal journey studying the physical, psychological, and emotional aspects of incontinence, a common dysfunction of the pelvic floor. It happens to men and women but predominantly women. Jaki’s experiences came about after earning her Masters in Humananistic Psychology (one of her many degrees) and teaching at a college in Santa Rosa, California.

Her workshop gave us a taste of her deep knowledge, understanding, and ability to take students into a visceral experience that can lead to pelvic floor awareness and strength. She studied under a master who worked tirelessly to discover how to foster consciousness for those who sought it. She explained that in yoga literature:

Consciousness is the vehicle to prana

Prana is our life force. It controls our vitality and circulates through the over 72,000 Nādi channels in the body. To bring conciousness to our pelvic floor Jaki began with visual diagrams to help us imagine the anatomical landmarks and their vital connections to other parts of the body in our asana. For example, she explained how along with our Abdominals, the Adductors are a major mover in relation to the pelvic area due to synergy with our Pubis.

Jaki clarified a misnomer relative to the pelvic floor being referred to as a “sling” shape when in fact its natural shape is a “dome.” The reason the “sling” terminology took hold, she explained, is that most pelvic floor studies used older women whose pelvic floor diaphram, due to things like child birth, had been pressed down giving it a “sling” appearance.

After a seated instruction to demonstrate proper alignment, she took us through a simple standing series with chair support to facilitate better mindfulness for our pelvic floor awakening. Poses like Tadasana (mountain pose, Light On Yoga (LOY) plate 1, page 61), Utkatasana (fierce uneven pose, plate 42, LOY, page 88-89), and Ardha Chandrasana (half moon, plate 19, LOY, page 74-75) took on new meaning with her insights.

Her instructions enhanced our understanding of these basic poses and heightened our awareness of how much lift and alignment can come within our pelvic floor. Her Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward dog, LOY, plate 75, page 110-111) instruction took us through a slow sustained plank lifting from hips, pubis, and waist engaging the abdominal “corset” before drawing the hamstrings down and the thighs back into the classic pose.

The sequence including transitional poses like Parigasana, seated poses like Upavista and Baddha Konasana and forward bends like Janu Sirsasana provided inner awareness of the movers for the pelvic floor. She explained how adductors stimulate the pelvic floor muscle, the hamstrings contract drawing the ischum (sit bones) down (no tucking the tailbone here), and how what she called “the deep six” or deep rotators work together to tone and support the pelvic area.

Corrections like not using the hand under the knee to guide the leg into Janu Sirsasana or Upavista is an important part of the feeling and sensing that highlights her excellent instruction. She helped us recognize BKS Iyengar’s actions like turning our arms and palms outward in an Urdhva Hastasana position in several poses and the range of movement it allows.

She taught and shared her insights on the phenomenal asana, the Mahāmudra (LOY plate 125, page 147-148). After her previous lessons, we could better articulate the three bandhas or seals in this pose and feel their value to toning our pelvic floor. As a Level 1 CIYI with a C-section, Dasarda surgery for an inquinal hernia, along with other emotional scars, I never felt I could ever muster the abdominal strength required in the next level syllabus, her insights gave me hope again.

Jaki also gave us potty practices, considering we are there a few times day, it provides the ready-made routine to begin to build a strong foundation. She closed her workshop with an opening of the pelvic area. As we relaxed, she gave a final piece of advice, if we are sore later, it is our clue that we are on our way to better awareness and strength.

What extraordinary inner work. Thank you Jaki what an amazing experience. Marla Apt and Iyengar Therapeutics, I am so grateful for your ability to bring such wonderful learning experiences.

Arranging The Structure: Raya Uma Datta - Bahiranga Sadhana Workshop - Day 3

BKS Iyengar examined all parts of asana to understand the structure

Raya ended the first of his three consecutive workshops on the tenth of January. If this workshop is any indication of the next two, I highly recommend them. The first workshop proved to be a beautiful tribute to the extraordinary work of B.K.S. Iyengar.

Mr. Iyengar made it his life’s work to give us the best possible directions for our external quest, Bahiranga Sadhana. He and his daughter, Dr. Geeta Iyengar worked tirelessly to provide a beginner’s guide, an intermediate guide, a woman’s guide, a teacher’s guide, along with ongoing hands-on workshops around the world—and for those with over eight years of continuous study, month-long lessons at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) to inform our body, mind, and spirit to better understand the principles outlined in his book Light on Yoga. In turn, this can inform our ability to practice the next level of the eight-limbed path of Astanga Yoga outlined by the Sage Patañjali and then the next level after that.

Prashant Iyengar mentioned in his Fall workshop how understanding the vast magnificence of what this path has to teach can take lifetimes. Synthesizing the incredible lessons BKS Iyengar taught us requires dedication, practice, and repetition. It takes analyzing sequences and constantly asking your mind, body, and spirit questions. What is overworking? What is underworking? Then, connecting our brain to the area in our body that is weak. “This is your problem child,” is an often-quoted statement of Mr. Iyengar. Raya emphasized how Guruji gave us lessons that take us far beyond what general asana practice can teach us. The use of props and supports help us identify what is working and what is not. Raya explained the “The brain is the map of the body,” but we must make those connections happen. BKS Iyengar’s critical analysis of each part of our body from the gross to the subtle helps students of Iyengar Yoga move from the raw shape of a pose to the sculpted grace of wholeness asana is meant to offer. To get even the tiniest glimpse of this experience is what keeps Iyengar Yoga students coming back to learn more.

Equilibrium is a word that Raya wanted us to understand as "a balance of forces." We focused on the upper thigh, which has many parts: anatomy withholding, inner and outer, and back to front, along with the many sections in between to be analyzed. As a whole, the upper thigh is not as awake as other parts of the leg such as the knee or calf. Raya increased our proprioception into the upper thigh with a series of asana that inform us about our work in this area. Asana such as Adho Mukha Svanasana, Urdhva Mukha Prasarita Eka Padasana, Virabhadrasana III, Parvritta Ardha Chandrasana, returning to Urdhva Mukha Prasarita Eka Padasana with the leg up the wall. Raya used the idea of "six degrees of separation" to explain how to get to a more complex asana, we must look at what came before it to inform us of the body/mind connections that must be made before we can begin to practice it. We used a weighted sandbag on the calf, Urdhva Mukha Prasarita Eka Padasana, to redirect our efforts into the upper thigh because we tend to lift from the calf, not the thigh, but it is the intelligence of the upper thigh that is the gateway to more complex asana such as an inverted elbow or head balances. By the time Raya took us to these places, attempting to split our legs and sustain our balance in the inverted elbow and head balances, we knew, in no uncertain terms, the value of the work of the upper thigh. The day gave us a glimpse into the unfathomable depths of detail that BKS Iyengar explored to facilitate our Bahiranga Sadhana and open pathways to experience the necessity of Yama and Niyama.

Raya did a spectacular job sharing the experience of how every arm position, every minute instruction BKS Iyengar has offered us creates more "intimacy" in the conversation between all the parts of the body until they all know their particular role and the "force" they must wield in that role to create a structure that will last. Equilibrium brings balance, and balance is something we can sustain indefinitely. Raya explained the stress we feel in the world is a result of imbalance. Iyengar Yoga teaches us how to arrange our structure to achieve balance. With that knowledge and wisdom, we can better structure our world to make it more balanced and sustainable.What a gift.

Thank you, Raya, for your special and specific insights, Iyengar Yoga of Greater New York for hosting, my mentor, Kquvien DeWeese, and The Iyengar Family, whose guidance has made it all possible.

For those with over three years of continuous Iyengar study, Raya will be offering two more workshops Antaranga Sadhana, Engaging in the Intra-Structure in February and Antaratma Sadhana, Surrendering into the Meta-Structure in March.

Namaste

Arranging The Structure: Raya Uma Datta - Bahiranga Sadhana Workshop - Day 2

How do we begin? What is the balance of force?

Day 2 of Raya's workshop, Arranging The Structure, began by confirming our understanding of the previous day. As my glimpses here in no way attempt to articulate Raya's lessons entirely, his emphasis demonstrates the importance of clarification. I will do my best to do that. Iyengar Yoga uses asana as the point of entry into the Astanga or 8-limbed path of yoga outlined by the Sage Patañjali in 196 sutra's or threads. The sutra after 11:30 outlining the five Yama or universal precepts:

Sutra 11.31 jāti-deśa-kāla-samaya-anavacchinnāḥ sārvabhaumā-mahāvratam

BKS Iyengar transcribed in Light on the Sutras of Patanjali as “Yamas are the great, mighty, universal vows, unconditioned by place, time, and class.” He explains his reasoning for stressing their universality regardless of region, culture, or origin by saying: “They form the framework of rules on which society is based,” (LOYSP, p136). The five Yama or self-restraints are Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacarya (continence), and Aparigraha (non-greed). It is my understanding that Iyengar Yoga begins with asana because there is a universality to the human body for most part so it is a place we can all unite to begin to learn the art, science, and philosophy of yoga. Through asana we can better understand why the precepts are so meaningful. While the five Yama aid in the proper functioning of society, coupled with the five personal precepts or Niyama: Sauca (cleanliness) Santosa (contentment) Tapah (burning desire) svadhyaya (self study) Isvara prandnidhanani (surrender to God) they can also help arrange the structure of our body, mind, and breath in any given asana.

Raya asked where do we begin arrangingVirasana, heroes pose? The most obvious is the hips: hip to knees and hips to trunk. What is the condition of our starting asana? Is it to prepare for Paryankasana, couch or Bhekasana, frog as is the order in Light on Yoga? This virasana is to prepare for the Invocation. Therefore, while the arrangement of the structure stayed the same, the “force” and concentration were very different. Raya suggested support to keep the lower back engaged, which intelligized the spine and had a domino effect on the frontal body, chest, groins, hips. It also softened any mental and physical force to aid our moving inward to a place of calm and receptivity. He asked us to draw the eyes inward —recognizing the increased screen time and eye fatigue that results. He spent time here to relax and release then asked us to release any grips, such as in the big toe. He conditioned our inner awareness and alertness of the body. Are we being aggressive, assertive or affirmative. What is needed?

It is with this kind of acute awareness and attention, Iyengar Yoga asks us to bring to our asana practice. The Yama and Niyama can help us balance the opposite forces of doing and not doing to suit the condition of the asana. Keeping in mind the condition can be situational, mental, physical, or emotional.

Raya pointed out how Guruji identified when the front leg and the back leg are doing different things such as Parsvottanasana, intense side stretch, the starting points change for each leg. Raya asked us to connect the length from the right ankle to the right shoulder and then the left. Imagining arrows drawn to each set, he wanted us to notice how the starting point of each arrow and the length of the arrows are different.

Raya brought up the idea of the domino effect and how when the balance of force is not appropriate to the given condition of the structure how it affects everything else. He emphasized why learning all of the ways to arrange the structure of any given asana is all the more integral to our evolution as practitioners. Uncovering the wisdom that Uttanasana, intense forward bend can provide to Pashimottanasana, intense stretch of the western side of the body and Ubaya Padangustasana, seated holding both big toes, as well as Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana, upward facing intense stretch of western body —and how each of these poses can inform each other is what it is to be an Iyengar practitioner. He brought our attention to why BKS Iyengar provided different arm positions in Paschimottanasana and encouraged us to experience how it improves our understanding of the pose — noticing how they inform specific parts of the body with information we can apply to other asana.

Raya recognized that teachers must instruct in a specific krama or order, but teachers are also students. He said one of his favorite quotes from Mr. Iyengar:

Discipline comes from within ~ BKS Iyengar

As students, we must rigorously explore all Iyengar Yoga offers us. It is up to us to discover, uncover, and most of all practice, so we can embody why BKS Iyengar arranged the structure Light on Yoga the way he did.

Thank you once again, Raya for sharing your insights, Iyengar Yoga of Greater New York for hosting, my mentor, Kquvien DeWeese, and The Iyengar Family for making it all possible. I look forward to tomorrow.

Namaste

Arranging The Structure: Raya Uma Datta - Bahiranga Sadhana Workshop - Day 1

Look at your body like you are looking at a map. Where are you going?

Raya Uma Datta offers a unique perspective with his incredible perception into Iyengar Yoga, having begun his training at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) at the young age of 10 years old. What a gift to be able to learn the vast subject of Iyengar Yoga from the source at such a formative age.

Raya continued his Iyengar Yoga quest and by age 20 began teaching at RIMYI. After demonstrating for BKS Iyengar’s 80th Birthday, he formally became BKS Iyengar’s student. He traveled to Russia and China with Guruji (a name given to BKS Iyengar, meaning one who brings light). He later accompanied Guruji’s daughter, Dr. Geeta Iyengar, for an Australian and South African Convention. Since 2002, he has taught general classes at RIMYI.

Having had the opportunity to study with Raya at RIMYI, I know him to be a well-respected and dynamic teacher. He instructs from the heart and is dedicated to understanding and sharing the wealth of knowledge BKS Iyengar and the Iyengar Family have offered us. Below is a glimpse into the workshop’s first day from my level of understanding.

The workshop, hosted by Iyengar Yoga of Greater New York is titled, Bahiranga Sadhana which Guruji describes in Light on Yoga (p.21) as an external quest. Raya explained the external quest includes the ten moral/personal disciplines of Yama and Niyama and the physical disciplines of Asana and Pranayama. Raya added that it’s important to understand that asana is the quintessential medium that Iyengar Yoga works with and from to explore the 8-limbed path of the Astanga Yoga of Patañjali.  Iyengar Yoga explores asana using the ten precepts which are prescribed in Sutras 11.30-11.34 (conversely, you could say, the precepts can be explored through asana). The precepts are further described in subsequent Sutras that all have the definitive Sanskrit word Pratisthayam associated with it. While the word is transcribed to mean “firmly established”, Raya alluded to subtle meanings that enrich its place in these descriptions. The precepts have a “do” and “not do” rhythm to them, which we learn to apply to our efforts in asana until we are more grounded in them and they become part of our practice.

On the grosser level, there is structure and arrangement to asana. There is also a particular way to describe asana. The Sutras of Patañjali offer a definitive description that BKS Iyengar transcribes in his book, Light on the Sutras of Patanjali: “Asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence and benevolence of spirit.”

11:46 Sthira sukham asana

Raya sited other Sutras to demonstrate the many descriptions, prescriptions, and characteristics that describe asana. He used a map as metaphor with its True North and then explained the broad lattitudes of what is still considered north to the east and west of that until it shifts into something else like northeast or northwest.

“When one moves from the grossest to the subtlest neither the beginning is seen nor the end.” ~ BKS Iyengar

Raya quoted Guruji and guided us to explore the concept of structure by devising a map of our body through a masterful arrangement of asana. Where do we begin an asana? Words communicate and guide us, he continued, but it is imperative to know what actions those words initiate. Rotating the foot versus rotating from the hip create different experiences. He used the idiom "crack the code" to encourage our quest to understand our asana's arrangement and structure. He challenged us to be ever-present to study and explore limb by limb, inch by inch, word by word, sinew by sinew, breath by breath, standing, seated, inverted and prone, beginning to end, end to beginning from the grossest to subtlest, and the infinite degrees between them both.

Thank you, Raya for sharing your insights, Iyengar Yoga of Greater New York for hosting, my mentor, Kquvien DeWeese, and The Iyengar Family for making it all possible. I look forward to tomorrow.

Namaste

New Years Day Celebration With David Meloni

On New Years Day, David Meloni, an Advanced Senior Level II Iyengar Yoga instructor —the highest instructor level offered in the Iyengar system chose to share his knowledge of Iyengar Yoga. He is from Florence, Italy, and began his studies in 1996. By 2003, he started training regularly at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMY) in Pune, India.

Randy Just of Iyengar Yoga Dallas hosted the event, and it didn't disappoint. David's incredible ability to grasp the details of BKS Iyengar's teachings was noticeable right away. Perhaps due to his previous training in the strict discipline of karate. His ability to use krama or order from the gross to the subtle that BKS Iyengar so prodigiously offers students able to understand it became abundantly clear. Meloni's words flowed as smoothly as his body did with sculpted precision.

Systematically and synchronistically, he guided us through a series of asana to ensures we experienced the intricacies involved in the development of Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, two-legged inverted staff (pictured above). BKS Iyengar's son, Prashant, might explain Meloni's series as yoga asana versus mere postures. My understanding of how Prashant distinguishes yogasana is its complete embodiment of body, mind, and breath, which Meloni seemed to demonstrate with aplomb.

A distinction of Advanced Senior II instructors is their clarity and simplicity. Students of any subject know the difference between understanding a lesson for yourself and quite another to make it understandable to students of varying levels of experience. Meloni's teaching is direct, clear, and straightforward.

He effortlessly managed the various levels of students addressing necessary changes. He anticipated tendency, limitation, and emotional blocks offering alternatives while maintaining the concentration on the featured actions.

His instruction offered the benefits of repetition and extended stays in the asana. BKS Iyengar emphasized the importance of repetition and repose. Meloni explained each repetition stage by stage, completely imprinting each action into our being: mind, body, and breath. After the final repetition, you were more prepared to sustain, explore, and refine the position to find repose.

BKS Iyengar transformed yoga instruction into an art form, adding uncanny precision that even with his passing continues to speak to his students’ soul. With the advent of online classes due to the pandemic, while opening opportunities to learn from his most senior students, it limits instructors' ability to provide personal hands-on corrections. The positive part of this limitation is that it makes it the students' responsibility to cultivate their ears, eyes, and heart to strive to embody the instructions so Iyengar Yoga transformations can occur.

Meloni is an inspiration. He demonstrated his continued cultivation as a student of the Iyengar's; he also showed his cultivation as an instructor who has taught classes, workshops, and teacher training programs throughout Europe, Asia, U.S.A., and South America. I look forward to learning more from him.

Thank you, David Meloni, for sharing your New Years Day with us, Randy Just for hosting the event, and the Iyengars for making it all possible.

Namaste.

Patricia Walden's Asana for Upliftment: Aging & Backbends

Patricia’s iconic backbends

As the only North American with a Senior Advanced certification in the Iyengar Method, Patricia Walden shares her years of experience learning and studying with BKS Iyengar and the Iyengar Family through her classes, workshops, books and instructional videos. Many yoga students know her voice from the Audible version of BKS Iyengar’s Light on Life. I listen to it often, picking up new jewels as I am better able to merge my intelligence with its message. It is this ability that Iyengar Yoga seeks to cultivate and it set the foundation for Patricia’s December backbending workshop hosted by Marla Apt, and Iyengar Therapeutics

Patricia refers to Mr. Iyengar, as Guruji (from the root Guru or bringer of light). Anyone touched by Iyengar Yoga has experienced some of that light. It is a result of the refined instruction BKS Iyengar’s phenomenal life’s work has given certified instructors of the Iyengar Method of teaching the 8-limbed path or Astanga Yoga.

Patricia explained that one of the definitions Guruji gives for yoga is “When the intelligence of the brain merges with spiritual heart.” She recalled that his daughter, Dr. Geeta Iyengar often referenced the Sutra III:35 of Sage Patañjali:

hrdaye cittasamvit

Guruji transcribed this in his book Light On The Sutras of Patañjali  as "By samyama on the region of the heart, the yogi acquires a thorough knowledge of the contents and tendencies of consciousness." Samyama is the intergration of Dhāraṇā (concentration), Dhyāna (meditation) and Samādhi (union).

Patricia began the workshop by bringing our focus onto the sternum, a physical place that serves as the doorway to the spiritual heart, a vast space. Coaching us inward with reverence for the Sage Patañjali and BKS Iyengar, we honored them with an invocation. The deep gratitude and reverence, humbles us to receive the boundless lessons of Iyengar Yoga.

Wisdom is a positive consequence of age, Patricia explained. While we may have challenges with different parts of our body, we have gained wisdom, which is more critical than the backbends. "As our bodies change, our mind changes too; wisdom comes," she continued. She proceeded to take us through a series of standing, seated, and forward bend poses followed by prone backbends concentrating on the areas that get dull as we age while still focusing on the sternum and spiritual heart. Guruji distinguished horizontal actions from vertical actions. The extension vertically is from the intelligence or mind, and the extension horizontally is from the spiritual heart, where wisdom comes.

Patricia began going to Pune, India to attend the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, RIMYI, in 1976. For many years, she had the good fortune to watch wisdom at work, witnessing BKS Iyengar evolve his back bending practice as he aged. She recalled him saying about his asana practice, “I used to play, but now I stay.” She noticed how he used more prop support to stay longer in asana like Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, two-legged inverted bow, Urdhva Dhanurasana, upward bow, and Natarajasana, an asana named after Siva, Lord of the Dance. Patricia reminisced about practicing with Guruji. She recalled how if she started to practice beside him, she had to commit to stay, she couldn’t stop. She giggled explaining that while he appeared to be still in whatever pose he was in, it was extremely rigorous and challenging.

During the workshop, Patricia took us through a Krama or ordered sequence. She distinguished each sequence as "family of poses" that prepare our bodies and minds for backbends. Now in her 70s, Patricia continues her backbending practice, but prepares her body more than she used to. She addressed the fact that as we age the light we worked so hard to bring into places like the roots of the thighs and groins, our armpits, thoracic spine, and knees dull with age. It doesn't mean it goes out - it means we have to spend a little more time to shift the dimness to make it brighter and sharper. In this way, we assure a safe and healing backbend practice as we age.

As an example with Adho Mukha Svanasana, or downward dog, she gave several detailed instructions such as spreading the skin of the palms and backs of our knees, rotating the triceps inward (alerting the armpits), pressing the roots of the thighs, and tops our knees back while extending our heels down by lifting the lower shin up and back. She brought our attention to all the parts of the spine, the thoracic spine, the lumbar spine, and the lower spine —asking us to lengthen and "intelligize" the entire spine, and proceeded with more detailed instruction.

These instructions are just a taste of what a Senior Advanced Certified Iyengar instructor brings to students. From standing, kneeling, seated, and prone asana, Patricia’s instruction sometimes adds elemental cues like earth, water, fire, and ether. It goes deeper and deeper into back bending actions through every koshas or sheath of the body. Students who have cultivated their ability to hear and follow without resistance are taken to a place that alters their perspective of what they are capable of.

It is but a millisecond glimpse into the probable 31,557,60 seconds BKS Iyengar explored his own body and those of his students every year for seven decades. Through his expedition, he developed the precise words to instruct from gross to subtle actions that enable transformation in mental, physical, and emotional mobility and freedom.

The instruction Patricia provided early in the workshop applied to the asana that followed. She sequentially and systematically woke our spine, and the spots that dull with age. She increased our ability to extend vertically and horizontally from the outer skin to the inner body. All of which created the space we needed to come into a full back bend from the floor: Urdhva Dhanurasana, upward bow. Whether with various setups of prop support or flat from the floor, her entire class enable us to experience the back bend with more receptivity, space, and freedom. With all of the necessary actions of the body intelligized, our mind could merge completely with the heart. We could experience the true upliftment an Iyengar Yoga back bend provides regardless of age.

Thank you, Patricia; what an excellent way to end a very challenging year!

Namaste