Iyengar National Association of the United States Iyengar Tribute
Yoga Connections
Celebrating the life of BKS Iyengar and his daughter, Dr. Geeta Iyengar
The Iyengar National Association of the United States or IYNAUS held a five-hour tribute to celebrate the 102nd Birthday of BKS Iyengar and his daughter, Dr. Geeta Iyengar. IYNAUS President Randy Just began with a montage of Dr. Geeta Iyengar under her father's tutelage, BKS Iyengar. He followed with footage of Dr. Geeta Iyengar teaching a rigorous children's class. Anyone who has observed the children's classes at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, RIMYI in Pune, India, would not be surprised by the rigor. Exploring advanced poses demonstrates how creating the shapes of poses set a solid foundation for preparing the body and mind for more profound work.
The tribute continued with footage of BKS Iyengar’s classes with the adults in the early years. Classes were smaller, and we witnessed the exquisite refinements he addressed in the alignment of the feet, ankles, calves, knees, and thighs up to the palms of the hand, shoulder blades, neck, and head. The detail of instruction would be lost on students with limited training. In the early years, many of the students attending only three-week intensives admitted not fully grasping everything. It is one reason why an 8-year Iyengar training requirement is attached to the prerequisite for RIMYI training. Even then, it is difficult to fully digest and hold the wealth of knowledge imparted by Mr. Iyengar and his legacy.
Later in the event, Amita Bhagat, IYNAUS public relations and social media chair, shared interviews she conducted with many Senior teachers and others who had the opportunity to spend significant time with BKS and Dr. Geeta Iyengar. The stories serve as a rich and fulfilling resource for new students and old. They brought the character and personality of these great teachers to life. BKS Iyengar understood the power of experience and sharing that experience. The stories can serve to touch students at specific points in their life that might mirror those of more senior teachers and learn from them.
Some of the students Amita interviewed went to the Iyengar’s for healing. Anyone who has had the opportunity to observe or participate in the Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics knows what a great act of service and healing this class is for so many who felt their cases were hopeless. David Ufur, a student of some of the original students of BKS Iyengar (such as Mary Palmer, Priscilla Neel, and Susie Vidrih) began his practice in 1974. The help he received on his leg injury kept him on the learning path to this day, which he shares with his Ann Arbor students. Joan White is another long time student. She experienced a severe back injury after a horseback riding incident. The tragedy had the positive effect of pulling BKS Iyengar back to the states after a long hiatus and giving us a glimpse at his dedication to healing and service through yoga. It is what put Joan White on the path of yoga and a commitment to teaching Iyengar Yoga. John Abbott, the former publisher of Yoga Journal, had a knee injury and avoided major surgery due to his work with Mr. Iyengar. He later convinced Mr. Iyengar to be the featured teacher at the Estes Park Yoga Journal Conference. Patricia Walden suffered from depression. Her healing experience kept her returning to Pune so often, she is now the most advanced Iyengar instructor in the United States, with a wealth of learning to share with her students. Laurel Thomas has scoliosis. She is another student whose healing put her on the path to teaching. She sold everything, packed up, and move to Pune to study how to help others with scoliosis experience the healing effects of Iyengar Yoga. Bobby Clennell committed to the path and specialized in supporting women’s issues through Iyengar Yoga, publishing several books adding her illustration skills. After earning her Ph.D., Lois Steinberg left academia to focus on helping people all over the world through Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics.
From their stories and the many others interviewed, we learned how playfulness danced seamlessly with sometimes harsh wisdom and knowledge delivery. However, in every case, the manner of delivery had the distinct purpose of penetrating deeply through the frequently tamasic layers of our being to leave an indelible impression that stays imprinted on the heart of those lucky enough to receive it. Chris Saudek and Anna Delury spoke to how meaningful his strictness and discipline was for their practice, as well as his uncanny knowledge of where students were physically, mentally, and psychologically at any given time. After Mr. Iyengar's passing, it dawned on Anna the importance of her early training and the responsibility she felt to study more to share her experiences with those who never had the opportunity to work with Mr. Iyengar in person.
Patricia shared how the krama or order of teaching asana progressed with the timing of his integration of the Sutras of Patañjali . It highlights the idea of change in general and our resistance to it, which is a lesson in itself. BKS Iyengar, Dr. Geeta Iyengar, Prashant, or Abhijata never seem to resist change. None of the changes I know of that they've endured were easy, but they understood something most of us find very hard to digest. Nothing stays the same.
BKS Iyengar honored the universality of change and developed the krama sequence to educate us on being attuned to it within ourselves. His proprioception was second to none. It penetrated through all of the koshas or sheaths of his body. His total emersion into the minute details of specific parts of his body is what gave him the words to share with us about our tendencies. BKS Iyengar brought light to our oneness, the universal tendencies inherent in human beings. Working and studying by his side, Dr. Geeta Iyengar was able to bring to light the specific tendencies in women that only as a woman could she penetrate and experience. With his musical heart, Prashant continues to explore the universal rhythms of breath and the effects of its subtle shifts and masterful compositions. Their work doesn't change the gifts of BKS Iyengar's work, they enhance it, and Abhijata is bringing her insights, having had all of her relatives as her teachers. She can also offer perspective as a parent and can speak to younger generations of students inundated with diversions, data, and information.
BKS Iyengar went on a human expedition into his own body with the kind of tenacity and vigor that is unfathomable to most of us. It seems appropriate to question, not just to be told what to do, but to embody why BKS Iyengar experienced it and explained it the way he did. To ask ourselves why Dr. Geeta Iyengar developed a practice specific to the cycles of a woman's life and why Prashant has written volumes to encourage a deeper understanding of the power of our breath. To question our understanding of their lessons is our way of exploring the path that BKS Iyengar continues to shine a bright light on for us.
Embodying and respecting the changes within and around us with grace and gratitude is a big yoga lesson. It's not an easy one by any means, but we have so many great examples of how to do it with the Iyengar's and the many great instructors who share Iyengar Yoga to all parts of the world with dedication and service.
Scott Hobbs, Mary Obendorfer & Eddy Marks shared some great insights and stories about the process of learning to teach Iyengar Yoga. Scott spoke about the early years of Mr. Iyengar assessing and formulating the RIMYI, and arguably the most rigorous teaching curriculum for yoga instructors. Eddie encouraged students to exhaust the numerous resources now available. He said Guruji (what his students call him nowadays, from the root Guru or giver of light) became more transparent and natural in his experience of him. "The process of spirituality is not a process of addition, it is a process of subtraction," Eddie explained. Mary added that it is about removing layers and getting to the essence of who we are. She recalled something Guruji said that "yoga is an emotional subject." While Iyengar Yoga is very precise and the details can seem unending, coupled with how accessible he's made yoga with all the therapeutics, etc., what it all comes down to is, "the practice of yoga opens you to yourself." She summed it up by saying, "At heart, it's about the heart."
Namaste.
Thank you, IYNAUS, for sharing your tribute with us all, and Amita and all of the interviewees, thank you for sharing your beautiful stories. Special thanks to BKS Iyengar and the entire Iyengar Family —and extended family.