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)

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

The Belle of Bellur: Four Days of Gratitude with Abhijata Iyengar - Day 4

Celebrating BKS Iyengar’s birthday From the soil of his birth and in Bellur, India, and supporting his dream through the Bellur Trust  is a gesture. His granddaughter, Abhijata Sridha Iyengar expressed the emotions of love, respect, and reverence, all of those who have been touched by his work felt. We wanted to honor his birthday whether we ever got a chance to meet him in person or not. His energy is still very present. His life’s work continues to make it possible for people from all walks of life to experience the transformation of yoga.

Many refer to him as Guruji. It is from the word guru or bringer of light. It is very fitting for someone who put yoga into a language the modern world could understand —regardless of country, class, race, gender, age, or physical abilities or limitation. “Access” is a term we hear a lot relevant these days, and Guruji sought to find ways to offering any willing students access to the transformation of yoga.

Since its origins somewhere between the fifth and third centuries BCE, yoga has evolved and been packaged in innumerable ways. Diving into its depths is a daunting task, which is why BKS Iyengar’s work is such a gift. Anyone who has had the opportunity to observe or assist in the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) therapy classes located in Pune, Maharashtra, has witnessed the healing powers of his work. It is why he has students from all over the globe. It’s not that he thought himself god-like as so many with his kind of influence tend to think of themselves. He worked, played, lived, and breathed yoga with the highest integrity any man can have. He gave us a learning method that aligns and connects us, mind, and body, because he knew once that happens, the yoga can do the yoga.

Tamas - inert, dull

Rajas - fire, dynamic

Sattvic - luminosity

There are three qualities of nature or Gunas: Tamas, solidity, Rajas, dynamism, Sattva, luminosity. They are ever-present and changing throughout nature and life. Abhijata brought awareness of the Gunas and the transformative power of yoga in her final class. She began and ended with a Savasana or corpse pose. She pointed out the vast difference of experience between the two asana. For some of us, it was very early morning; for some, after lunch, others, it was evening. Time, place, weather, level of study all affect the experience. Abhijata highlighted the Sutra of Sage Patanjali, which BKS Iyengar transcribes as “Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.”

II.47 prayatna shaithilya ananta samapattibhyam

Beginners may experience a generalized dullness, which is why Iyengar Yoga emphasizes standing poses in early training. They wake up the body. In Utthita Hasta Padasana, extended hands and legs pose, Abhijata taught with instructions such as lift the kneecaps and thighs and extend the arms from the sternum: the right sternum out to the fingertips and left sternum to the fingertips. Clear actions required the body and mind to engage progressively from the outer skin inwards to our muscles, bones, and nerves. The tamasic dullness moved into a more rajasic active state. Asana in an Iyengar class require intense focus and effort. Repetition allows that focus and effort to evolve. When we can better align and connect the mind and body, we move into another stage, a more rhythmic flow of effort, and a less effortful luminous state. These qualities of dullness, activity, and luminosity cycle within and around us day-to-day, moment-by-moment, class to class, asana to asana. With continuous practice, we can mindfully utilize these qualities of nature. When we need rajas, we can call upon it. When we are angry or agitated and we need to pause, we can call upon tamas. The harmony or balance of the two is sattva, so it is the more luminous state. We can learn to calibrate ourselves to adjust to inward changes or help us deal with outward changes in our environment.

In class, Abhijata generated rajas after the first few asana. She paused less between the asana, the rigor and intensity forced focused effort and then we experienced asana from the beginning of class again, now the effort was less effortful, the rigor and repetition transformed the body and mind, so by the time we got to Savasana, corpse pose for the second time, we were now acutely present with our legs, feet, ankles, thighs, hips, abdomen, chest, arms, neck, head, ears, eyes, mouth, nose and breath. We could actively surrender to earth from which we came and with it perhaps more conscious gratitude towards the man who helped us get there.

Iyengar Yoga is an experience not to be missed.

Thank you, Abhijata, for your willingness, your time, effort, and insight; Kishore for all of your patience and support; all of the panelists for demonstrating the poses and the many prop alternatives in the Iyengar repertory to address specific issues. I am grateful to you all. None of this could be possible without the birth of BKS Iyengar. Our continued experience, learning, and sharing of Iyengar Yoga can give him many happy returns.

Namaste.

The Belle of Bellur: Four Days of Gratitude with Abhijata Iyengar - Day 3

“If the foundation is firm, the building can withstand calamities. The practice of Yoga is the foundation, so that the Self is not shaken under any circumstances.”~B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is a metaphor for life and living. BKS Iyengar made the study of asana his life and gave us a library of learning to light our path, along with his lineage after him who have brought their insights into his work, and many other devoted instructors. He took as many as 40 years, Abhijata explained, to find a single word to describe a particular instruction. Abhijata distinguished the difference between her grandfather’s yoga practice and a student of Iyengar Yoga. BKS Iyengar studied with a teacher for only a few years. He spent the rest of his time in self study embodying the Sutres of Sage Patañjali :

Sutre 1:14 - sah tu dirgha-kaala-nairantarya-satkaaraa-sevito dhruddha-bhoomi-ha

Guruji transcribed this Sutra in Light On the yoga Sutras of Pantanjali as “Long, uninterrupted, alert practice is the firm foundation for retraining the fluctuations.” We have no concept of the decades of uninterrupted, discipline and devotion. We are the lucky recipients of it. As we celebrate his 102nd birthday on December 14th hold on to that thought.

Guruji has been quoted often as saying, “The body is my Temple. Asana are my prayers.” Asana were his prayers, so much so, he developed a specific Krama or sequence and order of asana to build a foundation for Tapas (self-discipline) and Svadyaya (self-study) and Isvara Pranidhanani (devotion). He also established the Krama of words to articulate instruction down to a level of subtly that brings a depth of unconscious to the surface that is truly remarkable —all in a systematic and sequential manner.

To appreciate why Krama is a crucial component of Iyengar Yoga, Abhijata gave a relatable example: we would never force a child who has just learned to walk to cross a wall or balance beam on their own. We have to build unity of mind and body, without it stress happens. Yoga means union. Abhijata explained interrupting children doing a puzzle or math problem can be very disruptive. They are focused, but can’t handle disruption. It is this kind of singularity of focus that Iyengar Yoga seeks to cultivate to a higher level. It is why Iyengar instructors do not teach a pose until the student has developed the necessary foundations to work in that asana safely and properly.

Stress is a word that is top-of-mind in this pandemic. It has come up often during the Bellur Iyengar Yoga Workshop. Upon research, etymologically, the word may be derived from the Old French word estrece, which means narrow or oppressed. Calamity like the pandemic has brought stress. There is a sense of chaos with fear of the unknown coupled with the pains of confinement and restriction. These stressful emotions can come up in difficult poses like Sirsasana, headstand. There can also be stiffness of the mind and body when attempting a forward bend or revolved pose. It can be a pre-existing condition or can come as a result of the idea of a difficult asana. Stiffness causes stress. However, Iyengar Practitioners develop more flexibility and freedom in both mind and body. They can stay completely present in a pose. Self-adjusting, pausing to evaluate the response throughout the body and mind, and continue to work like that while exploring deeper and deeper aspects of the posture. All the while they can also remain calm and steady despite disruptions, uncertainty, chaos or calamity.

Students who go to an Iyengar Yoga class can evolve into Iyengar Yoga Practitioners. It requires dedicated study with Certified Iyengar Instructors, following explicit directions so proper cultivation can be established. Dedicated Abhyasa (uninterrupted practice) and Vairagya (detachment) in every aspect of Kriya Yoga (action of yoga): Tapas (self-discipline), Svayaya (self-study), Ishvara Pranidhanani (Surrender of oneself to God) follows as the student transitions into a practitioner. The level of experience they can reach is high, thanks to the foundation of Iyengar Yoga. For over seven decades, Guruji dug into every fiber of his being to create a rich fertile soil for yoga to thrive.

What a gift.

Namaste.

The Belle of Bellur: Four Days of Gratitude with Abhijata Iyengar - Day 2

Day two of the workshop with Abhijata Sridhar, BKS Iyengar’s granddaughter, highlighted for me the grace and gratitude that Iyengar Yoga fosters. It is unfathomable for most of us to imagine leading a class as large as the Iyengars do, and yet, it is what BKS Iyengar and his daughter Geeta dedicated their lives to. It is what his son, Prashant, continues to do. Abhijata trained with all of them since she was 16. She carries the legacy of impeccable instruction forward.

She is such an inspiration. She mentioned today that if we didn’t know her grandfather’s birthday or he didn’t have the telling hair color ( read gray) — watching him in the studio before his passing; you’d never know his age. Likewise, listening to Abhijata, experiencing her wisdom, confidence and clarity, you’d never know she is only 38 years old. Her Kriya Yoga, acts of yoga: Tapas (self-discipline that burns impurities), Svadhyaya (self-study from the outer to the inner sheaths), and Ishvara Pranidhana (the ultimate surrender to the divine) have given her such grace.

Today she emphasized how we should never underestimate the importance of how yoga brings the unconscious (whatever you want to call it) to the surface. We explored extension of the frontal body and circularizing that with lengthening and engaging the back body in standing, revolved, and seated asana. We studied the Bhranti Darsana, delusion or false ideas that can come with attempts to find that extension in an asana that requires more than surface awareness like Parvritta Trikonasana or Parvrtta Parsvokonasana (revolved triangle and side angle pose respectively). These poses require us to explore beyond our superficial involvement to the much deeper place of internal awareness.

In some poses it is easier to stay on the surface. For example, Uttanasana, an intense forward bend, we can think we are extending. However, when Abhijata put our backs to the wall for feedback, we realized, what we thought was an big effort on our part to extend from pubic bone to sternum was in reality more shifting our buttocks towards our head side- as opposed to truly extending in the manner she instructed. We had a false sense of what was happening. A proper extension is an integral action to moving beyond capabilities in asana. It is a wonderful example of the difference between Iyengar Yoga and other yoga in the energy requirement of Tapas and Svadyaya that must take place to achieve it without illusion.

Students of other practices may go for years under the illusion they are conducting the right action. Iyengar Yoga has proven, student after student, how with explicit instruction, dedicated uninterrupted practice and detachment (Abhyasa and Vairagya), we can go beyond illusion and beyond what we expect of ourselves. Through Tapas, Svadyaya, and Ishvara Pranidhana, truth and possibility surface. In the process, we glimpse yogah cittavrtti nirodhah, the cessation of fluctuations of the consciousness. We glimpse freedom from stiffness of mind and body to a place beyond our perceived abilities. It brings confidence, and clarity.

Abhijata explained how easily humans get dejected and downtrodden by the smallest criticism or comparison to others we think are doing better. We all do it. When that happens, the body gets heavy. It doesn’t want to move. It wants to go to bed or be alone. Nothing positive can happen in that place. The Iyengars know when a student’s body is in this state, and they alter the perspective to shift the heaviness immediately. It’s why props are so important in our practice because they enable a student to experience the pose so they have a vision of where they can go. The Iyengars have an incredible sense of where students are because they have been through it themselves, and they have served hundreds or thousands of students going through it in all its iterations. They seem to know what we are capable of even if we don’t know yet.

In her clarity and grace, Abhijata demonstrated the magic of forgiveness. She forgave us for forgetting actions and having a false impression of what we were doing in class. She gave us more instruction to aid our understanding. She explained, we all forget. We all get deluded. She didn’t give up on us. We can’t give up on ourselves. We can’t give up on each other. We have to forgive and keep trying from every perspective we can. Imagine if we could all have her level of confidence, clarity, grace and gratitude—how different the world would be.

Thank you Abhijata, and all those who have worked tirelessly to make this event possible. I look forward to tomorrow.

Namaste.

The Belle of Bellur: Four Days of Gratitude with Abhijata Iyengar - Day 1

Connecting to the soil of your birth

The first day of a four-day workshop with Abhijata began with a peek into the Sage Patañjali Temple in Bellur Karnataka, India, birthplace of BKS Iyengar. The temple was inaugurated in 2004 and is an awe inspiring testiment to Guruji’s gratitude for the scientist, artist, and philosopher, Sage Patañjali whose 196 Sutres or threads have served to guide practitioners all over the world in what Abhijata might describe as the technology of yoga.

Do keep in mind, any words I attribute to the Iyengars are my interpretation alone, and in no way serve as verbatim attempts to put words in their mouths that are not theirs. I welcome corrections and comments. My account is that of a student with great limitations of understanding. This content is meant to capture a small portion of an entire class as a way to show gratitude and honor the Iyengars, while at the same time share an experience in hopes that readers can gain a little from the lessons. All money’s from the workshop went into the Bellur Trust to continue the dream of BKS Iyengar to feed the soil of his birthplace with the nourishment of a center dedicated to learning the science, art, and philosophy of yoga. I encourage readers to visit the site and read about the ongoing project. Anyone who has been touched by yoga, regardless if it has been from the Iyengars directly or not, may be moved to contribute. It is a worthy cause built out of the gratitude that comes from many years of uninterrupted practice of Kriya Yoga or yoga in action, which is what distinguishes Iyengar Yoga: tapas (discipline), svadyaya (self-study), Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion, or ultimate surrender to the divine).

Abhijata’s class emphasized how these three elements bring deep gratitude — for the soil of our birth, which ultimately we all share. The ground from which we came. It is poignant for me. I have come back to the place of my birth to be with my father. My yoga became very different than I expected. It has for all of us with COVID. Abhijata brought our attention to Sutra 1.1 atha yoganusasanam as transcribed by BKS Iyengar, “With prayers for divine blessings, now begins an exposition of the sacred art of yoga.” She explained whatever disappointments of the past or desires for the future, we must be grateful for this moment, now. Now, today, we are healthy and practicing yoga.

The lesson explored where things begin and end. For example there is no real definition between mind and body, like the chicken or egg rhetoric, we can cycle endlessly in our attempts to answer where one begins and the other ends, or which came first the thought or the action. It could be said, spreading our awareness beyond habitual ideas and concepts of body and mind, is the technology of yoga. Abhijata helped us experience this idea through a series of asana. Noticing stiffness or shakiness, she changes our perception through alternative yet complimentary asana: Utthita Trikonasana, extended triangle, shifts to Vrksasana, tree and returns to UT. Parsvokonasana, extended side angle shifts to Baddha Konasana, bound angle pose and returns. Then Parighasana, gatelatch pose returns to parsvokonasana. Each time moving into different but connected poses with a focus on hips and groins — and returning back to the original asana after exploring relative actions from different vantage points. We notice more ease with the original asana. Is Ardha Chandrasana, half moon more difficult than another pose or is it simply our preconceived fear of balancing on one leg? Doing the pose facing the wall takes the fear away and allows us to focus on the progressive lessons from the previous asana. Away from the wall, Abhijata has us notice the ease now when the focus is on the lessons instead of the fear or preconceived notions. What is at work here? The citta vrtti (read chatter) of the mind or the resistence in the body? The transitions brought out the intelligence of the body, that comes from opening the mind as we explored the actions from different perspectives. We can’t force ourselves to the place we want to be. We have to be where we are and work from there with tapas (discipline), svadyaya (self-study), Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion, or ultimate surrender to the divine).

In the stillness of savasana, corpse pose, we synthesize the lessons and return to the earth. Grounding ourselves in gratitude and the concept of the soil of our birth. Nurturing it as it nurtured us is a service to humanity locally and globally. What a beautiful beginning. I’m very grateful for all those who made it possible, and look forward to day two.

Namaste.