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.

A Workshop On Transitions with Bobby Clennell - Part 1

Bobby Clennell is a name female Iyengar students learn early on in our practice. Many of us found her when we sought to better understand Geeta Iyengar’s Yoga: A Gem for Women, the definitive guide to yoga for women during the various stages of life.

The first lesson women in an Iyengar Yoga class never forget is that they must let their Iyengar instructors know when they are menstruating. I considered that my business and no one elses. I read A Gem for Women through the lens of my ego. At the time, I didn’t understand why I needed to embarrass myself by letting an entire class know my situation by doing “special” poses. Bobby’s book, The Woman's Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for all Phases of the Menstrual Cycle with its delightful illustrations, gently broke through my Western ego with the impact of a loving sister sharing her experiences and deep understanding of Geeta’s guidance.

“As women, we witness a constant dance of creation and renewal played out in our bodies. Thus, it is important to take a mindful and sensitive approach to the practice of yoga. Different poses produce different responses within the system. You can nurture a state of vibrant good health by doing the right poses at the right time of your cycles.” ~Bobby Clennell, The Woman’s Yoga Book

Bobby has written several other books for women and children. Later in my practice, her Guide to Pune, became my go-to-book during my trips to Pune. I considered her an indispensible friend, but I’d never met her. I finally did last weekend thanks to Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics (IYT), a research, educational, and training organization that supports yoga techniques developed by B.K.S. Iyengar as a complementary treatment for diseases and health conditions. IYT is hosting Bobby’s six-part menopause workshop.

Bobby turned out to be everything I’d imagined she’d be — engaging, authentics, sharp as a tack, and refreshingly kind.

She holds in her heart a flurry of wisdoms, from her 30+ years studying with the Iyengar Family, that she sprinkles like stardust. She doesn’t expect you to digest them all in that moment. She does hope you’ll hold on to them, and trusts they will all come together for us in good time.

The workshop began in Baddha Konasana, cobbler’s pose, a vital pose for women. While we experienced the hip mobilization and pelvic organ decompression benefits of the pose, Bobby shared her appreciation for life’s transitions. She touched on the various age transitions from youth to teens to adulthood. She shared a recent Ayreveda talk she’d heard where they explained how we are always experiencing transitions. Her favorite example was the simple transition from sleep to wakefulness — if we don’t honor the change and skip breakfast, we will crash. The Iyengar community acknowledges seasonal transitions, and how the body has to navigate sometimes drastic temperatures from freezing to hot.

She offered general definitions of perimenopause, as the run-up before the period stops, menopause when the period stops, and post menopause, after the symptoms of menopause end.

She stresses how important it is to understand that different phases are not a “step down,” but opportunities for svadyaya, self study.

“Having a body means change”

For many women yoga practitioners, pregnancy and postpartum transitions are difficult for them to honor. They are eager to get back to their regular practice, so they don’t respect the body’s need to transition and end up hurting themselves.

“Having a body means change,” she explained, and a woman’s body changes something like every 5-7 years.

It’s not just women who have to deal with transitions. She shared her experience watching BKS Iyengar’s practice over the years. Since his practice was “in the service of everyone else,” he had to preserve his energy. Over time, she witnessed his practice shift, which she associated to his acknowledgement of the transitions he was going through, and his need to save energy so he could continue to serve his students.

The transition of menopause can bring about a sundry of complaints like hair loss, brain fog, sore breasts, and weight gain. Bobby didn’t bring these up to frighten anyone, instead, she strived to put our minds at ease that the symptoms are very real and shouldn’t be dismissed. She explained how Geeta even encouraged women not to lose weight during menopause, but to wait because the extra flesh holds estrogen to ease the hormonal ups and downs of the process.

In the first two days of the workshop, Bobby addressed how to approach standing poses and forward bends with specific variations for perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. We learned about emotional changes: the need for some of us to escape to hear our voice, nurture ourselves, and then return to nurturing others with more balance. We learned about physical changes: things like how osteoporosis begins in the pelvis, and the importance of forward bends to cultivate the water element in our joints and feminine parts. We also learned how the post menopausal variations require the most sharpness and attention. While we may be released (which we will feel in every ounce of our body) from Mother Nature’s grip on us since we can no longer procreate, it may be one of the most critical stages of a woman’s yoga practice.

I look forward to sharing another glimpse of her workshop on menopause next time. Click here to learn more about Bobby Clennell and Iyengar Yoga.

Namaste.

Unpacking Patañjali: Sutras 1.33 for Beginners

To unpack the full scope of meaning behind any of the 196 Sutras (197 depending on translations) written almost 2,000 years ago is laughable. We always hear, “yoga is experiential” for a reason. Every serious practitioner knows whatever commentary we attempt on any aspect of yoga is in direct proportion to our personal experience. What I write here are my interpretations as I understand them at this point in my journey.

If you are an IYNAUS Member, I highly recommend Yoga Sutra sessions "Learning the Yoga Sutras with Clarity and Rigour" at RIMYI, Pune. It is conducted by Srineet Sridharan with insights from Prashant Iyengar (BKS Iyengar’s son) for students of the Institute. Srineet Sridharan is BKS Iyengar’s grandson. His lessons, coupled with insights from Prashant make for an extraordinary course.

BKS Iyengar in Light On Life explains that our thoughts and consciousness are part of every aspect of our life. When we understand their inner workings and apply right perception, the clarity and wisdom that results open us to mental and psychological freedom. In the yoga world, there are five sheaths of the body known as Kosas. Most of the “monkey mind” happens in the manomaya kosa or mental body, and the discriminating wisdom can be found in the vijnanamay kosa, the intellectual body.

BKS Iyengar lessons, as I understand them, bring awareness to the inner workings of our mind by exploring the 8-limbed path of yoga as guided by the Sutras of Patañjali through each kosa of the body. I believe he felt we can not understand or harmonize our mind stuff without synthesis and integration of the kosas in our body. Sutras 1.30-1.32 outline the nine obstacles and other distractions that cause turbulence within us. Sutras 1.33 - 1.39 offer six different possible solutions. The first of these solutions is cultivating compassion, joy, and friendliness and is translated by BKS Iyengar as follows:

मैत्रीकरुणामुदितोपेक्षाणां सुखदुःखपुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातश्चित्तप्रसादनम् ।।1.33।। maitrīkaruṇāmuditopekṣāṇāṃ sukhaduḥkhapuṇyāpuṇyaviṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaścittaprasādanam Through cultivation of friendliness, compassion, joy, and indifference to pleasure and pain, virtue and vice respectively, the consciousness becomes favourably disposed, serene and benevolent.

Mr. Iyengar likens our thoughts and consciousness, citta viksepa and citta prasadana to two aspects of a river: the current and the calm. The ideas behind Sutra 1.33 cultivate calm within us as well as within our social networks. The Sutra paired with the golden keys (the external and internal ethical disciplines) described in the first and second limb of the 8-limbed path, Yama and Niyama create serenity in the manmaya kosa or mental body.

My experience with this Sutra coupled with and Niyama is that I realized from a basic level, I could apply it to others much better than I could apply it to myself. Therefore, it felt like a false application that came from a desire to please rather than a place of wholeness and integration. I wasn’t indifferent. I practiced with attachment. Prashant in his insights to Srineet Sridharan’s course on the Sutra mentions the Sukha or sweetness for being compassionate to others and how that interferes with our honest practice of it. We can also help others to our detriment. If we are ill or not truly capable then it is not a healthy or right action.

I knew I didn’t experience a sthiti, steady mind with its practice. I had conditions. I had a desire to be loved or accepted. My mentor, Kquvien DeWeese mentioned that I may over function. I knew it felt exhausting. I did too much and helped dishonestly, which made my practice impure. I recall putting away props for students in the Yoga Therapy classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune and a Senior instructor saying, “They should return their own props.” I remember Stillwater owner, Kathleen Pringle telling me the same thing in her Yoga Therapy classes in Atlanta. Students need to participate in their healing. What I considered being compassionate in this case, wasn’t.

At the institute that year, I had the honor of taking classes with Geeta Iyengar, who put a strong emphasis on commitment to our personal practice. If we are always being told what to do and how to do it, how can we hear the lessons of our soul? The deeper our practice becomes, the better we can share from a place of true understanding. Yes, our teachers are invaluable, but taking time to embody those lessons is vital to the path.

The Iyengar Method of teaching Yoga has a way of shedding light to the core of your being. I studied another method consistently for 10 years, and have been a dedicated practitioner of Iyengar for almost a decade. It takes time to slough off old habits and embody its teachings. Growing up with a parent with narcissistic tendencies, and the “jump, how high” mentality of the dance world for 23 years, my whole point of being centered around pleasing others to avoid the pain of disapproval and criticism.

I had to take time away from the voices of others so I could experience the voice within me. I got in the car and drove cross country by myself. Practicing in the woods, by rivers, in housesits, and on the sides of mountains. I began to listen. On the outside I could make the shapes of poses and appear to the novice to be aligned, but I wasn’t aligned with my inner teacher. I began with very basic asana and pranayama practice. I examined my habits, the parts of my body that I could perceive, and those areas that were dark to me.

Where did I lack compassion, joy, and friendliness? Where did I habitually think and move through a pose? What did I ignore and avoid? How did the pain/pleasure and vice/virtue dualities interfere with my repose and sthiti or steadiness? Was I already overdoing? Over thinking? How well could I adhere to the ‘twin pillers’ of abhyasa and vairagya (practice and detachment) and allow a desireless but present state to foster compassion, joy, and friendliness within me and out of me towards my external network with more authenticity?

When I started making training videos for students, I got some answers to my questions in the form of more lessons I didn’t anticipate. I had to watch and accept myself, along with my teaching, while continuing to refine with detachment, growing intelligence, and wisdom. I began to understand Sutra 1.33 and its companion limbs in a way I never expected. I took the time to pause in whatever pain, discomfort, lack of joy, compassion, and friendliness I encountered to wait for truth to come.

On the mat and off, it is an ongoing process. The deeper I go into my obstacles, the more they teach me how to overcome them. I am witnessing healing. A balance of truth is developing. I’m noticing a significant shift and purification in my behavior towards myself and others. I’ve got a long way to go, but grateful I have a path and teachers further along willing to share their understanding of it.

33 Reasons To Support Yoga For Mothers.

Mothers can put a lot of stress on their spine as their baby develops all the way up to the time their child is well past the toddler years. We can double that for Single moms —and many moms are single moms no matter what their partnership status may be.

Seven (7) cervical, twelve (12) thoracic five (5) lumbar, five (5) fused sacrum, and four (4) coccyx make up the 33 reasons moms need yoga. The stress on her vertebral column is affected by many situations.

During Pregnancy

The joints and ligaments begin to loosen to help the body adjust as the baby develops. This creates back pain for 50-70% of pregnant women. It’s important to distinguish the origin of the pain. There are two common origins: the sacroiliac joint better known as the SI joint, and the lumbar spine.

After Birth

We could argue that lack of sleep alone puts strain on the spine. Add the fact that a new mom is also picking a 6-10 pound newborn enumerable times a day —a newborn that is getting heavier by the week. With the joint laxity, exhaustion and stress overload new moms have the perfect recipe for throwing their back out completely.

In the sole

What moms put on their feet can contribute to back pain as well. High heels everyone knows are bad for the back. What some us may not consider is that flats can be just as bad if not worse. In a Redbook article on the subject, Michael Hisey, M.D., an orthopedic spine surgeon from Texas said, "The discs in your lower back are filled with cushiony fluid, but walking in flimsy shoes all day long wrings them out like a sponge."

Alignment Matters

In 80-90% of cases, understanding spinal pain doesn’t mean doctors can provide a solid diagnosis. That’s where Iyengar Yoga can help. With its deep understanding of proper alignment, even mothers with no physical training can find a safe way to bring strength, flexibility, and better alignment to their spine with Iyengar Yoga. The Iyengar Method of instruction begins with understanding gross actions in a progressive sequence of poses to build cognitive awareness of basic alignment of stabilizing muscles groups. Once this is achieved instruction moves deeper to more subtle actions that create communication synthesis between mental, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. The therapeutic effects of pregnancy yoga before and after birth, along with the effects of Iyengar Yoga specific to lower back pain are astounding.

When a pregnant mother-to-be works with a Pregnancy Certified Iyengar Instructor they can be sure they are giving their spine all the love and care it needs to support them now and in the years to come. Whether you’re a mother-to-be or have been playing Mom for a long time, Iyengar Yoga is here to support your wellbeing on Mother’s Day and every day. Namaste.

By Rhonda Geraci

The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India

It takes eight years of consistent study of the Iyengar Method of Yoga to be considered to attend the Ramani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. There are a lot of reasons for that. It is a great honor to be here. It is not an easy feat for most of us: financially, mentally, physically, or emotionally. However, it is easy on a higher level. Once you arrive, once you've navigated the visas, the flights, the customs, and the streets of India, and begin self-practice in the studio where BKS Iyengar and the Iyengar family have shared their wisdoms for over 40 years, the feat dissolves. Your heart humbly opens with reverence and a sense of resolve that this is the place you need to be. Below is a short diary that I wrote for some of my online introductory students. There is not a lot of detail in sequencing, but it will give you a glimpse of my time there:

September 1, 2018

So it begins, after a night where sleep eluded me —a hard self-practice on Friday and unproductive worry about my class with the Iyengar family today contributed. It’s raining. Everything feels damp, but I have learned on a visceral level that there is no benefit in an attachment to discomfort of any kind. It is a way of life, especially in India where it could reign if its people let it. But they don’t. The people of India carry a sense of contentment with them everywhere they go and in all they do. The women impress me most. They are like butterflies sweeping vibrant color across a polluted landscape with grace and dignity. I hold them in my heart as I pump up the courage to face my first day of class.

September 2

My first class went well. I spent my self-practice hours reviewing what I’d learned and how to improve what wasn’t working well. Five hours or more of practice made it hard to wake up to observe the early morning children’s classes on Sunday, but so glad I did. When I got there, only one young boy had arrived. He immediately got into the ropes hung from the center of the room and swung. As more children arrived they all got into the ropes, others waited until the ones in the ropes got out and gave someone else a turn. All of them got a turn and the teachers hadn’t arrived. 

When they did arrive, they mesmerized me. They effortlessly kept a classroom of over 50 kids focused, engaged, and inspired, while injecting fun. Yes, fun. The two instructors played off each other with comedic brilliance to inject playful competition that made me want to join the class. Right as the first big class of teens and pre-teens finished, the elementary level came in —no break for the teachers and the next level maintained an even more rigorous and faster pace than the first. I left with all of the children and the young boys wide-eyed and sincere moved to the side and extended their hands to let me down the stairway first. I think I swooned.

September 3

Prashant is BKS Iyengar's son. He is known for his philosophical and metaphysical approach to classes. While we held a pose on the right side, like balancing on one leg in Ardha Chandrasana, half moon pose, he spoke about the mind, body, breath connection in the yogic path. The mind is a reflection of the body and breath; and the body reflects the mind and breath and the breath reflects the body and mind. He talked about how a mirror can't reflect a breeze, it can't reflect our thoughts, but yoga can reflect our thoughts, the breath, and the mind. He used the word reflect, reflecting, reflected (relevant to mind, body, breath) and had us contemplate how each tense creates a different awareness. This is yoga. It isn't about a teacher's physical adjustment of our pose. There is no education happening in that. It is about staying with a pose long enough to learn to be present in it and that takes time - for some longer than others; and the teacher has to be patient until the student can get there. He explained that Yoga is learning to be present moment by moment with what the feet, legs, arms, head and body are doing, what affect our breath have on them and vice-a-versa, what affect our thoughts have on them and vice-a-versa, how they are all intermingled. And then he said we could changed sides.

September 4

In the yoga therapy class or in India it is called a remedial class there were two lower back issues, bowl legs, foot, knee, and shoulder issues to name a few, along with four pregnant women. It was a full house and even though I was observing, my help was needed to bring props and support as was the help of all other observers. 
Supported Ardha chandrasana, half moon pose, is a favorite among pregnant practioners and many do this pose even during labor. One who was about nine days from delivery date was put into several poses to release pressure including sirsasana, headstand. I am not suggesting anyone try it on their own normally, much less pregnant. However, this woman had a very strong male instructor assisting her and no doubt she’d been a seasoned practitioner of Iyengar before her pregnancy. Those of us who remember what it was like 9 days before delivery can imagine what an amazing feeling that must of been to be inverted for a while. All of the pregnant women got into sarvanghasana, shoulder stand another inverted pose. I’ve assisted students in Yoga Therapy classes at Stillwater in Atlanta. I highly recommend it if you have an issue you’d like help with. In India, I have the opportunity to get an even a better perspective of the therapeutic techniques Iyengar uses to encourage our bodies to heal faster and maybe even avoid invasive surgeries.

Sept 6

In Prashant’s class, I finally got to hang from the center ropes. These are hung from high up the ceiling walls and what a thrill to be in them. As we held rope sirsasana or head stand, Prashant talked about how yoga helps to evacuate parts of the body that don’t otherwise get cleared. He spoke to the fact that our brain snacks and lunches on information all day everyday and never gets rid of anything. He referred to the fecal matter in the brain and how it must be expelled from the mind, otherwise there is disease —he attributed our huge mental health problems to the inability to evacuate excess mental crap. Yoga is a way to do that. In honor of BKS Iyengar’s Teaching Method that gives us a clear path to learning yoga, I challenge you to pick just eight poses that I’ve taught you and do them everyday until December 14th what would be Mr. Iyengar’s 100th Birthday.

Sept 5

I started at 6 am and didn’t stop until after 8 pm. Observing higher level classes, taking a super intense arm balance class with my mat right next to Abijata Iyengar, BKS Iyengars granddaughter and a Senior instructor at the institute. Talk about motivation! Being in The Studio filled with incredible practitioners from all of the world -I can’t explain the energy level in the room — like connective tissue, we helped mobilize each other. All extremely focused on solving the yoga puzzle at hand.

Sept 7

There were not enough assistants for the medical class, so I stepped in and got more involved to help with props, etc. There were so many patients this time. There were at least 20 people with neck issues and 10 with shoulder issues and needless these two areas are connected. There were two children, several seniors including a 90+ woman who was put in various traction poses for her back. Men of lower back and hip issues were weighted with large flat circular weights of 100lbs or more. The same number of pregnant women minus one who I hope is having a safe and easy delivery (as most of these folks speak Hindi or Marathi I may never know). I helped with the Pregnant ladies. The lead for this group directed me not to carry their setups or props unless they were too heavy. A key part of Iyengar Yoga Therapy is that all patients are expected to learn their setups, so they are not dependent on anyone else for their healing. This is an important aspect of Iyengar Yoga and very emphasized in different ways over the course of my time here. Yoga is self-culture. Students learn to be self-motivated, self-correcting, self-disciplined and that leads to self-awareness and self-healing.

Sept 8

Gulnaaz taught the morning Women’s Class. Saturday morning and we were up in Sirsasana, headstand immediately. Where we twisted at the waist in Parsva Sirsasana, and went through a sequence of poses on our heads. We came down changed the interlace of our fingers and went back up —this time to do right and left side Padmasana or lotus pose standing on our head. We repeated the same sequence from sarvangasana, shoulderstand. That’s just when the class got started. We followed with a round of seated forward bends not just bending to touch our toes, we were told to grab 2-3 block to extend the bottom of our feet and grab hold of those three blocks to stretch over our extended legs -wish I could take photos but no photos are allowed in the studio. Needless to say, I found I could stretch twice as much as I had been. Pretty amazing how much more we can do than we think we can do. I came home and took a nap after that then headed back for self-practice. Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Detachment. Is how we get in touch with the self-culturing aspect of yoga. I can’t expect an outcome but I can always practice. That’s what I encourage you to do. Take one pose or take eight but practice something everyday for 100 days. Start with Tadasana, Mountain Pose. Notice how you stand while you brush your teeth, wait in line, or when you stand from sitting a long time. How are they similar. How are they different? Right side? Left side? You can spend a lot of time becoming aware of all that is involved in just standing. Take my challenge. You’ll be amazed what you learn.

September 9

A different set of instructors taught the children’s classes and a very different result. The set of instructors taught in a more militant fashion. A similar progression and sequencing, and definitely the same talent of instruction, but there wasn’t the playfulness and comedic touch that the earlier instructors brought to the class. As a result, I didn’t feel the children responded as well. They didn’t seem as engaged. To bring the attention back the instructor said something about that they were looking for students to participate in the centennial celebration. Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to work for most of the students either. We all face these kinds of situations where we have to lead a group (regardless of age) and we have a choice as to whether we are going lead in a fun way, an inclusive way, or a dictatorial or militant way. It’s so easy to become dictatorial when we feel we are losing control of the group. I have been there many times; however, it is magic when we can learn to take a breath and inject a sense of curiosity, fun, playfulness, and authentic exploration that is engaging so everyone learns —even the leader. Not to say that there isn’t a place for sharpness, there definitely is, but based on my observation today, a little humor would have gone a long way.

September 10

Prashant (BKS Iyengar’s son) left for Bellur, his father’s birthplace to teach a workshop for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi Festival (Ganesh is the Hindu God of new beginnings and remover of hurdles). Students could do a longer self-practice or take a different class on the schedule. I opted to take an intermediate level 1 class. The illusion we all have of India is that they all do yoga. When in fact, they really don’t. The students in this class had much of the same issues as intermediate level 1 students in the US and other countries. While they may squat a lot easier and better than any other country, even that is waning a little due to the installation of modern toilets. It is good to take a class like this because you can feel the stages that need to be taught for students to get poses like Sirsasana, headstand or Adho Mukha Vrkasana, handstand. BKS Iyengar’s Method of teaching involves a mastery of sequencing poses to train and prepare the body for the next pose and its progression. It’s what makes getting into these poses so much easier than in other yoga classes.

So September 13th was the beginning of the Ganesh Festival.

September 14 

As I’ve mentioned before BKS Iyengar was known for his sequencing of poses—linking poses in such a way that the smritti or memory and samskara, our mental impressions stay with us long enough to facilitate parinama, transformation in the area of focus. For example our hamstrings. Ria, a dynamic instructor here at the Institute is a tall young man who no doubt grew up in the school under Mr. Iyengar’s tuteledge. He has an amazing repertoire of sequences, lessons, and innovative prop setups that facilitate the transformation he is after for his students. However, when I observed his class, it became abundantly clear that no matter how amazing the instructor is, or how much aplomb he or she has in communicating the actions, if the student doesn’t want to be there and refuses to maintain at least some energy on the lesson—nothing is gained. What a waste of time. Even a little energy is better than none. I don’t know about you but I don’t feel I ever have enough time, so I can’t afford to waste any of it. I don’t like working on some things just as much as anybody else, but for any kind of change or transformation to happen, we have to apply our...self —-on the mat and off of it.

September 15

Today, we had an adventure and walked to a new location where Dr. Geeta Iyengar, BKS Iyengar’s daughter taught our class. She is at this other location to teach a large group of Spanish speaking students and invited the September students from abroad to attend. She is in her 70s and sharp as a tack. In a room full of over 150 students she didn’t miss anything. No hiding in an Iyengar class. The translator impressed me almost as much as Geeta. How she kept up with her I will never know. We held poses for a very long time while Geeta directed us with corrections, improvements, and deeper actions. She focused on the foundation much like her father would do. The base of the pose moves the vayus or airs of the body in the right direction to energize the rest of the body. Without a good base you can cause damage to your body and your mind; if not now, later. She brought students on stage and we witnessed very stiff shoulders and legs transform with the right attention to the vayus and we saw it in their faces as well—they appeared more youthful and energized. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the sage credited for codifying yoga into 196 pithy statements, Sutra II.16 heyaim dukham anagatam, says the pains to come should and can be avoided. BKS Iyengar believed a strong foundational physical alignment is what helps us avoid the pains to come. It aligns the mind and the breath. If we are physically aligned, we will put more balanced pressure on the joints, ligaments, muscles and bones. No one area will over work or underwork. Geeta focused on the simple lift of the sternum, the emotional center. If we cave our chest, we will become negative, fearful, and depressed. I have someone very close to me who has had his chest caved for many many years and he is very negative, fearful, and depressed sometimes. Simply lifting your chest, tucking your shoulder blades into your chest to help with that action CAN change your life. Our work in that area went much deeper and got very intense, but it really comes down to that one simple action. When you’re in the car or at the computer notice how often you slouch. See if you can lift your chest even lift your eyes and eyebrows, and notice how different you feel.

September 16

I wonder if the teens in the US could last in a YA yoga class in India. Even the cross fit aficionados would be challenged. The pace and requirements are so demanding that they don’t have time to bellyache or even think about anything. After one hour, that I’m sure flies by, they have accomplished a lot. When I left the studio, I saw one of the younger teens riding off on his bike -no hands on the handlebars. It reminded me of a toughness and fearlessness kids once had in the US. I don’t know if that’s true anymore- or at least it’s not given the time to show itself in their helicopter-parented, over-scheduled, fear-based world. I have to admit, fearlessness in kids in India coupled with the chaos of traffic in the streets is hard to watch, but it’s astounding how often it works seamlessly.

September 17

Prashant, BKS Iyengar's son taught a 3-hour class this morning at PYC, a gym facility in Pune that started in 1900, when a few cricketers formed ‘Poona Young Cricketers’ Hindu Gymkhana’, a club for promoting cricket and other sports.

Again, 150 students from Latin American, along with the September Abroad Institute students participated. We focused on the activity of the mind, body, and breath. The awareness of the mind, body, and breath. 

We breathed with the lungs, then imagined our abdomen, back, face, and head as breathing mechanisms and witnessed how different our mind, body, breath interconnectivity became ---each variation brought about endless exploration and new awareness.

From a basic sequence of poses, we tapped into an entirely different world. He said something to the fact that we came to class all as males, 'active," and "rough," might be two adjectives, but we all left class as females, "soft", "silky". 
All because we touched a place where the mind, body, and breath could interplay in union with one another without having to "be" "do" or "strive" for a perfect pose. 

Having a stiff body or flexible body is irrelevant in yoga. The mind, body, breath connection is the yoga.

September 18

What is perfection? Is it anything any of us can attain? So why go after it? We “strike a pose” for a selfie and teachers of Yog as Prashant calls it (yes, cap A is intentional) strike a pose to show students what they can do if they do yogA. But wouldn’t it be better to learn to be proficient in yog (as Prashant differentiates from the yogA of the west)? Learning HOW to bring activity, awareness, and sensitivity to the mind, body, and breath and how the mind, body, and breath can bring that to you —with constant, ongoing, ever evolving refinements —-is what being proficient is about. It isn’t about striving for perfection. Yesterday, I was unbelievably stiff, the damp weather and lack of sleep had taken a toll. So, I pulled back yesterday, I didn’t push myself —today, I started working with the breath, thinking I would probably be stiff again, but with the breath, my body gave way more and more, it trusted that I wasn’t going to demand more than it was capable of at any given moment, so it began to release. I tapped into as many muscles, bones, and joints as my perception would allow and became sensitive to their abilities for each pose. More breath was needed at the knees, more muscles contraction in the abdomen and buttocks. More lifting action in the chest and on and on and on. It wasn’t yog it was still bio mechanical as Prashant calls the physicality of yogA. It was all fragmented not unified, but through this process of activity, awareness, and sensitivity, I became more proficient at allowing the mind, body, and breath to interact, intervene, team up, cooperate, and eventually synthesize until the last pose that felt at least for a moment or two like a proficiently woven piece of silk. Is there something you could pull your energy back on and gain a different perspective? Are you demanding perfection is some area of your life? Why? Would making it proficient put it in a new light? Isn’t everything a learning experience that we could apply the proficiency concept to? Even stuff we do by rote everyday?

September 19

It is stormy here and not just the weather. Geeta’s class got quite thunderous. We held foundational poses for long, long, long periods of time. Geeta’s voice came like lightening. Why? So that we could learn to BE in the pain or tiredness long enough to figure out what we are doing wrong to cause our discomfort. Her guidance came at us with force winds reminiscent of Hurricane Florence but winds meant to build us up and fortify us not destroy us. To learn to remain steady in mind, body and breath, so as not to lose the lesson takes sheer willpower sometimes, but it is ALWAYS worth it. Power yoga and vinyasa yoga move from one pose to the other. Habits form and injuries happen later because of these repetitive wrong actions and habits. Iyengar Yoga forces you to reflect, study, and stay inside yourself to discover what part of you is overdoing, under-doing, or not-doing at all that is causing tiredness or pain in a given area. Nothing is learned without this reflection and cultivation. Most of western yoga is striking a pose, “look at me” aren’t I amazing? However, when you study Iyengar Yoga, you learn how to stay with a pose long enough to figure out what you might be doing incorrectly —pain is our guru -it is our biggest teacher in yoga and in life. When we learn to stay with it, we can understand why it’s there. We learn what we need to do differently to stop it. Once we do a pose like that the pose is yours —you can stay in the pose with Sukham or sweetness for as long as you want. You become the pose and pose becomes you. When we learn to stay with our pain on the mat, we are not afraid of it when it appears off it, because we have the tools to work through it and overcome.

September 20

Prashant walked into a standing ovation much like the ovations that his sister gets. The two bear the weight of a heavy legacy that they both approach in a vastly different manor. If you have siblings, you know how two can grow up in the same household and have a totally different experience and recollection. I imagine it is similar here— the difference is their interpretation is tightly bound to a worldwide experience of what, why, who, how, where the art, science and philosophy of Iyengar Yoga is taught. Neither take their role lightly. Today, we sat in cross-leg position, svastikasana to do the “Invocation” to the Father of modern yoga, Patanjali, the sage credited for codifying yoga as a darsana or philosophy. Patanjali codified Yoga into 196 pithy sutras, so it could be passed down by memory. Prashant paused before this invocation to remind us not to make it mechanical. Their is deep and profound purpose to it. That pause made us all consider the “why” of our practice before it even started. It reminded me of a book my mom gave me by Emmet Fox that came out in the 30s called “Sermon On The Mount”. He talk about prayers and how we tend to memorize them and make them rote; and that misses the point. In Yoga philosophy, missing the point is one of the nine obstacles that block our progress: Alabdhabhumikatva. How often do we do things in a rote manner. Mindlessly, carelessness, inactivated, with no awareness and no sensitivity? Where is the sincerity in that? Where is the learning in that? Where is the progress in that? If any of you have taken a yoga class with me, I often talk about the integrity of our actions. Imagine if we brought integrity (mind, body, breath and heart) to all we do —even the most menial task, how would that change the world?

September 21

We weren’t expecting it, but a bird told us that Geeta would surprise the Latin Americans and teach on their last day in Pune. Once the September abroad folks heard that we could join them, we all jumped in a Rickshaw and headed over to the Gym. What an amazing class. Backbends! Geeta observed that this group overall had longer torsos and shorter legs. Therefore, she changed the prop set up in standing poses, as well as in backbends to accommodate and make the key actions of these poses more accessible. She talked about how we all have locks in our body and we must unlock the locks. If we over do or do it incorrectly then we aren’t accomplishing anything. Just moving a block a few inches forward can make a huge difference in how you experience a pose. Her father demanded expert teaching, physical adjustments, and prop setups to be sure students can experience the openings easily. He believed in “Experiential Knowledge” once we get freedom in a pose, we can feel the true purpose and benefit of any given pose.

September 22

The Equinox is an experience where there is an equal balance of light. BKS Iyengar sought to put an equal balance of Light On... all aspects of yoga. As I mentioned yesterday, the use of props to get even the stiffest and infirm student into poses is Mr. Iyengar's signature. It enables the "experiential knowledge" I spoke about yesterday to take place. His granddaughter, Abhijata Sridhar taught the morning Women's Class, where she demonstrated the many uses of props for experiencing "backbends." Starting in the ropes to open the chest, we learned four or more different setups - each one offering a unique "opening." We utilized blocks, ropes, and bolsters. We used slated backhanding benches, climbed trellis walls, and arched over the marble stage until the students felt open to doing backbends on their own. Abhijata is a poised, confident, and self-actualized young woman who has faced her fears in all the poses with her grandfather, aunt, and uncle standing over her (I can't even imagine). Her ability to articulate the fear and moreover the IMPORTANCE to actualizing a pose USING THAT FEAR was a profound lesson. Doing handstands and forearm balancing in the center of the room is a scary thing for most of us. However, we had our first headstand and got over that fear. We knew if we didn't maintain the lift, we would fall. FEAR GAVE US THE LIFT needed to sustain ourselves. We found we could use our fear to get us through balancing in handstand and forearm balance in the center of the room as well as dropping back from a standing position into a backbend. I seems to me that balancing a pose or our life happens when we don't cringe and resist, but ALLOW the darkness to intelligize the light, when we allow the pain to intelligize the release, when we allow the confusion to intelligize the direction, when we allow the unknown to intelligize the known, when we allow the fear to intelligize the courage.


September 23

Abhyjata, BKS Iyengar’s granddaughter came to watch the children’s class as they prepared for the upcoming Centennial Celebration December 14th, commemorating what would be BKS Iyengar’s 100th Birthday. The children begin class with three heart-centered “Om” and their invocations. This moves them inward, settles them, and prepares them to humbling accept the lessons to come. They learned the basic Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutation, which is a series of “linked” poses that flow one to the other. They began to add onto the series with prone backbends. Those keeping up with my diary may notice a lot of mention of backbends in classes over the week. The Iyengar Method focuses on particular groups of poses each week. This week was backbends. There are backbends that can be done from a standing, seated, prone, supine and inverted stance. The children focused on the prone poses where they are on their abdomen for things like salambhasana, locust pose, dhanuarasana, bow pose, as well as bhujangasana, cobra pose. They also worked on kneeling like Ustrasana, camel pose and standing arches along with other basic standing poses. The pace is so dynamic they have several instructors tag team to keep the energy vibrant and the poses correct. Children are required to know the names of the pose in Sanskrit and English, how to make the shape of the pose correctly, and with grace. The younger group worked at quickened pace with repetitive poses linked by actions as well, but not specifically the Surya Namaskara. They ended with a lesson on the five Yamas or “mighty universal vows” listed in Patañjali Yogasūtra 2.30 which are:

Ahiṃsā -Nonviolence, non-harming other living beings.

Satya -truthfulness, non-falsehood.

Asteya- non-stealing.

Brahmacharya-fidelity, chastity

Aparigraha- non-greediness.

The last of the five was a new one for them, so it was followed by a mythological story. Stories help us all remember the lesson. The two classes were paced well. One of the main instructors is a small woman who has the energy of of ten children. Her energy is delightfully infectious. She is playful yet firm. She clarified why slouching is actually harder than lifting. Lifting progresses you into the other poses. There’s a reason for it. She said it in such a way that I saw a huge change in the students poses after she explained how much easier it is to do it correctly. Another tip I loved was that a child who was slouching instead of reprimanding her they just put her on the stage to demonstrate with the other instructors. Brilliant!

September 24

What better way to spend a Full Harvest Moon than in Pranayama class with Prashant Iyengar. A class that’s not a class, but a peak into the world of our breath. Our breath gets so neglected. It gets so taken for granted. If we were neglected or taken advantage of like that, we’d be angry. Our breath doesn’t get angry, it just keeps for working for us. When we actually begin to observe how it works for us then we can use it to work ON us as well. We can use it to create space in tight areas, bring vitality back to our tired cells. It is also believed we can use it to expel toxins in our organs. However, first and foremost we must begin the process of observing our breath. How does it move in the nasal cavity, the chest cavity, abdominal cavity and pelvic cavity. How much can you observe in these areas? Can you observe it focusing on the inhalation, and then the exhalation? Can you observe it from a vertical and horizontal standpoint? Give it a try, the more you observe and explore the space of observation becomes endless. In the conclusion of his book, “Pranayama (A Classical and Traditional Approach)” Prashant explains it is imperative that pranayama not be confined to simple breath-control or breath-regulation or what he calls shavasayama. Pranayama is much broader than that, and goes far beyond the respiratory system studied in the biological sciences. In class, he mentioned the vastness of the sky and how astronomers keep discovering more and more. I imagine the pranayama he understands is much like that. He also discussed the different Taste Agents in cooking. How a small amount of salt or sugar can open the palette to a whole new taste sensation, so too a strong or soft, heavy or light variation in things like volume, velocity, density, geometry, and geography of the breath dynamically alters the experience, affect, and development of the power of this limb of yoga.

September 25

Prashant talks about the elements water, fire, air. Water and air take the shape of their container and fire is identified by what it is burning. We never say the fire is the burning the chair, we say the chair is burning. The need to explore the container and is the way to tap into the element itself. The element changes based on the container. The more space we create in the container of the body the more we will understand the many facets of the breath — the more we introduce to the breath the breath evolves. He had a surgeon in class stand up and he introduced him as a well known surgeon in Pune. However, he is a friend, a father, a husband, he has many roles —- what if he started hanging out with musicians and began playing instruments. He would add that to his role - he would expand his repertoire of roles. Thus when we introduce new ways of utilizing the breath in the container of our body, beyond the mechanical respiratory role, we open up a new dimension to its abilities.

September 26

I got my schedules confused and popped in late to observe Raya’s Intermediate class. I got over my disappointment with myself fast, so I could learn something in the short time I had. I’m glad I did. The longer I live the more I believe there are no mistakes in life. Be present wherever you are and you will learn why you are there— when you are and how you are there. Pause. Breathe. I’ve been on a very long journey and I know it is not over. Many of you have been very supportive and I’m forever grateful. There has been an internal push to undo, unravel, untie, unknot, and unearth as much as I can. To what end, I have no idea. Raya said something to the fact that because we are always doing, doing, doing—undoing has to be an activity. What are you doing—in your mind, in your thoughts, in your body, outside your body, with your eyes, nose, face, arms, legs, feet, hands, skin, muscles, joints, bones, organs, left side, right, side, up and down, top to bottom? From Raya, to Devki to Abhyjata, class after class after class today and before the call for OBSERVATION was ever present. What are you doing? What needs to be done? What needs to be undone? What needs attention? What needs to be let go? What is serving you and what is not? How present can we be? How can we use our breath to create more awareness of our present moment? How can we allow the breath to teach us what we need to feel, see, touch, taste, fix, let go, or experience more fully? We have innumerable moments to try this and over 20,000 breaths a day. Pick one or two and let’s see if we can build on that. All we have to do is choose to begin.


September 27

Prashant’s classes take us deeper and deeper into the well of Pranayama and so we can get a better glimpse of the fifth limb of the the eight-limbed path: Pratyahara, sense withdrawal—derived from the Sanskrit roots prati: away or against, and ahara: nourishment or food. He associated the English word Abstraction. Prashant uses very precise definitions of words. Here abstraction means extraction or take away from as in the abstraction of metal from ore. His classes began (to the best of my recollection and after the Invocation) with rope Sirsasana or headstand using support of the ropes. We began exhaling isolating the pelvic cavity; and then, isolating the skull cavity. He asked us to focus on things like the role, purpose, function—activity, and action of the exhalation on pelvic region and the organs therein. He injected the concept of “washing “ a particular area with the breath in the skull— the eyes, ears, nose and throat. Every word he uses with precision to instill a new purpose for our experiment. Pranayama invites us to move inward and build a lab in our internal space. We can work on small projects like a part of our intestines and expand to larger projects like the 60,000-70,000 miles of our vascular system. Prashant’s Pranayama World goes far, far, far beyond the lungs and mechanical breathing of the respiratory system. His method takes you so deeply inward, you begin to understand how yogis can be in small confined spaces for long periods of time. The senses, our organs of perceptions, known in Sanskrit as jnanendriyas like eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin help us navigate our external world, when we withdraw them and move them inward we learn another purpose for our senses. We see, hear, taste, smell and feel differently. The innumerable variables that can be injected into this practice are mind boggling and extraordinary. Breath with an internal sound of  “om”, breath using vowels, prefixes, suffixes, all coupled with different geographic areas, geometric shapes, not to mention playing with things like volume and velocity. You can never be bored —and the coolest thing is that wherever you go, your lab is with you. 

September 28

Dr, Geeta Iyengar sat in a cotton white dress with a delicately patterned bright green shawl draped over the shoulders. She is the picture of sweetness and gentleness but for the fierce pierce of her eyes behind her brown rimmed glasses. They poke and prod deeply over the room full of remedial students seeking the yoga therapy her family is so famous for. Her eyes miss nothing —even when the lights are turned off at the end of the class. Geeta’s eyes spotted an insufficiently lifted chest as the students reclined in the dark room bolstered with the particular support needed for their issue. Her voice struck the center of the room like a lightening bolt. For me, the imperative of correct alignment especially in a therapy setting singed my synapses, now ever more burnt and branded in my brain. There are so many vital signs of misalignment that must be corrected like the chest must be lifted, the head neither too far back or forward, the wrist rest evenly, arms and legs wide for the Nadi or energy channels to flow without restriction. Every detail matters to foster and maintains healing. Once again, the breath led and informed the effort to facilitate healing. The remedial class with Geeta informed the pranayama class after it. Alignment matters. If we are ill or tired and can’t maintain that alignment on our own, BKS Iyengar has gifted us with innumerable ways to support our efforts, but he and his family know that all the support in world still demands our participation. No matter how ill or hurt or tired, we are all being called to participate in overcoming it. I am so moved by the efforts of the students in the remedial class. They are in pain, many of them severely so, and yet they walk to get their props, they ask to get help with the benches, weights and other heavier supports. They listen intently to their body to alert the instructors of discomfort and they follow instructions. They know they want to heal.  We all must understand ultimately it is up to us how we will manage the obstacle of our dis-ease. I imagine that our dis-ease, like a yoga pose is another puzzle that with our body, mind, and breath, we can seek to understand it better, make it our teacher, and let it show us why it is there. It is my belief, the Iyengar’s know that through yoga, we can participate fully with our challenges, which gives us a better chance of healing them, at the very least, we can mitigate their hold over us, overcome the negative energies we bring to them, and turn on the light of their lesson.

September 29

The month came to a close with an Iyengar pas de deux that will be long remembered. RIMYI is full of surprises. Prashant taught in the early morning and his sister, Geeta taught the woman’s class after that. What a treat. As I’ve mentioned the two approach their teaching very differently and yet, as Geeta suggested, no one will ever understand or be able to convey the vast wisdom that their father had regarding the art, science, and philosophy of yoga —-not even his own blood. Prashant talked about the limitations of language and the imperative for precision that goes beyond grammar and mechanical accuracy. The burden (and that is my word not theirs) is unimaginable — to pass on what words cannot describe and hands-on teaching falls short in indelibly imprinting upon us the lessons these two have learned from their father. And yet, they show up and they repeat and repeat and reword and re-demonstrate and re-explain again and again and again to students in Pune and all over the world who come to get a thimbleful —I am so humbled in their presence, in their dedicated service to their father’s work and the wisdom of yoga he never stopped seeking.

International Woman's Day

RELEASE.  RELAX.  REST.  REPEAT. 

Being busy-proud in a do-do nation, it's hard to fathom the concept of stillness. BKS Iyengar rates all the poses in his 500+ page book Light On Yoga . On page 422, he teaches the pose Savasana:

"In this asana the object is to imitate a corpse. Once life has departed, the body remains still and no movements are possible. By remaining motionless for some time and keeping the mind still while you are fully conscious, you learn to relax. This conscious relaxation invigorates and refreshes the body and mind. But it is much harder to keep the mind than the body still. Therefore, this apparently easy posture is one of the most difficult to master."

Are you up for the hardest challenge in yoga? To celebrate International Woman's Day don't DO anything. Try UNDOing.  Iyengar explains the effects of the pose are that you feel refreshed because it brings energy flow from the back of the head to the heels. He adds, "The stresses of modern civilization are a strain on the nerves for which savasana is the best antidote." Right now, wherever you are, whatever you're doing: press pause. Check in with yourself. Are you clinching your teeth or jaw?  Are you tensing your neck and shoulders? Are you gripping in your stomach? We all carry our tension somewhere. Can you find where you are keeping it, today? Once you do:

RELEASE.  RELAX.  REST.  REPEAT AGAIN TOMORROW.