What is Iyengar Yoga?
Honoring BKS Iyengar Centennial Celebration, 2018
Paying Respect to Geeta Iyengar, 2014
Iyengar yoga is a practice based on the ancient Indian principles of Hatha Yoga as defined by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Iyengar Yoga is characterized by great attention to detail and precise focus on body alignment. Iyengar pioneered the use of "props" such as blocks, blankets, straps and chairs. His revolutionary use of props allows students of all ages and abilities to experience their full potential while overcoming their limitations with alignment and stability.
Sri B.K.S. Iyengar is one of the world’s most acclaimed yoga masters. His innovative and refined approach has educated generations in cultivating the body’s inherent wisdom through yoga, as informed by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. During Mr. Iyengar’s 75 years of teaching, he has inspired millions of devoted yoga practitioners. He wrote numerous books on yoga and philosophy, along with several definitive yoga texts, including Light on Yoga, the benchmark of modern yoga practice, Light on the Yoga Sutra, and Light on Pranayama. His teachings, writings, and devoted students and followers have spread the practice of yoga throughout the world. Today there are Certified Iyengar Teachers in 65 countries in the Americas, Africa, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and Asia.
In 2004 Time Magazine named B.K.S. Iyengar as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Profound, intelligent, and transformative, Iyengar Yoga is for every age, body type, and fitness level. Iyengar yoga provides practical tools to create and maintain bodily health and vitality, mental clarity, emotional serenity, and spiritual embodiment.
Geeta Iyengar, the daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar was the principle teacher at RIMYI (Iyengar’s Institute in Pune, India). She was the senior most Iyengar Yoga Teacher in the world until she passed away in 2018. She had been practicing and teaching yoga alongside her father since she was a young girl. She wrote Yoga: A Gem for Women and lead conventions worldwide. Her contributions to clarifying and codifying her father’s teachings were immeasurable.
About Vanessa
Vanessa is an Intermediate Junior II certified Iyengar yoga teacher. She has been classically trained in the methods of Iyengar yoga for almost two decades. She has followed the teachings of the foremost yoga teacher in the world, B.K.S. Iyengar, who refined the art of teaching yoga. He emphasized alignment of the body with the use of props, unique sequencing, and timing of poses. His brilliance and clarity of teaching was immeasurable. Vanessa has gained a strong understanding of the many uses of props in her classes to allow all walks of life to approach yoga. She has made numerous extended trips to India to study right at the heart of the yoga lineage.
She has studied extensively at RIMYI, B.K.S. Iyengar’s Institute in Pune, India as well as at the base of the Himalayas with Rajiv and Swati Chanchani, the authors of Yoga For Children. She has had the fortunate opportunity to assist them in their medical classes, learning how to apply yoga’s curative abilities to practitioners with ailments ranging from MS, neck and shoulder injuries, sciatica, depression, scoliosis, and much more. She has attended countless workshops with many of the Iyengar Senior teachers throughout the world and continues attending workshops regularly to deepen her knowledge of the broad subject of yoga. Her teachers are Manouso Manos, Gloria Goldberg, and Marla Apt. Vanessa’s classes are always unique and different from one another, catering each class to the individual’s needs. She provides a keen sense of detail to each yoga pose. By dissecting the poses on a cellular level, students can begin to restore the many ailments that may plague them and build a solid foundation in their yoga practice. Students looking to refine their yoga practice and advance their knowledge of yoga will benefit from Vanessa’s classes.
Frequently asked questions…
How Does Iyengar Yoga differ from other systems of yoga?
The Iyengar method develops strength, endurance, and optimal body alignment, in addition to flexibility and relaxation. The Iyengar method develops self-awareness, intelligent evaluation, and profound inward reflection. The attention to detail and cultivation of awareness is meant to not only maintain physical safety in the practice, but to develop the mental benefits of a complete meditation in action.
No two classes are ever exactly the same. The variation in sequencing of Iyengar classes is influenced by the level and condition of the student, time of day, time of year, and many other factors. In Iyengar yoga classes, the emphasis is on learning, not just doing, so the teacher will usually teach through instruction, demonstration or adjustment so that the student can fully absorb the process and gain a more in-depth understanding of themselves.
Standing poses are emphasized at the beginning to build strength and ease of movement, increase general vitality, and improve circulation, coordination, and balance, ensuring a strong foundation for the study of the other categories of and more advanced poses.
Postures for deep relaxation are introduced from the beginning. Gradually, sitting and reclining postures, forward bends, inversions, backbends, twists, arm balances, and flowing sequences are introduced.
Iyengar Yoga emphasizes precision of alignment in the yoga poses. Why is this important?
People tend to stretch from their more flexible areas and rely on their better developed muscles for strength, thus reinforcing postural habits. Through attention to proper alignment, Iyengar Yoga encourages weak parts to strengthen and stiff areas to release, thus awakening and realigning the whole body. An added benefit of an emphasis on correct anatomical alignment can be the diminishing of aches and pains and improved posture. As the body moves into better alignment, less muscular effort is required and relaxation naturally increases.
How should I begin practicing Iyengar Yoga?
If you have not practiced yoga before, you should attend a Level I course. Students who have studied other types of yoga but who have never experienced Iyengar Yoga are also encouraged to take Level I classes for a time to absorb the basic principles and apply them to the fundamental postures.
What can I expect in an Iyengar yoga class?
During your first classes you will be introduced to the basic asanas (poses or postures). All the asanas have Sanskrit names that the teacher will use--don't worry, you are not expected to pick it all up right away. The teacher will orient you to the fundamental shapes and actions of the postures and repeat them, so that you can learn to know them. Gradually, you will learn more about the postures and about yourself and the benefits of the practice will increase.
The various asanas have different effects on the body. The basic postures taught at the beginning will build strength and stamina, and improve muscular tone, flexibility and alignment. Practicing the postures reduces tiredness and soothes the nerves. It also trains and disciplines the mind so that concentration is improved.
If you have particular physical conditions or are menstruating or pregnant, certain poses are not suitable for practice. Please consult with your teacher before the class begins, so that she can give you alternative postures appropriate for you.
May I come to a yoga class if I have health concerns or limitations?
Advise your teacher of your concerns, injuries, or conditions before class. Iyengar teachers are trained to modify and suggest alternative strategies (or postures) to enable you to practice safely and intelligently.
Yoga is open to people of all ages and all levels of physical condition. Yoga has something to offer everyone.
What should I bring to class?
We provide all the props necessary to practice. You may borrow a mat if you don’t have your own. Please be on time. Arrive 5 to 10 minutes before class is scheduled. Please keep personal belongings and drinks out of the asana room. Shoes belong in the vestibule at the entrance. For reasons of safety and courtesy to the teacher and other students, you may be turned away if you arrive after class begins.
What should I wear?
Wear a t-shirt and shorts or footless tights-- clothes that allow you move easily and that enable the teacher to observe you well. Yoga is always practiced in bare feet. Please do not wear perfume or heavy jewelry.
Yoga is best practiced on an empty stomach. We suggest waiting a few hours after a heavy meal and at least one hour after a light snack before taking class.
Do I need to be flexible to do Iyengar Yoga?
No, Iyengar yoga is very beneficial for people with tight muscles and joints. Iyengar yoga works with finding a balance between strength and flexibility. Through attention to correct alignment and the use of props, stiff muscles are safely stretched.
Do I need to be in good shape to begin Iyengar Yoga?
No, beginning Iyengar Yoga classes are a safe place to begin practicing regardless of your fitness level. The yoga postures can be modified to meet the individual needs of the student. Since Iyengar yoga works with strengthening postural muscles responsible for healthy anatomical alignment, new students can quickly experience increased energy and general well-being. The emphasis on precise postural alignment provides opportunities and challenges for students of all fitness level and all are welcome.
Invocation to Patanjali
Yogena cittasya padena vacam
(yo-gay-nuh chi-tah-syuh pah-day-nuh vah-chahm)
Malam sarirasyaca vaidyakena
(mah-lahm shah-ree-rah-syuh chuh vy-dyuh-kay-nuh)
Yopakarottam pravaram muninam
(yo-pah kar-oh-tahm prah-vah-rahm moo-nee-nahm)
Patanjalim pranjaliranato’smi
(pah-tahn-jah-lim prahn-jah-leer ah-nah-to-smee)
Abahu purusakaram
(ah-bah-hoo poo-roo-shah-kar-ahm)
Sankha cakrasi dharinam
(shahn-kah chah-krah-see dar-ee-nahm)
Sahasra sirasam svetam
(sha-hah-srah sheer-ah-sahm shvay-tahm)
Pranamami Patanjalim
(prah-nuh-mah-mee pah-tahn-jah-lim)
Hari Aum
Translation
Translation from Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar:
Let us bow before the noblest of sages, Patanjali,
who gave yoga for serenity and sanctity of mind,
grammar for clarity and purity of speech,
and medicine for perfection of health.
Let us prostrate before Patanjali,
an incarnation of Adisesa,
whose upper body has a human form,
whose arms hold a conch and a disc,
and who is crowned by a thousand-headed cobra.
Hari Aum