June2013b

Guruji at his birthday celebration 2012

2

YogAfrica

June 2013 CONTENTS

Message from The Cha ir

4

Ed’s Notes

5

Asana, Pranayama , Pratyahara — B.K.S . Iyeng a r

6

The D iaphragm in Iyengar Yoga Prac tice

9

Restorative Asana for Men

13

Joy and Presence w i th Lo is Ste inberg

15

Astanga Yoga — Judy Farah

19

The E ight L imbed Pa th o f Pa tanja li

20

37th Annual Institu te Ce lebration — Pa t Deacon

22

News from Ind ia

24

News from the Reg ions

30

Farewell to Midge Dods

34

Courses

36

Notic es

39

3

YogAfrica

June 2013 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

STRATF ORD CA NN ING Greetings from a warm and sunny Cape T own , althoug h I fear tha t by th e time you read this th e co ld and we t win ter weather wi l l be upon us.

Stress continues to be a part o f modern day l ivin g, especi al ly as we face po li tical and economical dif ficulties in Sou th A frica . There are a nu mber o f w ays to co mbat stress one o f which is (and in my opinion a very i mportan t one) yoga practice. As Roger Cole wri tes in his ar tic le “Th is is Your Body on Stress ” and I quo te ,” One o f the bes t stress bus ters around is yoga . It d irectly coun teracts bo th the phy siolog ical and psycho logica l componen ts of s tress, si multaneo usly help ing you take be tter care o f yourself and change your a ttitu de. The s tretch ing y ou do in yoga relieves musc le tens ion. Ups ide-down pos es and reclining p oses slow the hear t, relax the b lood v essels, inhib it producti on of norep inephrine , and ca lm the bra in. Pranayama (yoga's class ic brea thwork ) slows respiration. As you prac tice bei ng more aware and mi ndfu l, you ga in a sense of sel f-control , e quanimity , and peace . Perhaps most i mportan t of a ll , medi tation and the teach ings o f yoga phi losophy can he lp y ou rea lize tha t mos t of the th ings that upse t you jus t aren't wor th ge tting stressed abou t.”

So le t us a ll g ive thanks tha t we have found Iye n gar Yoga and con ti nue to i mmerse o urselves in i t.

I a m pleased to no te th at me mbership , after re tracting in 2012 is no w on the increase . Th is is du e in no smal l measure to June Cooper's in itia tive in th e l ast year through her mon th ly Yoga Muk ta ar tic les.

Also teachers mus t be commended for their ro le i n recruiting new me mbers.

February saw Western Cap e students , Maya P fa ff, Mariann e Wi id, Dani el le R itte l, Penny Lankes ter and Cornelia Pro topapa passing their In troductory l evel assess ments and were we lcomed to the T eacher ranks.

YogAfrica , fo llo wing world wide trends and for economica l reasons , is d el ivered e lectronica l ly and is availab le through our websi te . It can be vie wed online or downl oaded and printed in part or as a whole .

Our mode l is iden tic al to that o f our Aus tralian co lleagues .

Yet there are members w ho wou ld stil l prefer a printed copy sen t to the m. Prin ting o f the ma ga zine is expensive and were we to revert to the o ld me thod o f del ivery we wou ld have to find approx. R 40,000 per year to fund th is. Me mbership fees , w hich h ave been kep t as curren t leve ls for a nu mber o f years, would have to be adjus ted up wards to fund th is , some th ing the Na tiona l Co mmi ttee is aga inst. So to cater for the members who would pre fer pr inted copies an al ternative proposal is being formu lated and wil l be shared wi th al l me mbers in due course.

This year we host Lo is S te inberg in August and S tephani e Quirk in Novemb er.

2014 sees th e return o f Dea n Lerner in April and hopefu lly Raya Da ta later in the year . Corin e Bir ia has agreed to vis it Sou th A frica in 2015.

We extend our congra tula tio ns to Joyce S tuart o n reaching the young age o f 90 on the 27 t h Marc h th is year. An appropria te ce lebration was arranged by our co lleagues in K ZN and we thank the m for th i s.

It is w ith sadness that we learnt of the passing o f Midge Dods to h igher service i n January . Midg e was a longstand ing teac her who practised and taugh t in Hermanus . A tribu te to her can be fou nd on pag e 34.

Be we ll and enjoy your read .

Stratford

4

YogAfrica

June 2013 ED’S NOTES

RIVA H IRS CHOW ITZ As I wri te th is, Cape Town is in the mi ddle o f a winter s torm. Th is edi tion o f YogA frica w il l ho peful ly give you some reading mater ial whi le you keep warm under the covers over the co ld w inter months wherever you are .

The the me for this ed ition is As tanga yoga . I a sked some of our teachers to g ive me their in terpretation o f the Asta Anga or e igh t li mbs of yoga .

I hope you wi ll en joy the infor mation on the d i aphragm in Pranayama as we ll as the restorati ve sequence for men .

We are privi leged to be hosting Lo is Sternberg i n Johannesburg and Cape Town in Augus t. I do hope that you wi ll be ab le to some or al l o f the days that she w il l be teach ing . I have inc luded an in te rview with Lo is to give you some ins igh t into this very well known teacher.

Many of the Iye ngar Yoga studen ts have travell ed to Ind ia over the pas t 6 months and we hav e included articles on their experiences in In dia . Pat Deacon gave a particu larly lovely talk a t th e 37th Annual Ins ti tute Ce lebrations tha t was very well received by the audience as wel l as Guruji and Geetaj i. Includ ed in YogA frica Jun e 2013 are so me travelogues of those stude nts who recently travel l ed to India , wh ich I am sure you w il l enjoy . Reme mbe r that if you are p lanning to go to the Iyeng ar In sti tute in Ind ia, your teacher w il l need to sign your req uest form. Your regional Institu te mus t be notifi ed so that the Nationa l co mmittee is aware of Sou th Afr ican s tuden ts who are attend ing the Ins titu te .

Thank you to everyone tha t has con tribu ted to this edi tion of the YogA frica a nd once a gain a huge thank you to Stra tford Cann ing for type settin g th e magaz ine once ag ain .

Keep war m NamastĂŠ Riva

5

YogAfrica

June 2013 ASANA, PRANAYAMA, PRATYAHARA

B.K.S. IYENGAR Āsana

Patañ jal i explains sthira sukham āsanam (Y.S ., 11.46) as the characteristic or the dharmi of an āsana, as the end fee ling of an āsana. As I said , if a go ldsmith has to make a new ornamen t from an o ld one, he has to first me lt it in to base g old to make a ne w ornamen t.

Each and every part and parce l o f the five bhū ta-s existing in each and every tissue , liga men t, bone, join t as wel l as mind has to be kept in an undis turbed position w ithou t dis torting the ske leto-mu scular body or the organic body . Al l parts o f the sādh aka have to rema in in the ir pre-involved posi tio ns like base gold . Let me take Tāḍāsana as the frame or base for gu idance .

In Tādāsana , study the posi tio n of a ll the variou s parts of the body , Whatever āsana is performed, al l the li mbs of the body in i ts fi nal stage are to be main taine d in their natura l positions l ike in Tādā sana.

Even the fee l of the mind and the in te ll igence must be observed, stud ied and re-adjuste d to be s erene showing effortlessness and ease in the body.

I treat each āsana as an ornament o f the soul . T herefore, whi le performing each āsana, I advise everyone to re-adjust in th e fina l s tage to mai nta in the base s tructure and repeat i t over and over for consolida tion wi thou t dis turbing the struc ture or the consti tuen ts of the body . This is sth ira sukham āsanam which is no thing bu t the real natura lness (sahaja tā) o f the body in each āsa na.

It is on ly in the Bha gavad G itā tha t one fin ds Lord Krishna de fin ing how the āsana should b e don e, explain ing the character or the dh arma o f each ās a na: samamkāya śirogrīva m d hārayan aca lam sth irah I samprekṣya nās ikāgram sva m diśaś cā 'navakoly an II (B.G ., 6.13) Recognisi ng the cen tre portion o f the head and trunk, the body o f the righ t and the le ft have to b e adjusted latitu dina lly and lo ngi tudin al ly to be in par with the cen tre part and held firm, stea dy and straigh t, w ith un-osci lla tin g eyes .

I give Tādāsana as a guide . In Tādāsa na, s tudy the pos itions o f a ll the vario us parts o f the bod y and whatever āsana you perform, le t a ll the li mbs, the feel of min d and in te ll igence be re-adjus ted in the fina l s tage , as if each part of the body is pos ition ed resemb ling th e Tād āsana.

6

Prānāyāma In Samād hi Pāda (Y .S ., 1 .33), Pa tañ jal i speaks of one aspect o f prānāyāma a fter dealing wi th mai trī, karunā, mudi tā and upeksā. I certa inly feel that these virtuous qual ities of mind stand close to yama, niyama and ās ana. Otherw ise how ca n he mov e immedia tely through 1 .34 , on to the techn iq ues of prānāyāma, is my ques tion . There is an equa tion here for the readers to und erstand , mai trī, karunā , mudi tā , up eksā = yama , niya ma, āsana.

The word upeksā means indi fference or non-bia s towards the body. To s tart wi th, a ttention is p aid to the body to earn perfec tio n in each āsan a. Whe n perfection in e ach āsana is ga ined , the body maintains i ts heal th on i ts own. A fter th is , we conti nu e practising āsana-s using the body as an agent of the mind , for the mind and by the mind to exp lore th e Self. Then only i t is poss ible to fol low prānāyā ma for channeling the e nergy for righ t usage. pracchardana vidhāranābhya m vā prānasya (Y.S., 1.34) The cessation o f brea th a fter so ft, quie t exha la ti on helps to d i ffuse the mind (ci tta prasādana) o f the practi tioner tow ards passiv i ty and pens ivi ty.

Though this type of prānāyāma is d efini tely ind ic ated for advanced practitioners o f yoga , in Sā dh ana Pāda Pa tañ jal i exp lai ns prānāyā ma from sūtra 49 to 53 wi th tech niques and effec ts.

He begins wi th tas min sa ti śvāsa praśvāsayoh ga tiv icchedaḥ prānāyāmah (Y.S ., 11 .49). By begi nn ing the sūtra wi th tas min sa ti (when th is is acco mpl ished and perfected) , he clearly stipula tes that prānāyāma has to be practised after the maste ry of āsana-s. Hence , the sū tra on mai trī, karu nā, mudi tā a nd upeksā es tabl ishes tha t they stan d fo r yama, n iyama and āsana of astā nga yoga .

He in troduces the process o f prānāyāma to lea rn the regul ation o f the inbreath and ou tbreath , as they move irregularly (gati v icchedaḥ).

From here he moves to bāhya ābhyantara stambha vrttih deśa kāla samkhyābh iḥ paridrstaḥ dīrgha sūksmah (Y.S., 11 .50). He exp la ins three move ments . These are prolonged , regu lated, precise fi ne inhala tio n, exhal ation a nd re tention after inhala ti on and exhala tio n.

When th is de libera te practice o f prānāyā ma is le arnt he sugges ts: bāhya ābhyan tara v iṣaya āk ṣepī ca turthah (Y.S ., 11.51) .

This prānāyāma transcends the three move men ts described above and guid es one to move towa rds an effor tless and non-deli berate prānāyāma . Here one experiences the though tfu l sta te of though tl essness or the tho ughtless s tate o f the mind though tful ly as no subjec tive or objec tive though ts sprout o n this state . This sta te has been exp la ined as Keva la K umbhaka in al l the Yog ic Upa nishads .

These prānāyāma-s remove the ve ils tha t cover jñāna and al low the i nner ligh t o f jñāna to shi ne forth : tataḥ kṣ īyate prakāśa, āvarnam (Y .S ., 11.52) , l eading towards: dharanasu ca yogyata manasah (Y.S., 11.53). It means that prānāyāma brings ma turity in mind for it to move to wards concentra tion . For me it means tha t prānāyā ma transfor ms the bahiranga manas into an taranga manas .

First, we learn asana to ge t s tab il ity in the bod y and mind to go in for prānāyāma wh ich is me ant to generate energy and s tore i t i n the reservoir of the lungs . Bu t one shou ldn' t forget tha t, a long wi th this , āsana-s have to channel that energy to reach th e various parts of the body to keep it in a sound energetic sta te so tha t o ne can proceed tow ards the higher and nob ler s tages o f pursui t in li fe .

As King Bhagīiratha the fore father o f Puruşo tta ma Rā ma was b lessed by Lord Shiva to take th e River Gaṅga 1 from heaven to earth , wh ich fo llo wed hi m wherever he went, we , as sādhaka-s have to p erform the āsana-s and take the b lood as we l l as energy according to our wi ll to reach the remotes t part of the 7

body and nourish the m and to keep each and eve ry tissue in a d ivine sta te of pure heal th.

This way the āsana-s and prānāyāma-s, japa an d dhyāna give us a cl ue tha t the breath (viśva c aitanya śakti) is c osmic and no t a genea logica l or gene ti c inheri tance l ike the mind .

As energy (prāna) is close to the atten tive awar eness (prajña) and vice versa, atten tion in prān āyāma leads one to experience the s ingle sta te of uni nterrupted flow o f though tful and though tless s tate o f mind (ekatā na manas) l ike a rail way track keepi ng these two sta tes of the mind and consc iousn ess to run concurrently . T his is the beau ty of how prānā yāma w orks on mi nd cu lture .

Pratyāhāra After expla in ing prānāyā ma Patañ ja li speaks o f p ratyāhāra in the form o f: vişayavatī vā pravrttih u tpannā manasah sthi ti nibandhan ī (Y .S ., 1 .35) Recommen ding to apply the mind on an ob ject of i ts lik ing to ga in s tead iness an d main tain this s teadiness through observation , Refinemen t through re -adjustme nt leads to to tal absorption .

This sū tra is a proof also for peop le like me wh o devoted ly practise wi th a s ing le thought of refl ecting on each and every part of the body to be kno wn ful ly so tha t the ques t for wh ich the sādhanā is undertaken is fu lfil led . Th is s ta te o f pratyāhāra leads towards dhāranā, the n ext yaugika pe tal .

1

For deta ils of th is story , see Rāmāyana , Māb hārata or Padma Purāna .

W hen t he m i nd i s brought t o a si ngl e poi nt , t hat i s ekagra ci t t a.

- BKS Iyengar

8

YogAfrica

June 2013

THE DIAPHRAGM IN IYENGAR YOGA PRANAYAMA AND PHYSICAL THERAPY DALI A ZW I CK

Breathing exercises are popu lar too ls w ith the p ublic and heal thcare providers. They are used increasing ly in comp leme nta ry and al ternative medic ine to promo te h eal th and we llness ; a fter v itamins and supple ments , they are the most co mmon ly used therapy. 1 Recent stud ies sho w a posi tive ou tcome in the applica tio n o f yoga-derived breathing as a therapeu tic me thod for pa tien ts with chronic obstruc tive pulmonary disease (COP D). 2 , 3 To ben efit people with breath ing cha l lenges, healthcare providers and yoga teachers and practitioners must exchange knowledge .

This articl e revie ws the phys iology of the brea th (an arena in wh ich h eal thcare providers are trained) and experientia l kno wledge (where Iyengar Yoga teachers exce l). Both areas are essen tia l in the teaching o f breath ing techn iques and Pranayama .

The D iaphragm: A Mu scle and Its Tendon Two ma in poi nts abou t the d iaphragm nee d to b e considered: i ts role in no t only inha lation , but als o exhalation , and its uniq ue s tructure .

The active role o f the d iaphragm in inhala tion is universally acknowled ged; its ro le in c ontrol li ng the exhalation–a cen tral concep t o f Pranayama– is less wel l recognized in medica l l iterature. And because this action o f the diap hragm is experien tia l, it can be d ifficu l t to understand for those w itho ut a yoga background.

Because th is ac tion of the diaphrag m is experie ntia l, i t can be di fficu lt to understand for those without a yoga background.

The muscular por tion o f the diap hragm that ma kes this con trol o f the exhal ation possib le may be compared wi th the eccen tric ac tion o f the b icep. When you li ft an obj ect and draw i t toward you, th e elbow bends and the bicep shortens ; as you put the object back down , the bicep is s ti ll contrac ting, allow ing you to lo wer the ob ject w i thout dropp ing it. The muscu lar porti on of the dia phragm contr acts as you inhale, help ing to draw air in to the lungs . With slow, con trol led exhala tion , as in Pranayama,it continues to contract, enabl ing you to exhale w ithou t le tting the a ir rush out and withou t the c hest collaps ing.

In addi tion to th is muscu lar acti on of the d iaphra gm, there is a v ita l bu t overlooked role played by the central ten don of the diaphragm. Mos t tend ons attach d irectly to bones. However, the central ten don of the diaphrag m attaches to the muscul ar rim of the diaphragm and anchors it to the spine at ve rtebrae L1 and L3 . This tend on makes u p 40% of th e centra l area of the d iaphragm.

Elonga ting and expandin g this centra l tendon is essentia l to encouraging and contro ll ing the breath; yoga Pranayama, as we ll as yoga asa nas, have a vita l role . This has profound imp lic ations for peo ple with brea thing di fficu lties and sho uld be an inte g ral part o f treatment to improve th eir con di tion .

Pranayama and Asana In yoga, deep breathing is par t of the practice o f Pranayama. In S anskrit, the anc ien t language o f India, prana is the v i tal energy or li fe force; i t als o refers to resp irati on. Ayama means length , ex pansion, and ex tensio n, and conveys the idea of r estrain t, contro l, and s toppin g. According to B.K.S .

Iyengar, Pranayama a lso means co mmun ication, expansion , or d imens ion . 4 When practi cing Pranayama, one s lows do wn the ra te of brea thin g and expands chest and lung capaci ty . Pranay ama is an in tegral s tep i n the e igh t-li mbed pa th o f yo ga, As tanga Yoga , wh ich str ives to br ing consci ousness to mind and body, and final ly , freedom. 5 9

All breath ing is in fluenced by ch anges i n body p osition, emo ti onal s ta te, and ac tiv ity leve l. 6 Thes e factors long have been cons idered in yo gic breathin g practice . Pranayama teachi ng focuses on pro lo nging and refin ing the inha la tion a nd exhala tion, which allo ws the prac ti ti oner to con trol the brea th vol untarily .

The abil i ty to brea the deeper and lon ger requires the physica l preparation of the pu lmonary and musculoskele tal syste ms, in add ition to deve lopi ng gre ater focus on th e breath . Th is preparation o f the body and min d for Pranaya ma can b e accomp lishe d th rough the practice o f asanas (yoga postures). T o better perform these asanas , the suppor t of a yoga prop often is needed to extend and e longa te the muscles and so ft tissue used in breath ing.

This elonga tion is essentia l preparation for Pranayama. Th is is the basis for the Iyengar meth od' s intricate ins tructions designed to expand and "shape " the brea thing , direc ting the breath wi th awaren ess to various regions o f the lungs incre menta lly .

This can be understood be tter when we review th e bio mechan ics and physi ology of brea thing .

The Me chanics of Breathing Breathing is a comp lex system o f commun ica tio n between receptors wi thin the body (includin g chemoreceptors in the blood and s tretch recep tors in soft tissue), con trol lers in th e cen tral nervous s ystem, and the effectors , tha t is , the musc les of the respiratory system. The desire or need to breathe a nd the regulation o f the rate o f brea thing is con troll ed b y the cen tral nervous sys tem, based on i ts ana ly sis of data receiv ed from the recep tors. A message is sent to the effec tors; these tiny respira tory mu scles then mai nta in a dequate ven ti la tion for the body 's current s ta te. 7 The goal of brea thing is to keep arterial b lood gases with in accep table levels to ma inta in the body's healthy func tion ing . A ir mus t be moved rhyth mi cally in and ou t o f the lungs. Air exchange is a ccomplished through the expansio n and de fla tion o f the chest wa ll , wh ich requires the action o f a nu mber of skeleta l muscl es. To understand ho w th is lung- pumping mechanis m works, we review be low c urrent concepts o f anatomy and func tion o f the respiratory muscles .

When air en ters through the nose , it passes thr ough the trachea , a tube-like portion o f the respiratory tract that connects the larynx (the voice box) wi th the bronchi a nd bronchio les, air passag eways shaped l ike s mal l tree branches . F ina lly , the a ir enters the alveo li . These s mal l sacs wi th in the lungs resemble tiny fo lded ba lloo ns and have very th i n wal ls ful l o f blo od vessels . H ere is where the actual gas exchange occurs, as oxygen passes through the wal ls to en ter the bloods tream be fore travel ing to cells throughou t the body .

The thoracic region 's mechan ica l abi li ty to expa n d and recoi l depends on the e lastici ty o f the lung s and the muscles involved . Gross muscl e weakness may lead to musc le shortness and ti ghtness , whic h limits the thoracic ab il ity to expand and recoi l . 6 Primary Musc le Activ ity During inhala tion, the insp iratory muscles con tract in a coordina ted fashio n, creati ng an in trath oracic pressure gradient tha t causes a ir to flow in to th e lungs. T hese musc les then re lax and air is ex haled because of chan ges in pressure and the elas tic r ecoil o f the lungs. 8 Deeper breath ing in con trolle d circumstances such as Pranayama , or under s tressful condi tions such as runn ing, may de mand the further recruitmen t o f pri mary and accessory insp irator y muscles . 9 The primary muscles o f inspira tion , those required during quiet and deep breathing , are the diaphragm and the in tercosta l muscles , loca ted between the ribs . 1 0 During quie t inspira tion , the in tercosta ls ass ist i n elevating the ribs wi th their ob lique a ttachmen t fro m the d ista l border o f one rib to the proxi mal bord er of the r ib be low . The con tractio n o f the ex ter nal intercosta l musc les causes an increase in the lateral and anteroposterior d iame ters of the thorax . 8 Debate persis ts as to the exac t role o f the in terco stal and a bdominal muscles in breathing . So me have suggested tha t during con trol led exhala tion , th es e muscles and the d iaphragm he lp in the "brakin g" action tha t slows the s tatic recoil o f the lungs an d the chest wal l. 6 Th is is how the d iaphragm is recruited for sl ow, con troll ed exha la tion , as durin g Pranay ama.

The di aphragm musc le is co mposed of three ana tomica lly dis tinc t regions jo ined and inserted i n th e 10

midd le to a th in central te ndon. Th is central is a n often negl ected aspec t of breath and breath c ontrol that we cons ider be low .

The change in the pos ition of the diaphrag m and the expansion o f the ches t during inha lation (le ft) and exhalation (right) .

The costal portion of the diaphrag m arises from the upper margins of the lower six ribs and is cl osely associated w ith the sternal reg ion. The s econ d region or igina tes from the pos terior aspec t of the xiphoid process. The th ird portion , tend inous in structure, is the crural section , which arises fro m the same region o f the an terior l igamen ts that cov ers and supports vertebrae L1 through L3 . F ibers fr om al l three regio ns o f the diap hragm rad iate inward, in serting in to the cen tral tendon .

The diaphragm, s imilar to other vo luntary muscl es, is charac terized by the instan taneous re lati onship between force, length , and ve loci ty of shor tenin g. Musc les operate w i th the grea test ac tive forc e when close to an idea l leng th (often th eir resting leng t h). When stretched or shortened beyond th is (w hether because of th e ac tion of th e musc le i tsel f or an o utside force), th e maximum ac tive force generate d decreases. The power output of a musc le is the p roduct of force developed and the ve loci ty of sh ortening. 9 The dia phragm's ab il ity to perform, there fore, is compromised when its musc le and ten dinou s portion is short. D iaphragm weakness , resul ti ng from bo th ag ing an d dis ease, has been ascribed to the shortening o f musc les and the cen tral tendon, w hich in flue nces the d iaphragm's streng th and ab i li ty to descend and slo wly ascend. 1 1 The central tend on of the diaphrag m, i ts dome , i s a th in, strong apon eurosis comprising broad la yers of fascia-l ike tissue wi th the cons istency of th ick l eather. It is flexib le, yet noncontrac ti le, so i t is pulled passively by the muscu lar portion o f the diaphra gm, to wh ich i t is attached . This is i mportan t, because different body posi tio ns a ffec t the ab il ity o f this tendon to move a nd grea tly affec t the breath .

When the dia phragm is viewe d fro m the top , a l arge portion o f this cen tral tendon is located ve ntrally (to the front) . Its an terior muscle fibers are shorter than the posterior on es. Th is is i mportan t be cause different body p osi tions a ffect the ab il ity o f th e tendon and the dia phragm to contrac t. An imag e may clarify . Imagi ne th is tendon as a circular p iece of leather attached on al l sides to ropes (that is, to muscle fibers). A group o f peop le is pul li ng these ropes in a ll d irections; h owever, beca use of the v entral placemen t o f the tendon , i t is as if the ropes in the back are longer than those in the front. Th e ligaments that a ttach the diaphrag m to vertebrae L 1 and L3–the crurae–also draw this tendon to wa rd the back.

The central tend on of the diaphrag m, i ts dome , i s a th in, strong apon eurosis comprising broad la yers of fascia– l ike tissue wi th the consis tency of thick l eather.

This piece of lea ther must be pul led down as we inhale. Then the ropes must be released slowly to allow for a con trol led exh ala tion .

The Ro les of Props Several restorative asanas , especi al ly Sup ta B addhakonasana, e longa te the centra l ten don a nd enhance its mobi li ty. Plac ing the body over a prop such as a bolster creates an arch of the lu mbar spine from vertebrae L1 through L3. Re turning to our image , i t is as if the peop le hold ing the ropes i n the back became s tronger and were g iven longer ropes.

The diaphrag m and i ts cen tral tendon also contribute to the postura l con trol o f the human trun k. 1 2 In Swastikasana for sea ted Pranaya ma, as wel l as in Baddh akonasana, the d iaphragm ac ts as a po stural support for the sea ted pos ition. It is as i f the p eople in the back are stil l pul li ng on their ropes . More advanced practitioners can experi ence a si mi lar action in backbend ing poses such as Dhanurasan a.

11

Pranayama as a Therape utic Method In Pranaya ma, th e focus is on slow ing and con troll ing the ra te and duration o f the breath , par tic ularl y exhalation . "During exha lation , the breath shoul d not be expel led but release d," Mr. Iyengar often instructs. 1 3 Hea l thcare prac ti tio ners long have reco gnized th e i mportance o f slo wing do wn the breath and focusing on exhala tion, espec ial ly for peop le w ith asthma and emphyse ma who o ften have d ifficul ty breathing because of the large a moun t o f air tha t becomes trapped in the ir lu ngs.

If hea lthcare practitioners were to add ele me nts of Pranayama and relaxa tion using the Iy engar method , it would benefi t people wi th pu lmon ary distress . The current card iopul monary rehabi li tation approach to C OPD focuses ma inly on i mproving general cardiovascul ar endurance, s trength trai ning, and th e use o f respira tory dev ices. There is mini mal tra ining in brea thing practice i tsel f. 1 4 With acutely i ll p atients , therapis ts use airway clearance techn iques such as postura l drainag e and coughing. Aga in , ac tive brea thing techniques are used rarely or are given on ly secondary i mporta nce.

There is a ne ed to expand a nd i mprove the meth ods of teach ing ac tive breath ing for people wi th acute and chronic respira tory chal lenges . The appl ic ation of yoga asanas and Pranaya ma techniq u es to breath tra ining wi ll help these patien ts by expan ding the thoracic region 's li mi ted mobi li ty, easin g the tigh tness o f muscles and tendons (particular ly the diaphragm's cen tral tendon) , and improv ing p ulmonary func tion .

Dalia Zw ick is a physica l therapis t and long ti me Iyengar Yoga stu dent; she worked w ith Sen ior Te acher Mary Dunn in in tegrating yog a and rehabi li tation for peop le w i th weakn ess, poor pos ture, brea thi n g di fficu lty , and paralysis resul tin g from mu ltip le scl erosis, cerebral palsy , spinal cord in jury, or developmenta l delays . Brooke Myers , In termed iate Junio r III, Ne w York, adv ised on the artic le ; Richard J onas edited .

Ref erences

1.

B arnes P M , B l oom B . Com pl em ent ary and al t ernat i v e m edi c i ne us e am on g adul t s and c hi l dren: Uni t e d S t at es , 2007.

Hy at t s v i l l e, M D: Nat i onal Cent er f or H eal t h S t at i s t i c s, Di v i s i on of Heal t h I nt erv i ew S t at i s t i cs . Nat i onal Heal t h S t at i s t i c s Report s , Num ber 13, Dec em ber 10, 200 8. A v ai l abl e at : ht t p: // www. c dc . gov / nc hs / dat a/ nhs r/ nhs r012. pdf .

2.

P om i dori L, C am pi got t o F , A m at y a T M , B erna rdi L, Co go A . E f f i c acy and t ol era bi l i t y of y oga b reat hi n g i n pat i e nt s wi t h c hroni c obs t ruc t i v e pul m onary di s eas e: a pi l ot s t udy . J Cardi opul m Reh abi l P rev 2009; 2 9: 133– 7.

3.

Dones k y -Cuenc o D, N guy en HQ, P aul S , Carri e ri -K ohl m a n V . Y oga t herapy dec reas es dy s pnea-r el at ed di s t res s and i m prov es f unc t i onal pe rf orm anc e i n peo pl e wi t h c hroni c obs t ruc t i v e pul m onary di s eas e: a pi l ot s t udy . J A l t ern Co m pl em ent M ed 2009; 1 5: 225– 34.

4.

5.

6.

I y enga r B . K . S . P rana and pra nay am a. Y oga Rahas y a 200 9: 232.

I y enga r B K S . Li ght on P ranay am a. New Y o rk : Cros s road P ubl i s hi n g Co. , 2000.

K endal l F P , M c Creary E K , P rov anc e P G. M us c l e T es t i ng and F u nc t i on. 4t h ed. P hi l a del p hi a: Li p pi nc ot t , Wi l l i am s & Wi l k i ns , 1993.

7.

S t arr J A . P ul m onary sy s t em . I n: M y ers RS , ed. S aunders M anual of P hys i c al T herapy P rac t ic e. P hi l adel phi a: S aunders , 1995: 253 –31 2.

8.

A l v arez S E, P et ers on M, Luns f ord B R. Res pi rat ory t reat m ent of t he adul t pat i ent wi t h s pi nal c ord i nj ury . P hy s Ther 1981; 61: 1 737– 45.

9. Rei d WD, 10. Cl uz el P ,

Dec hm an D. Co ns i derat i o ns when t es t i n g and t r ai ni n g t he res pi rat ory m us c l es . P hy s T he 1995; 75: 971–82 .

S i m i l ows k i T, Chart ran d-Lef e bv re C, et al . Di a phra gm a nd c hes t wal l : as s es s m ent of t he i ns pi rat ory pum p wi t h M R i m agi n g–p rel i m i na ry obs erv at i ons . Radi ol o gy 200 0; 215: 574 –83.

11. F i nuc ane

K E , P ani z z a JA , S i ngh B . E f f i c i ency of t he norm al hum an di aph ra gm wi t h hy p eri nf l at i on. J A ppl P hy s i ol 2005; 99: 1 402– 11.

12. Hod ges

P W, B ut l er J E , M c K enz i e DK , Gandev i a S C. Con t rac t i on of t he hum a n di a phra gm du ri n g rapi d pos t ural a dj us t m ent s . J P hy s i ol 1997; 505(pt 2): 53 9–48.

13. I y enga r, Y ogac ary a B . K . S . As t adal a Y ogam al a 8: 38.

14. M of f at M , F rownf el t er D, eds . Car di ov as c ul ar/ P ul m onary

E s s ent i al s : A ppl y i ng t he P ref er red P hy s i c al T her api s t P rac -

t i c e P at t erns . T horof are, NJ : S LA CK , I nc. , 2007.

P hot o of B . K. S . I y engar by Cha ndr u M el wani

12

YogAfrica

June 2013 RESTORATIVE ASANA FOR MEN

Submi tted by N ORMA KANA AR Artic le taken from Res torative Asanas for Men – by Gee ta S. Iyengar Presented by E ilee n, Carla & Norma during S tep hanie Quirks 5 t h therapeutic course .

The inversions pl ay a great role in keep ing the endocrine system o f me n as wel l as women in order. It is as impor tant for men as it is for women to ma inta in hormona l balance , emotional s tabi li ty and to remove fa tigue and check aggressiveness . Men should mak e i t a regu lar routi ne to practice inve rsions , forward extens ions and sup ine asanas a t leas t o nce a week in order to keep the mse lves free from high blood pressure, diabe tes , hormona l and emo tio nal dis turbances as wel l as anger and desire. Then peace o f mind fol lows.

Men are lucky, since th e physiolog ica l clock is n ot wi thin to alarm them. Yet, they canno t forge t the fact that i n their case the change is sudden ly found a t a particular age and they too ge t d is turbed.

The pitu itary is si tuate d in the head , which is b elow the hypo thala mus. The hypo thala mus keep s constantly rece iving the nerve i mpulses whenev er th e body and senses are in i mmed iate need o f ac ti on.

Secreted chemica l substa nces are released fro m the hypoth ala mus to the pi tui tary. The hypo th alamus sti mula tes the pi tu itary gland .

Salamba S irsasana done correctly he lps in regul ating b lood pressure. Sala mba S irsasana must b e accompanied w ith Sa lamb a Sarvangasana and Ha la sana.

The hypotha la mus manu fac tures the hormone cal led vasopressin , which mai nta ins b lood pressure. High blood pressure is a common proble m among men, especia lly when their profess ion causes te nsion, anxiety and men tal d isturbances .

In diabe tes ins ipidus the frequency o f urination i ncreases though sugar is not fou nd in the uri ne. However the body loses wa ter. The person feels th irst and craves wa ter. Here the pi tu itary fai ls to discharge vasopressin. The surya cakra –a t the reg i on of the navel –absorbs the nec tar fro m candra cakra –at the reg ion o f the base of the brain –and b urns everything . Sala mba Sirsasana s ti mula tes the hypothala mus and p itui tary g lands. One is energ ised and refreshed .

Salamba Sarvangasana con trols the pi tui tary an d thyroi d g lands and checks the stimu lation fro m i t’s over activi ty. Peo ple su fferin g wi th hyperthyroid enjoy Sala mba Sarvangasana whereas those wh o have hypothyroid are enl ivened wi th Sal amba S irsasana. A heal thy thyroid s itua ted in the throa t sho ws the “wi ll to live ” tendency . The unhea lthy thyro id sho ws depression and de jec tion . A person beco mes negative and even su icida l .

The problems co mmon to men are th e enlarge ment o f prosta te glan ds, sw el ling o f testicles , pr ostate mal function ing and inflammation or b lockage of s emina l ves icles .

Baddha Konasana , Upavis tha Konasan a in Sa lamba Sirsasana and Sup ta Konasana in Sala mba S arvangasana are preven tive as wel l as cura tive asanas for such prob lems .

In men , the tes tic les con trol the ca lciu m leve ls a nd inversi ons main ta in this l evel .

Guruji says “ On e beco mes ba lanced and sel f re lian t in pa in and pleas ures, loss and gain , sha me and fame , and de fea t an d v ictory when the endocrin e system is bala nced ” One has psychol ogica l, men ta l, emo tional and sp iritua l contro l.

Man is rea lly a man b ecause o f his a drenals in spite of h is sex g lands mascul ine s trength is due to healthy and s trong adrenals. Often th is domi nating and aggressiv e nature comes fro m excessive 13

adrenaline secretion . It is very importan t to ba la nce the hormones o f adrenals w ith the pi tu itary. A person w ith a balanced l evel of these h ormones is g entle , creative and me nta lly compose d.

The excessive activi ty of the adrenals can be c ontr ol led by forward extens ions a lone. Men can check their blood pressure, anger, anxi ety , d iabe tic ten dency, ag gressiveness wi th forward extens ion .

Guruji mentions abou t Pasch imo ttanasana in L ig ht on Yoga . The oxygena ted b lood is c ircula ted around the generative organs. P aschi mottanasana con trols the sexua l energy and does no t lead to i mpo tency, whereas th e back ward ex tensions are reco mmen ded when one suffers wi th imp otency .

Menta l tens ions , worries and depression migh t not be ass expressive in men as they are in w omen.

They te ll u pon the body immedia te ly in wome n b ut gradual ly in me n. That is w hy mos t o f the men suffer after for ty five .

A real qu ietness or peacefu lness in me n or wo men shoul d never be hypocrisy or i t can be su icida l.

These qua li ties shou ld be genu ine .

The supine posi tions give the m freedom in thei r breathing process a nd cool down the generati ve organs, resu lting in a ca lming of the mind .

The l ist o f Asanas an d pranaya mas for men.

Stand ing 1. Uttanasana 2. Padangusthasana 3. Adho Mukha Svanasana Forward Ex tens ions 1. Adho Mukha Virasana 2. Adho Mukha Svastikasana 3. Janu Sirsasana 4. Trianga Mukhaikapa da P aschimottanasana 5. Ardha Baddha Pad ma Paschi mottaasana 6. Marichasana 1 7. Paschimo ttanasana 8. Upavistha K onasana 9. Baddha Ko nasana Supi ne 1. Supta Virasana 2. Supta Baddha Konasana 3. Matsyasana Si tting 1. Virasana 2. Padmasana 3. Baddha Ko nasana 4. Upavistha K onasana Supported Backbends 1. Dwi Pada Vi parita Da ndasana 2. Setubandha Sarvangasana Note : Men can do Salamba S irsasana, Sa la mba Sarvangasana and Halasana before a tte mpting Setubandha Sarvangasana and th en a ttemp t Vipa rita Karani .

Pranayamas in Savasana 1. Ujjay i 2. Vilo ma 1 – Inhala tion –V ilo ma 3. Vilo ma 2 – Exha lation -Vi loma

14

YogAfrica

June 2013 JOY AND PRESENCE WITH LOIS STEINBERG

BY R OB IN M. MISHELL: ED ITO R, Y OGA SA MAC HAR “How far aw ay are you from your sou l? ” You may hear th is query when you’re in a Lo is S te inberg class.

Often, a fter a de mo , Lo is corrals her s tuden ts wi th a resound ing , “Le t’s do i t.”

After 35 years honing her craft, L ois ’ l ight-hearted approach is in fused w i th passion , i nte ll igenc e and lots of hu mor. After al l, Guru ji has sa id , “W i thout humor , li fe is not wor th liv ing .”

Yoga Samac har caught up w ith Lois a t the Pea ce Café in Honolu lu in March of 20 11. She men tioned that i t was 23 years be fore Guru ji had ever fav orably comme nted o n her practice . “I was go ing home when he said , “Yes , your prac tice is final ly co mi ng better no w.” After he said tha t I didn ’t need th at a irplane to fly home ! Bu t then , the nex t time , he a dmonished me. “Wha t happened to you? Your practice has gone so much down. I didn ’ t realize it had , but then I saw he was righ t, and I jus t worked even harder.”

Lois S teinberg jus t works harder. At everyth ing! Perhaps tha t exp lains how she gets the best e ffort out of her students . Lois is an Advanced Junior II teacher who has written several books on therapeutics includ ing the upda ted Neck and Should ers volume. She ho lds a Ph D in nutri ti onal sc iences and w orked as a menta l heal th specia lis t for many years. U l ti mate ly, she left acade mia to dedica te her l ife to Guruji’s teachings .

When she’s not teach ing domestical ly or abroad, practicing or runn ing her center in Cha mpaignUrbana, Il lino is, you can fin d her growin g her o wn vegetab les , hik ing and cater ing to her cats . Here’s her take on a w ide range o f top ics: Q: Ho w d id you begin teach ing yoga?

A: No one knew wh at yoga was 35 years ago. W hen I starte d I was worki ng as a menta l heal th s pecialist for the state . I worked w i th emotional ly d istur bed chil dren in a locked fac il ity and then I was a child abuse investi gator . I remember this one fa mi ly who came for counseling fro m far away. They would come and say, “We heard you do yoga and I hav e this bad knee . Can yo u help me? ” Or kids who weren’t open ing up to me in the ir therapy sessions ; I would l ie the m in Se tu Bandha Sarvangasana to open their ches t and they w ould star t open ing up and revealing the ir emo ti ons. I wou ld use the yoga for this and i t woul d real ly help .

I was al ways teachi ng and practicing yoga regar dless o f w ork or schoo l. The whole time I was i n grad school I put in 17-hour days for 9 years, and I really burn t ou t. I qu it academics and then I was w orking even more! Back the n teach ing yoga was not a full-t ime career option . It’s no t mean t to be a ful l -time career optio n. Why do peop le even wan t to be a yoga te acher?

It’s a huge responsibi li ty. You have to be really i nvolved in a certain w ay to guide and he lp peopl e to a higher p lane of consciousn ess. It’s a really d iffic ult job w ith low pay, l ong hours and no medica l .

Why do people even want to be a yoga teacher? It’s a huge responsibi li ty. You have to be really involved in a certain way to gu ide and help peop le to a higher plane of consciousness . It’s a really difficult job w ith low pay, l ong hours and no medica l .

Q: What does your teaching and practice sche dule cons ist of today?

A: Every day, abso lute ly wi thou t fa il , I do pranayama for abou t 30 minu tes . I choose to do i t when I wake up. That susta ins me. I walk or bike to my center, and do two to three hours o f asana . I teach seven classes a week. There’s some thing abou t teaching tha t gives me energy back. When I have a day off, I le t go an d realiz e I’m tired . When I have to be in ful l throttle , I don’ t a llo w myse lf tha t. I want to be able to g ive my al l when I’m teach ing .

Q: What do you get from your practice?

A: Joy and presence. It brings me to the quie t state. I don ’ t think o f it as any p articu lar rel ig ious belie f, 15

but tha t coming to yourself and coming to the presence and coming to what the second Sutra describes as stil ling the fluctua tio ns of the mind. And ho w to get to deeper layers of your consciousness where it’s presen t an d spread ing an d no t being in terrup ted by unnecessary though t.

I was te ll ing Guru ji the las t time I was th ere (Jan. 2011) tha t I beca me so quie t, in one of h is cl asses.

He said that’s practica l Samya ma. Tha t’s practical med ita tion; actual ly it’s practica l absorptio n. It’s when you’re practicing asana - you’re us ing the body as a point o f med i tation . You become so q uiet it’s absorbing . It’s a sp iri tual absorp tion a nd a practica l one. Practica l , mean ing that you are us in g your body and increasing your range of awareness to get yourself qu ie t. Th is is us ing the body as a source of medi ta tion .

Q: What have you heard in regard to how Iyen gar centers are doing during these econom ic times?

A: The prob lem is that yoga is popu lar now . Teac hers are financ ial ly suffering b ecause of the rece ssion and because of the co mpetition . Mos t yoga teach ers weren’t trai ned in marke ting . I think we’ve l e arned over the years to get savv ier w ith the In ternet a nd Facebook. However, i t’s d i fficul t for us becau se we just wan t to practice.

Actual ly , everyone is sho oting thems elves in the foo t by tra ining teachers. We don’ t n eed more teachers. We need more students and I don’t know how that’s going to happen unless we take on a nationa l campaign through IYNAU S to adver tise w hat w e do. The advertising is expens ive, bu t I th ink w e need to do it.

We need more studen ts a nd I don ’t know how th at’s going to happen unless we take on a na tiona l campaign through IY NAUS to advertise wha t we do. The advertising is expensive, bu t I th ink we need to do it.

Q: Ho w do you run your ce nter?

A: I run 12-week se mesters tha t are coordina ted wi th the schoo l year. T hat way a ll beg inner s tu dents can start at once and not fee l intimida ted by others in the c lass who seem more experie nced. At the same ti me, the more experienced studen t won ’t feel held back. O therw ise, you lose stu dents whe n you have mixed leve ls.

Up unti l 4 years ago, I didn ’t a llo w anybody to take more than one class a week . No w I al low th em to take two classes . That’s i t. I wan t them to estab li sh a practice. Al l the teachers at my center te ac h from the same syl labus. It’s very structured. We give students practice sheets for the ir home practic e. Students can buy an inexpens ive membership and pr actice in one of the two rooms we have .

Q: Te ll us about yo ur exper iences w ith Guruji with regard to therapeut ics.

A: It’s amaz ing to see Guruj i help people improv e the quali ty of the ir lives . He has this geni us abil ity , combined w ith experience , to know how you ’re thinking and fee li ng and what’s wrong with you w ithou t seeing medica l reports . He knows ho w to he lp you work wi th yo ur condi tions to l ive a fu ll li fe . I love when he states in the 1976 fi lm, Ul ti mate Freedom, “Unless and until you have freedo m of the body, freedom o f the mind is a far-fe tched idea .” He a l so says, “You se e my body is in pieces , bu t my mind is in one p iece. Your body is in one p iece , bu t your mind is in p ieces.”

“Un less and until you have freedo m of the body , freedom o f the mind is a far-fe tched idea .” H e also says, “You see my body is in p ieces , but my min d is in one pi ece. Your body is in one p iece , bu t your mind is in p ieces.”

Q: Te ll us about some of your exper iences w ith therapeutics .

A: There was th is young woman in her 20’s who had cancer for seven years. Her fami ly really be li eves I gave them an ex tra year with her. He lping her w ith yoga improved her qual ity o f l ife a nd helped her to die. Even her last words , when she was s truggl i ng to say some thing , was that she wanted to br eathe.

The yoga real ly became a part o f her li fe and h elped i dentify who she was at tha t po in t in time . And that was real ly touch ing an d very, very moving .

What’s amazing to me in regard to therapeu tics i s how fas t some people g et be tter. Jus t one clas s and they’re better, whereas for me and some of my c olleagues , we have to work a t i t so much !

Q: Can you talk about the ego and how it relates to practice?

A: I know tha t wh en Guru ji is teaching , if you’re think ing too much, i f your mind is in terfer ing, he won’ t teach you . He can’ t teach you . In fac t, the very fi rst class I had w ith h im, he sa id, “You keep your 16

minds emp ty .” It’s not abou t empty ing the mind . It’s abou t stopp ing those th oughts that d isrupt your mind that keep you from l earning . The ego in terferes. It’s no t about a b ig or smal l ego , but that e go can inter fere wi th learning . It can inter fere wi th ge tti ng to the source o f your true sel f. You can’ t l et extraneous thou ghts such as “I can ’t do i t,” in terfere with le arning . You have to k eep an open mind , b e present an d no t have any expec tations .

It’s abou t s toppin g th ose th oughts tha t d isrupt your mind tha t keep yo u fro m learn ing. The ego interferes. It’s no t abou t a b ig or s mal l ego , bu t tha t ego can in terfere w ith learn ing. It can inter fere wi th getting to th e source of your true self. You can’t let extraneous though ts such as “I can’ t do it,” interfere w ith learning . You hav e to ke ep an open min d, be presen t and no t hav e any expec tations.

Q: What are s ome of the most amazing thin gs Guruji ha s ever said to you?

A: Well , he just recently said to have the awar eness on top of your awareness. Who comes up with words like tha t? Everyth ing th at comes ou t of h i m is amaz ing. Many of us wish we cou ld attach a recording devic e to h im al l the time . He a lso exp l ained tha t yoga is an ar t, science and ph i losoph y. The philosophy is dharana , dhyana and sa madhi . The science is asana , pranayama and pratyahara . T he art is yama a nd niya ma . To break it down like tha t, a nd have us th ink, a nd give us pause , and l et us change our habitu al way o f think ing is so me thin g he’s so gi fted at, and there’s nobody e lse wh o does that.

Yoga is an ar t, science and phi losophy . The phi l osophy is dharana, dhyana and sa madhi . The sc ience is asana , pranayama and pratyahara. The art is y ama and n iyama .

Q: Ho w do you honor Guru ji?

A: I honor h im by practicing every day to the bes t of my abi li ty, everything he ’s taugh t me , and s haring his knowled ge. Guruji is th e only man in our time who has th is abi li ty of teach ing and practicing yoga like he d oes.

I’d like to keep th is al ive. Jus t ta lking abou t how he’s practic ing and how he ’s sti l l givin g to ever ybody.

It see ms more imperative now tha t he’s a lmos t 93. He ’s stil l i mparting wha t he can even thoug h he’s surpassed us in so many ways. In terms of his c ompassion - tha t he stil l tries to teach us . It se e ms l ike he stil l th inks we can come up to h is level and he keeps trying . I th ink tha t’s very gen erous.

In ter ms o f h is co mpassion - th at he s ti ll tr ies to teach us. It see ms like he s ti l l thinks we can co me up to h is leve l and he keeps trying . I think tha t’s ver y generous.

Q: Ho w has G uruji’s teach ing changed over th e years?

A: He has stated his te aching took a leap and e volved at age 75. It became more penetrating . It was how he was imparting his teac hing and mak ing you aware of your awareness. Up unti l tha t ti me he fel t that h is mind was l ike a “goose tra in ” and now hi s mind is fas ter than a jet eng ine a nd it real ly is.

Q: Can you speak to how yoga gets a hold of some people and doesn ’t let go and for others this is n ot the ca se?

A: For long time prac ti tio ners, yoga is the ir bas e. They turn to yoga as a s usta ining force in the ir l ife .

Where as other people are casu al prac ti tioners . They only co me to class to do yog a. Th ey don’ t really have th eir o wn prac tice . That’s not goi ng to chan ge for the m until they es tab lish the ir o wn prac tic e.

Q: Ho w do you train peop le to become Iyen gar teachers?

A: I think the teacher can recognize a stude nt’s practice and see the ir joy in i t. You can also see who is practicing or no t in your classes. The s tuden t wh o is practic ing can start he lping in class and o fte n they can practice wi th the teacher wa tching w hi le the y practice or they can practice toge ther. “Ha nd-make ” them, as I like to say , in to teachers.

Many o f us from the early days s tarte d this way . But, we live in this world , and n ow i t’s become a profession . First, I wou ld like to see wh ose go t the q uali ty in the ir practice and seco ndly , they should be menta lly stable peop le. Peop le have no bus iness teach ing i f they ’re menta lly i mbal anced an d that’ s true o f any teaching .

Q : Why do s ome peop le climb the lad der of a s sessment leve ls a nd others don ’t?

A: Many w ant to i mprove and others are compl a cent. L ife in terferes. B irth , dea th, work . Some p eople are only teach ing one c lass a week whi le working fu ll- ti me jobs. Re gardless of the ir lives , some pe ople 17

want to use th e leve ls to make them progress, to cha ll enge themse lves and get the m ou t o f a rut.

Some peopl e jus t can’ t face a test bec ause i t is so anxiety provokin g. So me peop le are ful l of tes t anxiety, bu t they’re stil l go ing to push the mselves th rough it. I hear from stud ents tha t i t makes them study in a way they wouldn ’ t have i f they d idn’ t have these guide lin es to go fur ther. It deepens th eir pr actice to go through it. It’s a chal lengi ng exa m, no ques tion abou t it.

Q: Ho w can we draw you ng pe ople to our method?

A: I wou ld l ike to see us a ttract young pe ople by making In tro I level in to an exa m that recogn ize s that you have an establ ished practice and the ab il ity to teach and no thi ng more. I don’ t th ink we ’re going to get young peop le un less w e do tha t. I’ m no t sur e we even need more teachers. How ever, if we want to ini tia te the nex t genera tion we are on ly goin g to be able to do tha t by hav ing young teach ers w ho attract the ir peers .

Q: What adv ice do yo u hav e for n ew teachers?

A: Look at your students . Teach to the m. Look a nd see what’s in fron t of you and teach to tha t. Throw out the scrip t. Teach from your own practice . Te ach what y ou know . Don ’t teach new thin gs you haven’t absorbed in your own practice . If you’re nervou s about teach ing , especia lly a beg inner’s group, know that you’ve learned more than them so you’re going to be teaching them th ings they don’ t know . Have confidence .

Q: It ’s ev ident you love teach ing . Te ll us abou t the rewards you get from teaching.

A: I feel b lessed because I go to places where I’ve seen the s tuden ts evolvin g and changing for the better , as they get deeper and deeper in their practices . I don’ t know many people who get this opportuni ty to see tha t in th eir dai ly lives . To see people who are really working to be better beings , better citizens o f the p lanet, and to be rea lly caring .

Q: Thank you Lo is. Do you have anything e lse you’d like to add?

A: I real ly love the yoga and wi ll al ways prac tice and keep trying ne w things . It jus t br ings such jo y.

Il luminate d e mancipa tion, freedom, una lloy ed an d unta in ted bliss awa it you, bu t y ou have to choose to e mbar k on the Inward Journey to d iscover it.

-BKS Iyengar

18

YogAfrica

June 2013 ASTANGA YOGA

JUDY FARA H Yoga is a friend to those who e mbrace i t wh ol ly. It makes a s incere practitioner in to an in tegra te d person. It trains us , through an inner trans forma tion – wi th dedica ted prac tice , abhyasa , and renunci ation , vairagya - away from the bondage to the world, through evolu tion to invo lu tion . Guru ji like ns the practice o f the e ight li mbs of yoga to cl imb ing the r ungs of a ladder . Al though each rung has a ste p of i ts own, the ladder is on ly an e ntity i f al l the rungs are joined , thus ass isting, supporting each o th er and working toge ther, as on e.

Ethics , or mora l princi ples – Y amas - devel op a feeling o f oneness b etwe en man , na ture and his Maker , thus permittin g a feel ing o f i dentity wi th the sp iri t th at pervades al l creation. There are 5 Ya mas. These ethics are no t dic ta tes, b ut pri ncip les tha t co me f rom the inside ou t – a re flec tion of the consc ious ness.

These vows are: ahimsa (non viol ence), s atya (truth), as teya (non-steal ing), brahmac harya (continence) a nd apar igraha (non-greed).

The N iyamas , or 5 ind ividua l moral observances, emphasize the impor tance o f sel f-disc ipl ine.

These rules of sel f puri fica tion are sauca (purity) , santosha (con tentmen t), ta pas (austeri ty), svad hyaya (study of “sel f”) and isvara pranidhana (surren der to God .) The above hel p to cu ltiva te the mindinte ll igence connection .

Thus Ya mas and N iyamas gu ide us a long the pa th of righ t l iving to wards ourselves and o thers.

The th ird li mb o f Y oga is Asana , or postures ; which train , ed ucate and cu l tiva te the b ody and mi nd.

Through practice of Asana , the Sadhaka devel op s balance; not just be tween the s ides of the bod y, but also balance wi thin the body and mi nd. Prec isi on in action , ign ites the inner knowled ge. Ba lan ce requires s tabi li ty. When s tab il ity beco mes a hab it, maturi ty and c lari ty o f mind wi ll fo ll ow.

The forth li mb o f yoga , Pranayama , el ucida tes th e control o f the breath . Prana is more than jus t b reath, it is the l ife force w ithin each of us , the Cos mic energy pervading al l. Pata nja li s ta tes tha t its pr actice removes the “ve il cov ering the ligh t o f know ledg e, so tha t w isdom wi ll dawn ”. It is also the gate way to Samyama .

Pratyahara the fi fth li mb o f yoga, is the w i thdrawal of the senses , mind and consciousn ess from external connec tion to the wor ld, to the inward journe y of invo lu tion towards the Seer, or sou l – Purus a.

The fina l three l imbs , or peta ls, o f yoga are Dha rana (concentration), Dhyana (medi ta tion) and S amadi (tota l absorbtio n). When the concen tration on o ne point Dh arana is continuous for an ex tended period of time , then Dhyan a flows . Here there is no mo vement in body or mind , and an inner si lence pe rvades all wi thi n. When Dhyana flows u nin terrupted the indiv idual loses i ts sense of iden ti ty a nd beco me s one with consc iousness in i ts in fin i te peace. Pa tanja li , in Sutra III.4 says th ese three, Sa myama , for m a single thread. When mas tery o f S amyama is ach ieve d, then w isdom and ins ight radia te bril lia ntly.

Vyasa, in his ana lysis o f the sutras , says “Yoga is to be known by yoga. Yoga is the teacher of yoga.

The power of yo ga man ifests through yoga a lone . He w ho does no t beco me careless , negl igen t or inattentive , he a lone rests in yoga and en joys yoga .” So wi th hu mi li ty , le t’s continue on our ever on going path o f yoga, for the sake o f yo ga a lone .

19

YogAfrica

June 2013

THE EIGHT LIMBED PATH OF PATANJALI - A GUIDE TOWARDS MEANING AND PURPOSE MART IN MA REE AN D MERY L URSO N At the core of Pata nja li ’s teac hings is th e eigh tfold p ath o f yoga . Th is eigh tfold path ca ll ed as htanga which transla te to “e igh t l imbs ” (Ashta =eigh t An ga= li mbs), serves as a prescrip ti on for moral an d ethical conduct. It direc ts one’s a tten ti on towards health and he lps acknow ledge the spiri tual asp e cts of our nature .

The first two l imbs describe the funda men tal e thi cal standards, se lf d iscip line and spir itua l observances to lead us further along the sp iri tual pa th. They are call ed Y amas and Niya mas.

The Yamas or mora l pri ncip les are : Ashimsa: Nonv io lence. When Gandh i was asked by Paramahansa Yoga nanda in his A utobiograp hy of a Yogi wh at the de fin ition o f ahi msa was , Gandh i said, "The avo idance of h arm to any liv ing creature in though t or deed." To this Yoganand a replied w ith a question of his own : whether one could ki ll a cobra to protec t a chi ld. Gandhi main ta ining h is vow of ahi msa, add ed, "I must con fess that I could n ot serenely carry on this conversa tion were I faced b y a cobra." His rep ly underl ines the di fficu lty o f maintain ing ahi msa when faced w ith danger or di fficu l t e thic al choices .

Satya: Truthfulness : Sa tya requires us to te ll no l ies, no t even on a tax return.

Asteya: Non-stealing: Asteya requ ires us to refrain from s teal ing , ei ther mater ial obj ects or in tangibles.

Brahmacharya: Continence/non-lust: This does not mean ce libacy bu t when practicing brah mac harya one avoids meanin gless sexua l encoun ters and , as B. K.S . Iyengar says, "sees divi ni ty in al l." Brachmacharya refers to a conscio us restra int, no t on ly in sexua l matters, but in al l s itua tions wh ere desire is concerned .

Aparigraha: Nonpossess ivenes s: The practice of aparigraha restrains us from hoarding, col l ecting and amassing ma teria l goods . Do we real ly nee d more shoes or ano ther car? Let’s rather s imp li fy our lives .

The N iyamas or sel f-discip l ines or responsib il itie s are: Saucha: Cle anliness / P urity: By practicing the five Yamas a leve l o f personal purity is reached . The purity of saucha though , also refers to bodi ly cl eanliness . Eating ‘c lean’ foods , bath ing , laun dering clothes a nd keepin g a clean home or workplace are also referred to by th e concept of sauc ha. The idea o f the body as a temp le expresses this niya ma per fectly.

Santosa: Contentment: Santosa re fers to the q uest to find con tentmen t and tranqu il ity via the acceptance o f wha t we have and who we are and to b e happy in the mome nt and where we are .

Tapas: Spir itual austerity: The p urpose of developing sel f-disc ipl ine is no t to beco me a scetic .

Rather i t is to control and direc t the mind and bo dy for higher spiri tua l a ims or purposes .

Svadhyaya: education of the self by the study of sacred texts: The niyama of svadhyaya exho rts us to s tudy sacred texts in order to teach us abou t ourselves and our purpose on earth . As B KS Iy engar says, a person starts "to real ise tha t al l creatio n is meant for bhakti (adoration) rather than for bhoga (enjoymen t), that al l creation is div ine, tha t there is div ini ty w i thin h imse l f and that the e nergy which moves h im is the sa me tha t moves the en tire uni verse."

Isvara pranidha na: Liv ing w ith an awareness of the Divine: Isvara pranidhana teach es us that the purpose of our lives is to be devoted to God , B uddha, or whatev er we consider div ine; so as to elevate us beyond the mere asp iration o f comfort be fore we leave our current incarnations .

20

Asana “The posture o f yoga is steady and easy ," Pa tan j ali says. Asanas , the pos tures practised in yog a, are the th ird li mb . The body is a temp le of the spiri t, the care of which is an impor tan t aspect o f our spiritual growth . Pa tanja li used asana to prepare th e body for medi ta tion . To s it for a leng thy ti me i n contemp lation requires a strong and supp le body. When the body is free from physica l dis traction s, one can more easily con trol the mind . Pata nja li sa i d, "Pos ture is mastered by freeing the body and mind from tens ion a nd res tlessness and med ita ti ng on the in fin ite ."

Pranayama Translated as breath control , Pranayama is the fourth l imb of yoga . Prana is the life force or energy that ex ists everywhere and flows through each of us through the breath. The basic moveme nts of pranayama are i nhala tio n, re ten tion of breath , a nd exhala tion . "The y ogi's l ife is not measured by the number of days bu t by the nu mber of h is breaths ," says BKS Iyengar. " Therefore , he fo llo ws the p roper rhythmic pa tterns of slow , deep breath ing ." Practis ing pranayama puri fies and removes d istra ctions from the mind , making i t easier to concen trate an d med ita te .

Pratyahara Pratyahara, the fifth l imb of yoga, refers to the wi thdrawa l o f the senses . Praty ahara occurs during medi tation , breath ing exerc ises or the practice o f yoga postures . When on e mas ters pratyahara , one is able w itho ut d istrac tion to al low the no ise o f the external world to recede, leav ing one in a sta te of absolute spaci ous presence , de eply wi th in on esel f.

Dharana As each stage prepares us for the nex t, the pra ctice o f pratyahara creates the se tting for dharana, or concentration. D harana invo lves teach ing the mind to focus on one po in t or image . "Concen trati on is binding though t in one place ," says Pa tanja li . Th e goal is to stil l the mind , gently pushing aw ay superfluous though ts, fix ing the mind on some ob ject such as a candle flame , man tra or pose. In dha rana, concentration is e ffor tless . You know the mind is concentra ting whe n there is no sense o f time passing.

Dhyana This is me di tation or conte mpla tion, the seven th stage of ashtanga yoga . Un interrupte d medi tation with out an ob ject is cal led dhyana . Dharana lea ds us to the s tate of med itation. The g oal of med ita tion is a he ighte ned awareness an d oneness wi th the Universe. The d i fference be twee n concen trati o n and medi tation is the aw areness of d istraction . At th is stage , th e mi nd has been stil led and in the s ti llness it produces few or no though ts at al l. The cal mn ess achieved in medi ta tion spi lls over in to all as pects of l i fe.

Samadhi Patan jal i describes this e ighth and fina l stage o f ashtanga yoga , samhad i , as a sta te o f ecstasy . This is the ul ti ma te goa l of the eigh tfold path of yog a. Sa mhad i is pure con temp lation , super cons ciousness, in which you and the un iverse are one . T h ose who have achieved sama dhi are en ligh tened .

Ashtanga , as we ll as meaning li mbs also means steps. Ash tanga re fers to l imbs in the sense tha t they all be long to the same body l ike the branches o f a tree and each is essen tia l. The idea o f steps i s also for understanding the word ashtang a in the sens e that there is a logica l order to the m and to th e way they shou ld be approached. The eig ht l imbs wo rk togeth er: the first five s teps ya ma, niya ma a sana, pranayama, and pra tyahara bu ild the foundation for a spiri tua l li fe . They are concerned wi th the body and the brain . The las t three , wh ich can only b e approached if the previous steps were mas tered, are concerned wi th recond ition ing the mi nd. This hel ps the yogi to reach en li ghten men t or the fu ll realization o f oneness w ith Sp iri t.

21

YogAfrica

June 2013 37 th ANNIVERSARY OF RIMYI IN JANUARY 2013

PAT DEACON

Visi ting th e Institu te in Pu ne for the 13 t h time in 2013 seeme d to have a particular s igni fica nce to me and it proved to be one o f those very specia l visi ts and in par ticu lar the weeken d of 19 /20 J anuary 2013.

The Saturday evening was an ev ening gather ing wi th some very in teresting talks and yoga de mo nstrations by teachers. However the Sunday was par ticu larly en terta ining wi th danc ing ins trumen t re cita ls, playle ts and amus ing anecdotes by Guruji ’s pupi l s, many of w hom were young (so good to know the future w il l be in g ood han ds) and a few ol der l ike myself.

Our group of twe lve, aware of the programme a nd my long term links , were insis ten t tha t I say a few words as a contribu tion from Sou th A frica . I was reluctan t (not because I don’ t l ike talk ing!!) but I am normally over-awed by Guruj i’s presence bu t I fi nally agreed and submitted the form, ind ica ting I would like to pay a tribu te and o ffer gree tings fro m a ll o f us in Sou th A frica.

Sunday mornin g foun d the Ins ti tu te bursting a t the seams bu t fo und th e organizer to ask when I would be speaking, on ly to find tha t I was n’ t on his l i st. My immedia te thou ght was “Yeh , I can get out of this !!” Ho wever I did ask the MC if I’d been left off by mistak e but he j ust l ooked at me blank l y and asked where my form was. I to ld h im I’d pu t i t i n the box as i nstructe d bu t i t see med the box wasn’ t checked as there was another syste m runn ing!

I to ld h im no t to worry as his lis t looked very lo ng already so sugges ted he jus t leave me o ut a nd returned to my seat fee ling qui te rel ieved th at I could jus t relax and enjoy the day . No sooner had I started to relax an d en joy the s tress release , I w as approached and asked to move n ear the door so I’d be ready for my turn wi th the microphone . Guru j i’s grand-daugh ter, Abhijatha, was ac ting as org aniser and far to o qu ickly I was O N!!

Having qu ickly go t over the formal ities o f greetings from Sou th A frica I started to te ll my s tory of how I ca me to be in one of the very early groups that had attended in March 1975 shortly a fter the openin g in Janu ary 1975 .

It al l starte d in 1973 when my applica ti on to attend a two week residential course with Guruj i in Swazi land was approved. I drove there from K imberl ey with Fa ti ma Barman ia s toppi ng en rou te w ith fri ends in C ul linan jus t ou tside Pretoria . Co inciden tal ly Fa ti ma was a lso w i th me this year and was in the audience en joy ing the celebra tions .

The weather in Sw azi land proved to be so wet that the organisers were always look ing for ways to en terta in Guruj i and th e group. One afternoon they decided to p lay a card game (I think i t may hav e been whist) and dec ided to teach him how to play so he wasn’t le ft out. G uruji showed tha t he was a very quick learner and was soon winn ing time and ag ain. As I am not a card player I was just wa tch in g and asked him i f he’d verbal ise his though ts and logi c for the next hand so tha t I cou ld understand h ow he could be so success ful . He agreed and sh owed how h is p owers o f observa tion tha t spotted a sligh t movemen t a t the corners o f one play er’s mouth showed she had a good hand wh i le ano ther whose chest had slu mped inwards had a bad han d etc , etc, a llo wing h im to make better decis ions whe n playing h is h and and so w inning a lmos t every time !

22

At the end o f the two weeks , we were al l up at 3.00am to say goodbye to Guruji w ho had a wind in g slow drive to Manz ini for an early fl ight back to India . As I shook his hand h e said “I wi ll see you in In dia.” I replied “Y ou must be jok ing I could on ly just a ffor d to drive here by car!” His answer was “We wi ll see.”

In March 1975 a large group of South Africans w as planning to go to the new Ins ti tute in Poona but unfortuna tely the ir visa approva ls were de layed an d most had to cancel the ir trip leav ing a group o f two, Joyce Zouves and mysel f, as we had non SA pas sports. Ho wever when we heard the rev ised cost of the trip wi th no group disco unt I cou ldn’ t afford it.

Luckily for me, Joyce didn ’t want to go a lone and offered to help me ou t so off we went fly ing from Kimberley to Johannesburg then on to Mauri tius and fin al ly Bo mbay. Joyce had h eard tha t Guruj i ta u ght a class in Bombay every Saturday and wi th the he l p of the hote l concierge we took a tax i to the bu ild ing where he taugh t on th e 5 t h flo or. We were exci ted to h ear the famil iar voice teaching the cl ass and when he had finishe d teachin g he came up to us and said to me “I to ld you I w ould see you in Ind i a!”

And that was how I ca me to have the privi le ge of being in Poona classes, taught by Guruji wi th assis tance from Geeta ji , Prashantji an d Shah. But no t before I was dispatch ed and under Geetaji ’s eagle eyes was put through my s tandi ng poses to see i f I me t the s tandard and on ly then, h aving passed the test, could I join th e other 7 pupi ls. How blessed we were to have a lmos t un div ided a ttenti on fro m h im.

Some very special memori es which were made possible by Guru ji and his family , who sparked my long-term lov e o f Iye ngar yoga.

Heal th is a s tate o f co mple te harmony of the bo d y, mind and spiri t.

When one is free from physica l disab il ities and mental d istractions , the ga tes of the so ul open .

-BKS Iyengar

23

YogAfrica

June 2013 NEWS FROM INDIA

CARLA RECH

Trip to Pune Dec 201 2 - Guruj i’s 94 t h B irthday Ce lebrations

With much excitemen t and some wonder tha t I had, for a second time, managed to escap e my life and circumstances in Johannesburg, I h eaded off to Pune on the las t day of November, 2012. Arriving at the airport, and meeting up with Jenny Morris and Vigil Pon-Su- San, the adventur e had begun.

Slowly, as we made our way to Pune, preoccupations of home took on a d ifferent perspective and shifted to a less immedia te and pressing part o f my mind.

I had been to the Ins titu te in the August of 20 08, so I didn’t feel the trepida tion o f my first trip , bu t I had been longing to return. I felt strongly the beguiling possibility of living a very different, simplified life albeit for jus t o ne month , because this, more than the colours and excitement o f Ind ia was what I felt most nostalgic about – the chance to learn from the Iyengars themselves, to practice with no distraction , surrounded by students fro m all over the world, there to do exactly as we were doing; to practice yoga at the fee t of our Guru and his fa mily .

Seeing and being taught by the Iyengars was a huge highlight, but ano ther more unexpected joy awaited. The chance to be unhurried and patient in my practice, to spend time with my friends and get to know the m in a d ifferent guise , a way from the hurried pressures of home, as well as the time and space to have those conversations with them that being in Pune afforded us. How wonderful tha t for a mon th we go t into a ro utine that was so comfortable and uncomplicated, each day almost the same as the one before , with lo ts o f time to read, reflec t and slow dow n.

Having said that, after the first week of December it became apparent that something exciting was afoot. It became clear that there would b e one event which was going to be ou t of the ordinary! Day by day, new faces appeared a lo t of the m known to me on ly through pho tographs; senior teachers from all over the world seemed to be arriving. Our classes got a bit fuller each day, and finally it dawned on me that they were there for Guruji’s bir thday. At the end o f N ovember, a lucky contingent had attended celebrations in Guruji’s honour in Bellur, bu t I saw fro m the notice board that another celebration was planned for Friday 14 December, and that we were all invited.

We had come to Pune armed with sensible shoes and no-nonsense clothes, but we realize d that this required something different. So, after various shopping expeditions, the day arrived and dressed in our new finery, we set off in the w arm, late a fternoon for the Institute . We were suitably early so that we could get a good seat – against the far wall with the ropes attached, according to Stephanie! (Good advice, actually) The hall began to fill; so many people arrived, all beautifully dressed in honour of such a special man. As we waited we met up with our fr iend, Firooza Razvi and a big contingent from Mu mbai, we saw Birhjoo Mehta and h is young daughter, his sister, and Jawahar Bangera. We saw Abijhata resplendent in a beautiful sari, Raya organizing and working very hard to arrange things, and a throne set up to for Guruji to sit in.

Prashantji arrived, looking very elegant and dignified in his white attire and then we saw Geetaji. She had not been well, and although w e had been taught by her on the previous Friday, nobody had really had the chance to see her for any length o f time . She was, as always, gra24

cious and warm. It was so very moving for me to mee t her again after her stay at our house in Johannesburg, and both she and Sunita sent greetings to all our yoga family here.

By now, the hall was absolutely packed, and although I didn’t count, it seemed like a tho usand people were there, all of us waiting, first no isily chatting and then in hushed anticipatio n, for Guruji who arrived promptly, splendid as ever, and took his seat. He was attended and assisted

by Abijha ta’s husband, and soon the programme began.

I’ll tell you a little of wha t was presented that night, bu t my over-riding impression was of a space filled with so much love and respect that it brought tears to my eyes. The affec tio n and veneration with which all his students view the Guru is testament to an extraordinary life . His fierceness and dedication are legendary but his generosity in imparting his knowledge and expertise was celebrated that nigh t.

In a very touching tribute to her father, Geeta ji told of how he came to “invent” the props we now all use. She described a process that required intelligence, inventiveness, creativity and a single-minded dedication to sharing h is knowledge of Yoga with people less physically adept than himself. We all giggled as she described how her beloved mother’s kitchen implements disappeared bit by bit as her father would have a flash of inspiration and commandeer the ro ti r olling pin for example , for a higher yogic purpose. She spoke infor mally and simp ly as his dau ghter, with humour and affection . In keeping with this theme, the calendar that was put out in honour of his birthday, also documen ted the developme nt o f the props, and how they are used.

The Guru took centre stage, presiding over the proceedings and looking impressive and full of vigour. He spoke of his journey, of how and why he created the props. His eyes twinkled, his eyebrows animated his every expression, and just when you’d think he would be sitting on his laurels, he unveiled all his new enterprises a nd the books he has completed . How remarkable, that after all tha t he has contributed, he is still inventing , perfecting , teaching and producing! He was positively gleefu l as he spoke o f his new publications , and I had a sense tha t he is en tirely active and involved in all the workings o f his wonderful Ins titu te.

Two priests were in attendance and they sang blessings and prayers. The repetitive chant was so beautiful and the sound seemed to get right into the centre of my being, each repeated verse intensifying and building on the one before. This impressive performance went on for about 45 minutes, and brough t a special quality to the atmosphere in the hall.

We were also entertained by two lovely musicians. I sadly didn’t make a note of their name s but I remember the sweetness of the music. They performed mainly Bhajans describing events from the Bagavad Gita, and although I couldn’t un derstand the words, from the audience’s reactions and from the sound of them, some o f the m se emed quite p layful and joyful. The young man sang a love song that made people giggle and sing along, about a lover appearing through a doorway wearing tinkling anklets.

The whole ceremony took about two hours, and after a brief few words from Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, the master of ceremonies , we were ushered downstairs for the meal. Despite the huge crowd, there were copious amoun ts of food . We were all served a beau tiful thali meal and got a chance to talk to each o ther. We met up with Par thasarthy, Sunita ’s husband, who w as delighted to see us again, and introduced us to much of their family . I met several of Geetaji’s sisters including Abhija ta’s mo ther and mo ther -in-law, I me t a lovely little niece o f about 4 and countless others. Happily, we were sat down on a bench right next to Geetaji for a while and this allowed us to have a few more words with her .

What a wonderful event! As we walked home later tha t evening, I marvelled again a t the generosity of the Iyengars. I felt honoured and so fortunate at having been there on such a special night, so lucky to have found the Iyengars and the Yoga that has come to mean so much in my life .

25

VIG IL PO N S U SAN RIMYI V isi t – Dece mber 2012 I never had the desire to visi t India bu t then I d ecided tha t I wanted to go to RIMYI. So I bo oked my place in the workshop for December 2012 . I was fortuna te enough to travel w ith my teacher Jenn y Morris and Carla Rech . For tunate ly for me, Je nny had been to P une and R IMY I many times be fo re and Carla had been once and had visi ted In dia previ ously. She also has much knowle dge about Indi an cuisine. So I was in very sa fe ha nds.

I managed to ge t a couple of hours sleep after we had checked into our rooms at 05:00 in the morning and awoke to the sounds o f the tuk tuks (ricks haws) hooting ou tside a nd love ly warm wea ther, even though i t was win ter. I was expecting the abso lute worst and though t tha t Ind ia would be fi lthy a ll over.

However, I was ple asantly surprised that i t wasn ’ t.

On our first day we walked to the Ins titu te to make payment before the workshop was due to start the fol low ing day . R IMYI to me d idn ’t p articu larly s tand out from the rest o f the bu ild ings around it. I d idn’t even kno w we had arrived un ti l they said so . Stand ing outs ide the fron t gate, I fe l t so honoure d and privileged to be there. It fe lt so surreal and I c ouldn’ t be lieve th at I was ac tual ly even tua lly th ere. I absorbed everything in front o f my eyes – the beauti fu l casts and statues o f Guruji , the s ize of the build ing whic h was a lot s mal ler than I had imag ined i t to be , the pla nts on ei ther side o f the dri veway as we walked down, the bui lding wh ere Guruji and Geetaj i l ive, the man wi th the lovely smil e who guards the shoes. When we walked inside I was in awe at all the beauti ful pic tures of Guruj i pla ced all around the hall . Again , I had i magined the hal l to be much bigger. I was looking forward to the workshop!

Shortly a fter practice sessio n starte d after clas s on day one, Guru ji wa lked in to do h is practi ce. I stopped arrangi ng my props tha t I was busy wi th, put my hands in to na maskar, bowed my hea d and then jus t stared at him – I was so excited to see him and to be in his presence, th is being my first encounter wi th him. As he walked by me it w as as if everything s topped – the bea ting o f my heart, my breath and any move ment o f my bo dy. It w as so amazing to be in the same hal l as hi m and see him i n the flesh, hear his voice as he spoke to those a round him and most o f all see hi m practice . We were also very privileged to have attended Guruj i’s 9 4 t h birthday celebration a t the Ins ti tu te which wa s very special inde ed.

It was a p leasure to see a nd be taugh t by Guruj i’ s granddaughter, Abh ija ta, w ith the Guru si tting to one side o f the h al l add ing h is b i t as she taugh t us w ith such precis ion as to exac tly wha t tin ies t par t of the body to move in order to do the pose an d feel a sense of l ightness. The one d ay Guru ji actua lly came to the s tage and gave so me ins truction for about 15 minu tes. Wha t an amaz ing experience tha t was to be exposed to h is wea lth of know ledge, sharp e ye and accurate correction . Wha t a genius he i s! It was quite unbe li evable to see what Abh ij ata was stil l doing dur ing her practice even thoug h she was 5 months pregnan t!

My first encoun ter with Prashan tj i was when he walked past us in the office , dressed all in wh ite and looking very regal , tal l a nd proud . He looked di fferent when he was te aching us. I en joyed his cl asses and was qui te a mazed a t wha t my body did from just lis ten ing to hi m, as I so metimes didn ’t qui te know how I was going to instruc t it to do what he was suggesting . I loved the way he ta ught – focuss ing on being in the pose as op posed to how to phys ical l y do the pose.

I had been to Gee taj i’s workshop in Johannesbu rg the year before, so had “met” her but i t was special to see her a gain when she taugh t pranayama onc e a week.

We quickly fe ll in to a rou tine of attend ing c lass which w as mos tly in the morni ng, practis ing a fter class, buying frui t from the vendors in the stree ts and doing chores for the day and then going for lunch.

Thank goodness for Jenny and Carla w ho knew all the bes t p laces to ea t and for Carl a for kno wi ng exactly what to order ! My first meal was abso lute l y delic ious bu t then the nex t was even more so and i t just go t better and better. We wen t to a varie ty of restaurants rang ing from a very basic ea ting house for R10 per person to a more upmarke t restaur ant in a ho tel for R70 per person. After my fir st tha l i meal where I cou ld n ot stop myse lf fro m over e a ting , I was s ti ll so ful l four ho urs la ter that I ba ttled to do pranayama !

I loved wa lking through the stree ts of Pune everyday to class, to do errands or to go for lunch, admiring all the beautiful o ld bu ild ings a long the way. It was heart-breaking to see some of th e home less dogs.

The roads were a lways busy - fil led w ith scooters (some of the m wi th mother , father , two ch ildre n and 26

baggage!), tuk tuks and a few cars. It was quite an experience being just cen ti me tres away from the next tuk tuk or scooter when be ing driven in a tuk tuk. I very q uickly adap ted to crossing these very busy roads taking in to consi derati on tha t the re would always be someone driving do wn the wrong s ide of the road. Everyone is constantly hooting, push ing in and creating their o wn rules of the road but there is no road rage. I found the locals to be very friendly and peaceful . I would describe what I saw as pea cefulness w i thin the chaos. I loved th at everyth ing was orna te – eve n the trucks were so beauti fu lly decorated .

I was very sad when the mon th had c ome to an e nd, that I woul d no longer be a ttending dai ly c las s and having the luxury of nice l ong practice sessions at the institute , tha t I woul d be leaving my l ittl e room at the Hote l Che tak and the warm, he lpfu l and fri endly sta ff and no lon ger hearing th e sound of th e tuk tuks hooting bu t I was very grate ful that I had the opportuni ty to a ttend the workshop , be in the presence of Guru ji , Prashan tj i, Geeta ji , as w el l as A bhija ta , Raya and a ll the o ther teachers a t the In sti tute and to be in the company of Jenny and Carla . I thorough ly en joyed th e experience , wha t I lear nt w il l always be w i th me and I wi ll de fin ite ly be back !

BETTINA SIMPS ON Home from Ho me - Ind ia , 201 2/13 One of my yoga co lleagues , when asked how o ften she has been to Pune , si mply repl ied , "S ix ti mes, it's home from home ." I fee l exactly the same, bu t i t isn' t only in Pune. As soon as I land in India , I fe el at ho me .

I have tried to und erstand w hy i t is tha t I feel th i s way; maybe a previous li fe there, or is i t tha t India is so in fused wi th al l the te achings of our treasured yogic pa th?

I am constan tly reminded o f yoga during our touri ng. Whils t walk ing through a museu m, I stu mbl e on a pa inting of Ma tsya Avtar, the fish incarnation o f Vishnu , retriev ing the vedas which were des troy ed in the A pocolypse . An apt beginn ing of our time in Ind ia and a remind er of the spreading o f the teachings o f yoga and o f Guruji who brough t yog a to us in th e w est.

We begin our time in the south i n Be llur , Gur uji's bir thplace. Our guide takes us to the Sri Channakesh ava Swamy temple , famed for the finest examp le of Hoysa la Art. H e explains the gop uram, the en trance to th e temp le complex, is i n the shape of a cow's head and I real ise the sign ificance of Go mukhasana .

We enter the te mp le grounds and I see Garuda s tanding fac ing the te mpl e.

Unfortun ate ly our gu ide had no t heard o f the R a ma te mpl e tha t Guruj i help ed to renovate an d ti me co nstrain ts necessi tated us mov ing on to Ha lebidu .

The exterior o f the temp les have scenes o f the Mahabharata ch ise lled in the so ft soapston e (chlori tic sch ist) w ith ex tre me finesse and de tai l. The base o f the temp les have a row of sturdy elephan ts , lordly lions , ingen iously execu ted horsemen and floral scrolls , which respectively symbo liz e stabil ity , courage, speed and beauty , the four esse ntial qua li ties o f a good king ; requir ements o f a sadhaka too !

I am forever reminded o f th e Yoga Su tra 1:33 , w hich asks us to rejo ice w ith the happy , to be co mpassiona te to the sorrowfu l, friend ly to the v irtuous, and ind ifferent to th ose who continue to l ive in vice despite a tte mpts to cha nge them.

From the Vi tthala temp le in Hamp i one looks a cross to the Anjan eya Hi ll , the bir thplace of Hanuman . H anumanu is carved into the rocks on Hemaku ta hil l, a sharp reminder o f my quest to ach ieve Han umanusana !

27

The Virupaksha temp le has the most b eautifu l frieze of A jurna. T he anecdotes of our classes co me to li fe!

Guruji says, " Your body lives in the past and yo ur mind exists in the future .

In yoga , they co me togeth er in the present." In India I am constantly aware of 'bei ng in the momen t' . One soon learns that s he has her own rhythm and one has to go wi th the flo w, wh ich refl ects in th e yoga practice, wh ether in class w ith Prashan t, Geeta ji or Abhi and Guruj i .

DAWN GOO DMA N Trip to Pune I have been doing Yoga for around 15 years , bu t jus t o nce or tw ice a week.

Some years ago my friend the Ind ian fi lm d irector Mira Na ir was at the Moun t Ne lson Ho tel whi l e making the fil m A mel ia , for abo ut a mon th - she ha d David Jacobs w i th her doi ng dai ly yoga befor e and after the shoo ts and she invi ted me to join the yoga classes which I did and thoroughly enj oyed the experience. I had never done Yoga on such a regular basis before and really en joyed i t, w el l who would not wi th a li ttle bi t o f Ric hard Gere now and then in the corner!

I subsequen tly decided , wi th ba ted brea th, to d o the Ge eta workshop a few years la ter in Joha nne sburg and, to my surprise, en joyed tha t eve n more.

Then, so metime a fter, my teacher Ju dy Farah mentioned she was o ff to Pune and I asked wh ether I could also go . S he asked the au thori ties a t the Institu te whe ther th is wou ld be in order, in oth er words that I woul d be able to a ttend as an ordinary student toge ther wi th the ci tizen classes of P une, as I a m nei ther a teacher nor learner teacher and they agreed, so off I wen t, qu ite nervous I mus t say , wi thou t a ny real idea o f w hat to expec t.

I was comfor table i n the notion tha t I wou ld be staying in an apartment w ith teacher and two o ther love ly lad ies I kne w from my studio , bu t the res t was unchartered territory.

The experience turned ou t to be one o f th e mos t amaz ing I have ever had in my entire l ife .

I mus t add , I a m a pre tty wel l travell ed 70 yea r old wo man - 3 con tin ents in 10 months th is las t year - South to North V ietnam, with a bi t of Ca mbodia thrown in, St Andrews Scotland and other parts o f course while there visi ting k ids at Un iversity , p lus this a lmos t 5 weeks in India . So I feel I a m a pre tty good judge o f what travel and continents and coun tries are like , als o this is the third time for me in India . A mon th each ti me before and I tend not to do research prior to a trip. I l ike the surprise factor !

The first thin g tha t struck me was that Pune a ppeared to be almos t entirely an Ayuvedic, Vegetar ian ci ty, li ttle me at, fish, ch ic ken or cheese. It is a huge ci ty , plus the fact that a ll the women we ar tradi tion cl othes. We did no t see any western gear withi n the radius of th e area we were staying, only Kur tas and Saris in all shapes and for ms. Mumb ai , also in Maharastra s tate , is jus t the oppos ite, western dress is the order of the day and on ly a t n ight does one see m to see the traditiona l gear…..I have n o doub t in o ther suburbs o f Pune i t is di fferent but where we were, near loads of col leges and U niversi ties that was the s tyle… most in teresting….and very, very few touris ts o f the foreig n s ort…other than the Yo ga peop le or Hari Krishna types… .there is a centre opposi te the Iyenger Insti tute .

I stayed for three weeks do ing yoga in the secon d floor classroo m, w i th the pe ople o f Pu ne, In termed iate level II is what I was p ut in, wh ich Pand u the chooser and decider of who does w hat and which classe s one takes when one arrives, arranged for me on a little scrap of paper in ball poin t pen, no discussion , no arguments and woe betide if you try to change the time or class wi thou t consulta tion. Ou t you go, kicked out, no argument, they know ! I w onder how but, good ness, one can only guess . I tr ied i t once and was thrown ou t never to try agai n, I smi led all th e way home I have to ad mi t so clever the y are.

Admi ttedly it was Abi the anno in ted one's c lass, and she has so many he lpers tha t they probab ly recog28

recognised I was a s tranger and had n ever seen me before and real ised I shoul d not be there! I h ad six of the best teachers I have ever experi enced in my l ife a nd to you, my darl ing teacher Judy, i t w as different and no co mparison , jus t d ifferent, as you r ealise‌ .

They are sp iri tual ly b lessed and anyone who h as not be en to Pune can ever i magine wha t they are l ike!

They are now al l in my head , my body, my hear t, my musc les, my shou lders, my te ndons, my b ones, throughout my be ing in fac t.

I wi ll never forget anyth ing any o f them sa id to me, the eyes on each of us for each minu te of e very 2 hour class for the 6 days a week for the three w eeks I spen t under their amaz ing kno wledge , the ir wisdom, their son orous chan ts, their k indness , the ir sternness -when needed‌ .

I CANN OT WA IT TO G O B ACK , W ITH MY TE ACH ER, IN A FEW YEA RS TIME !

It took me whole decades to apprec iate the dep th and true va lue of yoga . Sacred tex ts suppor ted my discoveries , but it was no t they tha t s ignpos ted the way . Wha t I learned thro ugh yoga , I found out through yoga .

-BKS Iyengar

29

YogAfrica

June 2013 NEWS FRO M THE REGIONS

GAUTE NG CARLA RE CH As th is year unfo lds far to o quick ly, we are a ll q uite busy here in Gau teng. Yoga bus iness proce eds as usual, w i th a few exc iting seminars l ined up for the rest of th is year. As I wri te th is, we are looki ng forward to a vis it fro m Brigi tta Tu mmon who w il l giv e a weekend workshop in Mi drand a t the end of May. It has s tarted ge tting coo l, bu t the days are bea uti ful and sun ny. Wi th the grass stil l green, the l eaves turning golden and th e skies blue, i t is glor ious weather to be doing yoga in – not too hot, not to o cold.

This brings to mind our Thursday teachers ’ clas ses which con tinue every week in Gudrun ’s stu dio in Parkview. In th is hal l, the wea ther is rather glac ial and we can look forward to (though perhaps that’s not qui te the righ t expression) a good fe w mon th s of very active, s trenuous work involv ing some jumping and lots o f heav ing and groan ing .

We hosted two Region al workshops earl ier th is y ear. The first was in March , and were very plea sed to entice Jaqu i Ho lzen to come to Johannesburg to teach i t. It was the first ti me that our new er me mbers experienced her deep knowledge and wonderfu l teaching , and all presen t enjoyed i t and learn t a lot.

The second one w as taug ht by Natasha P incus, o ne of our younger teachers who recently got her Intermedia te Juni or certi fica te . Agai n, it was very successful and the feedback was so p osi tive . We thank both o f the m very much .

Teacher train ing con tinues as usual , as do our month ly Sa turday Morning Practices a t Jenny Morris’ studio . These are wel l attended and apprecia te d since the focus is chall enging backbends , wh i ch we seem to do wi th more en thus iasm and c ourage w hen we are toge ther.

We would also l ike to thank June Cooper for her Yoga Mukta . The las t ins tal men t is abou t to g o out, and we real ly appreci ate a l l her efforts in th is r egard. She continues to be invo lved and inval u able to us.

That is abou t a ll at the momen t, so our co mmittee here in Johannesburg wishes y ou a ll many fr uitful , happy hours o f yoga in the mo nths to co me. Na maste!

KWAZULU-NATAL STEPHA NIE A LEXA NDER Our year began we ll , wi th ful l c lasses in the Kwa Zulu-Nata l Mid lands and many enquir ies fro m ne w pupils . The s ix coas tal tra inee teachers embarked on the ir second year o f train ing. Three o f them were able to come to a very we ll-a ttend ed al l-day gen eral workshop g iven by S tephan ie a t the Wemb le y studio in Pie termari tzburg in May . Despi te the unus ually large number present there was an excelle nt atmosphere: everyone worked hard and there was good co-operation from more experienced stude nts in helping those less experienced . A nd, o f course , the bring-and-share lunch was truly splen did .

The high lig ht of the year so far has been our pre-90 t h birthday ce lebration wi th Joyce S tuart, ou r dear Padma , on 8 t h March. She and her fami ly broke their journey from Munster , on the KZN South Co ast, to the Drakensberg, to attend a celebra tory gatheri ng at Steph anie 's home in Wemb ley , Pie termari tz burg – Padma's first return visi t to the c ity si nce she retired several years ago. Some 30 past pup il s and friends were present, and most walked wi th her to the stud io , bui lt s ince her departure , and (to h er deligh t) joined in a resonant rendering of the Patan jal i Invoca tion . She spoke wi th love o f her li fe in Iyengar Yoga, repeate d her own personal mantra : “N o regrets for the pas t; no fear o f the fu ture,” ga ve the studio and the work conduc ted there her b lessi ng, and urged a ll to continue zea lous ly in the Iyengar tradi tion .

A digression may be useful here, for newer members of the Ins ti tute may not be aware tha t Pad ma was 30

B.K .S . Iye ngar's first pupi l from Sou thern A frica when, in the 1960s , she attend ed a course w ith hi m in Lon don, and then worked wi th hi m in S wi tzerland before beginni ng to impart the teachings at home, as wel l as encouraging other Yoga teachers and prac ti tioners to fo llo w sui t. From this stemmed the first Iyengar courses in the sou ther n hemisphere , i n Ma law i, Mauritius and Swaz iland , and the Southern Afric an Ins ti tute was founded , with Padma in the Cha ir, a p ost she he ld for many years. Fo llo wing a course in Pun e, Padma and her la te husband , Ro n, received Guru ji's permissio n to bu ild a s tudio at Trelaw ney wh ich w a s a repl ica o f the asana room at th e Pune Ins titu te , and, a fter this ha d been inaugurated a nd blessed by Guru ji h imse lf in 1979 , it beca me the Yoga home , no t only of Pieter maritz burg studen ts, but o f many stude nts and aspirant teachers countrywide , w ho reme mber wi th joy and gra ti tu de the c lasses and many courses conducted there over nearly 30 years. T he importa nce of the role she played in br inging Iyengar Yoga to Sou ther n Africa and in i ts deve lopment here, is incalcu labl e.

Returning to the even ts o f March 8 , the vis it to the stu dio w as fo llo wed by tea on the house ver anda, and Stephan ie read out messages from we ll-w ish ers elsewhere, after which she said , “A ll o f these people have memories o f Padma and Trelaw ney tha t are precious, as does each of us here. We respected and were inspired by her unco mpromis ing devo tion to the puri ty o f the Iyengar teachings , and by her personal discip lined practice. We – especially those of us who aspired to teach, or to become better teachers than we were – apprecia ted the genero sity o f her teaching : she was so ready to share everything she had learned an d discovered . We recall her oft-repeate d in junction : 'go to the source' – often meaning the Guru hi msel f or the teach ings in h is books, often the source of an action in one' s own body. O ften , too , th at in junc tion led in to one's in ner self: one began to understand that we w ere striving to learn to know ourselves through the med iu m o f the body , as Yehud i Menuh in pu t it, our own first instrumen t.

“Pad ma's teach ing may have meant d ifferent th in gs to different persona li ties and tempera ments , b ut there were surely very few who were not spurred in to w orking to wards being the bes t they cou ld be . And al l admired the s teadfastness with which she he ld to the teach ings after the departure of dear Ron. She and Ron comp lemen ted each o ther so well and shared the load for so many years, a nd h i s loss must have been grievous .

“Bu t as she has said, she does not dwell on or regret the past. Hold ing fas t to th e Yog ic princ iples she moved ahead then and , la ter, when i t ca me to be time to leav e Trelawney and the beloved Ins ti tu te bui lding , she moved o n again. And now she forges ahead in to her 10 t h decade, 'a lways wel l' , as she says , en joying the moment, en joying fa mi ly and friends , con tinu ing as eagerly as ever the journey o f explora tion she and Ron began l ong ago .

“So we look ahead w ith you, Pad ma, to wards th is splend id upco ming bir thday on March 27 t h . Than k you for stopping here wi th us so that we can offer yo u our congratulations , our love, our thanks for al l that you are to us, and a gi ft which we ho pe wi ll g ive you pleasure. May your year ahead be fil led w ith spacious days and precious discoveries .”

Members o f longer s tand ing may be in terested to kno w that several of Pad ma's e arlies t pu pi ls , co lleagues and active Institu te me mbers (some n ow retired) were present, inc luding Barbara de Jong, Gwen Lambert, Liz S mi th and Maria Ba mbus (w ho had already turned 90 las t Dece mber), and foundation p upi l H ilary Wisdo m. Most of those a ttendi ng were past pup ils , bu t one or two had come with out ever having me t her: they si mply wan ted to be in the presence o f a Yoga le gend.

I have wri tten a t l ength o f this very happy and sp ecial occas ion hoping tha t the accoun t w il l be in formative for newer members an d w il l evoke some g ood me mories for those of longer stand ing . It's also rather nice for us in K ZN to remember from ti me to time tha t our Institu te is firmly rooted in this smal l region!

31

NORTH ERN CA PE MART IN MA REE Looking back at the beg inning of 2013 I find myself asking : ‘Who has the finger on th e fast forward button ?’

The fac t tha t the Reg ion is now on ly made u p o f the Northern Cap e was a major s tep for the R egion and the Commi ttee. Th is also had a great i mpac t on the Reg ion’s membersh ip and here I want to commend the Co mmi ttee for all the hard work and dedication to get members to join us , al l the members who helpe d w ith tha t ‘extra mi le’ they wa lked to keep the me mbership n umbers up . Our me mb ership currently s tands a t 33 and hopefu lly w il l increase in the second ha l f o f the year . We manage d to have another garage sale where a good sum o f money was raised. This w il l be used to sponsor some of our members in the Reg ion . We are plann ing anoth e r sale in Sep tember .

An Open Day is p lanned to pro mote yoga in the Region . Also on the ag enda for 2013 is to v is it the Free State, spec ifical ly B loemfon tein . The Re gi onal Co mmittee is currently busy investigating th e possibi li ty o f takin g Iyengar yoga to th is area . We have looked at some op tions for the second ha l f of the year.

Fati ma returned fro m Ind ia fil led wi th insp iration and I would l ike to thank her for representing the Region. I am a lso g lad to report that we have s tarted, for the firs t ti me, a teachers ’ tra ining day. F ati ma gave a very in tense first class for the teachers. We all look forward to the nex t one .

I’ m a lso p leased to report that bo th F atima ’s and my s tudios have grown.

Our beloved teach er Joyce has, after more than forty years of teaching in Ki mberley , reloca ted to Gauteng. Sh e has not on ly le ft her legacy in the No rthern Cape, bu t also that o f Iye ngar yoga in So uth Africa. We , as the current Co mmittee, wou ld like to thank h er deeply for the w ork tha t she d id in th is Region and we wil l bui ld on this foun dation to ma ke the Region one of which she wou ld be proud. We wish her hea lth and we llness for many years to come.

WESTERN CAP E MERYL U RSON With more than fo ur mon ths already in the pas t, 2013 is speed ing away as qu ickly as every oth er year.

We kicked off the year wi th a very well attended Regiona l AGM i n February at which debate was robus t around many issues and at wh ich volun teers for various tasks ca me forward en thus iastical ly.

With the pass ing o f Midg e Dods in Her manus i t was a sad start to the year thoug h, bu t a few o f us attended and were inspired by her me moria l servi ce. Th ere her daugh ter spoke o f her fierce sp iri tual ity guided by her own eth ics an d o f how s he served as an exa mp le to us a ll .

In March Judy Farah hosted us very graciously at her home where the Cen tral Co mmittee Annu a l General Mee ting was h eld , togeth er wi th the Natio nal Me eting be forehand . A lthough a tte ndance at the Central Co mmittee Mee ting is l imited to member s of the various commi ttees o f the B KS Iyengar Ins titute o f SA, the Na tiona l Mee ting is open to al l members whose input is very welcome and indeed necessary. A t th is meeting there was but one me mbe r present besides the commi ttee me mbers, w hic h was disappoin ting. We trust tha t more me mbers w il l a ttend nex t year .

On 11 May a Reg ional workshop was h eld a t Ber gridge Park, taugh t by Gi ll ian Bacon (asana) and Judy Farah (pranayama). Bo th teachers taugh t a t a s i mple leve l bu t w ith the ski ll e arned by years o f e xperience and dedica tion . The workshop was we ll a ttended and in the break s tudents a nd teachers mingled happily in the perfec t autumn sunshine . Hearty thanks to everyone involved and especia lly to S tratford Canning and his w ife Joan , w ho ca me a long to se rve the we lcome tea .

As regards our membership nu mbers, they are currently as fo llo ws: the tota l nu mber of members in the Western Cape is 206.This compr ises teachers 61, studen t teachers 17 and associate me mbers 126. We trust tha t during th is year the membershi p nu mbe rs wi ll increase .

Unti l we mee t again v ia the next report from the Region, I thank al l who work so hard to keep our 32

wheels turning , but spec ial thanks must go to o ur dedicated Treasurer, S tratford Cann ing and to our Vice Chair, R iva H irschowi tz for a ll their ti me , care and in put. B less ings to a ll of you u ntil our paths cross again .

ZIMB ABWE JENNY GE DDES Iyengar Yoga is alive and wel l in Bula wayo wi th 6 classes being taught in my stud io and Sue Bryant taking ano ther 3 a t ano ther cen tre. It is al ways in ti mes o f grea t s tress in our coun try that th e cl asses increase i n s ize.

A Pranayama class is held on the first Sa turd ay of each mon th in my stud io and is being w ell a ttended . Like the asa na c lasses, the interest in P ranayama has increased over the past few mon th s.

Heal t h i s a st at e of com pl et e harm ony of t he body, mi nd and spi ri t .

W hen one i s f ree f rom physi cal di sabi l i t i es and m ental di st ract i ons, t he gat es of t he soul open --B. K. S. I yengar

33

YogAfrica

June 2013 FAREWELL MIDGE DODS

MERYL URSON In January th is year we bade farewe l l to the fei sty Midge Dods o f Hermanus . Midge taugh t yo ga for years in tha t l i ttle v il lage tha t grew in to a vibra nt town ; and al though i t was no t obv ious to a ll , Midge insis ted o n grow ing wi th i t.

Midge ’s hal lmark was tha t she was not obvious . Plain on the ou tside , rich on the ins ide, her s piritu al growth and kindness were her essence . A resou rceful farm g irl married to Graham Dods, i t d idn’ t ma tter to her that the car she was travell ing in brok e down on th e way to her wedd ing . Midge jus t j umped onto the nearest tractor and chugged o ff to the c hurch under her o wn s tea m.

Her early explorations of yoga w ere just par t of her spiritua l inqu iry, when she beg an to d iscove r that what she’d been taugh t ab out conventiona l rel ig i on nei ther nour ished her su ffic iently nor answer ed her questions . Being a student when she and Guruj i were much younger, she was fortunate enough to be taught by hi m p ersonally and coupl ed h is teach in gs wi th the deeper parts of her fa ith .

A mo ther of three and a keen gardener, Midge was a no-nonsense nurturer. Her ch ildren remember though , many fun times wi th her as the subject o f the ir hair dying experimen ts on her grey hair and her generosity in sharing the frui ts an d flo wers from her garden w ith so many peop le.

Midge a lso leaves her dear husband Graha m, w ho has been our ‘yoga carpenter’ for so many years, supplying us wi th al l the wooden props tha t Guruj i deve loped during the decades .

We wi ll miss Midge and w ish her fa mi ly s treng th i n the ir gri ef.

When a mul tip le sta te of mind is brough t to a single sta te of mind , tha t is sa madh i..

- BKS Iyengar

34

35

YogAfrica

June 2013 COURSES

VISITING INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS 2013: Lois Steinberg: Johannesburg: Cape town:

8 ― 11 August 15 ― 18 August

Stephanie Quirk: Goudini Spa:

11 ― 14 November

Dean Lerner: Johannesburg: Cape Town :

4 ― 7 April 11 ― 14 April

2014:

YOGA RETREAT WITH BRIGITTA TUMMON

Spring Yoga Retreat 25 to 28 Oc tober 20 13 Bodhi Khaya Re treat Cen tre, Gansbaa i A time of intense yoga sadhana practice of asana and pranayama in the peaceful setting of this beautiful retreat centre.

For more in formation and booking p lease con tac t Brig itta on 021 797 2810 or e-ma il : brigitta .tu mmon @gma il .co m

36

YogAfrica

June 2013 IYENGAR YOGA IN OUDTSHOORN

THE BKS IYENGAR YOGA CENTRE, SCHOEMANSHOEK, OUDTSHOORN, KLEIN KAROO, SOUTH AFRICA

We are in the secon d year of our Yoga Centre . T he BKS Iyengar Y oga Centre , nes tled in the beau tiful and tranquil Schoe manshoek va lley o n th e w ay to the famous Cango c aves, surrounded by the majes tic S wartberg Moun tai ns, o ffers the co mp l ete yoga experience . Our fu lly equ ipped Cen tre is designed to g ive the yoga practitioner the oppor tunity to experience q ual ity yoga tui tion in a peac eful and pristine setti ng. The Schoe manshoek va lley offers a varie ty of sui tab le acco mmoda tion to comple te the experie nce. The town o f Oudtsho orn compl imen ts this quie t, rural env ironmen t a nd George a irport is a mere 65kms away .

For in forma tion abou t the 3 & 6-day retreats , regular workshops and our res identia l teachers tra ining program, please v isi t our bl ogs, which have been sp eci fica lly des igned to g ive you a co mprehensive p icture o f wh at th e Yog a C entre has to offer . Th is Ce ntre is dedica ted to the teach ings of B.K .S .Iyengar .

More abou t us a t h ttp://yogawi thdav id.blogspo t.c om/ Next 6-day retreats will be Friday, 14th June 2013 - Wednesday , 19th Jun e 2013 Friday, 22nd Nov ember 2013 - Wedne sday, 27t h November 2013

37

YogAfrica

June 2013 IYENGAR YOGA IN ST FRANCIS BAY

BKS Iyengar Yoga Centre ™ Oudtshoorn, Klein Karoo

Iyengar Yog a Prac tice with Senior Certi fied Iyengar Yoga Teacher David Jacobs St Francis Bay 2 n d November & 3 r d November 2013 Sat /Sun

General Class 09h0 0 – 12h00

Asana

12h0 0 – 13h30

Lunch

13h30 – 16h00

Res toratives /Pranaya ma

Venue:

Maria’s studio , 1 86 S t. Franc is Drive, S t. Francis Bay

Cost:

R1,200 per s tuden t

Bookings :

Sharon 0 82-667-6118/ Jürgen 082-886-7568 or Sh avonne 08 2-951-5697

Explore your yoga an d its sub tle ties w ith the sk il l and g uidance o f a Sen ior Iyengar teacher.

Please bring along your o wn eq uip ment.

Bank de tai ls:

Account name : David Jacobs Standard Bank Sea Poin t Branch Current accoun t number: 07104 0749 Branch code: 024109

• Please give your na me as reference when makin g elec tronic trans fers • Workshop fees are N OT re fundabl e, or transferab le to another workshop

38

YogAfrica

June 2013 NOTICES

Newsle tter comp iled and ed ited by Riva H irscowi tz.

Typesetting by Stra tford Cann ing.

Our sincere thanks to a ll who took the time and made the effort to con tribu te to the con ten ts o f th is magazine . Anyo ne w ish ing to contri bute articles , photos , in forma tion or sug gestions to the newsletter may con tac t our edi tor: Ph 082 782 8275, ema il : r iva.h irschowi tz@g mai l .com

The body is the prop of the mind , inte ll igence and the soul .

Unless the body is kept in a sound , serene state you can n ever have a serene mi nd and a serene intel ligence .

- BKS Iyengar

39