Iyengar Yoga News Issue 39, Autumn 2021

Iyengar Yoga News

I YENGAR® Y OGA (UK)

In the light of Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

Welcome...

to this Autumn edition of Iyengar Yoga News, the first for the new editorial team. Our first words must be for Philippe, the current Secretary of IY(UK), and the previous editor of IYN for many years. There are three of us to replace him, and it's no small task, so his herculean efforts cannot be underestimated. Our thanks go to him for handing us such a high-quality magazine, which we will do our very best to maintain.

The effects of climate change may have been out of the news, but the realities of global warming and freak weather events are very real. Kirsten Agar Ward's in-depth interview with Prashant Iyengar (p. 10) covers how important it is to respect the Earth, and the creatures we share it with.

We may be entering a different phase of the pandemic here in the UK, but the after-effects will be felt for a long time to come. Several members have shared their experiences of lockdown and how the pandemic has affected and changed their practice and teaching (p. 36).

We also have coverage of the online convention with Abhijata in May, as well as feedback on the Equity for Equality seminar, which has opened up the discussion on diversity in Iyengar yoga and how we can actively support it – see the conversation with our new Chair, Charlotte Everitt (p. 60) and an interview with the Chair of the new Equity Standing Committee, Margaret Hall (p. 66).

We have an amazing article on tracking down the actual house that hosted BKS Iyengar’s first ever class in the UK in the early 1960s, in Finchley, North London (p. 32). And we go down memory lane with Dorothy Robinson recollecting the early days at RIMYI with the Iyengar family; Stephanie Quirk's atmospheric recollections of the therapy classes in Pune (p. 54); and John Ferguson's inspiring fifty years of Iyengar yoga practice (p. 52).

IYN is YOUR magazine. Please send your news, thoughts and ideas to editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk.

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Editorial Board: Minna Alanko-Falola, Alice Chadwick, Charlotte Everitt, Poppy Pickles

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Articles to: editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk

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Copy submission deadline for next issue: 31 December 2021

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This magazine is printed on paper that is sourced under a scheme which ensures minimal environmental impact.

Front cover: Noelle Riggott teaching woodland yoga (see p. 42).

Contents

FEATURES

Āsana Practice: Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana, Arti H. Mehta 4

On The Environment, Prashant Iyengar with Kirsten Agar Ward 10

Convention 2021 with Abhijata Iyengar, compiled by Minna Alanko-Falola 18

Equity for Equality, Judy Waldman 24

Reflections on Racism, from IY(UK) Members 28

Reflections on White Allyship, Emma Rattenbury 31

The Birthplace of the First Public Iyengar Yoga Class in the UK, Korinna Pilafidis-Williams 32

Learning and Lockdown, Norah Phipps, Mark Isaacs, Sara Ledwith, Noelle Riggott 36

Dorothy's Story, Dorothy Robinson with Poppy Pickles 44

A Tribute to Henri Schott, Rachel Lovegrove 48

Fifty Years of Iyengar Yoga, John Ferguson 52

The Hall Was Quiet and Cool, Stephanie Quirk 54

Long Covid Study, Gerda Bayliss 57

Yoga Teaches Us to Cure What Need Not Be Endured and Endure What Cannot Be Cured, Frances Homewood 58

A Conversation with Charlotte Everitt 60

Book Review: Imagine If by Rajvi Mehta, Laura Potts 62

Yoga Space: Rajvi Mehta, Joan Abrams 64

An Interview with Margaret Hall 66

Setting up an IY(UK) Member Group, Julian Lindars 68

In Memoriam Helen Green, Judi Soffa 70

Pune Pants, Alice Chadwick 82

MEMBERS' INFORMATION

Certification and Assessments 71

Professional Development Days 2021/2022 72

IY(UK) Reports 74

Member Groups and Affiliated Centres 78

IY(UK) Executive Council and Standing Committees 80

Āsana Practice

Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana

Arti H. Mehta

“Intensified action brings intensified intelligence”

- Guruji BKS Iyengar

“Lie flat on your back. Bend the arms at the elbows and place the palms near the shoulders like Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana. Then raise the trunk up. Rest the crown of the head on the floor and interlock your fingers.”

This is the most simple and basic explanation to do Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana but only very few people like Guruji are able to achieve a Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana, especially in our first few attempts. Most of us may not perform the āsana but end up doing a pose with grunts and groans with all kinds of facial expressions!

In this article, Arti H. Mehta describes the subtle techniques and adjustments to perform Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana which is a compilation of Guruji’s teachings.

There are four legs of the body in Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana, just like a table that is balanced evenly on the floor with the help of its four legs. The two arms with the elbows on the ground and the two legs with the feet on the ground form the four legs. To balance well in the āsana, these four legs have to evenly hold the ground which normally does not happen.

As you start to observe yourself in the āsana, you will find that a ‘hill’ will be formed in the region wherever your thought waves go and a ‘valley’ in the region that is neglected. For example, compare the ‘hill’ formed in the

middle of the upper arm that is facing the front (where the thought waves have gone) to the ‘valley’ in the calves on the bottom legs. Feel the flesh from the outer ligament of the knee to the outer thigh to make the bulge in the arm thinner.

The eyes will be seeing but the mind cannot wander when you raise only the consciousness up. You become an introvert in Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana and not an extrovert.

The focus of attention needs to be enhanced on certain parts of the body when you do Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana.

“If the intellectual cells hit the physical skull when you do Dwi Pāda Viparīta

Daņḍāsana, it means that the brain has spread inside and is dislocated from its position and you do not know what happens in your body.”

© Bobby Clennell

Head:

• You lift the head so that the neurons of the brain remain in its position and do not hit the skull. The moment you feel the brain hitting the skull then lift the head from the ground (it goes in) and then redo the pose.

• Raise the head up. Open the deltoids capsules to come forward.

• Pacifying the brain, take the skull close to the palms.

Elbows:

• Move both the elbows closer and the flesh of the inner elbow (inner forearm and inner head of the elbow) should grip the ground. You will slip if the outer elbow touches the ground.

• Raise the buttocks up with the inner elbow. Walk in with the feet and press the elbow down.

• Elongate the ligament of the elbow so it does not sleep on the forearm.

Upper arm:

• Do a vertical Tāḍāsana from the top of the inner upper arm to the inner upper armpit so as to get a grip when you are slipping.

• Be strong on the fibres of the upper biceps and the deltoids for the elbows to rest on the floor and to avoid slipping when you straighten your legs.

• Roll the biceps from outside inwards. Turn the skin of the biceps from the outside in.

• Raise the head up in the air and move the deltoids forward and then place the crown of the head on the floor.

Fingers:

• When you interlock your fingers the mounts of the fingers get compressed. This compression is more in Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana than in Śīrṣāsana. The mind should never be lost from the mount of the fingers.

Side ribs:

• Place the palms near the shoulders like in Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana. Bring your intelligence on your side ribs.

• Creating space on the side ribs, raise the trunk and place the head on the floor. Charge your side ribs to move upwards and then interlock your fingers. The side ribs should remain alert.

Floating ribs:

• Raise the floating ribs up when you interlock the fingers. The back floating ribs should be closer to the frontal floating ribs.

• The back floating rib is the base. Don’t move the top floating ribs. Move the base first then interlock your fingers. Stabilize your arms.

• When you suddenly move your legs back the floating ribs drop. Charge the back of the floating ribs up to straighten your legs.

Chest:

• Open the top chest towards the bottom chest. Walk in and increase the height of the trunk.

• Don’t protrude the chest. If the chest comes forward too much then it means that the tailbone is not ascending. Ascend the tailbone then the chest will remain in a perpendicular position.

• Enhance the flow of intelligence from the chest to the pubis by lifting the bottom thigh muscles.

• From the armpit of the chest (not the armpit of the arm) ascend the chest about half an inch more.

Disc of the consciousness:

• Measure the height of the disc of consciousness (emotional centre) from the floor. The disc of consciousness tends to drop down when you straighten the legs. The rays of the sun cannot touch the earth if there are clouds in the sky. Similarly, if your mind is clouded then the rays from the disc of consciousness cannot reach the feet, which are on the floor. So do not allow yourself to sink. Maintain the height of the disc of consciousness when you straighten the legs.

Buttocks:

• Release the buttock away from the tailbone by rolling the outer sides of the knees in.

• Raise the outer buttock (not the centre) to the maximum through your intelligence. If you lift in this manner then you will not get any backache.

• The buttocks must be separated from the centre (tailbone) as you stay in the āsana and also when you come down.

“When the energy of the arms is connected to the chest, when the energy of the legs is connected to the chest it is known as the totality or divinity in the performance.”

“It is not the legs that should stretch, it is the middle of the kidneys which should lift up.”

Tailbone:

• With the bottom thigh muscles, circularize the tailbone. The tip of the tailbone should move towards the navel. Maintaining this grip move the legs back.

Groins:

• Lift the tendons of the groins to bring out the legs one at a time.

Thighs:

• Educate the bottom thigh muscle by allowing the skin to feel the flesh. Maintain the contact. That is the gripper to make your leg straight.

• Circularly roll the thighs in.

Legs:

• The energy should move up towards the ceiling and not down to stretch out your legs.

• Press the heel and move the pelvic girdle to come closer to the chest. Then your legs are closer to the heart.

• Don’t touch the spine when you have to straighten the legs. The outer buttock should be higher than the middle buttock.

• Walk back with your legs by maintaining the height of the trunk. If the trunk drops, don’t go beyond.

• Broaden the back of the thighs.

“Turning the knees out is not Viparīta Daņḍāsana; turning the knee in is Viparīta Daņḍāsana.”

Knees:

• There are three locks in the āsana. One lock is at the elbows, the other lock is at the wrists and the third is at the knee.

• Lock the knee like Trikoņāsana by lifting and stretching from the back of the inner knee ligament to the inner back thigh.

• Do Tāḍāsana on the inner top corner of the knee in Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana.

• Lock there and move the intelligence in that region.

• Suck the ligament of the knee into the knee.

“Educate and connect one part with the other. Move the bottom knee close to the heart, top knee close to the heart, middle of the thigh close to the heart. Then when this comes, it is a sign that the legs can go out a little more, the closeness should be maintained.”

“Outer top legs in Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana should not go out.”

Bottom legs:

• The energy from the bottom leg should go towards the ceiling and not towards the foot.

Calf muscles:

• Broaden the calf muscles. Do not narrow them.

• Turn the inner calf muscles towards the outer heel so that the big toe grips the ground.

Feet:

• Let all the corners of the ten toes touch the floor. Then you get Tāḍāsana of the legs.

• Slightly spread the feet apart and roll the metatarsal in towards the ground for the legs to roll in.

These adjustments will help us progress from doing a backward bending pose to a Dwi Pāda Viparīta Daņḍāsana.

Compiled from Guruji’s teachings during his 80th birthday celebrations and the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute.

ON THE ENVIRONMENT Prashant Iyengar with Kirsten Agar Ward

Before Covid-19 struck, the IYN editors planned to run a feature on ecology and environmentalism and wanted to know Prashantji's thoughts on this. As I was going to be at RIMYI in March 2020, I offered to ask him for an interview.

I have been practising Iyengar yoga since the late 1980s and teaching it since 1997, establishing the Bath Iyengar Yoga Centre with my husband Richard in 2000. I have been blessed to have attended regular classes in RIMYI on sixteen visits in addition to special events in Pune and always attend Prashantji's classes. Prashantji is generous in sharing his deep knowledge and understanding of yoga and the scriptures, not only in his classes but also afterwards and in interviews and talks. He kindly agreed to carry out this interview even as Covid-19 was taking hold, and a few days before the Institute closed in March 2020.

KAW: These days, people are becoming more and more aware of environmental issues, climate change, plastics… Do you have any comments from a yoga perspective?

PSI: It’s not just yoga perspective but perspective of cosmic philosophy. At the moment, we are having this awareness which is a good sign, of course. But we are very unfortunately human-centric. Now our life is endangered and therefore we are thinking about the environment. We don’t consider that this planet is meant for all kinds of lives, what we call sub-human, etc. Calling something sub-human is also not proper, we have decided we are superior.

So, it’s for the entire animate world at large, we must consider them.

Say, for instance, that we expel mosquitoes from our house. Mosquito is a life, it is entitled to be on the planet, and we must consider its perspective as well. We can’t just destroy and expel them. Why are mosquitoes coming into our human residence? Because we have done a lot of deforestation, we have taken their places for us to live. They are entitled to be having their own house on the planet. We are human-centrically looking, but we have to consider the whole living creation on the planet and think of the well-being of it, and not just human well-being.

We understand that flora and fauna should be maintained. For what? Again human-centric. We don’t want them to exist for their own right; we want them to exist for us, because we know that our life is harmed if we destroy them. The view of ancient wisdom is that it [the world] is meant for Life. You see in our concept of eschatological movements, human beings become mosquitoes and rats, cats, dogs, elephants, birds, reptiles and what not. We can become any kind of life form because of our own karmas. So even those creatures were latently human beings and potentially will be human beings, they will become human beings again. So we have to see that we preserve life for the sake of life and not life for the sake of human beings. We should not think that the planet is meant for human beings and then other things are secondary, subsidiary, subservient – this is not a right way. That’s also God’s creation. So, we have to have a broader perspective on ecology and environment.

KAW: Though what would your view be of mosquito repellant [laughs]? How far would you go?

PSI: Yes, why they are coming here? We have destroyed their houses and we don’t want them to come to our houses. So, afforestation for them, not afforestation for man. Now we are considering the weather, climate etc, but human being at the centre of it. We want it to be ideal for human beings; that is not right. It should be ideal for life, all kinds of lives, they have a right to be on the planet as much as we have rights to be on the planet. So, we must have a broader view. Even this vegetable creation, botanical life, is also life. We are looking at it as if they are our benefactor and we must maintain it.

KAW: If we weren’t here, if there were no people, do you think it would be better?

PSI: That’s what I said, Man has been imperialist, if we take Nature’s perspective. Man imperialistically destroys trees, if he doesn’t want a tree there. He will oust the creatures, worms and animals if he wants that place. So, in our Vedic literature all

these things come. There is a beautiful passage which comes in Rudrapraśna. The sage becomes ecstatic in describing Divinity and he knows that all this is meant for Life. He says: “Oh God, from dust particles to stones to mountains, to rivers to forest, you have created for Being.” It is for Life. The whole planet is for Life and all kinds of life, not just human beings, so we have to see that they also have equal rights. They don’t claim anything, they are not egotistic, they are not infringing areas, but we are trying to conquer their areas.

KAW: Although I think if you’ve ever had a cat, they’re quite imperialist! But in a way isn’t it where you draw the line?

PSI: So, we should make the planet good for all kinds of life and not because human being wants that. For the balance of Nature. We are destroying the balance of the nature. Human technology, human discoveries, they are destroying the balance of nature. Carbon emissions came with the industrial revolution, since then we have spoiled nature. Earlier that was not the case. Now, because of the industrial revolution, man wants quick consumables, he wants everything speedily, and then we are going by that. Now we turn out cars, diesel machines, petrol machines, only considering human convenience. We did not bother about other animals, whether they would be suffering sooner or later. It was convenient for me to have a car to travel distances, I developed a car. We did not consider nature, we should consider the whole nature.

KAW: But it’s difficult, as you said the other day in class, if one has been the beneficiary of that then to tell other people who haven’t yet had those benefits, “I had a car but you can’t have a car. I flew but you can’t fly.”

PSI: Yes. That’s why it’s already commenced, we can’t now stop it, we can’t say I will have my house, my AC, my car but you should not have it. It won’t be done now. But human technology has dabbled with Nature enormously. And Nature can take toll any time, Nature is very powerful, what happens is one tsunami comes.…

KAW: Yes, even if people are not in a place for a short time, the plants start to take over.

PSI: Yes. There is one more beautiful observation: wherever human walks on the plain land he creates a pathway, no grass grows there. But when cattle create a pathway that doesn’t happen. So, man, his touch is so destructive, he just keeps walking a particular route and then it becomes barren land, nothing grows there.

KAW: Yes, in fact when a cow walks it create more habitats for other creatures.

PSI: And that’s why we have this concept of sighting divinity in all creation, whether inert or living. It’s all God’s nature, so God resides in all creation. God doesn’t just create it and walk away. This is a Chandogya Upanishad quotation. Unless Divinity enters its creation, it doesn’t get name or form. When divinity enters it gets name and form. And there is a broader view also. We believe there is no life on distant planets. That is not true. If there is creation it is for the purpose of life. Bhogāpavargartham drshyam [YS 2.18]. The entire objective category is for bhoga [enjoyment of pleasures] and apavarga [emancipation], the two purposes of life forms. So when scientists declare there is no life on Mars, we nod our heads and believe in them. It is not true. There is also life on the sun, but it is not the form of life we have on our planet.

On Earth we live on oxygen, but there are forms of life which live on carbon dioxide – plants. There will be a form of creation which lives on and by fire. There will be life even on Mercury where there is no oxygen. Here living things needs oxygen, but elsewhere it will be something else, because otherwise it’s all waste. And there is no waste in God’s creation. Now, no waste for whom? No waste for Life. That’s why we have celestial beings. We are terrestrial beings, we require earthly conditions – oxygen, the five elements in that

form, moderate temperature.... There are gaseous bodies, fiery bodies, there is panchamahabhutas, there can be spatial bodies. Where is the question of temperature for space? Air has a different range, water has a different range. So prthvi, ap, tej, vayu, akash. There are so many permutations, combinations of five elements. It’s called quintuplication, the five elements coming together. They come in one proportion on Earth and others on other planets.

KAW: But by being in this embodiment, we are necessarily going to impose on other creatures and life forms, just to exist. So, where do you draw the line?

PSI: Had our life been more natural rather than having made it so artificial, which means we have infringed more on their lives. We are human-centric and therefore we are trying to make everything conducive for us, or what we think is conducive. And now what 200 years back was conducive to human beings, no longer is. Outdated.

KAW: And we are having to develop technnology to set right the wrongs that we’ve done.

PSI: Yes, so a wider view should be taken here now, a philosophical view. Not to believe that life is only here, it is there also.

KAW: It’s a tricky one from persepective, if I was orthodox Jain I would wear a mask, I wouldn’t walk on insects.

PSI: That is extreme, they practise ascetism, it doesn’t mean everyone should be ascetic. Our ancestors were not so much nature destructive, later generations have really started becoming nature destructive. So, if we lead a more natural life, then we will minimise destruction. Actually we cannot prevent because of the principle, “jivo jivasya jivanam” – “life lives on life”. If you don’t consume the life you won’t live [see Astanga Yoga

by Prashant Iyengar, ahimsa topic]. We consume life by some way. Minute life forms, even the nonliving there is said to be something living there as well. We eat fruit and there is life in it, it is a living creation. Water contains bacterial life. Bacteria in air – we inhale and destroy millions of bacteria in one breath. We all live on life. But what is ahimsa? That you must not be cruel. Out of cruelty or out of enmity if you commit something it is himsa. When we consume water you don’t say “I am going to consume ten millions of bacteria and destroy them”, but if you have that psychodynamic, “I am going to kill the bacteria” then that is himsa, enmity. So, Mahabharata says you cannot be practising ahimsa absolutely. Then you should not breathe, you should not drink water [laughs]. That’s how the balance is kept you see, because we take birth and die, if nobody dies….

KAW: Yes, but each of us makes choices about how far we go.

PSI: Yes, so moderate, simple, temperate, nonartificial life, as far as possible natural.

KAW: But here I am having flown in on an aeroplane and contributed to some devastation….

PSI: Yes, by flying we are interfering with clouds and their functions, and all the pollution. We have gone too far, so now we have to see how we can reduce that. Try to have simple life, moderate, natural life. It’s not that suddenly banish all air travel, other travels. That’s not the way. We’ll have to understand. When understanding comes, gradually a person has to improve the conscience. It should be a wider conscience, consider the whole life, whole Nature.

KAW: Do you think it ultimately has to be an individual responsibility, like this morning you were saying you can’t force people to work hard and similarly you shouldn’t force people to behave better to the environment?

environment. We have spoiled the environment inside, and that afflicts creation outside. So let’s try to clear the internal atmosphere. That is, let’s be bereft of kama, krodha, loba, moha, mada, matsarya – the six foes within us. They are there and that’s why we are almost demonic. So, I try to reform there, improve the internal atmosphere and environment.

So, it’s all very subjectivistic, it’s not something to be given advice and have practice norms, tell people about the environment etc, that will not work too much for such a huge planet. We have to improve our own psyche, consciousness, conscience. Our internal atmosphere has to be purified. There come the yogic practices, or the spiritual adhyatmik practices. If we improve our mind then we won’t be a demonic person outside, but if you don’t improve this, you might be civilised but you will be demonic.

KAW: You’ve talked a lot about civilisation versus culture, I suppose that’s the crux of it, if you’re cultured, then the natural result is a certain set of actions.

PSI: Yes, culture is something that is more in you. Civilisation is that you are putting on a mask, that you are decent, you have civic sense.

KAW: It’s tuning into that culture inside.

PSI: That's why in our philosophical perspective, they say first you have to improve the internal

PSI: It’s the management of six foes. They have to be replaced by another six – satshampatti, counter positions, this also comes in my Discourses on Yoga [See table p.15]. Shama is mental restraint, mind purification, etherealising the mind, purifying it so it becomes transparent. Dama is sensory restraint counter to krodha. Now, why do you get angry? It is because sensory passions or tendencies are obstructed or antagonised. So if they are reformed, then there is not much room for anger. That’s why saintly people don’t get angry quickly. Then tittiksha, is tolerance, forebearance, acceptance rather than blaming others for one’s fate which leads us to retaliate. Whatever we are suffering we should know that is part of our destiny; someone else

might be instrumental but that does not mean they are responsible. So, that will make us more sober and tender people. When we suffer these things, anger, envy, they surface but that will counter. Uparati of vairagya form is satiety, having enjoyed the world sufficiently: “let me not go for more enjoyment”. Then jnana vairagya. Last is shanti samaran, thepair, peace and contentment. Why do you envy someone? It’s because you don’t have peace and contentment. Samapatti are counter positions, so it’s not just a question of destroy one column (foes), you have to attain the other column also, satsampatti, glories, that is wealth of psyche.

So, if you develop this you won’t be harmful to nature. If you have foes then you are harmful to nature around you and at large. But if you have this satsamapatti you’ll be compassionate, magnanimous, considerate, you won’t be antagonising.

So, this nature in us has to be developed. We want to live as we are and then have nature in balance. This will not happen! If we don’t improve our psyche we are not going to have environmental awareness working successfully, because that’s suppression. We will suppress for a while, but again it will come greater, next generation it will come, in next life it will come. If we are managing the internal atmosphere we don’t have to bother about that [external environment], it will be managed. It is this which is spoiling that.

KAW: It occurred to me that when we are practising there are other concepts that relate to the outer environment in the microcosm of the inner environment. For example, you learn about sustainability in the way of practising an asana, how to stay, whether you should stay, about interrelatedness, and energy efficiency, the input has to become less and output more.

PSI: Let me say man must philosophise the life. Philosophy is only for humans, because human mind needs it. Human beings should culture ourselves. You leave the whole planet to animals the whole balance will be maintained. We are the ones who are destroying the balance so we need to

philosophise our lives. Rather than giving sermons to people, “don’t cut down trees, don’t do this, don’t do that”, we must reform ourselves, then it will be more essential measure taken. This will not be essential, but that’s okay for public education, and create awareness in the people, that’s a good thing, but basically but we must evolve ourselves, there you find solution not in just triggering awareness in the minds of the people, that will work 1 or 2 percent.

KAW: There’s so little value or effect in lecturing.

PSI: Yes. We are not supposed to go by our tendencies as human beings. Now under this banner of liberty we are taking it to mean going by our tendencies. This is beastish. We don’t expect a snake to reform its tendencies, but we are supposed reform our tendencies.

KAW: Like you said the other day, “Want what you need, not need what you want.”

PSI: Yes, true.

KAW: I was thinking as well about this climate emergency and also now we have this virus emergency, and there is some potential in that situation for more unity in humanity, to cooperate to resolve things. It is an opportunity.

PSI: Yes, because every kind of danger, untoward conditions you must have emergency means, they are needed. But it is important also to understand the importance of long term means. Like we say, we must educate people. But there are emergency means, authorities to be policing, they will have to do that, so emergency means are necessary for any such danger that comes.

KAW: But also that it might make us more cooperative and think more deeply.

PSI: Yeah, it is important we have such set up bodies and such. Animals don’t need United Nations! We need, it’s a good thing. But we have to see that the human psyche reforms. We must

become more and more simple, rather than trying to go for affluence. Everyone aspires to become affluent. So that is how human mind is caught in materialistic gravities. We want to become rich, we don’t want all to become rich. When we become rich we are depriving the other people, by collecting wealth.

KAW: Yes and the happier societies are the most equal societies.

PSI: 10% of the people are possessing 90% of the wealth of the planet. This is imbalanced. But that’s the human tendency, that materialistic tendency.

KAW: Yes, like you were saying the other day in pranayama about greed in drawing the breath in. You are learning about greed there and the repercussions of that…

PSI: Yeah.

KAW: And also they’ve found that once you get to a certain absolute level of wealth you don’t get any happier. No matter how much more.

PSI: Yeah, true, correct.

KAW: So, apart from the small matter of reforming ourselves (!), is there anything else that we should be doing or not doing do you think?

PSI: That’s why there is a broad scheme which yoga gives. Satsanga sadhana, sanga shastra sanga. We have ahar, vihar Ahar is all our intakes, in whatever form, it’s not just ingestion of food, but mental, intellectual, sensory intakes. We must have some management scrutiny, and reconsideration of it. Then vihar, all kinds of movements, what are our movements, why are we making movements? We must have scrutiny, enquiry into it. Why am I going from one place to another place? Just because I have vehicle, just because I want to go? Why? Then we will know that many of the things we do should not be done, our movements are unnecessarily more, to satisfy our tendencies of the flesh. If we go on making movements there will be indiscrete

SIX FOES OF THE PSYCHE SIX WEALTHS OF THE PSYCHE

1. Kāma desire

2. Krodha anger

3. Lobha greed

4. Moha infatuation

5. Mada pride

6. Mātsarya malice, envy

1. Shama mental restraint

2. Dama sensory restraint

3. Tittiksha forebearance, acceptance

4. Uparati satiety

5. Jnana vairagya thirstless wisdom

6. Shanti Smaran remembrance of peace

Six foes which disturb the mind & their six counter positions

movements. So also mind movements, where the mind goes. There should be scrutiny of it. Just because mind can go anywhere why and where should it be going? If the mind going outwardly it is going to be devastating at some stage. Let the mind go inwardly. This scrutiny cannot be an outside body, it must be within you, should be internal scrutiny.

Then achar, conduct. Why are you having a particular kind of conduct? We never investigate our own behaviour, we investigate others’ behaviours, [laughs] they investigate our behaviours! Why not investigate our own behaviour? Later moment we think I should not have behaved like that but at that moment we think we are perfectly right. So, why not have the scrutiny of it?

Now, scrutiny means what? It’s not just enquiry, investigative agency that has to be set up. Sattva guna, see that your movements are sattvic. They will be restrained, they will be essential. There won’t be superfluity. So, sattvic ahar, vihar, achar, vichar. Refrain from tamasic and rajasic ahar, vihar, achar, vichar. This is guna management. Sattva guna will make you more discreet, you will not increase the sphere of your activities unnecessarily. But if you are rajasic, you will. It is so subjectivistic, nobody can give you a pathology, authentic, that you are rajasic or tamasic, only we ourselves can recognise am I sattvic, rajasic or tamasic.

So, sattvika ahar, vihar, achar, vichar is a major stipulation, which is all encompassing. You will not have these problems which we are having in sociopolitical, socio-economic life, personal life, family life.

Also, satsanga sadhana sanga shastra sanga. The wisdom resources, intrinsic and extrinsic both. So sadhana is also required, you must have practice. Now what to practice? It is not asana and pranayama only. In Discourses of Yog, I mention this, practices for each of the three bodies, for gross body, practices for subtle body, practices for causal body. So what are the practices of gross body? What are the practices for subtle body?

What are the practices for causal body? This is sadhana. So we have to identify the sadhana which the whole science of yoga mentions.

KAW: Anything else to add about the environment?

PSI: Nature must be preserved, we should not say that the planet is meant for humans, then set everything right for us. You cannot decide what is right for you actually.

KAW: If you can’t decide what is right for you, then who can or how is that done?

PSI: Because if you are going to decide what is right for you, you are going to decide by your tendencies, etc. So we’ll have to reform our thought process, psyche. There is something within us which will guide us. We are not ours to decide what is right and wrong. The inner voice, inner call will tell you what is right and what is wrong. That is more proper right and wrong classification or division, rather than you thinking. You cannot decide, but something in you decides it. So, we don’t hear the inner voice, and we want to sound the voices outside. Listen to the inner sounds. We are not qualified but something in us is qualified and that will guide us. So inner voice, inner call.

KAW: Do you think there is ever any point in any of us trying to tell anyone else anything, imposing our idea, what our conscience is telling us as far as we’ve got?

PSI: That’s why we don’t have to go for imposing at all. We have to reform ourselves. And even in our adhyatmik process we just open out the thought process within you. I do not put a thought implant in you. I say you discover, you explore within yourself. It’s an explorative process. There is no question of imposing anything. Wise people don’t impose. They only draw you to the sound which comes from within. They draw inwards, you listen to that they say. Listen to your own conscience, follow your conscience. So, we don’t try to impose anything, while social reformers they want to

impose. They don’t want to give knowledge to people, they want to tell you what to do and what not to do. We should not be imposing. We have to reform ourselves, show people to reform their own psyches and consciousness. It’s a time-consuming thing. It will consume generations. Until that time you have emergency measures. Like you tell your child ‘that’s fire, don’t go closer there’, so that will be there.

KAW: It’s going to take a long time, this reform.

PSI: Yeah, so each constituent of human society reforms, then it is easier process. So that’s why this is subjectivistic approach, all these things, they come in path, yoga and spirituality, what one must practice. And you get that in huge quantum you go to listen to words of wise people. If you have your own thought process you will not get it. So, go to a wise man, you will get it in a big quantum. So, that’s why satsanga. Listen to wiser people. Read, study, hear words of wisdom. Enormous scope is there, it’s not that very slow process.

Satsanga also means sattvasanga, that sattva guna which is inherent in you, that must be well laid within yourself. Sattva guna is within you, it might be arrested in some part of your psyche, let it be brought out, like you burn incense the fragrance goes all over. Similarly through some practices, like asana, pranayama and whatever, japa, dhyana, these practices are important, Just listening, listening and walking out, is what happens in neo -spiritualism, they just give you discourses, they talk to you and you think you are reformed, but again you come back to square one, sooner or later. So, some practices are needed in satsanga. We have internal satsanga, that is external satsanga, somebody’s talking and you are listening. That is not all, that is not sufficient, so many things are to be done, like practising. When you practise are you not etherealised? So that biochemically you are processed for that. Here it is temporary thing that you listen to some wise words.

Bhoomi Vandanam Mantra

samudravasane devi

parvatasthana mandite

vishnupatni namastubhym padasparsam kshamasva me

Salutations to you Mother Earth who has oceans as your garments and breasts in the form of mountains

Wife of Vishnu deva please forgive the touch of my feet on the Earth, your body.

This is traditionally chanted in the morning by vaidikas after the pratah smaranan. It is a salutation to Mother Earth and seeking forgiveness for stepping on her. So it is chanted just before stepping on the ground when getting out of bed in the morning. It is an expression of gratitude for Mother Earth supporting and providing for us throughout life.

Submitted by Kirsten Agar Ward

KAW: Last year, I remember you saying about everything being biochemical processes. Then this morning through practicing, I understood a bit more what you meant.

PSI: Yeah, apparently it seems to be physical process, so that’s first sight. It will not be right, because appearancive form is so deluding. Things are not as they appear, things are as they are. It’s a metaphysical precept. But for us the things are as they appear. And that’s why we do whole business of life. It appears to be like that, I will do this way, but things are not like that.

KAW: And appearance is actually mostly constructed in your brain.

PSI: Yeah, and that’s a gross perception, through the eyes you are seeing what is visible. But it is such a strong means of knowledge, that other things are like stars during daytime. They are there, you don’t see them. But if you do shastra sanga, if you read the shastras then you realise realities.

Convention 2021 with

Abhijata

Iyengar

Compiled by Minna Alanko-Falola

This year’s convention was the third – and by far the largest – online event run by Iyengar Yoga (UK), following the June 2020 convention with Navaz Kamdin and Edwin Bryant and this January’s one-day event with Jawahar Bangera.

During 30 April to 3 May, 1160 attendees from over 23 countries had the opportunity to experience four days of teaching by Guruji’s granddaughter, Abhijata Iyengar. A huge amount of organisation takes place behind the scenes to run these events. It had taken six years to secure Abhijata’s return to the UK since her last visit in 2014. Expectations were high to have her dynamic live teaching inspire IY(UK) to embrace the new changes to our syllabus.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the year leading up to the event was complex and uncertain, plans

moved from the original face-toface convention with Abhijata in Harrogate HCC, to Birmingham ICC as a dynamic “hybrid” event, and then eventually being abandoned altogether, along with several months of preparatory work by IY(UK)’s Convention Team. Instead, the convention and Abhijata’s teaching went online, three days turned to four, hundreds of refunds and transfers were processed, a second mini convention in January 2021 was programmed, a new booking system launched, and with it some new opportunities to embrace what the online medium could offer in widening our community.

Inclusivity

For the first time, to broaden the reach of Iyengar yoga, convention bookings were extended to non-members with one year’s experience. Just over 15% of attendees were non-members. The new IY(UK) Convention Bursary Fund was opened to Iyengar yoga practitioners with at least a year and a half’s experience, who had been experiencing financial hardship due to Covid-19 or other circumstances. Fifty bursary places were allocated. “To have been offered a bursary place was a wonderful opportunity of help”, commented one recipient.

The Event

Abhijata provided 2 hours and 15 minutes of teaching each day, live from the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India. In assistance were ten UK-based teachers whose āsanas were spotlighted to the audience. Attendees were welcomed each day by Isabel Jones Fielding from IY(UK)’s Convention Team. All classes were recorded and made available for 30 days for added value to the ticket price. “I look forward to gleaning more over the next few weeks of access,” one participant said.

Seventy students took part in the Virtual Yoga Hall, an online convention innovation that created layers of engagement, with ten demonstrators. The 70 students included a wide range of practitioners from beginners to the experienced. Through teaching the Virtual Hall as a microcosm of the audience, Abhijata was able to get a sense of the entire convention.

Considering the large number of participants, Abhijata’s teaching was seamless, with optional poses and directions given to people with different abilities. The appreciation for her skills and expertise was evident in the post-convention feedback. “Not experienced such an interactive experience online,” said one participant; “Abhijata’s ability to answer questions and cater for the needs of others was astounding.” Another said: “It felt very personal.”

Feedback

Our survey revealed that for just over 40% of attendees, this was their first IY(UK) convention. Over 90% would be happy to attend a virtual event again, compared to just under 50% who would attend an in-person convention. The positive feedback received is a testament to the organisational skills and dedication of Isabel Jones Fielding and Catherine Gresty of the Convention Team, and the stellar support from Geoffrey Fielding, Jess Wallwork, Katie Owens, Philippe Harari, Jill Johnson and Jayne Orton. Thanks to their work, we got to enjoy a smoothly-run event with a truly inspirational teacher.

Abhijata teaching from the platform in the hall at RIMYI, Pune.

“I quote my grandfather: 'Each āsana is a manifestation of mental being.' Now when you sensitively do the āsanas in this manner, not only is the posture improved, but your intercommunication skills improve. Like I told you in the beginning, Isabel announced that Abhijata wants you to communicate with her. In the same manner, you should be able to communicate with yourself. Your organs of action, your arms and legs, are far away from your mind. That is why sometimes we end up doing things which we should not do."

“So the organs of action are far away from our chitta, from our consciousness. When you do the āsanas in this manner, coordinating between observation, action, etc, this mindful practice of āsanas improves your communication, intra-communication; your senses of perception and your organs of action interact with each other, they relay the information to your consciousness, which in turn guides your organs of action.”

Split-screen technology allowed options for different students to be shown.

“At the surface it seems that we did twisting, just improving the physical performance of twisting. Understand that in the background, the philosophy behind that, is this is improving communication channels whereby we can be good human beings, good friends, good family members, to help each other, together, to be together, to live together.”

Abhijata Iyengar, day 2

Above left: Isabel Jones Fielding hosted the conference with warmth, humour and insightfulness; above right & below left: demonstrators in the virtual yoga hall.

I felt very fortunate to be able to attend this year’s convention led by Abhijata Iyengar. It felt like a particular treat, and one of the positives of lockdown, enabling us to experience such special teaching from our own homes! I was 30 weeks pregnant but it seemed an opportunity too good to miss. Abhijata taught with such energy and enthusiasm; it was a truly insightful and inspiring few days. Although the prone positions were tricky with my bump, I treasured the messages behind her detailed instructions. I scribbled lots of notes and diagrams in the hope that I might be able to remember her guidance for after the baby arrives.

Abhijata’s words from day three resonated with me: “The human mind loves to go all over – to concentrate is difficult. Yoga is union. For union to take place communication has to take place. The different parts of the body have to connect, communicate, integrate. How can you unite where there is no connection? All parts of the human being have to be connected. The various details of the asanas take you on this path: connection towards union.”

gained insight into how I might be able to settle my mind, to accept and encourage my body to connect with itself in the here and now. I’m so glad I signed up for the convention, well worth it!

With my changing pregnant body, the extra weight and a different centre of gravity, I find my head often gets distracted during my yoga practice with things that I can’t do or that I now find difficult. I found Abhijata’s instructions comforting. I have

I enjoyed this year’s convention very much. Despite the event being online, I still felt part of the wider yoga community. I wasn’t brave enough to volunteer to be a seen student, but I found myself waving hello and replying when Abhijata asked a question.

My anonymity took away any nerves about being taught by a member of the Iyengar family for the first time and meant I could join in at my own pace. Abhijata was inspirational and impressive; her knowledge, sequencing, down-to-earth style and integrity shone through. She also has that Iyengar charisma that makes everyone listen and do their best – even when you know she can’t see you.

Rachel Simpson has been practicing Iyengar yoga for 18 years, mainly at the Sheffield Yoga Centre. She is now being mentored to become a teacher.

Katie, in her 34th week of pregnancy.

From Pune to my bedroom: “Lift up as though your buttocks are going to fly up!”

Katie Rowles has practiced Iyengar yoga since 2009 at Sheffield Yoga Centre.

Katie Rowles

Rachel Simpson

Voices from the Convention Floor

If it wasn't for Covid many of us would not have the opportunity to experience this class (I'd never have made it to Pune!). Thanks to everyone.

OUR ANNUAL IYENGAR YOGA UK CONVENTION PROGRAMME FOR 2022

Beautiful class, beautiful teaching. Thanks also to all demonstrators and everyone!

By popular demand, we will continue to offer online conventions with Indian Senior teachers and are honoured to welcome Rajvi Mehta to lead our mini online convention in January 2022. Also in spring 2022, we'll be extending a warm welcome back to our community with our first face-to-face convention in three years! A not-to-bemissed opportunity in one of our favourite convention locations: Harrogate.

Thanks so much for the amazing teaching. It is so good to not only learn about techniques but learn how to observe and critically reflect on ourselves. I cannot say how much I appreciate that you give us this new way of observing.

Our Spring 2022 Convention will be led by one of our most senior teachers, Margaret Austin. As one of the early pioneers studying directly under Guruji, Margaret has dedicated her life to the practice and teaching of Iyengar yoga. With her incisive observation, instruction, adjustment and inspirational demonstration, she will guide us back into the art of face-to-face Iyengar yoga. We look forward to welcoming her and the Iyengar community to Harrogate for this renewal of energy, strength, mobility and wellbeing.

Conference with Abhijata surprisingly intimate and connecting.

My stiff body and I thank you so much!

Your incredible flexibility of mind and concentration has been exceptional.

SAVE THE DATES!

15-16 January 2022

Online Mini Convention with Rajvi Mehta

Daily class & Q&A

28-30 May 2022

Face-to-face three-day Convention with Margaret Austin

Harrogate Convention Centre

October 2022

Four-day Online Convention

Daily classes, details coming soon

Above: comments from the conference attendees' chat.

Equity for Equality

An Event Organised for the IY(UK) Annual Convention 2021

Judy Waldman

“Yoga is for all of us. To limit yoga to national or cultural boundaries is the denial of universal consciousness.”

– BKS Iyengar

Since the murder of George Floyd last year, the deeply entrenched systems of power, exclusion and oppression embedded in our society have been more widely questioned and challenged. A trickle of people of colour in social media, yoga equipment and clothing websites may have emerged, but is this only window dressing when the public face and membership of the Iyengar yoga (and wider yoga) community in the West are mainly white, female, able-bodied and middle class? Despite equality and human rights laws, discrimination still exists in every social institution, including in our yoga community.

We are guided by the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali, which begin with the yamas, the societal code, the first of which is ahimsā, non-violence. Yet, the exclusiveness we witness and somehow perpetuate is violence, and the opposite of compassion, karuņā, which embeds equality and social justice in action.

Iyengar Yoga in Action (IYiA) for Black Lives Matter was formed in June 2020. We have held several fundraisers for Black charities including The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and Black Minds Matter. They were extremely well attended, so it was clear that the support to promote anti-racism, equalities and equity was strongly felt. Inspired by several international online symposiums focusing on yoga and equity last year, hosted by the Iyengar National Association of the US, discussions in IYiA with support from IY(UK) led to the decision that the 2021 convention was the ideal

moment for the first Equity for Equality seminar. The hope was that it could act as a catalyst for reflection and change in making Iyengar yoga more representative of the diversity of the world that we live in.

This event was the first ever Unconscious Bias programme in the Iyengar community in the UK. It also marked the launch of the IY(UK) Equity Committee chaired by Margaret Hall. Almost 40% of all convention delegates attended, over 450 people. As part of the seminar, IY(UK) commissioned Challenge Consultancy to present a training course in Unconscious Bias. Delegates also heard from Iyengar teachers Craig Blake and Tina Freeland, who spoke eloquently about their experiences and visions based on lived experience of racial discrimination.

In conclusion, event feedback suggests strongly that the majority of the attendants feel a need for greater inclusivity on all levels. Strong opinions were expressed about continuing the conversation at this event in further seminars to share ideas, and making it part of Professional Development. Let this be the start of continued reflection and action to develop equity for equalities in the Iyengar yoga community. We will be planning future events which will be more interactive to include deeper engagement and more voices in this subject. It’s up to all of us to do our own and collective soul-searching as to how we can be true to Guruji’s vision and to the guiding lights of ahimsā and karuņā.

Digesting the Data

The event was advertised as “inspirational diversity training and talks for the yoga community” and the majority of the feedback suggested that this was both delivered, and, what was hoped for, by the majority of the audience. IY(UK) will continue to need to seek out external support and expertise to carry out the work that needs to be done in improving inclusivity and equity. We will also encourage members to get involved in bringing to life the actions that are needed.

Over 500 people attended the event, and over 136 attendees completed the post-evaluation survey that we designed. Most of the feedback was positive, with constructive suggestions for future events.

Questionnaire Responses

Q: Did you attend this event to support social justice in the local and global yoga community as well as in the wider community?

23% agreed, and 59% strongly agreed.

Q: Do you feel that there is wide diversity in the yoga community, including race, age, religion, body size, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, disability, mental health issues, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy?

(These are the legal 'Protected Characteristics' of anti discrimination) 18% strongly disagreed, 44% disagreed.

Q: Do you believe there is an issue of unconscious bias or exclusion in the Iyengar Yoga community that should be addressed?

48% agreed, and 19% strongly agreed. Very few disagreed.

Q: Has this talk helped you to be more aware of these issues?

“This talk on Unconscious Bias has made me aware of the issues.”

“We need to have more courageous conversations.”

“Most of what I heard I knew already and as a person on the ‘brown’ side I am acutely aware of some of the issues in the workplace and I am never shy to say what I think.”

82% of attendees joined the event to support social justice in the local and global yoga community as well as in the wider community. Of the attendees, 62% did not feel that there is a wide diversity in the yoga community community, and 77% of attendees had themselves experienced prejudice or discrimination. 96% said they either agreed, or strongly agreed with most of what the speakers said. 93% said they agreed or strongly agreed that the talk on unconscious bias helped them to be more aware of this issue. 96% rated the effectiveness of the training as very good or good.

There were a number of queries and comments about better interaction using tools such as breakout rooms. However, with over 500 attendees this was impossible. We will look at different formats in the future to allow interaction with smaller groups. There was a technical difficulty, which meant that the chat function at the event was not working. Instead, attendees used the Q&A function for comments and questions, which was also a useful tool for gathering views.

“I worry that those who truly needed the training opted not to attend.”

“An opportunity for IY(UK) to look at itself and its practices, and to have a conversation about what steps it needs to take to address racism.”

“Confirmed what I already believe that systemic racism is embedded into the fabric of all societies and will take may generations to eradicate. We’ve joined a struggle that will entail everyone to become aware and to challenge any acts, words, laws that are used to injure and oppress a people.”

“I will look forward to seeing some more concrete and positive action reaching people who chose not to attend and for some reason did not think this was an important issue.”

Q: Have you experienced prejudice or discrimination of any kind?

59% agreed, 18% strongly agreed. This was due to: age 47%, disability 41%, gender reassignment 20%, race 80%, religion 44%, sex 44%, sexual orientation 43%, body size 59%, mental health issues 46%.

Q: Did these talks make you feel more comfortable about addressing unconscious bias, or discrimination of any kind, when you experience or witness it?

66% agreed and 26% strongly agreed that it did.

Q: Do you feel that the eight limbs of Iyengar yoga and the ethical principles of compassion and nonviolence are a guide towards anti-racism?

89% agreed or strongly agreed.

“We should as teachers talk about the eight limbs more. We get so desensitised about issues of violence and abuse via media that we ‘accept’ unacceptable behaviours sometimes…I am terrified of confrontation.”

“For self-reflection I need to acknowledge that people are angry about racism and not be closed, feeling I’m not one of the racist ones”.

“The eight limbs encourage us to focus on our commonalities rather than differences and to recognise the divine in all of us.”

“It is integral in our practice.”

Q: What did you hope to get out of this course?

“I love the expression upstander as opposed to bystander and by doing nothing I’m implicit.”

“Being willing to get it wrong and learn is crucial, as inaction leads to paralysis.”

“Maybe one thing that wasn’t discussed is that standing up against discrimination can be messy and uncomfortable. It is good to be prepared for that. It can be awkward, and it can involve giving up some of our privilege.”

Q: What did you find most useful?

“I really enjoyed hearing from the three teachers (of colour) from Iyengar Yoga in Action. I don’t feel as if I see a representative number of Iyengar teachers of colour and it is so important.”

“Tina’s point struck me that we have the privilege of having Iyengar practice and it is our duty to make it accessible to as diverse a range of people as we can”.

“I’ve come away feeling energised about change and also glad to be part of this community where anti-racism is on the agenda. It makes me feel supported to do my bit on an individual level.”

Q: Any suggestions to improve this course?

“Class was also mentioned and I think needs some more analysis around poverty and the many other struggles people face – how good are we at thinking through what the relevance of yoga is to people who face very

diverse challenges in their daily lives, and how can we make it accessible?”

“Religious beliefs weren’t mentioned much in this session…how would a Muslim woman be helped to feel more comfortable in terms of what people wear to class?”

“As a person of colour, I have done my own work concerning my power and unconscious bias…I wonder if it might be possible to have a conversation with POC about how to care for yourself in your practice in the face of flippant or biased racial/gender/sexuality attitudes from teachers or even yoga studios?”

"I've come away feeling energised about change and also glad to be part of this community where anti-racism is on the agenda."

Q: What can we learn going forward?

“This event was an opportunity for the IY(UK) community to begin to develop an anti-racist strategy which is sorely needed after the events of last year.”

“Great informative session and equity for equality should be included as part of the professional development of Iyengar Yoga Teachers on an annual basis.”

“It needs to be repeated so that more teachers and students can attend.”

“I think it is something we need to keep doing: it’s a bit like yoga – you have to keep practising and there is a lot of backsliding.”

“The course should be mandatory on a yearly basis as a PD day for educational and learning including resources."

Judy Waldman is a Level 3 Iyengar teacher, living and teaching in London, with a passion for social justice born from lived experience and observation of discrimination. Her thanks also go to Co-organiser Isabel Jones Fielding, and to Margaret, Craig and Tina for their excellent and heartfelt contributions.

Your Feedback

The IYN team asked for your feedback from the Equity for Equality event. Here are two attendees' thoughts:

A Missed Opportunity

By Nicky Britten

I had high expectations of the IY(UK) Diversity webinar. I assumed this meeting would address the difficulties arising from the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust fundraising event in July of the previous year, and would give some idea about how IY(UK) plans to tackle racism. But the webinar was a missed opportunity to identify, and start addressing, the problems of our whitedominated organisation.

The best part of the event were the contributions from two black speakers. Tina Freeland spoke about the difficulties faced by black people in yoga spaces, and what allyship would look like: “see, listen, wait” and “please be less defensive”. She said how tiring it is to be the only person of colour, and that she cannot speak up all the time and risk spoiling the atmosphere of a yoga session. There was no discussion of the issues she raised about financial and other constraints experienced by people of colour who wish to attend Iyengar yoga classes; the challenge of white spaces and ‘yoga types’ on social media populated by skinny, white women in lycra. She asked what is being done to improve inclusion, and received no answer.

So, to be constructive, what would I like to see? I would like a clear acknowledgement of the problems in IY(UK), for example unwelcoming yoga spaces. There should be a transparent and inclusive process for formulating an anti-racism strategy, which would involve people of colour as key contributors. As far as possible, IY(UK) should aim for diversity on all its committees. Other organisations trying to recruit underrepresented groups have made efforts to reach out, and there may be ways that IY(UK) can reach out to people of colour. This won’t help if white students don’t make an effort to welcome new students, and so it is up to those of us who are white to think about the microaggressions we may be committing without realising it.

The diversity event did provide us with some examples of these microaggressions, such as “Did you know this is an advanced class?” and “Aren’t you too large to do

yoga?” This part of the event provided the most useful guidance by providing examples of micro-affirmations such as welcoming body language, eye contact and active listening. We all need to play our part.

Exeter-based Nicky Britten has been an Iyengar yoga student since studying with Kofi Busia in 1974.

Thoughts on the Equality Seminar

By Annie LaPaz

I attended the 2021 Iyengar yoga UK convention and was really pleased to see that it included a seminar on equality and diversity. I knew that IY(UK) had been unwilling to endorse the Stephen Lawrence Foundation yoga fundraiser in 2020 and was expecting the session to be an exploration of the organisation’s relationship with anti-racism activism. I was also hoping there would be an exploration of how the analytical framework of cultural appropriation might apply to Iyengar practitioners, and a discussion of how we could work to minimise any risks. I was therefore very disappointed when neither of those topics was raised. If there had been a journey of self-reflection and modification within IY(UK), I would like that to have been shared. On the issue of cultural appropriation, there was one reference to it in the presentation, with the commentary that it was a big issue and not going to be addressed.

The core of our practice is to reflect deeply on our actions, to face them with honesty and acceptance, and then work steadily and with focus to improve them. Over four decades of practicing, I have had the benefit of some wonderful teachers who have embodied the yoga ethics and shown, through their actions, how they apply to daily life. For me, Iyengar yoga represents a full and integrated practice in which the philosophy is reflected in your āsanas and your life. I was very disappointed that IY(UK) did not live up to those high standards and demonstrate the truth and courage at the core of our common yogic quest.

I hope another time the organisation might be more willing to look at its specific relationship with racism and anti-racism, rather than present a generic training module from an outside agency. To end on a happy note, I was delighted to see that IY(UK) endorsed a Black Minds Matters fundraiser this year, and very much hope it was successful.

Annie has practiced Iyengar yoga since 1980 when she attended classes at the Oxford Ashram.

Reflections on Racism

and micro-aggressions in Iyengar yoga

Last year the murder of George Floyd had a global effect, which was felt by many of our members, and resulted in the formation of Iyengar Yoga in Action, the campaigning organisation. It also catalysed IY(UK) to set up a new Equity Standing Committee (see p. 66), which will hopefully go on to address issues that our organisation, and many others, want to tackle head on.

The following accounts* are written by two IY(UK) members, and are based on their personal experiences. As Charlotte Everitt, our new Chair, states on p. 61, it is key that "everyone can access and feel welcome in Iyengar yoga". In order to make our organisation truly anti-racist, every member needs to do their part.

*These pieces have been kept anonymous in order to discourage speculation as to the identity of any of the people mentioned.

A Letter to the IY(UK)

As a mixed-race Black woman, I should like to share some of my experiences of racism, prejudices, stereotyping and inappropriate language that I have heard or experienced in Iyengar yoga classes in the UK, within recent times.

The death of George Floyd galvanised some practitioners within the Iyengar community to look at equity issues within yoga. Others do not believe this is a problem within Iyengar yoga, or have bemoaned the "bringing of politics" into yoga. For me, racism and racial stereotyping are lived experiences within the Iyengar yoga classes and spaces I have attended. They are not "politics" that I can avoid. Indeed racism raises its head in yoga spaces.

I list below a few of the more overt comments and examples of stereotyping I have heard in Iyengar Yoga classes and spaces in the UK.

Photography: Klaus Nielsen from Pexels

• You look like a line of slitty-eyed China-men

• Overused tropes about bendy, lazy Indian people

• Overused tropes about bendy Chinese people who work too hard

• Having my body pointed to as an example of an 'African' body on a number of occasions

This racial stereotyping not only impacts negatively on students and teachers of colour, but importantly, racialised generalisations are inaccurate, ignorant, uninformative, reductive and dehumanising, and usually only applied to those who do not belong to the majority 'white' student/ teacher group. White people are allowed to be their diverse, individual selves, whereas BIPOC (Black, Indigenous People of Colour) students are reduced to stereotypes, whether these appear to be positive or negative. Such stereotyping is ignorant and unethical and diminishes the authority of any Iyengar teacher who makes such comments and tarnishes the name of Iyengar yoga.

To expand a little. Africa is a vast continent when compared to either Europe or America, with many peoples. It is at least three times the size of Europe and I don't hear generalisations about the 'European' body type. Additionally, country of birth, environment and lifestyle have a profound effect on a person's makeup – physical, spiritual and emotional. India itself is huge and populous, comprised of different peoples with different religions, cultural practices and changing lifestyles. Ditto China. Some of the wealthier people in India itself are getting the same stiffnesses and weight issues that affect Europeans (Abhijata herself has talked about this). A sedentary, mixed-race Black person born in the UK, like me, will have a very different body (and different gene pool) to, say, an Amhara woman who walks for miles in the Simien mountains.

There is a bitter irony to teachers referring to my 'African' body type, as immediate access to my African heritage is lost to me, because of the slave trade. I have no idea from whereabouts in that vast continent that side of my lineage comes. I don't even know my family names on that side. My surname is the name of the person who "owned"

my predecessors. Were my ancestors Fulani, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Afar, Mande, Akan, or any other of the myriad of peoples who have inhabited, crossed and been stolen from that vast continent? I have no idea.

On my British side, I can trace my ancestors back for generations. Everything from Africa is lost to me. It therefore somewhat bemuses me that my ancestry is so clear to others. Given that Iyengar yoga classes in the UK are not the most diverse of places, I cannot imagine that many Iyengar yoga teachers in the UK have extensive experience of black or brown bodies, or fully appreciate that skin colour is only ever part of the story. The next time a teacher refers to my African body, as my lineage is so clear to them, I will ask them for answers. It will save me the expense of paying for a genetic test.

I strongly believe we should be taught to teach the person in front of us, i.e. the unique combination of body, mind and spirit that stands before us, and that this is possible without inaccurate stereotypes. I think it should be basic to our training to look for alignment within different body types, to be accurate about what action we want a person to experience, to understand that each action may look different in different students, to understand that each student will have āsanas they find more difficult, or easier, without resorting to crass and/ or racialised generalisations. We do need to listen to our students when they say their body (or mind or spirit) doesn't easily do something and offer alternatives, rather than making them feel somehow lacking or resorting to crass stereotyping.

I have little idea what the senior teacher who referred to my 'African body' wanted me to achieve or correct. I assume it was perhaps an exaggerated lumbar curve, a pelvis that spills forward, stiff feet with fallen arches and seemingly a pelvis-to-femur configuration that makes the external rotation of the thigh required for some of the basic standings very difficult. There is no need to mention race to describe these things and they exist in European

"For me, racism and racial stereotyping are lived experiences within the Iyengar yoga classes and spaces I have attended."

students too. For my part, I have not yet taught a BIPOC student with a body that reflects my own difficulties.

One Alignment Doesn't Fit All

imperative for us as yoga teachers to deal with racism and all other forms of discrimination both within ourselves and in society."

"It

In addition to my experiences of racism within Iyengar classes and the blinding ignorance of racial stereotyping, I have had the misfortune recently to hear one qualified Iyengar yoga teacher tell a supposedly jolly tale about a 'cripple' and another qualified Iyengar yoga teacher have a little joke about a 'dwarf'. On both occasions no harm was intended but such language is now, at the kindest interpretation, regarded as old-fashioned, and to many, including myself, just downright offensive.

I believe that IY(UK) has an ethical and moral duty to make diversity and equity part of our teacher training and continuing professional development (CPD). The new mentoring manual states "all teachers should be aware of Equality, Diversion and Inclusion" and "know what constitutes discrimination". My own experiences show that this is not currently the case. Without this becoming embedded in our training and CPD, all the reading of the texts is rendered meaningless and Iyengar yoga in the UK runs the risk of becoming, at best, irrelevant, and at worst, morally bankrupt. It is imperative for us as yoga teachers to deal with racism and all other forms of discrimination both within ourselves and in society. Doing anything other is remaining in ignorance and causing harm which goes against the yamas and niyamas.

ANOTHER RESPONSE: I have a large curvature in my lower back. This is exacerbated by what my friend affectionately calls my 'African assets'. I really don't mind him saying that and wouldn't ever take it as anything other than friendly banter, but of course now we have to be careful of such comments and phrases.

Because of this feature, I am constantly told in classes to "tuck my tail-bone in", even by senior teachers. Now I've been practising yoga for over 25 years. You would think that, given that I've reached a certain level of competency, I could be credited with understanding what this instruction means; and if I'm not achieving the result that the teacher expects, that there may be an underlying reason for that. However, it persists in Tāḍāsana and Śīrṣāsana, and in Uttānāsana I'm told to bring my weight further forward, so as not to have my buttocks behind my heels.

"It would benefit Iyengar yoga and all body shapes, types and sizes if the Iyengar system of alignment developed some understanding of how all bodies don't perform in the same way".

This was such an issue, that I asked my teachertrainer to get advice on the subject. She consulted a senior teacher of colour in the US and subsequently wrote a note to the effect that she vouched for my understanding of how the body should work in these poses. As it was, I didn't have to sit the practical exam as it was cancelled due to Covid. However, I've never experienced any overt form of racism. But I do feel that anyone who doesn't have the same level of confidence (to say: "my body doesn't do that") – or tolerance to ignore or humour the comments – would easily be put off coming back to an Iyengar class. It would benefit Iyengar yoga and all body shapes, types and sizes if the Iyengar system of alignment developed some understanding of how all bodies don't perform in the same way, for a huge number of reasons. The 'one alignment fits all' issue is the reason that I joined the Diversity group (DIWG) in the first place.

is

Reflections on White Allyship

Emma Rattenbury

As a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group established by IY(UK) in July 2020, and a member of Iyengar Yoga in Action (IYiA) since last December, it was brilliant to have the opportunity to attend the free event on equity and unconscious bias at this year’s virtual convention.

Over 400 of us logged on to hear from Margaret Hall and Helen Townsend, Chair and Vice Chair of the new Equity Standing Committee (see p. 66), talking about their plans to create greater inclusivity within Iyengar Yoga in the UK. Craig Blake and Tina Freeland, both black members of IYiA, gave powerful speeches about the connections between the Black Lives Matters movement and yoga. We were then treated to a ‘mistress’ class in Unconscious Bias from Suky Bains of Challenge Consultancy. The latter part of Suky’s presentation focused on the key elements involved in being an active ‘white ally’ in the anti-racism struggle. As a white, middle class, cis-gendered lesbian my privileges are many and my journey towards white allyship has been, and continues to be a long one, marked by plenty of mistakes and new learnings along the way.

Suky’s list of ten key points for white allies was very useful.

1. Acknowledge the existence of racism and all other forms of discrimination and unconscious bias. We need to start by acknowledging that racism and other forms of intersecting discrimination are deeply embedded in UK history, culture and structures, including within our own organisation.

2. Have the conversation. One of the best ways to understand racism and bias is to talk about it with others, as we are now starting to do in our yoga community.

3. Be anti-racist. The best definition of this I have read recently is Ibrahim X Kendi’s book, How to be an AntiRacist. As he says, if we are not active in the struggle against racism, then we are passively colluding with structural racism.

4. Be upstanders, not bystanders. When we hear comments or witness behaviour which disrespects or diminishes others on the grounds of colour, gender or

any other perceived difference, we need to say or do something.

5. Interrupt racist (or sexist, homophobic, disablist etc.) jokes and comments. This can be done simply by stating that you find what is being said offensive, or it makes you uncomfortable.

6. Talk to other white people about these issues. The seminar and this article are part of that process. We can all table the issue of anti-racism at our regional yoga forums, we can promote useful reading and viewing in our local newsletters, and encourage friends and family to look at these issues with us.

7. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Acting as a white ally will involve ‘getting things wrong’ sometimes. Don't let this stop you from speaking up.

8. Notice how racism is denied, minimised and justified and challenge this. When we see or hear denial and defensiveness such as ‘but I am not racist’, point out that racism is not just about overt and offensive comments and actions, but is deeply embedded in how our whole culture works, as our unconscious biases demonstrate.

9 Amplify the voices of racialised and minoritised people. IYiA was set up precisely to do this. By starting each of our fundraisers with a short speech by a BIPOC member, the group has started to model this

10. Don’t give up! The BLM movement, spurred into active life by George Floyd’s death over a year ago, is now seen in some quarters as ‘of its moment’ and no longer ‘fashionable’. It is critical that as yogis we are in this struggle for the long term.

My experience of working within IY(UK) over the last year on the issue of anti-racism suggests that until more of us see ourselves as white allies, we are not going to transform our organisation and our culture into a place where our Black and Brown colleagues –and potential new Black and Brown students – can feel truly welcomed and accepted.

Sheffield-based Emma is a Level 2 Iyengar yoga teacher and worked on diversity and community engagement until her retirement five years ago.

The Birthplace of the First Public Iyengar Yoga Class in the UK

A blue plaque for a house in London?

In a quiet, leafy street in North London there stands an Edwardian house where BKS Iyengar taught his first public classes in the UK. They did not take place in a grand sports hall or dedicated studio but in the sitting room and the garden of a family house in Finchley, London N3 in the early 1960s. (Some of you may have heard of Finchley as it was the constituency of a certain Margaret Thatcher.) As I

live within walking distance of Fitzalan Road, I was keen to find the exact house. I knew it had been the headquarters of the Asian Music Circle (AMC), which was founded by Indian-born Ayana Angadi and his wife, Patricia Angadi (née Fell-Clarke) in 1946, but all available information on the exact house number turned out to be wrong.

Korinna Pilafidis-Williams

Guruji teaching in Fitzalan Road, clockwise from bottom left: Cliff (Diana Clifton’s husband), unknown, Angela Marris, Beatrice Harthan, unknown, Doreen Dahl, unknown, Ayana Angadi, BKS Iyengar, Shankara Angadi (standing), unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, Diana Clifton, Daphne Pick, unknown, Silva Mehta

Over the next four years I searched for the house number extensively and even tried old census publications, but to no avail. The breakthrough came when I was chatting to a friend and fellow yoga teacher, Ginny Owen, in Bristol. Cleverly, she took an indirect route, looking not for the owner’s name but for some of the well-known musicians who visited the AMC, specifically in a biography of the world-famous Indian musician Ravi Shankar. Finally, I had found it – the house number!!! I used one of my ‘lockdown’ walks for a recce. There it was: a house with a largish garden at the back and a fence that looked exactly the same as in the old photos we have.

What next? Well, rather than ring the bell, I decided to write a letter to the current owners explaining that I was working on an article for Dipika [Iyengar Yoga Maida Vale's magazine] and giving them my email address. Lo and behold, I received a reply on the same afternoon. It was a cold ‘lockdown’ Sunday but I was overjoyed. It felt like meeting a long-lost relative or solving a mystery. It turned out that the house was now occupied by a young family, who had only moved in a few years ago. I was also delighted to hear that they were of Indian heritage. From the title deeds of the house, they were aware that it had been the seat of the AMC but had no idea about its yoga background.

Sunday but I was overjoyed. It felt like meeting a long-lost relative or solving a mystery."

Let me tell you a bit more about this house and its history. Certainly, for us, the fact that Guruji taught there has the greatest significance but famous Indian musicians like the above-mentioned sitar player, Ravi Shankar, and the sarod player (a lutelike instrument), Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, played there when they were still relatively unknown in the West. We all know the sweet sound of The Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood’, on which George Harrison plays

the sitar. The story goes that when Harrison broke a sitar string, he was told to contact Mr Angadi to get a replacement. According to the Angadis' eldest son, Shankara, the whole family delivered the new string to EMI's Abbey Road studios. Harrison went on to become a regular visitor to the AMC and indeed he and Patti Boyd, his wife, had their portrait painted by Patricia Fell-Angadi, the owner of the house.

You may ask what the connection is to Guruji?

Let us go back to the most influential supporter of BKS Iyengar, Yehudi Menuhin. In an interview conducted by BBC producer Vanessa Harrison, Angela Marris, the secretary of the AMC and one of Guruji’s first students, recounts how Guruji met Menuhin. It was 1952, Menuhin was visiting India and he showed Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s prime minister) that he could do a headstand. The father of Indian Independence was not impressed and told Menuhin that he needed to have lessons with the ‘best yoga teacher in India, BKS Iyengar’. So began a legendary friendship between the musician and the yogi. Menuhin invited Guruji to teach him in Switzerland and London and then, as a patron of the AMC, he suggested that Guruji should teach a group of students at the Angadi family home.

"It was a cold ‘lockdown’

Clockwise from left: BKS Iyengar, Ayana Angadi, Chandrika Angadi, Robert Masters, Patricia Angadi, Yehudi Menuhin, Angela Marris, Dominic Angadi

In the same interview, Angela Marris recounts that she was asked to organise the first class and to invite some students. It was mainly students from the AMC “who came because you only had to mention Yehudi’s name to them and, well, they’d come”.

The first class took place in the sitting room of the Finchley house on the evening of Monday, June 19th, 1961. It can be called the birthday of Iyengar yoga in Britain. One of his first students at the class was the late Diana Clifton (1919-2015), who was also interviewed by Vanessa Harrison (in 1999, manuscript in the archives of Iyengar Yoga Maida Vale). Asked how she came to be at this first class she said: “I found out that Mr Iyengar was in the country and teaching at the AMC in Finchley. I rung through feeling rather nervous because I didn’t think I would be especially selected as I have only been practising from a book. The president of the AMC, Mr Angadi, said I should come as he had also only practised from a book…. When my husband dropped me at the house, he sat outside in the car. He said to me: “If there is any trouble, wave a handkerchief out of the window and I will come.”

"He asked whether I could stand on my head. When I said that I could only do it to the wall, he replied: ‘I am better than the wall, I’ve got hands, I’ve got arms, do it here!’"

In the first class there were just three students, Silva Mehta (the founder of the Iyengar Yoga Institute, London), Angela Marris and Diana Clifton. In Vanessa Harrison’s interview, Diana continues her memories of this first class: “I found him [BKS Iyengar] charming, really, he was quite firm with the way we were taught. He asked whether I could stand on my head and when I said that I can, he asked me to do it there. No blankets? So, he just threw a cushion on the floor. When I said that I could only do it to the wall, he replied: ‘I am better than the wall, I’ve got hands, I’ve got arms, do it here!’ So, I did.”

Chandrika in Sirsasana

Guruji adjusting Jacueline du Pré.

At the next class there were more students, including the pianist Clifford Curzon, the violinist Robert Masters and Beatrice Harthan, who helped to get Light on Yoga published in the UK. Daphne Pick, another yoga teacher who was at the early classes and also lived on Fitzalan road, explained in a written account (kindly provided to me by Lorna Walker, former editor of Dipika) how she came to attend the class. Chandrika, the Angadi’s daughter, was friends with her son, so one day the eight year old skipped into Daphne’s house and said: “Mr. Yogi man’s coming on Saturday, the charge is 50p per lesson.”

The number of students increased over the following weeks, until the classes had to take place in the garden for lack of space inside. The ‘regular’ students consisted of Diana Clifton, Angela Marris, Silva Mehta, Eilean Moon and Daphne Pick, who all practised regularly once a week. They paid half a crown until they got 60 pounds together to pay for an air ticket for Mr Iyengar to return the following year. So in 1962, Guruji authorised these students to teach others, as long as they taught in pairs to support each other. They were therefore his first ‘qualified’ teachers.

Acknowledgements: It has been a real detective story and I have asked many people for information so am grateful to all of them. I am indebted to Bavna and Sam, the current owners of the house, who not only let me take photos but offered to have a class on the 60th anniversary in their garden. Penny Chaplin, as the most senior teacher in the country, kindly offered to teach the class. I have also managed to contact the children of the Angadi family: Shankara and Chandrika. They generously helped me with the identification of some of the people on the garden photo and also named the AMC resident photographer, Jack Blake.

Further reading:

Sixty years later almost to the month [June 2021], the current owners of the house, who generously have provided me with photos of the garden, have asked me for some private yoga lessons. I am extremely moved with the prospect that once more yoga will be taught there. It makes a perfect cycle. I will leave it up to you to decide whether the house should have a blue plaque or not.

On Patricia Angadi: www.theguardian.com/ news/2001/jul/17/guardianobituaries.books; on George Harrison and the Angardis: Reginald Massey, Azaadi!: Stories and Histories of the Indian Subcontinent After Independence, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, NCT, 2005, p.56; for Patricia Angardi’s portrait of George Harrison Patti Boyd: https://scroll.in/magazine/881709/how-an-indianman-and-his-english-wife-introduced-george-harrisonto-ravi-shankar-to-create-history; for Yehudi Menuhin, Jawaharlal Nehru and BKS Iyengar: https://www. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0376m36 (BBC 15.11.2000); for the friendship between Yehudi Menuhin and BKS Iyengar: Suzanne Newcombe, Yoga in Britain, p.88ff.

Reprinted with kind permission from Dipika, vol. 53, 2021.

Angela Marris and Beatrice Harthan

Korinna Pilafidis-Williams started Iyengar yoga in 1983 and has taught in London since 1995. A Level 3 teacher, her special interests are therapy, children and mentoring. She is the editor of Dipika.

Sixtieth Anniversary class, 19 June 2021

& Learning Lockdown

The Covid pandemic has changed lives worldwide. Lockdown has also changed the way we learn, teach and practice yoga. Here, some of our students and teachers reflect on their experiences with Zoom, teacher training, props for home practice and taking yoga outside and into the woods.

Yoga Online: A teacher's perspective

Norah Phipps

When lockdown happened in March 2020, I was as unprepared as many others. I did not imagine I could teach online and, if I did, I thought that no one would come. Some students kept saying it’s easy with Zoom – which I had never heard of – but Uday Bhosale’s information on how to do it gave me hope.

An IT-savvy friend and I spent a Sunday afternoon on the phone to each other trying to sort it out. Then I trialled a session with three guinea pigs,

quickly learning that the room I thought was ideal was anything but. The new springy carpet, which was great to walk on in ordinary life, was hopeless for balance. The next room had an ideal wooden floor but a hopeless wi-fi connection. I was left with the main living room.

Those first few days and weeks of trial and error of where do teach were matched by the challenge of teaching online, being able to see people, wi-fi working at their end, realising that muting everyone is much better for the classes than hearing odd noises from their screens. Best to say it was all a steep learning curve, but one that many of us were making. The students at the other end were also struggling to come to grips with it all.

My own props were enhanced a great deal by a student sending me a much better lamp for the room, which helps students to see me. I’m very grateful to her for seeing a need I did not notice.

Norah Phipps is a Level 2 teacher who qualified in 2006 and has been teaching various classes since then in West Northumberland (yogawithnorah.com).

The students' perspective

On being taught online:

"My lessons from lockdown:

1. How much we rely on the teacher to correct us in simple things like the position of the feet or hands when we should take responsibility for this ourselves – and absolutely need to in a Zoom class.

2. How much a timer helps in self-practice to ensure even use of both sides of the body. The temptation to cut it short on the more difficult side is huge.

3. How important it is to listen properly to what the teacher is saying.

4. How distracting it must be for the teacher when animals wander around during class.

5. How much time Zoom saves, both in travelling and in all the little distractions and social interactions that happen in class. I find an hour’s concentrated yoga is very appealing."

"Prior to the first Zoom lesson I thought it would not work compared to a face-to-face session. However, Norah’s planning and professionalism ensured that session and many subsequently went well. Last week was the first face-to-face session and, guess what, I thought it would not go as well as Zoom classes. Wrong! Being back was excellent, with funny repartee amongst the all-lady (except me) group. Roll on the next ‘normal’ class!"

"I miss the company [of a face-to-face class] but have got used to being busy with work at home so Zoom sessions work for me."

On household props:

"I have a variety of cushions and can always find a suitable one; a throw that’s just the right size; books to use as blocks (my two volumes of the Icelandic Sagas are ideal, with the Greek Legends useful for a thinner block); also, instead of a belt, a “Halti” dog lead – I can make the end into a loop."

"Since I got my yoga bricks I am more inspired to practice yoga at home. I think I’m going to treat myself to the Iyengar yoga book for my birthday!"

"Lockdown made me realise I can use door frames and walls easily and quickly for ad hoc practice."

"I have a lovely new mat made of eco-friendly rubber. It has lots of markings which help me use my body evenly. If I position my hands or feet without looking and then check, I am often a few millimetres out, so it helps my practice when Norah is not present in person. My doorway has also been a help, standing in for the bar."

And from someone who did not join online classes but worked on her own practice:

"I needed to make an effort in lockdown as we could no longer have face-to-face classes. Keeping to a daily routine can be challenging – one can easily slip into the thinking: I will do that tomorrow, I’ve got stuff to do. So giving yourself space in the day for yoga that suits your work schedule."

"I improved my balance via a piece of the house –the top of the stairs! Our computer is on a desk on a landing, but for the two of us to see the screen it meant me being at the top of the stairs. Norah regularly suggested I be careful and I can proudly say that over 15 months of Zoom lessons I never once fell down the stairs!"

Norah's class returning to face-to-face lessons in the studio.

Teaching during the Pandemic

Mark Isaacs

Once lockdown started, I was lucky enough to get right onto using Zoom – with an old TV and my laptop. I eventually found an HD webcam, although they were like gold dust! Later on, an LED backlight helped too, in my colder, darker dining room.

I soon realised that teaching would be very different as people’s rooms, camera angles and spaces all meant new considerations and very clear, precise instructions. Similarly, some students needed more supports, so household items replaced props initially, with books for bricks, tights for belts, etc. Not being in the room together was as strange for them as it was for me.

Unfortunately, many students couldn’t work the technology, didn’t want to be on screens further, or just disappeared into the ether. Luckily, some preferred just to take a recording of class, practising as many times as they wanted at home. This also proved a great resource if someone missed a class.

practising at home, in their own space alone or with their partners. Many loyal students kindly invested in my old bricks, blocks and belts where needed, and even my older Habitat chairs, so they could continue supported inversions.

For my own practice during the pandemic some days I felt more motivated than others, but I was lucky to be able to practice my weekly senior teacher’s class on Zoom, resume Junior workshops and watch some Vimeo recordings from other teachers too. One of the amazing things was not only being taught by Abhijata [Iyengar] and Jawahar [Bangera], streaming straight out of Pune, but the opportunity to be taught by Prashant [Iyengar]. I don’t know when I’ll ever get to Pune, with my kids still young, so this was a blessing indeed. For many teachers, the world is your oyster in accessing teachers from across the globe, connecting via the power of the internet.

At first, I ran shorter 45-minute and one-hour classes, until we were all used to the format and the lockdown, with both morning, evening and a later evening class to suit all students. As it became the ‘norm’, I moved classes back to the usual 90 minutes, so we all got our full practice back gradually.

Many students actually preferred not having to travel or leave in poor weather, enjoying being taught in the comfort of their own homes. For myself, it was certainly a lot less expensive too, being located far from my senior teachers.

One of the great pros was that students who might not have had a home practice now effectively were

Perhaps most rewarding was the kind, positive feedback from my students about how online teaching had helped them, as we practised more together than in any other time. The regular routine of classes and the consistency of yoga provided a sense of normality for many to keep going, stay positive and manage stress. For my own sanity too, teaching online restored my sense of purpose and a way to connect with many students regularly, alongside my teacher’s class.

I’m lucky enough to be back teaching many face-toface classes, but we still Zoom on Friday mornings for those shielding or not ready to return, with regular access to recordings. I've really missed my fellow teachers, having taken for granted the privilege of being able to practice alongside them. This October, I'm finally attending my first live teachers' class since lockdown and am looking forward to reconnecting with good friends.

"One of the great pros was that students who might not have had a home practice now were practicing in their own space."

Props

The props I invested in over lockdown were a set of wall ropes.

I'd always known it was tricky trying to get my partner to agree to putting ropes up on our dining room wall! However, with this becoming the Zoom room, and so many teachers with ropes online, I finally managed to persuade her.

Ironically, they were out of stock. Joke: A: Do you have all the yoga rope wall kit pieces in stock? A: Sorry, I'm a frayed knot! (afraid not!).

Once back in Yogamatters, my wall rope kit arrived and I borrowed a rather long 20mm drill bit. I don't know what I most scared of – drilling on a ladder into my soft stone walls and the huge long drill bit, or whether the mortar glue would hold!

Finally, I tested them and success, all was fine. This gave me the opportunity to do supported asanas like Adho Mukha Śvānāsana, Uttānāsana and Śīrṣāsana, as well as developing my understanding of rope Kuruṇṭa (see photo).

I also invested in Yoga Kuruṇṭa: Learning the Ropes by Patricia Walden and the Boston Ropes Collective (sounds like a pop band!), to further develop and deepen my practice. It has been fantastic to be able to experiment further. In Covid times, these supported rope āsanas have also really helped when energy levels are low or the mind just needs to be quiet.

Mark Isaacs is a Level 2 teacher. Mark trained with Sasha Perryman in Cambridge and teaches in the villages north of Peterborough.

Rope Kuruṇṭa

Adho Mukha Śvānāsana with rope support

Teacher Training in Lockdown

Sara Ledwith

Lockdown fell as about half a dozen of us were thinking of starting teacher training. Our mentors, Sasha Perryman and Shaili Shafai, got creative. Eighteen months on, we’re studying hard, even though we’ve yet to experience a class in real life. After months of “O-o-oo-hiss-crackle-mmmm,” “You’re on mute,” and “I can’t see her feet,” I’m surprised by what we’re learning.

Sharing sequences once a month.

Learning together on Zoom.

Once a month, we share and run through sequences, and practise demonstrating down the screen. We’ve had regular āsana study, and studied anatomy by giving our own presentations and sharing the screen, rather than relying only on books.

From time to time in Zoom Q&A’s, we’ve had a chance to clear up misunderstandings and get to grips with things we didn’t initially follow, so it feels we’re making some progress. One of us moved to Germany – she can still join in. We can record the sessions, so if we miss one, it’s possible to catch up.

"Some memories – students disappearing behind their sofas, or getting a leg-stroke from a passing cat’s tail, or a hug in Śavāsana from a daughter – will stay."

We’ve also observed Zoom classes, screenshotting poses for later. This has taught ways of looking. For instance – a Baddha Koṇāsana positioned square on the camera. Check the shape of the space between the hem of the shorts and the upper thigh – is there action in the outer hip? Or maybe we can’t see a foot, but can we see from the shorts what’s going on with the pelvis?

Focusing on how students’ habits evolve also helps us understand where someone has stiffness, hypermobility or dullness. Watching a teacher coach a new practitioner into her first ever Ardha Halāsana in the confines of her back room – and observing how the teacher leaves the student to get on with it when the will is on fire – is illuminating.

It’s not all good. We have zero experience of handson adjustment. After a day looking at screens, those of us with desk jobs find it gruelling to scrutinise yet more screens. It’s a challenge to discuss anything with the microphone cutting out or the screens freezing. There are many non-verbal cues that we can’t share or see.

Added to that, we already find it hard enough to describe our actions. To help, Shaili suggested a shared practice where we all take a pose, then take it in turns to describe out loud an action and sensation to focus on. This obliges us to share the experience of others. Looking at the recording, we can also observe our own habits. And the length of time it takes each of us to work out what it is we exactly want to say about what we’re actually doing while balancing on one leg ensures we practise endurance.

So, it’s progress. And I’m certain some memories –students disappearing behind their sofas, or getting a leg-stroke in Utthita Trikoņāsana from a passing cat’s tail, or a hug in Śavāsana from a daughter –will stay.

Sara, an editor based in Cambridge, is in her sixth year of Iyengar practice.

Woodland Yoga

In May 2021, I was approached by Buxton Civic Association (BCA) who asked if I’d be interested in providing free yoga taster sessions in the woodland which sits within the town. BCA had received funding to set up the Stronger Roots initiative which aims to encourage local people to improve their health and wellbeing by connecting with nature. I jumped at this opportunity, and soon I was scheduled to provide an initial six sessions alongside other events such as theatre, crafts, tai chi, Nordic walking, forest bathing and kids play. This was right up my street!

Noelle Riggott

Once I’d agreed the task in hand I had to work out how to make it happen. The risk assessment was a bit different to building based ones (dog poo checks were a first!). I wanted it to be as accessible to as many people as possible, but what’s in the Iyengar teachers’ standard toolkit? Mats, bricks, blocks, belts, walls, chairs, ropes.... This challenge really got me thinking creatively, and now I’m happily incorporating nature’s props – tree trunks, logs and the even the gradient of the site – into the session.

I retired last March from working as an occupational therapist in mental health services and this project offered the potential of pulling together the skills and experience I’d gathered over the years. I’d set up and run an allotment group for people experiencing long-term mental health issues and could see the benefits of working the soil alongside others, and I’d run simple yoga sessions on the acute wards and seen how people could maintain some focus, begin to connect with their bodies in space, and feel some sense of contentment and relaxation at the end of the session. And of course, whether teaching or practicing, I personally experience these benefits as well, and I want to spread the word! In addition to this, there’s a growing body of research and evidence demonstrating the positive effects of yoga and connecting with nature on our health and wellbeing. Could combining these two activities produce an extra powerful impact? Maybe ...

So far, there’s been a good number of people who’ve never done yoga before coming along to the taster sessions, as well as some welcome familiar faces. I don’t think some of those people would have turned up at a studio or gym to try out yoga, but they might venture into one now. There’s been lots of interest and so we’ll be adding more dates over the summer, and BCA have encouraged me to continue independently after the project finishes.

It’s still early days but it does seem that after a session people seem to be glowing, and genuinely surprised at how relaxed they feel. There’s something awesome about lying in Vīparita Karaņi with your legs resting up against a gnarly old tree trunk, staring up at the canopy above you with a chorus of birdsong all around. I’m hooked!

Qualifying in 2017, Noelle is a Level 1 teacher based in Buxton and the surrounding area. She would love to hear from others who teach in natural environments and welcomes your thoughts and queries about woodland yoga via her Facebook page Noelle: Iyengar yoga classes (@noelleyogaclasses) or by email noelleriggott@gmail.com.

"There’s a growing body of research demonstrating the positive effects of yoga and connecting with nature on our health and wellbeing."

Noelle with students in the woodland; poses include Vṛkṣāsana, tree posture, among the trees and Ustrasana.

Dorothy's Story

Dorothy Robinson was the first female Black Iyengar yoga teacher in the UK. A full-time nurse and the mother of five children, she began her yoga journey at Adult Education classes in 1977 and went on to become one of the first generation of Western senior teachers, who became close to BKS Iyengar and his whole family. Born in Jamaica, and now living in Barbados, she comes back regularly to the UK to see her family.

We met on a hot afternoon in south east London in her pristine house, with a yoga studio built onto the back of the house, complete with wooden backbender.

Dorothy Richard-Evans, or Robinson, as she was known then, was there at the start of the IY(UK) organisation, well before it was known as that. She was there fundraising for Maida Vale through doing sponsored headbalances in Hyde Park, to turn the dilapidated artists’ studios into the beautiful studio space many of us know today.

She had a relationship with BKS Iyengar that clearly meant a great deal to her, as well as some incredible images of that time.

Here is her story, in her own words:

Dorothy Robinson with Poppy Pickles

The Journey from Student to Teacher

I started attending yoga classes in 1977, because I had some belly fat after having five children and I wanted to go on holiday! My youngest son Richard started school at Adamsrill (in Sydenham in south east London) and I went along to adult education classes at Hazeltine school.

My first teacher was Murial Flat, the gentlest teacher, and I attended her classes for a couple of years. One day she was running late and the other students asked me to go to the front and teach. I didn’t know what to say, but I was tall and thin and good at doing the postures, so I did, and after that Muriel suggested that I might want to learn to teach yoga.

It had never occurred to me to teach, but when she suggested it I thought, ‘why not?’ Back in my day there was no formal assessment process. We would be mentored with our main teacher, and then we would go to study with Silva Mehta who would pronounce when we were ready to go out into the world and teach.

A group of us would go to Eltham on a Friday night and we would take turns teaching in her class. I was the only Black girl (at the time I was referred to as ‘coloured’), and I remember the other trainees had fancy cars like BMWs and Ford Escorts and I had a battered old Triumph Herald.

I do remember that before we could be officially registered as teachers we had to go to the College of PE to get a certificate from Silva Mehta, and while all the other girls did that after about two years, I still wasn’t selected. Genie Hammond asked why and she was told that Silva had never heard of me – the following week I went to the College of PE. In fact, my own teacher told me that while I was a ‘very attractive coloured girl’ (her words at the time), it might be hard for me to become a teacher because ‘no one would listen to me’. She meant it kindly.

In fact, my very first job was when I went to cover for another teacher at an Adult Education class in South Norwood. The next week the students (all white students) wrote a letter asking that the cover teacher

Clockwise, from top left: Dorothy in Paschimotānāsana; with Guruji's grandson; in Dwi Pada Vīparita Daņḍāsana; in Parivrtta Trikonāsana; Guruji adjusting Dorothy in Marīchyāsana 1, Guruji's toe adjustment to her back heel in Parivrtta Trikonāsana.

(me) come back and take over the class! I accepted and taught there for 15 years.

The first class of my own that I was given was in Brixton (no surprises there) and I had a very small class, but there was a large group of Irish mothers who would come to learn Irish dancing. I persuaded them to come to my class if I could make it an earlier time, and they did, bringing their children with them too.

I did in fact go on to take two assessments, but then when I was in Pune Guruji asked me ‘What do you want a bit of paper for?’ and he told me there and then that I was a senior teacher. I went on to take over teacher training in south London from Genie Hammond and at least 40 teachers passed their assessment through me, many of whom are now senior teachers themselves.

Meeting the Iyengars

In 1982 I went for my first intensive in Pune. I was terrified. I’d heard all about this strict teacher – Mr Iyengar. Genie Hammond mentioned this to Guruji when we were there and he told her ‘She’s doing very well’, which certainly helped! In fact, once I was there I didn’t see the scariness at all. The other teachers called him Mr Iyengar, but to me he was always just Guruji, my guru.

Guruji and Geetaji both did amazing physical adjustments. Your body would respond to their touch and then never forget the adjustment. In Parivṛtta Trikonāsana Guruji would pin down my achilles with his feet and then I could turn so much more (see picture on p. 45).

[Dorothy shows me video footage from 1996 when Guruji teaches handstand, then goes up next to Dorothy. She’s laughing because she knows that means she’ll have to stay up in the pose now. She comes down twice and goes up again, while Guruji stays there telling her to get back up with a twinkle in his eye.]

I got to know Guruji, Geetaji and Prashantji, not just as teachers, but as people, mainly because we stayed in a room in the institute itself (RIMYI). In fact there were five of us on one room with beds side by side; Silva Mehta, Genie Hammond, Sylvia Prescot, Janine Horn and myself. Silva taught us to use a tiny gas cooker to boil the buffalo milk to pasteurise it. Early in the morning we would go upstairs to the hall to watch

Top, then bottom: Guruji demonstrating how Dorothy did Śīrṣāsana with bent legs!; adjusting her feet in Śīrṣāsana

the Iyengar family practice, which would begin any time from 4 am. I got to know Geetaji and Sonita, and I was also very friendly with Savita, Guruji’s youngest daughter. I would play with his grandchildren who would call me Dorothy Auntie. We would go to the library there and if Guruji was in there you could ask him anything. He was very accessible in those days.

I went to three or four intensives in Pune, and then after that I would go for a month and attend the General classes, which I preferred. That way you got the full four-week cycle of standing poses, seated poses, backbends and Prāņāyāma. I was also asked to help in the remedial classes where I would learn so much just from watching and listening and working out why Guruji and Geetaji gave certain postures to people with different conditions.

Prashant was also an amazing teacher. Before his accident his postures were incredible. I remember doing classes with him and you’d only do four postures, but by the end your whole body ached.

My Iyengar Inheritance

Guruji taught me so much. I saw him cross, laughing, sympathetic. I saw his warmth. He told me not to overteach or be too verbal in my classes. He would say ‘Hey Dorothy, you look. You don’t need a class plan, read your class and you will get your class through looking.’ I would say ‘Tāḍāsana’, and there would be a student with one shoulder higher than the other, so my class would be about looking at the shoulders. I would say ‘Trikonāsana’ and the students’ knees would be forward and their buttocks out, so my class would be about taking the buttocks in. It was common sense to me. You just had to see what was needed.

I’ve had a wonderful life teaching yoga, it’s really enhanced my life. I’ve taught everywhere; London, South Africa and Barbados. By practising yoga you get in touch with parts of yourself that someone who doesn’t do yoga can’t understand.

I see celebrities now with these incredibly toned bodies; yoga students don’t have a six-pack, but we do have self-control and peace of mind. It’s about how it makes you feel, not how it makes you look. You can’t get that benefit from anything else.

I started going to yoga classes to get a flat belly, and instead got to know myself and my ability. Yoga was never a job for me, I kept nursing until I retired. Yoga was something else, a way of life and a privilege.

Clockwise, from top left: Dorothy adorning Guruji with a garland at a Guru festival; Guruji, Dorothy, Geetaji and Genie Hammond in Genie's kitchen; being adjusted by Geetaji in Rope Śīrṣāsana

A Tribute to Henri Schott

and Quinta Mimosa Retreat Centre, Portugal

Rachel Lovegrove

Earlier this year, in January 2021, Henri Schott died at the age of 95. Henri was the owner of the much-loved Quinta Mimosa Retreat Centre, Algarve, Portugal. It was because of his vision and generosity of spirit that many teachers, me included, were able to host retreats at one of the most uniquely Iyengar-friendly centres in Europe.

I was lucky enough to participate in many visiting Iyengar yoga teachers’ retreats – Cathy Rogers and Judi Soffa (my first visit in 1993), Judy Sharpe, Alaric Newcombe, Jayne Orton, Aisling Guirke, Jo Zukovich, Kyra Mann, Lisbet Wilkman and Helen Stylianou, to name but a few, and not forgetting my very own sister Hannah Lovegrove.

Always, when you walked into that hall, there was a special atmosphere, the imprint of all the practice and study that had gone on in there over the years. I was teaching in that great room the day

that Guruji died. It felt like the perfect place to be on that sad day.

The reason that I wanted to write this article, was to mark the passing of Henri and, I fear, of Quinta Mimosa. Its future is unknown and all the staff there, who have put so much into keeping it going, are teetering on the edge of change and uncertainty. This is due not only to the Covid crisis and all those cancelled events, but also, now that Henri is gone, to the fact that this much-loved venue may soon be up for sale.

Rachel and Henri, enjoying the hospitality of Quinta Mimosa (photography: Rachel Lovegrove).

Over the years, I realised that Quinta Mimosa had a unrivalled uniqueness. It wasn’t perfect, there were the occasional staffing issues and booking problems (in the early days Henri managed it himself, with a couple of onsite assistants – things didn’t always go smoothly!), but Henri would always try to rise above all that and greet us with smiles and positivity. He often joined us in the evening classes.

From the very beginning the hall was set up to be fully equipped. For me, the yoga retreats were always about taking people into a space where they could immerse themselves in the subject of yoga, away from distractions, and hopefully be inspired to continue their Iyengar yoga practice once home. Indeed, some of the participants I met there are still my students today and, like me, many have gone on to complete their training as teachers.

I am looking forward to returning, but will it be the same? Even though Henri was quite ill the last time I was there, just the fact that he was present seem to give some kind of hold over the place. Thank you Henri for believing in yoga, for welcoming us all and for giving us memories to cherish for a lifetime.

Rachel Lovegrove is a Level 3 teacher, www.orangetreeyoga.com. If you would like to contact Quinta Mimosa, you can write to Paula, the centre manager, at info@quintamimosaalgarve.com.

Student Memories of Henri and Quinta Mimosa

"I recall very easily what a wonderful space it is. How calm and relaxing, restful and communityenhancing…. I loved sitting outside at the table with a cuppa or a meal in the good company of fellow retreaters, or quietly with a cuppa on my own.And the yoga space felt so perfect, enhancing my practice, my ability to relax into it, to focus."

– Rika

"I am saddened by the news of Henri’s death. He was a great character and I have very fond of the Quinta Mimosa retreats."

– Rose-Marie

"Quinta Mimosa will always remain a special place for me. Henri created this wonderful place and I hope it remains such a peaceful oasis for many years. I have fond memories of him joining us for a chat and a drink! My thoughts are also with all the kind people who worked there and will miss him."

– Alison

"Ah Henri, may he rest in peace. He certainly created a wonderful haven and space, and I will always be grateful that he opened his home for retreats. He was so interesting and cheeky to listen to. Quinta will not be the same, but wow, what memories!"

– Jo

"Unpack your bags and feel instantly at home."

Students at the rope wall.

Yoga at Quinta Mimosa – the Early Days

Catharine O’Neill

It was in September 1985 that I first met Henri Schott. Noel O’Neill (later my husband) had rented one of the houses from Henri and we had driven down together from the UK. Henri, whose home in London was very near the Shivananda Centre in Notting Hill Gate, was already a yoga aficionado and had decided to build a yoga studio at Quinta Mimosa. When I came to live in the Algarve in 1986, work was about to commence. It seemed clear to me that there was an opportunity to write to all my beloved teachers and see if I could encourage them to come out and share the joys of the house and area.

The first teacher who came, in 1987, was John Claxton. He and his wife Ros had a family holiday/ yoga retreat combined and repeated the winning formula for several years. Other senior teachers followed – Silvia Prescott, Penny Chaplin, Judi Sweeting and Jayne Orton. These teachers brought other teachers who in turn brought their own groups; Judy Sharpe, Carol Batterson and Rachel Lovegrove, to name but three.

Henri built the studio, but we needed to turn it into a fully equipped Iyengar studio in order to continue to attract teachers! John provided the

first eye bolts and ropes. Silvia Prescott was very helpful in providing measurements for wooden props (including a wooden equivalent of foam blocks), Halasana benches, wooden bricks, planks, Simhāsana boxes and three tresslers – all made by a local carpenter. The Birmingham Institute kindly donated and brought out to Portugal their secondhand cotton durries [rugs] when they replaced theirs. The first yoga mats were ordered from Germany and were cut from a large roll freighted out on a Lufthansa flight. I had some bolster covers made by a local dressmaker and stuffed them with lengths of cut up old clothes –DIY yoga props in the days before Rachel organised shipments from Yogamatters!

Henri had a long life and I was glad to have known him for some 35 years of it. We did not always see eye to eye, but our friendship survived in spite of the ups and downs. Quinta Mimosa was for many of those years like a second home to me. I was delighted to be asked to join Paula (who has been managing the place for a number of years) and a very small group of people to bury Henri’s ashes in the garden in January this year. May you rest in peace Henri.

Catharine O’Neill is a retired teacher and student.

Catharine O'Neill (right) and Rachel Lovegrove.

Henri in his favourite red jumper, helping a student on one of Judy Sharpe’s yoga holidays in the 1990s.

Teacher Memories

My memories of teaching at Quinta Mimosa are very fond ones. It was such a well-equipped hall and such a bonus having a rope wall. The food was absolutely first class too and students enjoyed picking their oranges in the morning for freshly squeezed juice, along with a very varied brunch that catered for all.

a hard act to follow."

I have taught an Iyengar yoga workshop in Quinta Mimosa since 2008. Encouraged by my friend Beccy Cameron (workshop organiser and administrator), we have hosted a wide range of students in this splendid setting. The week is one of our annual highlights. In the early years, Henri would join us for lunch or dinner to welcome our group. He was always interested in chatting with everyone and asking how they were enjoying Quinta Mimosa.

"Highlight of the Year."

Henri’s vision in creating a unique yoga retreat centre, in a grove of orange, lemon and other fruit trees, was inspiring. In our early years, we would regularly see Henri practicing yoga on the terrace, using his tressler for support. For a man who was so ill, he was always happy, welcoming and interested in the guests’ experiences.

We have enjoyed so many years in this wonderful place and hope that, having been forced to suspend the last two retreats due to the pandemic, we will be able to return for our usual week in 2022.

Rest in peace Henri and know that you will be greatly missed. We truly hope Quinta Mimosa will be available to us for many years to come as we have yet to visit anything else quite like it.

The only downside was that, with it being my first experience of teaching in a venue overseas, it was a very hard act to follow. No other retreat centre lived up to the overall standards of Quinta in the years that followed.

The staff were amazing and although we didn’t see much of Henri, he was always the perfect gentleman and always so delighted to see people enjoying their holiday. I will hold my memories dear to my heart.

Maggie Dix teaching at Quinta Mimosa.

"Quinta Mimosa,

Maggie Dix is a Level 3 teacher.

Aisling Guirke is a Level 3 teacher.

Aisling Guirke and Beccy Cameron

Maggie Dix

Fifty Years of Iyengar Yoga

an evening session of Iyengar yoga in the early 1990s with the teaching of Barbara Hicks. She had a deep understanding of the needs of each of her students. I started going twice a week to her classes and continued with her guidance at the City Lit in central London.

approach to yoga. It is this consistent attention to a uniform detail of teaching asanas that has kept me practising yoga. A similar pattern of teaching can be fully understood with each teacher.

Important Poses

John Ferguson

My first experience of Iyengar Yoga took place in 1970 when my wife, Kathleen, and I, joined an Inner London Education Authority course based on the teaching of BKS Iyengar. The sessions were twice a week for beginners and our teacher was Maxine Tobias. The classes were enjoyable and expanded our knowledge of the basic āsanas of yoga.

We continued to attend classes during the 1970s with both Maxine and Terry Tobias. These frequently took place several times a week and in different locations in central London.

In the 1980s we enjoyed our yoga, but our practice became limited, and Kathleen died in 1987. I was fortunate to join

When her yoga classes ceased to be held at the City Lit in the Autumn of 2014, Barbara organised Friday classes at the Clerkenwellbeing Studios at Goswell Road, London. These excellent sessions continued until Barbara’s death, when her husband, Dave Dayes, carried on the weekly meetings until late 2019 when Nicky Lowe took on the Friday class.

"Over fifty years I have had the privilege to enjoy five experienced Iyengar yoga teachers"

However, due to Covid-19, lockdown took place on 16th March 2020, and Nicky immediately organised online Zoom sessions on Monday and Wednesday evenings. These have been most successful and continue to this day.

Thus, over fifty years I have had the privilege to enjoy five experienced Iyengar yoga teachers with their unique

Over the fifty years, there are certain poses I have continued to appreciate, and to which I have always returned. I always benefit from Tāḍāsana as it maintains the straightness of the spine, legs and feet. The regular action of Utthita Trikoņāsana brings the whole body into attention, particularly the shoulders and the pelvic area.

Another pose I have always enjoyed is Vṛkṣāsana. This standing pose assists balance and stretches the whole body and is a peaceful experience. The next pose is Baddha Koņāsana, which is another example of a calming yoga āsana. The two classic poses that are of regular assistance are Adho Mukha Śvānāsana and Adho Mukha Vīrāsana both of which help breathing.

In finishing a session, the practice of Vīparita Karaņi against a wall and Setu Bandha Sarvangāsana both lead peacefully into Śavāsana, which is always the essential ending as it relaxes the body, eases breathing and brings peace of mind.

Over the course of fifty years, my practice has changed in certain ways. For most of the first three decades, the flexibility of the body was present and Halāsana was regularly enjoyed to release fatigue. Similarly, Salāmba Sarvangāsana has been a soothing, inverted pose. In the last twenty years, inversions have become less certain. The sense of balance has become more important.

Why Iyengar Yoga?

The recognition in Iyengar yoga that props can be used to make the practice more comfortable and relaxed is vital. A robust, wooden chair can help in achieving Bharadvājāsana. The bolster is another prop which can assist in āsanas such as Setu Bandha Sarvangāsana and Supta Baddha Koņāsana, which are very restful poses. The support of a wall to help maintain balance is also recommended in Iyengar yoga. This can be valuable for Tāḍāsana and the standing asanas and help in the later years.

The memories that my teachers have had of their experiences in Pune have always been enlightening. I do vividly remember a visit that Yogachārya BKS Iyengar made to the Cecil Sharp Centre near Regents Park in London in the late 1970s. His masterful explanation of how the guru will teach yoga āsanas and the need to live fully to selfrealisation remains with me to this day.

It is clear to me that the practice of Iyengar yoga over the fiftyyear period has helped to

improve physical and mindful health. Keeping in touch by regular tuition sessions and the achievement of prāņāyāma leads to the link between the material and spiritual body. The introduction to kumbhaka and a deeper understanding of breath retention has had a greater appreciation over these years.

If I were to offer advice to friends considering starting yoga, the first point would be to seek out a qualified Iyengar yoga teacher. I would explain the care with which the Iyengar yoga organisation prepares and examines their teachers throughout their careers. The second point would be to value and understand their guru. The third point would be to endeavour to enjoy regular practice, both in class and at home. Iyengar yoga has been a sustained strength to my life due to the inspiration of my teachers.

A Short Bio

To conclude with a short background, I was born in Highgate, London, in October 1927. Following school at Highgate and National Service, I gained my BSc (Eng), became a Chartered Civil Engineer and worked in the UK and abroad.

In 1966, I joined the Greater London Council, Department of Public Health Engineering and managed the disposal of London’s solid wastes. In 1986, I became the Director of the London Waste Regulation Authority (LWRA) and remained there until 1996, when it was absorbed into the Environment

Agency. In the early 1990s I was awarded an OBE for services to wastes management.

In the last two decades, I have followed a lifelong love of fine art and was able to study full time at Central St. Martin’s and gain my BA and MA in Fine Arts.

John in Sarvangāsana (photography: Nicky Lowe)

The Hall Was Quiet and Cool

Stephanie Quirk

New Zealand-born Stephanie Quirk first observed BKS Iyengar and Dr Geeta S Iyengar’s therapy classes in 1991. She was based in Pune for twenty years. During this time, the therapy classes at RIMYI went from twice a week to five days a week. This is her account.

The hall is quiet and cool, the floor space looking vast and empty. It is 3.50pm. A lot of the assistants and teachers have arrived, they are sitting around the sides, quietly waiting, whispering between themselves or just sitting. A few patients arrive early, they like to get their poses started early. They prepare their first poses and set-ups. The hall is still waiting.

3.56pm, some senior assistants run in, they move some of the patients, move and arrange props. More patients arrive, taking places, settle on bolsters, some at the trestle.

4.03pm, Guruji steps into the room. You feel the room change. He immediately steps up to the closest patient perhaps working at the grills, perhaps on the trestle. The whole room comes alive, switches on. Loudly, Guruji implores, encourages, exhorts and urges the students to work in their poses. The change is strong, powerful. For all of the gathered students, it is completely captures their attention. The room is transformed, no longer waiting; we are all centred and focused. There is work to be done and the whole room is now involved in this.

As if synchronised with that shift, Geetaji enters the room. She has the same presence and intensity in imploring and charging the patients to immerse fully into the process that she has handed them. Everybody’s attention is now held and focused: the patients on their programmes, the teachers and assistants on Guruji and Geetaji's directions.

There is so much movement happening, it is difficult to follow any particular case’s thread. This level of focus and intensity continues for a good hour at least.

I have often thought that sitting at the back of the main hall on a therapy class night is like viewing Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. The room from the centre even tends to appear as a triptych. Trestles to the left where everyone enters, the ropes and Viparīta Daņḍāsana benches section on the right. All manner of life stories and accounts are being attended to with props and attendants in those sessions. Lives in suffering, lives on discovery, as well as recovery. A vast array of conditions are tended to. Postures entered into, immersed and absorbed – or if not, an adjustment, an adaptation is applied until the right fit.

Next, as if a secret signal had been given, everything moves. At once, everyone finds their own locus of movement. Patients move into their first poses, assistants miraculously juggle three benches, four blankets and five belts above their heads, bringing and carrying them back and forth. Chaos. The work has begun at an incredible intensity.

Geeta calls patients over to her desk, she is reviewing their programmes. She talks and listens to them recounting their experiences. She makes adjustments to their sheets, deleting poses, re-organising others. Sometimes, it is the teachers’ and assistants’ work that is seen, reviewed and adjusted!

Guruji is always surrounded by a swarm of assistants. After 20 minutes or so, there usually appears to have been an unspoken reckoning. Among those who had vied to assist the Guru directly, only those who are nimble-footed, skilful and deft of hand are still closely attending. The rest faded back to behind the columns, though still with a belt in hand or between their teeth ‘just in case’, ready to jump, ready to work. Slowly they would get absorbed into helping another teacher’s work.

We all work into the night. The room is chaotic and noisy but no one notices. We are in it. There is no separation, all immersed, all involved.

The strongly voiced encouragements subside as Guruji works. It is a curious thing to realise that when Guruji himself is deeply involved, he becomes quieter and quieter. Not silent, only an occasionally comment or instruction is heard above the general noise of the room. We all lean close in to hear what he says. His voice becomes soft, quiet and often with an economy of only what he need to say. Single words to indicate pose to do next, a nod in the direction of any prop wanted. The assistants were getting whittled down, the ones that stay likely had worked with Guruji on previous nights, so they knew what the nods mean.

again. But no two practices were ever the same, he watches and listens for evidence of change within that repeated practice. He made changes in their experience was that were subtle. One time, turning a blanket through 90 degrees, as he said the grain of the blanket would be better if turned. Sure enough, the recipient thought it improved the experience. It seemed to me that along with the deepening awareness being conveyed to the patient through his administration of subtle changes, he had instigated their own healing process. The change went in.

In watching Geetaji, though attending to every student, seeing all with her penetrating gaze, what I noticed a lot was that she would concentrate and convey everything through the teacher or assistant assigned to the patient. Her focus was on them. She knew what the patient needed but seemed intent on bringing the teacher’s skill and

insight to be in that therapeutic process. Getting the teachers to reach in required the shattering of their own limitations of knowledge and ignorance. That breakthrough did not come easily. Geeta had to exert, exhort and cajole. Everything was revealed to Geeta’s eyes and any indication that something was hidden would be brought into clear light and revealed. That force was undeniable. She changed the teachers, she changed the student.

As the night wore on, Guruji’s admonishments had quietened but not completely silent. If you had the fortune to be close, you would hear the shabda or vibration that seemed to reveal where Guruji was working from. In his absorption of the student’s state, he worked from the centre, from the heart. That was his healing process.

He hummed, as he worked he hummed, sometimes seemed to be a tune, but mostly just a hum,

Guruji was very consistent in his work with the patients. He would apply a similar sequence, the same poses over and over

to himself. We only naturally hum when we are content. His work, his task to heal and give to others, to release his heart's energy for benefitting had a sound it was a quiet hum.

At the end of the night’s work, both Geetaji and Guruji would be found sitting on the platform, talking with patients, their relatives, with the assistants, everyone was relaxed the work was done, it was complete. Everyone felt that sense of completion at the end of the class.

Guruji would wander off back to the house, usually first. By the time I was leaving the courtyard to go home, I could hear Guruji in the house, talking to Abhijata’s small baby. He was playing with her, chuckling and cooing. He had left the responsibilities he held as the Yogacharya, the teacher, the Guru. He was bathing in the aura and innocence of a new baby.

Stephanie Quirk was first introduced to yoga in 1986, and first attended classes in Pune in 1991. She has since taught all around the world. Now based in Australia, she works with the teachers of Marrickville Yoga Centre in Sydney and continues to travel and teach on invitation. www.stephaniequirk.com.au

Long Covid Study

Gerda Bayliss

Long Covid has been a continual struggle for me and many others. The number of people suffering all over the world is growing daily, yet there has been very little support, and some have often had to fight to be believed. Whilst ill with Long Covid, Iyengar yoga has been a huge support for me mentally and physically.

The Long Covid therapy project was born out of a desire to help Long Covid sufferers and to demonstrate the benefits of Iyengar as a support system. Initially, we were keen to access some of the available funding for research into Long Covid, but realised early on that it could take months before anything tangible was achieved. Instead, we decided to concentrate on getting support out to the ever-growing number of people with Long Covid as quickly as possible, while still collecting some useful data on the effectiveness of Iyengar yoga therapy in helping Long Covid sufferers. Our aim was to help first and work on the research and funding later!

The project will be entirely online, providing ten weeks of yoga therapy for participants in the comfort of their own homes with no need to travel. It will involve ten qualified lead therapy teachers, 51 students, and 102 assistant teachers. We look forward to sharing more about this exciting project in the next magazine!

Gerda Bayliss is a Level 2 teacher based in Leeds. Prior to the pandemic she was teaching in Leeds and the surrounding area. She is now teaching online.

Yoga Teaches Us to Cure What Need Not Be Endured and Endure What Cannot Be Cured

Frances Homewood

This has long been one of my favourite quotes from Guruji, our teacher BKS Iyengar. Yet it is only in the last few years that it has opened up into new layers of meaning for me. In this last year in particular, I and all of us have had to endure situations that we could never have imagined possible and find ways to deal with them.

Recently I remembered being in a class with Jeanne Maslen, one of the first Iyengar teachers in the country and co-founder of Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga. Someone asked her why it is that, in our system of yoga, we hold the poses for some time, rather than flowing or jumping from one to another. She said that, in part, it helped one to learn how to endure; to face stiffness or discomfort and not immediately turn away from it to the next thing or posture. And that since we can’t control what life throws our way; this was a useful thing to learn.

Her answer did not impress me at the time. I was young and flexible and my joy in yoga was being able to stretch out, easing away the effects of a day of sitting in meetings at work. I had little interest in this pearl of wisdom.

I came across Guruji’s quote when starting the Therapy class at Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre and it became a kind of mantra. We as a team had many instances of students coming with a sore knee, neck or painful shoulder, and following the tailormade programme devised for them, could then go back to their regular class. Cured, you might say. Yet there were those who joined us because of a long standing or degenerative illness – MS,

Parkinson's, Ataxia, bi-polar syndrome, for whom there is no current cure. What we needed to offer here through this ancient practice, was a means to endure. And within that to soothe, restore, balance and give a different perspective that enabled this person to carry on.

Nothing teaches like personal experience. When my husband Mike was diagnosed with an illness that cannot be cured, we lived through the pain of that reality and I realised a few things about endurance that I must have gleaned from all my years on the yoga mat.

One crucial thing was the power, in fact, the necessity of living in the present moment. We chose not to look at prognoses of further down the line and embraced an attitude of doing everything

"In the end, endurance has also to contain an element of acceptance, of courageous surrender to what is."

Frances & Mike at Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre's 5th anniversary

possible to make his quality of daily life the very best. Since he defied all expectations, that was clearly the right call.

Yet in the end, endurance has also to contain an element of acceptance, of courageous surrender to what is. Here yoga philosophy helps in teaching us that the body/ mind is not all that we are and that our innermost spiritual essence can actually grow and evolve through the way we face these challenges. We are invited to address our vṛttis, the wandering mind and find ways of bringing it to stillness. In the present. Not that this is easy but at least we can know not to turn away from the discomfort of that.

Although we have emerged from lockdown, we are being cautioned that there is still a way to go and that we may need to endure limitations for some time. Perhaps we can employ what we have come to know, on our mats and beyond, to give us the courage to be with each day and each moment, knowing that we are growing stronger in ways we may not yet understand. And certainly can’t control.

NATIONAL IYENGAR YOGA DAY

• 15 January 2022 •

Unfortunately, there won’t be a flagship PR event next year for National Iyengar Yoga Day (NIYD) UK/Ireland 2022. Given the continuing uncertainty around Covid, who might be willing and able to teach or attend face-to-face classes, and the potential that events might need to be cancelled at short notice, the IY(UK) Executive Committee recently voted to postpone national events for another year.

National Iyengar Yoga Day was established by IY(UK) in 2015 with the aim of raising awareness of Iyengar yoga and the work of Guruji, and to encourage as many people as possible to attend classes and experience Iyengar yoga. It usually takes place on the third Saturday of January which in 2022 is 15 January.

If you decide to organise anything in your own area on that day please tag #iyengaryogauk and #niyd2022 and Katie Owens will repost as much as she can.

We hope NIYD 2023 will be a great success with no restrictions!

IY(UK) PR and Communications Committee

Frances Homewood is the Director and Founder of Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre and a Level 3 teacher.

Mike fixing windows, just after they bought the Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre building

A Conversation with Charlotte Everitt

Charlotte took over from previous Chair Jill Johnson last year. We talk to Charlotte about why she's taken on the role of Chair, what the organisation means to her, and what drives her.

What made you decide to take on the role of Chair?

It wasn’t exactly my plan, but when the opportunity came up, I couldn’t ignore it. I joined the Executive Committee as one of the Manchester and District representatives in 2014. My first meeting was in York and as soon as I walked in, then-Secretary Helen White said “I wondered if it was you! How would you feel about being Secretary?” She was coming to the end of her term and needed a replacement, so within a couple of months I was on the Board.

By the time Jill decided to stand down, I’d been on the Board for a number of years and felt pretty enmeshed within the fabric of the organisation. I’ve been involved in many of our decisions over the last few years – I’ve learnt about our history and why we do things the way we do – and I’ve contributed to the actions we’ve taken. So it didn’t feel like a massive leap to say that I would have a go.

How do you see your role as Chair – what's your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge I see is that across our membership we are all individuals, and, in many ways, very different people. What brings us together is Iyengar yoga, but that doesn’t mean we all think the same way about yoga, let alone anything else. Trying to ensure that we are making the right decisions – that represent our membership and reflect our

values, but also allow us to develop and grow – that can be a tricky balance. On a personal level, finding time is my biggest challenge. I think the trick is to be able to have boundaries, and to prioritise. Once I understood that I was never going to get to the bottom of my to-do list, I was able to tackle the most important and urgent things with a lot more energy!

What does IY(UK) mean to you?

My motivation very much comes from looking at our senior teachers, who have created and driven our association; I feel very strongly that we need to honour their work by continuing it. They have put so much into it, we have benefitted so much from it, that to not carry it on would be the height of ingratitude.

IY(UK) provides me with support on two levels. One is the high-level support I get as a member and teacher – certifying teachers, monitoring ability and competence, teacher training and development, managing complaints and concerns, running the annual convention, supporting local events, providing information and connections, offering the link to RIMYI. The other is the day-to-day support I get as a person – the network and community, the friends I have made, the wisdom others have shared with me; maybe I would have got those things without IY(UK), but probably not to the extent that I have.

How can we improve as an organisation?

No organisation will ever be perfect! We’re always going to be improving. I really appreciate the ethos by which we are all equal members and all able to participate in managing and running the organisation – that is very important to me, we’re not driven by the top-down. I like the sense of community that we create, the ability to find common ground between ourselves. And I value the sense of lineage we have, being able to trace back to our beginnings, I feel a real sense of solidity and robustness because of that.

The things I find difficult are trying to get everyone onto the same page so that we can move forward (excuse the mixed metaphors). Every one of us is passionate about our own vision, and that is an amazing thing; but we don’t all have the same vision, which means we pull in different directions. I would like us to be more able to embrace and adapt to change – we do generally get there but it seems like that sometimes needs a lot of time and effort. I’d like us to do more to bring new members in and grow, but also have more members actively involved in our committees and working groups.

Have you been to Pune, and if so, what impact did it have on you?

I have been incredibly fortunate to visit Pune three times (so far?) and had some fantastic experiences, with some amazing people. My first visit was in 2013, so I got to see Guruji in the flesh; my second was in 2016, when Geetaji was recovering from her illness – and was a delight to be around as she was clearly so pleased to be teaching again – and then in 2018, a couple of months before Geetaji passed. Mostly I learned that I can do (some) things that seem impossible. But I also learned Indian food is my favourite type of food…

How can we conserve the work of our founders without getting too backwards-looking?

That’s the trick, isn’t it?! We are who we are because of our founders – Guruji and his family, our Indian teachers, and our UK and Ireland teachers who have done so much to drive Iyengar yoga in this country. It’s imperative that we continue to work with Prashant and Abhijata as we evolve and

develop; they themselves recognise the need to develop and build, we can see that from the recent changes to certification levels. We need to have the discrimination to be able to distinguish between what’s a fundamental part of who and what we are, what’s beneficial to keep, and what we need to let go of in order to progress.

What would you like the legacy of your leadership of the organisation to be?

My ideal would be to have an organisation which encompasses and includes all our students and practitioners across the country. It feels like we have a number of challenges facing us, all of which could be risks or could be opportunities. We have the recent shift to online yoga, as a result of the pandemic; we have the massive social movement around inclusion and diversity, especially around anti-racism but also other marginalised groups such as those with disabilities; we have ongoing difficulties around getting our members involved in our organisation, at both a local grassroots level and at the national level; we have the growth and success of more and more yoga studios which sit alongside our Member Groups as a means of bringing new members in; we have the explosion of social media and influencers promoting all sorts of yoga and wellness strands.

I would like to leave the organisation in a position to grow and thrive, through ensuring that everyone can access and feel welcome in Iyengar yoga; understanding how we can not only address the challenges but go further and use them to create opportunities and advancements. We know what we have to offer, and we have all experienced the benefits in our own lives. I would like to leave a template for how we can offer more of those benefits to more people, in a sustainable way that ensures we can continue to grow and evolve over the coming decades.

What has yoga brought to your life on a personal level?

I would say a sense of balance; the ability to step away; and a sense of direction. Also, a large drawer full of t-shirts. 

Book Review

Imagine If

by Rajvi Mehta

with students at their own level, how to make imaginative use of everyday items, such as props and supports (as both prisoners and someone on chemotherapy show), how genuinely to respect students, rather than impose on them, how to judge if it is appropriate to touch and adjust, how to teach when students have sensory or learning disabilities. But to read it as a student may be to be over-awed by the accounts of everyday heroism, to feel rather inadequately feeble and small. Walking that fine line between courage and caution, as Guruji urged, is sometimes not a clear path but a zigzag that leaves most of us, for the most part, just getting by.

Contentment and adaptation through yoga

Dr Laura Potts

Rajvi Mehta is known to many IYN readers for her generous and vastly knowledgeable teaching on visits to Britain, and for her work on the Yoga Rahasya journal. In this short book, she invites readers to imagine lives different from our own, through telling accounts of people she was invited to meet who are practising Iyengar yoga despite disability, chronic disease and huge disadvantage; people who, as she says, ‘had extraordinary problems’.

The book is clearly inspirational in tone and intention: a tonic to shift the reader from complacency and petty grumbles. As such, it belongs within that tradition of writing intended to uplift and change attitudes. To read it as a teacher is to have rich opportunity to reflect on how better to communicate

By recounting how the people she met were learning and practising yoga in such difficult circumstances, she invites us to practise compassion and empathy, and to learn from them not to ‘make these problems larger than life’. She reminds us ‘that pain and suffering are subject to how one looks at them, how one accepts and how one handles them’. Throughout these stories a common theme is revealed: the acceptance of personal reality, circumstances and limitations on life, and ‘whatever life has in store for you’. With that attitude, the yoga practitioners she meets are finding opportunities to learn, with the support of teachers open to creative self-effacing ways of working to support their particular needs. They are moving on, moving ahead, as she tells it. Reflecting on the life and practice of a woman she meets in Israel, Shirly, who lives with multiple cancers, she asks: ‘I wonder whether any of us has a right to complain about life. All we need to do is develop the perspective to accept, to focus on areas that are not problematic and see adversity as a new beginning, a new way of life’. Other qualities she observes in the practitioners she meets, and which are, she suggests, lessons for the reader, are contentment and adaptation.

It’s questionable, however, how useful this attitude is in making life better and fairer: how will our huge problems with inequality, climate change, violence and damage to people and land, ever be remedied unless we take action to change the status quo, rather than accept it? Rajvi helpfully picked up on this point in the recent IY(UK) Yoga Space event, reminding us that yoga also teaches us to be discerning, not to tolerate what is bad or mean in life.

The book has contemporary salience, making reference to the Covid-19 pandemic which has changed so many people’s lives. For a few, this current adversity may have been a new and positive beginning. Rajvi offers the valuable sequences Guruji devised for trauma and immunity, and explains how they may work effectively. One US student’s response to the former, used after the 9/11 attacks, could sum up what so many experience: ‘the amazing strength and power of yoga…to heal’. Many know this from their own experience; many from working as yoga teachers and observing it in students; a privileged few of us from helping in medical classes at RIMYI.

Why anecdotal evidence is not enough

We as an Iyengar yoga community are not, however, serving the contemporary world well enough if we solely rely on experiential accounts of the efficacy of the practice. We are at a point now, with all the other revolutionary changes in organisation, teacher training, online learning, to step more courageously into the world of health related research. Iyengar yoga will never have the public legitimacy and status it deserves if we complacently say ‘well we just know it works, we see it work’. There is a very limited range of high- quality research papers that mention Iyengar yoga, or have trialled it in specific contexts, measuring its effects, working out how particular practices are specifically beneficial.

When I taught medical students, their assessment for the module was twofold; firstly to document their own learning and its effects on their own health and well being, and secondly to explore a chosen health topic through published research findings in relation to yoga. There was pitifully little for them to draw on for this second assignment, and those few studies were often small and not robust and so the conclusions weak and unconvincing. Often the remit had to be broadened to look at all yoga therapeutic interventions, in order to have any material to discuss.

Recently, a small group of teachers have been working to establish a pilot study offering Iyengar yoga to people with Long Covid. We have been supported in this by Lois Steinberg in the US, who has undertaken valuable work to demonstrate the effectiveness of programmes for specific health problems. So we have a modifiable sequence that we can offer people with Long Covid; the ten week pilot project starts in early October; over 100 teachers have volunteered, providing support to over 50 students. Unless, however, such work is properly evaluated, as we hope it will be, there is no chance of opening that opportunity up more broadly, making it freely and fairly accessible to anyone, not just those already practising Iyengar yoga. We need to be able, for instance, to access social prescribing processes within existing health care delivery services, and that will only be possible if we can provide evidence of the effectiveness of the programme.

At the Yoga Space event Rajvi responded to a question about the need for evidence, not just anecdotes, by asserting how important it is to demonstrate just how and why Iyengar yoga can be effective. The methodologies, systems and sequences we can offer differentiate the teaching by qualified therapy teachers from that of ‘yoga’ as it is commonly understood – as about just flexibility, breathing and relaxation. These robust structures offer something valuable in the context of contemporary evidencebased medicine and, as she urged, it is important that we document this work and make it public.

The stories she tells in Imagine If inspire us but we need then to be karma yogis – just as she emphasised Guruji was a man of action. Imagine if we as IY(UK) embraced the opportunity presented by the pandemic to engage in publicly-funded research and to collaborate with academic and health researchers, and reach out with that authority and legitimacy to the wider world.

Imagine If: Stories of Ordinary People with Extraordinary Grit, Westland, Feb 2021.

Laura first attended Iyengar yoga classes in 1977 and began teaching yoga in 1994, with a particular interest and expertise working with people with mental health problems.

Yoga Space: Rajvi Mehta

Joan Abrams

Yoga Space, our regular Zoom sessions for IY(UK) members on topics of interest, invited Rajvi Mehta on 30 July this year, to answer questions on her recent book Imagine If: Stories of Ordinary People with Extraordinary Grit. It is an insightful, sympathetic and uplifting account of her personal experiences with yoga students around the world who all encountered extreme setbacks in their health or life chances but have triumphed through yoga and their individual strengths. Examples are a student with recurring cancer, one visually impaired, and a double amputee, as well as earthquake victims, and prison inmates. It is an emotional read, giving us insights into how Guruji’s wisdom was central to their yoga, as well as emphasising the role of the students’ own perceptions of their challenges.

does it. We don’t see things in black and white and we accept things much better. And with the pandemic, we are in a better position to handle it.

What advice do you have on teaching yoga to people with Parkinson's?

For the past 15 years in Mumbai we have been working with Parkinson’s patients, and also set up a three-month study with a control group. The yoga group improved in movement, gait, and emotional bearing. But they have to continue. When people stop then things deteriorate. If we can make a little difference to the quality of life in a progressive neurological disorder that shatters that individual as they are only expecting worse, that is worthwhile.

How can we get our yoga to a wider audience?

Read the book! People have got inspired. If the people in the book are leading a happy life, then obviously our lives are much better. Many of the stories show that it is all about perception. Everything about life is how you perceive it. Yoga helps develop our perception, helps us to see things differently, and transforms the person who

How can we keep Guruji's legacy alive in the future? Well, honestly speaking – yoga has been there since time immemorial. Guruji helped bring it back and spread it about the world. It is there, it will remain there. It might fluctuate with new generations of students. Just being honest to Guruji’s teaching and transmitting the best we can. Guruji has written and recorded so much, and each Association has its rich history now. Guruji devised the language for teaching yoga – e.g. ‘open the chest’. Which book before Light on Yoga had such a detailed description? We could see him in the Pune library writing, correcting, etc, and when he was there it didn’t appear that he was doing so much, but now you see what he has given to this world. Maybe it becomes our karma to pass it on in different ways.

What was the biggest change in Guruji's teaching from 1970 to the 2000s?

Guruji’s teaching did not change, but my understanding changed. I was 13 at first, so I didn’t understand anything, and the first class I ever took was with Guruji. Gradually you start realising the depths and the greatest thing was his ability to go to the level of the students and bring them up. He didn’t expect students to climb up on their own. Of course, Guruji also evolved: in the 1970s his

articulation was not the same as in the 2000s. The depth changed and it was so difficult to keep up with him – not that it was easy to keep up with him at any point! I feel very blessed to have been born at that time.

How would you encourage a yoga sceptic to try a class? That is a challenge! There may be one in the family doing it and if they have seen you doing it for a long period of time, then they might come. Then if they have a pain and you say, ‘why don’t you try yoga to change it?’ When they are better, then encourage them to keep it up so it doesn’t come back again. If it’s someone relatively new in your life, the one intro session or just a week’s programme –that might work. When they see the change in a span of eight to ten days, then they are motivated to come again.

What is the best advice Guruji gave you?

If I think about it, Guruji never gave advice. He never sat down and said what or what not to do. The great thing you learned by observing him, being around him. The more you got to know Guruji you realised that there was no different side to him – wherever he was he was just the same. This was humility. Anyone could walk into the library in Pune and talk to him. Another thing I strongly remember – he was a ‘man of action’. When he gave you something, you trusted him; whatever he thought he did. If he thought about yoga being about all the dualities – the sun is shining on all of us, but there are the clouds.

I’m currently training to teach in my first year aged 29. How do you feel IY is encouraging the younger generation?

Honestly, I don’t see much of age playing a role. If you are there, and you are inspired and have the experience you will teach. To teach what we experience. We are all practitioners. You can have a

concept before class but cannot be fully prepared because if you don’t have a response then you are not able to teach. Prashant says we are silently speaking. As a teacher you are not being judged by what you say, but by what you say when. And if that student is getting that instruction, however simple it is, you have done your job. I guess we just need to be who we are, we don’t need to show anything to anybody.

How can we move from the inspiring stories in Imagine If to a public arena where Iyengar yoga is accepted as evidence?

Very important aspect – one: the stories inspire people. If with cancer, it will give them the courage to take it. Fortunately [for any research] we have a very structured system. Guruji’s legacy is a strong structure, and we know what we are doing. The āsanas work with qualified people teaching them. We need to differentiate [from other styles] and then the efficacy of Iyengar yoga will come through. I am happy to contribute to these studies in any way.

What made you think of writing the book?

I was in contact with Amazon, and during various discussions I related these stories, and it was suggested I did that. I had already written the stories, but just as stories. I tried the book on friends and neighbours, and they said it was readable, and I had some feedback from not-so-close yoga students, and they were very much touched by the stories, but at first I didn’t know whether it expressed what I wanted it to. That was how it started. Now we are working on another book with Shirly, the dancer, [the first story in Imagine If] using her experience with Guruji, especially for people undergoing acute medical treatment, what practices and how to handle it. People ask if I’m a writer, but I’m a scientist. I only have hobbies. That’s the good fortune of doing yoga.

Rajvi Mehta teaching at the 2013 UK Convention.

An Interview with

Margaret Hall

Margaret Hall is a teacher and long-standing member of IY(UK). She has recently been appointed as Chair of the newly-formed Equity Standing Committee (ESC), alongside Helen Townsend (as deputy chair), which will report back to the board and inform IY(UK)’s diversity and inclusion practices and policies going forwards.

What made you volunteer to be Chair of the new Equity Standing Committee?

I am passionate about social justice and dislike any form of discrimination, particularly racial discrimination, because growing up in the '60s it was always blatantly obvious to me.

I’m the daughter of first-generation Windrush immigrants who instilled in me the values of working hard, and not blaming others. We had to be the best we could be in order to get ahead. Their principle was that good comes to those who do good.

I have been a member of IY(UK) for over 15 years, and I began to feel that it doesn’t represent me. But rather than blindly paying my membership fee and not doing anything about it I felt that it was time to get involved. After all, this is a members’ association, and the board is just there to represent the members.

Then, recent events that led to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the setting up of the campaigning group Iyengar Yoga in Action galvanised me into taking action. I am the Kent Rep,

but I volunteered for the ESC in order to create change, and hope this is possible once it is formulated.

What do you think the role of the Equity Standing Committee will be?

As the Chair of the new Equity Standing Committee, we first need to co-opt four further members*. Until the committee is finalised, I don’t want to categorically state what the committee’s remit will be, but there are some principles.

I’d like to think that we have a duty of care, because we care. We would like to encourage all teachers and students to be familiar with appropriate language and have an understanding of diversity. Any member who has been discriminated against or has any issues that may exclude them should be comfortable to speak to an ESC advisor in order to address their complaint, without fear of repercussions.

We all have a lot to learn, including myself, and education will be a key part of our goal. Working alongside the relevant committees, such as the Training and Assessment Committee, we would

* Now appointed: Lucy Dalley, Sue Forde, Tina Freeland and Clare Satha.

like to incorporate anti-racist education and diversity into our training practises and Professional Development (PD) Days.

When we are fully formed we would like to put together a comprehensive Equality Policy for IY(UK), which can create a framework and change our culture, making our organisation more inclusive and diverse.

What are your goals for the Equity Standing Committee?

Equality and equity have subtly different meanings, but which are important for yoga. Equality means that we’re all treated the same. Equity means that we treat people in a fair and impartial way, according to their needs, as we are not all the same. I think it is essential that as we evolve within IY(UK), we grow together, respecting each other, showing kindness and welcoming difference, so that our future is enriched with diversity and inclusion for a brighter and better future. We need to look at how we can be more welcoming to all, and our demographics show that there are some aspects of our past that we need to change.

Abhijata has already begun this process through her radical reorganisation of the assessment process. I like to think that we can move on from our top-down, hierarchical system to develop a fairer and more inclusive approach.

What commitment will members of the Equity Standing Committee expect to give?

At the moment we haven’t worked out what the time commitment will be, but there will be one! We ask of any members that they commit to listen and learn and have an open mind. We also ask that they commit to their own self-education, as well as having a passion for social justice.

What was your own yoga journey?

I went along to an adult education class in North Dulwich when I was 17 years old. The teacher there took me to the Royal Festival Hall where I met BKS Iyengar and I was hooked. At 45 years old I became a teacher at the suggestion of my then teacher, as he said I was so into the detail.

I have a great mutual exchange with my students, I love teaching. As teachers we all bring our own personal experience to Iyengar yoga, each acting as translators for Iyengar’s method. I believe that everyone’s unique teaching style and experience should be respected regardless of what level of seniority you’ve achieved.

Setting up an IY(UK) Member Group

Julian Lindars, Membership Secretary

Everyone who joins IY(UK), whether they are a teacher or not, is given the option to join as a 'Member Group member' rather than as an 'Individual member' of the organisation. Around 82% of our members choose to join via a Member Group.

In a recent survey, we asked those who had joined as Individual members what the reasons were for their choice. Some said it was because they felt an affiliation with a local yoga centre that was not itself a Member Group (Iyengar Yoga Maida Vale for example). Others gave the reason that there was no Member Group active in their area.

It is true that there are large parts of the country without a local Member Group. Members in these areas are of course free to join a group further afield – for example my local group Avon Iyengar Yoga, has a few members who live in South Wales.

This article seeks to clarify what Member Groups are, what roles they perform, and to give information and encouragement to anyone who might be considering setting up a Member Group in their area.

Some history

IY(UK), as we know it today, came into being in 2003 as an amalgamation of two existing organisations. The BKS Iyengar Yoga Teachers’ Association was the national association that was in charge of the training, certification, and support of Iyengar Yoga teachers in the UK. The Light on Yoga Association was an affiliation of a number of Iyengar yoga “institutes” that had been set up by teachers across the country. Members could join LOYA by joining an affiliated Institute, or could join as individual members.

The amalgamation of the two organisations was at the behest of Guruji who wanted to see his teaching represented by a single approved body in each country. BKSIYTA and LOYA worked together on a unification plan in which the structures and various functions of each organisation were preserved, giving us the IY(UK) that we know and love today. Some institutes that had previously been affiliated to LOYA decided not to join as member institutes of IY(UK) and established themselves independently. Some of these became affiliated centres of IY(UK).

A further change came late in 2018, when we were informed by Companies House that business use of the term “Institute” needed special permission from them and that any continued usage by IY(UK) was not legal. All of our member institutes became Member Groups – a change that probably helped to clarify their role and purpose.

What do Member Groups do?

MemberGroups are local not-for-profit associations of Iyengar yoga practitioners – teachers, students and supporters, established to further the following objectives (taken from IY(UK)’s model constitution for Member Groups):

• Promote public understanding of the principles of yoga established by Yogacharya BKS Iyengar (Iyengar yoga)

• Co-ordinate, throughout the area, classes for the instruction and training of the public in the principles of Iyengar yoga, and to arrange and provide for the holding of demonstrations, meetings, lectures and classes

• Foster a friendly community spirit and encourage harmony and unity amongst members.

• Member Groups exist in a wide variety of community settings, so the ways in which they will attempt to fulfill these objectives may vary considerably from place to place. Factors might include the number of Iyengar yoga practitioners in the area, or the presence (or absence) of an established privately-run Iyengar yoga centre locally.

Member Groups may find themselves organising classes and arranging visits by international teachers. However some may not wish to duplicate or compete with the work of a local centre, and may concentrate instead on other work. For example, this could include taking yoga into new communities, perhaps making yoga more accessible to those on low incomes, or those with special needs or circumstances. Across the country Member Groups and private centres are encouraged to work together in a co-operative and mutually supportive way.

Teachers and students may wish to try an establish a Member Group in an area that does not have many practitioners. In this case, the role of the group would be to try and build a community by bringing in teachers from outside the region, promoting events in schools and colleges, fitness centres etc.

As part of the IY(UK) organisational structure, Member Groups can draw upon the practical and financial support of the wider organisation to help them fulfill their objectives. Groups with 50 or more members have the right to elect a representative to sit on the Executive Council of IY(UK).

Setting up a member group

The recommended way to set up an Iyengar yoga Member Group is to start small, by setting up an informal group of interested parties that has no formal connection to IY(UK). Groups like this can commence activities and carry on for a number of years without applying for member group status, although they should seek permission if they wish to use the Iyengar name. If they then decide that they would like to work towards Member Group status, the group should proceed through the following stages:

1. Call an open meeting of all who may be interested. The meeting should be advertised widely

within the local area, and be open to all members of IY(UK) and other students of Iyengar yoga.

2. This meeting sets up an interim committee consisting of, at least, Chairperson, Treasurer, Membership Secretary and Secretary.

3. The interim committee drafts a constitution, based on a model constitution provided by IY(UK), which should conform to Iyengar yoga Member Group requirements.

4. The interim committee starts recruiting members and sets up a membership database in accordance with appropriate data protection legislation. To become a Member Group of IY(UK), there must be at least 12 members.

5. The interim committee invites nominations for committee and holds elections if necessary, following the procedures of the draft constitution.

6. An inaugural meeting, open to all members, is called by the interim committee to ratify the draft constitution and to announce the members of the new committee.

7. The constitution and the membership database are sent to the IY(UK) Secretary.

8. The IY Finance and Membership office process the new member group’s application.

Once this is complete, the application is sent to the IY(UK) Executive Council for approval and the IY(UK) formally accepts the group as a Member Group.

We are here to help!

The officers of IY(UK) are keen to assist anyone who feels that they would like to set up a Member Group in their area. We can offer advice, and practical support in the form of mailing lists and a model constitution, for example. Member Groups are highly valued by IY(UK) as one of the main means through which the practice of Iyengar yoga can grow throughout our communities. Now that we are starting to emerge from the world of lockdown and social distancing, many of us will welcome the opportunities they provide for companionship and mutual support on our yoga journeys.

Helen Green

1 October 1951–13 January 2021

Helen taught yoga in Liverpool city centre, next door to the Everyman Theatre in Hope Street, Liverpool for many years.

She continued her practice and commitment to Iyengar yoga throughout her life, attending regular yoga holidays in the UK with Sasha Perryman and also in Goa with Gerry Chambers and Linda Purvis. While in Goa, Helen took a special interest in a local charity for migrant workers and would make donations and bring items for them from the UK.

In recognition of Helen’s sincere charitable ethos and her commitment to Iyengar yoga, her partner, Paul Foster, raised a generous amount of £3,730, which he very kindly donated to the Iyengar Yoga Bellur Trust this year, for which we are most grateful and especially so, at this time in India.

Helen Green, a long-standing Iyengar yoga teacher, sadly passed away suddenly on the 13 January this year. It was a tremendous shock to our yoga community in Liverpool, where she lived and taught. Helen began attending Iyengar yoga classes with myself in 1979 at the Lark Lane Community Centre. Later, after she had more free time from her family commitments, Helen trained to teach.

Helen’s fellow yoga teachers, practitioners and her students will sorely miss her, and on behalf of all of us, we sincerely express our heartfelt condolences to her family, her children, grandchildren and lifelong partner, Paul.

Judi Soffa, colleague and friend 

Photography: Paul Foster

Certification and Assessments

IY(UK) has a new Mentoring Manual, based on the Certification and Assessment Guidelines issued by RIMYI in July 2020. Both documents are available to all teachers and trainees on the IY(UK) website – log in, go to the Members’ Dashboard, Mentoring Manual page.

No assessments at the new Level 1 can take place any time before June 2022 at the very earliest. It is expected that most trainees will need longer than this, owing to Covid-19 disruptions over their mentoring period.

Congratulations to all those who gained their Introductory teaching certificates in June 2021!

Fleur Darkin

Marieke Dwarshuis

Joanna Firmin

Charlotte Jackson

Valerie Judge

Oleksandra Lopushanskyy

Elaine Man

Semra O'Reilly

Anne Pearcey

Sarah Pomeranz

This table shows the statistics for those who gained the Introductory teaching certificate in the UK in June 2021:

Mentoring, Mentor Support and MAT meeting

Marie Riddell

Victoria Russell

Helen Shepherd

A reminder that the Mentoring Manual is now available as a pdf on www.iyengaryoga.org.uk via the Members’ Dashboard, Mentoring Manual page. The Manual is a valuable resource for the professional development of all teachers whether or not you wish to continue to further levels of assessment or get involved in mentoring others.

A new subcommittee of the ATC, the Mentor and Assessor Support Group, has been set up, chaired by Kirsten Agar Ward, and is working on ways to support mentors. Please do get in touch, via kate@iyengaryoga.org.uk, if you have suggestions for what would help you.

Mentors – a reminder that the next Mentor and Assessor Training (MAT) meeting is scheduled for Saturday 30 October 2021. The meeting will take place online and focus on the new style assessments. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. Mentors will receive an email invitation.

IY(UK) Professional Development Days 2021/2022

Professional Development workshops* are back after a year and a half of uncertainty. They will be run until March 2022. The subject is ‘Embracing the Menopause’ and the programme is based on the teachings of Geeta S. Iyengar. This subject is relevant to all teachers, as at some stage, we will all have menopausal and perimenopausal students in class. Finally we can come together again, whether online, in person or in a blended situation, to share knowledge, experience and the teachings of the Iyengar family.

"Health is not a commodity to be bargained for. It has to be earned with sweat and toil" - BKS Iyengar

South West

SWIY (Falmouth - In Person): 6 November 2021, 11am–2pm with Judith Van Dop Organiser: Nick Thompson - 07984 474298 - nickthomson76@hotmail.com

West & South Wales

AIY (Bristol - In Person): 21 November 2021, 1.30–4.30pm with Kirsten Agar Ward Organiser: Edgar Stringer - 07706 169003 - edgarstringer@gmail.com

Greater London & South East

NELIY (North & East London area - Online): 21 November 2021, 10am–12.30pm with Ros Bell Organisers: Nancy Clarke - 07900 277327 - nancyclarke@btinternet.com and Alles Wilson - alleswilson@aol.com

IYS (Sussex): 27 November 2021, 2.30–5.30pm with Cathy Rogers Evans Organisers: Jenny Deadman - 07817 239363 - jenny@jcm.co.uk and Cathy Rogers-Evans – cathyrogersevans@gmail.com

YMVL (NW London - In Person): 5 November 2021, 2pm with Penny Chaplin Organiser: Marco Cannavo - 020 7624 3080 - office@iyi.org.uk

IYSL (South London - Blended): 31 October, 2–5pm with Sophie Carrington Organiser: Marion Sinclair - 07803 170846 - marionsinclair@aol.com

SWLSIY (SW London & Surrey - In Person): 6 February 2022, 2–5pm with Judith Richards Organiser: Cath Barnes-Holt - 07909 995408 - cath@cathbarnesholt.co.uk

South Central

ORIY: 27 November 2021, 2–4pm with Judi Sweeting (Online); 15 January 2022, 10am–12.30pm with Judith Jones (Online); 6 March 2022, 10.30am-2.30pm with Sheila Haswell (in person) Organisers: Elaine Martin (for Judi Sweeting and Judith Jones) – iyakemblepdday@gmail.com and Evelyn Crosskey (for Sheila Haswell) - longwittenhamyogacentre@gmail.com

DHIY (Bournemouth - Blended): Date TBC Feb/March 2022 with Mary Heath Organiser: Louisa Elliott - 07708 403876 - iyengaryogawimborne@gmail.com

North East & Cumbria

NEEIY (Sunderland - In Person): 12 March 2022, 1–3pm with Diane Coates

Organiser: Caroline Earl - carolinejpearl@yahoo.com

West Central / South West Midlands

MCIY (Birmingham - Blended): 8 January 2022, 2pm with Jayne Orton

Organiser: Jayne Orton - 0121 608 2229 - jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com

MCIY (Herefordshire - Blended): 26 March 2022 with Sheila Green

Organiser: Sheila Green - 01981 580081 - sheila@herefordshireyoga.co.uk

East

CIY (Cambridge - Online): 30 January 2022 with Sasha Perryman

Organiser: Sasha Perryman - 01223 515929 - sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk

East Central & North

SADIY & NOTIY (Sheffield & Nottingham - Online): 26 February 2022, 10.30am–1.30pm with Frances Homewood

Organiser: Pascale Vacher - 07941 646418 - pascale_vacher@yahoo.co.uk

BDIY (Bradford and Leeds - In Person): 26 November 2021, 10am–1pm with Debbie Bartholomew

Organiser: Jacky McGeoch - book online bdiyi.org.uk or email jackymacyoga322@gmail.com

North West

MDIY & LIY (Manchester): 15 January 2022, 10am–1pm with Julie Brown (online); 29 January, 10am–1pm with Marion Kilburn (in person)

Organiser: Margaret Walker - 0161 339 0748, marge.walker1@gmail.com for Julie Brown Clare Tunstall - clare@mdiiy.org.uk for Marion Kilburn

Scotland

Glasgow: 20 November 2021, 2–4.30pm with Frances McKee (in person); 28 November 2021, 10am–12 noon with Helen Graham (online)

Organiser: Valerie Miller - 0141 339 0442 - vjmiller7882@gmail.com

Ireland

DIY (Dublin - Blended): 5 February 2022, 10am–1pm with Aisling Guirke

Organiser: Eileen Cameron - dubliniyengaryoga@gmail.com

Northern Ireland (Blended): 11 December 2021, 10am–1pm with Claire Ferry

Organiser: Claire Ferry - claire@claireferryyoga.net

*PD workshops are not a requirement for teacher renewals this year but we hope in the community spirit you will attend and be able to meet up with your fellow local teachers.

Chair - Charlotte Everitt

Since our last issue, we have continued to feel the effects of the pandemic; in April, we all heard the stories coming from India about the effects of Covid-19 and a number of you asked how you could help. As well as international charities and donations to the Bellur Fund, we co-ordinated donations to help Rima D’Silva in Pune to support local families. Your donations raised nearly £5,000 which we have sent on to Rima.

It has been a difficult time for teachers negotiating through ever-changing and often contradictory regulations and guidance, though for some there have been side-effects which have the potential to change – even improve – our yoga habits longerterm. As I write, RIMYI have opened up their studio timetable to students around the world.

Over the last half-century, in the UK and Ireland, we have either been dependent on travelling Indian teachers, or had to make the oftensignificant sacrifices necessary to travel to Pune. While many of us will still be hankering after being in the room with the teacher again, access to the wealth and depth of teaching from the Iyengar family and their direct students via video streaming can only supplement and enhance our learning.

And of course, these technical advances meant that in May we held a very successful convention, taught by Abhijata Iyengar – thank you to Isabel and Catherine for the massive amounts of work they put in behind the scenes to make it all go so smoothly. And thanks to your generosity we were able to offer 50 free places to Iyengar yoga students who would not have been able to attend otherwise.

As part of the weekend, we hosted a session on Unconscious Bias, which around 500 of you attended. Overall response to this was very positive, with a number of you asking for more sessions like this, to help us all to understand what we have to do to ensure that equity, inclusivity and diversity are integral to Iyengar yoga. I hope by the time you read this, Margaret and Helen will have recruited the new Equity Committee to help support our entire organisation in understanding what work we need to do, and providing the support to our members to help all of us bring that to life.

In the UK and Ireland, our own teachers have also stepped up and learned how to adapt to online teaching, and the Therapy Committee in particular have started to use it to support our learning and understanding through the recent session on managing fatigue, and their forthcoming pilot of a Long Covid programme. Many of us are interested in the therapeutic applications of yoga and see this as a way that we can contribute to society and help others; nearly 200 teachers volunteered to take part in the pilot, which, if successful, we hope to roll out in the future.

In another strand of our commitment to open up Iyengar yoga to groups who are underrepresented in our membership, this year the Children, Young Adults and Families Committee co-ordinated a programme of Iyengar yoga classes for students in universities and colleges, with a number of teachers offering affordable online classes, which was very successful.

The PR & Communications Committee, in particular with the support of Katie Owens, have

continued to develop our public relations – both within the organisation through the regular Yogaspace online gatherings, and with a wider audience through magazine articles and social media.

The Assessments and Teacher Training Committee (ATC) have delivered – nearly – the last assessments under the “old” certification and assessment model; congratulations to our new teachers who were successful in passing a faceto-face assessment after more than a year where the majority, if not all, of their classes and training

were in the virtual world. ATC is now building our future assessments, focusing on mentoring, collaboration and learning together.

Finally, I would like to welcome Catherine Wilkinson to join Andy, Jess, Kate and Katie in our admin team. Catherine will be providing support to the Board – and especially me! – to ensure that we are able to focus our attention on key strategic areas with less opportunity to be distracted by some of the detail.

Treasurer - Michelle Pendergast

The financial statements for the year of January 2020 to December 2020 were approved by the Board in April 2021 and presented at the AGM in May 2021. The profit and loss accounts submitted showed a small deficit of £3,627 (2019: surplus £6,206). The Balance Sheet at 31 December 2020 maintained healthy net assets of £136,361 (2018-19: £139,988). The company is in a stable financial position and has sufficient reserves to underpin all ongoing activities. A payment of £9,716 is being made to Bellur Trust in respect of the donations received during 2020.

The IY(UK) membership year is April to March, the fees for 2022/23 have been agreed and a modest increase has been applied for the next membership year as follows:

The Certification Mark fee for 2021/22 is based on US$50. It will be updated on 1 November 2021 to reflect the exchange rate that is in place on that date.

Secretary - Philippe Harari

At the AGM earlier this year, Jill Johnson retired as Chair of IY(UK). She had been in this role for five years; it can be a rewarding job, but also challenging at times. We thank her for all the work she did for our association, and wish her successor, Charlotte Everitt, all the best.

In my Secretary’s report in the previous issue of IYN, I mentioned that we had created four new Standing Committees. These have now been filled with volunteers from the Executive Council, and co-opted members:

• Archives: Sue Cresswell (Chair), Randall Evans (co-opted), Suzanne Newcombe (co-opted)

• Children, Young Adults and Families: Annie Beatty (Chair, co-opted), Sarah Delfas, Michelle Pendergast, Uday Bhosale (co-opted), Sacha Cash (co-opted), Suzanne Gribble (co-opted).

• Equity: Lucy Dalley (co-opted), Sue Forde (co-opted), Tina Freeland (co-opted), Margaret Hall (Chair), Claire Satha (co-opted), Helen Townsend

• Research: Perry Simpson (Chair), Maria Hrisorehaki (co-opted), Suzanne Newcombe, (co-opted)

The following Officers were elected by the EX:

• Chair: Charlotte Everitt

• Secretary: Philippe Harari

• Membership Secretary: Julian Lindars

• Treasurer: Michelle Pendergast (appointed by the Board)

Preeti Sekhon has decided to stand down from the role of Deputy Chair but I am glad to say that she will remain an Individual Member Representative on the Executive Council. We thank her for her work during her time as Deputy Chair.

Vacancies: we currently have three vacancies on the Board – Deputy Chair, Deputy Secretary and Deputy Treasurer. The first two of these vacancies are filled by nominations from the members of the Executive Council (EX) and hopefully this will happen at our next EX meeting in September.

The Deputy Treasurer is appointed by the Board itself and all members will be invited to apply for this position. We also have a couple of vacancies for Member Group representatives.

We are pleased to welcome the following new Member Group representatives onto the Executive Council:

• Minna Alanko-Falola (Liverpool Iyengar Yoga)

• Bev Appleby (Iyengar Yoga in Sussex)

• Sacha Cash (Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga)

• Tina Freeland (iYoga Glasgow)

• Kate Middleton (Cambridge Iyengar Yoga)

• Clare Tunstall (Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga)

• Nicola Vesper (Midland Counties Iyengar Yoga)

• Emma Rattenbury (Sheffield Iyengar Yoga)

Membership Secretary – Julian Lindars

We are now entering a quieter time of year in the Membership Office, with the bulk of 2021/2022 renewals completed. Below you can see the membership numbers as they stand at the moment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there has been something of a drop in numbers after 18 months of the Covid-19 pandemic. As always, although most teachers will have renewed by now, we should continue to see a rise in the nonteacher membership numbers as people join IY(UK) Member Groups (or join as Individual Members) throughout the remainder of the year.

To try and offset some of the hardship caused by the Covid situation, we were able to offer a degree of flexibility in the teacher renewal process. We made the process simpler – to take account of the difficulties teachers may have faced in completing specialist training, or in renewing their First Aid certificates. We also made arrangements for those

who needed to put their teacher renewal on hold, allowing them to resume after a three or six month gap without being charged a late renewal fee. Also, although we are not usually able to offer an option to pay in instalments, we were able to arrange this for a small number of people.

Hopefully, things will be able to proceed on a more normal footing next year. We will shortly be meeting with the relevant committees to discuss the criteria for 2022/2023 renewals. I also hope that we will see a rise in Member Group activity as communities return to classes and activities in person. Elsewhere in this issue I have written an article on the role and position of Member Groups within IY(UK), encouraging people to join and even to consider setting one up!

Member Groups*

Avon Iyengar Yoga (AIY)

Ginny Owen aiy@iyengaryoga.org.uk

www.avoniyengar.org

Bradford & District Iyengar Yoga (BDIY)

Alan Brown info@bdiyi.org.uk

www.bdiyi.org.uk

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga (CIY)

Sasha Perryman sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk

www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk

Dorset & Hampshire Iyengar Yoga (DHIY)

Pauline Green admin@dhiy.org www.dhiy.org

Dublin Iyengar Yoga Group (DIY) dubliniyengaryoga@gmail.com

www.dubliniyengaryoga.ie

East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga (ESIY)

Gilly Dennis esiyoga@outlook.com www.esiy.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Sussex (IYS)

Brian Ingram admin@iyengaryogasussex.org.uk www.iyengaryogasussex.org.uk

iYoga Glasgow

Patrick Boase iyogaglasgow@gmail.com www.iyogaglasgow.co.uk

Kent Iyengar Yoga (KIY)

Glenda Jackson kiyisecretary@gmail.com

www.kentiyengaryoga.co.uk

Liverpool Iyengar Yoga (LIY)

Elaine Keating liverpooliyengaryoga@gmail.com

www.yoga-studio.co.uk

Midland Counties Iyengar Yoga (MCIY)

Annie Beatty info@mciy.org.uk www.mciy.org.uk

Manchester & District Iyengar Yoga (MDIY) Clare Tunstall info@mdiiy.org.uk

www.manchesteriyengaryoga.org.uk

Munster Iyengar Yoga (MIY) munsteriyengaryoga@gmail.com www.miyoga.org

North East England Iyengar Yoga (NEEIY)

Gael Henry info@iyengaryoganortheast.com www.iyengaryoganortheast.com

North East London Iyengar Yoga (NELIY) Louise Leonard membership@neliy.org.uk

www.facebook.com/NELIYI

Nottinghamshire Iyengar Yoga (NOTIY)

Eleanor Douglas info@notiy.org.uk www.notiy.org.uk

Oxford & Region Iyengar Yoga (ORIY) Mary Fitzpatrick

maryfitzpatrick10@icloud.com www.oriy.org.uk

Sheffield & District Iyengar Yoga (SADIY) Lorraine Bonete lorraine.bonete@gmail.com www.yogasheffield.org

South West Iyengar Yoga (SWIY) Karen Calder karencalder@hotmail.co.uk www.swiyengaryoga.org.uk

South West London & Surrey (SWLSIY)

Jane Howard swlsiyengaryoga@gmail.com

www.swlsiy.org.uk

Affiliated Centres

Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.congletonyogacentre.com

Christina Niewola 01260 279565 / 07970186109

Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.yoga-edinburgh.com info@yoga-edinburgh.com

0131 229 6000

Hereford Yoga Centre www.herefordyoga.co.uk

Jenny-May While 01432 353324

Iyengar Yoga Studio East Finchley

Patsy Sparksman, Wendy Sykes, Genevieve Wilcox

www.theiyengaryogastudio.co.uk

020 8815 1918

Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex Susan Long

www.iyce.com

07460 101510

Knutsford Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.knutsfordyoga.co.uk

Margaret Carter 07807 348441

Iyengar Yoga London Maida Vale www.iymv.org

Alan Reynolds 020 7624 3080

Maidstone Yoga Centre www.iyengar-yoga.co.uk

Lin Craddock 01622 685864

Putney Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.putneyyogacentre.co.uk

Julie Hodges 07974 690 622

Iyengar Yoga Centre of North Dublin iyoga.ie

Roisin O'Shea

+353 871 773 451

Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre www.sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk Frances Homewood 07944 169238

YogaSouth Sussex www.yogasouth.com

Randall Evans & Cathy Rogers Evans, 01903 762850 / 07774 318105

Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford www.iyogawestbridgford.uk

Isabel Jones Fielding & Geoffrey Fielding 0115 9749975

Yogatree www.yogatree.co.uk

Edgar Stringer and Lydia Holmes 01249 247071

Iyengar Yoga in the Mews www.iyengaryogainthemews.co.uk

Nathalie Blondel 07812 010924

* Contact your local Member Group or Affiliated Centre for details of events and classes.

For queries or issues about policies or practices of IY(UK), contact your Member Group or Individual Rep.

IY(UK) Executive Council

Officers:

Chair Charlotte Everitt chair@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Chair VACANCY

Secretary

Philippe Harari philippe.harari@runbox.com

Deputy Secretary VACANCY

Treasurer

Michelle Pendergast michelle@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Treasurer VACANCY

Membership Sec. Julian Lindars memsec@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Memb. Sec. Elaine Morrison elainemorrison.yoga@gmail.com

Constitution Officer Sarah Delfas sarahdelfas@gmail.com

Chair of AT

Chair of EA

Chair of Equity

Chair of Therapy

AT Rep. on Board

Member Group Reps:

Avon

Bradford & District

Cambridge

Dorset & Hampshire

Dublin

East of Scotland

Glasgow

Sussex

Kent

Liverpool

Midland Counties

Jayne Orton jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com

Ailsing Guirke aislingyogaea@gmail.com

Margaret Hall margaret.rosehall@yahoo.co.uk

Sheila Haswell therapy@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Julie Brown julie.brown61@live.com

Ginny Owen ginnyowen@hotmail.com

Helen White white.helen@btinternet.com

Kate Middleton ktmiddleton@yahoo.co.uk

Pauline Green pauline.yoga@outlook.com

Melanie Taylor melaniet4@gmail.com

Sue Cresswell sue.cresswell@hotmail.com

Tina Freeland theindisputable@hotmail.com

Bev Appleby bev.appleby.yoga@gmail.com

Margaret Hall margaret.rosehall@yahoo.co.uk

Minna Alanko-Falola minna@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Nicola Scott nicolavesper@aol.com

Manchester & District Sacha Cash quitgrabbing@me.com

Manchester & District

Munster

Clare Tunstall clare@mdiiy.org.uk

Perry Simpson simpsonperry@icloud.com

North East Caroline Earl carolinejpearl@yahoo.com

North East London

Sally Lee purpleslee@gmail.com

Nottingham VACANCY

Oxford

Sheffield & District

South West

Tanya De Leersnyder tanya@guyellis.com

Emma Rattenbury 61emmaratt@gmail.com

Sarah Pethybridge sarahboopethy@hotmail.com

South West London & Surrey Elaine Morrison elainemorrison.yoga@gmail.com

Individual Maria Hrysocheraki goldy.yogaonline@yahoo.gr

Individual Geoffrey Fielding geoffrey@movement4health.co.uk

Individual Ingrid Olsen ingridolsen@gmail.com

Individual Preeti Sekhon preetiudas@yahoo.com

Individual Elaine Spraggett elainebev@me.com

Individual Helen Townsend helen.townsend@hotmail.com

IY(UK) Committee Members

Board

Julie Brown, Sarah Delfas, Charlotte Everitt, Aisling

Guirke, Margaret Hall, Philippe Harari, Sheila Haswell, Julian Lindars, Michelle Pendergast

Assessment & Training

Management Committee:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Debbie Bartholomew, Julie Brown, Aisling Guirke, Lydia Holmes, Jayne Orton, Katie Rutherford

Assessments and Timetabling: Lucy Aldridge, Penny Chaplin, Katie Rutherford, Sallie Sullivan

Professional Development Days, MAT and Specialised Training:

Brenda Booth, Eileen Cameron, Lydia Holmes, Marion Kilburn, Sasha Perryman

Mentoring Manual:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Tricia Booth, Helen Graham, Meg Laing, Cathy Rogers-Evans

Learning Modules:

Richard Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Tricia James, Alicia Lester, Susan Long, Christina Niewola

Mentor and Assessor Support:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Debbie Bartholomew, Meg Laing, Jayne Orton

Moderators:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Richard Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Debbie Bartholomew, Brenda Booth, Tricia Booth, Julie Brown, Eileen Cameron, Penny Chaplin, Diane Coats, Helen Graham, Aisling Guirke, Sheila Haswell, Trisha James, Marion Kilburn, Meg Laing, Susan Long, Christina Niewola, Jayne Orton, Sasha Perryman, Cathy Rogers-Evans, Sallie Sullivan

Co-opted members of ATC: Lucy Aldridge, Alicia Lester, Lydia Holmes, Katie Rutherford

Archives

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Annie Beatty, Uday Bhosale, Sacha Cash, Sarah Delfas, Suzanne Gribble, Michelle Pendergast

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Joan Abrams, Minna Alanko-Falola, Alice Chadwick, Charlotte Everitt, Sally Lee, Katie Owens, Poppy Pickles, Perry Simpson

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Sheila Haswell, Elaine Martin, Lorraine McConnon, Larissa McGoldrick, Patsy Sparksman, Edgar Stringer, Judith van Dop

Pune Pants aka yoga bloomers

Alice Chadwick

Geeta to wear shorts. Ramamani was one of Guruji’s earliest students and, before their family grew, also taught yoga to women. The move to shorts for women was somewhat of a radical break and is a testament to Ramamani’s broadmindedness and practical character.

Scorned by some, loved by many, Pune shorts are a familiar sight in Iyengar Yoga studios worldwide. Perhaps the closest thing we have to a uniform, wearing them in public requires more letting go of the ego than many students are prepared to suffer. But where did they come from and why do we (some of us) wear them?

Where did they come from?

Traditionally, men in India wore the dhoti (a fabric wrap around the waist and legs) for yoga. The few women who practised wore the nine-yard sari. Both could be complex to wrap and bulky to wear. When Western women began to go to India in the 1960s, they wore stretch pants and t-shirts. Guruji brought two pairs of stretch trousers back from Europe for Geeta, but these were not generally available to Indian women who continued to wear traditional garments such as skirts, blouses with buttons or the shalwar kameez. Some even borrowed trousers from male relatives. According to Geeta, what Indian women wore for yoga remained a problem.

It was Geeta’s mother, Ramamani Iyengar, who first encouraged

Geeta recalls: “My mother maintained all our traditions and culture, but at the same time she was quite open to new ideas and things. It was she who pushed me into wearing shorts for yoga practice like my father was wearing. In fact, the yoga shorts, the bloomers, which are now being worn all over the world, were initially designed by my mother. These shorts would be very loose near the thighs so she would insert a string through the hem and knot the string at the inner end of the thighs.”

Why wear them?

Freedom: Unlike modern, bodysculpting fabrics (designed to grip and constrict), Pune pants permit a complete range of rotation and extension in the legs and pelvis. The lower limbs, buttocks, sacrum and tailbone can all move freely. It might be said that the shorts fulfil one of the key commandments or yamas of yoga – ahimsa (non-violence). They are kind to our bodies.

Understanding: Wearing shorts can allow poses to be better understood and executed. Students are better able to feel and control what they are doing and teachers are better able to see what is happening.

Comfort: Pune pants allow the skin to breathe. Wonderfully cool in hot climates, they can be a necessity in Pune and a relief even in the UK.

Better poses: If standing postures can improve in shorts, seated poses such as Baddha Koņāsana and Padmāsana can also benefit: the skin, muscles and bones of the legs gain the freedom and sensitivity necessary to rotate and release in different directions. Skin contact is also helpful in many poses. Vṛkṣāsana (tree pose) is the obvious example, where bringing the sole of the foot to the skin of the thigh prevents the foot slipping, but all standing and seated twists as well as wrist balances improve in shorts because the arms and legs can come into contact with more intelligence.

Modesty: An important consideration now, as in 20th century India. With elasticated cuffs at the waist and thighs, Pune shorts don’t gape, tear or get stuck. Worn by men and women, the bloomers are a modest icon of equality and of the emancipation of the body in the pursuit of freedom and knowledge.

Geetaji favoured green Pune pants. Reprinted with kind permission from Dipika, vol. 52, 2020.

Minna Alanko-Falola

Liverpool-based Minna is a Level 1 teacher and has practiced Iyengar yoga since 2007.

Alice Chadwick

Trained at Iyengar Yoga Maida Vale, Alice is a Level 1 teacher based in East London.

Poppy Pickles

Qualifying in 2017, Poppy is a Level 1 teacher and teaches five classes a week In 2020, she joined Iyengar Yoga in Action. Poppy has written for various blogs, including YogaLondon and Yogamatters.

editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk

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