4 minute read
Fifty Years of Iyengar Yoga, John Ferguson
Fifty Years of Iyengar Yoga
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 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. 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.
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 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.
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)
