Iyengar Yoga News - issue 22 - Spring 2013

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IYENGAR YOGA NEWS

ISSUE NUMBER 22

SPRING 2013

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IYENGAR YOGA (UK) ÂŽ

President: Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

IYENGAR YOGA NEWS Editorial

This is the second issue of Iyengar Yoga News that we have produced in full colour and the Executive Council will decide at its meeting in May whether to continue producing the magazine in colour or whether to go back to black and white.

We have received some feedback; most readers prefer the colour but a significant minority would like us to stick to black and white; if you have an opinion on this please let us know.

In this issue, we have published the final part of Judi Sweeting's excellent series of articles on asanas; we are hoping that she will continue to provide us with articles focusing on specific postures. Talking of postures, we have a detailed report of Zubin's teaching at the 2012 Convention. We have invited Rajvi Mehta to teach at our 2013 Convention in Cambridge, which is now full.

We would like to draw readers' attention to the article on page 41 about changes to the structure of IY (UK); this may seem like quite a dry article to read, but it is important as we will be asking members to vote on this issue at the next AGM. If you cannot come to the AGM but you do have an opinion, please get in touch.

Issue No.22 Spring 2013

IY (UK) contacts

Katie Owens: Membership and Office Manager Telephone: 07510 326 997 email: katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk Address: IY (UK), PO Box 4730, Sheffield S8 2HE Jess Wallwork: Finance and Bookings Administrator Telephone: 07757 463 767 email: jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk Address: 15 West Grove, Bristol BS6 5LS Jo Duffin: Assessments Administrator Telephone: 07795 443 375 email: jo@iyengaryoga.org.uk Address: PO Box 255, Royston, SG8 1DU Editorial Board: John Cotgreave, Philippe Harari, Judith Jones, Lucy Osman, Tehira Taylor Layout & Design: Lucy Osman Articles to: editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk Copy deadline 1 July 2013 Advertising: John Cotgreave cotgreavej@gmail.com IY Office: admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk Printed by: Blueprint Press, Cambridge, on paper made using wood from sustainable forests and without the use of chlorine ÂŽ used with permission of B.K.S Iyengar, Trade Mark owner

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Contents Features 4.

10.

14.

16.

20.

32.

34.

36.

Backbends Part 3 – Guruji 1988 Iyengar Yoga at the London Yoga Show 26-28 October 2012 Understanding Yoga IY (UK) Convention Report: Brunel 2012 with Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh Convention Teaching Notes From the Lowest Point to the Highest Sense Experience Iyengar Yoga Centre West Suffolk A Yoga Class for Asian Women in Sheffield

44.

47.

48.

52.

IY (UK) Reports Assessment Passes Professional Development Days Institutes

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Member Information

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Backbends Part 3 – Guruji 1988 Judi Sweeting

This is the last part of a three-part article on backbends based on the teachings of B. K. S. Iyengar on an intensive in 1988. Please go to page 15 of Iyengar News Number 21 Autumn 2012 and continue the practice with the following.

Guruji demonstrated the pose – he said, “the outer spine and the inner spine of the right and left columns, when you hit backwards, this has to be thoughtfully attended to.”

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Urdhva Dhanurasana independently • Observe the outer corners of the knees. They turn inwards towards the spine. Watch my outer spine, how it goes up and becomes parallel to the inner spine. So there is no load on the back.

• Observe the abdominal wall and see if the inner and outer spine runs parallel to each other. Look at the outer abdominal wall, it has to move out and up and run parallel to the inner wall.

Again: We did the pose from the ground.

“Learn now. After lifting up, do not oscillate that skin of the abdomen forwards.”

• Walk in so that your leg sockets remain stable. Lock the outer buttock sockets without disturbing there.

• “Question yourself, Can I do well everywhere?”

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• There should be no load on the spine in Urdhva Dhanurasana.

In the pose again. From the ground: • As you use the pressure of the arms and legs to go straight up, move the sacroiliac muscles straight up also, not the chest.

• Move the sacroiliac muscles towards the buttocks, not the chest. After adjusting everything, can you bring the body weight as in Adho Mukha Vrksasana?

Guruji asked, “What happens to the lower forearm skin? There are two movements. It is like “rinsing”. If you know how to “rinse” your hands, can you “rinse” your wrists?”

Dwi Viparita Dandasana (elbows to bricks) We prepared for the pose with bricks against the wall. Come onto the head and interlock the fingers.

• Those who are touching with the inner elbows,

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• Again observe, has your pelvic girdle dropped?

• If it has then walk back in just a little, not too much, and readjust.

• Open the inner armpits higher, then attending to the groins, can you move the legs out.

• Keep the head on the floor. If the thoracic dorsal spine cannot go up don’t keep your legs straight.

• Walk in and lift the thoracic dorsal spine.

• Jamming the elbows, move the thoracic spine nearer the wall and then straighten the legs.

Again: • The triceps should be doing Tadasana. As long as you don’t learn to move the triceps your middle thoracic spine will not move.

• Raise the head, walk in and let the top of the triceps move nearer the wall, then take the head down.

• Without going back, move the shoulder joints towards the wall, top edge nearer the wall, the better the pose.

• Moving the bottom inner calf muscles towards the chest, stretch your legs. It is a very peculiar action!

• Watch your outer knees, if they go out you are wrong. Outer knees rolling inwards, inner knees stretching towards your body.

• Stretch up the head of the biceps with your inner calf muscles. Turn your outer thigh muscles in.

Dwi Viparita Dandasana (wall-elbows, belton top calf muscles) Guruji demonstrated on a teacher. He said, “In Dwi Viparita Dandasana, the attention we lose is on the outer calf muscles. So with the belt, the outer portions of the calf muscles cannot go down.”

In the pose: We did with the belt on the head of the calf muscles.

• Walk in and watch the calf muscles. See that the outer calves turn towards the shins, then stretch the legs out. How many can do like Tadasana, legs straight. (You are all bending and remaining there only) • Walk out.

• Hit the belt. The top of the belt should hit the bottom back leg. The bottom of the belt should hit the top back leg. That is how you should synchronise.

• From the heel bones hit the outer chips of the knees, moving the outer chips of the knees in to stretch the legs out.

• Go on stretching the belt at the bottom.

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they all have dead shoulders as if the shoulders are paralysed. If the outer elbows are touching the deltoids are activated which gives the correct sensation.

• Now walk in, interlock your fingers well.

• Turn the outer quadriceps muscles in and the outer calf muscles higher than the inner ones.

• Then watch the height of your body like Urdhva Dhanurasana.

• Take the bottom shoulder blades nearer the wall, then, retaining that, can you move the legs away without bringing the buttocks down? Move the legs one by one. Wait there.

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Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Guruji demonstrated: He asked us to observe as follows: “You have to find out with the belt which part of the spine is going up, which part of the spine is going down? That is known as knowing the language of the spine. Which knee grips, which knee does not grip. Which arm hits the wall, which arm does not hit the wall?”

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Guruji demonstrated: He asked us to observe as follows: “You have to find out with the belt which part of the spine is going up, which part of the spine is going down? That is known as knowing the language of the spine. Which knee grips, which knee does not grip. Which arm hits the wall, which arm does not hit the wall?”

In the pose again: with the belt on the head of the calf muscles.

• Centre yourselves from the heels to the shoulders and go up. Interlock your fingers.

• Which elbow goes down, which elbow comes up? That is the first sign.

• Which inner heel does not grip, which side of the calf muscles hits the belt, which does not?

• The side that does not hit the belt – that side of the spine is down.

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Dwi Viparita Dandasana (head on a brick) We prepared for this pose with the head on a brick.

• Watch the ligaments of the outer knees, why did they go out when you were walking your feet in?

You should know from the start that it is leading you into the wrong direction. So observe, with the elbows down, can you walk in and bring the chest nearer to the wall?

• Now jam your chest to the wall and ascend the spine. Ascend the cervical to the tailbone, and as

you do that the bottom thigh and the back of the knees also ascend like the shoulders. Then there is no pain at all.

Again: With the head on the brick. Interlock the thumbs; there will be less pain.

• The elbow corners touching the wall take the breast to the wall.

• Lift the breast up and then there is no pain on the spine.

• If you cannot keep your elbows on the ground, you can raise your head from the brick, elbows down and walk in.

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• So you have to use the outer bottom calf muscles, the outer elbows, the outer biceps, the inner legs and the spine. Move from the heels towards the chest. Move from the pelvis.

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Dwi Viparita Dandasana (no bricks – can use wall) We did the pose on the ground, elbows to the wall.

• Each spinal muscle moved independently so the pose comes easily now • Roll in the outer ligaments of the knees, rolling from inside out.

• Now from the lift of the ligaments, move the chest nearer the wall.

Dwi Viparita Dandasana (no wall) In the pose. We did the pose again, independently: • Do not bring the floating ribs forward when lifting the tailbone.

• The tailbone rolls to the floating ribs without disturbing them.

• The knees move towards the chest to lift the tailbone.

Again: Independently.

• Circularise the tailbone.

• If the tailbone does not move, the distance is too far.

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Ekapada Dwi Viparita Dandasana (with a brick for the head) With the head on the brick, we prepared for the variation in Dwi Viparita Dandasana.

• Now do not interlock your fingers, but interlock your thumbs.

• Lift the right leg up, outer chip of left knee in.

• Move the shoulder blades into the body.

• Move the little toe of the right foot nearer the wall, not the big toe.

• Bring the right leg down.

Now the other leg: • Raise the back buttock bone. If the frontal one is higher, you are going to get cramp.

• Come down.

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Guruji then demonstrated on a teacher. He said “if one deltoid moves away from the wall, move that foot a little nearer the wall to take the shoulders to the wall.”

Guruji said, “if you get cramp, come down. Do not continue with the pose, as this is injurious to the spine. You have moved your muscles a little more than you thought. So come down and relax the muscles, then continue.

Guruji then demonstrated on a teacher. He said “if one deltoid moves away from the wall, move that foot a little nearer the wall to take the shoulders to the wall.”

In the pose again – with the head on the brick.

• Outer deltoids roll in and up. The height should be the same • The ligaments of the deltoids should not vary.

When you lift the leg up, see that the deltoids do not roll, watch the deltoids, they should run parallel.

To complete your practice, repeat the asana suggested at the end of Back Bends 1.

Profound thanks to Yogacharya B.K.S.Iyengar for this work. Also to Jeanne Maslen and the late Lillian Biggs who shared their Intensive with us.

Grateful thanks to the teachers who were photographed during their Friday Teachers class at Cotswold Iyengar Yoga Centre, Cirencester.

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Change legs: • Watch the knee of the lower leg. If the knee moves out, that deltoid goes down. So lift the deltoid and turn the calf muscle towards the front, then the balance comes better.

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Iyengar Yoga at the London Yoga Show 26-28 October 2012 Diane Drain and Katie Owens

The Yoga Show is a huge event that takes place every year over three days at London Olympia, in Kensington. The event is commercially driven and promotes all styles of yoga along with many by-products such as stands selling yoga props and equipment, skincare products, clothes, health foods and teas. Others provide healing and meditation sessions, foot care, massage and even teeth whitening! Following the success of our presence at last year’s show, Katie Owens, Diane Drain (SWLSIYI) and Sev Kanay (NELIYI) set about organising Iyengar Yoga’s presence at this year’s show, with a stand in a prime location right in the middle of the action, opposite Yogamatters.

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Over the three days we had a team of 35 very enthusiastic volunteers helping out on the stand and assisting in the open classes and stage demonstrations, all wearing t-shirts made especially for the show.

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Open class areas around the hall offered free half-hour sessions throughout the day taken by teachers from the many well-known and established yoga traditions to less well known ones. Our own

Peter Kosasih from London, Jacky Taylor from Manchester and Rachel Lovegrove from Portugal each taught a class to over 50 visitors who queued to position themselves on a mat.

Some participants were existing practitioners, including teachers, but most were new to Iyengar Yoga. As well as the excellent teaching, what made us stand out was the team of teacher assistants positioned around the class offering props where needed and ensuring the participants worked correctly and safely in the asanas, which characterises Iyengar Yoga.

Many commented positively on this afterwards as something they hadn’t experienced when trying other styles of yoga.

One comment in particular,

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Beside the refreshment area a small stage provided entertainment for the public with 20 minute sessions from a wide range of musicians, dancers and yoga teachers. Angela Hulm

from Kent brought a group of teenagers from her school who showed what can be achieved in only a few weeks of practising yoga; Jacky Taylor and Adrian Attey from Manchester put together and demonstrated a programme of asanas, with Diane Drain on the microphone, emphasising alignment, explaining the benefits and linking them to today’s postural and health issues. Rachel Lovegrove presented a range of asanas with four teachers from Birmingham, each showing a different way of working, from the classic poses to using a variety of props. In the lecture area, John Shirbon from South West London gave an enlight-

ening talk and discussion on the Yoga Sutras.

Our stand was consistently busy with visitors wishing to find out more about Iyengar Yoga, existing practitioners who were delighted to see their preferred Iyengar Yoga style represented, and teachers popping along to give us lots of support and encouragement.

We showed the black and white video of a young BKS Iyengar performing the asanas on a continuous loop, which certainly attracted attention.

We gave out hundreds of the new Iyengar Yoga leaflets, lists of our local Institutes and Affiliated Centres, and details of

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from a participant leaving Rachel’s class, made our presence at the show all worthwhile – “I so enjoyed that, I have never been taught like that before with such good explanations and detail. Is that what Iyengar yoga is all about and is it taught like that everywhere?” She was directed to our stand where, by referring to the IY (UK) website, we were able to give her details of a local teacher.

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Some of our teachers gave impromptu demonstrations on a mat squeezed onto the stand drawing crowds and prompting further questions.

It was also a relief for the hard working volunteers who had been on their feet all day, to be able to do a good Adho Mukha Svanasana stretch on location! This went down so well that we have already put it top of the list for next year’s, hopefully bigger stand!

Last year, Christina Niewola, Jacky Taylor, Ros Bell and Uday Bhosale set the standard with their teaching, stage demonstrations and lecture and we thank them, also thanks to Paul Walker and his team at Yogamatters for his continued support and lending us equipment last and this year.

Finally, a very BIG thank you to all this year’s teachers and volunteers, some of whom travelled a long way, for giving up their time, as without them our presence at the Yoga show would not have been such an enjoyable and successful event.

We look forward to seeing you again in 2013!

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teachers giving ‘free taster’ classes, holidays and retreats. We also advertised a special offer of 5 months’ IY (UK) membership with the latest and next IY News for £5 and signed up 14 new members. Plus, we sold some Yoga show t-shirts which brought in a bit of income to offset the cost of giving all our volunteers a free t-shirt for their hard work and support.

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Understanding Yoga Joan Abrams

Joan is a member of the IY (UK) Ltd PR Committee and sent the following article to newspapers a few months ago after reading a report of a priest who refused to allow a Yoga class to take place in his church hall on the grounds that there was a conflict between the spirituality of yoga practice and the tenets of the Roman Catholic church.

Once, a long time ago, I wanted to study Buddhism and found a handy South Korean Nunnery to have me for a few weeks. I knew little, and definitely didn’t know that, at 4.30 every morning (after cleaning my lovely bamboo matted room and the sandy ground outside), I’d be bowing to Buddha 108 times from standing, coming up from my knees without any help from my hands, closely watched by 30 nuns. I managed.

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Every cultural system, whether religious, social or political, has its admirers, detractors and misunderstandings. They are the inevitable difficulties of any one culture to understand another. A perennial challenge, as another culture’s practices, habits and insights can be very esoteric.

So too, with the differences between Christianity, from a Judaic culture, and Yoga with its roots in Indian philosophy. A Roman Catholic priest has recently expressed concern that a Yoga class described as ‘Spiritual Yoga’ would not be welcome in his church hall.

Of course, the ideas behind yoga are very different from Christianity. If they were the same, then there’d be no reason for the two cultures.

Certainly the major teaching organisations of Yoga in the UK, the British Wheel of Yoga and Iyengar Yoga (UK) expect their teaching trainees to study

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yoga philosophy, as well as show correct practice of the postures, safe teaching methods, and ethical teaching.

You might notice that the word ‘Spiritual’ has not been mentioned by me. In Mr. Iyengar’s seminal book ‘Light on Yoga’, published in 1966, he outlines the basis of Indian philosophical thought – ‘everything is permeated by the Supreme Universal Spirit (Paramatma or God) of which the individual human spirit is a part.’ Different, of course, to the Christian idea of God. From that, comes the idea of ‘union’ (yoga) when we train our bodies and minds to unite with the idea of a universal spirit and therefore become free of the constraints of the restlessness of normal life.

Yoga is defined as a ‘steadiness of the senses and mind’. Many a yoga student would have found that steadiness in the concentration needed in a posture, and the focus needed for relaxation in their normal weekly class.

Western-style yoga, is a discipline of fitness for body and mind. It has scientifically-proven benefits to general overall health; helping with depression; improving balance; keeping arthritis at bay. And it takes a pragmatic approach to the cultural background of yoga. Yoga can now be ‘owned’ by anyone: if they enjoy the practice, find it valuable, find that the ‘balance’ of mind and body emphasised in yoga has some resonance in their regular lives, then they’ll stay with it, and often take it further.

It is a pity that there’s a church hall where some people who might benefit from the culture of yoga, have not been given that chance. As human beings, we have always assimilated different personal cultures for our own personal uses. I no longer bow to the Buddha, but I certainly bow still to the understanding of a culture from which I learned a great deal.

Yoga can now be ‘owned’ by anyone: if they enjoy the practice, find it valuable, find that the ‘balance’ of mind and body emphasised in yoga has some resonance in their regular lives, then they’ll stay with it, and often take it further.

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IY (UK) Convention report: Brunel 2012 with Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh Not just faster, higher and stronger … but rather building associations between body, mind and breath “If we don’t stretch our limits, we set our limits.”

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“For an Olympic athlete, the Olympics are not every four years, they are every day.”

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Abhinav Bindra (Indian shooter and Olympic gold medallist, 2008)

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We may not all be Olympic athletes, but the important thing is to imbibe the Olympic and Paralympic ethos: of

striving for something beyond ourselves and what we think ourselves capable of. For that we need not even play an Olympic sport but only learn to acquire this spirit, this feeling within us. After all it is this spirit which the athlete carries with him or her in life long after they have retired and forgotten the set skills of their respective sport. All great athletes retire one day but they carry their indomitable spirit with them into whatever they do in life.

Continuing with the Olympic example, all these exceptional participants strive to develop

themselves in body, mind and self. They train and push their bodies and minds to extreme limits to win (or lose) medal and glory. And then they retire‌ with a whole lifetime in front of them. This is where yoga can help them as well as all of us to rethink this paradigm of developing body, mind and self.

The Olympic paradigm of developing the body is to develop the body, mind and breath for the sport. The yoga model is as different from this as an Olympic athlete is from a lay person.

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London in 2012 was coincidentally the preferred venue for our annual Yoga Convention (in June) as well as the summer Olympics held in July-August.

But mere geography is not what binds these two events.

Besides the obvious competitive aspect of these Olympic games, there is a lot else going on within them that will serve to highlight the ethos and techniques that help us overcome our life’s shortcomings and stretch our limits.

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The Olympic Way versus the Yoga Way Generally a person thinks of strengthening the body if it is weak or if there is a pain or dis-ease, or developing the breath and mind. But in yoga, it is not just a question of developing one or the other but of associating one with the other. It is rather a question of how do we synchronise and associate body, mind and breath. When we practice various asanas we are trying to associate the mind with the body and breath; this not only has ‘an’ effect but an exponential effect; hence asanas have not only physical effects as normally understood but have the ability to transform the entire psyche and embodiment.

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For example, asanas have different facets; like you have the aspect of working on correcting and positioning different parts of the body like if someone has bow legs or dropped kneecaps or weak cervical muscles or lower back problems.

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But then there are also other aspects to explore in asanas like developing will power, intelligence, mental creativity, mental analysis and synthesis by working on the intricacies of postures and their efficacies.

Then there is the breath aspect or dimension in asanas. Are you coordinating the breath in the posture, how do you relate the breath to different parts of the body like exhaling in the head and face to relieve the stress, then breathing with different designs and shapes within to effect better seepage in the tissues.

Let me elaborate a bit on the yoga way to develop body mind and breath through the culture of the asanas. When we do ‘yoga-asanas’ (that is ‘unity in action’), we work on the body (or different parts of the body). However, the effect of this is not just on the body alone but on the

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Similarly, when we work on the mind in Yoga, we work through the body-mind-breath and not just the mind alone like in Psychology.

Before the Iyengar method, people explored the breath through the breath dynamics only. They used to breathe (or breathe more) to enhance the breath potentials. But in Yoga, we are enhancing the breath through the body-mindbreath paradigm.

Yoga, thus, is a science of associating body, mind and breath with each other which then has an exponential effect.

One has to remember this paradigm: positioning

and culturing the body not only improves the body but body-mind and breath; similarly positioning and culturing the mind in asans, improves not just the mind but also enhances the breath and body and finally, working on the breath will not only impact the breath but also the body and mind, so one has to practise with this depth in mind.

Hence the asanas, pranayamas, bandhas, mudras and other yogic techniques are designed to be intricate and complex enough to deal with these complexities within us.

Hope this article packed, with the Convention teaching details, conveys the yoga way of understanding body, mind and breath.

Brunel University, London, June 2012

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body-mind-breath entity. We are working on the body not only through the body but through the body-mind-breath sensitivities. That improves not only the body but the connections between body and mind, body and breath.

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Convention Teaching Notes Compiled by Richard Agar Ward from notes taken by Jenni Doohan, Philippa Frisby, Gill Hayhurst, Eleanor Lohr, Sarah McCartney, Rebecca Morris, Roy Russell, Lara Speroni, Shirley St Hill and Sallie Sullivan Some General Principles of Practice Iyengar Yoga is not old: it is still evolving like science is still evolving. Everybody has different starting points in Yoga and every individual needs different things to evolve.

A person consists of a central nervous system (CNS) and a peripheral nervous system (PNS).

The CNS connects the brain and the spinal column while the PNS includes the nervous system and the consciousness that moves in the system to the periphery of the body, including the hands and arms, feet and legs together with the outer portions of the trunk outside the area of the spine.

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Generally speaking we tend to experience the CNS as active and at times overloaded while the PNS is often dull or insensitive. By making the PNS active and connecting it to the CNS e.g. connecting the arms and legs to the spine we take the load off the CNS and bring it to a state of quietness and neutrality. By becoming aware of the outer body and moving our consciousness there we are then able to go back in to the inner

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body without overloading it and experience the quietness and neutrality there.

A unifying factor in the body is the skin. Skin unites you, not the muscles. Muscles are numerous and have a border; skin has no border.

We should work more for the skin than the muscles. Sensitivity, awareness and touch comes through the skin rather than the muscles. All asanas are tactile. A tremendous sense of touch should be there. Develop sensitivity to what is happening in the body. Sensitivity is more important than doing. See how consciousness changes from pose to pose.

Yoga is not exercise, it is sensitivity awareness.

Skin is the biggest organ of perception; it covers the whole body and gives that sensitivity. Skin unifies us and makes us aware of the whole being.

So we should practise with skin awareness. The sense of touch should be taken inside so we become aware within the body too. We have to reach the unconscious back body, the back brain – eyes open but drawn back and looking within.

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Potency in the poses has to increase not by working on muscles but by creating unified conditions and neutrality in the body. We should do the pose not only with the body but also with intelligence.

When working with the muscles do not think of stretching, where the muscles become long and thin rather like a rubber band but elongating where they do not become narrower.

Very often we do not use the back body properly and it becomes loose. If you have back ache, that means legs were loose and you worked from the lumbar. Work on different latitudes in your back.

Where do the legs reach up to? We think the tops of the legs reach up to the groins, but they

reach up to the pelvic heads. Understand this to connect the work of the legs with the condition of the back.

Evolve in your practice your practice is always changing. When you get mechanical in your practice it is finished. Do not just practise what I practised yesterday. Be mature on your path. We have to change the tendency in our body: instead work on the principle of where you want the body to be in 5 years’ time and do not just practise for now.

A teacher is not somebody who can only do. A teacher has to have sensitivity to know somebody else's body.

Yoga is a self-study: it's a study, not a criticism.

Day 1 – Morning • In our asanas we rarely use the sides and back of our bodies, and over use the front parts of the body and the inner parts of the body.

• Props are used to help change the centre of gravity of the work in the asanas so the over used parts can be regulated and the under used parts stimulated.

Points to remember: • Understand where is the root/base of any part of the body

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Yoga is not just for the spine – the spine is deeply embedded inside yet we want to go to it directly which means we hit it into the body. We should use the limbs and connect them to the outer body, beyond the borders of the paraspinal muscles – and in turn, using the peripheral nervous system to go towards the central nervous system, but where that system is in a tranquil state. In this context “outer body” translated as “the sides further from the median line,” and “inner body” meant the median portion (not the koshas or sheaths of the body).

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• Root of the legs is up to iliac crest and not at the groins • Energy should not leave the body-it should go to extremities and back into body.

• Working the front body is much easier than the back (eg: side trunk and back thighs) • Working the inner body is much easier than the outer muscles (eg: spine) • Every side of the body or its parts should be equally extended and opened.

• Understand better how the weight is distributed and where the centre of gravity is placed in any asana • Any pose uses principles and points of others

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Tadasana Use standing with back to wall to connect with back body – find out what is touching (calf and buttocks) and what isn’t

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(back thighs, side waist, back waist and shoulders).

Thighs back means moving hips back very strongly, sticking buttocks out initially. Then we lift from the floor of the abdomen to raise within the trunk and take the waist back in order to stand properly straight and in an asanic condition, which is quite different from ordinary casual standing upright.

Buttock area is often dead, and no understanding is there, no intelligence, no nerve connection.

Watch body and understand why some areas are taut and other soft, or working and not working, or even overworking.

Grip brick between thighs, using outer thighs, not inner thighs to grip to activate thighs and lift knees to make them light.

Use wall to open up back of top legs and buttocks (unknown area). These should lift and spread strongly. When they do this the legs feel stretched and strong in tadasana.

Use Utthita Hasta Padasana stage in each standing pose, against the wall, to improve sensitivity.

Virabhadrasana II Use wall to connect to back body – seeing what is touching (calf and buttocks) and what isn’t (back thighs, side waist and shoulders).

Hips should be square, chest to front and thighs back. If not you will get a twist in the spine, and a twist in the hips. This loads the spine and the pose is done with the spine which leads to heaviness. The tail bone should be in the centre at the back, in

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Utthita Parvakonasana Use wall to connect to back body – what is touching (calf and buttocks) and what isn’t (back thighs, side waist and shoulders).

Floating ribs cutting back so that the trunk and spine are on a single plane. The spine should be in one plane, not two. So take the floating ribs down towards the bent leg and the true ribs up.

Utthita Trikonasana Use wall to connect to back body-what is touching (calf and buttocks) and what isn’t (thighs, side waist and shoulders). Bring the centre of gravity to the upper legs, pelvic area, lower back and buttocks.

Use brick so that you can control hips, keep the lower back level either side of the spine, the right buttock in and the side trunk evenly extended.

We lose the line going to the floor with the hand, so we used a tall brick to keep the line of the spine. With the outer front

leg firm and stretched, take front leg buttock into the body.

Prasarita Padottanasana Use wall to connect to back body – what is touching (calf and buttocks) and what isn’t (back thighs, side waist and shoulders).

Start with hands on pelvis and notice how it moves/tilts when we jump or separate the legs apart.

Use wall to lift back legs.

Press buttocks to wall to open up when doing forward bend part of the pose. Keep thighs back against wall. Take the back thighs to touch, especially the outer.

Two legs should work the same.

Both actions increase as you go down and as a result the lower back is freer and the side body can come forward more.

Usually we only stretch the spine and move the inner body forward. As a result we often drop the spine, mistakenly thinking this is the desired concave spine required.

Ardha Chandrasana Use wall to connect to back body-what is touching (calf and buttocks) and what isn’t (back thighs, side waist and shoulders). When stepping in from Utthita Trikonasana, keep the whole of the back foot on the floor to help maintain the line of the back leg when you raise it in the air. Front leg buttock into the body so you keep the groin open.

Think of using the top one to lift the bottom one. Stay a minute and a half and see where you tire soonest. Both legs should bear you and the outer leg of the standing leg has to work.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

the middle, as should be the centre pubic bone seen from the front be in the middle, neither of them turning to the side.

See that you descend with the buttocks and not putting the load on the groins so that the front leg is not short and the abdomen not dropping. This will improve the alignment.

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Adho Mukha Svanasana Go from uttanasana to keep heels down as much as possible and press palms down. This keeps the centre of gravity in the legs better as you perform the pose. Thighs back – use legs this way so that arms are not tired from taking all the load. The arms lengthen the outer body. Shoulder blades in towards the spine but outer upper arms turn out, get space at the neck. Have the eyes of the elbows facing.

If the heels go down easily, walk out and challenge the thighs.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

From hands get the direction of the pose with the assistance of the legs i.e. do not stop the extension from the hands at the shoulder blades but extend the trunk up and also back. Keep the triceps in. Use the brick between the top of the thighs and squeeze with the outer thighs to improve the shift in the centre of gravity.

Take a brick between the top thighs widthways, squeeze it from the outer thighs, take it back with the inner thighs and outer thighs, but also imagine someone trying to pull it out and resist them.

Adho Mukha Virasana Use brick between thighs and squeeze with the outer thighs. See how hips become lighter, buttocks go higher and the back is not concave which is what it tends to do at the lumbar. It does

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not drop or load in the spine if the legs are properly activated.

Day 1 – Afternoon Use breath for the body and study where the breath goes in each pose and how it changes.

Reach everywhere in the body with the breath and make the body respiratory. When you get the sense of touch active in an asana you come into contact with the breath in the body.

These asanas are for the 3 diaphragms of the breath – pelvic, thoracic and vocal. The preparatory poses get the breath into the outer body and pacify the vocal area and brain.

Adho Mukha Svanasana Use thighs moving back evenly to elongate side body and back body.

Make front body and back body broad.

Supta Baddhakonasana With belt, lie back on a brick placed between shoulder blades and extend arms out (T-shape with trunk). Positioning of the brick is useful to open thoracic chest.

Palms up, just nails on the floor.

Eye of elbow looking up: do not overextend; then the true ribs spread and open. (see in Ustrasana how you ‘play’ with the elbows and think you are activating the shoulder blades

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Setubandha Sarvangasana Legs bent.

Use one to three bricks depending on your height: the side chest has to be vertical and not dropping down. Brick support should be as high as you can lift the hips up: stay with bent legs, make the shoulders heavier than the head; then press them to the floor to access the outer body.

Viparita Karani Away from the wall, we raised the legs with the brick cross-wise under the sacrum. The tailbone and pelvis heads stay down when legs are raised, so we may not manage legs vertical. ‘Hook’ the tailbone around the edge of the brick and hold the brick with hands to give you stability and opening of the chest.

Vocal area is quiet, brain quiet. The Viparita Karani box imitates Guruji’s chest shape. (Many of the props are modelled on his body).

Straighten legs without lifting the buttocks.

Note: It’s important to understand that you should not go too far into a pose and then lose alignment or correct positioning of body. In Viparita Karani legs might be slightly bent to achieve more accuracy elsewhere.

Savasana – Pranayama Support for back and head.

The pose is carried out incorporating the previous four poses. It will have the legs of Adho Mukha Svananasana and actions in the chest of the other three poses.

Adjust pelvis so that front and back levels of the pelvis are the same.

Ujjayi and Viloma.

Savasana With legs on the support either uncrossed or crossed.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

but really you are just rotating the elbows).

Look up and back.

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Day 2 – Morning Asana help you to understand the body. Through them you can improve sensitivity, awareness and the use of intelligence in the body.

Tadasana Brick between legs lengthwise use thighs to grip the brick.

This changes the centre of gravity in the legs, brings activity to the upper legs and enables us to take energy up the legs to the trunk.

Brick between thighs keeps hips in place and activates the upper legs, not just the lower legs and feet.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Uttanasana Work spine by using paraspinal muscles and pelvic muscles; do not work directly on the spine.

Create space in back thighs / buttocks awareness in back thighs. The intelligence should be sensitised to run evenly on the inner, outer, back and front thighs. Understand the steps to the final pose from the beginning. Roll frontal thighs in but also roll and spread buttocks out. Lift the skin.

Urdhva Hastasana in Tadasana This is one of the “easiest” poses yet this is still difficult to do well (don’t push bottom out, don’t push abdomen out and don’t push the floating ribs forward). Arms back beyond ears. Keep fingertips in line.

Learn to extend the muscle so that it goes closer to the bone, unlike the body builders who

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develop the muscle up and away from the bone. If the elbows hyper extend or you have tennis elbow interlink the fingers with palms facing up so that the centre of gravity goes to upper arms rather than elbows. In Adho Mukha Svanasana squeeze the outer arms, grip the outer upper arms in and draw the triceps towards the bone and lift the crown of the buttocks up.

Brick between thighs.

Join hands.

Deltoids move back.

Paschima Namaskarasana in Tadasana Brick between thighs makes shoulders joints more active.

Shoulders back but resist with the elbows: do not just take the elbows back. This action is also learned when placing a brick in between the hands.

Pincha Mayurasana By wall (brick stops hands moving together) press hands to extend them and press base of wrists and forearms down to lift up.

Sirsasana Press upper arms forwards and elbows down. Don’t become light here or you will feel bad effects in the neck. Heels extend up but do not take toes down.

Stretch back legs toward heels.

Do not shake. Be like Tadasana – firm Parsvottanasana Shoulders back but resist with

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Prasarita Padottanasana Those with cervical problem need more height – use bricks so that you can access collarbones and work on upper back.

Ubhaya Padangustasana To stretch out hips as preparation for Bhujapidasana.

Bhujapidasana Use this pose to understand actions: the lift required in the arms for the next pose, changing the centre of gravity towards shoulders.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana Feel the effects of Bhujapidasana in this pose.

Ustrasana Brick between thighs x 3.

Think Tadasana: don’t let the legs go backwards keep them vertical. Press shins and ankles down.

Urdhva Dhanurasana Palms out elbows in so that you are forced to move from back body and not only from front as we normally do.

For lower back pain - put legs up on a raise.

For weak shoulders – hands on a raise. Centre of gravity changes as you use props.

Lift buttocks and tailbone straight up and let the centre of gravity of the pose be there.

Buttocks need to lift otherwise

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

the elbows: do not take elbows back and leave shoulders forwards. Rotation of upper legs from outside to inside.

Extend legs up to spine. Legs may stretch well up to groin but then the stretch stops.

Pull energy of the legs up to hips. Erase the bottock crease outwards with lift of upper back thigh and then turn buttock and hip.

It is important to keep the palms together rather than trying to go to the final pose and losing the joining of the palms. Take abdomen down and forwards on to thigh rather than resting the head on the leg with the abdomen compressed.

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you are just using the lumbar: centre of gravity in buttocks not lumbar.

Zubin demonstrated not moving chest into centre of room just lifting up evenly on buttock and arm side.

Chest lifts but not by moving outwards. Lift the buttocks, lift the buttocks more, go on lifting the buttocks.

Adho Mukha Virasana Releasing pose

Adho Mukha Sukhasana Releasing pose.

Salamba Sarvangasana Press upper arms and elbows.

Bring the centre of gravity there not overloading the shoulders and the neck. This is important for tennis elbow helps to access back body If you can’t bring feet together in Sarvangasana bend knees first, pulling heels down and then stretch legs up.

Halasana Lift thighs with toes on floor.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Supta Baddhakonasana Brick between the feet.

Day 2 – Afternoon Nothing is fixed in any pose.

Guruji tried many variations to get the best movement in poses and we can all benefit from that but still we can always experiment, study and try out variations to understand the reasons between specific requirements, adjust28

ment and alignment.

For example, in Adho Mukha Svanasana the placement of hands outward or turning completely back is a way to access the side body and shoulder blades respectively.

The pose will not be that easy anymore. Generally when we move down with central body and leave side body behind or do not involve the shoulder blades properly so these variations give us a way of involving the side of the body and the shoulder blades. Or in Urdhva Danurasana, to help with shoulder injuries the hand can also turn completely back. In this way you do not use the front of the shoulder joints but the back.

Adho Mukha Svanasana Heel of hands on bricks, fingers up.

Heel of hands on bricks, fingers turned back. See the different effects.

Supta Hasta Padangusthasana I One of the most important poses.

Best to understand back body because it is on the floor as the base.

Back thigh of down leg has to be on the floor.

Back thigh of top leg moving back to extend back body.

Keep the memory of the back legs.

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Leg higher than head. Stay long to see where work is – how to keep leg high keeping a quiet lumbar.

Viparita Karani Take one leg up.

Ideally both legs should be straight BUT do not straighten legs completely if you then loose the correct placement of buttocks or tailbone. For the same reason, do not take top leg too far forward over head Savasana – Pranayama Back supported – Viloma.

Savasana – Pranayama Legs supported – Ujjayi Breathing in, and out along the back.

Breathing in from top to bottom, and out from bottom to top.

Day 3 – Morning

Supta Hasta Padangusthasana 1 and II Try to distinguish working with spine (side body is not on the floor) or paraspinal muscles (the back feel broad on the floor).

Create space in pelvic head and use outer body rather than loading the spine and the Central Nervous System.

Tadasana Apply principles of previous pose here in thighs and back.

Virabhadrasana I Work back leg to involve the hips.

Rolling buttock outwards turning from pelvic head – helps with supporting back Try to place back foot on brick to change centre of gravity upwards – helps with straightening knees. Bent legs lose energy.

Virabhadrasana III The lumbar spine should not be loaded, use glutei, legs and paraspinals instead.

Hands on hips.

Leg higher than head.

Stay long to see where work is – how to keep leg high keeping a quiet lumbar.

Work is in the hips – can you bring the same work to Tadasana?

This pose helps with back bends because it teaches the work on the outer body.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Setubandha Sarvangasana As previous day but… Straight legs. Heels must be pressing the wall.

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Understand that working like that is helpful to understand how to broaden the thighs and lift in spine and hips.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Broadness in thighs helps releasing the back.

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Supta Baddhakonasana Belt and rolled blanket under sacrum not under buttocks.

Surya Namaskarasana Urdhva Hastasana Uttanasana Chatturanga Dandasana In the last pose move forwards to use top front shoulders which tend to drop.

Urdha Mukha Svanasana Back of head and tailbone have to be in line otherwise the lumbar spine is used wrongly.

Hands and shoulders in line plus sacrum in.

Use chair or bench for the hands to achieve this.

Adho Mukha Svanasana Uttanasana Urdhva Hastasana Eka Raja Kapotasana Hips have to be level. This might seem a challenging pose but it contains important lessons for us.

A deep rotation of buttock is necessary – remember a Tadasana buttock where it rotates all around the hip without the ‘dent’ at the side buttock.

Ardha Halasana Understand that working like that is helpful to understand how to broaden the thighs and lift in spine and hips.

Broadness in thighs helps releasing the back.

Day 3 – Afternoon Twists make use of the paraspinal muscles.

Supta Virasana Use two blankets to encourage and support side back body, and rest it.

Note how here the back body is narrow, unlike in Supta Baddhakonasana.

Paryankasana Use brick in thoracic spine then move skin down towards it.

Interlock elbows: bring arms into socket and then take over head.

If neck pains or is heavy it means that the muscles are weak. To help, try Ardha Uttanasana with elbows at right angle, fingers pointing upward, holding a brick to access thoracic spine, not lumbar.

Bharadvajasana I Make sure spine is straight and breast bone is turned to the side.

Use back body to turn. Can try with bent arms with a stick gripped with the upper arms, and turn the stick with the body.

Bharadvajasana II Foot on groins area, unlike Padmasana where feet are up to the hips!

Note that in this pose you might feel like you turn less but actually the turn is bigger If the knee is not supported the load will be on the ligaments

Triangmukhaikapada Paschimottanasana Elbows up and head lower down: the same as in all forward bends!

Paschimottanasana Spine should be parallel to the floor.

See how by sitting on a height this can be achieved and the head is in line with tail bone.

Supta Baddhakonasana Brick between feet to increase length of inner upper legs.

Can you maintain length without the brick?

Matsyasana

Savasana – Pranayama Ujjayi performing elliptical shapes.

Savasana

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Adho Mukha Virasana Sirsasana

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From the Lowest Point to the Highest Sense Experience Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh “Experience is not what happens to a man It is what he does with what happens to him” – Aldous Huxley

Think Israel. And you could conjure up the holy land. The birthplace of three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A land of fruit, dates and baklava. A land of war and strife. The perennial home in the Jewish imagination.

Now, think Yoga. An ancient Indian practice. An art, science and philosophy practiced and evolved by the sages over 5,000 years. A practical science of body, mind and breath with the potential for peace, meditation and emancipation.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Though the two may sound worlds apart, they are not. Unlike its image of a war-zone, Israel is a seemingly relaxed place with over 200 kilometres of pristine, unbroken coastline. But the military presence is also not far from the view and imagination. Every Israeli is expected to dedicate two years after age 18 to the army.

I recently taught yoga in Israel. Teaching yoga there was the part I was most comfortable with; it came as easily as standing on the head for 15 minutes has now become for me after years of practice. The difficult part was learning to float steadily and calmly on my back in the Dead Sea. And to experience the Blackout Restaurant.

At the end of 2011, I was invited to teach the Israeli Iyengar Yoga Convention in Tel Aviv. I had to teach students who are already grounded in the subject and know their Sirsasana from their Sarvangasana.

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On the first two days I taught in a large indoor basketball stadium in an old part of Jaffa town, which is close to Tel Aviv.

The beautiful venue overlooked the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea. Just standing for a few moments taking in the clean air rejuvenated me for the second session. (I taught one three-hour class in the morning followed by another class for two and a half hours). Close to 110 participants attended this two-day session.

A kibbutz is a commune-like setting where people live a shared life. My next three-day session was organised in this unique place: in a kibbutz up in the hills near Jerusalem. After initial experimentation, the idea of the kibbutz has been on the decline in Israel. But an increasing number of Jewish students and families are once again seeking this way of living, perhaps as a buffer against the economic uncertainties of our times.

Nowadays, you can get a cottage there on rent and experience a few days of living, eating and working together. The kibbutz, synonymous with harmonious living, as our venue for three days of yoga made it a more intense experience.

Then it, it was time for me to step out into the holy land and work on my culture quotient. I was soaking it all in with the farmers’ markets and the

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The first thing that hits you is the dryness, the warm feeling which creeps over your skin. I am approaching the lowest point on the planet, 450 metres below sea level. The Dead Sea is the creation of a tectonic shift or rift in the continental plates, much like the Himalayas.

Its extreme salinity (which is actually only 4 percent, but enough to keep you and your pet elephant afloat) makes survival difficult for any living being. This gives the Dead Sea its name.

I will indelibly remember the experience. You are not supposed to splash in the Sea; it can be dangerous if the salty water gets into your eyes. All you have to do is lie back and relax. Floating on your back on the Dead Sea is an experience like no other. It compels you to confront and overcome the fear of drowning. The floating left me physically drained (the salinity dehydrates you) but inwardly light and upbeat.

That was about to change. My hosts announced that they wanted me to experience something culturally unique, which Israel has recently created. The Nalaga’at Theatre opened its doors to the public around four years ago. Nala-

ga’at, a Hebrew word which means “Do Touch”, is a space especially created for deaf and blind artists with Ushers Syndrome. This is a rare genetic disorder which attacks the sense of hearing and then the vision, and the afflicted struggle in our chaotic world. With Nalaga’at, some of them have got a chance to explore their artistic creativity.

The theatre is situated in an old warehouses of Jaffa port. It has three features– the play specially created for the stage; the Kapish, an outdoor cafe with deaf waiters; and the Blackout Restaurant, an incredibly darkened space. Here, you enter the world of the blind.

There is no physical light; the only light in the restaurant is created by a clear understanding of space.

From the moment the door opens you are entrusted into the care of a server, and she becomes your link with the world. As you move inside, you cannot see anything, but you can hear people having conversations like in any other restaurant. You feel uneasy and shocked at first because most of our information is processed by the eyes. Your waitress instructs you to pour yourself a drink of water from the carafe to your left into the glass to your right and then place your napkin at the centre. She is perfectly comfortable in the dark, while you are struggling to absorb even the smallest

bits of information.

After somehow managing to have a dining experience, I was expertly guided back to the exit, my hands on the server’s shoulders for guidance. I came out feeling numbed. If the Dead Sea makes you confront the fear of drowning, the Blackout experience makes you confront the fear of losing the sense of sight.

This unnerving experience is a reorientation of the way in which we process information.

It opens out a channel for knowledge that we hardly use – the sense of touch, usually used only for gratification. The differently-abled use it to experience and learn about the world. You realise that the gateways of knowledge – our sense of sight, hearing and speech – are incomplete without the dimension of touch.

Teaching yoga in Israel had a learning curve for me, while the students absorbed the yogic teachings in and through different yogasanas. Whether standing on the head in shirsasana, or floating on my back in the Dead Sea, or experiencing the darkness of the Blackout Restaurant – for me all of this became less about external positioning and more about confronting fears and discovering inner truths.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

ubiquitous humus (the best is in the Arab quarter in Jerusalem or in Jaffa, depending on whom you ask), and eventually made my way to a geographical marvel.

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Iyengar Yoga Centre West Suffolk Jane Perryman

Yoga practice has been a hugely important part of my life for over thirty years.

These words of Guruji from his book The Art of Yoga have been particularly relevant to me: “Any action done with beauty and purity, and in complete harmony of body, mind and soul, is art.

In this way art elevates the artist.

As yoga fulfils the essential need of art, it is an art.”

Although yoga teaching hasn’t been my main profession, the practice has underpinned my career as a ceramic artist and writer. It was on my first visit to India in 1990 to attend classes at the institute in Pune that I discovered village potters working on the side of a road in the city centre.This led to research investigating the work of Indian potters and the publication of my book Traditional Pottery of India. In the introduction of Light on Yoga Guruji uses an earthenware pot as a metaphor for the human body: “Just as an unbaked earthen pot dissolves in water the body soon decays. So bake it hard in the fire of yogic discipline in order to strengthen and purify it.”

Since I qualified with my Introductory certificate

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in 1983 I taught a couple of classes a week in Cambridge and when we moved to rural Suffolk in 1996 carried this on in a local village hall. I did further training to Junior Level 3 but because of my other commitments was never able to go further. A few years ago I decided to reduce the publishing part of my work and spend more time teaching and training in yoga.

We live in a 16th century timber framed house converted from two farm labourers’ cottages and in 2008 we knocked out a wall upstairs to make a yoga studio. I had tried to teach in our barn outside but students complained of spiders and there would be a problem with heating in the winter. I wrote to Mr Iyengar and got his permission and blessing to call it West Suffolk Iyengar Yoga Centre.

The door into our house opens straight into the kitchen and I wasn’t sure how students would respond coming into a domestic space before climbing the narrow staircase into the studio.

The studio can take 10 students and is fully equipped with wall ropes and props. Nobody seemed to mind; in fact the intimate space lends itself to a sense of mutual support and bonding between the students.

As we know, whatever people’s age, occupation or circumstances they all benefit from the practice. Lorraine Phillips, a student for nine years has described what yoga has done for her: “It's provided me with a sense of well-being, I have far more awareness of my physical body and a better understanding of both strengths and weakness. I have a better physique which improves with continued practice, which I know would be even better if I worked harder! Yoga practice calms my mind: improves my sleep pattern and energy levels. I find myself enthusing about the benefits to family and friends. Yoga practice has changed my life for the better. And I have made some great new friends too.”

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

It started off slowly and I decided to keep advertising to a minimum and rely on the national Iyengar website and word of mouth. Now I have four classes a week and occasional weekend workshops. Annie Ciekanski comes once a year to teach us for a weekend and we are just 45 minutes drive away from the Cambridge Institute run by our senior teacher Sasha Perryman (and also my dear sister), so keen students can go there for workshops and special days. One of the drawbacks of country living is that we are completely reliant on our cars and the students who come here often travel from far afield. The effort of getting here means they are committed and serious about their practice, and some come twice a week.

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A Yoga Class for Asian women in Sheffield Emma Rattenbury

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

It is well known that South East Asian communities in the UK suffer disproportionately high levels of mental and physical ill health. Women from these communities experience high levels of stress, social isolation and domestic abuse, and such women in Sheffield are no exception. In my career in the fields of equalities, health and well-being, I have worked with South East Asian community organisations on a number of occasions, including many women’s organisations, as well as with specialist domestic abuse services. When I qualified to be an Iyengar yoga teacher, six years ago, I was keen to find a way of bringing the benefits of Iyengar yoga to women from these communities in Sheffield.

Three years ago I ran a class for Asian and other women, commissioned through a local community development trust, but attendance was problematic throughout and the funding for the class ended before the class had become well-established. I, therefore, took a step back and decided that the best way to organise

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such a class was to work in partnership with Sheffield’s Asian Women’s Resource Centre, Roshni. One of their Advocacy Co-ordinators, whom I have worked with on a number of occasions, has also been a student of Iyengar yoga, so we agreed to work together on this.

The women whom Roshni support have multiple problems, as their recent Advocacy service Annual report states: “South Asian women who access (our) services are often very isolated with no support in their lives and struggling with many aspects of their lives.”

The majority of the women speak limited English, and have little understanding of and contact with mainstream Sheffield society. Roshni acts as a bridge for them to that society, as well as a way to increase their confidence and to get respite from the stresses of their daily lives. Many women are experiencing acute poverty, and are unaware of their benefit entitlements.

Domestic abuse is experienced by a significant number of

Roshni’s clients – over the last year the advocacy service has received a total of 91 queries about this issue from a mix of new and existing clients.

We agreed to pilot a yoga class on a Thursday morning for five weeks in the first half of the autumn term 2012. I applied to the Iyengar Yoga Development Fund (IYDF), which agreed to fund my costs, and we approached a local community health centre called ShipShape, who provided a room free of charge, in return for a number of places in the class for women whom they are in contact with, most of whom are from South East Asian communities themselves. We set a limit of 12 places in the class, as I wanted to provide equipment for everyone and the space is limited. One of Roshni’s volunteer Health Champions agreed to act as interpreter for the class in return for participating in it herself. We reviewed how it had gone at the end of the first 5 week pilot and agreed to continue with the partnership, with the continuing support of the IYDF.

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dandypants

I started teaching a fairly standard introductory programme of postures, but rapidly realised that the majority of the women had too many problems to participate in that fully, so have adapted my teaching to include more recuperative poses and to focus on working carefully to support non specific back pain, which many of them experience. I have also had to learn to teach primarily through simple demonstration, and very limited verbal instructions, as nearly everything has to be translated for them to understand. Thus the precise and detailed ‘Iyengar-type’ instructions have had to be abandoned in favour of very direct and simple ones. We have developed a shared sign language as a class; for example, I point at my eyes, when I want them just to watch me. And I

show how not to do something in order to demonstrate how to do it more often than in my regular classes, e.g. keeping feet parallel, not turning them out. I feel that all of this enhances the clarity and simplicity of my regular teaching, as I have always had a bit of a tendency to overcomplicate instructions, so am grateful for the challenges that the class has presented me with.

I have recently decided to teach to a standard class programme for a few weeks at a time, so that everyone can become familiar with this, and will require less detailed instruction. This addresses the fact that few of the students get to all the classes, and enables everyone to participate fully, even if they only make it to one class. For now, progression has to be on the back-burner. It also allows me to adjust the students individually to ensure they are working correctly and gaining the maximum benefit from the class. In partnership with Roshni, I am also exploring the possibility of translating a relaxation cd into Urdu, so that they can truly relax in Savasana, as if I am speaking to them in English, they often open their eyes to find out if I am telling them to move.

Even within the first few weeks of the class, it was evident that the women who were attending were making some progress. Some of them have

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

It has been a challenging process for me as a teacher and I am learning and adapting what I am doing as I go along. Numbers have fluctuated from three to seven, so we have not yet reached our goal of 12. However, this is a relief in some ways, as the women who have attended have multiple health problems, so I have had to adapt much of what I am doing to make the class accessible to them all. There is a core of about five women who come fairly regularly, but others vary, affected by family commitments, trips to Pakistan and their own health.

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practised a little bit at home, which I have encouraged – for example chair Bharadvajasana and Gomukhasana to get the upper back moving, and Savasana with lower legs on a chair, when their backs are painful to rest and release them.

And it is great to see them leave the class at the end looking more relaxed and with a smile on their faces.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

At the end of the five week pilot, I asked Roshni and the women who are attending for some feedback. The Advocacy Co-ordinator at Roshni provided the following comments: “I am very grateful for the yoga funding from the IYDF as it’s making a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable women we are supporting through Roshni Advocacy project: of the women enrolled on the programme, one is a carer for young disabled child, two others have recently fled domestic violence, another is a busy mum of 6 children as well as being a carer for a mentally ill family member and another is trying to integrate into the UK as a divorcee. We often struggle to find services to improve the mental and physical well-being of our clients in difficulties.

These yoga classes are a valuable opportunity for out clients as yoga helps with both of these health aspects.”

The Health Champion who interprets for and participates in the class says: “Asian women are going through a lot of difficulties at home. I notice that when are in the class they become engrossed in the yoga and are able to let go of their worries. The women seem much more relaxed by the end of each yoga sessions, compared with when they first arrive for the class.”

Women themselves said that they enjoy doing something different, and particularly value the chance to go somewhere they do not normally go to and meet different women (from ShipShape), as well as others they already know. It gives them a break, and a chance to focus on something other than their problems, as well as making them feel better and less stiff at the end.

They also like the fact that I give them simple things to do and practice at home, which help 38

with their back or other physical problems.

I look forward to the class developing further in the coming weeks, and to building up more regular attendance and higher numbers (though not too high!). Thank you to the IYDF for making this dream I have had for many years a reality.

Do you want to become an Iyengar yoga teacher?

Before being accepted onto an Introductory Teaching Training Course a student must have completed a minimum of three years' regular study with an approved Iyengar yoga teacher.

A letter of recommendation from the student's regular teacher is also required. For full details of how to apply to start training, please visit the IY (UK) website. You can also search for teacher trainers near to where you live, and there are details of specific teacher training courses around the country.

Some teachers continue training beyond their Introductory certificate and go onto Intermediate Junior, Intermediate Senior and ultimately, Advanced certificates. To progress to teach more advanced postures, it is up to the individual to attend classes with Senior or Advanced teachers. These more advanced certificates demand more of teachers, both in the number and difficulty of asanas practiced, and in the subtlety of their understanding of the theory and practice of yoga. For more information, and to book an assessment online, please visit www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

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Report from the Ofqual Accreditation Working Group The Ofqual Accreditation Working Group (OAWG) is preparing the application for IY (UK) Ltd certified teachers to have Ofqual recognition.

Why do we need to be recognised? So that Iyengar Yoga teachers can enter the workforce on a level playing field with other recognised yoga organisations. As some members may recall, recognition will not affect how we teach or assess and existing teachers will be recognised on a national framework for qualifications at their level of entry.

In March 2012 the first application for Awarding Organisation (AO) status with Ofqual was returned. The process is one in which several submissions are to be expected, with improvements made each time, until finally achieving the Ofqual and government regulatory requirements.

We had of course hoped for success at the first shot, but had been forewarned that most organisations make multiple applications before achieving success. The preparation of any organisation for recognition is a huge undertaking, made even more mammoth as Ofqual have twice revised the application form and guidelines whilst we were preparing our first application!

Subsequently the Ofqual Accreditation Working Group (OAWG) has been checking where the deficiencies lie. It has been a great learning curve for our organisation - Ofqual expect organisations such as ours to have conversations about our policies for disabled students, deaf students, complaints policies, etc. It is therefore helping us to become more professional.

As IY (UK) members will know, our organisation is run entirely on a voluntary basis and the work for every committee is carried out in spare time by people who have day jobs with the backing of three part time paid administrators. The OAWG

likewise is comprised of a group of busy people, but without the assistance of the paid administrators. So this year the proposal presented to the Executive Council for paid assistance in preparing the next application was almost unanimously agreed. We are therefore very pleased to welcome Sara Raymond (formerly Braham) to the team. As you may know Sara had stood in for Jo during her maternity leave so is well acquainted with how IY (UK) Ltd functions, not least the important area of how we award our qualifications and carry out assessments. This means that Sara will devote her time to getting to grips with the requirements, establishing a method of compiling the information, collating the documentation and assisting with completing the second application. It is hoped that this can be achieved within the next nine months.

We are also exploring the possibility of an interim agreement with the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs). This would be an interim agreement pending Awarding Organisation status.

Such an agreement will enable existing Iyengar Yoga teachers to register without completing the special yoga entry form for those who are not qualified via a REPs recognised Yoga umbrella group (currently the British Wheel of Yoga and the Independent Yoga Network). IY (UK) applicants will therefore not have to write essays and provide sponsors and referees as is presently the situation for new applicants. The annual registration fee could also be discounted substantially to our members depending on the details of an interim agreement. To this end we have had promising meetings. Of course the Executive Council will need to consider the implications and arrive at a consensus. Hopefully we can bring you good news in the near future.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Sharon Klaff

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What did You do on Your Holidays?

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

On returning to school following the summer holidays many children are asked to write the essay What did you do on your holidays? So using that as the basis for this article I would like to share with the Iyengar yoga community what happened in the Midlands this summer.

The story starts in 2011 when I was approached by a yoga colleague who wanted me to organise and run the Warwick Summer School. I actually declined because I felt that I wasn’t networked with other yoga teachers that were not Iyengar trained (usually summer schools in this area are about trying out different teachers every week from many different methods). I mentioned it to my teacher Jayne Orton and then forgot all about it!

This year, just prior to Easter, Jayne asked me if I was going to run the summer school and wouldn’t it be a good idea if it was an Iyengar Summer School! I then went through the whole process of self doubt as to whether such an event could be organised. Would we attract enough students? Could I find a suitable venue? Was I taking on too much? Then I realised that this was an opportunity and to surrender to want ever happened. You know the sort of thing - if we build it people will come. So – the first Iyengar Summer School in Leamington Spa started to evolve. It was decided that the teachers would teach for free and the money raised would be going to the Bellur Trust in India. Also it was seen as a good promotion for local Iyengar teachers to appeal to a wider audience and hopefully get more students for the autumn term. The venue was at a local school which was a brand new building and we had use of a splendid hall.

We devised a six week programme and each week a different teacher taught and the other teachers came along as helpers (a bit scary when your own teacher is there and your having to

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teach an hour and a half class!). Promotion was done through our individual classes and health centres, health food shops, retail outlets and local papers who were happy to advertise the event as it was for charity. By mid June we had 16 students signed up and I was starting to panic. Was this a good idea? Then there was a steady influx of students and by the first week we have 43 people signed up, and with each week more people were coming. Some signed up for the whole course, some for three weeks and a few drop in’s. The total number of students who signed up was 60.

The students ranged from complete beginners to more practised students, oh and one blind student – but that’s a whole other story. At conclusion of the course the feedback was positive and students pleased that they could be doing yoga during the summer break. Many of the total beginners have decided to join classes and there has been a lot of interest shown in forthcoming workshops and a summer school next summer.

What has this given us? That it is possible and valuable to work in the spirit of co-operation with other teachers in your local area. Also how generous the other teachers were in giving their time and expertise for free. Special thanks to Jayne Orton for giving me the necessary push to organise it. I learnt how different it is to teach a larger number of people, how to share ideas and teaching methods with other teachers. Also what terrific fun it was and that I hope we have inspired other people to want to dip their body and soul into the Iyengar Yoga experience.

Oh! And by the way we raised £1,500 for the Bellur Trust. AND we have organised ourselves into a group of Iyengar teachers offering regular Saturday/Sunday two hour workshops. Summer School for 2013 being planned.

Email: iyengar.yoga@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.iyengaryogawarwickshire.com

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Changes to the Structure of Iyengar Yoga (UK) Limited

We have already made one submission to Ofqual and it has been returned with a list of further work that we need to do. This is normal; submissions to Ofqual are never successful first time round. We have realised how complicated the process of application is; at its meeting in September, the EX agreed to set aside a sum to pay for administrative assistance and consultancy help with our application, and an Administrator has now been appointed on a 6 month contract for one day’s work a week.

However, it is unlikely that we will receive Ofqual approval until late 2013 at the earliest and this has made us think again about implementing the new structure for IY (UK) that we have already agreed on. The decision to create an IYQ ‘branch’ of the Association results entirely from the criteria set out by Ofqual that there must be separation between providers of training and qualifications. In the unfortunate circumstance that we end up not receiving Ofqual approval to become an Awarding Organisation, there will be no need to set up the IYQ branch; to do so would create an unnecessarily unwieldy structure.

We are very hopeful that we will receive Ofqual accreditation but it is hard to estimate our chances of success. Therefore, until we are successful, it makes sense to alter the structure if

the Association in line with our new status as a Company Limited by Guarantee but postpone the creation of the new IYQ organisation. The suggestion below does this, and if accepted, would make it very straightforward to create the IYQ branch when the time comes.

The diagram below sets out the agreed structure for IY (UK) once we have received Ofqual approval to become an Awarding Organisation: See figure 1.

We are proposing to introduce an interim structure, as laid out below, until we receive Ofqual approval to become an Awarding Organisation, and we can then set up the IYQ branch properly.

The interim structure is identical to the agreed structure above, except that there is no IYQ and the roles of that branch that still need to be carried out are placed appropriately in the interim structure. See figure 2.

The Board Our new Standing Orders state that the Board will consist of: • Chair of the IY (UK) Executive Council • Vice Chair of the IY (UK) Executive Council • Secretary of the IY (UK) Executive Council • Membership Secretary of the IY (UK) Executive Council • Finance Officer of IY (UK) Executive Council • Chair of the IYQ Management Committe • Vice Chair of the IYQ Management Committee • Secretary of the IYQ Management Committee • Finance Officer of the IYQ Management Committee

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

The Association has set up an Accreditation Working Group so that we can apply to the Government agency responsible for qualifications (Ofqual) to become an Awarding Organisation.

This would mean that our Iyengar qualifications would automatically be recognised by the Government and our teachers would be able to work in any institution in the UK without having to get third party recognition from organisations such as the Register of Exercise professionals (REPs).

The interim structure temporarily removes the IYQ and so we do not have the officers from the IYQ able to sit on the Board. So we propose to set up Interim Board that will operate until the

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IYQ is set up, and that will consist of the following people: • Chair of the IY (UK) Executive Council – Emma Pinchin • Vice Chair of the IY (UK) Executive Council – Philippe Harari • Secretary of the IY (UK) Executive Council – Helen White • Membership Secretary of the IY (UK) Executive Council – Anita Phillips • Finance Officer of IY (UK) Executive Council – Pam Mackenzie • Chair of the Assessing and Teacher Training Committee – Sheila Haswell • Chair of the Ethics and Appeals Committee – Sasha Perryman • IY (UK) Constitutional Officer – Jill Johnson

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

With the addition of the Constitutional Officer, this interim Board is identical to the Management Committee that existed under our old standing orders.

The Board has to elect Officers and we suggest the following as an interim arrangement: • Chair – Emma Pinchin • Vice-chair – Philippe Harari • Secretary – Helen White • Treasurer – Pam Mackenzie • Constitutional Officer – Jill Johnson

The Finance Committee Our new structure includes a Finance Committee, directly answerable to the Board, and 42

we suggest that we keep exactly the same membership as our old Finance and Membership Committee and the role of this new Committee is described in the new Standing Orders.

The Ethics and Appeals Committee In our new structure, this Committee is also directly answerable to the Board and will lose the responsibility for Certification that lay with the Ethics and Certification Committee in our old structure. The Certification role will be transferred to IYQ when it is set up, but in the meantime we are proposing that we stick with our current Ethics and Certification Committee, and leave them with the Certification role until we have set up the IYQ. So this Committee will continue to operate according to the remit set out in our old Standing orders.

The Therapy Committee Under the new structure, this Committee is one of the Standing Committees of the IYQ. As an interim arrangement, we propose that it remains answerable to the IY (UK) Executive Council (see diagram on the right) and that its membership and remit remain as they are now.

Assessing and Teacher Training Committee Under the new structure, this Committee will lose some of

its responsibilities to the Syllabus and Assessment Committee of the IYQ. As an interim arrangement, we propose that these responsibilities remain with the Assessing and Teacher Training Committee and that its membership remains the same.

All other Standing Committees remain untouched by the new structure.

This proposal to set up an interim structure until our application to Ofqual is successful has been agreed by the Executive Council but it must be agreed by a vote at the AGM before it can be put into practice. The 2013 AGM will also be presented with the new Standing Orders.

Note: when we became a limited company, we changed the name of our association from Iyengar Yoga Association (UK) to Iyengar Yoga (UK) Ltd. However, we have retained the name Iyengar Yoga Association to denote the 'delivery' branch of the IY (UK). The second branch of the IY (UK) will be responsible for qualifications and will be called Iyengar Yoga Qualifications (IYQ). The interim structure, as explained above, does not include the IYQ branch, and so the name of our Association is IY (UK) Ltd but directly below the Board of IY (UK) is the IYA Executive Council (see figure 2).

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Figure 1.

Honorary President B.K.S. Iyengar

Finance

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Limited Board

IYA

IYQ

IYA Executive Council

IYQ Management Committe

IYQ Committes • Qualifications • Syllabus and Assessment • Therapy

Figure 2.

Ethics and Appeals

Moderators

IYA Commmittees •Archives and Research •Assessing and Teacher Training •Communications and PR •Events •IYDF •Membership

Honorary President B.K.S. Iyengar

IYA Executive Council

Moderators

IYA Commmittees • Archives and Research • Assessing and Teacher Training (inc. Syllabus and Assessment) • Therapy • Communications and PR • Events • IYDF • Membership

Ethics and Appeals inc.

Certification

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Finance

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Limited Board

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IY (UK) Reports

CHAIR – EMMA PINCHIN

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 – Spring 2013

Standing Orders The autumn has been busy for those of us working on the Standing Orders that, together with the Articles of Association (approved in 2011), will replace our existing Constitution. It had been hoped that these would be ready to be approved by the membership at the AGM held during the 2012 convention. However, the consultation process which took place with members and the various committees of the IY(UK) Executive Council (EX) during the first half of 2012 threw up a greater amount of work than was expected. The small team of EX members who have been working on the Standing Orders has therefore been busy editing, tweaking, and tidying, working closely with the Senior Teachers of our organisation, through the Moderators Committee and the Assessment and Teacher Trainers Committee, in particular. The aim now is to bring an agreed version of the Standing Orders to the AGM in April 2013. More information on the Standing Orders can be found elsewhere in this magazine.

Accreditation of Iyengar Teachers In other news, work on our application for Awarding Organisation status continues to progress, as you will have read in the earlier article by Sharon Klaff. Applying for Awarding Organisation status is a highly complex and timeconsuming process but the rewards of success will be enormous. I would like to thank the people on the Ofqual Accreditation Working Group and on the Standing Orders Working Group for all the work they are doing on this important project.

Conventions We are extremely pleased that the 2013 convention, due to be held in Cambridge and taught by Rajvi Mehta, has now sold out. An exciting three days of yoga awaits us in April.

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For the 2014 Convention, Guruji’s granddaughter Abhijata Sridhar Iyengar has, in principle, agreed to come in early May. Time, venue and details are all still to be confirmed – do keep an eye out for more information in future IYNs and on the website.

London Yoga Show The team running the Iyengar Yoga stand at the Yoga Show at Olympia had three very successful days back in October 2012. Again, for more information please see the illustrated report elsewhere in the magazine.

IY(UK) Facebook Page The Iyengar Yoga (UK) Facebook page continues to offer regular inspirational quotations, photographs, and videos. The site is updated and maintained by Iyengar teacher Gerda Bayliss. If you haven’t yet ventured a look I would highly recommend it.

IYN in Colour So far the feedback to the full-colour version of Iyengar Yoga News printed in the autumn has been overwhelmingly positive. The EX intends to review the situation at its May meeting, where consideration will be given to the feedback provided following two all-colour editions. At the present time it looks like the majority of you are happy to pay the extra 80p that it will cost for the twice-yearly editions of the magazine to be printed in colour. If you do have any comments on this, or anything else concerning the magazine please do email editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk.

And finally, to end on a personal note, I am very pleased to announce that I am expecting my second child – due in June 2013. 2013 looks to be a busy and exciting year, both personally and for the IY(UK) as we continue to grow.

TREASURER – PAM MACKENZIE

Following the change to our financial year from 31 March to 31 December, the annual accounts are currently being prepared for approval by the Executive and Board and formal approval at the AGM in April 2013.

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I have listed the membership and assessment fees for 2013/14 as previously reported in the Autumn IYN.

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Fees 2013/14 Membership fees £ Institute members 7.00 Individual members 18.00 Overseas extension and individual membership 36.00 Individual teachers 18.00 Teachers supplement 38.00 Teachers concessionary rate 23.00 Affiliated centres 100.00 Teacher training registration 37.00 Assessments fees Introductory I Introductory II Junior Senior

73.00 117.00 117.00 117.00

The Certification Mark fee for 2013/14 is £31.

The fee is based on US$50 and the exchange rate that was in place on 1st November 2012.

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY – ANITA PHILLIPS

Current membership numbers: Dec '12 Non-teachers Institutes 1160 Individuals 259 Total 1419

Dec '11

1199 274 1473

Teachers Institutes Individual Total

769 298 1067

753 318 1071

Non-teachers UK ROI Overseas

1305 79 35

1355 91 27

970 26

983 21

Teachers UK Overseas

Dec '12

Dec '11

Overall numbers are down slightly from last year.

One positive point is that more teachers have joined via their local Member Institutes rather than as Individual members. We are happy to encourage this community spirit.

During September and October some of the Affiliated Centres helped recruit non-teacher members by publicising a special reduced subscription rate and Yoga Show ticket offer.

Particular thanks to Lin Craddock at Maidstone Yoga Centre, Margaret Carter at Knutsford Iyengar Yoga Centre, and Alan Reynolds at IYI Maida Vale who were very supportive and between them signed up over 20 members. We have 14 additional members who joined at the Yoga Show.

Apart from new members, we’ve had good feedback about the Yoga Show, particularly from teachers who worry that Iyengar Yoga suffers as a result of enthusiastic marketing by other schools.

Students are being lured to try other styles and a few teachers report that their Iyengar classes at health clubs are under threat, some having been replaced by in-house staff teaching “stretch” classes. We must keep the general public informed about the specific benefits of Iyengar Yoga.

We’re happy to welcome another Affliated Centre, iYoga. In Heaton Mersey, Manchester,

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 – Spring 2013

I can report that the 2012 IY (UK) Convention was once again well supported and a surplus of around £12,000 is expected. I can also report that donations to the Bellur Trust for 2012 are likely to be in the region of £2,700. The fundraising in 2012 for the Iyengar Yoga Development Fund stands at over £3,000. Thank you to everyone who contributed so generously with their time and money on both projects.

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iYoga is a newly opened 1,500 square feet space designed exclusively for the teaching of Iyengar yoga. For information about classes and hiring this space, their website address is http://www.iyengaryogamanchester.co.uk/ Of the 70 successful Introductory Level 2 candidates from October 2012, 53 had joined as Teacher members as at December, with more expected to join and start teaching in 2013. Two successful 2011 candidates have also joined for the first time as Teacher members.

There are queries every year about teacher renewals after 31 March. There are no discounts for part year subscriptions, insurance, or CM, apart from in exceptional circumstances. A £10 late fee is charged to teachers renewing after 31 March. There is an ongoing issue of teachers renewing via the website and then not renewing their local institute membership. Teacher insurance may be compromised without current IY (UK) membership, so these teachers will be removed from the database search function until their basic membership subscription is paid.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

We’re very grateful to the Membership Secretaries of Member Institutes for their help in maintaining the IYA database, lightening significantly the office workload. This involves a considerable amount of volunteer time and we ask institute members, particularly teachers, to do their part to help, especially by renewing their Institute membership promptly every year.

Google Analytics shows a healthy volume of traffic on our website relating to people searching for local classes. Teachers, please keep your class information up-to-date on the IYA website. It would be great if more of you would upload your photos. Katie is happy to help anyone having trouble updating and/or uploading.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me settle in as Membership Secretary, especially to Katie – I couldn’t do this job without you standing by!

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SECRETARY REPORT – HELEN WHITE

Since the last newsletter, I have had a fairly quiet time as I now have a Deputy Secretary, Karen Dunne, who has been doing the job of collecting papers for the Executive Council meeting at the end of January. As she has realised, it is a bit like herding cats! Lots of busy people have to produce documents for Emma the Chair to go through, before getting sent out to the Council about 10 days before the meeting. Still, she’s done a great job and I have put my feet up (in head balance, of course!).

We have launched another appeal for the Iyengar Yoga Development Fund (IYDF), the fund which pays teachers to give yoga classes to people who would not normally be able to access yoga. Most of our funding comes from a part of the Certification Mark payment that all teachers make, but more money means we can support more teachers. We currently fund teachers who take classes with people with learning disabilities, people recovering from a mental health illness, prisoners, carers, and others. The classes take place across the country, from Leeds to Truro, London to County Clare. Our appeal last year raised over £1,600, which enabled us to fund more teachers. Hopefully your generosity will allow these classes to continue in future years.

Mr Iyengar is thrilled with the work of the IYDF and the classes we are able to fund.

With very best wishes to you all for a wonderful and yoga-ful 2013.

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Assessment Passes Congratulations to all those who gained success in their assessments Diedre Kerins Simone Lawton Bo Lee Delphine Lheureux Denise Lundberg Maxine Lunn Mary Matthews Geraldine McGovern Denise Mehlman Vicki Mellor Lynne Melvin Claire Morris Elaine Morrison Anne Morton Patricia Moss Sharon Murphy Emma Norminton Breda O'Malley Noeleen O'Neill Carmen Ornia Seoidin O'Sullivan Sarah Owen Rachel Poot Nicola Pritchard Nina Prodywus Kirsty Reps Antonella Saulle Nicola Scheel Mira Shirley

Judith Simo Suzanne Smyth Nina Solo Patricia Spelman Shirley St Hill Clare Staplehurst Julie Stein Tehira Taylor Sally Thomas Susannah Tomkins Mosinah Underwood Laura Vanborm Peter Willis

BOOK YOUR ASSESSMENT ONLINE Teachers and trainees can now download syllabus and book and pay for assessments online.

Please visit the IY (UK) website at www.iyengaryoga.org.uk.

The deadlines for assessment applications are: Introductory Level 1 – 1 March Introductory Level 2 – 1 May Intermediate Junior Levels 1,2 and 3 – 30 September

For Intermediate Senior assessments, please contact Penny Chaplin (pennyroyal@btopenworld.com); the deadline for these applications is 1 May.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Introductory Level 2 Kim Banner Patrick Boyle Erica Burman Helen Cameron Charlotte Carson Emma Catto Pearl Clarke Jane Collins Susan Collins Jill Cox Celine Crawford Bairbre Crowley Janice Dack Suzanne Dodd Jennifer Duncan Patrick Dunne Aimi Dunstan Elise Fleming Sharon Gleeson Agnieszka Golec Adele Gopal Sarah Goss Helen Harrison Ros Hartley Helen Hoad Linda Hooper Mark Isaacs Lisa Joyce Kalpana Kapoor

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IY (UK) Professional Development Days 2013 South West SWIYI, Penryn, Cornwall – 1 June (Zed Shed) with Richard Agar Ward Organiser: Gillian Kamali – 01736 360 559 / gilliankamali@hotmail.com West & South Wales AIYI, Long Ashton near Bristol – 21 September (Bristol) with Marion Kilburn Organiser: Edgar Stringer – 01249 716 235 (office hours) / edgarstringer@gmail.com London & South East NELIYI – North East London – 16 November with Diane Coats Organiser: Nancy Clarke – 020 8442 0617 / nancyclarke@btinternet.com IIYS – Sussex – 29 September with Sheila Haswell Organiser: Brian Ingram – 0144 236 714 / brianiyoga@tesco.net

IYIMV – North West London – 23 November with Elaine Pidgeon Contact: I.Y.I.M.V 020 7624 3080 Organiser: Kate Rathod – kateyogajudd@hotmail.com IYISL – South London – 17 November with Mary Heath* Organiser: Glenys Shepherd – 020 8694 0155 / iyisl@btclick.com

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

SWLSIYI – South West London & Surrey – 14 July with Sallie Sullivan* Organiser: Penny Boylan – 07717 221 978 / pennyboylan@hotmail.co.uk

Kent IYI – Kent – 11 May with Judi Sweeting Organiser: Brenda Booth – 01892 740 876 / brendaboothkent@aol.com North West MDIIY & LIYI, Manchester – 30 November with Penny Chaplin Organiser: Janice Yates – 0161 368 3614 / janice.yates@sky.com

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East Central & North SADIYA & BDIYI, Sheffield and Bradford – 28 September (York) with Julie Brown Organiser: Emma Rattenbury – 07837 811 967 / 01142 556 406 / emma.rattenbury@blueyonder.co.uk North East & Cumbria NEIYI, Sunderland – 22 June with Tricia Booth Organiser: Dawn Hodgson – 01325 721 518 / dawnlesleyhodgson@btinternet.com West Central MCIYI, Birmingham – 21 September with Dave Browne Organiser: Jane Orton – 0121 608 2229 / jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com East CIYI, Cambridge – 30 November with Jayne Orton Organiser: Sasha Perryman – 01223 515 929 / sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk South Central ORIYI, High Wycombe – 14 September with Meg Laing Organiser: Sheila Haswell – 01494 521 107 / sheila@sarva.co.uk

DHIYI, Bournemouth – 16 November with Brenda Booth Organiser: Kim Trowell – 01202 558 049 / kimtrowellyoga@gmail.com

Glasgow – 22 September with Margaret Austin Organiser: Valerie Miller – 0141 339 0442 / vjmiller@talk21.com

Ireland Crumlin, Dublin – 14 September with Aisling Guirke* Organiser: Aisling Guirke – 00353 87 289 1664 / aisling_guirke@hotmail.com

Phibsboro, Dublin – 1 June with Eileen Cameron* Organiser: Angela Beattie – 02897 528 036 (H) / 07709 523 334 (M) / kimtrowellyoga@gmail.com *Denotes Senior Teacher

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Scotland Edinburgh – 15 June with Judith Jones Organiser: Katie Rutherford – 0131 447 4708 / katie.rutherford@blueyonder.co.uk

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Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

IY (UK) Executive Council Officer Rep. Chairperson Treasurer Secretary Membership Sec. Vice Chairperson EC Rep. Chair of AT Chair of TC AIYI BDIYI CIYI DHIYI DIYI ESIYI GWSIYI IIYS K.I.Y.I. LIYI MCIYI MDIIY MDIIY NEIIY NELIYI ORIYI SADIYA SWIYI SWLSIYI RoI Rep Hon Mem Individual Dep. Treasurer Individual Individual Individual Individual Individual

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Name Email Emma Pinchin chair@iyengaryoga.org.uk Pam Mackenzie pammackenzie@live.co.uk Helen White secretary@iyengaryoga.org.uk Anita Phillips anita.phillips@btinternet.com Philippe Harari philippe.harari@runbox.com Jill Johnson jjyoga@mac.com Sheila Haswell sheila.haswell@talk21.com Ros Bell r.j.bell@open.ac.uk Edgar Stringer edgarstringer@googlemail.com Michelle Mangeolles mmangeolles@yahoo.co.uk Isabel Jones Fielding events@iyengaryoga.org.uk Elaine Rees elainerees@europe.com Teresa Lewis teresaflo72@hotmail.com Agnes Matthews cmtpartner@aol.com Brian Stewart brians@chem.gla.ac.uk Mary Mulligan mulligan558@btinternet.com Carrie Turck carrie.t@care4free.net Helen Green helengreen124@hotmail.com Vacancy Joan Abrams joanabrams@hotmail.com Robert Leyland robert.leyland3@virgin.net Gael Henry gaelhenry@btinternet.com Larissa MacGoldrick larimcgoldrick@yahoo.com Clare Bingham bingham_c@hotmail.com Wendy Weller Davieswendy@wellerdavies.co.uk Julie Smith schmooly@hotmail.com Diane Drain dianedrain@btinternet.com Paul Taylor paul.taylor12@hotmail.com Elaine Pidgeon elaine.pidgeon@virgin.net Ally Hill ally@sarva.co.uk Sev Kanay sev.neliyi@yahoo.com Anna Macedo annamacedo@clara.co.uk Sharon Klaff sharon.klaff@btopenworld.com Karen Dunne karenjodunne@yahoo.co.uk Jill Johnson jjyoga@mac.com

Telephone 01235 820223 020 8373 8356 01132 746 463 020 8675 1631 01223 523 410 0619299462 01494 711 589 0208 340 9899 01249 716 235 07910 963 183 01202 483 951 0141 334 3834 01273 604 588 01580 240 421 01517287207 01457 763 048 0161 440 9941 01914775904 01844212770 01142363039 07816 236158 0035361924236 0131 552 9871 01494 521 107 020 8368 7898 01903 242 150 07939 834252 0619299462

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IY (UK) Committee Members Philippe Harari, Sheila Haswell, Helen White, Pam Mackenzie, Emma Pinchin, Sasha Perryman, Anita Phillips

Planning

Sheila Haswell, Philippe Harari, Sev Kanay, Pam Mackenzie, Sasha Perryman, Anita Phillips, Emma Pinchin, Helen White

Ethics & Certification

Ros Bell, Eileen Cameron, Penny Chaplin, Jill Johnson (Rep. on Ex.), Judy Lynn, Sasha Perryman (Appeals Officer)

Assessment & Teacher Training

Margaret Austin, Alan Brown, Debbie Bartholomew, Penny Chaplin, Diane Coats, Sheila Green, Sheila Haswell, Judy Lynn, Sallie Sullivan

Communications & Public Relations

Joan Abrams, John Cotgreave (IYN), Philippe Harari, Judith Jones (IYN), Lucy Joslin, Sev Kanay, Lucy Osman (IYN), Emma Pinchin, Elaine Rees, Tehira Taylor (IYN)

Finance & Membership

Pam Mackenzie, Sev Kanay, Anita Phillips

Archives/Research

Debbie Bartholomew, Suzanne Newcombe, Janice Yates

Conventions/Events

Philippe Harari, Isabel Jones Fielding, Vanessa McNaught, Patsy Sparksman, Jess Wallwork

Moderators

Richard Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Brenda Booth, Tricia Booth, Julie Brown, Dave Browne, Penny Chaplin, Diane Coats, Sheila Haswell, Judith Jones, Marian Kilburn, Meg Laing, Sasha Perryman, Elaine Pidgeon, Jayne Orton, Judi Sweeting

Professional Development Days Co-ordinator Judi Sweeting

Senior Intermediate Assessment Organiser Penny Chaplin

Junior Intermediate Assessment Organiser Judy Lynn

Introductory Assessment Organiser Sheila Green (level 1), Sallie Sullivan (level 2)

Therapy Committee

Ros Bell, Penny Chaplin, Lynda Ogle, Judi Sweeting, Tig Whattler

Committee chairs are in bold. Co-opted (i.e. nonExecutive Council) members are in italics.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Management Committee

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Member Institutes

Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes, or see the events page on the IY (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

Avon (AIYI) www.aiyi.org.uk

Bradford and District (BDIYI)

Alan Brown events@B.D.I.Y.I..org.uk 01535 637359 www.bdiyi.org.uk

Cambridge (CIYI)

Liverpool (LIYI)

Judi Soffa info@yoga-studio.co.uk 0151 7094923 www.yoga-studio.co.uk

Manchester and District (MDIIY)

Janice Yates janice.yates@sky.com 01613 683614 www.mdiiy.org.uk

Kim Trowell 01202 558049 www.dhiyi.co.uk

Prabhakara prabhakara@freeuk.com 01214 490413 www.mciyi.co.uk

Dublin (DIYI)

Eileen Cameron 00353 12841799 dubliniyengaryoga@gmail.com www.yoga-ireland.com/Iyengar Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Annie Dickmann dickmannannie@gmail.com 020 8460 4275 www.kentyoga.org.uk

Sasha Perryman sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 01223 515929 www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk

Dorset and Hampshire (DHIYI)

East of Scotland (ESIYI) www.eastscotlandyoga.org

Glasgow and West of Scotland (GWSIYI) Valerie Miller vjmiller@talk21.com

52

Kent (KIYI)

www.gwsiyi.org

Midland Counties (MCIYI)

Munster (MIYI)

Dorothy Walshe, dorothy.walshe@gmail.com

North East (NEIIY)

Gael Henry 0191 477 5804 gaelhenry@btinternet.com www.iyengaryoganortheast.co.uk

North East London (NELIYI) Nancy Clarke

nancyclarke@btinternet.com

0208 44 20617 www.neliyi.org.uk

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Mary Fitzpatrick maryfitzpatrick@ntlworld.com 01264 324104 O . R . I . Y. I . www.oriyi.org.uk

Sheffield and District (SADIYA)

Dominic Batten dominic.batten@btinternet.com 0114 264 9418 www.yogasheffield.org

South West (SWIYI)

Jean Kutz jeankutz@hotmail.co.uk 01872 572807 www.swiyengaryoga.ukf.net

South West London & Surrey (SWLSIYI)

Jane Howard 07504 126078 swlsiyi@gmail.com

Sussex (IIYS)

Sallie Sullivan sallie.sullivan@virgin.net www.iiys.org.uk

AFFILIATED CENTRES

Bath Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.bath-iyengar-yoga.com Kirsten & Richard Agar Ward, 01225 319699

Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre www.congletonyogacentre.com Christina Niewola 01260 279565 / 07970186109

Cotswold Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.cotswoldiyengar.co.uk Judi Sweeting, Tig Whattler, 01285 653742

Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre www.yoga-edinburgh.com Elaine Pidgeon, 0131 229 6000

Iyengar Yoga Institute of Birmingham

www.iyengaryoga.uk.com Jayne Orton, 0121 608 2229

Iyengar Yoga Institute Maida Vale www.iyi.org.uk Alan Reynolds, 020 7624 3080

iYoga Centre www.iyengaryogamanchester.co.uk Carolyn Ferguson, 07763 346332 / carolyn@iyoga.org.uk

Knutsford Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.knutsfordyoga.co.uk Margaret Carter, 01925 758382

Maidstone Yoga Centre

www.iyengar-yoga.co.uk Lin Craddock, 01622 685864

North Dublin Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.iyengaryogacentre.com Roisin O’Shea, 00353 1882 8858

North Surrey Centre for Iyengar Yoga www.yogadham.co.uk Judith Richards, 0208 398 1741

Putney Iyengar Yoga Centre

julieyogaputney@yahoo.co.uk Julie Hodges, 0208 704 5454

Sarva Iyengar Yoga Institute

www.sarva.co.uk Sheila Haswell, Ally Hill, 01494 521107

Sheffield Yoga Centre

www.sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk Frances Homewood, 07944 169238

The Iyengar Yoga Studio East Finchley

www.theiyengaryogastudio.co.uk Genevieve Dicker, Patsy Sparksman, Wendy Sykes 020 8815 1918

West Suffolk Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.iyengaryogasuffolk.co.uk Jane Perryman 01440 786228

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Oxford and Region (ORIYI)

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Yoga Rahasya Magazine YOGA RAHASYA MAGAZI

Yoga Rahasya is a quarterly publication of the Ramamani Iyengar is Memorial Yoga Institute Yoga Rahasya a quarterly publication of the Ra (R.I.M.Y.I.), Pune and the Light on Yoga Research Memorial YogaMumbai, Institute Pune Trust (LOYRT), India.(RIMYI), It is published on and the Ligh Trust Mumbai, It is published on t the (LOYRT), occasions of the Annual DayIndia. of R.I.M.Y.I., Hanuman Guru Purnima and Patanjali Annual DayJayanti, of RIMYI, Hanuman Jayanti, Guru Purn Jayanti.

Jayanti.

The aim of Yoga Rahasya is to share the essence Yogacharya B.K.SRahasya Iyengar's teachings.

This the essence o Theofaim of Yoga is to share journal contains original articles and transcripts of Iyengar's contains original ar talks by teachings.

Guruji Iyengar,This Geetajournal and Prashant Iyengarby onGuruji philosophy, psychology, scienceand and art of talks Iyengar, Geeta Prashant Iyen of yoga and life. It also includes articles by his psychology, science and art of yoga and life. It also students on their experiences, practical details on his students theiras experiences, practical details the practice on of asanas well as treating chronic ailments through asanas as well asyoga. treating chronic ailments through 2013 Subscription for Non-Teacher Members of IY (UK) Member Institutes ORDER DEADLINE 1 JULY 2013

Please use this form if you are a member of a Member Institute of IY (UK). Teachers and individual non-teacher members can subscribe when renewing their membership with IY (UK) using the online or paper renewal form.

2012 Subscription for Non-Teacher Members of IYA (UK) Member Ins To subscribe to Yoga Rahasya for 2013 please 2012 complete this form and send with your payment of £16 ORDER DEADLINE 1 JULY to IY (UK), PO Box 4730, Sheffield S8 2HE by 1 July 2013.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Please use this form if you are aformember a Member Institute Visit bksiyengar.com/modules/Referen/YR/yr.htm informationof about previous issues.

of IYA (UK). Tea non-teacher members can subscribe when renewing their membership with IYA ( IY Membership No (if known) .............................................................................................................. or paper renewal form.

Name ...........................................................................................................................................................

Address ....................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................................................

To subscribe to Yoga Rahasya for 2012 please complete this form Postcode .....................................................................................................................................................

and send with

to IYA (UK), PO Box 4730, Sheffield S8 2HE by 1 July 2012.

Please circle your institute: AIYI, BDIYI, CIYI, DHIYI, DIYI (DUBLIN), MIYI (MUNSTER), ESIYI, GWSIYI, VisitLIYI, http://bksiyengar.com/modules/Referen/YR/yr.htm forInstitutes information IIYS, KIYI, MDIIY, MCIYI, NEIIY, NELIYI, ORIYI, SADIYA, SWIYI, SWLSIYI. All other and yoga centres are not Member Institutes.

I enclose a cheque for £16 / €20 payable to IY (UK) Limited.

54

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IYN22_draft_IYN.qxd 17/02/2013 19:00 Page 55

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Iyengar Yoga Holidays in Crete 2013 with Marios Argiros

May 28 – June 4 July 9 – 16 August 20 – 27 September 3 – 10

July 2 – 9 July 16 – 23 August 27 – Sept 3 October 15 - 22

Iyengar Yoga holidays in a beautiful location right on the beach in an unspoilt area of western Crete. Familyrun hotel with excellent food, vegetarians very well catered for. Purpose-built yoga space with wall ropes and all equipment provided.

Teacher: Marios Argiros (senior level teacher) Cost: From £520-£640 (not including flight) - prices remain the same as last year. For further information please visit our website at www.mariosyoga.com For all bookings please contact Sophie Argiros on +44 (0)7976 985373 or email mariosyoga@gmail.com

IYN22_draft_IYN.qxd 17/02/2013 19:00 Page 57

SECOND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF IYENGAR YOGA (UK) LIMITED Saturday 7th April 2013 – 2.45pm Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge CB2 3QJ AGENDA

1. Welcome from the Chair 2 Apologies for absence

3. Minutes of the AGM 2012

4. New Standing Orders and interim arrangements 5. Chair’s report

Amendments and Corrections In the last issue of the IYN we did not attribute the images that appeared on pages 32-37. Thanks to Ray Long / Chris Macivor / Bandha Yoga for these images. www.bandhayoga.com

7. Treasurer’s report

8. Membership Secretary’s report 9. Any other business

Yoga Supplies Inexpensive

INDIAN YOGA BELTS, BANDAGES, BOLSTER SETS, PRANAYAMA SETS, ROPES. Call: 01225 319699 or Email: kirsten@bath-iyengar-yoga.com for prices

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

Iyengar Yoga classes in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with Sam Davies.

Contact Sam on 07769 975132 or visit my website www.samdaviesiyengaryoga.vpweb.co.uk

6. Secretary’s report

57

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

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Advertising in the Iyengar Yoga News

We only print quarter page adverts (80mm wide by 118mm high); you can either send the completed artwork (as a ‘press quality’ PDF, a high resolution JPEG or a QuarkXpress document) OR you can send the images (as high res. JPEGs) and wording and we will make the advert up for you. Please note:

· Advertisements for yoga classes, events, holidays etc. – will be only be accepted from certificated Iyengar Yoga teachers · Advertisements for Yoga Centres will only be accepted from official Iyengar yoga organisations · Where yoga equipment is itemised in an advert, this will only be accepted for equipment which is used within the Iyengar method. The name ‘Iyengar’ must not be used as an adjective attached to specific items of equipment e.g. use ‘blocks for Iyengar practice’ rather than ‘Iyengar blocks’ etc. · Goods or services which are not used in yoga and/or which are not acceptable within the Iyengar method will not be advertised in IYN · Advertisements for other goods (e.g.

Books/CD ROMS/videos) will only be published if they concern the Iyengar method or have otherwise been approved by the Ethics & Certification Committee of the IY (UK)

cotgreavej@gmail.com

Advertising rates Circulation: 2800. Quarter page £50; Half page £100; Small ads 60p per word NB. the Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse to accept advertisements or parts of advertisements that are deemed to be at variance with the stated aims of the Iyengar Yoga (UK). IY (UK) does not necessarily endorse any products etc. advertised in this magazine.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 22 - Spring 2013

If you wish to advertise in the next issue of Iyengar Yoga News, please send all text, photographs or artwork by the next issue deadline of 1 July 2013 to

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