Iyengar Yoga News - issue 7 - Autumn 2005 by Iyengar Yoga (UK)

ISSUE

NUMBER

AUTUMN

2005

IYENGAR YOGA ®

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

ASSOCIATION (UK)

President: Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar

IYENGAR ® YOGA N EWS - I ssue n o.7 - A utumn 2 005 Editorial Board: Kirsten Agar Ward, Debbie Bartholomew, Philippe Harari, Rachel Lovegrove, Helen Scarlett Printed by: Blueprint Press, Cambridge, on paper made using wood from sustainable forests and without the use of chlorine ® used with permission of BKS IYENGAR,Trade Mark Owner

IYA (UK) SPRING CONVENTION 2006 & AGM June 17th - 21st 2006

Guest teacher : Jawahar Bangera Brunel University, Uxbridge General Days Saturday 17th - Sunday 18th June Teacher Days Monday 19th - Wednesday 21st June (Cer tified IYA (UK) teachers only)

Application forms to be sent out Oct. 2005 Copy deadline for next issue (IYN no. 8): Friday 25th November, 2005 IYN 8 will be published in February 2006 Articles, letters, adverts, photographs and illustrations should be sent to: Kirsten Agar Ward 12 Station Road, Lower Weston, Bath BA2 3DY office@bath-ii yengar-yy oga.com The drawing on the front cover is by Angela Köhn (aged 12). The photograph on the back cover is of the Patanjali Temple in the village of Bellur, Karnataka, India.

E D I T O R I A L he theme of this issue of Iyengar Yoga News is Yoga and Children and the magazine features several contributions on this issue; an authoritative article by Dr Geeta S. Iyengar, reports from children’s and teenagers’ classes in the UK and an interview with Rajiv and Swati Chanchani, authors of “Yoga For Children”.

This issue contains the second part of an interview with Prashant Iyengar. We also publish the second part in our series Guruji: Profile of a Yogi, describing how B. K. S. Iyengar’s teaching reaches across barriers of all kinds of sectarianism. There is an interview with three of the UK’s most respected and Senior teachers, Jeanne Maslen, Pen Reed and Lilian Biggs, and reports from Bellur and from the 2005 IYA (UK) Spring Convention, held at Brunel University. Please note that next year’s Spring Convention will be held in the same venue and will have Jawahar Bangera as the guest teacher. We have changed the format of the convention with Saturday and Sunday given over to general classes and the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for teachers only. IYN 8 will contain a report of the Autumn convention in Bath which will have just taken place when you read this. We are very pleased to announce that three new Iyengar Yoga Institutes have recently been formed, two in Scotland and one in the the South of England. This brings the total of affiliated Institutes around the country up to 15. Finally, we are very keen to receive articles and photographs from members for the next issue of IYN.

YOGA AND CHILDREN 2 9 10 12 14 15 16 18

Yoga for School Children: Dr Geeta S. Iyengar writes about introducing yoga into the school curriculum Yoga in Education: Korinna Pilafidis-Williams reports on the Research on Yoga in Education seminar Yoga for Children: interview with Rajiv and Swati Chanchani Children and Yoga: Kirsten Agar Ward on practising yoga with children Yoga and Exam Stress: Kimberley Green describes how yoga has helped her cope with exams Teenagers on Yoga: What teenage students at the Maida Vale Institute have to say about yoga Classes for Children: Korinna Pilafidis-Williams and Johanna Heckman-Mohan on teaching children Children on Yoga: What children practising at the Bath Iyengar Yoga Centre have to say about yoga ARTICLES

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Interview with Prashantji II: The second part of Richard Agar Wardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interview with Prashant S. Iyengar A Soulful Experience: Margaret Rawlinson describes an intensive yoga course in Pune Yoga United: Louise McMullan writes about teaching yoga to professional footballers Guruji: Profile of a Yogi - non-ssectarianism: Kirsten and Richard Agar Ward present part II of this series Bygone Days: Debbie Bartholomew interviews Jeanne Maslen, Pen Reed and Lilian Biggs Endings and Beginnings: Helen Graham writes about Iyengar yoga in the West of Scotland REPORTS

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Latest from Bellur: Judith Jones provides a bulletin and Fiona Dewar describes fundraising in Edinburgh Astadala Yogamala: Brigid Philip heralds the publication of volumes 4 and 5 of Astadala Yogamala Location, Location, Convention: Carol Brown writes about the IYA (UK) Spring 2005 Convention In the Lab, Not in the Gym: Liz Brown and Philippe Harari on the teaching at the Spring Convention Three New Institutes: Three Institutes are launched, 2 in Scotland and 1 in Dorset and Hampshire Report from the Chair and Treasurer of the IYA (UK) Report from the Treasurer of the IYA (UK) Report from the Membership and Office Manager of the IYA (UK) MISCELLANEOUS

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Events Listings: your guide to Iyengar Institutes in the UK Classes at RIMYI: details and application form The Certification Mark: Judi Sweeting and Elaine Pidgeon explain how teachers can qualify Assessment Congratulations Miscellaneous Announcements IYA (UK) Merchandise - incuding newly arrived Light on Life by B. K. S. Iyengar Yoga Rahasya: details and application form Advertisements IYA (UK) Executive Council Guide to the Pronunciation of Sanskrit

YOGA FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN This article, by Dr Geeta S. Iyengar, is reprinted with kind permission of Yoga Rahasya, the magazine of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India. See page 59 for details of how to subscribe to this publication. oga is a subject which has universal appeal. It is a science and an art for culturing the mind and developing personality. Educationalists have started thinking of introducing yoga as a subject in schools. However, yoga is a vast and multifaceted subject and school authorities are confused as to which aspect of yoga should be introduced to the students. Some authorities are only familiar with the philosophical aspects of yoga while others are only aware of the diverse methods of meditation. There are some teachers who think that yoga merely implies relaxing in ÷avàsana with the eyes closed. Some school authorities are apprehensive as they equate yoga to a set of mild and orthodox physical exercises. They wonder why one should switch to these archaic yoga àsanas when so many modern forms of vigorous physical exercises are available. All these doubts stem from ignorance.

The yoga teacher should therefore have physical agility and mental sharpness. He must himself be a keen practitioner of yoga. He should be able to do the àsanas along with the children and not just demand and command them to do the poses. His subjective involvement is crucial as children essentially learn by seeing and imitating. Their eyes catch movement quickly while they detest lengthy explanations. In any case, quick and agile movements cannot be explained and have to be imparted directly. The teacher should remember that the children have a tremendous defensive strength and do not get injured easily. Children stop immediately if something goes wrong while performing the àsana.They have a safe-guarding and self- protecting intelligence which is inherent at that age. They are not adamant like elders but are very courageous.

Yoga àsanas should be introduced in schools The aspect of yoga which should be introduced in schools for children between the ages of 6 and 16 years, is the àsanas. âsana is the only limb of yoga that can be directly imparted. Properly imparted and practised, àsanas will provide the children with sound physical and mental health, and will lead to balanced growth. âsanas are well suited for children as they are basically active and outgoing by nature. Children enjoy action, movement and creativity that the àsanas provide.Thus, the children will readily take to àsanas . Furthermore, the àsanas are safe and can easily be corrected. By exposing the children to yoga àsanas at the middle school level, interest in the subject of yoga will be created at the right age. Later, at the high school level, when these children are more mature, they can take up the higher aspects of yoga theory, philosophy, pràõàyàma etc. The role of the yoga teacher The role of the yoga teacher is of foremost importance if yoga is to be successfully introduced into schools. The teacher must create interest in the pupils and arouse their desire to learn. He must inspire and enthuse the children and be cheerful in the class.

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Should yoga in schools be compulsory or voluntary? There is a debate as to whether yoga should be compulsory or voluntary in schools. 1 have taught yoga in schools where the subject was compulsory as well as to groups of pupils who chose to practise yoga voluntarily. The psychology and the mental attitudes of these two groups were completely different. When children were compelled, they didn't like to practice yoga. They were reluctant, naughty and rebelled. For such children, I had to change my approach in teaching. I started by teaching them simple àsanas . Then I further simplified these àsanas by teaching them in easy stages. For example, in utthita trikoõàsana, I merely asked them to jump, spread the legs apart, and take the arms to the side. Initially the children did not hesitate to perform such soft and simple movements. However, after a few turns the children themselves realized that though these movements were painless, they were also effective. Then I would demonstrate something special or difficult, an eye catching àsana. Immediately the children would make an effort to do it. This is how interest in the subject was created.

Children who chose to do yoga voluntarily were much more enthusiastic. They were eager to learn and always wished to learn something new. They appreciated a challenge and made every effort to try difficult, complicated and advanced àsanas . They were attentive pupils and made repeated attempts with a fresh mind. Varying attitudes of children towards yoga I have taught yoga to children from different socioeconomic backgrounds for over twenty years. Here I would like to make certain observations. For this purpose, I shall divide the schools into four categories: a) Lower class schools:These children are often underfed and were generally upright.These poor children never shirked from "king" efforts.They were agile though they looked fragile. They were bold in their approach and their sense of balance in poses like ÷ãrùàsana, bakàsana, and årdhva kukkutàsana was very good. These children can certainly acquire skills in the art of yoga if they are given better nourishment. b) Middle class schools:These children were by and large good pupils. They approached the subject with enthusiasm and every effort to participate. When they performed àsanas , they displayed a tenacity, maturity, and stability that the lower class children lacked. They were also much quicker to grasp the subtle points and could hold the àsanas for a longer duration. These children's doubts and questions were intellectual. c) Upper class schools: These students were often lazy and slow going. They were rather extroverted and disliked yoga as it had no pomp and show. It was really a tough job to change and culture their minds. These children were rather unruly though their schools imposed strict discipline. I therefore had to mould and shape them in a gentle manner in order to develop their sensitivity. I often had to be very strict and show my superiority in order to humble them. A friendly approach didn't work with these children as it did with the other two groups. d) Country schools: The situation was quite different in these schools. The girls were very shy while the boys were bold. These girls wore long skirts to school and had no special clothes for yoga. This was a limitation. I could only teach them the standing poses - there were no sitting poses that could be done in these clothes. This school could not provide a separate hall for yoga

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

practice and the classes were conducted outdoors.The children lacked facilities but still they were enthusiastic, obedient and respectful towards their teachers and elders.They were honest, simple and straightforward. At what age should children commence yoga practice? School authorities and parents are both uncertain regarding the age at which children should commence yoga practice. Children aged six years and above are fit to commence yoga practice. Children between the ages of five and six can do some àsanas , but are too young to practice yoga formally. The static poses do not suit these children nor do they have the capacity to do many dynamic movements.These little children are very supple and elastic but their suppleness, vibrancy, and elasticity should not be taxed at this tender age. They lack muscular strength and therefore a yoga class of 25 or 35 minutes duration is too long for them, little children should be permitted to playfully and casually learn a few postures. They should be permitted to grow up naturally and discipline should not be imposed too early.

Syllabus The syllabus should be complete and comprehensive. It should be a guideline which suggests the basic requirements and sequence of a yoga course. It should begin with simple àsanas and proceed towards complicated àsanas. These àsanas must be taught in a proper sequence. Initially children should be taught to stand and sit correctly. The teacher should be able to catch the basic defects in a child's posture and correct them. A rigid syllabus defeats the purpose as children tend to lose interest. A question which is often raised as to which àsanas should be taught in schools. Unfortunately, most yoga teachers in schools have confined their course to a few basic àsanas. These àsanas include: padmàsana, matsyàsana, dhanuràsana, bhujaïgàsana, ÷ãrùàsana, sarvàngàsana, halàsana and a few others. One should not confine oneself to just a few àsanas while teaching children who learn fast. A child can easily learn 30 to 40 àsanas in the course of a year even if he is allotted just one class of yoga in a week. Obviously if children have two or more classes of yoga a week they need a syllabus with many more àsanas . Children need variety and novelty. By practising a variety of àsanas children can experience different movements of their bodies. The novelty is necessary to keep their interest in the subject alive. By repeating the poses in each class, the children get bored.Though the àsanas are age-old, the teacher must be innovative to keep the children's interest alive. There will be no progress if the teacher tries to perfect one àsana before introducing new àsanas .While some important àsanas have to be taught and repeated in each session, there are others that one teaches occasionally. Besides the perfection of some àsanas depends on the performance of several other àsanas. For example, if a group of children find it difficult to perform padmàsana they need to practise several poses which are preparatory to padmàsana such as: gomukhàsana, vãràsana, eka pàda bakàsana, årdhva pàdottànàsana, utthita hasta pàdànguùthàsana, ardha padmàsana etc. Similarly, to improve halàsana, the cycle of paschimottànàsana halàsana should be practised regularly. Yoga teachers are sometimes apprehensive about teaching some àsanas to children. For example, some teachers are afraid to teach upasviùñha koõàsana although it is quite easy for children to attempt. Unfortu-

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

nately, several teachers do not practise a wide range of àsanas themselves.They impose limitations on the children as they judge the students’ capacities by their own limited capacities. Some teachers are afraid to teach children ÷ãrùàsana. These fears are unfounded. øãrùàsana removes fatigue and rejuvenates the brain. Students should practise ÷ãrùàsana regularly since they have to study a lot. During examinations children should practise several inverted àsanas such as ÷ãrùàsana, sarvàngàsana, halàsana, setu bandha sarvàngàsana, vãparita karaõi etc as they remove fatigue as well as physical and mental strain. At our Institute children who are studying for their examinations regularly practice these stimulating and relaxing àsanas . They also practice lateral twists of the spine to remove backaches and neck pain. They also do ÷anmukhã mudrà to relax the eyes. âsanas that can be taught to children

The sequence of àsanas has to be carefully worked out so as to help correct the anatomical positions and the physiological functioning. Groups of àsanas that can be taught to children are:

speedy movements. These dynamic movements activate unused joints and muscles bringing suppleness to stiff bodies. This prepares children for àsanas that they cannot do easily. The dynamic and speedy movements have a positive effect on the mind too. They destroy lethargy and remove fear complexes that hinder free movements. They break mental rigidity and instil courage in the children. The children are able to achieve new movements while practising static àsanas in combination with dynamic movements. The speedy movements perform a sort of 'brain washing' and make the children fresh. Sequences of àsanas that can be taught to children a) The cycle of sårya namaskar (commonly called the jumpings). These include the following àsanas in a series: årdhva hastàsana, uttànàsana, adho mukha ÷vànàsana, årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana, chaturanga daõóàsana and reverse back in a similar manner. These poses can be practised in various permutations and combinations which give new patterns. b) One could perform all the standing poses at a stretch without returning to samasthiti (taóàsana) each time.

1) Standing àsanas such as utthita trikoõàsana 2) Sitting àsanas such as vãràsana 3) Forward bending àsanas such as paschimottànàsana

4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

Inverted àsanas such as ÷ãrùàsana Supine àsanas such as matsyàsana Prone àsanas such as ÷alabhàsana Lateral twisting àsanas such as bharadvàjàsana Backward bending àsanas such as årdhva dhanuràsana

9) Arm balancing àsanas such as bhujapãdàsana 10) Leg movement àsanas such as supta pàdànguùthàsana

11) Body knotting àsanas such as yoganidràsana Many a time yogic àsanas are confused for contortions of the body. The teacher should explain that skill in the performance of yogàsanas means the correct placement of the limbs, muscles and organs in the different postures. Static vs. dynamic àsanas for children If children are taught too many static àsanas they will get bored and distracted. Therefore, the teacher should carefully combine the static movements with dynamic and Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

c) One could practise all the standing poses on the right side at a stretch and finish with samasthiti. Then perform the standing poses on the left side at a stretch. d) The teacher can blend the àsanas, i.e. utthita trikoõàsana, ardha chandràsana, vãrabhadràsana, parivçtta pàr÷vakoõàsana, utthita trikoõàsana, pàr÷va uttànàsanaa, årdhva prasàrita ekapàdàsana, utthita hasta pàdànguùthàsana. All these can be done at a stretch without giving a break.The same cycle can be repeated on the other side.This can again have several permutations and combinations. e) Combine two or more àsanas and practise this sequence repeatedly, i.e., pàr÷vottànàsana, årdhva prasàrita ekapàdàsana. f) The cycle of nàvàsana, halàsana and each forward bend can be blended. g) Each of the forward bending poses and each of the standing poses can be blended with the jumpings. h) All the forward bending poses can be done on the right side at a stretch and then on the left side at a stretch. i) Combining each of the forward bending poses with lateral twisting poses. j) Each forward bending pose can be combined with a backward bending pose like årdhva dhanuràsana or uùñràsana. k) Form a chain of one of forward bending àsanas and one of backward bending àsanas . l) Advanced and difficult poses like bakàsana or yoganidràsana can be taught in stages by introducing each advanced movement or action involved in performing that particular pose separately.

c) The teacher can stress upon the graceful movements while going into the àsanas, staying in the àsanas and gracefully coming out of the àsanas . d) Sometimes the teacher should make the children aware of the breathing while practising àsanas . e) The teacher could also bring out the connection between the technique of an àsana and the effect of the àsana. If the students are taught in this manner they develop grace, skill, freedom, courage, quickness, steadiness, a sense of balance, agility, suppleness, sharpness and physical and mental control. The introduction of yoga theory in schools School children do not enjoy formal classes on the theory of yoga which is dry.They understand and appreciate the practical benefits of the àsanas .They will be attentive if the teacher mentions the importance of yogàsanas while teaching the àsanas. The children should be taught anatomy, physiology and how àsanas help in keeping the body and mind healthy during the course of an àsana class. Children greatly enjoy listening to the meanings and

The teacher can and should add several different permutations and combinations to the above mentioned examples. Thereby the children will enjoy the variety and also derive many benefits. Tips for teaching children a) The difficult and complicated àsanas can also be taught with the help of a wall, i.e., ÷ãrùàsana, årdhva dhanuràsana, kapotàsana, etc. The support of the wall gives the child courage and helps them develop a sense of balance.The children's efforts are properly channelised and they are safeguarded from mistakes or injury by this method. b) The children can occasionally be made to stay for a longer duration in the first pose. This develops their stamina. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

the methodological studies that underlie the names of the àsanas .They also like to loudly repeat the names of the àsanas . Formal yoga theory can be introduced at the high school level. However, a separate theory class need not be allotted for this purpose as this would be a needless burden on the children. Instead, once in a while the teacher should give the students a talk an yoga theory. At these talks they can inform the students on subjects like: 1) 2) 3) 4)

The concept of yoga The definition of yoga in simple words The concept of Aùñàïga Yoga The introduction of Bahiraïga Sàdhanà which develops altruistic views 5) The concept of morality should be introduced by regular prayers, good behaviour, character building, physical and mental health awareness, etc. 6) The role of àsanas in improving health, character, concentration, intelligence, etc. 7) The name of the àsana, its meaning, pronunciation,

its utility, its purpose and effect 8) The interest should be kept burning, by showing slides, films, video cassettes on the attractive and advanced àsanas with a talk on the benefits of yoga practice. 9) Live demonstration of àsanas with an accompanying talk in simple words are effective in motivating the children. Some yoga teachers jump to the more abstruse aspects of Pata¤jàli's Yoga Sutras instead of giving simple explanations and information.They attempt to teach the children difficult concepts such as Kriyà Yoga and samàdhi. This sort of idealistic theory is not appropriate as children can't relate such abstract concepts to their day to day life and personal experience. On teaching children yama and niyama The ethical principles of yarna and niyama are very important for children but they cannot be physically imparted or directly taught. Moral principles have to be explained and children should be encouraged and not forced to follow them. Pràõàyàma is not for children Pràõàyàma is not suited to the nature of children and

one must caution yoga teachers against teaching it to children. Pràõàyàma needs to be practised with tremendous attention. It is impossible to quieten two children when they get together. The mass psychology of children is such that when they are together they can't be serious nor can they be controlled. Pràõàyàma demands steadiness, seriousness and keen observation, whereas children are playful, naughty and restless by nature. There are practical problems too in teaching children pràõàyàma. Children cannot keep their eyes closed for

too long. If they are asked to do so, they burst out laughing. If while teaching the instructor points out some anatomical detail the children laugh and become mischievous. If you ask children to sit quietly they drop the spine. However, children can activate the spine better than the adults while practicing àsanas . If you ask the children to breathe consciously, they move the chest and abdomen dynamically and mechanically. Besides pràõàyàma is a monotonous and unintelligent job for children. It does not provide an outlet for their creativity. They do not find anything expressive or impressive in it. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Nor do they find any immediate results or any sense of achievements in the practice of pràõàyàma. Children grow prematurely old if they are taught pràõàyàma. Bhastrika pràõàyàma is dangerous for children as they can damage the delicate blood vessels and brain cells. Therefore, children should not be taught pràõàyàma. How should one prepare children for pràõàyàma? The older children should be made aware of breathing while performing àsana which is sufficient preparation for children.They can be taught to rest with the chest raised up and well opened if they get tired while performing dynamic àsanas .They will recover quickly and practically learn the importance of correct breathing. Since àsanas cleanse the inner body, they can be used to prepare the children for pràõàyàma without directly touching on the pràõàyàmic process .

they are still mentally immature. It would damage the children's health if they mature physiologically at the wrong time.Thus children should not be taught the bandhas. Summary and Conclusion Initially, children should be taught àsanas through dynamic and skilful movements. This develops agility so that o o

o o

Shatkriyàs are not for children

o There is a debate among yoga teachers as to whether or not the shatkriyàs should be taught to school children. The Hatha Yoga Pradapika clearly states that the shatkriyàs are not meant for everyone. These kriyàs are only for those whose humours are completely vitiated the diseased people. Besides, these kriyàs are habitforming. If a person habitually performs these kriyàs he or she has trouble performing routine movements like emptying the bowels or even easy breathing if they don't perform the kriyàs. Therefore, it is not at all advisable to introduce school children to the shatkriyàs Another reason that children should avoid the shatkriyàs is that there could be problems of hygiene, i.e., dirty thread, dirty water, etc.The first of the niyamas, ÷aucha, is sufficient for children. It is enough to teach children to brush their teeth, clean their tongue, gargle, blow the nostrils lightly, to move the bowels regularly, to bathe and cultivate good habits. In addition, if children regularly practise yogàsanas , their physiological functions like digestion, excretion, etc. will certainly improve.

Bandhas are not for children Children should not be taught uóóãyàna and other bandhas as the children become conscious of their lower abdomen and reproductive organs by pracsing these bandhas.These organs are functionally dormant in childhood. If children practise these bandhas, their physiology will start functioning before puberty. As a result, premature seminal discharge in boys or menstruation in girls may occur while Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

o o

Only yogàsanas should be taught to school children. The number of àsanas should not be limited. The advanced àsanas should also be taught to students who practice regularly. Children need variety and novelty and find repetitions uninteresting. Slow movements bore the children as the children's energy is always out bursting. Perfection and accuracy in the àsanas should be introduced gradually. Simple yoga theory should be explained occasionally. Children should not be taught pràõàyàma directly. They should be prepared for pràõàyàma through àsanas that give healthy respiratory movements. Children should not be taught the shatkriyàs and the bandhas.

The children become active, smart, flexible, mobile, quick and gain stamina. The teaching should proceed towards sthiti, steadiness. To bring sthiti in the body physiological functioning should be at its peak.The dynamic movements improve the metabolism and the health of the body and so they help create sthiti. From sthiti, the teaching should proceed towards the sense of equipoise, balance, equilibrium and stability. This equipoise is the outcome of concentration which comes from the steadiness of the body. Having achieved equipoise, teaching should lead the child towards the state of quietness and peace. Then the children have to be taught to perform àsanas skilfully, without unnecessary strain and distortions. The child attains the state of ease in the àsanas when the delicate balance between extension and relaxation is achieved. In sahajàvasthà, the efforts cease. Finally, this process leads towards a state of calmness, quietness and non-duality. This is essential for a child to face the problematic adolescent years. To attain this, the preparation must start at the age of seven years.The travelling from childhood to adulthood, from agility to a non-dual state is a progressive journey, a fruition, which a child can attain by practising the third limb of Aùñàïga Yoga. C 8

YOGA IN EDUCATION Williams attended a yoga and education seminar in London, In June 2005, Korinna Pilafidis-W organised by Research on Yoga in Education (RYE). esearch on Yoga in Education (RYE) was founded by teachers in France in1978 to take Yoga into National Education. Its objective is to bring a more holistic approach to teaching in schools. Therefore it is less about teaching àsana in a separate class but bringing physical, breathing and concentration techniques into other lessons.

On the day of the seminar there were about 50 participants, mainly yoga teachers but also schoolteachers mostly teaching special needs. The guest speaker and RYE's founder, Micheline Flak, talked about the background of the movement and her experience as a teacher and a yoga practioner. She adapted six of Pata¤jàli's limbs of yoga in the following way. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Living together (Yama) Cleaning the house (Niyama) Straightening the back (âsana) Breathing (Pràõàyàma)* Relaxation (Pratyàhàra) Concentration (Dharàõà)

She illustrated all six limbs with examples and practical techniques and emphasised the importance of relaxation for both children and teachers. It was interesting to see how other people approached such an important subject. Many of the techniques were very specific to classroom teaching and I would not use them in a children's àsana class. It also left some of the school teachers sceptical since they realised the difficulty of how to get pupils, especially of secondary school age, to agree to follow any of the techniques. Nevertheless the intention is admirable and they intend to set up RYE officially in the UK as a registered charity later this year to join similar branches in most parts of Europe as well as Israel and South America. To find out more about RYE, you can visit their website at www.ryeuk.org. * Editors’ note: As Geetaji says in the previous article “Pràõàyàma is not suited to the nature of children and one must caution yoga teachers against teaching it to children.” Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

YOGA FOR CHILDREN Swati and Rajiv Chanchani have been practising and teaching Iyengar Yoga since 1975.Their book,Yoga For Children, was first published in 1995 and is now available in four different languages.They were the visiting teachers at the IYA (UK) 2005 Spring Convention at Brunel University and after dinner on the Saturday night they gave an exclusive interview to Iyengar Yoga News about teaching yoga to children ur first question was whether Yoga was widely taught to children in India, and Swati and Rajiv began by explaining that in India Yoga is seen not only as yogàsanas; the stories and practices of yoga are deeply embedded within Indian culture and the yogic terms, such as Yama, Niyama, Samàdhi are part of everyday language. Stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are well known amongst children and there are many aspects of regular Indian life that could be thought of as 'yogic'. Moreover, traditionally yogis tend to get greater respect in Indian culture than people successful in politics or business; Rajiv explained that successful people in society have learnt to control others, whereas the yogi has learnt to control him/herself, and is therefore more highly regarded. So Yoga awareness in general is widespread in India, but yogàsanas are not systematically taught in most schools.

A few Indian universities offer degrees in yoga, and some schools do offer it to their students, but the only systematic syllabus for Yoga in existence is that developed by the Chanchanis under Guruji's guidance. In much the same way that the UK is made of different 'countries' (Wales, Scotland etc.), India is made up of over 22 different states, and education provision varies greatly across them. There are English medium schools and 'vernacular' schools which use local languages and tend to be for poorer people. One particular school board, the Indian Council for Secondary Education, manages a number of elite academic schools around the sub-continent. These schools are very prominent and influential, and developments that occur here tend to trickle down to the rest of the education system. The Chanchanis have been successful in persuading this board to take on the yoga syllabus that they prepared under Guruji's guidance; it can be taught by any Yoga teacher but uses Guruji's Light on Yoga as its key text and is firmly rooted in the Iyengar system. This syllabus consists of teaching yogàsanas and also covers the effects of different poses, the health benefits of yoga and yoga philosophy etc.They very much hope that this initiative will lead slowly and surely to a greater focus in schools on the teaching of yoga. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

They have also evolved a Diploma in "Yoga for School Children" on behalf of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. This is a yoga scheme for schoolchildren similar to the Duke of Edinburgh award in the UK; at age 9, children can gain the 1st level in their Diploma for School Children, the 2nd level at 11 etc. By 17 or 18, they can reach the 5th level and as such are qualified to teach Introductory poses to children. Swati explained that people of that age do not really have the maturity to teach yoga to adults, however much they have practised, so this qualification only allows them to teach children. Rajiv was critical of a school system that encourages competitiveness and an over-emphasis on end-gaining through exams and qualifications. These days in India and in the UK, school education is about training children to function in the materialistic world, and does not really have much spiritual content. They talked about how children need a 'moral compass' to help them find their way to adulthood, and yoga is an ideal educational tool to provide this. They dream of a time when yoga is an integral part of the school curriculum and is given as much respect as other school subjects. We asked at what age they felt that children should start practising yoga.They told us that before the age of 8, children can be exposed to yoga but there is no point trying to teach them systematically before then.The best way to encourage children to take up yoga is by example; the Chanchani's own children were constantly steeped in a yogic lifestyle from the moment they were born, they regularly attended classes at the RIYMI as they got older and are now committed practitioners. We pointed out that in the UK children often rebel against their parents' lifestyles, and in fact are encouraged to do so by a society that values individualistic independence and ego-projection as a sign that you are 'your own person'.This is much less true in Indian culture although things are changing; increasingly, aggressiveness in business and individualistic assertiveness are valued in society, and these concepts are antithetic to the practice of yoga. 10

The fact that yoga is much more deeply embedded in Indian culture means that children will be more receptive to its teachings. However, even in India, it is important that the children are made to enjoy their yoga classes and that, if they are taught it at school, it is not simply perceived as a 'sidey' (a term Indian schoolchildren use to refer to something that doesn't really matter). Rajiv pointed out that a yoga teacher can make the learning of yoga "a joy or a poison". The key thing is to keep the children interested and Swati and Rajiv have pioneered a whole range of techniques that do this (many of which are described in their book). As Swati pointed out, children are bundles of energy and this means that children's classes have to be fast-paced, with a lot of variety and little repetition, and full of exciting activities.They described one idea for a class in which the children were divided into two teams and offered various 'quiz' challenges, like performing 2 asanas named after birds, or else deciding what pose to put someone in if they have a cold and then timing how quickly they could do it. Rajiv also explained that discipline can become an issue in children's classes and told us how he would exclude a disruptive child for 2 minutes and then get the rest of the class to have lots of fun doing ÷ãrùàsana and not allowing him or her to watch. Or how

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

he would get children to lie still in ÷avàsana by telling them a story and saying "if anyone moves, the story stops". Young children are not capable of quiet reflection in the same way as adults, but if they can be persuaded to lie still for a while, then they can learn to appreciate inner quietness, especially after puberty. Young children do not have the cognitive development to appreciate abstract ideas, but they can be taught about moral principles through the use of stories and fables. The Chanchani's have a very strong sense that yoga consists of much more than practising àsana and pràõàyàma and that it is the best vehicle in which to set out on the journey to self-realisation.They argue that the teaching of yoga is the most valuable education that can be offered to children. There is a long way to go before this is universally accepted in India, let alone the UK, but under Guruji's guidance they have made a significant contribution. C

Yoga for Children by Swati and Rajiv Chanchani is available from IYA (UK) books & merchandising. See page 54 for details.

CHILDREN AND YOGA Does our attitude about yoga practice and children tell us something about our development as yoga practitioners? If we can become disturbed easily when children are around are we really as advanced as we might like to think we are? Can we reasonably hope our children take up yoga if we exclude them from our practice at a young age? Kirsten Agar Ward examines some of the issues around practising yoga with children about. e were fortunate to have had Birjoo, Trupti and Rajvi Mehta as guests in our home during the last few years. We had many interesting conversations, some of which were about having children and doing yoga.

When our child Saul was a baby we found it easy to practise with him in the room. However, as he became more mobile it became a little more tricky. Our solution was to spend many practice sessions practising alone with the other partner taking care of him. Our guests made the point that if a child is excluded when you practise (at home or class) then instead of developing a positive interest in the subject the child will come to resent yoga as it is keeping them apart from the parent(s). This really struck a chord with me. We are very fortunate that in our lives we have been able to make choices which have enabled us to be with our child. We have resolved in bringing him up to do it ourselves rather than place him in childcare. This was for a number of reasons, the primary one being that personally we feel it is important as parents to have that close contact with our child, to bring him up ourselves as best we can. An important aspect of this is not only the emotional connection we have between us and the precious time we Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

spend together, but also that he is learning about our way of life. Our way of life centres around yoga - we spend many hours practising, teaching, reading about it, talking about it, attending yoga days, going to India, spending time with other yoga practitioners from UK and abroad. We work unusual hours and often work or attend meetings away so travel a lot - a situation that doesn't fit in with childcare or other people's lifestyles. We also think good fresh vegetarian food is important so we spend quite a lot of time on its preparation and try to eat together. Conversely we don't do so much of the stuff many other people spend their time doing - socialising, 'going out', watching TV. In other words, our lifestyle is very different from that of most people and as this lifestyle is dear to us as a family then of course it is also dear to us that Saul is fully involved in it.This is important not only now, but also for the future as we hope Saul will be interested in yoga as he grows up; after all, we think it's a good thing so of course we want him to benefit. We can't expect him suddenly to develop an interest as a teenager or young adult if he is excluded now and experiences yoga in a negative way. Children learn by what they see. They imitate. So what better way for a child to learn about the important things in its family than to spend time with the family doing the things the family does day to 12

day? (It seems so obvious but I do feel that we are becoming disconnected from this in our society). So we want Saul to learn about how we cook, eat, clean, wash, work, relax, resolve conflicts, negotiate and have fun together etc. in a practical way by us being together. Yoga is a core part of this so of course it was making no sense to exclude Saul from our practice. This is not to say that it is always easy with him there - of course his interests as a 3 year old do not always coincide with ours! It is quite a challenge doing ÷ãrùàsana when a toddler wants to push you over or otherwise play! But a child has to be a child. As someone said, 'Play is the child's work'. Actually these challenges make one a better practitioner in the long run - in terms of stability, concentration and attention etc. This is not to say that he is always there when we practise. In fact I enjoy very much practising when he is at kindergarten which he recently started part-time. But there is no doubt that his presence in the yoga room brings lots of joy into it. I used to think I must have time alone to practise undisturbed but I think that really this waiting for perfect conditions is just an excuse not to practise.There has to come a time in one's development when one can rise above less than perfect external conditions and realise that the disturbances and obstacles really come from within. Look at Guruji's example, he is a householder and parent after all. Also Guruji's wife, who had less time to practise owing to her maternal duties bringing up 5 children, still would endeavour to practise and furthermore she succeeded in being an exceptional teacher to them! There are times however, when Saul is not there - for example when I do pràõàyàma I cannot manage with him there - yet! However, I observed a lovely scene when Birjoo was Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

staying here in 2000 when his daughter Pooja was tiny. He was sitting for pranayama and as I walked past the room I saw Pooja crawling over to him. Thinking she might disturb him I tried to coax her to me, but she was determined and went and sat on her daddy's lap. Nonetheless he was able to carry on undisturbed and she sat so quietly and calmly. It was beautiful. Birjoo and Rajvi suggested that we have Saul in the class they were teaching that we attended on their tour last year. We were concerned that this might not go down very well with the others there. The English are renowned for preferring animals to children and children are typically excluded from many things, even nowadays. Furthermore it seems that many come to yoga to get away from their families! Whilst Rajvi and Birjoo were aware that the English may not be very tolerant they encouraged us firmly to bring him along. I am so glad we did.We gave him an early opportunity not only to be part of our life but also to rise beyond our expectations and be so well behaved. In a group situation I have found that Saul is only interested in climbing on, pushing over Richard and me rather than others! We limit our children as well as ourselves by putting artificial constraints on what we allow ourselves to do. Sometimes we have to be brave and reach into the unknown and who knows we may surprise ourselves and others. Often Saul likes simply to use our poses and the equipment as a form of climbing frame, swing etc. However, quite naturally he has also started briefly to copy poses we have done. He is thrilled to have been given his own yoga shorts (a kind gift from Sindhu at the RIMYI) and he likes to put them on sometimes and have his own mat etc. Birjoo told us how his son Tejas has 13

learned about yoga without being directly taught, simply by being around during classes and practice. Tejas performed a beautiful demonstration of wrist balances for the Mumbai Institute's 2nd Anniversary celebration and he has also picked up incidentally what poses are good for different things, such as knee problems etc.We are finding now that, as well as copying poses, Saul also loves to play the teacher - at the moment he especially likes to put my arms in position in supta vãràsana.Through being around sometimes when we teach he is also learning. There was a lovely time when Richard was teaching adho mukha ÷vànàsana and correcting someone's knees, saying, "You have to make space here" and Saul came over to me as I was participating in the class and did a beautiful adjustment on my knees saying "Mummy you have to make space here"! One of the things I like about India is how tolerant that society is of children. When we visited last year with Saul we were made to feel welcome wherever we went, in the Institute, restaurants, and in people's houses. Not only that, but people were so warm and friendly towards Saul. Indians accept that a child is a child and so a lot of the stress involved in going places in this country with a child (ie the worry that they might run around, make a noise etc.), is removed. Aren't these qualities of warmth, friendliness and tolerance qualities we should all try to develop in ourselves as yoga practitioners? C

Image used with kind permission of the artist Viv Quillin

To read about Guruji's views on yoga and family life see Tree of Yoga. To read more about Srimati Ramamani Iyengar's teaching of her children see "Our Gurukula" by Geeta S Iyengar, Yoga Rahasya Vol 8, no 1 Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

YOGA A ND E XAM S TRESS 16 year-old Kimberley Green describes how yoga has helped her cope with exams. n the run up to exams it is very easy to neglect any physical activity whatsoever in order to try and spend maximum time hunched at a desk, cramming in revision. In truth, you would have to be almost superhuman to devote every spare minute to intense and constant study. We are reminded all the time of the importance of exercise, but during the period of incredibly high pressure that leads to public exams, we are often reluctant to completely abandon our notes and textbooks, in the fear of not knowing enough to pass a test.This is where yoga can come in. Although not very strenuous exercise, yoga can really help you to relax and calm down at the prospect of exams and revision. Whilst giving your brain a break from facts, dates and equations, it can clear your mind totally, freeing up any tensions you are experiencing and allowing you to escape, even if for a few moments, the lingering dread of exams. This is so important when revising. It is not possible to stuff your brain to saturation point with knowledge and expect to remember everything. Instead, regular breaks, where you can truly forget your exams, should be taken.

Furthermore, sitting at desks, we have the tendency to tighten up every muscle, hunch our backs and strain our eyes, especially when using computers. Not only can yoga help you to relax your mind, but also the areas of tension: you can leam to stretch or relax muscles to gain better posture, or even leam simple exercises that can be carried out regularly whilst actually sitting at a desk, to relieve the aches and pains associated with working. I have found that I experience so many emotions during exams: the long, tedious waiting time of study leave leading up to an exam, the last few days or hours before an exam, when desperation sets in and I try to leam as much as I can, the pressure of the exam conditions, and finally the massive anti-climax and relief experienced coming out of the exam room. All in all, exams are a very tiring process. Relaxing and doing certain yoga poses helps me to regain a lot of that lost energy so I can keep concentrating on the next exam. There is so little hassle where yoga is concerned, and although a class may mean only an hour a week, any escape from solid revision can help you work better and C focus more in your next study session. 14

TEENAGERS ON YOGA Teenage students at the Iyengar Yoga Institute (Maida Vale) were recently given a questionnaire about yoga. This is what they had to say. Why do you want to do yoga? Because my auntie does yoga and it looked good. It lightens up my week. Because it is fun. I like to learn new things. Because my cousin does yoga and he showed me some and it looked really good so I thought I’d like to do that. To help my back.

What do you like about it? I like all the poses we do. I find it really fun and relaxing. The poses. Making new friends and all the poses. I like the fact that you have to be calm and I like most of the poses (even though I can’t do them). It stretches you.

What don’t you like about it? I don’t like the speed of the poses. I would rather do them slower. We do the same things over and over again. The pain. I don’t not like it. I don’t like it that I don’t know the simple body parts.. It is so long. How do you feel after a class? Relaxed. Tired. Full of energy. Relaxed and calm. I feel relaxed and tired. Alive and active.

Which is your favourite pose? Warrior pose no. 3. Head balance. The lion pose. The lotus pose. The boat pose. Corpse pose. Which is your worst pose? Boat pose. None of them The opposite triangle pose. I don’t have a worst pose. The boat pose.

Apart from being flexible and toned do you think there is something else you gain from the practice of yoga? Being relaxed. Do you think you will still be doing yoga in You gain relaxation. 40 years’ time? You learn about bones. Probably. I can relax. Yes!!! To be calm and listen. I do not know. To be calm. Yes!. Who knows. Let fate decide. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

CLASSES FOR CHILDREN Williams The Times newspaper Body and Soul section recently approached Korinna Pilafidis-W Mohan to help them with an article on yoga for children. Both of and Johanna Heckmann-M them have had extensive experience of teaching children at the Iyengar Yoga Institute (Maida Vale). In this article for Iyengar Yoga News they point out the positive aspects of yoga for children, as well as making teachers aware of certain cautions. n Iyengar yoga we only encourage children over the age of seven to take up classes. A seven-year-old child is usually at school and is used to some sort of discipline and is able to watch and listen when a pose is demonstrated. More importantly most of them have learnt the difference between their left and right sides. The physiological reason behind the age limit is however more significant. Under the age of seven most children's heads are bigger in proportion to their body. In some European countries they used to carry out a simple test to see whether a child was ready to go to school. The child had to take the arm over the head and try and reach the opposite ear. If he/she was successful he/she were ready to go to school.

Also in yogic terms a child with the head and arms not in proportion should not attempt to do ÷ãrùàsana or sarvàngàsana because the arms would not be able to support the head, neck and body. Apart from that some of the bones of the skull, for example the sphenoid bone, which is at the very centre of the head and a pivot for all the other bones and through which many important structures like cranial nerves, veins and arteries pass, has not properly fused. Pressure on the head in ÷ãrùàsana could lead to nerve damage if the pose is performed wrongly. Furthermore the big muscles, which help stability, have not developed before the age of seven. Therefore we often observe hyper flexibility rather than stiffness in young children. For example a seven-year-old girl in the Maida Vale children's class has a Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

small hyper-flexible body with a big head. She has suffered from neck problems and is unable to do uttànàsana and forward bends because her neck muscles are not strong enough to carry her head. She has to learn to do standing poses, adho mukha ÷vànàsana, (possibly with the head supported), chaturanga daõóàsana, adho mukha vçkùàsana to strengthen her muscles. As teachers we have to look at a child's body as we do with an adult but with even greater responsibility because by ignoring the problems we may aggravate certain weaknesses, which can later lead to problems. For instance continuous backbends performed by a flexible child who naturally will only use the lower back can cause back problems in later life. Having said this, kids don't injure themselves easily and when they do they will let you know immediately and release the pose while adults often endure the "bad" pain just not to be seen as weak or incompetent. The good effects of yoga for children far outnumber the cautions. Standing poses and especially jumpings build up their bones and spine and are essential for a growing body. They are weight bearing and strengthen arms, legs, feet and the spine without causing over exposure and pressure, which some sports can cause. This is of great impor tance in the process of puberty when the hipbones and some cranial bones fuse. Furthermore they increase the heart rate, improve lung capacity and help the whole metabolic system. Back16

bends can be a real boon with asthmatic children, whereas standing poses can be for juvenile diabetes. Body awareness is learnt in yoga and can be observed after even a few classes. When they first arrive in class they hardly know where their feet are. They have to learn to stretch to the finger tips and become aware not to hold their neck and shoulders stiff. Especially teenagers are taught to stand to lift their chest and not to overarch their lumbar. Being taught a good tàóàsana helps them to avoid pain in the upper and lower back and how to open and use their lungs fully. When these explanations are given to them they usually respond and don't react to it as the usual nag of a parent.: "Sit or stand up straight!" The body awareness goes even further with teenagers who are often not comfortable with their body and either feel to thin, fat, weak, small or tall and they struggle to adjust to their "new" body-mindset, due to the effect of hormonal changes. Yoga helps them to become more at ease with their body because they are able to control it by stretching, strengthening and observing how different parts of it work. Moving from the physical level we must point out the psychological and emotional benefits. Similar to an adult class àsanas followed by ÷avàsana lead to a total state of relaxation. øavàsana is a very difficult but a important pose for children above the age of 7 or 9 because when properly understood they can use it in times of stress, overwork and sleeping problems. If they cannot do ÷avàsana, setu bandha sarvàngàsana will teach them how to develop a quiet state of mind. Some children find it difficult to keep their eyes closed and often it is advisable to keep them open

especially when the children have undergone traumatic experiences. In the West however we often encourage the children to close their eyes to refresh and cool the eyes since they use them so much with television, computers and playstation games. Mentally they become very alert during jumpings but also in tàóàsana, vçkùàsana and garuóàsana, which increase their concentration. They slowly begin to understand that doing yoga will help them overcome certain problems. A practice of standing poses and inversions after a prolonged time of study helps to increase the blood circulation of the brain, and in the case of puberty, to balance the hypothalamus, pituitary and gonad glands responsible for the changes occurring in their bodies. Some forward bends are useful, because of their calming effect on the nervous system and their balancing effects on the adrenal glands, which are linked to aggressive behaviour (a by-product of puberty). For girls it is essential to know how to do forward bends, baddha koõàsana and supta baddha koõàsana for period pains. For boys and girls it is important to learn to stretch and align their bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons as well as the correct movements of joints when they play sports. In conclusion yoga in the early years helps to develop a healthy and strong body while later on as teenagers it leads to a greater respect for their body by physically opening it and disciplining their mind, which will lead to a greater intellectual ability and emotional stability. C

We are very grateful to Geetaji for reading this article and adding important information.

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

17 Kiera Lutz

CHILDREN ON YOGA Some thoughts on yoga from children attending the children’s and teenagers’ classes at Bath Iyengar Yoga Centre

I started doing yoga because I see it as a new challenge. I like it because it is really fun and a way to challenge myself. My favourite pose is downward facing dog because it feels like you are stretching everywhere. I like doing yoga because it’s really fun doing all the different poses.

Alison Ward (age 13)

One of my favourite poses is vãparita daõóàsana. You get a chair with an open back and get a mat or a blanket and fold it up and place it on your chair. When you have done that, get in backwards. Then when you have done that, lie down.

My name is George Thomas.

I like doing that pose because it’s really good fun to do. I started Yoga when I was seven years old. I started because my Mum does yoga. She found out about this yoga from leaflets.

My favourite pose is padmàsana. There is a picture of me doing it just there.

I LOVE YOGA, IT’S SO MUCH FUN!!!

Yoga is not just for girls. It’s actually quite fun for boys as well!

Kiera H. Lutz

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

I find yoga, especially Iyengar yoga, most exhilarating and extremely fun.

Kiera Lutz and Bea Lee

Angela Kรถhn and Daisy Lee

Bea Lee

Kiera Lutz Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

INTERVIEW WITH PRASHANTJI Part II of an interview with Prashantji conducted by Richard Agar Ward in October 2004. The first part was published in IYN no. 6.

ver the last few weeks it seems your teaching has been concerned with our approach to Yoga; our motivation in the poses, what we do, and what we overlook or neglect and there are a number of questions dealing with aspects of this which we'd like to hear you expand on. For example 'Iyengar students do and do and do, but they don't know and know and know', so something is missing in the practice there. Could you explain this view? Prashantji: You see ultimately àsanas are limbs of Aùñàïga Yoga. Yoga is meditation. Yoga is samàdhi, Yoga is meditation, and àsana is one of the limbs, and therefore it must have the attributes or characteristics of essential yoga. Now if you have to meditate, where do you meditate? You meditate on a concept, or you meditate on an object and its concept. You don't meditate on a physical object, you meditate on its mental apperception which is a concept inside the mind. Like a lotus, you don't meditate on an external lotus. You meditate on internal apperception of a lotus, which is a concept. So meditation requires a concept and therefore an àsana ultimately has to evolve into a concept. øãrùàsana should not be merely a posture, it has to be ultimately a concept on which you can meditate. You cannot be meditating on the physical structure of the pose. So therefore an àsana should not just continue and end in just endeavour to do.You have to start with doing. After doing you must know what you are doing.You must feel what you are doing. So you have to do ÷ãrùàsana, you have to breathe ÷ãrùàsana, you have to think ÷ãrùàsana. So that you can have a concept of it in your mind and then the meditation can take place on that. And since it is yogàsana it has to have all that process. So àsanas are to be not merely done they have to be thought of, thought over. That means àsanas are to be done, are to be breathed, are to be thought about, are to be meditated upon.Then they are yogàsanas. So then you meditate on Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

an àsana, in an àsana, then only it becomes ultimate state of àsana. And therefore if you have to have a concept of àsana, you must know something about it. Without knowing what ÷ãrùàsana is, you will not be able to meditate on it and therefore knowing is very much important. Now when you know, what do you know? You start knowing what the mind does in àsana, what happens to mind in àsana, what the body does in àsana, what happens to body in àsana, what the breath does in àsana and what happens to breath in àsana. And a unified concept of body, mind, breath, senses is an àsana. Therefore I have said somewhere that every àsana has a body set, has a mind set, has a breath set and has a sense set. So altogether will be a concept, and then that will be a locus for meditation, that will be an object for meditation, that will be a concept for meditation on which àsanas can become yogàsanas. Therefore you must, as a student, you must know the àsana, you must feel the àsana you must sense the àsana, you must understand the àsana.What is body, mind, breath, senses, each one working for the others. Each one working for itself and the others. So that a unified concept can be crystallised in our mind and then meditation can take place on it.That's why knowing is important

And they need to be known from different perspectives, because for example the other day you had us doing rope ÷ãrùàsana and you said usually with the inhalation the floating ribs expanded, and then we worked on other poses, we came back to rope ÷ãrùàsana and then you said now, strangely, unusually the floating ribs will go in on the inhalation, no exhalation… Exhalation, yes on the chair vãparita daõóàsana.

So to know the essence of an àsana you have to approach it from different perspectives, different treatments if you like. 20

Yes. So physical postures, skeleto-muscular postures, organic postures, psycho-mental postures, everything should be understood ... everything should be objectified and understood. And that's why the knowing process is that much important.

Can you say that it's getting to the essence of a pose, it's finding the essence of a pose. Yes it's a process. Process of reaching the essence of the pose. And that's what I said in the performance of àsanas, there is activity, there is sensitivity, there is perceptivity, there is reflectivity. All those things. So those are the components. All those components, if they are in the assembly then your àsanas will be profound and then you will like to meditate on something that is profound. You don't like to meditate on any ignoble or incomplete thing. You like to meditate on something that is profound. So àsanas should become profound and therefore it should be studied with all the possible facets of it.

And therefore to practise in the sense of doing and doing and doing treats the àsana like an object and the body like an object and therefore it stops this profundity developing.

naturally unyogic is going to be harmful to man. If yoga is bountiful, unyogic is harmful. So many times what you practise is unyogic and we think it is yogic.That is bhràntidar÷ana, illusory perception and with that illusion we practise and we think 'I practised yoga and still I lost certain qualities in me'. So it is not that actually I practised. I did not practise yoga; I practised opposite of yoga.

Yes. It's also interesting to know that for beginners who are not practising yoga with profundity often they receive tremendous benefits in the initial stage, almost as if their suffering in some respects can be taken off. It's like a tremendous gift to them. How does this come about? Yes always anything to start with, like you know in economics they speak of The Law of Diminishing Returns. So if you are very thirsty the first glass of water is almost a life elixir for you. Then the second glass is not so much.The third glass is not so much. So that's the Law of Diminishing Returns. So that happens even in our mundane things. So when one takes up to yoga one feels that the results are there. Sudden results are there and over a period of time the rate of receipt is slowly cutting down. That is quite a natural thing when somebody has started it. It's a new subject so the mind is fresh. There is, interest in applying oneself to practice of yoga. But one has done for ten years, twenty years, thirty years, then the freshness is not there. If every time one practises with freshness, one will definitely feel that yoga is every time giving its bounty.

If every time one practises with freshness, one will definitely feel that yoga is every time giving its bounty.

Yes.

You also talked about how yoga practice can affect people in such a way as to worsen their characters and how it should… You have to re-frame these questions.Yoga doesn't work in harmful way. It is if you get in delirium when you practice.You think that you are wearing a yogic garb when you are doing yogic practice; it is unyogic.The unyogic practices result in too dangerous conditions. And what you practice is actually unyogic and we think it is yogic.

Yes. Some questions that Kirsten had, arising from the class this morning. You talked about emitting as well as receiving benevolence in relaxation and you gave some examples about what we emit and what we receive. Say if we emit malice in some form then malice is shown towards us.

I should have put that in inverted commas!

Yes true.

Yes! So yoga will never have, doesn't have any dangerous effects at all. But we think that what we practise is yoga and actually it is unyogic and not only non-yogic. If it is non-yogic it won't be highly dangerous. But if it is unyogic,

And she wanted to understand how you get that stage where you emit benevolence in relaxation.

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

That is what Pata¤jàli says: that when yogis are in the 21

vicinity natural animosity is given up even by creatures. So the lion will not get after a deer, actually it will start pleasuring a deer, fondling a deer. Because of the yogi's presence there. So a yogi radiates ahi§sà [non-violence], he does not only practise ahi§sà. When ahi§sà is mastered, accomplished, what it means is that he radiates ahi§sà and if they are in his vicinity, natural animosity will be forgotten by creatures. That is because of radiation. So suppose when you are relaxing. If you do not radiate relaxation, people around you may be unrelaxed and then envious 'Oh this fellow is resting, relaxing, fortunate' etc. So we have to see if we are radiating some relaxation out of our practice.That person may not be relaxing with our radiation, but it is possible that he will be drawn to something else and therefore he will not bother our relaxation. He will not mind our relaxation, he might overlook. So if somebody calls him or he is engaged with something, he will get a call, so he will go out or he'll be kept busy doing some work, somebody phones him and says get me this and he'll go that place to find, searching, finding something. So he will forget that you are relaxing, so he will not create, or radiate any malice. But suppose I relax here and you sit and you are watching me, then you might develop malice after a while: 'That fellow, he is relaxing'. But suppose your child is around, then you don't bother because you have something to look at. So when we radiate relaxation it is not necessary that other person will also relax. It is even possible that he will not surface malice, actual malice or envy or jealously in him because of different reasons - he's engaged in something, or brought in something else, or going away for some work, whatever. So that is important. If that doesn't happen then he will be around here, and if he is around here he will be looking at you and then he will envy your relaxation. So radiation of relaxation is very important.

lems to mind. So that's why subjectively I said each one should be radiating benevolence to others so that they all come in benevolence atmosphere and then you will have unified conducive state of benevolence. So radiation is important, not just receiving benevolence.

Yes and it's an internal radiation. Internal. It's internal when we practise but for a yogi it also works externally, because for a yogi to be in a yogic state he must have no inclemencies outside him. All conditions should be clement. And for that he needs to radiate ahi§sà, satya [truth], asteya [non-stealing], bramacharya [self-restraint] so that the others around him will be also noble and as long as they are noble his practices can go on unimpeded, unobstructed!

... the mind should not just receive benevolence, it should radiate benevolence to body and breath.

Now in the class I said the mind should not just receive benevolence, it should radiate benevolence to body and breath.The breath should not have benevolence it should radiate benevolence to body and mind, so they will not envy. Otherwise suppose the mind relaxes and the body is in agony.The body will try to trouble, inflict some probIyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Yes I understand what you mean. There's a similar idea in the Old Testament where they talk about the lion lying down with the lamb. It's an important figurative idea of Peace, where, as you say, animosities are given up and it seems as if people's nature is being fundamentally changed. She also touches on the subject of relaxology and how you explain it's not just letting go, that's not relaxology. You have to do something. And for example, primarily exhaling for an effect but also pausing after an exhalation and how you can also try with an inhalation.

Yes

And I was thinking how when you mentioned this inhalation has a relaxing effect, how just before, for example you sigh, you exhale you release, just before that you inhale in such a manner as to release, is that what you mean, that inhalations can have a soothing, relaxing effect. Yes. No to start with it is always exhalation, so that's why ÷avàsana will always start with exhalations. After you have done that, when the nerves have been relaxed, the mind has been relaxed, then the inhalation also can be done tenderly and gently. Like gently bracing the awareness, the inhalation gently bracing the sensory nerves or awareness or mind. So it's the tender touch itself can be a relaxation in inhalation. 22

And also the pause after exhalation.

Graph B: smooth breath

Yes, pause after exhalation.

Yes, No it doesn't work that much because relaxation usually takes place by exhalation and not by inhalation.The inhalation relaxation is an echo relaxation of exhalation. So the echo can come but there is a time limit.The echo cannot be prolonged or cannot be delayed. You cannot get an echo after half an hour, one hour or two hours. So there's a time within which the echo effect can be there. So inhalation has an echo effect of relaxation so that should be reaped to advantage and that's why inhalation retention won't work. Because inhalation itself doesn't intrinsically lead to relaxation. If PataÂ¤jĂ li wanted that then echo inhalation would have been given.

Volume

But the pause after inhalation isn't often mentioned?

Time Is it true that when relaxation becomes profound that inhalation and exhalation become difficult to distinguish, because they seem to be the same? Oh yes. Of course.That is what is kevala kumbhaka. Kevala kumbhaka is retention not preceded or followed by inhalation or exhalation. That is what is the definition of kevala kumbhaka. If you want I can draw diagram for you. So suppose we draw a graph of our breathing. This is a time axis and this is volume axis, of breath.These are the inhalations, volume goes up, retention, exhalation, retention, inhalation, retention, inhalation, retention [Graph A].

Now when the breath becomes smooth then it takes this serpentine movement [Graph B].These cuts [as in Graph A] are not there.Then it becomes an almost microscopic spiral and only if you take a magnifying glass you will see the spiral movement, otherwise it's almost a straight line [Graph C]. Now what does straight line imply? That there is no upward movement, there is no inhalation, there is no downward movement, there is no exhalation. So kevala kumbhaka is kumbhaka which is neither preceded nor followed by inhalation nor exhalation. Now only if you go in with an electron microscope you will see that there is

R I

Graph C: kevala kumbhaka

Volume

Graph A: normal breathing I - inhalation R - retention E - exhalation

R E

R Time Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Time 23

a wavy line, otherwise it appears to be a straight line. So there are no waves, no ruffles and it's a smooth movement. So in that case inhalation, exhalation is going on almost parallel to the time axis.

Yes it's difficult to envision without experiencing. But I understand a lot of what you say. She also mentioned about what you said about how a concept is more important than the meaning.... Than the meaning, yes.

…in the matter of words. And I think you've talked about this in a class I was in too. For example, the meaning of a glass of water at different times is variable, but the concept is… Yes. What water means to you is more important than what water means itself. If I offer water when you are not thirsty and you don't require water it doesn't mean anything to you. What is water? H2O, that's all. But when you are thirsty, dying of thirst then if I offer water, then it means life for you. So what it means is important. So what techniques mean to you in àsanas is more important than what techniques mean by themselves. That's not important, turn the right leg out, left foot in, take the right hand down, left arm up. It has no meaning. What it means to you is important. That is why suppose, anyone takes a class and you say 'Come on trikoõàsana, right leg in left leg out' and you do it. So Guruji comes and says 'Come on trikoõàsana.' It means different. So just because Guruji comes and says it means different.

Yes But Tom, Dick, Harry comes and says 'Come on do trikoõàsana' and says 'right leg out left foot in'. It doesn't mean. So what it means to you is important and that will work on your execution.

Yes. So also for example if there were a technique that was vital to your understanding of a pose obviously to another person it's just a series of words. So how can we Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

grasp the maximum meaning, if you like, the maximum importance of a concept, how is that to be done? Is it just by taking lessons with Guruji or just in practice? Even in practice, see it has to come in proper ambience, condition. If you practice your trikoõàsana in proper ambience and conditions just trikoõàsana will mean a lot. But if I wake you up at 2.30 am or mid-night and say 'Come on trikoõàsana', so trikoõàsana will not mean much. As a matter of fact you will detest it. But you have such a sequencing that what has preceded trikoõàsana, makes trikoõàsana have a great meaning for you.

Resonance. Yes Like at the beginning of the class I said 'Come on, trikoõàsana'. It didn't mean much. But suppose I had taken some ÷ãrùàsana variations. Or you had done some twistings, you had done some backbends. So when the orientation is there, the body is inclined, the assembly is there, ready. When you work with that assembly your raw materials are quite finished. And therefore trikoõàsana will mean much to you

It'll become a creative pose. Yes

In fact it will suggest things to you… So what has preceded, what sequencing has been practised, that can create meaning for trikoõàsana technique. So it's an ambience. What ambience a teacher creates, what ambience you create in your practice.When you are going to practise standing poses create an ambience, inclination, disposition in the cells and tissues and fibres and mind and breath so that trikoõàsana would mean a lot. But there is no inclination.You are in this pose. And 'Come on standing poses, trikoõàsana'. Well it does not mean much. So basically you have to create a condition, ambience, then it would mean much. As I said water. Water has meaning if you get it in proper conditions. Similarly do àsana in proper conditions. So try to work for proper conditions to do head-balance. Or trikoõàsana, or backbends. Or forward bends. Then they mean a lot. But if you are very stiff and on winter morning I wake you at 2.30, 'Come on 24

winter morning, when the temperature is minus 2 or 3!

breath or working mind. So if you work correctly you find that that avenue is closed to you effectively.

You're indisposed!

True.

Yes!

Which is a good thing. And also you used some phrases how you should work impressively, expressively and articulatively. Could you expand on those ideas?

jànu ÷ãrùàsana.’ To hell with jànu ÷ãrùàsana at 2.30 on a

And then something else you said was that in our practice we barely touch the organic body if you just work at the skeleto-muscular level. Yes this morning I said that if we fiercely, rigorously, rigorously work in àsanas, like forward bends, twisting and all those poses, we think it is working for organic efficacy. It doesn't work. If you are slogging, working very hard, you are working on skeleto-muscular body which demands glucose, which demands blood in that endeavour. So actually it will be taking from organic body. So if it has to be organic exercise, it has to be a yogàsana. Prayatna ÷aithilya sthira sukham. So when you have that condition. When you do àsanas ÷ãrùàsana in that condition it will work on organs. But if you are fiercely, seriously, vigorously, rigorously working, turn the back, turn the spine, open the chest then it will not work organically. Otherwise all those exercise people like gymnasts their organic body would be healthy. It is not healthy, because they are slogging on the skeleto-muscular body. So if you slog on, as long as you slog on it, it will not work. So you have to slog to prepare the body and make it fit, and then go for organic exercise, so you do with rhythmic breathing, you do with proper breath constellation of ÷ãrùàsana variations or sarvàngàsana variations or twisting variations so that the suitable mind should be used, suitable breath constellation should be there, then it becomes an organic exercise. Merely contracting kidneys is not a kidney exercise because we are contracting all day. Anatomical muscles or peripheral muscles and organic muscles. So do kapotàsana and get the kapotàsana mind, kapotàsana breath; then it works organically.

Yes. Usually the Iyengar students present àsanas very impressively. Because we think it's a performing art and those who look better in their pose, see that there is symmetry and there is external beauty, what we call it aesthetic beauty actually, well proportioned and symmetry etc. And that's how we try to make the pose more and more expressive and impressive for others. So I said all those kriyas, when you are doing vehemently, diligently, aggressively, rigorously, vigorously you can do, you have to do expressively. Every action to be expressed, every action to be impressed. So do impressively, expressively and in backbends also. But then also work articulatively, that means you are doing mindfully. See somebody commentating on an event has to involve, get involved in that event. Like a cricket commentary, radio commentary, a commentator must be watching the match with complete involvement, then only he can be commentating on the proceedings. So similarly if you develop this art of articulation you will need to involve yourself. What am I doing? What is happening? I stretch the leg, what happens? Like bowler bowls and what does the batsman do? So I stretch my leg, what happened to body? I stretched my hand, what happened to body? So you should be commentating. When you commentate you get involvement. When you get involvement you create a room, conditions for knowledge, knowing. And that's how the àsana can evolve. So I said you should do impressively, expressively and articulatively Not orally articulate, mentally articulate.

... if we fiercely, rigorously, rigorously work in , like forward bends, twisting and all those poses, we think it is working for organic efficacy. It doesn't work.

How we worked from ÷ãrùàsana one day. I was struck that, it was doing ÷ãrùàsana, it was no longer possible to work skeleto-muscularly, it was only a question of working Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

And that mental commentary has to focus on the right areas not just the impressive or the apparent? Yes. And everything because the commentator has to 25

explain the whole field when something happens. A bowler bowls, batsman hits, where the ball goes and what the fielders are doing. Because he might throw and then somebody has to back up the bowler or wicket-keeper or the fielder doesn't bother - 'The ball has gone there I won't bother'. It's not proper!

And also the commentator has to comment on the game as it's being played. If you go to a pose, go to jànu ÷ãrùàsana now, it's a different pose from what I did this morning you can't commentate on the same thing. Yes true. So you have to explain the conditions, the crowd conditions, the psychosis of the player. What their stresses are. What their worries are. Everything you should be knowing, and you should be knowing the game.You should be knowing the mind game of every player and then you are an impressive commentator.You know the mind of the batsman and you know the mind of the bowler.Then you can be impressive.

So it's a way of saying that you're present in the pose and not doing yesterday's pose or what you hope tomorrow's pose will be. Yes.True.

So that's, if you like, the yogic paradigm for the mind - is that you have to be present in that pose on that particular day. Whatever you want it to be. Yes

Or whatever you feel it might be. Yes. I mean that in order you don't go to past or future you must be commentating on the present. If you don't commentate there is every time that you will shift to past or future.

be kept fresh - that's the way to keep practice fresh rather than stale. Yes. And the other thing is that we all accept that it is a science.Yoga is a science. Now if it is a science, what is the basic attribute, condition of a science? That there is a cause and effect relationship established. If there is a cause, we say this is the whole of the effect. If there is an effect there is a cause. So even when we are doing asanas we should do this, at times we will notice the cause. If we notice that this cause has taken place, 'I have tightened my legs', then I should know that these are going to be the effects. And these have to be effects. So the effects are definite. But if I notice the effect, that my leg is got hardened, then I should know that it should only take place because of such and such causes. Has it taken place? So the cause and effect relationship has to be constantly monitored, constantly verified, studied, then only it's a science. So if you want to know cause and effect relationships you must be constantly watching. 'I have done this, this has happened.' 'This happened, I did this.' Now if the relationships are proper then you will say 'Yes it is right. I can tighten my leg because I have become unconscious in the pose.' Now that's not a proper cause! So I should know the cause and effect relationship if my legs got tightened, why did they get tightened? Did I get a cramp in my calf? So this cause and effect relationship you will notice if you are observing diligently, carefully, mindfully.Then only it's a science. If it is a science, keep watching cause and effect relationships. At times you will notice cause. Find out whether the effects are there. At times you will watch the effects, find out whether the cause had taken place properly. So is this taking the minutes rather than setting the agenda! True!

And the audience will get very restless! Yes! He says, 'About thirty years back or fifty years back'! But if you don't commentate in an àsana you will just go past or future, then you lose the present and that's why you should commentate.

And that’s where the staleness comes if you like because you talked about freshness earlier and how practice has to Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Both aspects. Setting the agenda and this is like taking the minutes and seeing exactly what is happening when. True

As you say it's a scientific endeavour. That's been very interesting. I would like to go on but I don't have any more questions. Thank you very much. C 26

LATEST FROM BELLUR Judith Jones provides a bulletin on the latest news from Guruji’s birth village, and Fiona Dewar describes a fundraising event that took place in Edinburgh in May 2005. Latest Bulletin on Bellur: June 2005 Judith Jones

From Pune via Scotland to Bellur with Love Fiona Dewar

Bellur is the village in Karnataka, S. India where Guruji was born and lived for the first nine years of his life. Guruji has initiated a huge project to improve the cultural, social and educational life of the people of Bellur, especially for the young people and children. Guruji himself has financed the building of a splendid temple to Sage Patanjali - the first in the world. The temple complex also provides a place for ceremonies such as weddings and houses a medical centre.The primary school has been refurbished and now has a yoga hall.

On a warm sunny May afternoon the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre opened its doors and welcomed visiting musicians, from Pune, Rajendra Kulkarni a Bansuri artiste and Atulkumar Upadhaye, a violinist with Glasgow based Tabla player Vijay Kangutkar. The concert in aid of Guruji's native place Bellur was the first to be held in the centre.

However Guruji's vision did not stop here. After a lot of negotiation a Trust was set up with Indian Government approval to raise funds for the building of a Girl's High School and a hospital. Associations and individuals worldwide, including IYA(UK), made donations to the Trust and land was successfully purchased and approval gained for the building project to commence. Also a water tower was built to provide the village with much needed clean water. On 30th May 2005 the High School was inaugurated.This is fantastic as when I visited Bellur in December 2004 the site was just rocky scrubland! The Government of Karnataka has now given permission for both boys and girls to be educated at the school which serves the surrounding villages as well. The Trust has agreed to give three years’ free education, free books and free uniforms, which has encouraged many families to send their children to the school to continue their education. If the school is successful then a "junior college" may follow. But the next project is to build a 20 bed hospital as the nearest hospitals are about 25 kilometres away. This will be a huge benefit to the whole community as travelling such a distance is a great problem.

The hall was transformed with Indian rugs from Gandhi Ashram in Bombay, Sage Patanjali, Goddess Saraswati and Sri Ganapati close by; the atmoshere was similar to the intimate house concerts held by music lovers the length and breadth of India.The hall quickly filled up, we had two visiting musicians from Delhi who had been at Rajendras concert in Varanasi, 15 years before!! The music started with the introduction known as alaap and moved in to an afternoon composition Raag Sarang. After the interval the concert ended with light classical music. The interval was a time to stretch our legs, drink adraak chai (ginger tea) and eat Mrs Lottays famous home-made veg samosas.The kind lady woke at the crack of dawn preparing them fresh so they were still warm and crisp! Bringing these two siblings from Mata Bharat (mother India) together was a privilege to be a part of, and it was thanks to the audience and their 'disciplined listening' that our visiting artistes had such an auspicious start to their time in Europe. The fundraising was a great success and we raised nearly £400 for the Trust. With thanks to everyone, not least the musicians, who helped make this a very special Sunday afternoon. C

If any of you would like to make a donation to the Trust fund, however small, you may send a cheque made payable to IYA(UK) to Leza Hatchard (see page 50). The Association will collect donations and forward them to Guruji with a list of donors. Please state that you are sending a donation for the Bellur Trust and enclose a s.a.e. if you need a receipt. C Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

ASTADALA YOGAMALA Astadala Yogamala volumes 4 and 5 are now published. Brigid Philip reports. stadala Yogamala, Guruji's collected works, are planned to consist of 13 volumes in all. To recap: volumes 1, 2, and 3 include articles, lectures and messages, and cover philosophical and practice aspects, and how yoga relates to the wider world (health, Ayurveda, sport, age, teaching and social life etc.).They are fascinating. Now come the next two… Volumes 4 and 5, interviews held between 1958 and 1992. They will appeal especially to those of us who are more drawn to anecdote and stories than to philosophy.

Some of us will have been present at these interviews, which we knew as Question and Answer sessions, during conventions and public meetings when Guruji visited us or we him. We were invited to submit questions in advance and struggled to think of really telling ones to do justice to the unique opportunity. The results were woolly and wobbly efforts in the main! The thing that stands out to me in all the interviews is how Guruji heroically turned our sow's ear questions into silk purses under our very noses! All the sessions have a freshness and immediacy about them, which demonstrate his great skill and appetite as a communicator to widely varying audiences - the highly informed, novices, the sceptical, the practising yogis. He talked to us where we are at, not where we should be. But how aggressive some of the strangers' questions were! Or is it just because I recall the tense atmosphere at the time? Often Guruji uses Socratic techniques - questioning the questioner - to get us to engage with why we asked that question and thus persuading us to learn. Picking examples from each volume I have chosen "Meeting B K S Iyengar", and "Mr Iyengar Meets the British Wheel of Yoga" both in 1984 (two related sections) from volume 4, and "Exchange of Ideas Between Mr Iyengar Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

and Swami Radha" in 1992 from volume 5. The first two are interesting because they happened at a time (1984) when Iyengar yoga was seen as too physical - a far cry from today with the new forms of dynamic yoga! Questions like "Isn't the Iyengar yoga approach to teaching somewhat strenuous, rather more strenuous than is used in other schools of teaching?" "Why do you give so many cautions and extreme prohibitions on meditation and pràõàyàma?", "How far do you feel your kind of yoga has anything to offer to the person that is unable to move?", "Do chakrà really exist?", "Why are kapàlabhàti and bhastrikà pràõàyàma banned for women in Light on pràõàyàma but not in Light on Yoga?" seemed designed to outwit him. Unsuccessful! The answers are all illuminating, graceful, funny, practical, and human.The answer to the last question I well remember - “in women the breasts will become loose and hang down, which Indian women don't like(!),ovaries and uterus get unwanted strain, and pregnant women may miscarry”, which he discovered after writing "Light On Yoga". And on meditation "I do not want my pupils to jump to that meditation, which leads towards dullness and laziness and which becomes unproductive". Guruji exchanged ideas with Swami Radha, a Canadian yogi, in 1992 at a meeting with her students present. He had written the introduction to her book "Hatha Yoga The Hidden Language" in 1985, and although she had another guru herself (Gurudev Shivananda) it seems that she and Guruji, when they established a common vocabulary, thought and taught along similar lines. She explained that she was very drawn to "Light on Yoga" and used it as a teaching text. So this whole discussion as a result is far more harmonious and productive. They explored their stories which illustrate the importance of a sound ethical basis for students' yoga, 28

on which they agreed, and the centrality of disciplined lifelong practice. Swami Radha asked whether Guruji had met her guru - which yielded his vivid and interesting memories. She wanted to know about Guruji's medical classes and how, using his approach of understanding problems in his own body, he avoided loosing his own identity, and kept his strength. He replied "…I use my body as a prop for them (students).To remove this strain on me I do ÷ãrùàsana and sarvàngàsana every day without fail." Altogether a warm, enlightening and humorous session. Last year saw the publication of two exciting (and unusual) academic books which provide a fitting context and independently validate the background to Guruji's marvellous collected works. For those like me who didn't have much clue what they were embarking on when taking so strongly to yoga when they started (nearly 30 years ago, for health, in my case) these books are a reve-

lation. They are "A History of Modern Yoga, Patanjali and Western Esotericism" by Elizabeth de Michelis (this book was reviewed in IYN no. 6. A paperback version is due out in September 2005 - contact the author at e.demichelis@divinity.cam.ac.uk for details) and "Yoga in Modern India,The body between Science and Philosophy" by Joseph Alter. These books have been a long time coming! Worth seeking out for the light they throw on Guruji's towering achievements and importance. With this great wealth of material available has anyone thought of forming a study group to study the Astadala Yogamala material to date? There seems to be so much food for thought, study and discussion that it is bound to be very productive, and could, I think, cater for a wide variety of tastes, interests and types. If you are interested, please contact me at: BrigidPhilip@m-kkelly.freeserve.co.uk C

A SOULFUL EXPERIENCE Margaret Rawlinson describes a yoga intensive course in Pune VENUE: DATE: EVENT:

PYC Gymkana - Pune December 2004 Yog Sadhana

A yoga intensive to celebrate Geetaji's 60th birthday and Guruji's 86th ver 500 people from all over the globe assembled (in the very place where Guruji gave his very first Yoga class in Pune in 1937) to come together in practice; to learn, and to receive the words of wisdom from our revered teachers - and to celebrate!

In that large room of wall-to-wall yoga practitioners on edge-to-edge mats, the goodwill towards fellow students, considering such tight space was a tribute to our practice of yamas. The camaraderie was evident in the animated chatter before the class began. The respect and love for Geetaji was evident with the spontaneous outburst of applause and salutations as she arrived at the hall. The reverence towards our art and towards the ancestral Lords who began the generational process of handing the precious gems of knowledge and wisdom, was apparent during the invocation. Geetaji's gentle coaxing to prepare our sitting posture and state of mind was a vital ingredient to finding that inner place to Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

not only show but to feel that reverence . Then Geetaj's precise, incisive instructions took us by the hand to lead us into a deeper understanding of the precision and alignment of the asanas; showing how we can continually increase that depth of knowledge in basic poses. Guruji's appearance a little way into the classes was silent, unheralded, unannounced - until we heard, from somewhere in the room, the sound of his deep rich, powerful voice, urging; commanding; firing us into more and more effort, more understanding, more penetration into the very fibres of our being. The hairs would stand up on my neck - and....yes more was possible - a few words could bring light into those dark spaces, at least for the moment. But, more, much more Guruji wanted also to take our hand and lead us to the very core - THE SOUL. I think we had glimpses of that and once having been there we know we can, with diligent, intelligent, honest practice - inspired by our enlightened teachers find that place again. SADHANA dedicated, devotional practice We have the role models - we have the inspiration - we must look into our Souls and find the honesty and wisdom to dig deeper into our own practice. C 29

Y O G A

U N I T E D

Louise McMullan writes about teaching Iyengar yoga to professional footballers began teaching yoga at Manchester United Football Club nearly three years ago. It's not glamorous - what yoga class is? And it doesn't look much different from any of my other classes except that all the students there are male. It has not increased my business, placed me more in demand or, heaven forbid, made me famous! It can be harder work than my other classes but it is a learning curve I am grateful to be on and is often a lot of fun.

I am a New Zealander and as such have been brought up with a typical Kiwi disregard for the 'girlie' sport of soccer. Although I had lived in Manchester for seven or eight years before beginning work with Manchester United, I didn't know anything about English football. I had no idea that football was a religion, that the 'blues' were Protestant and the 'reds' Catholic. Old Trafford was just a stop on the Metro to me. Nearly three years ago now I was asked by the head physiotherapist at MUFC if I would come to the training ground at Carrington and teach a small group of players who had expressed an interest in yoga. My sense of the situation was that the club would much rather indulge the whims of their first team players 'on site' under the watchful eye of their physio than have them find a teacher outside the Club who might do 'goodness-knows-what' to their valuable assets. And fair enough too. When I first arrived there were a host of people with flashing cameras waiting to catch a football star leaving the ground. Beyond reception I passed through two security coded doors and into an enormous room used for indoor training. A few people walked past me and said friendly hellos. Cleaning staff or equipment technicians I assumed. Then the head phsyiotherapist appeared and it turned out that the friendly cleaning staff were my initial group of first team footballer yoga students. All footballers seem to have injuries. In my first little group one had a plate in his foot, two had had knee operations and another lower back problems. Many other problems were plain to see: tight hamstrings and calves, drastically misaligned legs very tight spines, locked up buttock muscles, sacro-iliac problems, hyperextending knees and dropped arches.

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

On a typical day players finish training around mid-day and trickle into yoga class between 12.15 pm and 12.30 pm showered and wearing after-shave! (Who said footballers weren't gentlemen?) There's plenty of banter, conversation and teasing among them initially but they soon settle into their various sequences. And these guys don't just smell good, they're able to be extremely focussed too! The initial reaction of the players was shock "This is the hardest thing I've ever done" one remarked. (And it probably was. My own first experience of Iyengar Yoga was the same). Sure of their fitness and physical capability and suddenly challenged by the very uncomfortable sensations in the hamstrings and kneecaps that just won't stay up! Another player told me that in the beginning he would sleep for hours after the class. Work with the first team players is twice a week for about an hour at a time. Attendance is voluntary. In the beginning they were easily discouraged by the challenge that yoga presented. Praise, empathy and encouragement and lots of little rests were all as important as the poses. But within a couple of weeks the physical benefits were being felt. Lower back and hamstring niggles in particular were easing. Five months down the track and the players began to suspect I was being easier on them - I wasn't. Yoga was beginning to work its addictive magic: their bodies were stronger and more pain free, their stamina in the classes was improving and they told me recovery from matches was faster with no sore muscles. The afternoon yoga-induced naps disappeared. Poses and sequences can vary quite a lot from player to player according to their particular needs and injury history. One typical sequence might be: half uttànàsana with hands to a ledge, adho mukha ÷vànàsana with heels on bricks, adho mukha vãràsana, half uttànàsana with hands on bricks, lateral standing poses with the front leg 50 degrees forward of back leg, bharadvàjàsana on a chair, standing marãchyàsana III to wall (or on the advice of a very encouraging letter from Mr Iyengar 'one legged màlàsana' on a table), parivçtta trikonàsana to a wall, half pàr÷vottànàsana hands to bricks or to a ledge, prasàrita pàdotànàsana, baddha koõàsana (buttocks raised for most) back to a wall with knees and often ankles supported and supta pàdànguùthàsana I with the downward leg bent. 30

In June of 2004 I wrote to Mr Iyengar detailing all of the poses I was teaching with some of the variations and to which groups of players. His reply was most helpful. I felt reassured that I was on the right track with the very best of support! Two of his points however, were quite new to me: one-legged màlàsana using a thick rolled blanket between the thigh and calf to give flexibility to the knees, and putting each foot in turn on a table. And nàvàsana between two pillars with the front and back of the buttocks supported by bolsters, to rest the hips. Fortunately Jeanne Maslen (my teacher here in Manchester was able to shed further light for me on those). Mr Iyengar further suggested that I ring Paxti Lizardi (a senior teacher in Spain) who was injured through playing football and got relief through the angular presentation of the standing poses. Paxti's advice was most helpful but it was his manner that really inspired the yoga teacher in me. "I will tell you everything I know," he said, "because everything I know is given to me by Guruji and it is an honour just to be the messenger." Nearly three years on and the yoga jokes have trickled to a halt. The benefits have been felt and the Club's own injury statistics clearly bear out the worth of our discipline as a successful aid in the prevention of injury to some of the top footballers in the world. One player's orthopaedic surgeon was so impressed he now recommends Iyengar Yoga to his patients as an aid to post-operative recovery. It's hard to imagine a meeting of two more contrasting worlds than that of yoga and professional football. Yoga, a quiet private discipline with its emphasis on yamas and ahi§sà and football an aggressive competitive sport chock full of emotion, money and sensational media interest. Knowing that I am a tiny peripheral cog in the big commercial machine that is Manchester United, it never occurred to me that my presence might pose problems for the Club. And yet there are several reasons why a yoga teacher might be more hassle than worth to a football club. I was completely unfamiliar with the football world and was to be working with the valuable bodies of valuable players - what was the potential for injury? An already heavily booked timetable was a further consideration for the young 13-15 year old players who still attend school. How would the players react? Would they be tired? Would it adversely affect their performance? And could the players and the club trust me? I'm very grateful that one player gently pointed out to me what must have been so obvious to everyone else: it was totally new for footballers to train with a Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

woman! This had never happened before. I should be aware of this, he said, not because it wasn't okay but just because it was so very different for the players. So it was a very progressive move for United to open its doors to Iyengar Yoga. And they have been wise to do so cautiously. Anything new, and especially anything that directly affects the players, must be introduced slowly so its benefits and any potential backlash can be carefully monitored. The worth of yoga had to be assessed by someone - this takes time and meant that in the busiest part of his day the head physio. had to delegate his normal duties to a colleague for several weeks in order to attend my first team classes. After the first six months the head phsyio. and coaches were convinced enough to have yoga included as a compulsory part of the reserve and youth squads training. Apart from the obvious physical benefits, the coaches of the younger teams appreciate that it provides an aspect of training that is a relief from the constant competitiveness which surrounds the players. The Football Association has also been approached with material outlining the benefits of Iyengar Yoga. The FA takes keen interest in young players. And of course while it is great that some of the "big" names have spoken with broadsheet journalists and the like about the importance of Iyengar Yoga to their fitness, the greatest benefits for individuals, and therefore clubs, are to be gained by bringing yoga to the young players. Prevention is better than cure. I hope that in future Iyengar yoga will become widespread among sporting organisations. Minimizing the wear and tear of constant training on players is, as we know, just one of yoga's many benefits. If the FA follow Manchester United's lead in their concern for the players' fitness and wellbeing, it is possible that they may become instrumental in bringing the benefits of Iyengar Yoga to young footballers right across the country. From that platform it would be an easier step to bring Iyengar Yoga into schools as part of the standard curriculum. Perhaps this is a far-fetched vision, but in my opinion, not an impossible one as there is such a need in society for the benefits of what we have to give. However, yoga may seem as challenging to an organisation as it is to an individual coming to their first class. So if we are to bring yoga further into the mainstream we must be very patient, extremely humble in our work and respectful and flexible in dealing with the needs and fears of those we connect C with. 31

EVENTS LISTINGS: YOUR GUIDE TO Avon Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Alaric Newcombe, 19th November, Bath. For info. and bookings please ring Paul Reilly on 0117 966 3352

Nathalie Blondel 07812 010924 nblondel@tadasana.fsnet.co.uk

Bradford and District Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Alan Brown 01535 637359 alan@dianalan.plus.com

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk Sasha Perryman 01223 515929; sperryman@yahoo.co.uk

Dorset and Hampshire Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Elaine Rees 01202 483951 elainerees@europe.com

East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Rachel Woodward 0131 441 6405 rachel_leo@hotmail.co.uk C Penn Reed, 24th and 25th September 2005 Glasgow and West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute C Jeanne Maslen, 12th November 2005 Fiona Dewar 0141 357 2175 deepchandi@hotmail.com

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Institute of Iyengar Yoga in Sussex

C Patrick Le Roy, 27th and 28th May 2006

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Brian Ingram 01444 236714 brianiyoga@aol.com

Liverpool Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Judi Soffa 0151 7094923 mail@yogastudio.f9.co.uk Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

IYENGAR I NSTITUTES I N T HE U K Midland Counties Iyengar Yoga Institute www.mciyi.co.uk Brian Jack 01789 205322; jacksis@aol.com

C Pilar Vigus, 17th September, Moseley Old Post Office C Anna Heavens, 22nd October, Moseley Old Post Office C Judith Richards, 19th November, Shirley Centre

C Lilian Biggs, 24th September C Fundraising evening, 1st October www.manchester-iyengar-yoga.org C Jawahar Bangeera, 21st/22nd/23rd October Janice Yates C Jeanne Maslen + AGM, 19th November 01613 683614; mdiiyoga@amserve.net C Christmas party, 16th December

Manchester and District Institute of Iyengar Yoga

North East Institute of Iyengar Yoga

CPlease contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Gordon Austin 01915 487457 yoga@austinmg.fsnet.co.uk

North East London Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Ros Bell 020 834 09899 r.j.bell@open.ac.uk

Oxford and Region Iyengar Yoga Institute O . R . I . Y. I .

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

www.oriyi.org.uk Philip Brown; 01635 35465 philip-brown@btconnect.com

Sheffield and District Iyengar Yoga Association

C Padmavasini, 16th October C Margaret Carter, 10th December

www.yogasheffield.org Jo Holliday; 0114 2684210 j.c.holliday@sheffield.ac.uk

South West Iyengar Yoga Institute

C Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes

Jean Kutz 01872 572807 manny-k@tiscali.co.uk Affiliated Iyengar Institutes are non profit-making membership organisations committed to promoting the practice and philosophy of Iyengar yoga in their areas.They offer a wide range of classes and workshops led by qualified teachers with years of experience. For details of classes and local teachers please contact the people listed above. The membership fee brings you membership of both IYA (UK) and the Institute. As a member of both organisations you are entitled to: local newsletters, free copies of Iyengar Yoga News twice a year, local events and classes at reduced prices, discounts on national IYA(UK) conventions, the opportunity to network with other Iyengar yoga practitioners. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

GURUJI: P ROFILE O F A Y OGI Part 2: Non-ssectariansim Part 2 of an occasional series taking a look at Guruji: a yogi in all respects.The way Guruji lives his life is a shining example of how we should strive to live in a yogic way. As Geetaji has told us, we should imitate Guruji, not just in posture but in his determination, his devotion to yoga and his philosophy of life. We would like to use this series to help you to get to know Guruji, the man. In this part Kirsten and Richard Agar Ward explore Guruji's even-handedness with all political, social and cultural groups. We look at the way his teaching reaches across barriers of caste, religion and all kinds of sectarianism. oga is meant for the well-being of humanity. People all over the world are afflicted with the same physical, moral, mental and emotional problems. Yoga works on head and heart as each one has heart and head. Hence it is the culture of the universe.Yoga is founded on universal ethics and the notion of universal consciousness. Guruji has logically proceeded from this foundation in developing his method and thus has an inclusive approach. He does not exclude anyone on the basis of nationality, gender, caste, religion etc, rather he considers yoga to be a gift for all. Having been brought up in a traditional society, Guruji never disrespected its modes and customs, but at the same time he never let these get in the way of teaching yoga to whomsoever wished to learn. Until fairly recently this stance would have been considered radical, and it demonstrates his enlightened ability to cut through traditions when appropriate and act with humanitarianism and Yogacharya compassion. From his earliest times in teaching Guruji taught women as well as men, the poor and the wealthy, nonHindus as well as Hindus, Westerners as well as Indians, and made accessible to all what had been inaccessible and misunderstood by the population at large.

adult life. Although we know from Indian art that in the past there were female yoginis, more recently some have been of the view that yoga was solely for men. Furthermore when Guruji began teaching Indian society was generally conservative regarding women - in those days, men and women in India did not mix with each other freely in public. In fact it was Guruji's Guru Krishnamacharya, who first sent him to teach women - in 1936 Krishnamacharya was on a lecture-cumdemonstration tour of Northern Karnataka and some ladies became interested in the subject and asked him to start classes for them. In those days women were shy of practising in front of adult men, so Krishnamacharya sent Guruji as he was the youngest in the group and the women happily accepted him as their teacher. Despite coming from a very conservative background himself, Guruji has been a leader in modern times in teaching yoga to women, and later in teaching men BKS Iyengar and women together.

"The sun shines everywhere, it does not shine here and there. In the same way yoga is for everyone."

Take the example of women practising yoga. Although we might take it for granted now that women participate in yoga, it was certainly not commonplace in Guruji's early Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

We should also recognise how Guruji's teaching of nonHindus and Hindus alike has been forward-thinking and enlightened. He never differentiated between his students. Among his early pupils were many Parsis and Muslims. Guruji, quoted in a Pune newspaper article August 20th 1984 said: "Right from the early days of my career I have been an innovator. I taught yoga to women when the Indian society was still quite orthodox and had Muslim 34

students when the Hindus and Muslims seldom mixed." In Kutch when Light on Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT) teachers were sent by Guruji to help after the 2000 earthquake the population was entirely Muslim and the classes were taken in their Prayer Hall because the ground outside was rubble. Isn't that an inspiration to us all in these troubled times of how yoga can bring us together despite our differences? Guruji has been at the forefront of bringing yoga to the West, travelling to the West when it was still considered unusual and difficult for a strict Hindu. Unfortunately such travels meant that he knows what it is like to be racially discriminated against. In 1954 in UK he experienced a colour bar in the very hotel in which he stayed. Then in 1956 he was subjected to deeply racist and segregationist attitudes that permeated the USA in those days. In 1968 he was denied permission to enter South Africa. He fought this as he would not go as a second-class citizen and having won, then had to fight against the Indian Government who wouldn't let him go. Although he was humiliated by racism and castism he never inflicted it on others. He never accepted the mantle of inferiority himself and never cast it on the shoulders of others.

He explained this very eloquently in a 1993 interview with Mary Dunn when asked "How do you see the Western yogi's role in the future?" he replied "No I will not distinguish at all between the Western yogi and the Eastern yogi. When we experience yoga, we are yogis. Whether one is an Easterner or a Westerner, the contentment (in reality) has no divisions at all.You cannot say that so and so are Western self-realisation and others are Eastern. A yogi is a yogi. He has no frontiers at all. So when he has no frontiers he sees all men as his colleagues

These days thanks to such enlightened thinking as Guruji's it has become accepted that women and people of all faiths and nationalities can practise yoga and furthermore in Iyengar yoga can achieve prominence. For example many well-known Iyengar yoga teachers are women, and teachers include people of many faiths Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Muslims, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Buddhists. For Guruji his approach is simply based on the teachings of yoga.

Yogini, South India, 10th Century,

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

and wants to help them. So I don't think that there is any difference at all." And asked about including women and other castes and nationalities he said: "Yoga is universal. It is for all. So without thinking of gender, caste, class divisions I carried the art and it has appealed to thousands and thousands. This is the service I have done for humanity as a whole." In the 1950s and early sixties many aristocrats, artists, socialites and wealthy celebrities wanted to be taught by him - and many were. The Indian newspapers began to identify him as the teacher of kings and queens! It might have been tempting to be a Guru of the elite. But he resisted the temptation of wealth, fame and society and instead carried yoga to the less affluent, the poor and the unknown. He himself taught for free at a Bombay orphanage for many years. Guruji continues to be very concerned that all are given the opportunity to know yoga: for example when a prominent institute in the UK had surplus funds and sought his advice on how best to use these, he advised teaching unemployed people for free. The local rate fees in RIMYI are very low, even by Indian standards, and haven't changed for years, making it affordable for many Indians. In classes at RIMYI pupils are

treated equally irrespective of their social or financial status; Rajvi Mehta told us that rickshaw drivers, domestic staff, politicians, police commissioners and industrialists learn and practise together. It is impossible to know the caste, religion, economic or social status of the individuals in the classes; these factors are simply not an issue at RIMYI. The general classes are for everyone, we are all mixed,Western and Indian, all castes and social classes.The same applies to medical classes. For example, a sweeper for the Iyengar family attends the medical class, and such people get the same attention as other patients. As anyone who has sought the help of Guruji or Geetaji with a problem knows they are very generous in their help whoever you are. Yet at the same time Guruji is not insensitive to traditional attitudes. Although Indian society has changed a lot since his early years, there are still some very conservative parts of the country. Guruji advises sensitively handling conservatism so that the message of yoga will be heard. When teachers from Light on Yoga Research Trust taught at Jalore village in Rajasthan they found a very conservative Jain community and they had to be sensitive to their rules. For instance, the villagers were taken aback by the teacher being female. Furthermore in that society a daughter in law can't sit down in front of her mother in law, so the daughters in law did not come to class at first! However, gradually they were able to break down these barriers such that they would even attend classes with their fathers in law. In fact more men attended the class taught by a female teacher and more women attended the class taught by a male teacher and the students did not even realise this aspect once they were in the class! Furthermore the women students started in veils but by end of week through their own choice were in jogging pants and t-shirt! As Rajvi Mehta puts it, citing the example of old ladies in such a conservative society as India wearing shorts to attend yoga classes, "Guruji has got people to look beyond what they look like". A recent example of his non-partisan approach was witnessed by us in the yoga hall at RIMYI in October 2004. At that time the Australian national cricket team was in India playing the Indians and their opening batsman, Justin Langer, came to the Institute with his yoga teacher and physiotherapist to be helped with injuries. Although Guruji has also been helping the Indian national cricket team by teaching them yoga, he was only too willing to help Langer despite his being on 'the other side' in cricket terms! In a nation of cricket lovers you can't get much more non-partisan than that!

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Guruji has met and mixed with people from all political parties. Guruji was invited to give demonstrations to Jawarharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad (Congress) and others since then, including Jayaprakash Narayan and did a demonstration for him and PM Moraji Desai of the Janata Party. Leaders from all political parties have visited RIMYI or felicitated Guruji including the former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. They belong to different political parties: Congress, Nationalist Congress, BJP among many others. Guruji is never influenced by political parties, nor does he favour any. He has presented his art to and been praised by political leaders of all shades outside India too, including Soviet (Khruschev) and Chinese Communist leaders through to Jacques Chirac. He is in no sense a "political yogi".

might otherwise not have encountered. Speaking personally we would probably never have met and made friends with people from so many different nationalities, cultures, religions and backgrounds had it not been for yoga. Guruji's method has transcended barriers of caste, class and race across the world. Guruji teaches the universality of yoga. He has not turned his system into a dogma or a cult. It is not tied to any doctrinaire system and therefore no one is excluded. It is easy to forget, now, when one has only known the times where we can all participate, that it is only thanks to enlightened thinkers such as Guruji that we in the West, we women, we of other faiths, we of all C strata of society, know yoga at all.

When you go to RIMYI you meet people from all kinds of backgrounds and all countries, religions, races, languages. Yet despite all the potential differences quite naturally we mix and can feel at home with one another despite our sometimes totally different backgrounds, as we all have one thing in common - yoga. We can meet, get to know and appreciate people of all kinds and backgrounds we

To read more about Guruji's early life and experiences as a teacher and Guruji explaining the universality of yoga see 'Astadala Yogamala' Vol 1 and 'Tree of Yoga' both by B. K. S. Iyengar, and available from IYA (UK) books & merchandising. See page 58 for details.

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

B Y G O N E

D A Y S

Debbie Bartholomew interviewed Jeanne Maslen, Pen Reed and Lilian Biggs on the occasion of Jeanne and Penâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 70th birthdays, and Lilianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 80th. This interview was originally published in the Newsletter of the Manchester and District Iyengar Institute of Yoga . ast year Jeanne and Pen celebrated their 70th birthdays and this year Lilian celebrates her 80th. I was very privileged to interview them at the Manchester and District Institute of lyengar Yoga (one of the oldest lyengar Institutes in the world), where Jeanne and Pen were the founding members. Lilian is one of the founding members of the Bradford and District lyengar Yoga Institute. All three ladies are still very active within their Institutes and still take an active part in the lyengar Yoga Association of the UK. Between them they have roughly 110 years experience of the lyengar method of yoga. Their sincerity, honesty and dedication to the lyengar method and to Mr lyengar is absolute.They work hard and see the funny side of things when things don't quite go according to plan, as you will see! The interview was filled with laughter from start to finish. Happy Birthday to you all and a big thank you from all of us.

What drew you to yoga initially? Lilian: Richard Hittleman was on the television and I bought his book.Then my husband and I set off to go and enrol to play badminton but the class was full.Then I saw that they were running a yoga course so I suggested to my husband and brother that we enrol for yoga. We enrolled (the class was a Wheel of Yoga class) and went to the class with our badminton kit on. My brother said "There are no other men here", so he asked the teacher "Is it a mixed class" and she said "Well it is now!" So we joined the class. We all sat round in a circle and after two minutes we were told to do headstand! Well I did it and kept falling over and my husband said "You're going to kill yourself woman!" I kept trying to do it and the teacher said "Take

(from left) Pen, Jeanne and Lilian, Pune 1986 Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

no notice of them!" I went to her classes for about six weeks then, she read out that Jim Foster was going to start a teacher training course the following Saturday at Bingley Baths. My husband said "Why don't you do it, you always wanted to be a PE teacher?" So I enrolled - nobody asked how long I had been doing yoga. I trained for one year and got my diploma and got let loose on the public! Pen: Poor health, a fear of gymnastics and strong physical exercise as a school girl. In the practice of yoga I found a different approach to body movement, I began to feel a sense of co-ordination for the first time. My health improved rapidly as a deeper understanding of yoga helped me to realise that a healthy body had an effect on the mind. Jeanne: Well I think I first heard about it when the head of the centre in Withington, Manchester put up a notice to say that Penderell Reed was a yoga teacher, recently removed back, I think, to the area of Marple Bridge. She had been teaching at the local Women's Guild places and various other clubs but wanted to come to education centres, particularly in Manchester. Mr Sparrow the head of Withington Further Education Centre, decided he would let her come and give a yoga demonstration. I was a member/substitute teacher of the Keep Fit class and I saw a notice that Pen was coming on the day that the Keep Fit class was being led by me. So I went into Mr Sparrows office and asked.....................

So you were the teacher of the Keep Fit class? Jeanne: No, not really. We had a regular teacher. I say regular, she was often off ill and I was always chosen to take the class. I didn't particularly want to do this, but I did so that we could keep the class going. There were about twelve of us. So as I was saying, I went and asked the head of the centre what the yoga demonstration was all about? He said "I thought it would be good for your class to see this person. The Keep Fit class is a ready made audience for her, she won't take long" (and she didn't actually). We still did Keep Fit afterwards! She stood on her head, and she told us about herself. She had three young children and I found out that she was six months younger than I and I thought, "Golly, if she can stand on her head, then I 38

could do that too. I went home and did it and nearly knocked my husband over. I broke his glasses [laughter] but I did it! I went back to the classes the next week (both Yoga and Keep Fit) and the next week and so on, until the yoga class took over completely. As I became more interested in the yoga, I and others found that there wasn't anything very deep in it, as Pen would agree. I found a yoga book in 1966, not knowing that Mr lyengar had written such a book. At that time Pen and I didn't know what Mr lyengar looked like except from his book and discovered that he was still alive. Allen and Unwin, the publishers for Light on Yoga, gave us an address to write to Mr lyengar to invite him to Manchester. Guruji replied, if we could get enough people for him to give a demonstration he would come to Manchester on his next visit to the UK. So we did get enough people, we got five hundred people to attend the first Demonstration of Yoga by Guruji in Manchester at The Spurley Hey School. Five hundred people at 2s 6d a time [12.5p] and he gave a fantastic demonstration.

When Guruji came to give this demonstration, how old would he have been? Jeanne: He must have been in his mid-forties, because when I started I would have been thirtyish.

Pen, you were invited to give a talk on yoga to keep fit class that Jeanne was teaching How did that come about? Pen: I began practising yoga in 1963 in Sutton Coldfield and took a teachers' course at the Birmingham Athletics Institute. My husband's work had taken us there, and when we were moved back to Manchester in 1965, I had approached Manchester Education. Mr Sparrow, head of the Withington Further Education Centre invited me to give a demonstration.The students, including Jeanne were enthusiastic, a class was started. I was also teaching in Cheshire as a result of a demonstration at a Women's Institute. Lilian: My first teacher had a book at the side of her and she was looking at this book and I read at the front that it was Light on Yoga. I asked the teacher "Could I have the address of the publisher" she said "It's far too advanced for you." I took the name (it was Allen and Unwin). I rang them up and asked "If I pay a proforma invoice would you send me two of these books?' So I did that and sent one off to my daughter Sheila [Haswell] who had found Liz Knowles, an lyengar yoga teacher in Birmingham. That would be 1973. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Jeanne: I came to assess in Leeds with Mary Helliwell. I can see this one [pointing at Lilian], sitting there, on her mat, ready to start the assessment. Lilian: Then I found Jeanne!

Why did you decide that the lyengar system was for you? Pen: After practising and teaching for a number of years I became bored with a repetitive programme. I realised immediately that there was this man with a much greater depth of understanding of yoga, even though the demonstration was timed with music, no words. I wrote to him, and was invited to classes he was taking in London in 1968. Lilian: I liked the discipline - the alignment. Jeanne: I really think that it was when I saw the differences of the lyengar system compared to other disciplines, and I certainly did when I saw Mr lyengar give that demonstration at the Spurley Hey School. His system was so dynamic in comparison to our practice at that time. Before Mr lyengar's demonstration we decided to give a demonstration to warm the audience up and keep them occupied whilst we tried to seat 500 people. Pen's husband, said he'd bring Mr lyengar later (he was staying with them), so that we'd get our bit over with and the audience would be settled ready to receive Mr lyengar. We were doing the (simple as we thought) standing poses on the stage, but we were doing it to classical music, Brahm's Lullaby! I was doing vãrabhadràsana III in the middle. Pen was sitting at the back in her lacy tights in padmàsana telling us what to do. I had to come in the middle of the stage to do vãrabhadràsana III, so my body and my arms hung over the edge of the stage. I'd got my hands together. I was doing ever so well to Brahms Lullaby [laughter] and right at the end of my fingers, was Mr lyengar on the front row! I couldn't get back out of it quickly enough! You should have seen where my legs and alignment were!

You were shaking? Jeanne: No I wasn't shaking, more like rooted with shock! I thought it must be him! So I got out of it quickly, bent down (we had to do uttànàsana), looked back at Pen and I'm saying to her "he's in the front row" she said "I know." She'd seen him come in. Well then the audience clapped, they thought we were all wonderful and Mr lyengar gets up on the stage and first of all he started by "That is not 39

my yoga!" Then we saw him jumping into everything. Fantastic! I thought, that's what we want! There's something there, there wasn't in what we were doing. I got bored with what we were doing (Pen knows that) I think I would have left if we had continued. Lilian: We would slowly come into a posture and slowly come out of it. Jeanne: When you're used to doing exercise with music, keep fit, skipping, doing all sorts of energetic exercise, I can quite see why people get fed-up with Yoga if only slow, gentle Yoga is being offered, and it was at that time. All around Manchester it was mainly that type of Yoga. I remember telling Mr lyengar, after we'd had a few classes with him, that certainly I'd found what I wanted. lyengar yoga had something that was positive.You could see, you could feel it was right. The other types of yoga certainly were not for me. In those early years when we kept seeing these other types of yoga, Pen and I had meetings with people from the Further Education Centres, about these systems and their worth in education. The Education Authorities agreed that there was something in what we were doing that could improve a person, whereas sitting on your bottom, staring into space, looking at candles was not. When teachers and students of these other types of yoga were asked "What does it do? How do you prove a person is better for it?" There was no answer. They could not show any progression from one week's class to the next. The Education Authorities said they didn't want that method of yoga in the Further Education Centres in Manchester. I remember writing to Mr lyengar and telling him they wanted his type of yoga he was overjoyed. In fact the head of centre where I eventually ended up training teachers had some lovely letters from him. I had them on show when we had our Silver Jubilee and Manchester's never looked back since. So I was grateful that Pen came to the Withington FEC and we worked out between us what we should do.

What were your first impressions of Mr lyengar? Pen: A very strong teacher. He shouted when anyone lost concentration or appeared not to understand his instructions. His English was not as good then, as it was in later years. I had studied Light on Yoga before I attended the class, it was a shock to find his method of teaching yoga was far more detailed than a book could ever be. It was like beginning all over again. Lilian: Hilda Mitchell had got tickets for Beryl Howarth, myself and Margaret Hopwood to go down to Mr lyenIyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

gar's classes in London. We had tickets to work in a C class and observe a B class but nobody was allowed to observe the A class. People like Angela Farmer were in the A class. It was a big gymnasium and they had wall bars down one side. Hilda could take her leg right up here [Lilian points above her head] and I'm trying to take my leg the same. I've got my bottom up here [tilts her lifted leg buttock up to her waist] and I get a clout on the back of my head, I looked round and there's these eyebrows...... Mr lyengar said "Why are you lifting your leg so high and you so small?" [laughter] - those were his first words. I had already booked to go to India in the January and had taken out a bank loan to go at that! I thought, oh no! What have I done!!

So Jeanne your first impression was in vĂŁrabhadrĂ sana III then? Jeanne: No, it really wasn't my first impressions.That came when we started having classes with him. Although Mr Ivengar came to Manchester every time he visited the UK, we had to go down to London for classes as well. He was holding a Teacher Training type of class because there were a lot of students in London who wanted to become teachers at that time. Pen wanted to turn the Friday [the once Keep Fit class] into the first Teacher Training Class in Manchester, so she asked Mr lyengar about doing this. He said "Yes, but I think you'll have to come to London to see how to do it". I went with Pen to London. The class was held in a big gymnasium, it was huge and Mr lyengar had many, many rows of people standing in straight lines. You really felt as if you were in the army or something similar, as Guruji was marching up and down. I was about sixth from the front in a very long row. Pen was just in front of me. Guruji kept stopping between Pen and I and saying something (his English was not as clear in those days). All sorts of thoughts went through my mind! He seemed too strict for the type of people we were and I just thought, here we all are, standing to attention as if it was the most important thing in the world. But - having said that, in retrospect, I realised it was the only way I was going to learn anything seriously about myself. Until then, I never took things seriously - life is fun not serious. One of the things Mr lyengar taught me, from that time onwards was 'shoulders back'. My mother had hit me to tell me I was going round shouldered, I took no notice - he hit me between the shoulder blades........

And you never forgot it? Jeanne: I never forgot it!! I think he does that with everybody around the world. He does something that leaves 40

his mark. Like Lilian said about her leg, he did that to my shoulders. I think you'll find he does something similar to everyone because he knows how to hit so you'll remember it!

husband to allow me to come to India and said he could improve my back!! But this had to wait for a number of years. I was very grateful to have Jeanne with the support of her husband John to take over and bring the lyengar method back to us in Manchester.

Jeanne: It's very subtle. Lilian: What impressed me each time I saw him was how he spots when things are not right, you would be a in big room full of people and yet he doesn't miss a trick.

And Geeta's the same isn't she? Jeanne: Exactly, yes. Lilian: Do you remember Jeanne, when I went to India with you? We took an intensive and the first day, second pose, we were doing utthita pàr÷vakoõàsana and he said to me "go up on rostrum and do the pose" and I thought "Ooh good!" - I thought I was showing them what to do. I'm giving it all I've got and he said "Look at her! She's like the waves on the ocean! [laughter]. Lift here! Lift here!" When I'd finished I said thank you to him because I thought, "yes I've been doing it all wrong."

He came to teach you here but what happened when he went back to India, how did you co-ordinate teacher training and events? We are so used to instant communication now and this is going back to the sixties. Jeanne: Well we just had to remember it, we didn't have any other way. Pen and I, on the Friday Teacher Training classes, a group of a dozen people, soon found that the numbers grew once Mr lyengar had visited us. We had to make up our minds whether we introduced the lyengar system straightaway to our students or whether we did it more slowly, gradually. I had found what I wanted the moment I saw him, so I just changed. At first my students didn't like it, many disappeared from my classes, but eventually it worked. I had people who really wanted to do the lyengar system. Pen: Beatrice Harman and Angela Marris used to come up to Manchester and give us help with the postures. Angela Marris, a friend of Yehudi Menuhin, was Mr lyengar's secretary in the early years. I started a teacher training course with the help of Manchester Education.The only guidance we had in those days was during his stay with me here in Manchester and during his classes in London. In the early days I was unable to go to Pune because of my husband and daughter's health problems. My husband did not want me to leave him for four weeks. Mr lyengar had asked my Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

You've all been to Pune many times, what would you say these visits have meant to you? Lilian: Well to me, you never ever come back without learning such a lot more, because every time he teaches it's like pearls of wisdom coming from him. When you come back you are full of it because you learn such a lot. No matter how often you go you learn more. Jeanne: I always came back and didn't want to teach. I just wanted to do my own practice. I didn't want to get back to classes. It always took me a while to get back to classes and teach what we had learned. However, once I started I couldn't stop, what had been taught in Pune just had to come out! Obviously from my own practice I could do it. Lilian: Mr lyengar told us when we were out there, you don't go home and give this to your students straight away - you've got to understand it yourselves, which we did.This is what Jeanne means, and then when you'd practised it on yourself you thought "Ah that's what he meant", then you felt ready to teach it. Pen:The visits have helped me venture further in my practice. To realise I am capable of far more than I ever thought, when working on my own.

Guruji teaching Jeanne at the Institute in Pune, 1977 41

Is there any one visit that stands out more in your minds than others? Pen: It has to be the first visit. I have never travelled so far away from home. A complete change of culture, we had to get used to being in India.The way the lyengars teach, to learn to tune in to their way of speaking and to cope with what seemed like anger when we did not respond. Lilian: When we went down to Mr lyengar's sixtieth birthday, do you remember when they did that demonstration on the stage, Geeta, Prashant and Mr lyengar? Jeanne: Oh yes, that was good. I can't think of any particular time that was better than the others. Lilian Pen and Jeanne [in unison]: Yes! In the Ramamani Institute they have all been brilliant. Jeanne:We have had some wonderful times. Our sense of humour was there all the time, it had to be otherwise you wouldn't have got through. In those days, I mean really, with having very little equipment...actually there was none at all the first couple of times we were out there.The Institute wasn't finished, you had to have a sense of humour to survive, you really did.

I believe your very first visit to Pune was quite interesting. Today, Pune is very modern and very Westernised. I believe things were a little different on your first trip. Jeanne:Yes.We were with this large group that was mostly from London.

When was this roughly? Jeanne:The very first time when they opened the Institute, - 1975. We got a coach eventually to take all forty of us

to Pune from the airport. We'd just got to the outskirts of Bombay, going over the water part and I could really visualise this was going to happen long before it did, because the roads were not properly made up. You just had a middle bit of road, the sides just dropped down.We were going on this bit, over the waterway, and there was a coach coming directly towards us. I don't know what system they have but it always looked like the drivers are never going to give way.Anyway on this particular occasion neither vehicle gave way and we crashed. I was covered in glass but not hurt, although the driver had cuts. A big argument ensued as to who was at fault. After hours of this, the drivers decided that one of them should go back to town and acquire a vehicle to take us to Pune. Hours later a replacement vehicle arrived and we eventually arrived in Pune, many hours later than we had told Mr lyengar. He was worried and looking for us. Anyhow, we were to stay in some cottages. I decided to go to the top level away from the water and the mosquitoes. Some of us were sleeping in beds and some on mattresses on the floor. I was on the floor. In the night I saw some of the people on the beds bobbing up and down. We did look a funny sight as we had improvised makeshift mosquito nets for our head and hair. Eventually I asked them why they kept bobbing up and down. They thought that they could feel something running across their beds. On the first night we saw the rats!! Gnawing their way into our suitcases, trying to eat the food we had brought with us.They were unafraid of us and would not be shooed away. That was enough. I decided I wasn't making friends with the rats.The small group from Manchester packed and left in search of better accommodation, others decided to stay there, but we couldn't stay. Meanwhile, in the daytime, we were practising at the Institute with Mr lyengar from 7.00am - 12.00 noon. Then, because the building work was still on going we stayed behind to clean up after them. We then went back to the hotel for some lunch and then went back to the Institute for 5.00pm - 7.00pm for pràõàyàma.

We don't know we 're born! Five hours with Mr lyengar and then stay behind to sweep and mop up! Jeanne: Yes! You have it easy now! You have no idea how much we pioneered for you people! [laughter]. Yes, we were brought up the hard way.

Guruji with Jeanne, 1989 Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

Lilian:When we first went out to India, we had to take the thick mats with us and allow for it in our weight allowance. We used to leave them there.When we got there we had to do head balance and you'd be up there for half an hour and then when you did shoulder balance, again for half an hour. No pads, no blankets or belts! Just flat on the mat! 42

Pen:There have been so many changes. Communications have changed, computerisation has made a vast difference. Supermarkets, internet cafes, modem hotels and Western clothes, Western music are beginning to appear. Sad to me in many ways, though India still holds a magic and charm not to be found in the West. Jeanne: We had some fun times though. I remember one occasion I was sharing a room with Jocelyn Cohen, Arlette McClaren, Margaret Hopwood, Anita Woodward and Hilda Hunter - all of us in one room. Margaret Hopwood was very witty and would write wonderful poems every day after class.They were always about what had gone on in the class. She was very good at rhyming. I remember on one occasion, when she first saw the ropes, she took one look at them and said to me "I'm not going on those ropes!" We had to queue up because they hadn't yet got a full set.The first thing Mr lyengar told us to do was "run up the wall, hang on and go upside down - legs up - head down". Well all right, if you know what you're going to do but we had never seen or done this before. I think it was Pandu that showed the pose. He shot up the wall and hung there. Well, it got to Margaret's turn and she was missing. Mr lyengar knew she'd gone. I was sent down stairs to see where she was. I couldn't find her. When we got back to the hotel, there was Margaret lying on her bed writing a poem about the rope work. I said "You disappeared!" She said "I told you I wasn't going on them ropes". She had climbed out of the window in order to escape, realised she had left her shoes behind inside the building, so she had to climb back in to retrieve those.The outside door was kept locked and shoes inside, because shoes kept disappearing when outside - although there were no windows or bars! She was so funny in her account of this episode in her poem. Lilian: Do you remember when they had a talent night for the 60th birthday party? We thought that this would be in the Institute, we didn't realise that we would be going to a large theatre! Anyone that could do anything was invited. Now Hilda Mitchell said that we would do something, but to bear in mind that we wanted star billing (this being myself, Hilda and Margaret Hopwood). I don't think the Indian lady understood our sense of humour because, of course, we had said it in a bit of fun. So we wrote this song to the tune of "Oh my darling Clementine". It was at the end of the intensive so we wrote about the backbends.The three of us had matching lyengar 60th Birthday tee-shirts and matching tights. Margaret was slightly taller than I and Hilda was taller again. [anyone who doesn't know Lilian, she is only small].We were billed as a pint and two halves! Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

You had star billing? Jeanne: Well yes they did and they got the most applause! Lilian: We were doing all the actions [starts to sing, to the tune of my Darling Clementine]. - "Oh my back aches , Oh my front aches and my knees are aching too....." This was the chorus and we asked everyone to join in. When we'd finish, Mr lyengar was on the front row with his Guru next to him. Mr lyengar turns to the audience laughing and clapping and all the audience were whistling and cheering and we had to do it all again. After we had finished they placed a beautiful garland around each one of us and then when we went off stage they whipped them off us to give to the next performers'! [Lots of laughter].

How do you think your own practice has evolved over the years? Lilian: I do what Mr lyengar says. For example he said don't do backbends if your body is not ready for doing backbends and he was saying don't do it as though it's a chore. Some days I might not do a lot and then the next day I feel I want to do more, so I do. I practise because I want to and I feel good afterwards. I never do it because I have to.

Did you use to do it because you thought you had to and as you have got older your practice has evolved to this. Lilian:Yes I realise that as I've got older I have to work on the things that need working on for me. Jeanne: I feel I have evolved my practice each time I went to India and was taught by Guruji. I had to rely on what I understood and practised there. After Pen, I did not have another teacher in the UK, but I had many students that became my teachers. I have always believed that you can learn much from your students. After all, teaching is a twoway communication! Pen: Looking back to the beginning of my yoga practice, I was nervous of pushing myself, my body was weak and I lacked discipline. I had never experienced full extension, alignment was unheard of and postures felt unbalanced. This has changed over the years. Now there is a feeling of knowledge and joy in my practice. I am pleased to say I still have the same enthusiasm to improve at 70. My joints have changed and different methods have to be found to practise the postures. The lyengars are still brilliant in the way they find new ways, so age doesn't matter, we still feel we can move on and learn. 43

Do you feel that when you first started practising, that the way you did your practice was physical and now that it has matured that your practice is more spiritual? Jeanne: No I have never felt that when I first started practising, that the way I did the postures was just physical.The best thing that has happened over many years is that I am more confident when I teach because my own practice of the postures has matured. Perhaps this is what is meant by being more spiritual?

How has Guruji's teaching changed over the years? Pen: He sets high standards, this is why I've always been motivated to move on and feel the learning goes on, whatever your age or ability. Lilian: Guruji has said that he has learned from his students. He changed after he had two accidents on his scooter. Geeta told us he had been so badly injured that he was bleeding from the mouth. He was so badly injured inside. He said he was having to practise ten hours per day just to do trikoõàsana. He said "the x-rays showed that his spine was crisscrossed and very badly injured." .Before that he could do everything. Jumping into all the postures. After the accident he realised that we struggled with some of the poses and that was when he started to break the postures down and inventing the equipment to help. Pen: One class in London, he took me in a backbend kapotàsana. It hurt my back and I had a bruise. He said" Now I understand your back" and later on this proved to be of great benefit to me in my practice of backbends. I have never doubted that he is a genius in his teaching and like all good teachers learns from mistakes.

Name your three favourite postures. Lilian:To be honest I really do like utthita pàr÷vakoõàsana - I think because I was slapped so many times in the beginning! Yes I really like that one. I like ÷ãrùàsana and årdhva dhanuràsana, I say these because I feel as though I understand what I'm doing.When I'm in them I feel I can stay in them for a long time. I remember I was in India and we were doing årdhva dhanuràsana up against the wall, trying to get our chest against the wall. Mr lyengar came along and said "you stretch from your elbow right up to your armpit" and run his thumb nail where I had to stretch which left a red mark which took days to wear off. It's when he's done things like that that you think "I've got it!" In head balance, at first, he used to tell me to keep the pelvis back because I was always wanting to use my Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

lumbar.These things you never forget. Jeanne: I don't have one favourite! I like to attempt them all - note I said attempt. Always in India, I got picked on to demonstrate my attempts. It didn't matter which pose it was at that time, I had to be up on that stage and do my utmost to what Guruji was directing, and somehow I managed to connect with what he was saying. I did this so many times, up and down with different poses. I think that's why I don't have a favourite posture. Pen: No. Some are more of a challenge, but the way the lyengars find new teaching methods is wonderful and helps us to stay motivated, never give up. My problem is staying in the poses when my joints are inflamed. Geeta was a great help in this matter on my last visit to Pune.

Is there a pose you wish had never been invented!? Lilian: Oh padmàsana!! I'm the only one in my family who can't do it! They can all do it! Even standing on their head!! I cannot even do it sitting up. Jeanne: No there isn't one. But I would say that I dislike staying in a pose that is beyond what one is capable of doing, and making it seem as though you will really appreciate it in the long run.

Well after a while you 're just hanging on, you 're not doing yoga any more are you? Jeanne: No you are not. I remember a Teacher Training Course with Guruji and we had to hold the poses with the students, whilst at the same time teaching the class. We soon learned our capacities for holding the poses!

If you ever watch Geeta, as soon as she sees the first person come down out of a posture, she tells everybody to come out of the pose. Jeanne:Yes she does.

Thank you very much.

(from left) Lilian, Jeanne and Pen, Pune, 1986 44

LOCATION, LOCATION, CONVENTION Carol Brown, a member of the IYA (UK) Events Committee, writes about organising this year’s Spring Convention at Brunel University fter months of searching and visiting potential venues in the Greater London area, at last Patsy had found it - the perfect site for our 2005 Iyengar Yoga Summer Convention and AGM. Just one little problem, the perfect site was a building site! Luckily Margaret Carter, Chair of our Committee, and Patsy Sparkman, the local coordinator, had the vision to imagine the fantastic new sports facility and the faith to believe the May deadline for completion.

By the beginning of January the Convention Committee which also includes Patsy, Margaret and Christina Niewola - seriously got down to the business of putting the Convention together. With two successful conventions in Manchester behind them Margaret and Christina set the agenda for the months ahead. Fortunately everything began to fall into place. An on-site meeting at Brunel in early May, with a grand tour of the beautiful, brand spanking new Sports Hall, was a huge relief to us all. Another follow up meeting in early June to re-assure ourselves that the chef and catering staff could adequately (and adventurously!) meet our vegetarian standards with odd meal arrangements (what, no breakfast!) and we were racing to our finish line - the Convention itself. There was only one thing left out of control, one thing which could make all the difference, one thing which no amount of practice could perfect - the weather!

Or is the success of a Convention more basic? A light, bright, clean practice place, a comfortable bed, a nourishing meal, a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues, an easy place to reach? From the superb new Sports Hall to the fresh, clean ensuite rooms. From the renovated Food Hall to the vegetarian options. From the Yoga market place to the café and seats for chat. From the air, rail, road, bus and car to Brunel University, Uxbridge. Perhaps these details of infrastructure are a good measure of success. Location and Convention. As organisers we hope you thought it went well and as we prepare for Summer 2006 we would welcome your feedback. Please send suggestions and constructive criticism to carol@howkerse.com. Nothing is ever perfect and we seek to improve - in our Yoga and in our Convention, which celebrates Iyengar Yoga in the UK. The 2005 IYA(UK) Spring Convention and AGM has proved itself a success in many ways. Its location at Brunel University, the teaching of the Chanchanis, the enthusiasm and hard work of the delegates, and of course…..sunshine. C

How to evaluate success? If sunshine was the measure then yes our Spring/Summer Convention was a success. The sun brought out the best of the Brunel campus, (concrete loves sun!). It allowed us to work in a warm environment (at times a bit too warm!) giving us a touch of India; and to relax in a warm place, making the most of the indoors and outdoors. Our bodies and minds could soak up the sun's rays just as our bodies and minds could soak up the àsana and pràõa of our teachers. If teaching is a measure of success can the Convention tick the box? Rajiv and Swati Chanchani each brought a thoughtful, insightful and explorative aspect to the Yoga sessions in their eloquent and articulate way. Complementing and contrasting with each class and with each other, leaving us with much to ponder, practice and explore - surely the mark of good teachers. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

From left, Patsy Sparksman, Margaret Carter and Christina Niewola, members of the IYA (UK) Events Committee 45

IN THE LAB, NOT IN THE GYM Liz Brown and Philippe Harari report on this year’s Spring Convention at Brunel University with Swati and Rajiv Chanchani he 2005 Spring Convention of the Iyengar Yoga Association (UK) was held on a sweltering weekend in June at Brunel University. The visiting teachers were husband and wife team Swati and Rajiv Chanchani. They have been dedicated students of B.K.S. Iyengar for over 30 years and founded the Yog-Ganga Centre in 1988 in the foothills of the Himalayas.The Chanchanis are the authors of “Yoga for Children: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Yoga”. Their work and devotion to the art of teaching yoga to children has been important in bringing the study of yoga formally into the Indian educational system.

At the beginning of the teachers' workshop afternoon session on Friday, Swati modestly confessed her concern about her talents as a teacher and that she had approached the class with trepidation. Her concerns were absolutely unfounded; the teaching we received from both Swati and Rajiv was wonderful inspiring, demanding, full of information. Even some weeks after the class and despite making notes on the way home (we were discouraged from taking notes in the class), something else that Rajiv or Swati said surfaces when practising particular àsanas at home. The teachers' workshop day began with a morning class with Rajiv, the underlying focus of which was our approach to yoga. "We are in the lab," he would say, "not in the gym" (although that's not to say that the àsana programme was physically undemanding). He also warned us not to regard our yoga practice as being "linear" - that 'progress' is not necessarily mono-directional, 'straightforward' in any sense. It is necessary to be pragmatic rather than dogmatic, he said: of course we have to listen to the words of our teachers, but it is also necessary to observe and understand what we ourselves feel when following instructions or during our àsana practice. In what was a direct contrast to a leading sports brand's exhortations, don't just 'do' the poses, he said. Instead, experience them and try to understand your experience of them. Three of Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

the early poses in the class demonstrated this point, svastikàsana, uttànàsana and trikoõàsana. In each one, Rajiv gave many instructions and after each one asked us how we felt, rather than always telling us what we should feel. Did we feel a particular difference? He might ask, but just as often, what difference had we experienced? One of the reasons that we enjoy Iyengar yoga so much is because we have come to realise that a seemingly tiny change in the way that we work can make an enormous difference to a pose. This was further reinforced as Rajiv took us through a series of årdhva dhanuràsanas, each time making different or additional points to observe or work to do. During bharadvàjàsana, Rajiv noticed two people practising the pose differently - one person had the forward arm bent with the palm on the thigh, the other had the arm straight with the back of the hand against the thigh. Both are valid, Rajiv said, but it's important that we understand the difference. In the afternoon, at the beginning of her class, Swati made a telling observation. She said that in the UK it is easy to be a yoga teacher: the only thing people ask is whether you are flexible. At home in India, she said, the questions are more probing: people ask about her lifestyle, about her parents and about her children about her conduct rather than whether she can touch her toes or not.This led back to Rajiv's point about the danger of thinking about the yoga as a linear, gym-based pursuit rather than seeing it within the context of its far wider objectives. The aim of the afternoon session was a seated pràõàyàma session, for which we prepared with uttànàsana, adho mukha vçkùàsana, pinchà mayåràsana, ÷ãrùàsana, and setu bandha sarvàngàsana. We worked on the physical 'nuts and bolts' elements of particular poses, like the importance of lengthening the deltoid muscle in pinchà mayåràsana and ÷ãrùàsana. And Swati's 46

comparison of the ribs to the slats of a blind was an illuminating simile: they should always be tilted up when in seated pràõàyàma, she said. On the Saturday and Sunday of the convention, Swati and Rajiv taught alternate classes. They covered a variety of poses and made many useful teaching points, but what we came away with from the whole weekend was not so much specific hints or tips for doing particular poses, but a very clear message about the practice of yoga. Swati and Rajiv's key message was that the practice of yogàsanas and pràõàyàma are components of the wider philosophy of yoga. Rajiv described àsana practice as a

'technology' that we can use to achieve the ultimate goal of yoga, which is an inner journey towards the soul and liberation from the cycle of death and re-birth. If one's practice is not used to move towards self-realisation, then it becomes simple physical exercise. Of course, anyone can go to an àsana class and come out feeling calmer and happier without any internal commitment to spiritual practice. But this is using yoga to indulge the senses. An analogy they used was to imagine one was to set out on a journey without a map, or even an idea of where we are going. âsana practice is like driving around in a good car, but without a destination and a map we are just driving around for the sake of it. It is pleasant driving around in a nice car, but the enjoyment will soon wear off if the car is not going anywhere meaningful. This message may be perceived as fairly controversial by some practitioners in the UK. Rajiv and Swati said that following the path of Yoga required an understanding of dharma, karma (as you sow so you reap) and a belief in, and devotion to, God.They also mentioned that the time frame for yogic evolution is several lifetimes. The Yoga Såtras of Pata¤jàli do mention these aspects but, as Rajiv pointed out, do not set down any specific belief system or religion. Rajiv mentioned, that the path of yoga is spiritual and mystic and cannot be successfully trod by people who are completely materialistic in their beliefs. They also stated that the path of yoga is the very best route towards self-realisation and liberation, and that B. K. S. Iyengar has provided us all with the fastest vehicle in which to travel that path.

and to explore for ourselves cause and effect whilst in the pose. As yoga students, we are expected to follow our teacher's instructions unquestioningly, but on the other hand yoga is 100% experiential. There is an apparent contradiction here but there are very few people in the world able to discover the yogic path entirely on their own - we are fortunate enough to have a living Guru who is able to show us the way, but we have to walk the path for ourselves and do so with awareness, rather than blindly following. This is why observation and reflection are so important. The teachers gave us instructions of what to do, but it was up to us to see for ourselves what was the effect of our actions. As yoga teachers, we should never impart instructions unless we have internalised them in this way. We were told to make sure that every movement, even the most subtle adjustment in a pose, be done on an exhalation or an inhalation as appropriate, and to use the breath in this way to improve the poses. And we were encouraged to look to the 8 stages of yoga as a complete system and not to get stuck in àsana and pràõàyàma practice alone. As Rajiv pointed out, B.K.S. Iyengar first came to this country to teach Yoga 51 years ago so we should be ready to deepen our practice and understanding of yogàsanas and philosophy. Yogàsanas are a signficant part of yoga technology which

is designed for human transformation and upliftment.This technology is rooted in yoga philosophy. The technology can only be significantly applied if a yoga sàdhaka makes an effort to understand yoga philosophy. Efforts to practise àsanas without understanding the basic principles of yoga philosophy will rob the sàdhanà of impelling power. Swati and Rajiv exhorted us to practise yoga as a spiritual journey, rather than just a beneficial form of exercise. In their teaching, they encouraged us to observe and reflect on cause and effect in the poses and to remain aware of the breath. It was a very enjoyable and C inspiring weekend.

With thanks to Rajiv and Swati for reviewing this article.

In the àsana and pràõàyàma classes themselves, Rajiv and Swati showed us how important it is to perform the poses with reflection and intelligence, rather than automatically going through the motions. We were asked to observe subtle differences in the breath in various poses Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

CLASSES

RIMYI

Applications have to be made through each country’s national association. A minimum of 8 years practice of Iyengar Yoga is required. The fee for classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune, is US$ 300 for one month. Information for Teachers / Students For admission, the Institute requests that the student’s practice of 8 years reflects an understanding of the foundation of Iyengar Yoga. This would include the regular practice of inverted poses (8-10 mins. in the inverted postures). Women should know what is to be practised during menstruation. All students should have read, at the minimum, the introductory chapter to Light on Yoga and be familiar with the terms and principles covered in that chapter. The following should be noted: 1. RIMYI offers one or two months admission.The deposit of $US 150 is for one month. 2. Please do not ask to change the date you are given unless you have a serious need to do so on compassionate grounds. 3. Advance deposit is part of the fees and hence not transferable to any other person or course. It is non-refundable. 4. 6 classes are given per week, each for 2hrs duration. A schedule will be given on arrival. 5. The last week of each month will be pràõàyàma classes. 6. No extensions will be given beyond two months under any circumstances. 7. A confirmation letter will be given from the RIMYI and should be presented on arrival. 8. The classes will be conducted by BKS Iyengar or his daughter or son or by staff members. 10. Please make your own arrangements for board and lodging 11. Certificates will not be issued at the end of the course. 12. When applying please include relevant bio-data with any health conditions. Please send Application Forms (see opposite) and your Bankers Draft for US$ 150 made out to RIMYI to: Penny Chaplin, Flat 1, St. Johns Court, Finchley Road, London NW3 6LL Please do not include photos or personal mail. Applications are for individuals only - no groups.

· Please send a self addressed stamped envelope with your application so that a receipt for your deposit can be sent to you. · Please be patient. The secretary of the RIYMI, Mr Pandurang Rao, receives many applications from all over the world.You may have to wait from 3 months to a year to receive your confirmation letter. · When you receive your confirmation letter and if it comes direct from India please let Penny know. You will know the letter has come direct from India by the stamp and post mark. If you receive a photocopied letter posted from London then your confirmation letter has gone through Penny and you don’t need to inform her. (Pandu sometimes sends a group of confirmation letters to Penny for her to forward to applicants) Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

REQUEST FOR ENROLMENT IN GENERAL CLASSES AT THE RAMAMANI IYENGAR MEMORIAL YOGA INSTITUTE (RIMYI) This section to be filled out by the applicant: Last name: ...................................................................................... First name: ................................................................................................. Middle/other name: ................................................................................................................ Age: .......................... Gender: M / F Address: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................................................Postcode: ............................................ Telephone: .............................................................................................. fax: .......................................................................................................... e-mail: ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ l No. of years practising Iyengar Yoga: ..................... Name of main teacher: ............................................................................... What frequency of study with them (daily, weekly, monthly): ..................................................................................................... Date of last class taken with the teacher: ............................................................................................................................................... Can you speak English?:

YES / NO

Any previous classes at the RIMYI?:

YES / NO

If applicable, the most recent date of attendance at the RIMYI: from (month/year) ......../........ to ......../........ Applying for admission for (please put in year and number in order of preference): June/July

August/September

October/November

December/January

The deposit of $US 150 made out to RIMYI in the form of a bank draft or international money order (do not send cash). The amount sent: $ ........................................ Signature: ................................................................................ Date:......./......./.............. This section to be filled out by the referring certificated teacher: Dear Mr Pandurang Rao, I, .................................................................................................. herewith recommend .................................................................................. who has studied Yoga with me for ...................years. She/he has also attended .................................................................. course with senior teachers. As per my knowledge, she/he is a genuine pupil/teacher who follows the Iyengar method. Yours sincerely,

Signature: ............................................................................................................. Date:......./......./..............

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

THREE NEW INSTITUTES A N ew Y oga I nstitute f or D orset a nd H ampshire June 5th 2005 saw the realisation of a dream with the inaugural meeting of the Dorset and Hampshire Iyengar Yoga Institute (DHIYI). This was an important day both for the DHIYI, and for the IYA, as this is one of the newest institutes in recent years. Mary Heath, a senior teacher based in Dorset, and several of her fellow teachers had a strong belief that the two counties needed a focal point for Iyengar yoga. The Institute is affiliated to the IYA (UK), and, although having no premises at this time, will hold regular yoga seminar days at venues in the area. The inaugural meeting was attended by a total of 27 teachers and students from across Dorset and Hampshire. An interim constitution was adopted which promotes the basic premises put forward by Guruji, who has given permission for the Institute to start, and has sent his blessings. An Interim Executive Committee was also elected. The first Annual General Meeting is to be held in Bournemouth on the 1st of April 2006. The Institute can be contacted through the Internet and is to be found at www.dhiyi.co.uk.. Enquiries about membership or any other issues can be made by contacting the secretary, Elaine Rees on 01202 483951 or elainerees@europe.com.

Formation o f T wo S cottish I yengar Y oga I nstitutes June 12th was a hugely significant day for Iyengar Yoga in Scotland.Two new Institutes were established to represent Iyengar practitioners throughout the country. Teacher and student, new and old, now all those with an interest in Iyengar Yoga could, and hopefully will, be involved. For over twenty years Iyengar Yoga has been supported by an active Teachers Association, the SSIYTA, and many people over the years have given time and energy to this organisation for which we are all very grateful. However with the development of IYA (UK), and the unification of LOYA & BKSIYTA this seemed the perfect opportunity for Scotland to also address the issue of involving students much more fully in the life of our yoga. Last October the SSIYTA was formally dissolved and an Interim committee set up to implement the changes. It was quickly apparent that the best way to represent the Iyengar yoga community at the moment was to establish Institutes as our organizing bodies. Institutes would fit well with the national structure and be wholly involving for students and teachers alike. Having an East and West Institute would give members in the North, South and middle of Scotland a real choice. So, after battling with the intricacies of constitutions, sorting out bank accounts and searching (arm-twisting!!) for even more volunteers, June 12th was the day that the proposals were put to an open meeting of all Scottish members of IYA(UK). It proved a great meeting, with full and frank discussion for the way forward and, most importantly, unanimous votes on all issues. With the establishment of Scotland’s two new Institutes the only thing to do was celebrate in style, and that is what we did. Margaret Austin, ably supported by husband Gordon, led a truly fantastic class. In the best of Iyengar style we explored the àsanas, sought a new understanding and took with us a fresh approach for further practice. The new Scottish Institutes are called the East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute (ESIYI), and the Glasgow and West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute (GWSIYI). It was unanimously agreed at the joint inaugural meeting on 12th June that £2000 be donated to the Bellur Trust. Thanks to all the hard work by the interim committee (Carol Brown, Helen Graham, Diane Clow & Neil Gillies) in delivering a successful outcome. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

The inaugural meeting of the Dorset and Hampshire Iyengar Yoga Insitute (DHIYI)

Committee membersof the newly formed Glasgow and West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute (GWSIYI)

ENDINGS A ND B EGINNINGS Helen Graham and Julia Graham write about Iyengar yoga in the West of Scotland lasgow and the West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute was formed on 12th June this year, but Iyengar yoga was first established in the area about 25 years ago by just a few dedicated teachers.

extended as more people trained to teach and events were organised. I remember my first experience of a large yoga day with Jeanne Maslen from Manchester as the guest teacher.

We just want to thank those early pioneers who laid the foundation stones from which Iyengar yoga has been able to flourish.

Through events promoting yoga and selling equipment, money was raised. Therefore, when the group was formally closed this year, most of the money raised was given to charity and I'm delighted to report that ÂŁ500 is being sent to the Bellur fund to support Guruji's work in India.

Tom Yeudall and Doris Graham, the first teachers in Glasgow, trained with Bob and Cathy Welham in Edinburgh. It was as a result of their efforts and dedication running classes as well as encouraging and inspiring others that more classes grew and Iyengar yoga started. In fact Tom and Doris were the first people from Glasgow to visit Pune when they went in the early 80's. Tom started teacher training himself and within a few years a group of Iyengar yoga teachers had formed. Calling themselves the West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Group (WOSIYG) they met on Friday evenings to practise yoga, socialise and just support each other. The group initially made up of Tom, Doris, Irene Phillips, Fiona Morton, Gwen McColl, and Carole Mackinnon, Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

As a group we seldom meet today. However, we are organising one last get together that I hope many of the original WOSIYG members can attend. Finally, I feel Tom Yeudall deserves special thanks for training many of the Iyengar teachers in Glasgow and encouraging us so much in our yoga. The opening of the new institute is just one more stepping stone on the path for Iyengar Yoga in Scotland and although we look forward to what the future will bring for the institute, we still are grateful to all of those involved in WOSIYG over the years who made this possible. C 51

C H A I R â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S

R E P O R T

by Judith Jones, Chair of the Iyengar Yoga Association (UK) his is a general report about the IYA(UK) over the last 12 months.This year has been another of great activity for the new Association, which has had to take on board rapid change, implement new policies and attempt to establish smooth running and efficient systems.This is not easy when everyone is having to juggle Association work with families, jobs, and Yoga as well. I want to thank everyone involved in running and helping this Association for donating your time and energy, some very generously.

The structure of the Association is still evolving.There will be changes to the composition of some Standing Committees to enable them to function better as their particular role develops e.g. the Membership Secretary seemed to sit more happily with the Ethics and Certification Committee than in Finance; it is suggested that the PR and the Communications Committees combine; the organisation of Finance may need to change. At the 2005 AGM in Brunel, members voted to abolish the Regional structure of the Association; now that the large majority of members join the IYA (UK) through an affiliated Institute it seemed more useful to treat the remaining 'individual' members as a national group. All Executive Council Representatives serve a 3-year term. As the Association was new last year all the Reps were voted onto the EC at the same time. Therefore a cycle had to be established where 1/3 stand down each year. 3 Reps decided to stand down anyway & other names were picked at random. So some Institutes have already reviewed their representation and Reps were reelected and have begun their second term or other new Reps have come onto the EC. Now that the Regions have gone, all the Individual Member Reps will stand down & there will be national elections. Remember no positions on the EC are permanent and there is plenty of opportunity for anyone interested in helping the development of Iyengar Yoga in the UK to get involved (even if you don't want to stand as a Rep). It is really quite exciting to see this new Association taking shape and moving forward. Last year Republic of Ireland (ROI) was made an Affiliated National Group of IYA(UK). Guruji wishes that we help ROI teachers and students form their own Association again in time.We have been conducting assessments there & when there are sufficient numbers of teachers holding Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

the Certification Mark by qualifying to become teacher members of IYA(UK) and hopefully some student membership as well, democratic elections will be held, probably later this year, to give ROI representation on the EC. The next step will be the formation of an Institute with Guruji's approval. 3 new UK Institutes have just had their inaugural meetings - 2 in Scotland; in Glasgow for West Scotland & Edinburgh for East Scotland, and 1 in Bournemouth for Dorset and Hampshire (see pages 5051 for a fuller report). The Assessment and Teacher Training Committee is continuing to update procedures, rationalise paperwork and formulate new policies to put us in a strong position to submit an application for NVQ for the Introductory Certificate if it is decided that this is the right path.There has again been a busy programme of assessments for all levels of certification. As well as training new teachers, Associations worldwide should facilitate the development and growth of teachers by improving their knowledge and skills. In the UK this in-service training is currently provided by the Professional Development Day programme. The EC regards these days as an important way for teachers to stay in contact and keep up with standards, methods and new learning. Next year it is planned that the programme will cover the new pranayama syllabus at each level of certification and will be taught by experienced Senior teachers. All this will help to improve teaching standards & help cultivate the excellent reputation that Iyengar Yoga deserves. Some teachers have been concerned this year that employers have asked them to become members of the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs). The Association has been talking to REPs and all our teachers are well qualified to join this register if they wish. We are trying to negotiate a reduced fee.Very recently we have heard that the first ever National Occupational Standard specifically for yoga teaching within the UK has finally been launched by Skills Active which will be recognised across the whole health & fitness industry (Skills Active is the Sector Skills Council for Sport & Recreation, Health and Fitness). Membership of REPs may well now become a necessity for teachers who work in fitness centres or for adult education because of this. Upholding high standards of teaching has always been 52

very dear to the heart of our organisation. This year we have begun to write to those who break the rules of the Association and the terms of the Certification Mark. Also to inform those using the Iyengar name without proper qualification about our new trademarks. New Teachers' Handbooks were issued last year with all the latest documents & guidelines but with more additions and amendments to come updated Handbooks will be sent out again this Autumn. The revenue generated by the Certification Mark is divided, after the deduction of administration costs, 60% to Guruji and the other 40% gifted by him to the Association.This 40% is put into the Iyengar Yoga Development Fund (IYDF). Guruji generously donated his 60% to the social & educational projects he has initiated in his native village of Bellur. The group appointed to administer the IYDF have only met once but have made a bold and ambitious proposal - that the fund is used to create a National Iyengar Yoga Centre.This suggestion will need to be thoroughly researched and have Guruji's approval before any concrete proposals can be presented. So far some of the IYDF has been used to award bursaries for the 2 conventions, and to fund an information campaign to publicise the Certification Mark and what it stands for. Some of you may have seen the IYA(UK) banner headline in the Body & Soul supplement of The Times recently. Leza Hatchard our newly titled Membership & Office Manager (MOM) is helping with this campaign and is also becoming involved with PR as part of her newly defined job which has evolved with the Association. She has valuable experience in this field. As well as the new Job Title, the Job Description and contract are being updated, as well as the adoption of Health & Safety and Equal Opportunities Policies. We are all learning about having an employee and the Association being an employer. The MOM works an average of 25-30 hrs a week and organises another parttime employee to come in to the office for up to 8 hrs a week. This is the most the Association can budget for at the moment. Having an Association office has been a great step forward. The public's awareness of Iyengar Yoga is something we wish to improve. This September IYA(UK) will again be represented at the Yoga Show, and this year we will have a bigger profile with workshops and demonstrations. Last year's show was attended by people from all over the country. It was felt important that we should feature prominently this year but we will carefully evaluate the success of this venture. Communication with the public is vital but it may be that we can better invest resources in Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

our own PR work. One exciting step in this direction will be the launch of our newly designed website which should be on line by the time you read this. Communication within the Association is mainly through our magazine Iyengar Yoga News.This publication has been re-designed this year and is full of information and good articles. It seems that not everyone reads it thoroughly enough though! Please read it and absorb all the information that the Association is trying to communicate!! Good communication also relies on Reps relaying information back to the membership & also remember that the Reps are there to communicate your views back to the EC. There has also been a suggestion that we have a platform for C open debate and this is being considered.

TREASURER’S REPORT Judith Richards (Honorary Treasurer of IYA (UK)) Althoughthe IYA (UK) is a not-for-profit organisation we will have to put the fees up in 2006, as our running costs have increased enormously as a result of increased activity. The biggest increases have been in the cost of expenses and administration as we bring our organisation to a new level of professionalism. The IYA (UK) is a growing organisation. Our membership has risen to nearly 3,000 (the majority of whom are nonteacher members); we are developing links with national and international bodies, other yoga organisations and government and educational establishments; we need to maintain our place in the world to develop and promote the practice of Iyengar Yoga. For these reasons we are developing a vision of the future in which we may have our own premises - maybe a national yoga centre - and certainly more paid staff. There could be several administrators and a manager, people paid to do specific tasks such as website design or financial planning and maybe even the responsible job of teacher education could be a paid post. These things are ideas for the future, but we are making sure our finances are healthy to make them possible. We have therefore set the fees for 2006-7 as follows: Institute members Individual members Overseas supplement Teachers Teachers concessionary rate Introductory Level 1 (half day) assessment fees All other (whole day) assessment fees

£5.50 £12.00 £12.00 £34.00 £21.00 £50.00 £80.00 53

REPORT FROM THE M.O.M. Leza Hatchard has been working part-time for the IYA (UK) since October 2003 and is the first paid employee the Association has ever had. She has now been joined by an assistant who works on a casual basis for about 8 hours a week. As our Membership and Office Manager she is central to the professional running of the Association. New member application forms It's been a very busy few months in the main office with all of the renewals and there are still a good number of new applications coming in each week to IYA (UK). If any of our teacher members would like to give IYA (UK) application forms out to their students please contact me at the main office and I can send this form to you - and if any of our individual non-teacher members would like application forms for anyone - please get in touch! Please read mailings Unfortunately, there are still a lot of instances where people do not read the items which are sent to them and many teachers are contacting me for information about things which were advised to them in the renewal news and on the A4 information sheet sent back to them with their insurance documents etc. I know how busy you are, but please do try and find time to read the information; there was important information about REPs sent back to you with your insurance docs etc. Events Teachers: keep submitting to the Upcoming Event's which is e-mailed approximately every 2 weeks. This is proving to be very beneficial to most of the teachers who use it. If you do not have access to e-mail you can either phone me with details of any workshops/holidays etc you may have coming up or send the details to me in writing and I will make sure that they are added. This information only gets circulated by e-mail at this stage as it would be too expensive to send it by post every two weeks to so many members. Membership renewals Louise Cartledge is now well and truly installed as the new Membership Secretary and we are currently planning alterations we can make to the current renewal process Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

to help it to run more smoothly for you all next year. If you have any feedback or comments about renewals please direct them to me here at the main office and I can make sure that Louise sees them. Office opening hours Please also note that the main office is run from my own home on a flexible part time basis and therefore does not operate at weekends and in the evenings. I have had phone calls at 7am on a Sunday and as late as 11pm in the evenings - please try to call between 9 - 6pm and if you get the answer machine please leave a brief message just with your name and number and I will call you back. Lastly, a big thank you to everyone who submitted their renewal papers on time - it really does make a huge difference to the running of the office and I really appreciated your efforts. Also, many thanks to all those who expressed an interest in my leg lengthening operation and wished me well - it is successfully lengthened now and you will see me in a shoe shop near you very soon! Hurrah! All the best and until next time! Leza

Leza Hatchard Membership and Office Manager IYA (UK) 23 Queens Walk, Ealing, London W5 1TP telephone: 020 8997 6029 admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk 54

ASSESSMENT R ESULTS The following people were successful in Level 2 of the Introductory Assessments: Evelyn Donnelly Lucy Lynch The following people were successful in Level 1 of the Junior Intermediate Assessments: Jeannie Adams Sandy Bell Frances Brown Maureen Coxon Simon Edwardson Ruth Galinsky Alan Gould Andrew Hall Megan Inglesent Zoe Jones Jean Kutz Stephen Lamont John Leachman Pavara Alison Pegg Iris Pimm Amanda Ridgewell Annamaria Sacco Cressida Senkus Andree Shrivell Lesley Stevas Chris Swain Cedric Taylor Melanie Taylor Berni Thompson Greg Walsh The following people were successful in Level 2 of the Junior Intermediate Assessments: Marios Argiros Sharon Aslett Jill Ayles Celia Baker Nathalie Blondel Carol Brown Joe Burn Eileen Cameron Susan Clark Rosemary Da Silva Karen De Villiers Jenni Doohan Susan Doxat Maureen Gallagher Ofra Graham Sue Hill Brenda Hobdell Maitreyavira Barbara Norvell Prabhakara Paul Reilly Lois Shilton April Stead Dorothy Tyler Maggie Waters Diane West The following people were successful in Level 3 of the Junior Intermediate Assessments: Lucy Aldridge Paul Brown Lin Craddock Maggie Dix Barbara Hicks Lydia Holmes Liz Knowles Sue Lovell Philippa Vale Malcomson Lorraine McConnon Amparo Rodriguez Gill Rowe Clare Stephen John Callinan Margaret Cashman Helen Gillan Svada Ruddle The following people were successful in Level 2 of the Senior Intermediate Assessments: Helen Graham Sheila Green Alaric Newcombe Lynda Purvis Margaret Rawlinson Judith Van Dop

Best wishes for next time to those that were unsuccessful in this round of assessments. Many thanks to all those who helped with organisation, moderating, assessing and catering.

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

THE CERTIFICATION MARK Judi Sweeting (Professional Development Days Organiser) and Elaine Pidgeon (Chair of the Ethics, Membership and Certification Commitee) explain how teachers can get their 25 hours training to qualify for Certification mark. y and large our teacher members did very well this year in making up the hours required for the Certification Mark. However there were some people who had difficulties so we would like to go over the different ways you can make up your hours. We have made the methods as varied as possible so that everyone can do it. Remember that as Iyengar Teachers we have an obligation to keep in touch with the work that is done in the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune and to maintain the highest possible standards in our teaching.

So what ways can the 25 hours be made up? C You can attend regular weekly classes with your local senior or intermediate teacher (approximately 70 hours!). C You can attend the annual IYA(UK) AGM Convention, recently often taught by one of Guruji's senior Indian teachers. (Fri/Sat/Sun, approximately 14 hours). C You can attend the IYA(UK) annual Autumn Convention. (Fri/Sat/Sun, approximately 16 hours). C Attend workshops around the UK arranged locally by local Institutes, centres or individual teachers. (Approximately hours for each day attended). C Attend the Professional Development Day in your area. The list of PD days is published annually in Iyengar Yoga News. (5-6 hours). C Attend general classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune India for one month (please see the last edition of IY News p 38). (Approximately 48 hours). C Training classes for Intermediate Junior or Intermediate Senior Certificates also count (hours variable).

What does not count? C A practice session with your friend. C A class with a non Iyengar teacher definitely does not count. C Vague details of your 25 hours do not count. Please be specific about hours, when, where and who with. Please be honest when you renew your membership and apply for your Certification mark. We are an understanding organisation when there are difficulties but we do make spot checks on the stated 25 hours and sadly the results have sometimes been disappointing. If you have had a difficult year and have compassionate grounds for dropping your attendance at classes, workshops or conventions, then talk to us. If you become pregnant and have to take time out, let us know. If there is something you would like to know, please don't hesitate to phone, write or email us. A large proportion of our membership has exceeded the 25 hour requirement by a large amount and that is fantastic. It is really not difficult to do 25 hours of training in a whole year and whatever you learn is of inestimable value to you and your students. We owe it to our esteemed Guruji to keep on practising, learning and understanding. Remember svĂ dhyĂ ya, self study is central to yoga. C

Remember that the Iyengar Yoga News is excellent for finding out what is on and where. Apply to attend classes at the RIMYI in Pune as long as you fulfil the prerequisites. If you can't do that, attending regular classes with a more senior teacher who has visited the RIMYI ensures that you are constantly updating your knowledge. Finally PD days are your official in-service training as a professional Iyengar Yoga Teacher and ensure that we all stay in touch. TM

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

A N N O U N C E M E N T S LIGHT O N L IFE b ook l aunch John J. Evans, co-author of B.K.S. Iyengar’s forthcoming book, Light on Life, will be giving a talk followed by refreshments on Saturday 17th September 2005, at 4:00 pm, at the Iyengar Yoga Institute Maida Vale, 223a Randolph Avenue, London W9 1NL (telephone: 020 7624 3080; website: www.iyi.org.uk). Light on Life is published on 30th September but advance copies will be available at the event. Alternatively, you can buy the book through the IYA (UK) - see overleaf for details. Correction On page 49 of IYN no. 6 it was stated that Satish Kumar, patron of the British Wheel of Yoga, was a grandson of Krishnamacharya; this is is not true and we apologise for the error. Caroline Cole We are sad to report the death of North London Iyengar Yoga teacher, Caroline Cole, at the end of June 2005. She had been seriously ill since before Christmas, but never lost her positive orientation on life, nor her love of yoga. She had many devoted yoga students who will miss her gentle but exacting care, and many more friends and family members who will miss her unfailing kindness and her joyful approach to life. As well as teaching yoga, Caroline was a talented professional artist and animator, and loved dancing. Happily, she managed to get to Pune for a month of general classes in September 2003.Whilst there, she was inspired by and loved the classes, and came back glowing with enthusiasm. Some of us saw Caroline at an IYA teachers' professional development day in March this year, and at a pranayama workshop in May. She did what she could, and continued to find her yoga practice a great support, even as what she could do physically became more limited. At that stage, she knew that cancer had damaged her body and was proving hard to treat, but she always looked to the future and delighted in what life brought her. Ros Bell Celia Wright 1945 - 2005 I was well into my sixties when I found yoga, but Celia welcomed me and my health problems into her class! It was soon obvious to me that she was dedicated to Yoga and her students. Our class took place in a sometimes rather smelly room in a local school. Our equipment consisted of straps, wooden blocks and foam pads, all of which were toted by Celia to and fro for all of her classes across about a forty mile radius in Kent. The school provided chairs, complete with dried on chewing gum, and we brought our own blankets. I think we all felt that the class was "tailormade" for each of us although we were clearly of very mixed abilities. She always stressed that we should listen to our own bodies and work accordingly. Our class was one big "family", sharing all the ups and the downs of everyday life. Little did we know that the very worse of the downs was yet to come! When Celia told us that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer I think I can speak of all of us when I say that the bottom dropped out of our world!! Not so with Celia, however! She was determined that she would not let this "wretched thing" beat her!! It was not long after this that her beloved husband, Ray, was taken very seriously ill. It was obvious to us all that she gained an inner strength from her yoga and amazed us all with the ways in which she coped with this and the treatments for her cancer and the dreadful side effects they brought with them, practising her yoga throughout. In addition to taking sometimes two classes a day, she still ran the family home with all that entailed. She drove herself to and from the hospital for all her treatments and would probably take a class in the afternoon. In short, she was a truly amazing lady. As her illness progressed she did say that sometimes it was a real effort to motivate herself to come down to take a class. However, once her students arrived she knew it was all worthwhile. In this respect, I feel that we were all able to give her a little back, albeit very little in comparison to what she gave all of us. At Easter, I went to see Celia at the Royal Marsden Hospital and were amazed to find her sitting on her bed in baddha koõàsana! I'm sure I speak for all her students when I say that Celia was, and will continue to be, an inspiration to us all and we feel that we are extremely privileged that she touched our lives in such an unforgettable way. Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

IYA(UK) MERCHAND ISE BOOKS Light On Yoga (new edition) £15.00 Astadala Yogamala vols.1-4 Yoga Rahasya (2 vols.) £10.00 Preliminary Course A Matter of Health (by Dr Krishna Raman) £25.00 Yoga: A Gem for Women Light on the Yoga Sutras £15.00 Light on Pranayama Basic Guidelines for Teachers of Yoga* £12.00 Yoga for Children Tuesdays with Prashant £12.00 New titles: Alpha and Omega of Trikonasana by Prashant Iyengar Astadala Yogamala vol. 5

£12.00 each £10.00 £12.00 £12.00 £14.00 £12.00 £12.00

* available to teachers only CLEAR-O OUT SALE: Iyengar Yoga Jubilee videos Teachers’ Event + Question & Answer session (4 tapes) General Event + Question & Answer session (4 tapes) Full set (7 tapes)

£10 £10 £15

CD-R ROMs from the RIMYI (prices include postage and packing) Yoga for You (£14),Yoga for Stress (£12),Yoga for Asthma (£12) and Yoga for Blood Pressure (£14)

Light on Life by B. K. S. Iyengar£16.00

All prices include p & p in the UK. Please ask about postage to other countries. Make cheques payable to “IYA (UK)” and send to: Patsy Sparksman, 33 Ashbourne Avenue, London NW11 0DT; 020 8455 6366; patsyyoga@aol.com

PLEASE PRINT name, address, phone number and e-m mail address clearly with your order. The Jubilee videos and the following books are also available from Jane Cornah: please make cheques payable to “IYA (UK)” and send to Jane Cornah, 12 Kirby Park, Wirral CH48 2HA, or e-mail details to cornah@wkirby.u-net.com. The Art of Yoga Tree of Yoga Yoga Rahasya (2 vols.)

Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

£10.50 £10.25 £10.00

Light On Yoga Yoga Pushpanjali Yogadhara

£15.00 £10.50 £12.00

Y O G A

R A H A S Y A

Yoga Rahasya is a quarterly Iyengar Yoga journal published in India. Four issues a year are mailed to you, normally starting from the next available issue. Back copies are sometimes available (£3.50 each); please write a separate note if you are enquiring about these, listing the issues you are seeking. To subscribe, or to renew an existing subscription, please complete and return the form below with a cheque made payable to “IYA (UK)” to: Tig Whattler, 64 Watermoor Road, Cirencester, Glos. GL7 1LD. Queries to this address or to info@cotswoldiyengar.co.uk. Please write very clearly (or type the information on a separate piece of paper). In order to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, IYA (UK) agrees not to release the details you give us here to any external party without first seeking your permission.We may pass on these details to our Indian Yoga Rahasya publishing partners. This information is collected, stored and processed for the purposes of Yoga Rahasya journal subscription and distribution administration. IYA (UK) does not sell or exchange its membership lists with other organisations.

Name: .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Address: .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................................................................ Post code: ............................................. Telephone: ............................................................ e-mail: ............................................................................................................................................................ Is this a renewal? ............... If so, please state issue no. new subscription is to start with, if known. Vol. ............... No.............. Amount enclosed (cheque to “IYA (UK)” please) £........................................................ (one year’s subscription (4 issues) is £16) Please enclose a stamped s.a.e. if you require a receipt.

Signature ........................................................................................................................................................ Date ....................................................................... Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005

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Flat to Rent in Pune

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IYA ( UK) c /o L eza H atchard, 23 Q ueens W alk, L ondon W 5 1 TP admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk The deadline for the next issue of Iyengar Yoga News (due out February 2006) is:

Friday 25th November, 2005

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East Midland Iyengar Yoga Group Forthcoming Yoga Days this Autumn & Winter: Maitreyavira: Beginners Session Julie Brown: General Yoga Day Sylvia Prescott: Teacher's Day Marion Kilburn: General Yoga Day For full details please contact rachel@orangetreeyoga.com or phone 077251 20043

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Iyengar Yoga News 7 - Autumn 2005