How to Inspire New Iyengar Yoga Students – Heather Haxo Phillips

How to Inspire New Iyengar Yoga Students

EMBRACE CHANGE, REACH OUT TO DIVERSE COMMUNITIES, BECOME A LEADER AND CHAMPION OF THE IYENGAR METHOD. By Heather Haxo Phillips

We all know that yoga means “union.”

Another definition of yoga is “bringing together that which is perceived to be separate.” I often think about this definition when navigating my roles as a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, a yoga studio owner, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the San Francisco Institute and Northern California region. These are three very different roles—but are the responsibilities and obligations the same?

Whether I am on my practice mat, teaching in class, managing my studio, or volunteering, I often ponder the same questions that most certified teachers ask themselves: What are the best ways to inspire others to learn more about Iyengar Yoga? How should we build our student base and juggle all that demands our time—personal practice, teaching, marketing, and more? How can I keep my spiritual compass within a complex and often commercial world?

I try to use Guruji’s teachings as a guide. Though I have never heard B.K.S. Iyengar use phrases such as “marketing,” “key performance indicators,” or “building your student base,” I believe that he has explained to us through his words and his actions how we should proceed in this complicated yoga world.

First, Guruji has been very clear that Iyengar Yoga is a tradition to be passed down. His teachings are not ours alone to hold onto; they are not a commodity to be sold. We must spread the teachings as far as we can “not for the sake of name or fame.” Our Gurujii has been very clear on exactly how to do this. “I only request my teachers to conduct themselves ethically so that no one raises their fingers to say that you have compromised the fundamentals of yoga for the sake of popularity or for wealth,” he said in the most recent issue of Yoga Rahasya.

Guruji has explained that as teachers, our responsibility is huge. He says that if we act as a teacher, we have to treat it as a sacred duty and exert discipline: We must stay within our own experiential knowledge, be alert to our students, and act as healers. We must learn the art of compassion, friendliness, and gladness as well as when to be indifferent. He says, “A teacher has to be intelligent, but also emotionally firm and psychologically strong. A teacher has to study and know how to understand the minds of the students as s/he goes on teaching.”

These words of wisdom are potent guidance not just when we teach, but when we make decisions about how to manage our careers. Indeed, his words are precious golden nuggets! For example, I taught yoga for ten years on my own. During that time, I carefully developed my teaching and my student relationships. I worked on my own assessments, volunteered extensively, and built relationships with others in our local Iyengar Yoga community. For an American Iyengar Yoga teacher, this is critical off-the-mat “donkey work.”

Guruji has been very clear that Iyengar Yoga is a tradition to be passed down. His teachings are not ours alone to hold onto; they are not a commodity to be sold.

Eight months ago, I took over ownership of the studio where I had worked. I set a goal to turn this yoga studio into an Iyengar Yoga studio and to become a regional beacon for Guruji’s teachings. Students and teachers within our Iyengar Yoga community immediately embraced the idea. Because they knew me and had already embraced the practice, they were ready to help out where needed. They have gathered according to their talents, helping with the renovations, financial analysis, marketing, staffing, and teaching that is required to successfully launch our new professional studio. Nearly all of this has been volunteer work! Working in community this way has paid off—attendance has doubled, and we have created jobs for eight certified teachers in our area. Last month, our local newspaper named Adeline Yoga Studio the “Best Yoga Studio in the East Bay.” Of all the studios they could choose from, I am so pleased that they bestowed an Iyengar Yoga studio with this honor.

As I strive to inspire others about Iyengar Yoga, I am inspired by Guruji’s own actions. From his early days, Guruji traveled the

world practicing for exhibitions to attract people to his art. He came from humble beginnings, with few resources, just like many of us. Yet, he was very creative. In those early days, he used whatever he had access to—photographs, books, TV, newspaper interviews, and even celebrities like Yehudi Menuin—to inspire others. Today, we have even more options for inspiring others: Facebook, Yelp, online forums, and cell phones. Guruji has always encouraged us to innovate. I feel empowered to use these tools judiciously and thoughtfully to inspire others toward a yoga practice and genuine introspection.

Across the country, Iyengar Yoga teachers are working hard to build community and inspire people to study Iyengar Yoga. They offer special classes, using them to expand awareness of our practice and increase attendance in our classes. They have potlucks, movie nights, work parties, and fundraisers to support those in need. They create important partnerships with universities and other organizations. These are important, necessary, and inspiring steps to increase the visibility of Iyengar Yoga.

When I look at how my Northern California region has developed and how our Iyengar Yoga community has developed nationally, I am proud of so much that has been accomplished. We have played an instrumental role in developing yoga’s popularity.

But there is still more to do.

First, we must embrace the changes in the yoga world. Many of us remember—and relish—the early days when Iyengar Yoga was nearly the only yoga around. Today there are a lot more styles of yoga, and yoga has become an integral part of popular culture. These days we have to be much more creative about attracting people to Iyengar Yoga and welcoming them when they do appear on our mats.

I personally find that new students LOVE what we do. It also takes a long time for me to help them understand that the essence of the practice goes beyond straightening your legs. First, they have questions about why we don’t play music, why the room is room temperature, and what the yoga sutras are about. We must answer their questions—with patience, warmth, and compassion. That is our yoga AND theirs.

One thing is clear: We must expand who has access to Iyengar Yoga. As individuals and as a community, we should prioritize bringing Iyengar Yoga to underserved populations and those Working in community this way has paid off—attendance has doubled, and we have created jobs for eight certified teachers in our area.

that do not fit a typical yoga student demographic. At home, we can do this in so many ways. Peggy Hong, a certified teacher who has recently helped launch another Iyengar Yoga studio in her new home town of Detroit, has pioneered an intriguing idea of free weekly classes called “Community Gift” where people pay what they can. Some pay with vegetables; some pay through the “Time Bank.” Volunteering your work with community organizations that do not offer yoga classes is another important venue for expanding access. Out of these classes potential teachers may emerge who will increase our reach and our diversity.

Second, Iyengar Yoga teachers should be active leaders in our yoga community at large. Guruji has said that all yoga comes from the same source. I agree with this, and yet I see many shrink away from the spotlight. In the U.S., we often let others speak about what yoga is while we remain relatively silent. This doesn’t serve us well.

For example, new students frequently come into my studio thinking that yoga is a commodity to be bought, tested, and discarded. Someone—not an Iyengar Yoga practitioner—taught them that incorrect notion. We each can take responsibility to publicly educate people on what yoga is and what its benefits are. Through repeated exposure—in class, on our websites, in our newsletters, and in our community newspapers—we show people the true benefits of our yoga practice.

I also think it will take more of our students who have national loud-speakers—luminaries such as Mira Nair, Annette Bening, Donna Karin—to help us change this. We need others such as Oprah, Ellen, and Dr. Oz to get involved as well. Simultaneously, thousands of us at a local level must actively educate others in our personal spheres of influence. We must work with diligence, one student at a time, one studio at a time, one newspaper article at a time, one Facebook post at a time, operating with kindness and compassion as Guruji states, without jealously or desires for fame.

The good news is that we do have each other to rely on. Within our own Iyengar Yoga community, we have great depth of

Today, we have even more options for inspiring others: Facebook, Yelp, online forums, and cell phones. Guruji has always encouraged us to innovate.

knowledge. Many of us are already engaged in the critical activities to build our community. Many of us do have an expertise in sales, marketing, public relations, and business planning. And if we don’t, our students do. Guruji often says that that we should teach only what we know and that we should have mentors to help us develop our skills. That is important advice for all realms of daily living: planning, time management, goal setting, financial management, and more.

I have found that the more I involve my students in the running of my studio and our regional association, the more joy we all

have in our hearts. There is no valid reason to be tentative about involving our students in the business of our businesses. If we want to build our student base and the popularity of Iyengar Yoga, we have to build our skills with the help of those more knowledgeable than us. We need to learn to ask for help from each other and extend our knowledge to others freely. Guruji has asked this of us.

Forums such as the recent panel at our national convention are vitally important in this regard. I hope that there will be more opportunities to share. If we apply effort to creating forums to exchange knowledge and build skills, together we can develop an even stronger, more visible, and enduring Iyengar Yoga community.

Heather Haxo Phillips (Junior Intermediate II) is the director of Adeline Yoga Studio and vice president of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco/Iyengar Yoga Association of Northern California. Please send any thoughts or suggestions to heather@adelineyogastudio.com.