Lighting the Way Award – Tori Milner

Lighting the Way Award

By Tori Milner

Photo by Daniel Guida

Several years ago, IYNAUS created an award called

“Lighting the Way” to honor teachers who have shown outstanding volunteerism and service to our community. Past recipients have included Joan

White, Mary Dunn, Felicity Green, and Patricia Walden.

Our path is made smoother through their instructive adjustments; keen, watchful eyes; and powerful words and images. Their dedication and devotion is seen and felt by all who come in contact with them. Long after a class or workshop is over, their words live on, imprinted in our hearts and postures. They revolutionize our practice and touch our lives with an enthusiasm that is palpable if not infectious. As B.K.S. Iyengar has directly forged and polished them over decades, they shine their light, and his, on us.

The word “guru” means to remove the darkness, and that is exactly what a good teacher does, treading the path before us and showing us the way, guided by the wisdom of their own experience. They bolster us all as a community and help connect us to each other, to ourselves, and to the source of our learning— the Iyengars and the deep ancient roots where yoga began. As B.K.S. Iyengar has directly forged and polished them over decades, they shine their light, and his, on us. This May, that honor was presented to Manouso Manos at our convention in San Diego. Manouso is a longtime devotee of Iyengar Yoga who began his practice in the mid-seventies. With almost four decades of experience, he shares his knowledge freely and is always completely and unabashedly himself. He is one of only two teachers who hold the Advanced Senior certificate awarded by B.K.S Iyengar. He is a powerful example and guiding force in our community, always urging us to dig deeper in our practice. Gloria Goldberg went to the podium and made these remarks: “… with loving gratitude for your generosity in guiding teachers and students to develop and grow in our personal practice; shedding light on the pedagogy of the Iyengar method; openly sharing the evolution of your practice and learning; your passion for the subject and compassion for your students; for continually lighting the fire of inspiration within us and giving us the courage to go beyond our limits in order to progress; for your dedication to maintaining integrity in the practice and teaching; for your unfaltering faith in the practice, thus being a living example of the transformation that comes with the unbroken practice of Iyengar Yoga; and for giving us more than 20 years of your life to develop as a community and as teachers.”

Tori Milner (Intermediate Junior III) teaches at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York.

Congratulations, Manouso!