From the upcoming documentary Sadhaka: The Yoga of BKS Iyengar. Photo: Jake Clennell
ABHIJATA ON THE IYENGAR WOMEN, ANCIENT YOGINIS, AND PAIN
F
ollowing in the footsteps of her grandfather, B.K.S. Iyengar, her aunt, Geeta S. Iyengar, and her uncle, Prashant Iyengar, Abhijata Sridhar is now a senior teacher at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune. She began her studies as a young woman of 16 and is now a mother and one of the world’s leaders in continuing Guruji’s legacy.
For this issue, we asked Abhi a few questions about women and Iyengar Yoga, and here’s what she had to say. Yoga Samachar: What influence would you say that the Iyengar women have had on the development of Guruji’s method? First, Ramamani, then Geetaji and now, of course, you. Abhijata Sridhar: My grandmother Ramamani, of course, played a very important role in Guruji’s sadhana, and this Guruji has said. He would ask her to help him in a certain manner during his early days of practice. Her involvement was vital in the early development of Guruji. Geetaji, of course, deciphered and interpreted Guruji so beautifully. Her influence is invaluable in making people understand the principles of our system. Sometimes, Guruji’s teaching may seem aphoristic for us, and it is because of her that we understand the depth of Guruji’s teachings.
Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Yoga Samachar
And about me, I am too raw now to stake a claim on influencing our system. YS: You have a unique perspective as Guruji’s granddaughter, Prashantji and Geetaji’s niece, a wife, a daughter, a mother, etc.—how do all these facets of your life as a woman influence your own practice and teaching? AS: Each of these roles may be influencing me in a manner that I still can’t comprehend because I don’t have a bird’s-eye view of it. I was extremely lucky because I had the three masters shaping me simultaneously. I can understand now very well how different it would have been if even one of those was missing. It is human nature to be swayed by what is palatable to us. So, I am grateful that I was positioned by God such that I could receive from all of them simultaneously.
7
