9 minute read
Lois Steinberg Receives Lighting the Way Award Richard Jonas
from Yoga Samachar FW2017
by IYNAUS
the Way LOIS STEINBERG RECEIVES LIGHTING THE WAY AWARD
BY RICHARD JONAS
Advertisement
Lois Steinberg, Ph. D., received the Lighting the Way award for distinguished volunteer service to the U.S. Iyengar Yoga community during the May convention in Boca Raton, Florida. “I am truly touched,” Lois said. “It is a lifetime achievement that I feel so honored by. I thank you from the depths of my soul.”
Advanced Junior II teacher, author on therapeutics, and tireless volunteer, Lois coordinated the International Women’s Intensive with Geeta Iyengar in 1997 and produced the notes. She is the author of Iyengar Yoga Asana Alternatives: The Knees (2015), Iyengar Yoga Cancer Book (2013), Iyengar Yoga Asana Alternatives: Neck and Shoulders (2010), Geeta S. Iyengar’s Guide to a Woman’s Yoga Practice (2006), and other manuals. She was co-investigator on research projects about the efficacy of Iyengar Yoga in treating chronic low back pain and high blood pressure. She produced the Sadhana magazine for the Odyssey Convention in 2001 and Yatra in 2007 and was curriculum chair for the 2010 certified teachers’ convention in Portland, Oregon.
Director of Iyengar Yoga Champaign-Urbana, teacher of workshops around the world, and teacher of teachers, Lois is also an assessor and member of the Certification Committee, and she is a past IYNAUS board member as well as previous chair of the Certification and Yoga Research committees.
Here’s what members of the Iyengar family, colleagues, and students had to say about Lois:
“Lois is a very keen student and a hard worker. I can see that she is devoted. She normally doesn’t deny any student who goes to her with problems. It gives me great joy that she is receiving this award.”
— Dr. Geeta S. Iyengar
“My congratulations to Lois!”
— Sunita Iyengar Parthasarathy “Lois’ unbroken devotion and determination to her practice is already well-known. I have known Lois over the past 20-plus years, and in that time, it is something else that I have come to cherish: her friendship—constant, pure, and warm.”
—Stephanie Quirk
“I made a list of Lois’ qualities. She’s indefatigable. No one gets more done! She has tenacity. Discipline. If an element represents Lois, it’s earth. She’s steadfast and unflappable with a wicked sense of humor and a wonderful laugh— both hearty and ‘heart-y.’ I wish I had her hair: wild, curly, beautiful!
“She’s devoted her life to Guruji’s teaching. She’s compassionate in the truest sense of the word. How one-pointed she is in Medical Class—so totally present, she can work with two or three patients simultaneously. With her therapeutic books, Lois made an invaluable contribution to our community.
“Over 10 or 12 years in India, she and I practiced together next to Guruji, along with Abhijata, Stephanie Quirk, and Dr. Manoj Naik. Lois and I would arrive at the Institute, go upstairs, and put ourselves right near the horse where Guruji practiced. Every morning, we were there receiving his teaching. Sometimes he’d work with her, and I’d listen; sometimes he’d work with me and she would watch. Then we’d talk to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. That’s how we bonded. Sometimes Guruji was wonderful, full of humor, quoting the sutras. Sometimes he’d be really hard on us— though usually if he was hard on me, he’d go easy on her, and vice versa.
“After practice, we’d sit in the library with Guruji. Suddenly he’d say, ‘Patricia, do Urdhva Dhanurasana’ or ‘Lois, do Paschimottansana.’ We’d do our best although we were wearing our Indian clothes. We never knew what was going to happen!”
— Patricia Walden, Senior Teacher
“Lois’ contributions to our community include her many therapy books. This practical information has been incredibly helpful for my personal use and to help me therapeutically guide students. “One year I had the good fortune to be in Pune the same time as Lois. She would arrive early to the hall and practice intensively. Her approach was very inspirational and pivotal to enhancing my own practice. Lois is very generous with her time in helping others in the practice hall and has a lightning-fast ability to skillfully minister to students in the medical classes. “I have been the recipient of her scrutiny and instruction. All advice, suggestions, and hands-on assistance were given in a no-nonsense, straightforward way. I was practicing arm variations in Sirsasana near a wall when Lois insisted I go to the middle of the room, saying I would never progress until I got over the fear of leaving the wall. Her words gave me a huge boost of confidence and insight to improve my practice. She is able to help so many of us due to her experiential knowledge and understanding gained from her personal in-depth practice and exploration. “Guruji spoke one year about anubhavika jnana, knowledge gained from experience. Lois is a highly skilled teacher and practitioner who embodies this ability.” — Rebecca Lerner, Senior Teacher “Lois’ light shines brightly through unwavering dedication, energetic practice, and love for teaching. She thrives on infinite learning. Lois composes therapy classes as a conductor directs an orchestra, keeping everyone organized and directed, refining individual healing quests. Lois has helped me live with ankylosing spondylitis and chronic migraines. As my mentor, she never gives up on my dream to progress as a teacher, guiding me to acceptance, growth, and strength.
“At Iyengar Yoga of ChampaignUrbana, dynamic classes embody movement and exciting challenges. Lois encourages inner exploration by inviting students to use the studio for personal practice. Her teacher
Patricia Walden presents the Lighting the Way award to Lois Steinberg at the 2016 IYNAUS Convention. Photo: James Greene gatherings open us to innovation.
Her graceful asana demonstrations leave piercing imprints of direct actions.
“As Lois navigates through an adventurous trail, she leaves footprints of dedication marking her journey with imprints of vitality, inspiration, and devotion.”
—Kelly Gordon Sobanski, Intermediate Junior I, Bloomington, IN
“What’s unique about Lois is her commitment to the next generation of Iyengar yoginis. She is parampara embodied. I vividly remember my first conversation with Lois— I was in Pune for the first time and completely lost. I had burning questions about Parivrtta Trikonasana and many other poses. I screwed up my courage, introduced myself, and asked for a few minutes of her time. With her now-familiar withering look, she said yes. We sat in the foyer, and I marched through my long list of questions. She answered every one with, ‘It depends,’
then gave me the detail I was looking for. “For more than 10 years, I have been a devoted student of Lois. She has been that living link to parampara for me and many others. Subsequent trips to Pune have included daily mat-nextto-mat coaching. Telling me to ‘pep up my practice,’ she has allowed me to follow her around the hall with my mat in tow. With a word here, a prop there, Lois has shaped and inspired my daily practice and has never told me to stop asking questions. Somehow she carves out the time to answer emails and calls from all her students— what to do for high blood pressure, what to do about a prolapsed uterus. Lois is always there for us.”
Lois Steinberg receiving the Lighting the Way award Photo: James Greene
“My wife Kimberly and I met Lois in Pune in 1998. Kimberly was taking a medical class at the Institute for back pain. Lois helped her get into more medical classes, and this was the beginning of Kimberly’s path to healing. We have since had the good fortune of being mentored as teachers and helped as students at her studio in Urbana and in Morgantown, West Virginia, when she taught at our studio.
“I have benefitted every step of the way from Lois’ knowledge of the asanas, her generosity, and her guidance. Lois’ weeklong summer intensives give us much of the inspiration for our practice for the year. Her instructions are clear, and their delivery is at just the right pace to bypass the discursive mind and go straight to the action and the reflective mind. Lois expects your best and is also willing to help you attain it, while seeing and compassionately accommodating your limitations. I also appreciate the sense of community she has cultivated at her studio and her inspiring devotion to Guruji and his teachings.”
— Siegfried Bleher, Intermediate Junior III, Morgantown, WV
“Lois Steinberg has been many things for me. I first knew her as a teacher who allowed a stiff and battered yoga neophyte to attend her weeklong intensives for serious students, requiring only that I try hard and keep an open mind. Then she was the teacher who always inspired me, and through the sheer force of her will, allowed me to ‘wash’ my hyperactive mind and do more than I had ever thought possible. “Later, when I had a life-threatening ailment, Lois was my therapist who helped me heal, recover, and eventually resume a normal yoga practice. When I retired as a lawyer and had the audacious idea of trying to become a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, I experienced Lois as a mentor, the author of invaluable books, and a consummate teacher of teachers.
“Finally, after I became the IYNAUS treasurer, I saw the Lois who tirelessly worked on the certification committee and who is an astute strategist for the growth of Iyengar Yoga.”
— David Carpenter, Introductory II, Chicago
“In our Invocation to Patanjali, we thank the sage for his work on yoga, medicine, and grammar. The lifework of Lois Steinberg is an embodiment of these teachings. As a teacher she has put thousands of students all around the world on the path of yoga. As a healer, she helps us to deepen and adapt our practice for health and therapy. As an author and communicator, she demonstrates her command of the language, concepts, and principles of yoga, bringing clarity and precision. Most of all, as a dedicated and disciplined practitioner, she is— for all of us— lighting the way.”
— François and Marie St-Laurent, www.roadstobliss.com
“For 15 years, I have seen Lois’ commitment to Iyengar Yoga, from her daily practice filled with intent, direction, and integrity to her returning home from an international workshop and going straight to teach; developing thoughtful sequences for each therapy student; writing books to spread the teachings of Guruji and the Iyengar family; serving on IYNAUS committees; and her annual trips to RIMYI.
“Lois is always ready to help her students. And that help comes in all forms. Sometimes it’s instruction to deepen an asana, sometimes it’s a therapeutic application, sometimes teaching a teacher to teach better, sometimes sharing home-grown vegetables from her vast organic garden, or just being a friend. Lois exemplifies the power of Iyengar Yoga and teaches us all to live life with intent, direction, and integrity.”
— Jerry Chiprin, Intermediate Junior I, Chicago, IL
