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Iyengar Yoga on Campus Annie Melchior
from Yoga Samacher FW2018
by IYNAUS
IYENGAR YOGA ON CAMPUS
HOW CIYTS AT UWM ADAPT TO THE UNIVERSITY SETTING— AND SPREAD YOGA BENEFITS TO A WIDE RANGE OF STUDENTS
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BY ANNIE MELCHIOR
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus
When I experienced my first Iyengar Yoga class, it was in the summer of 1995 in a studio in the Dance
Department of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). It was taught with clarity, good humor, and engaging energy by Janet Lilly. I had taken some yoga classes previously, but this was different. This seminal experience lit a fire in me, stoked by the hallmarks of B.K.S. Iyengar’s teaching and practice: attention to detail and precision in action, intelligence of sequencing, and the artful use of props. I was particularly sparked by Janet’s ability to combine the intensity of the physical practice with a sense of humor and direction of mental attention, focus, and imagination—the perfect combination to make me a practitioner for life. It wasn’t just the body. This approach to asana also acknowledged the mind.
For those who are used to practicing in a yoga studio, it might seem odd to take class on a college campus. But for me, it was obvious. The universality of Iyengar Yoga in the context of the university: a comprehensive integration of the body, mind, and spirit.
Beginnings Today at UWM, we have a thriving yoga program that is part of the Somatics track in the Dance Department of the Peck School of the Arts (PSOA). The program provides multiple sections of Introduction to Iyengar Yoga to the campus community, enrolling hundreds of students each semester (an intermediate level course is also offered every three semesters to meet demand). When Janet Lilly (CIYT Intermediate Junior II) was a new faculty member, then-chair Professor Marcia Parsons wanted to include yoga in the dance curriculum as a complement to other technique classes, a means to enhance body awareness, and as an aid in recuperation and to prevent injury. The course began with a focus on dance majors but quickly expanded its student population to include non-majors, attracted in large part because the course carries three credits in the Arts as a General Education Requirement (GER) course. Initially called “Yoga for Dancers,” DANCE 103 was renamed Introduction to Iyengar Yoga once Lilly became certified through IYNAUS. The course was immediately popular, starting with one section of 40 students and expanding to multiple sections as more Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers emerged. “This course also helped to develop and sustain the Iyengar Yoga community in Milwaukee,” says Lilly, who is now Chair of Dance at the
University of North Carolina-Greensboro. “Certified instructors with a proven track record were mentored into adjunct teaching positions at UWM.”
More Than Asana Introduction to Iyengar Yoga is primarily an asana class, but because it carries the three GER arts credits and also delivers the university’s shared system learning outcomes, requirements include two written assignments (a svadhyaya—self-study— paper and a written response to a dance or movement performance), a midterm and final examination (written and practicum, or demonstration), as well as quizzes and reading assignments drawn from the textbook for the course, B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, in addition to the practice of asana in class. Many students assume that yoga will be “an easy A” but quickly discover and are actually happy to learn that there is much more required—not the least of which is exposure to the other limbs of yoga and a focus on and appreciation and implementation of the yamas and niyamas, also referred to as the Ten Ethical Principles, to complement asana study and practice. Implementing the Introductory I & II asana syllabi in the IYNAUS system, students become adept at the standing poses,
Students at the University of Wisconsin's DANCE 103 class: Introduction to Iyengar Yoga
seated poses and twists, beginning spinal extensions, and inversions such as shoulder stand and headstand. In some sections, students are assigned poses, put into groups and asked to create a sequence from the poses learned to that point in the semester. Each student in the group teaches a pose to their peers from the sequence as a midterm or final assessment. Students learn and practice the physical art form of yoga asana and learn about the other limbs, moving toward an integration of the corporeal and the intellectual—all the while achieving so many of the benefits we all experience through the practice of Iyengar Yoga: reduced stress and anxiety, improved concentration, balance, coordination, strength, vitality, and a quieting of the mind. Hundreds of students learning Iyengar Yoga each semester—what a concept!
A new model The system of Iyengar Yoga is well-suited to this academic environment—the art and science of yoga can be explored in this context because our method has a structure and is progressive. Students come to appreciate that they can improve on many of the physical and mental levels of yoga practice because of a regular engagement with the postures, breathing techniques, and focusing the mind.
Considering the differences found between the studio setting and this academic one, the many positive results of the combination of a method that is systematic and progressive with the requirements of the university produce an approach that could actually benefit teaching in the studio as well.
The differences in the student body between the private studio and the university setting are notable. By and large, students at the university are younger, though many are returning students, including veterans. They come from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and sexual orientation backgrounds, and the range in ability is great: We can have athletes and students stiff from sitting all day in the same class. Teaching yoga to this diverse population is a testing ground for how material is presented and what it takes to be a competent teacher in a large group (classes range from 25–34 students per section) with so many variables.
Students who start yoga in the studio tend to be more mature, and they arrive with an interest in yoga that may predispose them to focusing and benefitting from the practices faster; however, both populations come to yoga with preconceptions. People seeking out yoga in a studio setting may have ideas about what yoga is, based on prior experience, so expectations can be in place that need to be examined and possibly released. University students may have chosen this class to fulfill their arts GER requirement and may have a vague idea or curiosity about yoga, but many were not necessarily seeking out a yoga class with the same intention as a person signing up for a series in a studio.
Because students are taking the class for credit, they are much less likely to stop showing up or drop the class—which is easier to do in a studio. “They can’t just walk away if they are having a hard time,” says instructor Sara Arends Haggith (CIYT). “Something may come up in their lives—at the end of the semester, for example, but in a university course, there’s more at stake; students can’t just stop coming.” Arends Haggith says it’s great to see people work through difficult times and use yoga to transform themselves. Students overcome obstacles in the context of the class that carry over to other areas of their lives.
Curricular guidelines and criteria (such as the GER outcomes noted earlier) and federal regulations such as Title IX and the ADA require that we accept all students into these classes.
While these added challenges can be difficult to navigate, especially in times when budgets in public higher education continue to be reduced, working with campus support services can produce positive outcomes that offer even greater opportunities for learning and growth. For example, the semesters when deaf students and their interpreters were present brought an added experience of inclusivity to the class, as well as improvements in my teaching. I could see if those students were getting what we were doing and what I was describing—this experience helped me fine tune my descriptions and language.
According to instructor Alex Hansen (CIYT), “Because we are bound by the rules of a public university, including Title IX and nondiscriminatory policies, there are checks and balances that require us to continue making Iyengar Yoga more accessible— just like we do in a public institution and less like a private studio or corporation.”
Teaching methodologies change in this setting. University-based Iyengar Yoga classes are faster paced—we don’t use as much time for demonstrations and students spend more time in motion, integrating actions from pose to pose. “[We] are less rigid in our methodology, but you still feel the difference and know it’s an Iyengar Yoga class,” says Tracey Radloff (CIYT Intermediate Junior I). “The intention is the same. The focus is there.”
Surya Namaskarasana is safer when you understand the actions of the poses you are doing—and it’s a good way to liven up a sometimes sleepy group. Energy and humor is a requirement to teach in this setting. “We can hold them to high standards—we are specific in our instruction and systematic in our sequencing—and, we can do this with a sense of humor,” says Arends Haggith, who also teaches an Iyengar Yoga class at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Onward We have something special at UWM that has proven effective: the anecdotal data from the majority of the self-study papers reflect that this class has had a positive impact on the lives of the students. In fact, many students note that they feel the course would benefit everyone on campus—that it could be a required course for all students—and the benefits to students and the campus community, indeed the community beyond the university, would multiply. Students often comment that the secular ethics of the yamas and niyamas are an important Given the stability of the curriculum and how the program has grown at UWM (we also offer lunchtime classes to university employees), we may actually be in a position to offer more yoga in different configurations in the university setting than what is offered in traditional studio environments. Expanding the Iyengar Yoga community to include more people of all ages and from all backgrounds could be fostered by the all-access approach we strive to accommodate in university classes.
“The potential for more interdisciplinary connections in higher education between yoga and other schools or departments— philosophy, comparative religions, public health, kinesiology— could be developed further,” says Lilly, “Getting more yoga into the university setting requires people who will advocate for it. As time goes on, it’s possible that faculty in other [academic] areas who become teachers could be more engaged in crossdisciplinary opportunities; the question is how to coordinate those initiatives.”
Many students entering today’s university setting face myriad individual and social challenges, adapting to a life far flung from the support network of family and childhood friends. While modern technology can help them stay in touch, it can also lead to isolation, a lack of interaction with others, and even a marked decrease in compassionate behavior. Students participating in the yoga program at UWM have remarked that their practice has helped them find a path toward alleviating stress and enhancing their resilience. The fact that hundreds of students each semester are learning techniques to improve their overall health and well-being, while at the same time developing their ability to be kinder to other people, is a gift. Like all gifts, it increases in power as it creates a ripple effect throughout each circle it touches—students, campus, and the community at large.
I hope our work at UWM, outside of the traditional studio setting, will benefit the broader yoga community by encouraging Iyengar Yoga teachers to explore the many ways we can deliver these valuable teachings, enabling the transformative power of yoga to reach the greatest number of people.
