Lighting the Way LAURIE BLAKENEY RECEIVES LIGHTING THE WAY AWARD BY ANNE-MARIE SCHULTZ Laurie Blakeney received the Lighting the Way award for distinguished volunteer service to the national Iyengar Yoga community. John Schumacher presented her with the award, calling her “a madcap for service.” After learning that Laurie received the award, the banquet hall at the 2019 National Convention in Dallas filled with thunderous applause. Laurie acknowledged that she was, indeed, a bit crazy for volunteering as much as she does. But she then told the audience why she does it. When Laurie was 18 or 19, she and a friend took a long road trip from Michigan to California. On the way, they stayed with her grandmother, who told them, “You girls don’t know how to have any fun. Trust me on this. You don’t have any fun in life unless you volunteer.” So, Laurie went home and started volunteering. Laurie ended her acceptance remarks by exhorting each of us to get involved. If we can find a way to volunteer at the local, regional, or national level, she said, “this huge family would have a lot more fun.” Laurie holds an Advanced Level Teaching Certificate granted to her by B.K.S. Iyengar. She began her study of Iyengar Yoga in 1971 and began making annual trips to study with the Iyengar family in 1983. She is the director of the Ann Arbor School of Yoga. She teaches a full schedule of weekly classes in Ann Arbor where she touches the lives of hundreds of students. She also teaches workshops nationally and internationally.
Laurie’s service to the national Iyengar Yoga community is much like her long, uninterrupted, dedicated practice itself. David Carpenter, president of IYNAUS, describes Laurie in this way: “Laurie has been my teacher, my mentor, my board colleague, and my friend. In all these roles, she has displayed grace, humor, tenacity, warmth, thoughtfulness, imagination, steely discipline, managerial acumen, generosity, poetic gifts, courage, integrity, and above all else, unflagging devotion and dedication to Iyengar Yoga and to IYNAUS. This has made her a uniquely effective member of our community who truly has lit the way for all of us.” Laurie’s service to the national Iyengar Yoga community is much like her long, uninterrupted, dedicated practice itself. One colleague who nominated her for the award offers this Yoga Samachar Spring | Summer 2019
Laurie Blakeney wins the 2019 Lighting the Way award. Photo: IYNAUS Social Media
description of Laurie: “She is an excellent ambassador for our community. This award is well-deserved. Laurie has done so much volunteer work for our community and does it in such a low-key, practical manner that it seems to go unnoticed.” Another colleague notes, “Laurie is serving her second term as Certification Chair. She has transformed how this committee works, making it more efficient. In the process, she has saved IYNAUS many dollars. Her reorganization of the committee will pay dividends for many years to come.” David Carpenter affirms the value of her work in this capacity: “She worked tirelessly to establish a radically new and more efficient structure for our certification committee and has managed our assessment system with grace and aplomb.” In addition to her invaluable service as Certification Chair, Laurie also served on the Curriculum Committee for four national conventions. She has a gift for organization! Laurie chaired the first regional conference held in Chicago in September 2011. This event was co-sponsored by the Iyengar Yoga Association of the Midwest and IYNAUS. Laurie was the first president of the Iyengar Yoga Association of the Midwest. In that role, she inaugurated the popular annual retreats that the Midwest association holds each fall. She also started the region’s practice of providing scholarships for study in Pune and elsewhere. The communal spirit of the Midwest Region 43
