Lighting the Way: Laurie Blakeney Anne-Marie Schultz

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

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

When mentoring me, she comes to my level. With a compassionate disposition, her critiques act like a surgical knife with intentions to cure.

is palpable and inspiring. It provides a concrete model for other regions to follow as they work to spread the teachings of Iyengar Yoga.

Here’s what some of her devoted students have to say about Laurie:

“Laurie teaches yoga—not just asana and pranayama—and not just for on the mat. I have learned from her countless ways to observe myself and participate in life in a different and more fearless way through practice. She challenges her students, making us ask more questions, instead of just giving ‘the answer.’ Playful and insightful, direct and inquisitive, she clearly remains a student humbled by practice and guides us well to do the same.” —Jennie Williford (CIYT Intermediate Junior III)

“Lucky stars guided me to tutelage with Laurie Blakeney. As a classroom teacher, she has shed light on my blind spots. My habitual patterns have been brought to a keener sensitivity. When mentoring me, she comes to my level. With a compassionate disposition, her critiques act like a surgical knife with intentions to cure.

“Her concerted and heartfelt efforts to help guide students are boundless. I am forever grateful to her and the teachers in this organization who strive to impart organic growth in their students and communities.” —Patrina Dobish (CIYT Intermediate Junior II)

“Laurie teaches me with words, with silence, with touch, by her stoicism, and by her life of service. She teaches me with the glance of her eyes and the timbre of her voice. Knowing her is one of the great blessings of my life.” —Kathy Leech “Laurie is an utterly clear thinker with high personal integrity and tremendous strength of will. In her teaching, as a result, we get the benefit of perfect clarity, brevity, observation, and intuition. Relevant to our recent discussions on ‘Punestyle’ teaching, she is able to make us ‘do’ a lot in class, with us hardly noticing, just by getting to the critical point and not fussing. As a mentor, she demands a lot, as she should, delivers feedback calmly, and gives generously with her time if you are ready to work.” —David Larsen (CIYT Intermediate Junior I)

“I first knew her as a teacher who made me confront my feet and ankles, who always made yoga fresh and fun, and who created amazing lightness in my mind and body. When I had the audacious idea of trying to be a teacher, she was a gentle taskmaster who made me speak in two-word sentences and then pause and observe. She also would always talk with me and answer my questions.” —David Carpenter (CIYT Intermediate Junior I)

“I am privileged to come to know Laurie as my teacher and to experience the richness, depth, and intelligence in her teachings. It’s not surprising that it is hard to express the big ideas and feelings I have in just a few words. For more than 20 years, her teaching has drawn me into my relationship with yoga. I see in her teaching—which is always fresh and alive, often witty and infused with philosophy and stories—her own growth and learning. She is an amazing teacher, and I find her ‘yogic voice’ inside of me breathing yoga meaning into my daily life. —Marcia Healey

“I have been studying with Laurie on a regular basis since 2005. She has mentored me through my five assessments. There are not adequate words to express my gratitude for Laurie! She is completely devoted to living a life interwoven with yogic principles and continues to be my inspiration to try to do the same in my life. I am eternally grateful for her practice, her teaching, and most of all, her joyful soul.” —Aaron Fleming (CIYT Intermediate Junior III)

“Laurie inspires me to go beyond what I think I am capable of on a daily basis (both in yoga and in my daily life). She has been a guiding light for me both in and out of yoga class. Because of her knowledge and wisdom, I feel like I continue to grow in my yoga practice, in my spirituality, and in my understanding of myself.

“Laurie is not only a dedicated teacher and mentor to her students, but she is a pillar of support to the ongoing education of yoga teachers in the Iyengar Yoga method. She epitomizes the integrity of Iyengar Yoga as she encourages students to dive deeper into the philosophy and meaning of yoga. Her service to the Iyengar Yoga community (nationally, regionally, and locally) is truly admirable.” —Rebecca Lindsey (CIYT Intermediate Junior I)

“When I decided to move from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Detroit in 2013, I was thrilled to be within short driving distance to Laurie. What a privilege to be able to regularly partake in the depth of her teaching and mentoring! Every class, I leave with something to contemplate, try again at home, and deepen my practice. She was especially astute and generous in helping me prepare for my Intermediate Senior assessment, as we explored what it meant to offer penetrating, engaged, and refined teaching. She has a great love for Detroit, which is only 45 miles away from Ann Arbor, but culturally, economically, and racially, a world apart. She goes out of her way to support us, our developing teachers, and our growing communities. She has even been present to help us work through the stresses and conflicts that inevitably arise. Laurie has indeed been lighting the way for so many of us locally and beyond, for decades, by shining her strong, steady light in endlessly creative ways, sharing the vast field of Iyengar Yoga with all of us.” —hong gwi-seok (Peggy) (CIYT Intermediate Senior I)

Anne-Marie Schultz (CIYT Intermediate Junior II) is the outgoing publications chair of IYNAUS. Laurie is her mentor.

Congratulations to all the newly certified and upgraded Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers (CIYTs). The IYNAUS Certification program acknowledges the hard work and discipline of all our CIYTs and their personal ongoing development in the art of teaching and practicing Iyengar Yoga. Well done!

ADVANCED JUNIOR I

Rebecca Lerner

INTERMEDIATE SENIOR II

Peggy Kelley

INTERMEDIATE SENIOR I

Shelley Choy Christine Havener Peggy Kwisuk Hong Craig Kurtz Aretha McKinney Blevins Manju Vachher

INTERMEDIATE JUNIOR III

Suzana Alilovic-Schuster Claire Carroll Waraporn N. Cayeiro Jennifer Edwards Barbara Fabbri Tonya Garreaud Rosa Lopez Santana Ann McDermott-Kave Larissa McGoldrick Mary Pappas-Sandonas Kelly Marie Sobanski Jennie Williford

INTERMEDIATE JUNIOR II

Vanessa B. Bacher Yvonne Caro Caro Gwendolyn Derk Rachel Frazee Donna Marie Furmanek Jeanne Kennedy Keri Lee JR Lill Randy Loftis Amy Van Mui Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel Inge Mula MyllerupBrookhuis Sheryl Nigro Kathleen Quinn Pauline Schloesser Dmitri Shapira Carlyn Sikes Richard Weinapple Nuvana Zarthoshtimanesh

INTERMEDIATE JUNIOR I

Nil Akin Pamela Anderson Kim Bagnoli Deborah Baker Kirsten Brooks Maria Izabel Carsalade Karen Chandler Yoon Cho Tanya JP Coert Leah DiQuollo Sonia Dovedy Dana Hanizeski Santiago Fernando Hernandez Jacqueline Gerson Neta Katz Kristen Ann Kepnick Nancy Marcy Xinzhen W. McMinn Jessica Miller Marjorie Minkler Christine Miyachi Beth Nelson Karuna Nicols Kathryn Olson Liat Philipson Michael Romero Birgit Scharrer Reimer Jonathan Troen Sarah Tuttle Josh Warren Tom Hess Chen-Chi Yeh

INTRODUCTORY I & II

Dewey Ambrosino Natalie Ashker Candis Berens Emanuela Bohnert-Rohde Mary Ruth Bradford Reagan Breen Tora Bueno Dalia Cabral Florence Cabre-Andrews Daniel Coogan Betty Courtney Héloïse Darcq Evelyn McGee DeLiso Rezeda Dow Natalia Ferrer Lorraine Finkel-Lopez Leah Greenberg Flaks Mary Folger Elizabeth Franzen Hilary Friedman Santhosh Kumar Gajendran Ned Gardiner Dina Georgoulis Sage Harrington Joanna A Haszek Porter Wyatt Henderson Victoria Campbell Hill Hui Hu Avery J Kalapa Sharib Khan Magdalene Khoo Annette Masters King Srivarada Kota Katherine W. Krems Lee Lahla Melissa Lam Sandra Lamerson Weimao Li Vrnda Leier Katherine Lotspeich Rose M Honda Dany Margolies Tolkyn Y. Martin Jolanda Messmann Valerie Moreno Caron Maso Murray Akemi Nagahara Janet Moon O'Brien Anne Philipsborn Naomi Rabinowitz Wei Hsi Riefler Nivine Rophael Sabrina Evans Schmidt Mariana Scotti Dian J. Seidel Alyssa Sikora Pamela Z Starcher Cynthia Stites Melisa Sweet Maggie Taylor Ashley M Tetu Katherine Liza Toft Stacie Truitt-Rasmusen Laura Webb Tymas Melissa Carol Vallone Catharine M. Vaucher Meg Walsh-Sinkel Kimberly Weeks Stephanie L. Weisenberg Grushenka Wolfgang Supin Wongbusarakum Sarah Woods