Volume 15, Issue 3, September - December 2008
IYASE Iyengar Yoga Association: Southeast president’s letter
don't forget to
renew your Membership in iyase & iynaus General members can renew on our website or send in the form on the last page of the newsletter Certified teachers need to renew through IYNUAS. Email the membership chair with any questions.
Iyengar New England Regional Conference October 16 - 18 Providence, Rhode Island http://iyengarnewengland.com/
future articles If you have information that you would like to be included in future IYASE newsletters, please send an E-mail to Joe Adlesic, Newsletter Chair, at: newsletter@iyase.org (Next deadline: March 1, 2008).
December and January seem to bring with them a current of inward-turning energy as the daylight shortens and the sun’s warmth feels more and more distant. And this may be especially true this year, due to the world-wide recession, as experts have pronounced we are officially in, at least in the US. We may all feel a natural leaning towards lessening our outward efforts and expenditure of money and energy. But the turning inward is also a redirection of a different sort, towards a celebration of family and friends. We hopefully look forward to getting together with them during the holidays, to celebrate connections that are refreshing and invigorating. We have given thanks during the harvest of November, and now we can also give thanks for a time of rest and reconnection with family. Hopefully it is also a time of renewal. For IYASE it is also the end of the year, and of the participation of three members of our board, myself, Nancy Mau and Shaaron Honeycutt. And the election of three new board members. On behalf of the entire board, I want to thank Nancy, who served as president in 2007, and before that as treasurer, whose guidance and energy and clear thought helped the entire board stay focused on its commitment to being a helpful and productive board to our region’s members. And thank you to Shaaron, who brought vision and energy to our website--one of the most effective and important tools we have to remain connected with our fellow members in a time of rapid changes and little discretionary time. We welcome three new board members, Margaret Carr, from West Virginia, Becky Lloyd, from New Orleans, and Diana Martinez, from Virginia. Susan Marcus, from Florida, will be an alternate, in the case that any other member due unforeseen circumstances should be unable to complete their term. Many thanks to all who were willing to run, including Kquvien DeWeese, Aretha McKinney and Jean Riley. Although we were only able to fill in three positions for 2009, there will be two more to fill in 2010. It is now time to renew your membership in IYASE! It is important to renew in a timely fashion to remain a member in ‘good standing’ with IYNAUS, and renewal with IYASE includes renewal with IYNAUS. If you are planning to apply for an assessment this year, it is especially important to renew membership in January. If you are a Teacher in Training or a certified teacher, then renewal is only directly through IYNAUS, but also includes renewal of your membership with IYASE, as long as you designate IYASE as your choice of region. I have enjoyed serving on the board of the IYASE, and give thanks for being able to contribute in a small way to the family of yoga practitioners and teachers in IYASE, and especially for the honor of working with the energetic, kind and dedicated members of our board. Wishing all of you peace and blessings in 2009, Siegfried. n
ASANA COLUMN Submitted by Colleen Gallagher (Ruth Ann Bradley, model)
The focus of this asana column is a little different than past columns. It is centered on what happened to me when my asana practice was challenged. Every experience we have is part of our spiritual path and the exploration for self has high and low moments. At times we can be blind sided on our path but I now know through experience that these can be our deepest and most transformative moments. I have been practicing the Iyengar method since 1986. I started with an injured, stiff body but had an unbridled enthusiasm and thought yoga was fun and interesting. These qualities spilled over into my teaching. I worked hard for many years, went to numerous workshops and have great respect and gratitude for my teachers. I climbed the ladder of assessment and eventually was certified Junior Intermediate 3. Yet instead of basking in my success, I began to fall into a real low. I somehow felt like I had lost my own voice in my teaching. And even though I continued to practice, the joy, excitement and fulfillment I once felt was no longer there. I began to question—“Why am I doing this? Do I just look at the next syllabus and keep on this path? What do I do now?” For about a year I floated in this state. It all came to a head when my father died after a long, painful battle with cancer. One week later I hosted an assessment at the studio, and the week after that I flew to India for a month of study at the Iyengar Institute. I was totally stressed out, grieving for my father, and very tired. After my return from India, I started to occasionally feel discomfort in my back. But, it was nothing lasting and I just blamed age or figured I needed a new mattress. Until one morning, at a week long workshop, I awoke in tremendous pain. I spent the rest of the week practicing therapeutic poses. When I returned home the pain worsened. I tried chiropractics, acupuncture and massage but nothing helped. I finally went to an orthopedic surgeon and was misdiagnosed with a herniated disc. It wasn’t until I could not longer sit, drive, or do yoga that I demanded an MRI. Within hours of the MRI, I was sitting in an infectious disease doctor’s office where I was told that a bacterial infection had settled in my lumbar spine. It had been eating away at my spine for several months before it was detected. The doctor immediately put me in the hospital. I had numerous blood tests and a spinal biopsy, but the specific straing of infection would never be identified. The official diagnosis was osteoitis and discitis of L4 and L5. The infection left my lumbar spine in such a weakened state that the discs had no support, causing excruciating pain.
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My treatment was intravenous antibiotics for 8 weeks. A pic (thin tube) was inserted in my upper right arm, and snaked across the inside of my chest to my heart. Every morning for 90 minutes I would feed the tube with antibiotics. I had strict instruction not to raise my arm over my head nor put any weight on my arm. My spirits sunk very low. I lay on my yoga room floor looking up at the ceiling, the pain so intense I could barely bring my knee into my chest. My shoulders and neck ached because I could no longer stretch my arms overhead. I felt betrayed by my body and by yoga. I was in a dark mood. While thoroughly feeling sorry for myself, I could hear NPR on the radio in the next room. The commentator was interviewing a man who was a psychologist, author, and had been a quadriplegic since his early 30’s and is now in his mid 50’s. The host explained that Daniel Gottlieb no longer responded to antibiotics, drugs necessary to treat the urinary tract infections frequent in cases of paralyses. With no way to keep the infection at bay he essentially was dying. The commentator asked the doctor how it felt to have his body fail him. Dr. Gottlieb replied that he does not view it as his body failing him but rather that it was tired. He had given his body such a hard life and he is grateful for how well it served him and that he loved his body! His response was a pivotal moment for me and how I viewed my situation. I began to reflect on what my body has given me: in the many hours of yoga it has flexed and stretched, twisted and inverted. My body had served me well. Through the mechanics, I had forgotten that the purpose of yoga is to build an inner strength to carry you in hard times. I realized that I was too attached to the asana practice I used to have. Mr. Iyengar’s main teaching has been not to do for the sake of doing, but, to mindfully explore and do to learn. I went back to Patanjali’s yoga sutras, to the 2nd book the 1st verse, where tapas is discussed. In one translation I read that tapas is accepting pain as help for purification. It goes on to say tapas helps uncover hidden shortcomings by forcing them to surface in the conscious mind. Taken with right understanding, suffering can bring forth the effort to overcome limitations. It also stimulates introspection and inspires creativity. I did have renewed inspiration and saw each pose in a new creative light. I began to see that as difficult as this illness was, it was a blessing. In letting go of what used to be, as strange as that seems since I really could not move, came a state of deep satisfaction, serenity and freedom.
IYASE
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The antibiotics took effect quickly and the pain went from unbearable to bearable in a few weeks but my lumbar spine still needed to harden, calcify and fuse. To complicate matters, fracturing the spine was a sobering possibility if I was not careful. (I was lucky I had not already). My army of doctors warned that the healing process could take 6 months to 2 years. As my spine began to heal, my definition of and my actual practice changed along with it. In the beginning I walked several miles a day, but electrifying pain prevented me bending or twisting in any direction. "What yoga COULD I do?" This is what I want to share in this article. I started with Tadasana. I would spend long periods of time feeling the bottoms of my feet, activating my quadriceps. With a brick between my legs, lifting the inner thighs, drawing the shoulder blades into my back. I began to note the need to create a resistance in the front of the body in order not to feel pain in the spine. I discovered I could spread my legs and arms in a “T” in Uhitta Hasta Padasana (photo 1). How wonderfully open my chest felt. The external rotation of my leg in Parsava Hasta Padasana the first time was as much of a challenge as any advanced pose used to be for me. Using my feet and legs again not only brought great relief to my back and shoulders, I regained my self confidence and relaxed the grip of fear of losing control and facing my immortality. In the past I did not give this stage of the asana much thought as I moved into the completed pose. But now….this was my practice! My appreciation for Geeta Iyengar soared, for recognizing these positions as poses and naming them all. Once my eyes were opened as to how effective this stage of the pose was, I began to explore the seated poses. I placed height under my buttocks to sit in Bhardvajarsana 1 (photo 2). From there I’d reach behind my back and grab the opposite elbow with one hand. I’d lift the chest, roll my shoulders back and look over my shoulder all the while imagining (even though not physically) twisting my spine. Then I would look over my other shoulder. I would do the same actions in Bhardvajasana 2 on both sides. Starting in Dandasana using the downward actions of my legs to extend the spine I would lift my sides and imagine my arms extending the side ribs. I would also grab my elbows in this pose too. I brought these actions into Trianga Mukhaikapada Paschimottansana, Janu Sirsasana, Ardha Bandha Padma Paschimottanasana (photos 3, 4 & 5), and Paschimottanasana. With time I practiced all the poses on one side and then the other ending with Upavistha Konasana then Padmasana. When the pic was removed from my arm, I continued
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with each of these poses, but joyfully added extending my arms in Urdhva Hastasana, Baddhangullyasana, Urdhva Namaskarasanan and Gomukhasana. As the healing continued, I found that I greatly missed back bends and shoulder stand. I developed modified (greatly modified) versions of these asana. I started experimenting with Virasana (photo 6) sitting on a brick. I focused on pressing my feet and shins into the floor; I placed my hands onto bricks, arching my thoracic spine, extending the chin up, my head dropped back, and in my minds eye I was in ustrasana. To replicate shoulder stand, I would stay in virasana bring my arms behind my back and clasp my hands in Baddha Mani Bandha, bring the chin to my chest lift the chest to the chin. As small as these movements were, the relief in the neck and shoulders was tremendous. I would stay for some time in each pose and from this, another benefit arose. It gave me time to reflect on my next step. An example: to twist in Bhardvajarasana, I began to contemplate rotating just my shoulders. The first few tries were not successful. After some time I discovered if I drew the abs back and up this stabilized the lumbar, kept the hip down and I could do an upper body twist without pain. This led me to understand that I needed to tone my abs much more to support my spine. I also learned to think outside the box. Certain poses that were easy in the past just eluded me. One of them was Supta Virasana. Early on, working with the brick between my thighs, I saw the relationship between the inner thighs, lumbar, and abs. With this in mind I would open my legs wide, extended my inner thighs (as in baddha konasana) and then proceed to recline on the bolster behind me. No pain when I did it this way. For a while I just did that. With time I would slowly, slowly, bring my legs back together again, keeping the extension of the inner thighs. It worked for me and was a step on my path to doing back bends again. Pain, patience, years of study, and intuition became my guides to re-learning yoga poses. My practice is fresh and meaningful again. I realized I had been working so hard for certification that I had been practicing and teaching from the head rather than the heart. In the book Light on Life, Mr. Iyengar writes that practice from the head makes you feel heavy and practice from the heart makes you feel light. I feel light once again. Colleen Gallagher is a Jr Inter III certified teacher. She teaches at YogaSol in Delray Beach, FL. n
Iyengar Yoga Association: Southeast NEWS
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SUTRA COLUMN THE Dream of dreams Submitted By Karin O’Bannon In the Bhagavadgita Krishna councils Arjuna: The Veda's concern is with the three guna-s. Be without the three guna-s, O Arjuna, freed from duality, ever firm in purity, independent of possessions, possessed of the Self. (Chapter II Verse 45)
to struggle and look for something outside the self. Divine Realization is Self Realization. When we let go the struggle to be separate and apart from all of nature we allow our true nature to emerge. It is the quality of godliness and we unite with God.
In the Yoga Sutras II/18 and II/19 Patanjali explains the guna-s: prakasa kriya sthiti silam bhutendriyatmakam bhogapavargartham drsyam
I/41 ksinavrtteh abhijatasya iva maneh grahitr grahana grahyesu tatstha tadanjanata samapattih The yogi realizes that the knower
Nature, its three qualities, sattva, rajas and tamas, and its evolutes, the elements, mind, senses of perception and organs of action, exist externally to serve the seer, for enjoyment or emancipation.
There is a God within my heart The wise say He only watches But in dream, He sings a song.
visesa avisesa lingamatra alingani gunaparvani Karin O’Bannon is a long time and devoted student of Iyengar Yoga. She now resides in Shreveport LA where she continues to teach yoga. n
In the dream state we are almost beyond the taint of the guna-s. Their gross effect is lifted and the phantoms of our mind are directed only by the guna-s' subtle effects. We dream of an unknown lover and feel an intensity of love never known by the daytime mind and heart that think and feel within their restrictions. In dreamless sleep we go to God. We surrender our bodies, minds, and hearts and move beyond the guna-s to abide within the One. This is why Patanjali councils us to meditate on nidra. I/38 svapna nidra jnana alambanam va Or by recollecting and contemplating the experience of dreamfilled or dreamless sleep during a watchful, waking state. It is the natural ability of all animals to find rest within the self. To close the eyes; to let go the sense of the body and its pains; to expand the mind beyond its limits of concerns and doubts, and drift into sleep. The human animal has the capacity to learn from this experience and to realize that samadhi is also our natural ability. We do not have
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2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The gunas generate their characteristic divisions and energies in the seer. Their stages are distinguishable nondistinguishable, differentiable and non-differentiable.
President: Joe Adlesic president@iyase.org Vice President/Website: Cher Columbus vicepresident@iyase.org Treasurer: Ruth Ann Bradley treasurer@iyase.org Secretary: Becky Lloyd secretary@iyase.org Membership: Alex Cleveland membership@iyase.org Newsletter: Lori Lipton newsletter@iyase.org Teacher Training: Tedrah Smothers teachertraining@iyase.org Scholarship: Joe Adlesic scholarship@iyase.org Additional Members: Margaret Carr Diana Martinez
IYASE
Teacher Training with Karin O'Bannon — Submitted By Diana Marinez
“Yoga is a subject which has to be taught with full love, devotion and proper communication.” ~ B.K.S. Iyengar The first time I met Karin O’Bannon was in 2006 when I was taking the introductory assessment. I was already very nervous coming in and just knowing that Karin was my assessor added to my anxiety. My nervousness immediately dissipated when just after the demonstrated practice of the assessment, Karin’s eyes met mine and she gave a big smile that radiated to her piercing baby blues. She made me feel immediately calm. At that moment I said to myself, “One day I want to take classes with her.”
pranayama and answered questions on the practice. On Friday evening, Karin taught a two-hour intermediate class which was open to the studio’s regular students. We had the opportunity to observe her teaching skills and the corrections she made on the students according to their ability.
training host, provided valuable information trough out the workshop. Trying to express with words the experience of learning with Karin is difficult. One has to be present to experience her dynamism, her sincere caring, her weaving of stories, and her devote love for yoga.
A question was asked about Virabhadrasana I, and before Karin addressed the question, she told us the story of Virabhadra. Karin has a special gift as a story teller.
I am thankful to Karin for sharing her wealth of knowledge and for teaching me how to become a better student and thus a better teacher.
In 2007 this opportunity came. The IYASE was offering the first Junior Intermediate teacher training with Karin. After this first experience I was ready for more of her teaching. So, I decided to take the teacher training this year in Atlanta, Ga.
On Saturday and Sunday Karin covered a lot of material on pranayama, anatomy and yoga philosophy of the Junior Intermediate syllabi. There were segments for Q & A and Karin gave us two assignments on asana and philosophy. These assignments are helping me tremendously on study methods for the next syllabi.
The workshop started on Friday afternoon and ended on Sunday at noon. On Friday afternoon after introductions, Karin guided us on
Kathleen Pringle, the IYNAUS Certification Coordinator and teacher
Iyengar Yoga Association: Southeast NEWS
I am glad I met Karin in 2006. My intentions are to continue to take classes with her as long as she continues teaching. n
IYASE Sponsored Introductory Teacher Training Lou Hoyt & Judi Rice Memphis, TN • March 27-29, 2009
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STUDIO SPOTLIGHT
The Iyengar Yoga Association: Southeast, made up of twelve states and the District of Columbia, includes many long-standing teachers and studios with vibrant communities of Iyengar yoga practitioners. This newsletter features one of our region's most experienced teachers along with information about how he got started and his current offerings.
Unity Woods: Washington dC When I began teaching under the name Unity Woods Yoga Center in the winter of 1979, I had just finished over a year of wandering around the country in a converted school bus I had been living in for five years. Following my return from the bus tour, I felt that I had reached a place in my life where I needed to settle down and focus my energy and attention. After nine years of yoga practice, six years of teaching, and much soul searching about what was important, I decided to dedicate my life to the practice and teaching of yoga.
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As a result of that decision, shortly after my return I purchased a 48 acre wooded property between Thurmont and Frederick, Maryland. My intention was to open a residential center modeled a bit on the Feathered Pipe Ranch. One of the first things I did as I embarked on what was now both a mission and a career was to come up with a name. The word yoga, derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, means yoke or union. Of course, I wanted the name to relate to yoga in some way. The property in Thurmont, was primarily wooded. Hence the name: Unity Woods. Another thing I did right from the start was to publish the newsletter. There were maybe a couple of hundred newsletters. Now we print about 6,000 of them and mail over 4,000 to nearly every state in the union and every continent except the Arctic and Antarctic. Another 3000 people receive their newsletters on line. For the next six years, I taught classes and built up the number of students and the level of their practice. A couple of pupils, Liz Marks and Stan Andrzejewski, emerged from the ranks of my most dedicated and accomplished students, and I set up classes for them to teach. That was the teaching staff when Unity Woods opened its first fulltime studio at Triangle Towers in Bethesda, MD in 1985. We had about three hundred students. In January 1986, one year after I opened the Bethesda studio, my house in Thurmont burned to the ground. I moved into Bethesda, where the studio was located. As it turned out, I never returned to Thurmont. The numbers of students and teachers in Bethesda grew, several satellite classes began, and in 1991, we opened the Woodley Park studio in downtown DC. In 1996, the Arlington, VA studio opened. The demands of the three centers, coupled with logistical problems with the Thurmont property, caused me to postpone and eventually abandon the plans for a center there. It’s funny. Even to this day, people come to one of Unity Woods’ fulltime centers, all of which are in urban areas, and say, "Where are the woods?" As yoga took hold in mainstream America during the 90’s, Unity Woods was one of the centers that led the yoga boom. We grew exponentially to become the largest Iyengar Yoga Center in the country with over two thousand students attending classes weekly.
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IYASE
2009 WORKSHOPS Feb. 9 - 21
John Schumacher & Barbara Benagh 26th Annual Yoga Vacation Negril, Jamaica (617) 566-1489 or info@yogastudio.org
Feb. 21
Dr. Satish Telegar Susquehanna Yoga & Meditation, Timonium, MD (410) 308-9950 or syogastudio@gmail.com
Feb. 27 - Mar 1 Karin O'Bannon Audubon Yoga Studio, New Orleans, LA (504) 821-9885 or beckyoga@yahoo.com
I am proud of what Unity Woods has become over the past 30 years But what I am most proud of is the truly remarkable and outstanding group of 18 teachers and the superb administrative staff who have joined together to apply their considerable talents and energies toward Unity Woods’ purpose of offering the profound benefits of yoga to the greater Washington community. Of course, I have to acknowledge our tremendous gratitude, love, and respect for the source of our inspiration, B.K.S. Iyengar and his daughter, Geeta, and son, Prashant. Their intense devotion to yoga and their unswerving dedication to their teaching have provided us, directly and indirectly, with the unshakeable foundation and example upon which Unity Woods has been built. And finally, without the students of Unity Woods none of this would be possible. For in the end, if there is no student, there is no teacher. Their participation and support over all these years have encouraged us and challenged us. It is because of them and for them that Unity Woods has persevered and prospered for the past thirty years. n
March 20 - 22
Gloria Goldberg YogaSol, Delray Beach, FL (561) 272-8699 or info@yogasol.com
March 21 - 22
Sharon Conroy Tallahassee FL (850) 224-9751 or juliadehoff@yahoo.com
March 26
John Schumacher Something Yoga, Boca Raton, FL (561) 338-2612 or martiscloset@prodigy.net
March 27 - 29
John Schumacher: Yoga Rosa, Hallandale Beach, FL (945) 456-6077 or yogarosa@msn.com
March 27 - 29
IYASE Sponsored Introductory Teacher Training with Lou Hoyt & Judi Rice Memphis, TN (945) 456-6077 or yogarosa@msn.com
April 3 - 5
Joan White Postures, Naples, FL (239) 566-9642 or info@postures.com
April 3 - 5
Chris Saudek Audubon Yoga Studio, New Orleans, LA (504) 821-9885 or beckyoga@yahoo.com
April 10 - 12
Lois Steinberg Mainstreet Yoga, Alpharetta, GA (678) 297-1229 or lyndasyoga@hotmail.com
April 17 - 19
Sharon Conroy & Colleen Gallagher Jr. Intermediate I Teacher Training Delray Beach, FL (850) 502-1104 or Sharon@GreatWhiteHeron.net
April 24 - 26
John Schumacher: Weekend yoga retreat for intermediate students (level II and above) Serendipity, Berkeley Springs, WV (301) 656-8992, x118 or linda@unitywoods.com
May 22 - 26
Stephanie Quirk (for teachers only) Postures, Naples, FL (239) 566-9642 or info@postures.com
May 29 - 31
Dean Lerner Susquehanna Yoga & Meditation, Timonium, MD (410) 308-9950 or syogastudio@gmail.com
If you have additional workshops that you would like included in future IYASE newsletters, please submit them through our online workshop submission form on www.iyase.org
Iyengar Yoga Association: Southeast NEWS
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IYASE
Thanks to Joanne Boccassini for submitting these photos of the celebration
GURUJI's 90 th birthday celebration in india
Iyengar Yoga Association: Southeast NEWS
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C/O Lori Lipton, 4201 Wilson Blvd, #110-601, Arlington, VA 22203-1859
www.iyase.org Our website, www.iyase.org, contains valuable info about our members. Certified teachers are listed by state. There are links to the National Association and Mr. Iyengar’s website. If you have any requests or suggestions, send them to: web@iyase.org.
2009 membership registration form Please Circle One:
New Member / Renewal
Name_ _______________________________________________________________ Please Check All That Apply: Annual membership to IYASE and IYNAUS
Annual subscription to Yoga Rahasya from India
I’m adding a donation of: to IYASE Lotus Fellowship Fund for scholarship, props, etc.
Total Enclosed:
$60.00*
Address_______________________________________________________________
$25.00
City__________________________________________________________________
$________
$________
State________________________________Zip_______________________________
Phone_______________________________Fax_______________________________
Our membership year is January 1 - December 31, 2009. I YA S E
lotus fellowship F
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* Increased fee reflects additional benefits in response to member requests.
E-mail________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Certified teachers renew through IYNAUS, not IYASE. Please send a check made payable to IYASE with this registration form to: Lori Lipton, IYASE Membership Chair 4201 Wilson Boulevard, #110-601 Arlington, VA 22203-1859