Iyengar Yoga News - issue 2 - Autumn 2002

B.K.S. IYENGAR YOGA TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION President: Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar

www.bksiyta.co.uk

LIGHT ON YOGA ASSOCIATION (UK) Registered Charity No. 1053093

President: Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar

www.loya.ukf.net

IYENGAR YOGA NEWS - Issue No.2 - Winter 2002

Editorial Board:

Contents

Kirsten Agar Ward Editorial Ros Bell

Interview with Geetaji by Judith Jones Alan Brown

The Light on Yoga Research Trust by Kirsten Agar Ward Joe Burn

Sheershaasana a guide to pronouncing Sanskrit tenns by Sallie Sullivan Judith Jones

Savasana, the Brain and Consciousness by Joe Burn Philippe Harari

IYN Readers' Questionnaire - results summarised by Joe Burn Design: Philippe Harari Printed by MSPrint, Northampton, on paper from sustainable forests

Report from the Unity Group A Little Detachment - a personal view of the 2002 Jubilee by Alan Brown Spirituality and Iyengar Yoga by Suzanne Hasselle-Newcombe Iyengar Yoga and London - the first 50 years by Lorna Walker The Case for Modern Yoga - report on the 7th DHIIR Conf. by Joe Burn BKSIYTA and LOYA conventions Institute listings Points of View - the relationship between Iyengar practitioners and the Guru Statement on the Certification Mark by Elaine Pidgeon (BKSIYTA Chair) Astadala Yogamala Fund Report by Brigid Philip Rajiv Chanchani in Birmingham by Brian Jack Yoga Rahasya - subscription details Iyengar books/videos for sale Sheffield Convention 2002 - report by Dominic Batten LOYA(UK) - LOYA News LOYA (UK) Executive Committee Annual Report 2001/2002 Reports from Institutes

The front cover shows Geetaji teach­ ing at the Iyengar Yoga Jubifee at Crystal Palace in May

2002.

Photo: David Browne

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BKSIYTA - Teachers' Section Accreditation and Endorsement - Brain Jack Review of 'Basic Guidleines for Teachers of Yoga ' by Geetaji - Judy Smith Moderators - Alan Brown Our New Assessment Co-ordinator - Meg Laing Assessment and revalidation infonnation BKSIYTA Executive Committee Assessors and teacher training BKSIYTA EGM notification - 1st February, 2003 - London Application for classes at the RIMYI, Pune 'Website information Notices/Small ads.

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Editorial

Dear Reader, We are delighted to present to you this winter edi足 tion ofIyengar Yoga News (IYN). This magazine is printed on paper from sustainable forests (we have been advised that this is actually more ecological than using recycled paper, as it avoids the use of chemical bleaches). This edition includes the Teachers' Section that was formerly published sep足 arately; this is the first time that the LOYA and BKSIYTA magazines have been completely com足 bined (although teachers will also be receiving a copy of the updated teaching syllabus with their magazine).

There is a huge amount of material within and we recommend it all to you, but could we make a spe足 cial mention of a few items. First, there is a very important announcement from Guruji that will interest teachers as it is about the Certification Mark (p. 32). Secondly, there is a new item called 'Points of View' (p. 29); we hope that this will become a regular feature in IYN as it should help to open up debate on all sorts of issues of interest to Iyengar Yoga practitioners. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your opinions. Finally, it is usual for IYN to publish application forms for the upcoming conventions but these fom1s were not ready by the time this edition went to press. However, rest assured that there will be conventions next year (see p. 26) and you will know about them as soon as all the arrangements are finalised.

Could we take this opportunity to thank very much all those who contributed material to the magazine - IYN would, of course, not exist without your hard work.

Copy deadline for next issue:

7th April 2003 Items should be sent to: Joe Bum at joe.bum@virgin.net or else by mail to IYN clo 3 Finch Rd. Cambridge CB4 3RB (telephone 01223523410) Iyengar Yoga News No.2

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INTERVIEW WITH GEETAJI

Following Dr Geeta S. Iyengar's European Tour in April and May 2002, Judith Jones interviewed her for Iyengar Yoga News. The interview took place on 25th August 2002 in the library of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune. This is the first section of the interview and the rest will be published in future issues of IYN. eetaji, did you enjoy your first visit to the UK.?

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Geetaji: Yes, of course. It was enjoyable so I enjoyed it !

What were the most memorable moments ofyour European Tour?

Geetaji: It's a bit difficult to say memo­ rable because many ofthem (the people) I had met here in Pune. Of course, not as a big crowd at one time, but I knew people from different countries who had visited here and I know their standard of seniori­ ty. Some of the people were new to me since they had not visited Pune. Some had newly joined Iyengar Yoga so it was a mixed group. Also I have taught big groups like this (earlier). 1t was nice.

People were good and they responded well to everything, were well disciplined.

So I enjoyed it and everything is fresh in my mind still. The memory has not faded yet.

On this recent tour of Europe did you notice differences in the way Iyengar Yoga is practised in the different countries?

Geetaji: Well - it's not that they practise differently. Any art you take there is always a kind of level in the beginning.

The art like music or violin, yoga, whatev­ er you take, in the beginning it is carried in a certain way with a fixed methodology.

As understanding of the students increases ,the same topic becomes a little broader, a little deeper. It changes accordingly.

I can't say there was a difference as such.

They had basically followed basic instruc­ Iyengar Yoga News No.2

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tions which were given by Guruji to everyone. But many a time they didn't understand where they had to touch the depth of it. Whether teaching or doing or practising yoga it is not just something you do yourself physically. Each thing as you practise and proceed, you have to pene­ trate further, deeper to fmd out its inner depth. For example, I tell you today, some­ body was practising in the hall Viparita Chakrasana - going back to Urdhva Dhanurasana then climbing up on the wall and doing Viparita Chakrasana.

There were a few other teachers who were watching. I said, "Now look at the person.

When he drops in Urdhva Dhanurasana.

What is the potency of his attention"?

When he was bending his back to drop his anus he was very alert and attentive to do that. Then when he climbed up on the wall and jumped, he just did inattentively. The attention had gone. I said look, while climbing up by taking the help of the wall he is doing it physically. He is not within.

But he stands proudly saying, "Oh I Urdhva jumped".

Whereas in Dhanurasana he was going back with full attention to drop his anus properly, curv­ ing his back properly etc., while climbing up he was just throwing his one leg for­ ward without having any curvature of the back. I told him, "Climb up, now curve your spine ·in order to come forward", and then he had to be really attentive and pen­ etrate within himself. He was exactly on the borderline of fear that he may fall. At the same time he wanted to do and I brought him to that borderline of fear to courage. I said, "Now, with the same atten­ tion that you had in Urdhva Dhanurasana, do Viparita Chakrasana". Obviously he Winter 2002

had to observe that at what level he climbs up and jumps. Then I asked the others to watch his face and eyes. The first five to eight times he had done they could see the ego projecting on his face. But when I asked him to think about what he was doing and how he had to do it, his face changed, he became sober and the teach足 ers noticed this change. I said, "Now watch, it's not just the physical technique".

I didn't say, "Just walk a bit down, have a curvature and throw your legs"! When his mind became sober he could jump from Viparita Chakrasana with the attention inwards.

These are the elements involved which cannot be written in the book. You see, I can teach you a devotional song to sing. I can teach you Patanjali sloka and say o.k., you sing or chant, but what has to come from inside - the feeling - that is something different. It cannot be written. You have to be devoted. You need to understand the depth of it. This is the thing which was lacking.

Also I noticed one thing, that perhaps the goal was to get the certificate. If you have to get a certificate you know there are cer足

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

tain asanas you should learn, that you should be able to present. So if it's a cer足 tificate oriented mind, learning yoga won't work. Certification is definitely needed because it organises the whole system. If you want to become an Iyengar Yoga teacher, at least minimum you should know 'this' much. If you want a further certificate you should know maximum 'this' much. But that in itself is not Iyengar Yoga. Gruuji is not teaching only that. He tried to channel it through certification so that people follow it in a proper way.

While practising or to do certain correc足 tions or to bring the depth in practitioners one needs to go inside. One's mind needs to penetrate. The person who goes inside, he himself is a religious person. Because when one learns to look into oneself, when one learns to look into one's own mistakes, one's own defects - physical, mental as well as intellectual defects - I would say that one has learning something.

So you can practise more advanced poses but you have to learn the technique first?

Geetaji: Absolutely.

Then you have to penetrate jitrther, in the

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same way a beginner will learn Trikonasana, but also Trikonasana can be practised in a mature way.

They were all doing whatever has been taught, but they were not knowing the art of penetration. Along with agility of the body, one needs to have stability of the mind and mobility of the intelligence too.

Geetaji: A mature way, and you have to see that you are practising it to bring that inner change, the transformation. In spite So when one is saying you are making the of having physical problems the depth has body a fit vehicle for the soul, it doesn't to come in the practice. And if that depth matter what state that body is in. comes, even in the diseased body it works to bring change. For instance, if! have a Geetaji: Absolutely, because everybody backache and if! know that Trikonasana is has got a right for self-realisation. good for that backache, there is a method Everybody has the right to have a god­ of performing it. I have to concentrate on realisation, whichever word you use. It is the painful area. I have to correct my posi­ not that this diseased body doesn't reach. tioning, and in that process of correcting But one has to pay attention to a disease. the action I will be going within, and there One cannot neglect that disease. it brings the religiosity. This happens with many people, for instance the cancer For example today in the children's med­ patient begins to think deeper inside to ical class, a boy hardly eleven years old fmd out how to come out of ~t, how to get who is partially blind, can figure out rid of it. Things become more clear about though the vision is not really very clear. one's own nature, not only the disease. He has very poor vision. He looks from While teaching yoga this has to be taught his left eye sharply. So each time he knows by the teacher. The teachers have to make when I call him, he recognises my voice the students aware ofall these things. They but he responds from his left eye only. The have to introduce the pupils not only to very first asana - he was in Supta Virasana their bodies but mind, intelligence and - I told his mother, "When you are asking consciousness. For example - Padmasana. him to look up - in supine posture he looks The knee is not bending, the knee is upwards towards the brain so the brain painful - fme - but take the person a step remains alert to focus the eyes but he looks ahead to see when the person is avoiding fi·om his left eye, not from his right eye". I Padmasana because the knee is painful. said that his left forehead is responding but Then teach how to look into that knee, not the right. I said, "Look at your mother where it is failing, how it has to be worked. with the right eye", and he tried. At the end That means you are training the other way. of the class he came to say namaskar to You are not working only on the painful me, and again he looked at me with the left knee but the very thoughts, how to be eye. I said, "No, look with the right eye, do channelled. Your mind has to be attentive you know where I am"? And he tried to there. If I just say, "Oh! My knee is pain­ focus and he said, "Yes, right eye doesn't ing, I won't do it". It's not going to work, focus as much as the left eye, I can see bet­ and it's not good to the knee either. But if ter." At the end ofthe class he realised that I look into the knee, at where it is paining, he can see better with the left eye but not why it is paining, at what point it pains, at the right eye, so he put effort to open the what degree of bending it is paining, how right eye more in order to use it. Is it not I have to move at that point, where I the inner understanding of that boy who is should force, where I should not force. just eleven years old? Ifhe goes to the doc­ This way of looking into, when it comes, tor he will say both eyes are blind, but what awareness came to him to see that he then there will be maturity. looks now with his right eye. Then I I wouldn't say I found difference as such. showed his mother when he is doing Iyengar Yoga News No.2

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Now, why one community? - it is easier to have an access to communicate with. If any doubt arises we have to fmd the solu­ tion. Seeking the help of the Yoga Sutra.

So a teacher has to understand this depth. You are together there. All the students, the If we just train students to certificate level, practitioners of yoga, when they are saying that asana after asana you contin­ together then you are like one family. I ue to do for your Introductory, might be in India and you might be in Intennediate etc. then they will stick to England and somebody else might be in that, whereas this penetration has to come. U.S.A., but still we belong to one family in But I'm certainly not stopping people if this sense. The community is required to they do at the physical level. Let them first have the exchange. Community members do. We went to the lower kindergarten, need to seek the help of each other. Why then upper kindergarten and then school, do you need a society? You might say, college and University. W,,? may think that "Why can't I live alone? I don't need soci­ kindergarten is not a big education but yet ety"! But who forms the society? it is a foundation for further education. The Sociology says individuals coming togeth­ kindergarten school has given us some dis­ er form the society. And what is society? It cipline to continue now. In yoga too, these is the one where all individuals are indi­ categories exist. viduals yet together. That is society. So what does community mean here? We Yoga practice is an activity one does want conununity in that manner. I'm not essentially on one's own. Why is it so interfering in your kitchen or her kitchen. important to maintain an international You have your own kitchen, you have yoga community? your own food, similarly you practice on your own - fme! But what do we do when Geetaji: Yes, practice is individual, it's not we say let us exchange, let us help each that you have to have an Iyengar Yoga other. What I know, you might not be community. You students have given the knowing. What you know, I might not be name Iyengar Yoga conununity. Guruji knowing. Let me know what you know has never said that. What he teaches is and you say - yes - let me know what you Patanjali Yoga. But the methodology is know, so we learn much better. What is given by Guruji so you call it Iyengar society then?

Yoga. For instance Patanjali rishi, who has given yogic philosophy in the form of Strength and understanding? aphorisms is recognised as Patanjala Yoga.

But he has not expressed yogic science in Geetaji: Yes. It is also an organisation to a communal sense. Patanjali hasn't used protect each other. When you have got the word "Hinduism" anywhere, he hasn't some neighbours in society you help each even used the word anywhere the name of other. That is communication, you have the god. When he uses the word lshvara it friends. Why do you have the family? means God. It doesn't mean a particular Because there is a communication. When god. The one who is all pervading, to somebody gets married it is two families whom everything belongs is Ishvara. That coming together, trying to have under­ is the meaning, all pervading. If it has to be standing and you sanctify it. That is socie­ said in English you would say - all per­ ty. The marriage is recognised. Sin1ilarly, vading. If it has to be said in Sanskrit - when you are given an Iyengar certificate, Ishvara. He doesn't say this god or that you are recognised. god, or particular god. So yoga is meant for all.

Suppose you are a yoga teacher and you have not been certified. Today you may Sirsasana how he has to look from his right eye at her right hand so it brings the eye to focus.

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teach but tomorrow if somebody questions what will you answer? You have no cer­ tificate. You have not been recognised by any teacher. If tomorrow the question comes to you, on what basis are you teach­ ing? Who are you to teach? How can we believe that what you are teaching is absolutely correct? What is the answer?

When you have a certification you say here is my teacher and I have been taught.

This is guru and sisya relationship in this manner. You are recognised as a student of Iyengar. He is your teacher. It is true that the recognition is required.

tect the knowledge.

If I ask, who are you, you say you are so and so, your parents are so and so. That is how we recognise each other. That is how we identifY each other. That is how the community is formed. You don't come from nowhere. Nobody comes from nowhere. There is always an origin and one needs to trace that origin.

Individually each one has to practise indi­ vidually, each one has to do yoga, but among the yoga community or a yoga society, there has to be inter-relationship.

Cornn1Unity is required for that. More the You can't call yourself a doctor unless you individuality, more the knowledge will be are certified. Why do you go to university, scattered. It may get lost because oflack of why do you take your certification there communication. Who has to protect it? and then put up a board with your name on Something that is learnt, something that is that you are a doctor? Because you need to understood has to be protected. In the sci­ be recognised. You might know very well entific research what do we do? Don't we about medicines but who will recognise keep records ofthe research because it will you if you haven't got the certificate? And be helpful at any time to anyone. The that makes us understand how to keep that research work in every field is preserved. path and the method pure. If you are an The individual egoism may interfere to Iyengar certified teacher, you will be fol­ say that someone makes the particular dis­ lowing the method given by your teacher, covery, yet it is preserved because it is for your guru. The method that is inclusive of the sake of the whole of humanity, for the all that is taught by your guru, which sake of the community. includes the methodology, the principles, the technique, the behaviour, the character, So we have to see this when we are form­ the thoughts, the thinking process and the ing this community. We have to under­ discipline. Then you cannot go on the stand each other and not fight. wrong path. You will be questioned if you Associations are not there to fight. Then it are on the wrong path since you are an is not an association! What do you mean Iyengar certified teacher. As an Iyengar by association? You have to associate with teacher one cannot go on an inunoral path. each other. You have to come together.

One has to be ethical. One has to have this When two people come together they may bearing on the mind. In Astadala fight but in the fighting one has to sort out Yogamala Vol 3, which will be published the problem too because they are associat­ very soon, Guruji says that the teachers are ed. To quarrel or fight is human nature. certified so that they have a chance to The difference of opinion will be there but serve the society. He is giving you a cer­ you form an association so that you come tificate so that you can help those who are together. You sort out the problem, you suffering. It is just the beginning to tread communicate your opinions. Because of on the right path. It is not that you are a this one person, our Guruji who has given master. It is a chance given to you, a green so much to us, we come together under his signal. So .you begin to learn, begin to umbrella. It is a kind of umbrella he has study, begin to help. That is why the com­ formed. He has given shelter so that we munity is required. The association is can protect ourselves. Whether it is for our required in order to protect the art, to pro­ health, or for our spirituality, or for our

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evolution, whatever, but come under one umbrella to work in this manner to give it to others. That is why there is a guru and sisya relationship. There has to be respect.

It has to be given to the next generation.

Who has to pass on the knowledge, the art.

We all may perish, but art, science and phi­ losophy do not die. It never happens.

Therefore, it is better that we give it to someone else who will carry on. That is what has been said in the Taittiriya Upanishad. The gum says to the sisya, "Your study is over. Now you go and get married, have children. Why? So that you can pass on the knowledge. The thread of knowledge should not be broken."

Some people do not want to do yoga since they believe it is a religion: it is in Sanskrit, etc.

Geetaji: Gumji has often said that Ygoga is sanatana dhanna. It is not Hinduism, or any other ism. It is something eternal.

Sanatana means eternal. Dharma is reli­ gion which uplifts human beings. This eternal knowledge was there always. It was always existing and which is now expressed in different languages. Patanjali has to express it in Sanskrit, as the Bible is in Hebrew. And who knows tomorrow English will vanish, Sanskrit will vanish and some other language may come. How do we know?! You know there is a vast difference between old English and new English. Another few million years have to go to tell us, "Yes! There was some English language in those days"! Now we know that Latin is closer to Sanskrit and the origin of English is Latin. If you have broader mind, think in that manner so it is not my language or your language. We all have forgotten the ancient language. There is not Indian cloud or British cloud or my cloud or your cloud. Everything is the same. Everywhere clouds are the same.

Land is the same - only geographically we divide. The land is one. We have demar­ cated and differentiated. So we fight. The man-made countries fight. We need that broad mindedness and nothing else.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

And generosity?

Geetaji: Absolutely. It is the chance given to learn yoga. Do we not learn modem medical science? If you have a great chance in any field, learn. We can study all the religions. Nobody stops us from learn­ ing. Our life is so small and knowledge is so vast that we cannot learn everything.

That's why at the end Upanishad says, life is so small, the knowledge is so vast, so let us have that faith and proceed with that understanding. Yoga is the subject which makes you to understand the very self, the soul. The origin, the base, the foundation.

What we need is a broad frame for mind.

There are so many similarities and near­ ness to all the religions, but we miss to see that. When you begin to study and com­ pare you feel somewhere they are very close to each other. You will fmd the foun­ dation is the same. Christ talks about the Ten Commandments which are very close to yama and niy ama. He didn't say, "Be violent." Otherwise he would have taken the opposite step. He says be non-violent and Patanjali too says be non-violent. To be humanitarian we have to be non-violent otherwise we will end up with the destmc­ tion only.

Human beings are the same, their emo­ tions are the same. The six enemies of every human being are the same, to whichever class, caste, country, religion belongs to. Anger, desire, delusion, greed, pride, jealousy, aU these are common in evelyone. Ifyou have anger you are going to have high blood pressure, you are going to have a cardiac problem. You are going to have fami ~y problems because it's your anger. You fight with each other. Does the anger say that you belong to this country or that sect so it would not affect you. So the human problems are the same, which are invited by us.

And we mistrust each other?

Geetaji: Yes. We don't tmst each other.

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We have no faith in each other. If we don't trust people, we are going to land up with all the problems. Somewhere you need to have love. Somewhere you need to have trust. Somewhere you need to have faith, friendliness. So if you have an association, fight but be friendly! That's all at the end of the day, we have to conclude. Fight! It doesn't matter. But the fighting should be constructive. Because that blings the inner hidden misunderstandings to the surrace.

It brings more transparency and then you are friendly. That's maturity. And the matu­ lity tenninates into proper solution.

Today if you only have four people in the association the four will work in such a manner that there is no tussle. There is no fight. But then as the association grows bigger and bigger in its size we need to have some laws and regulations so that it brings haIIDony.

Now there are too many teachers, so we need to filter because they come with the ambition to become a yoga teacher and get the certificate. More than the devotion there is ambition. They are not basically devoted to yoga. They just want certifi­ cates. So we have to filter saying unless you are devoted, dedicated to this - we won't. And now Guruji has lessened the period between two levels. He says youngsters are taking interest so let us not give a big gap because when youngsters want to pick up let us have a small gap. Let them get the certificate. If at the age of twenty-five they want to have Intennediate Junior or Senior - fme. If they are performing well let us give them a cer­ tificate. But at the same time Guruji is the one who is saying that the certificate is not the end of it. Certificate is the beginning of knowledge. You are certified to foster the knowledge and experience, because if you are not a certified teacher you are just a student. Fine - I will say you are just a stu­ dent, you learn this much, that is enough for you. But if you are a teacher you need to have this knowledge. So it's the begin­ ning of knowledge. So you can infonn them like that, those who argue with you!

In the early days recognised teachers were very few. Even I was recognised as a teacher. I was not a master when I was recognised in 1961. Officially I became a teacher in 1961. It was not in 1961 that I was absolutely a mature yoga teacher and that I knew everything. But Guruji trusted.

He told me that up to a certain point I can teach. He was guiding me. If a person had the problem, if it was within my capacity, he would say, "Teach," but if a person had a serious problem, then he would teach. So similarly when a small group in u.K. was there, he said ok - teach, because some­ where it has to reach the people. One per­ son cannot go on. But where there were problems he said not to touch such people.

They had to wait for Guruji to come and teach. So in those days he had to recognise the teacher in that maimer. Now we have to filter to a great extent.

And why that kind of binding is required?

Yes, always you have to have a binding with a guru to know the Oligin of it. You know junk food is bad. You know that fast food is bad for the health. You understand that junk food, fast food, is hannful to the body. You want to have fresh food. You want to have good food, rightly balanced food, etc. Then is it not needed in yoga too? Suppose if they are certified through Iyengar and also certified by someone else. Are they not making junk food there?

Is it not just a fast food there that you have got a certificate from Iyengar and you have a certificate from someone else?

Certification courses are given every­ where, so you may gather another ten cer­ tificates. Are you not going to make a junk of it and land up with all the problems, because nothing is clear to you though you are certified? And even if you are not

So yoga teaches this maturity. To whichever religion one belongs to, yoga teaches us to be friendly, compassionate, kind, happy. It teaches us to be indifferent and unattached when there is a wrong approach like dishonesty, mistrust etc.

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were not known to anyone. When Guruji came to the u.K. do you mean that people were knowing the asanas? They may have known head balance, shoulder stand. But, Standing poses were unknown, except Trikonasana. Triangle pose was known to everyone, in whichever way, different styles, different ways but people were doing triangle pose. Now they know Parsvakonasana, they know Virabhadrasana, Parsvottanasana.

Uttanasana was known, but Padangustasana was not known, Pada Hastasana was unknown. In the lecture in You see, it is simple. You have been given the States I also mentioned about this. a name "Judith" and by mistake I call you These asanas were unknown. It is Guruji Stephanie. You don't like it! You say, "I'm who made people to know about the not Stephanie," right? Why you say so? asanas. The book Light on Yoga came and Because you know that you are recognised people started recognising those asanas. knew balancing except by your name and Stephanie is recognised Nobody by her name. And then I have to say I am Bhujapidasana and Bakasana. Now sorry because it's my fault calling you everyone does Urdhva Klfkkutasana, Stephanie, because you are not she. So this everybody picks up Parsva Kukkutasana, is how the recognition is required. So if although they may be belonging to differ­ you are following Iyengar way it means ent schools. Urdvha Dhanurasana and you are recognised, on that line. Guruji Salabasana were the only backbends hasn't said that this is his method, but cer­ known. Now everyone does Viparita Everyone does tainly something special came of his way Chakrasana. of teaching and imparting. One day it may Natarajasana . So how did it come into the become universal, who knows, what he foreground? has worked out, what he has thought over, his vision. It becomes universal one day. Often I say that now the next generation The question doesn't arise then whether will not know about it. They will think the it's Iyengar. People will say this is Yoga! asanas were known. Of course they were Then the question of name doesn't aIise. existing, undoubtedly, but the world was For instance, we say "Newton's Law" ­ not knowing it. It was not known, it was yes? We give credit to him. Every physi­ hidden, the knowledge was hidden until cist will be agreeing that it is Newton's Guruji started travelling and brought them Law because he was the first thinker to to the forefront. True that to Guruji it was think in that manner. So similarly it is transferred through Guru Guruji who thought in a certain way, so it Krishnamacharya. But when Guru became the "Iyengar way". He hasn't spe­ Krishnamacharya taught Guruji he was cially created his way. He has not said that, not doing all these asanas at that moment.

"This is his way and you follow". He has Since Guruji was young he taught him and never said that. On the contrary, every Guruji stalted doing them aI1d continued time he says that this is what Patanjali has to do them. Now, everyone has adopted said. Only Guruji gave us a vision to look. them irrespective of whichever school Newton gave us vision to look. That is they belong to or the method they follow. how one has to understand. He never said The students of Iyengar doing them is one that it is his yoga. But now believe me in thing, but like Newton's Law it has been 1960-61 these asanas that Guruji does accepted, is also the fact. So now everygiven certificates the same is going to hap­ pen. So if you want to have the celtificate you have to go through this whole subject thoroughly, the whole method thoroughly, otherwise it can harm like fast food, junk food, mixed food and old food. Nothing will be digested. You need to have the intelligence to connect and co-ordinate whatever you learn and experience. That's how it has to be .. So you can definitely tell those people who are talking about certifi­ cation, the Celtification Mark, that the purity has to be maintained.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

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Winter 2002

body has accepted these asanas, the vari­ eties of pranayama. If GWllji decides to write on dhyana, I am sure it will be well received. Yoga is a universal subject. It has to become a universal subject. But as the pupils of GW1lji, we should be able to at least inform people that the source is here who made people to recognise, understand and appreciate the art of yoga.

It s notjust that he taught yoga to the West.

It is more that he opened yoga to human consciousness.

That is exactly what we as pupils have to understand. So now the word yoga has become close, familiar and popular to everyone because he made that subject to come to this level.

Last Sunday we gave a demonstration.

The explanation was in Marathi for Maharashtrans. GWllji said that when he came in 1937 to Pune, there were hardly four yoga teachers who were known ill those days in the whole of India.

There were only a few yoga teachers. In those days nobody really knew anyone as yoga teachers. Even the subject was unknown. Very few, who had studied the philosophy were aware of the subject. And now in every lane you find the yoga teach­ ers. That also I mentioned the other day in that lecture. Now is the time to recognise which is the genuine yoga, because any­ one can put up a board. Anyone can open the classes. And it is true that every lane now you find yoga teachers, even in this small area. So how did this subject come to recognition in that manner?

Now, why the Iyengar community has to be there? - to protect the purity and give knowledge. Let us not make a market of it.

Something which is easily saleable in the market - "Let us sell" - is the attitude of the modem world. That should not be our atti­ tude. That should not be the aim. We have to see that the purity is maintained. That is why community is required, that is why Iyengar Yo a News No.2

11

certification is required. That i ' why guru­ sisya relationship is required. You should be able to link your knowledge and your experience with the origin. The teacher leads you to trace the origin. AU these things are interlinked. They are not sepa­ rate issues. They are not even issues to fight. It is just to understand. It is an evolv­ ing process. Yoga is not a stagnated sub­ ject. The journey ends only when one reaches the ultimate goal. It is a process to maintain the purity, to continue with the purity. The method cannot be changed according to one's whim and fancy. It can­ not be changed just to satisfY someone.

The purity and sanctity of the subject needs to be maintained. These days any­ thing goes in the name of self-realisation.

Even sex now is labelled in the name of self-realisation. How can it be? These are the things one should know. This is thought pollution. Pollution in thought; pollution in behaviour; pollution in char­ acter. So to maintain the purity you have to observe all these things. One may argue.

Verbal argument is possible in any way, in any direction. It is said that dharma (duty), artha (means oflivelihood), k.ama (world­ ly enjoyment), moksa (freedom), are the four purusarthas (the objectives of human-beings). It is a very clear demarca­ tion. Otherwise kama and moksa, the worldly enjoyment and liberation or self­ realisation become one. [ref Light on the Yoga Suo'as of Patanjali p.35]. All four aspects are indicated as separate - dharma, artha, k.ama, moksa. That is why GWllji has said very clearly that dharma and moksa are like two banks of the river.

Kama and artha are like the river flowing between the two banks. Like the river which flows and floods whenever it rains, these two never end. Our desires never end. The money mindedness never ends.

The mind hankers all the time after enjoy­ ments. The desires "I want this and I want that", continues. That is human nature. So GW1lji says to put a borderline to artha and kama with dharma and moksa. When we say duty, this is the duty - dharma.

Moral and ethical behaviour is a duty. To Winter 2002

live a spiritual life is a duty. It is our duty to find out for what sake we are existing. We have to find out the root cause of living.

You may have given the word spirituality.

What is spilituality? We call it adhyatma vic(va, the on which is covering the soul. \\That is the adhyatma. The one which cov­ ers the alma (soul) is adhyatma. We need to know these coverings these sheaths so that we can remove them to see the soul.

The body, the mind, intelligence, con­ sciousness, all these cover the soul. One needs to realise these sheaths to uncover the soul. Suppose if God blesses us to say we are going to live longer and longer. Are we going to be happy? The death is a bless­ ing given to us. In the Mahabharata there is a story. The father asks the son to give his life so that he remains young while the son b comes old. The son takes the old age of the father by giving him his youth. Then one day the father realises, there is no point in remaining young. How long can one enjoy the sexual life'? At some point it ends.

Love is beyond sex. One has to see that at some point the kama ends, the desire ends, and a pure love and pure devotion begins. [f one is all the time indulging in sensual and sexual pleasures we say there is some­ thing wrong with that person. We say that treatment is needed for this because it is an unusual thing to happen. It's abnormal.

Even some of the marriages are broken because of that, because it is an abnormal­ ity. One has to know which is normal, which is abnormal, so that indulgence can­ not be there. Similar to dharma, artha, kama, and moksa, we talk about four ashram as, or four stages oflife. These four aims of the human beings are fulfilled in four stages. Earlier in brahmachmyashra­ ma in which one studies for 20 years with the guru to have the knowledge. lbat's why the guru towards the end of the course blesses and says, "Go, your bra­ macharyashrama is over. Twenty five years you have studied with me. Now the next twenty five years be a grihasthashra­ mi and give the knowledge to others because it has to be protected. That is why you need to have a famjly to continue with Iyengar Yoga News No.2

the knowledge. Then after the maniage and family life there is vanapraslhashrama in which one takes off the mind from the family and proceeds towards san­ nyasashrama in which one sacrifices and abandons every thing and proceeds towards the self realisation and freedom.

That's why we say that we should not have apamrutyu. We should not die before time.

The death also has to come majestically at the right time. Dying in the middle of life shows incompleteness. Therefore the Upanishads say to live for a hundred years.

To die at an early age is considered as a tragedy. Because the link is broken, the duty is broken.

So the certification is to keep the linkage.

The certification mark is like taking an oath to be honest to the guru. The certification holders and certification mark holders have to remember that they have to follow the yogic path having the fencing of dhamw and moksha on both sides. They have to do the study aiming at liberation. They have to pass on the kno'wledge to the next genera­ tion. In between these two fences the arlha and kama has to be well planned. They have to carry the message correctly. They have to organise. The association is required for this purpose. \\Thy does there have to be an ethics committee? It is meant for this purpose to see that arlha and k£lIna does not go distorted. It does not become the soul and goal of Yoga practitioners.

Associations are to help the followers of Yoga and to have a check on them. So they also need to be honest and modest.

Associations are not meant to boss over but rather bring people together for good understanding and "Give and Take".

THE LIGHT ON YOGA RESEARCH TRUST

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about LOYRT's role in disseminating the art,

science & philosophy of yoga

he LOYRT was fonned on Guruji's 60th birthday in 1978, using the pro­ ceeds of his lecture-demonstration on that occasion. It is a charity registered in Mumbai, India. Its main objective is to propagate the teachings of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar amongst all strata of society.

The LOYRT organised Guruji's 80th birth­ day celebrations in Pune. These celebra­ tions lasted for 14 days and around 800 practitioners from 6 continents participated.

LOYRT's other activities include:

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tional stability and clarity of thought when they graduate. Annual examinations cover both theory and practice and the course is designed so that those who want to are able to teach Yoga to children after the final cer­ tification. Since 1997 over 800 successful students have been awarded certificates.

The LOYRT has also conducted free yoga classes for a number of years at lawahar Bal Bhavan, a government sponsored organisation working for the welfare of children in Mumbai.

Conducting classes for the public

Publications

The LOYRT runs regular yoga classes for the general public aU over Mumbai as well as short courses in other cities in India. It also conducts special classes for specialised groups such as sportspersons, artists, musi­ cians, dancers, medics and the forces.

With RIMYI, LOYRT jointly publishes the quarterly journal, Yoga Rahasya, Other publications include "Body the Sluine, Yoga thy Light" (1978) (later reprinted as "Iyengar: his life and work'" (1991)) and Yogadhara (2000)

Conducting therapeutic Yoga Classes

Scientific research into Iyengar Yoga

LOYRT runs therapeutic classes for those with medical problems and injuries and classes for drug dependants where asanas are regarded as one ofthe primary means of detoxification.

LOYRT aims to produce and present scien­ tific evidence to show the benefits of yoga practice and how yoga asana practice helps in overcoming and alleviating various ail­ ments. One example is a research project headed by Dr Tomrnij.e an Thomas of California, USA in collaboration with LOYRT, which was carried out at the 80th birthday ceiebrations in 1998. This study evaluated the physical, physiological and psychological effects ofIyengar Yoga prac­ tice, the perception of stress and coping mechanisms of practitioners and compared personality characteristics of practitioners with non-practitioners.

Teaching Iyengar Yoga to Children

The LOYRT and the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) have designed a Yoga Diploma Course for chil­ dren aged 9 - 17 years. As well as forming part of the curriculum in three well-recog­ nised Indian schools (the Doon school , the Weihams Girls High School and Anne Mary School), the courses run in public classes for children and as an extra-curricu­ lar activity in schools in Mumbai. The syl­ The infonnation jor this article was taken labus spans eight years and covers five lev­ fi-om Zubin Zrthoshtimanesh's article els according to the developmental level of "Light on ... now and forever" in the children. It provides a finn grounding in Sahasrachandra Darsan (J998) and the the science and philosophy of yoga ojficial BKS Iyengar website at: enabling them to achieve good health, emo­ www.bksiyengar.com Iyengar Yoga News No.2

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Winter 2002

SHEERSHAASANA

A guide to pronouncing Sanskrit terms - by Sallie Sullivan

At

Crystal Palace, Geetaji corrunented

those old enough to remember the Bisto kids. So asana is pronounced aasana.

Westerners and Indians to understand each Tadasana becomes Taadaasana - remember other. If we were finding her English hard to lean on the first two syllables and rather to understand, she had problems with our gloss over the last two. The vowel e is like pronunciation too. This problem extends to the sound in "break". Thus Eka rhymes the Sansklit names of the postures. We are with "acre" and not Boris Becker. Short i is always encouraged to use the proper names like the vowel in "it" so Trikonaasana for poses when teaching, not least so that sounds like "trick" and Siddhaasana like students will recognise the names if ever "Sid." Make the Dwi of Dwipaada rhyme they go to Pune to take classes. However with drip. Watch out for Prasaarita - the first there are problems with saying the words a is short, the second is long and the i is properly, partly because of the nature of short. People tend to pronounce the end of Sansmt letters and the acaderrric conven­ it like the name Rita. Try to say Prasaaritter. tions for writing Sansmt in the Roman Long i is now often written with a double ee alphabet. The root of the problem is that in as mentioned above, so Vrrasana becomes Sansmt there appear to be two or more \Teeraasana and Vrrabhadrasana becomes forms of many of the letters, especially the Veerabhadraasana. The letter 0 is always vowers a, i and u. In fact, although it looks long and pronounced like "cone" or "no" so as though there are two forms, they are actu­ for example Konasana is cone-aasana. ally different letters that can compietely Long and short u are like "spoon" and "put" change the meaning of a word. respectively. This can cause problems for English speakers when the letter u comes at Basically vowels can be short or long. To the start of a word. Tly to say "Upa" in follow the conventions correctly, you have Upavishta as ifit rhymes with super. Urdhva to have the proper font to add the extra little should sOlmd like oordhva. Setu (as in marks (diacritics) above or below the letters Setu-bandha) is tricky - it sounds like "say that tell you how to pronounce them. In to."

English publications these marks are often rrrissed out because the right fonts are not Ofthe consonants, s is probably the trickiest. available. So texts increasingly are using a Plain s is like the s in Sam or yes. Both the different convention which involves dou­ s with a dot under it and s with an accent bling the vowel instead of using a bar across over it are pronounced more or less like sh. the top of the letter. TI1is explains for exam­ Hence Sarvangasana has no sh sound in it at ple why you fmd the two spellings Gita or all - it is Sarvaangaasana. However Geeta. The added advantage of the dou­ Sirsasana comes out as Sheershaasana. bling of the vowel is that it helps to remind The combination of sh with v in Svanasana us to lengthen or stress the syllable where it or rather Shvaanaasana is hard for us to say occurs. To emphasise this point, I shall write -the v is almost a w-sound and you have to the stressed syllable in bold type. This all move quickly from the sh to v, like a drunk sounds rather difficult. On the plus side, you saying "swan." There are other complica­ can be sure that once you have mastered the tions in Sanskrit letters, especially the aspi­ correct pronunciation, the letters are always rated or ''breathy'' consonants and all the said the same way. (Compare this with the varieties ofd and t. However if you practise English pronunciation of the letter a in after, the letters dealt with above and try to apply about, acre and at) these sounds in the names of the postures, you and your students will feel much more The "short" letter a in Sansmt is always pro­ confident next tin1e you do Yoga with an nounced like the a in "about." The long a is Indian teacher, whether over here or in Pune like the sound in "after" or "aah Bisto!" for (formerly spelled Poona). ~efully on the mutual failure of

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

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Winter 2002

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SAVA SANA, THE BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Joe Burn takes a close look at hen we lie down in Savasana (corpse pose) we have a unique opportunity to examine ourselves, espe­ cially the way that our consciousness behaves. For example, we can experi­ ence whether we have a tendency to fall asleep in the pose, or whether we start to work out particular problems that involve logical chains of thought (how to prepare a particular dish or win at chess, for example), or whether we start to imagine things (space aliens or sun­ sets, for example). My own experience of corpse pose has given me all of the above. It is not uncommon for me to lie down and end up so involved in a day­ dream or thought pattern that I forget completely where I am and what I am supposed to be doing. I am sure that I am not alone here. What then are we supposed to be doing in corpse pose?

Well, none of the above for sure! In corpse pose we seek to experience the body, to concentrate on the body, to become completely absorbed in every part of it, as sugar (the consciousness) dissolves in tea (the body) and when tasted all the tea is sweet. This concen­ tration on the body should not just be momentary but should go from present moment to present moment; then it becomes a meditation, an experience of the eternal. The present is after all eter­ nal.

W

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali clearly states that there are five types of cit­ tavrtti - the fluctuation or modification (vrtti) of the ego, intellect and mind col­ lectively known as the citta. These are pramana (correct thought/knowledge) , viparyaya (erronious thought/knowl­ edge), vikalpa (imagination) , nidra (sleep) and smrti (memory). He says that these cittavrttis are to be restrained or stopped by Yoga practice. Thus in corpse pose we should not be thinking (either correctly or incorrectly), imagin­ ing, sleeping or reminiscing; what then is left for us to do? This is not easy to answer but I will venture that we should 15

Savasana

be observing the body, not of course with our eyes but with our mind's eye.

We feel the breath calming down and the various muscles relaxing and the body becoming still. This activity of feeling the body - it is important to note it has nothing to do with thought, imag­ ination, sleep or memory - is an experi­ ence of the body in this present moment, even a sense of time is no longer relevant.

The brain is the organ in which all of the cittavrttis are housed. Thinking, imag­ ining, sleeping and memorising are all done by the brain. They are done by what is known as the higher, outer or more evolved part of the brain. The next layer of the brain deals with appetites, urges and emotions - the fight or flight response is generated in this part of the brain and also sensory input is monitered. The part of the brain that deals with the body, its coordination of limbs (reflexes) and the control of basic body systems ego the breath and heart rate, is known as the core brain. What I am suggesting in this article is that in corpse pose we are looking to shine the light of our consciousness on this part of the brain and not the higher part. In corpse pose we are looking to move from the higher, outer part of the brain through the middle to the lower, core brain. In this way we do what Patanjali asks.

In Iyengar Yoga we look for the mecha­ nistic explanation underlying all the poses we do. What I mean is that we try to understand the mechanism of the legs (i.e. the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints etc.), aims, chest and so forth so that we are equipped with a complete understanding of how these limbs com­ bine to produce the correct action in any posture. This understanding gives us the knowledge that there is no magic involved - we know that if every part of the body is placed in the correct way then the pose will be attained and there Winter 2002

the brain generates the core self, which maps the body in relationship to the environment, and that the outer part of the brain generates what he describes as Research has shown that certain parts of the autobiographical self -our memories the brain ar responsible for different opinions and beliefs. Damasio has spec­ functions. If someone's brain activity is ulated that meditation, and here we scanned whilst they are playing chess should include corpse pose, moves us and lh n again when they are frightened from the complexities of the outer brain then we see that different parts of the to the simpler , more internally orientat­ brain are being used . ed core and proto selves. . europsychologist Michael Persinger of Laurentian University in Ontario has In a separate piece of research Andrew managed to induce profound spiritual Newburg of the University of experiences in people, time and time Pennsylvania Medical Centre has found again, by stimulating their temporal that meditators are able to shut off their lobe with a weak magnetic field. Some 'orientation area' situated in the parietal people have reported that this is like an lobes, which results in a loss of a sense experience of Samadhi, of unity with of space and time: something many alman. Directing the magnetic field would describe as a spiritual experience elsewhere in the brain has no such or being absorbed into God or Samadhi. effect. Another scientist, Antonio Damasio of the University of Iowa These three scientists have begun to College of Medicine, suggests that a uncover some of the secrets of the brain sense of self comes from the combined and how spiritual experience could well system of brain stem, hypothalamus, relate to the manipulation of particular and basal forebrain (or core brain). In parts of the brain and to show that there terms of the body's physiology this sys­ is a mechanistic explanation of these so tem monitors and detects tiny shifts in called mystical states. This I think is the chemistry of the blood (the blood's fascinating and important work. It water content and temperature for reminds me of one of B. K. S. Iyengar's example) and triggers adjustments to sayings; that 'the brain is the most diffi­ keep us alive . This system works con­ cult pa11 of the body to adjust'. Ifwe can stantly - unlike the higher brain - and is learn to adjust our brains as we adjust therefore specially placed to give a our kneecaps then spiritual experience sense of self and continuity. This self is far closer than we ever thought, it is Damasio calls the proto-self. Damasio in fact right between our ears. goes on to speculate that the mid part of will be no injuries. This mechanistic approach must be applied t the brain as well as the body.

IYN READERS' QUESTIONNAIRE - RESULTS

Currently, a small working group is attempting to come up with proposals for a new Iyengar Yoga Association for the UK. In the last issue of IYN, we published a survey aimed at discovering what IYN readers wanted from a national Yoga association. Joe Burn analyses the results. he questiolIDaire was answered by 33 ranking services ...22 to 28. All of these it people. This represents a reply rate of seems to me are vaguely cOlIDected to 1.3%, which is rather low. This low money and merchandising, which it response may suggest that people do not seems people felt was relatively unim­ like to answer questiOlmaires or of course portant. that they are indifferent to how the new Iyengar Yoga Association will work. A What other activities would you like to reply rate of 1.3% is also not very repre­ see? sentative of the Iyengar community at These were all one-off answers: large therefore we calIDot use it as an - To check on teachers with an inspection group that dropped in on classes at ran­ authorative voice of opinion. However dom. some interesting trends did emerge from the data, so do read on. The fmal point to - That points should be awarded to teachers for attending events, this make here is that 22 of the 33 replies were from teachers (and 7 of the remain­ should replace E.O.L. (revalidation) ing 11 were from teacher trainees), this days. suggests that teachers are far more likely - Money sent to Indian charities (eg those helping children). to reply to these things, as out of the 2500 magazines sent, only about half were sent - Affiliation to the British Wheel of Yoga. to teachers.

- Yoga Holidays.

What services should a national Iyengar - To be a good example of Yogic attitude.

T

Yoga Association provide?

In order of preference: 1. Maintain teaching standards 2. Conventions 3. Magazine 4. Teacher certification 5. Teacher contact lists 5. Insurance for teachers 5. Liase with RIMYI

§ 22. Bursaries for teachers 23. Bursaries for practitioners 24. Book and Video sales 25 . Resources eg book/video library 26. Discounts at local events 27. Discounts at national events 28. Equipment sales

?e

The average score for the topmost rank was 4.83 and the average score for the bottom most rank w.as 2.17 (services were scored 5 for important and 0 for not impOltant). The results do of course speak for themselves but I would like to draw your attention to the bottom most

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

Why join a national Iyengar Yoga organisation?

In order of preference: 1. To be kept informed about Iyengar Yoga news and events 2. To support Iyengar Yoga 3. To be a part of the Iyengar Yoga com­ munity 3. To be a part of a professional teaching association 5. Insurance for teachers 6. To learn about Yoga 7. To meet people with shared interests 8. To benefit from discounts.

Again it is worth noticing that the service least desired is the one that is chiefly about monetary benefit. The top most reasons seem to be about mutual SUppOlt - of the organisation by individuals and vIce versa.

Conventions: would you p,.efe/~ ..

1. One convention for practitioners and

Winter 2002 ------------------- 17 -------------------------------

one for teachers at different times of 4. Personal accounts of practice/teach­ mg year 1. One convention for practitioners and 6. Interviews with the Iyengars one for teachers rum1ing back to back 7. Articles by the Iyengars 3. A single annual convention open to 8. Workshop reports 8. News all practitioner.

8. Practice advice 8. Diet What i ignificant here is that the major­ ity ofp ople wanted separate teacher and 12. Local institute supplements 12. The business of teaching praditjon r conventions.

12. HistOlylFuture ofIyengar Yoga How often would you like a magazine? 12. Book reviews The mean frequency for the number of 12. Yoga equipment adverts magazines a year was 3 (actually 3.4 but we are unable to produce a 0.4 maga­ It is important to note that all the above zine). At the moment we only produce 2 were suggestions by respondents; the a year; the feasability of producing an questionnaire itself did not make specific adilltional magazine will be looked into. suggestions.

What sort of articles would you like to Wh at should the website include?

In order of preference: see in the magazine?

In order of preference:

1. Philosophy 1. Focus on poses 3. Teacher development 4. International news

1. Events listings 2. General information 2. Teacher listings 4. News 5. Class listings

REPORT FROM TH E UNITY GROUP

ollowing the joint unification motion that was unanimously carried at both BKSIYTA and LOYA gen­ eral meetings last May, a working group was set up with the aim of drafting a proposed structure for a new single Iyengar Yoga association for the UK. The Unity Group, consisting ofthree representatives from the BKSIYTA, three LOYA representatives and two 'wise friends' has now met three times . Having estab­ lished common aims and objectives in the first meeting, the purpose of the second meeting was to come up with a general structure for the new association. We consulted as widely as we could on this proposal, and amended, refined and added a lot of detail to the structure in our third meeting.

F

The Unity Group has found itself largely in agreement over all of the aspects of the proposed structure so far, but the key to success in this venture is to make sure that the whole Iyengar Yoga community in the UK is moving forward together. We need feedback from all Iyengar practitioners as we go along. Rather than print the proposed structure in this magazine (it is quite long), we are publishing detailed notes of all of our meetings on the BKSIYTA and LOYA websites. If you would like a copy posted to you, please ring 01223523410. Please have a look at our progress so far and tell us what you think; even if you are in total agreement, it is helpful to know.

Kirsten Agar Ward Nathalie Blondel Paquita Claridge Philippe Harari Brian Jack Judith Jones Ginnie Owen Elaine Pidgeon Iyengar Yoga News No.2

office@bath-iyengar-yoga.com nblondel@tadasana.fsnet.co.uk peter@claridge250.fsnet.co.uk phi 1ippe. harari@runbox.com jacksis@aol.com j udith@jonesyoga.fsnet.co.uk howard@owenh.freeserve.co.uk elaine. pidgeon@virgin.net

18

Winter 2002

A LllTLE DETACHMENT Alan Brown gives a personal view of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee, held at Crystal Palace in May 2002 One of the reasons I pracUse Iyengar yoga is the aim (occasionally realised) of gaining a precise. authentic experience, be it in the alignment of the body during asana practise, or through good teaching or the environment in which the expen­ ence is received.

Being taught by Geeta earlier this year gave all this and, of course, more. To be taught by a member of the Iyengar family is a great honour. It was something I was hoping to be able to experience and now something I plan to repeat.

Liz Brown

must confess that I almo t didn't go.

TI1 thought of being part of a class of Iseveral hundred people with probably only a distant, obscured view of whatev­ er was happening on the stage, was less than appealing. Then the cost of attend­ ing both the teachers' and the main con­ vention, added t travel fr ill Yorkshire and accommodation in London for both of us - well, we could have bought a couple of return flights to India for the same money which for a while we seri­ ously considered as an alternative.

However family commitments put paid to that idea so we bit the buJ[et and sent off our cheques.

Crystal Palace is not an ideal venue but it is not bad. There is the luxury of hav­ ing an Olympic size swimming pool to dip into whenever the fancy takes you ­ although I never quite managed to find the time to succumb to that temptation.

All the facilities are nicely situated near to each other so there is a good sense of togetherness. The main hall was more than adequate to accommodate every­ body although the glaring lights in the ceiling had to be left on for the video cameras. They hummed with a persist­ ence which required quite an effort of detachment to ignore.

vouchers com plimentary bandages and various other paraphernalia. I particu­ larly enjoyed this job as it gave me an opportunity to say hello to a lot of peo­ ple I may otherwi e not have managed to speak to. I was also happy to be working with such a friendly, co-opera­ tive team. Even though fati g1le clearly showed ill the face of the main organis­ ers, enthusiasm and good-natur never failed and that spi rit characterised the whole convention. The organisers and helpers, at least to my perception, did everything they could to ensure the atmosphere was unfai lingly warm, inclusive and supportive with never a suggestion that anybody was more important than anybody else.

The catering was generally good , although I personally didn't go over­ much for the lunchtime sandwiches.

Also the queues for the evening meals, especially after the arrival of the extra participants for the main convention, were enOm1OUS, but again with the exer­ cise of a little detachment I found it a marvellous opportunity to get to know new people and catch up with old fri ends.

Geeta began evelY session with a long puja, with various different prayers The sense of togethemess during the day being chanted in Sanskrit, some of helped to make up for a lack of suffi­ which we listened to and some we were cient onsite accommodation. But per­ expected to join. I have tried going to haps it would have been difficult to find church a few times but it always makes a suitable venue with accommodation me feel awkward . I cannot easily agree for so many people. There are a few with the fOm1 of the prayers I am expect­ apartments in a nearby block, and some ed to recite or accept many of the of us camped or caravanned at the aston­ Christian beliefs. I like singing hymns ishingly pretty and secluded Crystal but again I have felt unable to connect Palace campsite - it was hard to believe with the sentiments they express. Geeta that we were surrounded by London. gave lengthy explanations about the meaning of the prayers she recited and This was the first national convention stressed that even though the names may jointly organised by the BKSIYTA and be different, God is the same for every­ LOYA and as a member of the BKSIY­ body. I know some felt uncomfortable TA committee I had volunteered myself with that idea in spite of Geeta's best as a helper for general duties. Mostly efforts to explain and encourage us all to my job was to man one of the welcome participate. desks at the entrance, handing out packs with convention programmes, t-shirt For myself, not understanding most of 19

Winter 2002

the words I chanted meant that I could absorb myself in the beauty of the sound and sense of sharing w ithout having to worry whether I agreed with the content or not. F r bett r or worse, I was able to detach myself from the concepts and lose my elf in the experience. These pra ers went on for a considerable ti me but if one was not too attached to the idea a getting on with asana practice, it didn't matter at all.

The practice when it came may have eli ' appointed some. As teachers we \\ ere considered to be ther to learn rather than do a practice for our selve .

For mo t of the class we huddled close to the stage. 1 think Geeta kept us there so we were not constantly wasting ti me walki ng backwards and forwards to see.

So it was not ea y to practise effectively what we wer seeing demo nstrated on others. But, of course (and I hardly n ed to say this), the in tru tion w as excellent and delivered with a larity, p rceptivity and good humour which was inspira­ tional.

In the morning cla s of the second day we were permitted to return to our mats to practice what we were shown. As a note-taker J didn't have the chance to do that work, but the lass definitely fl owed better and it seemed easier t understand what was being shown. There were p lenty of interesting and u eful points about what actions to perform with the va rious parts of our anatomy but, with a team of note-taker arranged around the edge of the stage, we could relax and absorb tbe experience witho ut havi ng to worry about missing anything. There were also lots of good points about how to teach which I won't elaborate here because the note-sharing essions in the afternoon made sure that everybody who attended had a good chance to copy e erything down.

Some gntmbles surfaced about these afternoon sessions as mostly all we did was 'it round en rna se and give out all th p ints we had managed to remember r write down from the session with G tao I suppose we cou ld have had m re teaching, but it would have be n a hard act to follow for even our best teachers. Better perhaps to be content wi th h t we had been given already ­ and it did mean that evelybody had the chance to geL every point that was given.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

The teacher's Pranayama class, I did find difficult. I wasn't well placed to see; bolsters littered the stage and we were not allow d to stand too close, or climb onto the stage because of the video cam­ eras. So I didn't get a lot from it and I am j ust hoping that the video will make up for the inconvenience it caused me at the time.

I was rather worried about the firs t Pranayama class of the main convention because, owing to spectacularly bad timetabling, the AGM was scheduled to take place d irectly before it.

Controvers ial and contentiolls items having been plac d on the agenda I was quite concerned that T would spend the whole of the Pranayama class churning these matters over in my mind. As it turned out there wasn't time to discllss the difficul t issues and I managed to enter into my Pranayama in an undis­ turbed state of mind. In spite of a nig­ gling cough (yes, sorry, that was me) wh ich I had suffered for weeks and whi h refused to go I experienced a truly wonderful Pranayama wi thout so much as a tickle.

There was a question and answer ses­ sion at th end of the last day with the usual valuabl explanations of how to deal wi th health problems through the use of prop and modifications, but Geeta also had to field some difficult and possibly pointed, questions about our organisation and some of the issues con fronting it. She managed this astute­ ly, with an honesty and go d humour tilat embraced us all under the same pro­ tective umbrella of Yoga.

Like all good teach­ ers, none of her words were wasted or superfluous " qUite a feat in itself when you consider how many hours she taught some­ times three or four at a stretch almost without pause.

While I had been told before that in India the teachers shout, I know that some people, myself included, found the occasion­ al ferocity of a remark surprising. I found 'effortless effort· further from my grasp whl1e ter­ rified of being picked out for doing something wrong.

But. as Geeta said, "If I tell you some­ thing once, you will forget; if I tell you three times you may not forget; but if I shout you will not forget. " Who can argue with that?

Liz Brown

There are still Finally, more prayers, presentations and cop ies of the thank yo us, and I fel t rather embarrassed Jubilee videos for to be invited onto the stage wi th a few thers and thanked for my small contri­ sale - see page 34 bution on the welco me desk It's hard to for details on how to order. imagin the months of meticulous plan­ ning and hard work that goes in to O1·<1an­ i iog a big event like this. On behalf of everybody fortunate enougb to attend 1 would like to say a real giant sized thank-you to the people who did that work, all voluntary and simply for the love of Yoga.

Also to Geeta who brought us all togeth­ er not only in one building but in one spir.it. I hope she comes to visit us agaIn. 20

Winter 2002

Some Reflections on "Spirituality" and Iyengar Yoga Practitioners

Suzanne Hasselle-Newcombe analyses the results of her Crystal Palace Questionnaire The gender difference for the sample was 84.6% women and 14.6% men. Age ranged between 23 and 76 years, with the average age being 47 .

The average respon­ dent attends one yoga class per week and practises asana at home for 3-5 hours a week; most respon­ dents have been prac­ ticing Iyengar Yoga for 6 - 10 years and yoga generally for 11 - 15 years. It is clear that the respondents were dedicated, experi­ enced practitioners - a particular section of the great variety of people who practise Iyengar Yoga.

(jo An amazing number of Iyengar Yoga practi­ tioners In this sample had university educa­ tions. According to the 1998 British Social Attitudes survey, less than 10% of the gener­ al population have completed an under­ graduate degree. Yet 643% of the sample yoga practitioners had completed an under­ graduate degree and 29.8% had also com­ pleted post-graduate academic qualifica­ tions.

any readers of Iyengar Yoga News were present at the Jubilee Convention at Crystal Palace last May with Geeta Iyengar. At this event, I dis­ tributed questionnaires as part of my research for an MSc Religion in Contemporary Society at the London School of Economics. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who complet­ ed a questionnaire or othelWise helped in this project; in particular, I must thank a member of the Iyengar Yoga Institute (Maida Vale) who generously provided financial support for the project.

Although I asked questions relating to many aspects of the practice of Iyengar Yoga, my dissertation focused on spiri­ tuaVreligious elements. I found this a fascinating area to research, not the least because there are so many different rea­ sons why people practise yoga. I con­ cluded that long-term practitioners often do use their practice of Iyengar Yoga as a method for developing "spiritual" self­ knowledge. However, the conceptual framework - the ideas - around the "reli­ gious" or "spiritual" remain unique to every individual.

M

practitioners share the same opInIOns and characteristics as those who com­ pleted the questionnaire. Please read the following results as "preliminary" description only.

For a majority of dedicated practitioners the practice of yoga goes beyond just the physical level. From the respon­ dents to the questionnaire, 64.4% feel that their yoga practice facilitates an awareness of fee lings and 68.1 % believe their practice helps them to manage feelings. Additionally, many feel that their yoga practice helps com­ bat feelings of stress; 79% feel this is an important reason for continuing to prac­ tise. Thus, for at least two-thirds of the respondents, the effects of yoga practice reach the physiological and emotional levels.

Through conversations with many prac­ titioners, I have found that there is often (though certainly not always!) a nega­ tive association with the word "reli­ gion" as representing blind belief in dogma and "something dead."

Therefore, in the questionnaire, I asked Out of the 750 people present at the for the relative importance of something event, 188 returned completed ques­ "spiritual" in the practice of yoga. tionnaires - a response rate of 25%. It is Almost half of the practitioners found a important to stress that the findings that "spiritual element" an important reason follow may not accurately represent the why they continue to practise Iyengar British Iyengar Yoga community. Yoga (47.3%). Interestingly, approxi­ Significantly, the practitioners who mately half of the practitioners (48.4%) completed the questionnaire were expe­ also began their practice with an idea of rienced and dedicated: the average "spiritual development." It is likely that respondent has practised Iyengar Yoga many who practise Iyengar Yoga have a between six and ten years, attends yoga personal interest in the "spiritual". class once a week and practices asana at Long-term practitioners are no more home for three to five hours a week. likely to have a "spiritual" interest in Therefore Iyengar Yoga is likely to have their practice than beginners. Therefore an important place in these practition­ it appears to be unlikely that the prac­ ers' lives. This is a good sample from tice of Iyengar Yoga itself generates an which to explore which aspects of interest in yoga as a "spiritual practice."

Iyengar Yoga are most important to experienced practitioners. However, The concept of "spirituality" is very there is no way of knowing how many vague. Many popular definitions

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

21

Winter 2002

involve the ideas of "higher meaning" r "higher alues" to human Life as importanl a peets of "spirituality, " This reson t . well with the respondents: Yoga add ' a "sense of meaning to life" [or 84,6% of the respondents . The importance of yoga practice in provid­ ing a sen e of meaning and purpose to Ufe shou ld not be underestimated.

Many people wrote in powerfu l state­ ments on this theme:

[Yoga} underpins my !(ie, grounds it, gives it a meaning and a rooted-ness.

I call it [yoga) my sanity insurance. It p robclbly could be described as the bedrock of my existence.

Gave me a sense of purpose. Gives a meaning to being alive; brings a meas­ ure ofsanity.

Many respondents contrasted the mean­ ing the practice of yoga gave them with a sense of meaninglessness to "materi­ alistic" and "capitalistic" mainstream ociety. Some re pondents wrote: L~le

in the West is so f ast-paced and materialisti '. Yoga can add meaning to one's otherwise shallmv, meaningless

hie.

[Yoga is an} antidote to current con­ sumer values.

It offers an alternaave to our material­ istic view of life, with physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects which are sadly missing on the whole fro m our culture.

One of the most interesting characteris­ tics of the respondents was a tendency towards mixing reUgious inspirations while remaining grounded in a regular practice of Iyengar Yoga. The respon­ de nts were velY unli kely to be practis­ ing any other "style" of "hatha" yoga; Ie . than 5.3% of th respondent are currently practising any other tradition of yoga asana alongside Iyengar's teach ing. However, the respond nts were also very unli kely to feel affiliated with Hindui m - less than 3%. Instead Iyengar Yoga

ew

No.2

many individuals shared sympathies with several faith systems for instance: Hindujsm, Catholici. m and Buddh ism, or Hinduism and Protestantism. In all, 15.4% of the respondents refused to be affi li ted with any single religious faith .

Iyengar Yoga General Practitioners Popn. ofUK* No religion Mult iple Buddhist C ofE Catholi c C of Scotland Prote. tant (not CoE) Other Hindu Jewish Muslim Sikh Don't Know No response

31.9% 15.4% 12.8% 11.2% 8.5% l. 1% 7.4% 4.3% 1.6% 1.1 %

4.8%

45 .8%

11/a 0.1% 29.1% 8.6% 3.7% 10.1 % 0.6% 0.4% 0.4% 0.7% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2%

* 1998 British Social Attitudes Survey As 'hown above, the respondents have significantly different rel igio u affilia­ tions from the general British popula­ tion. Importantly, the largest segment of both groups feel affiliated with "no reli­ gion." However this sel ction was not always as secular as it appeared.

Several respondents wrote in commen ts relating to their choice of "no religion": "No Religion - but I feel I am interested in the best of all religions" and another wrote "No religion - but I respect all religions - I wish th re were just one! " "No religion" for some meant an affilia­ tion with secular hmnan i m, or another secular/phjlosophical -based ethical framework . However, most simp ly ticked "no religion" without further comment.

The most significant single religious tradition amo ngst the Iyengar yoga practitioners was B uddhism. Buddhism was marked by 12.8% of respondents as their single -eligious affili ation; this compares to less than 1% of the general British popUlation. Most Buddhists 22

While 48.9% of the respondents had tried a tradition of yoga other than Iyengar Yoga, only 5.3% con­ tinue to practise any other tradition of asana practice. The most overwhelming reason why respon­ dents signified that they practised Iyengar Yoga was the quality of Iyengar Yoga teachers. The reputa­ tion and depth of BKS Iyengar's understand­ ing of yoga were also important considera­ tions.

People begin their practice of yoga for many different rea­ sons: 59.6% began their practice of yoga as an alternative form of exercise. Hopes of helping a specific physical condition motivated 26.6% of the respondents and 24.4% wanted to address a specific emotional or psycho­ logical condition.

Significantly, 58% began yoga , in part, for reasons that could be considered "per­ sonal development."

An idea of developing "spiritually" motivated 47.3% of these dedi­ cated practitioners .

Winter 2002

The longer the years of practice, the more Important the fitness and flexibility gained by practising yoga become: 85.1% found exercise an important reason why they con­ tinue to practise and 94.6% felt that flexibility was an important rea­ son why they continue to practise. Many prac­ titioners do find Iyengar Yoga an important source of relief from stresses; 79.3% contin­ ue their practice in part as a way to manage stress. Many long-term practitioners (52.7%) also use their practice to manage a specific problem. whether phys­ ical or mental. Over two thirds find the self­ discipline of practising yoga an important aspect of the continued practice. That yoga provides some tools to become increasingly aware of feelings as well as managing feel­ ings was also a signifi­ cant reason why many continued to practise.

It is interesting to note that 83.9% of the sam­ ple did believe in a kind of God, whether one with which you could have a personal rela­ tionship, an impersonal spirit or life-force, or "God" as something within each person. A significant number of the sample, 22.3% believe in reincarnation .

Half of the sample is not sure what happens after death.

found the practice of Iyengar Yoga completely complementary to their metaphysical beliefs, even though the goal of yoga is (ultimately) to re-unite with (an impersonal) God and the goal of Buddhism is to realize the ultimate non-essence of everything, including conceptions of God. It is interesting that such apparently opposing belief sys­ tems can be seen to "fit brilliantly" (to use the words of more than one respon­ dent). My research suggests that for many of the respondents the practice that they do - asana, pranayama and for 37.2% a form of meditation unrelated to Iyengar Yoga - is of more personal importance than the belief system from which it originates.

British Social Attitudes national survey, just under 10% of the British population have university degrees. Amongst the Iyengar respondents, 64.3% had univer­ sity degrees; an additional 29.8% had academic post-graduate qualifications.

In particular, many of these respondents hold post-graduate certificates in teach­ mg.

Mystical religion tends to be associated with those aspects of society that have a high level of education - it has been called the "secret religion of the educat­ ed classes." According to the 1998

I would be happy to discuss any aspect of my research further with any reader; I can be most easily reached by email at

Mystical religion also tends to avoid any type of social organization largely because all beliefs or convictions are completely up to the individual's con­ scious. But the practice of Iyengar Yoga appears to provide a common activity for many who are creating personal, eclectic systems of meaning in their lives. This might be because Iyengar The responses to this questionnaire sug­ Yoga provides a specific technique, a gest that Iyengar Yoga, as practised in "technology," of increasing awareness Britain, is in line with "mystical reli­ of self - in mind, breath and body. An gion." A concept of "mystical religion" important role of the BKSIYTA is to was developed by Ernst Troeltsch at the preserve the integrity of BKS Iyengar's beginning of the century. According to "technology" of yoga asana and Troeltsch, mystical religion has its pranayama. However, exactly what emphasis on direct, personal religious each practitioner discovers, in the space experience; there is no authority higher created by the yoga practice, is individ­ than personal experience. This type of ual. The meaning and language we use religion is "mystical" in a very ordinary to describe the personal experience of sense - it does not imply any direct rev­ yoga practice comes from our experi­ elations from God or inspirational hal­ ence in a multi-cultural, largely secular lucinations. Other than a reliance on Britain. In this way each practitioner of direct experience, mystical religion Iyengar yoga is participating in a deep, tends to be highly individualistic and traditional Indian science of self-knowl­ syncretic - drawing on a variety of edge as well as engaged in creating inspirations, both secular and religious, something radically new - specific to in the creation of higher meaning to life each individual and characteristic of this time and place. as individuals.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

23

shassellenewco m be@yahoo.co.uk

IYENGAR YOGAAND LONDON Lorna Walker looks back on the first 50 years his year we are celebrating the Si lver Jubilee of the Teachers' T As oc iation. It should also be remem­ bered that we are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Mr. Iyengar's first contact with the U .K. In March 1952 Mr. Iyengar met Mr. Yehudi Menuhin (later Lord Menuhin) in Bombay. The success of that first meeting led to the invitation to Mr. Iyengar to visit Britain.

It was not until 1954 that he made bis fi rst trip to Europe to teach Lord Menuhin, but the beginni ngs of Yoga in the U.K. were laid in the trip Mr. Iy ngar made to Bombay in 1952.

F rom 1954 until 1960 Mr. Iyengar taught only musicians or other selected students on his trips to Europe.

However, in 1961 the first open class was held in London. Diana CLifton, one of our Advanced Teachers, saw the advertisement, applied, and attended that first class. She remembers that there were three students for it, herself, Angela Marris and Silva Mehta.

However, the number of interested stu­ dents grew rapidly. At the end of the two-week visit Mr. Iyengar instructed the group to practise together, led by Diana who had previously practised from a book. It was not "Light on Yoga", as that was not published until 1966.

It could be said that the first London teacher training took place later during that year. Diana had photographs taken of her doing asanas. She sent these to Mr. Iyengar who returned them with comments. When Mr. Iyengar returned the fo llowing year he agreed some of the students shou ld teach in pairs. So classes taught by Guruji's students here,began.

In an interview in the early 1970's Mr. Iyengar stated that he had been training teachers to conduct classes for the London County Council from 1967 and that no teachers were accepted unless he authorised.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

However, it was not until 1970 that the number of classes really began to grow.

It was agreed behveen Mr. Iyengar and Mr. Peter McIntosh, Director of Physical Education for the Inner London Education Authority, that Iyengar Yoga should be taught in Adult Education Institutions. Following this, in January 1971, Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training classes were started at the Co llege of Physical Education, Paddington Street. The expansion was rapid.

Each year until 1976 Mr. Iyengar visit­ ed and taught the would-be teachers. He decided who was and who was not ready to teach. Once he had agreed that a student was ready, classes were found for them. Such was the demand for teac hers that, I believe, all who quali­ fi ed were soon found a place to teach.

With the opening of the Institute in Pune and the growth in the number of teachers, Mr. Iyengar set up the system of Certification and the BKSIYTA. Those, like me, who were already teaching were given certificates. Those who followed had to take an assess­ ment.

We are now celebrating the silver jubilee of the setting up of the BKSIY­ TA.

Information jor this article came from the .file at the Iyengar Yoga Institute (Maida Vale), 223a. Randolph Avenue, London, W9 1NL. Early students and teachers have written up their memories of their .first classes and the opening of the Institute. We would really like to have further information, particularly about the 1960's classes, the early teacher training, the outings with Guruji and thejirst teachers. The aim is to provide a resource for the future. If you have memories you would like to share please send them to me at the Institute address (see above).

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------------------------------~

THE CASE FOR MODERN YOGA

Joe Bum attended the 7th International DHII R conference in Cambridge in September 2002 as a representative of LOYA(UK) and the BKSIYTA. This is his report.

----n Friday th 20th and Saturday the 2 1st of September I was privileged to represent the UK Iyengar Yoga com­ mun ity at the 7th international DHHR Co nference in Cambridge (DHUR stan ds for The Dharam H ind uja In tinlte ofIndic Research). The confer­ ence, entitled "Indic Health Conference 1: The case of modern Yoga", was a part of a w ide ranging research exercise called the Indic Health and Medicine Research Programme which attempts to un derstand Eastern approaches to health in modem times. This conference was obviously being taken very serious­ ly by its funders and the University of Cambridge as the opening addresses were delivered by none other than the Hinduja brothers and a1 0 Sir A l c Broers who is the Vice hancellor of the university. After these important people had delivered their speeches I decided to really pay close attention.

O

1 a m delighted to say that having vowed to try and pay attention I soon fOLmd that effort wa ' not required as th talks given were all thought provoking and of a high quality. The speakers varied enormously' there were Doctors and professors of medicine, doctors of phi­ losophy and professors of Indic research and indeed 'ordinary' fol . The emphasis was on academic research into Yoga - both th e history of its litera­ ture and its medical applications - and infact there was no Yoga practi sed its elf... a curiosity tha t one speaker cou ld not help mentioning. The organis­ er of the conference did point out that during some prev ious conferences Yoga postures had been practised and exam­ ined.

I do not have e nough space here to sum­ ma rise points made in all the talks but I will try to highlight one of the m ain the­ oretical problems that many speakers addressed. It is as foUows: in the west Iyengar Yoga News No .2

25

there is a standard paradi gm to estab lish the effi cacy of a treatment for a medical condition. Take for ex ample a drug given for high blood pressure (HBP).

Now to test this drug a western scientist would take a random sample of say 100 HBP sufferers and divide the samp le randoml y in half. One hal f would be gi en the drug and the other would be given a placebo. After some time the patients would record if there was any response to the drug. These results would be analysed and then our sc ien­ tists could say either that the drug vvorks or it does not. If the drug worked then doctors the world over wo uld recom­ mend this drug to their pati nts. This is a gross oversin1piification of what is a complicated process and I have dune it little j ustice but in principle this is what happens. This is described as an objec­ tive test of the efficacy of the drug.

Sp eakers in the conferences higWighted that thi s is not how Yoga therapists approach their patients or treatments.

Rather it was made clear time and time again that yoga treatment is SUbj ective.

That is to say no yoga therapist would assume that one s r ies of po stures would be good for all their patients suf­ fering from the same condition. For example one series of postures for one patient with HBP m ight inc lude sup ta virasana, but ano ther HBP patient may suffer from chronic arthritis in their knees thu s making the pose unbearable; the yoga therapist must immediately modify the treatment by changes in the posture attempted or changing the sequ nee. This may not be possible with the drug for HBP where the patien t either takes the dmg or does not (there may be alte :llative drugs). The point is that aU people if looked at in the holis­ tic sense are different and therefore treatment of their ailments needs to be personalised. The huge variety of yoga postures and their variations give a yoga Winter 2002

therapist a muc h bigger palette from \'hich to ' on truct a treatment. Drug lreatrn nl do not gi ' t: this flexibility. fle xibility of treatment h is [his ve that - olZa ffers that is also its Achilles '-­ he I in the es of the western scientist.

W t m 5 ience requires that the thing being tested -a drug, a sequence of pos­ tures - remains constant throughout the test, if yogis are always changing and adapting their postures etc. so as to suit th e needs of the particular patient then yoga is untestable and as a result will never be accepted. This is a problem that we need to solve.

Spirituality is subjective and is at the core of Yoga but it cannot be measured, there is no empirical evidence for it. As such none of the talks were about spiri­ tuality as all speakers presented evi­ dence for whatever they were talking about, with the exception of Prof.

Arjunwadkar and Frederick Leboyer.

However all speakers were very keen to establish that they knew that Yoga was spiritual (many were Yoga practition­ ers) but that the disciplines of their sub­ ject require that they stick to the justifi­ cation of hypotheses by evidence. This did make an impression on me as I thought that the conference would be a very dry affair - it was not - and it was really up]ifting to see many persons dedicated to understanding yoga and dedicated to grapple with the problems that the objective/subjective approaches make. Another illustration of this was made with regard to the nadis, chakras and the kundalini. These do not exist in

the objective sense of the word, they can never be measured or found and attempts to do so are futile. What we need is an understanding that these were a metaphysical model created to explain a sUbjective and repeatable experience.

If we want to make yoga a mainstream treatment accepted by the establishment then we must understand the problems that this conference was trying to face up to and as such I recommend its work to you and would encourage its contin­ ued support.

Finally it was really great to meet a lot of people from other Yoga traditions, the British Wheel of Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Vini Yoga, Dru Yoga and many more. It was encouraging and not suprising that these persons were dedi­ cated to increasing the health of their members - both physical and spiritual ­ through Yoga. With this and a recent article published in September in the Guardian in mind I should point out though that many persons were keen to see Yoga monitored by a government body so that the current trend of 'rogue' teachers might be stopped from teach­ ing postures unsuited to their class members. This is something that was mentioned by Lady Diana Dunrossil, from the Prince of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health, and we the Iyengar Yoga community must engage with the problem, the government and the governing body for Yoga on the Sports Council - the British Wheel of Yoga - as soon as possible (see article on page 44 of this magazine).

BKSIYTA and LOYA(UK) annual conventions At the time of going to press, application forms for these conventions were not ready to publish.

The teachers' convention is schedu lled to take place on the 13th/14th/15th June 2003 in Manchester, with Jawahar Bangera as the visiting teacher. The general convention wil li be hosted by the Bradford and District Institute and will take place on the weekend of 30th/31 st August (venue/teacher to be confirmed). Hopefully, we will be able to send out application forms as inserts in this magazine, but if not, you can mark these dates in your diary now and you will receive full details and application forms in due course, I engar Yoga News No.2

26

Winter 2002

Events Listings

your guide to lye

Avon Iyengar Yoga Institute Contact: Bob Phillips (office@bath-iyengar-yoga.com) $0 Yoga day with Pen Reed - 7th June Discounts for all LOYA members

Bradford & District Iyengar Yoga Institute Contact: A/an Brown (01535 637359; a/an@diana/an.p/us.com) $0 Yoga day with Lilian Biggs and Alan Brown - 18th Jan. $0 Teachers' workshop morning - 7th June

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga Institute

+-

INSTITU T E - +

Contact: Sasha Perryman (01223 523265; info@cambridgeyoga.co.uk) $0 Class and talk by Janet Tournier, followed by CIYI AGM - Sat. 16th Nov.

$oYoga day with Penny Chaplin - 18th Jan.

$oYoga day with Judi Sweeting - 17th May

$0 Yoga day with Jayne Orton - 15th Nov.

Discounts for all LOYA members

Institute of Iyengar Yoga in Sussex Contact: John Robinson (01243 551005) $oNothing planned yet - please contact John for information about future events Discounts for all LOYA members

Liverpool & District Iyengar Yoga Institute Contact: Judi Soffa (0151 7094923; mai/@yogastudio.f9.co.uk) $0 Yoga day with Judi Soffa and June Roberts (after their trip to Pune in December) - Sun. 23rd Feb. $0 Yoga day with Cathy Rogers - Sun. 30th March $0 Yoga day with Richard Agar Ward - 18th May ÂŁ20 members, ÂŁ25 non-members - discounts for all LOYA members

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

27

Winter 2002

~--~--=-------------------------------------------------

~ ar

Yoga Institutes aroundl the country

North East London Iyengar Yoga Institute Contact: Tess Whitelee (020 847 7311; tess. whitelee@btinternet.com) Sunday workshops at the Harringay Club N8: SvJoe Bum - 24th Nov.; 1-4 pm Sv Sylvia Prescott - 26th Jan.; 10 am - 4 pm Sv Sue Lovell - 23rd Feb.; 10 am - 1 pm SvBrigid Philip - 30th Mar.; 10 am - 1 pm(followed by AGM) Sv Cathy Stanton - 11 th May; 1-4 pm Sv Richard Agar Ward - 29th June; 10 am - 4 pm Discounts for all LOYA members

Oxford and Region Iyengar Yoga Institute Contact: Phil Brown (0163535465) SvYoga day with Margaret Austin - Sat. 25th Jan. - High Wycombe

Sheffield and District Iyengar Yoga Institute Contact: Bev Fox (0114 2556340) SvYoga class with Frances Homewood (fresh from Pune) - 18th January SvYoga class with Richard Agar Ward - 5th April SvYoga class with Jayne Orton - 21st June All classes held at St Mary's Community Centre. Tickets are ÂŁ 15 for SADIYI and other LOYA members, ÂŁ20 for non-members.

,

South West lyenQlar Yoga Institute Contact: Alison Trewhela (01872 865675; alitrewhela@aol.com) SvYoga day with Richard Agar Ward - 25th Jan. Discounts for all LOYA members

listings on these pages are free for Institutes that are affiliated to the Light on Yoga Association (UK) ; there is a small charge for non-affiliated Institutes. All Institutes on these pages are non profit-making and are wholly dedicated to teaching Yoga using the Iyengar method.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

28

Winter 2002

POINTS OF VIEW

In each issue of IYN, the Editors propose to raise a question for discussion and to invite a num­ ber of people to respond. These questions may raise issues that are controversial, and elicit responses that some readers strongly disagree with. However, we must remember that whatev­ er the differences between Iyengar Yoga practitioners in the UK, there is much, much more that unites us than separates us. The editors of IYN would like to make it clear that the views expressed below are those of the individual contributors. Readers are more than welcome to write in to IYN with their own views . For this issue of IYN, we have asked 4 people to respond to the following question:

What is the relationship between Iyengar Yoga Practitioners and the Guru?

Dominic Batten: In being asked for a response to the question of what is the relationship between Iyengar Yoga practitioners and the Guru, I have to make it clear that any answer can only be a personal one. I cannot speak on behalf of other practitioners, have not read widely or thought deeply about this question, but fmd it intriguing.

In his article on the guru a couple of issues back, Richard Agar Ward refelTed to the excellent section in Mr Iyengar's recent Path to Holistic Health book, explaining that a guru leads you from darkness to light.

I cannot think of a better description of a teacher, any teacher. We all have people who by their qualities, good example or wisdom have helped us to become more fully alive; maybe a parent or relative, a schoolteacher or a writer who has inspired us. Our lives would be darker without them; they have helped us to see.

dantly clear in Mr Iyengar's writings; by his ceaseless practice, he is bringing to light the teachings of Patanjali.

What I experience over time is that those who are atten­ tive and devoted to Mr Iyengar's teaching can best help me learn. I am grateful to those who have gone further along their journey of Yoga than I have, and am aware that no-one today has gone further along the road of exploring yoga than Mr Iyengar. In our asana practice, we ask our bodies many questions, and can expelience - through our bodies - that the answers given by Mr Iyengar in his teaching are the right ones. And so I sense that I am creeping towards a greater sense of accepting that guru is appropriate as a term for the per­ son guiding, through others, how I practice.

It is right to question whether those we follow are fit to lead. Trust can be abused; so how do we judge? We test the teaching with our bodies and we note the effects, we consider the lifestyle of the leader - does he live simply? Is there congruence between the words and the actions? Is there any sexual or financial exploitation? Is there a cult of secrecy and separation from people? Am I required to compromise any values and beliefs? As we explore these questions, the answers can lead us to a sense of trust and truthfulness, and maybe we will lose our sense of inhibition about using the telm guru.

Light, or enlightenment, are words that trigger caution in us. We can probably think of examples of false, exploitative gurus and give good reasons for suspicion.

I would like to counter this with a thought from a writer I have found greatly inspirational, the French mystic and philosopher Simone Weil, who commented that 'all that is mediocre in us hates what is light'. If someone is deemed to be on a pedestal, what is the origin of the impulse to pull them down, or to join them (or maybe replace them)?

Tessa Martin:

Simone Weil also proposed that hierarchy is one of the needs of the soul. Certainly, the Iyengar community is hierarchical. We learn from our teachers who learn from Mr Iyengar. I cannot truthfully claim that Mr Iyengar is my guru, because frequency of contact seems to me to be part of the guruldisciple relationship and I have only been once to Pune. I realised during this visit that yoga comes through rather than from Mr Iyengar. This is a further reason for trust in the teach­ ing: it is part of a classical tradition, as is made abun­

I have been practising Iyengar Yoga for roughly 10 years and passed my Introductory Certificate in October 1999, and have been teaching since then. I was born and raised in England and had a traditional Western upbringing, my parents were not religious at all and I would go as far as to say were agnostic in their beliefs. I think this is relevant to the question put before me, I am going to endeavour to answer this question from a very personal point of view and I hope that my opinions do not offend anyone.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

29

Winter 2002

I have never had the opporhmity to visit India or be taught personally by Mr. Iyengar and with my person­ al situation now (single-parent et .) it is going to be many many years before I will be able to do so. As I understand it Iyengar Yoga came to the West flfstly through Mr. Iyengar teaching a small group of people mo t of whom are now very senior teachers. This group had a very personal relationship with Mr. Iyengar and they d ve\oped a high admiration for his qualiti and consequently develop d great affection for him recognizing his integrity and finding him a truly inspiring teacher. It has be n the job of these seo­ ior teachers to impart to us his unique method of teach­ ing yoga and in so doing they have also im parted their huge enthusia m affection and re peet for him. If they did not do this I do not believe Iyengar Yoga would have been as successful and widespread as it is. He in pires enormous motivation, which is the thrust of the spread of Iyengar Yoga. I also recognize this in the many t achers who are able to go to India regularly and impart to us his pearls of wisdom.

In India, within an Eastern culture and tradition totally differ nt from ours, M r. Iyengar is also re ognized for his achievements and success throughout the world and it is a natural tendency on the pat1 of Indians to view hi m in their traditional sense as a guru with all the spir­ itual and moral authority that that implies to them. This way oflooki ng upon Mr. lyeng,rr bas also naturally to some extent crossed over into the West, and it is this way of looking at him that I believe does not sit com­ fortably with all Westerners.

To the best of my knowledge Mr. Iyengar himself has never made any claims other than to say that if one practises his method of yoga obediently, earnestly, seri­ ously and is always willing to leam, regardless of one's culh lre, background, r....!igion or no religion, the prac­ tice will be of immense value to the practitioner and will bring only benefit and evolution. This has been my experience ofTy ngar Yoga, I believe I am a com­ pletely changed per on due to this practice. I came having no interest in matters spirihlaJ whatsoever and now I have an enormous interest in such and yoga has lead me to find my own spiritual path. However, I do not view Mr. Iyengar as my personal spiritual guru nor do I feel the need to view bim as such. I do though, bave enonn ous respect and loya lty [or him . I have never ti lt that Iyengar Yoga i asking anyone to have blind faith, the experience of benefi t and personal evo­ lution can, and does, only come through persistent practi e and personal reflection.

Through his many books, papers, articles etc. Mr. Iyengar has always been totally honest about his own practice. As his practice has deepened and he has got Iyengar Yoga News No.2

30

older he has obviously touched upon layers ofhis being that we can only imagine. He has tried to describe these to us and bearing in mind that he is a Brahmin and a deeply religious man obviously his religious beliefs are reflected in his writings. Why can we not accept this and respect him for his huge personal achieve­ ments without feeling that somehow we are being coerced into following exactly the same spiritual path?

Used intelligently as a tool the 8 limbs of yoga work whatever culhlre, background, religion or non-religion we aspire to. This is what he has always said and this is the way I try and work with them.

It is a very personal matter; if people choose to view Mr. Iyengar as their guru in the traditional Eastern sense then what's the problem with that? I choose to view him as a guru in the sense of a phenomenal teacher whose knowledge and advice is passed down to me through the teachers I go to and if those teachers wish to chant the invocation or other prayers prior to or after the fonnal yoga practice session I have no prob­ lem respecting this.

IfIyengar Yoga is being seen as a cult following I think this attitude must be coming from people who perhaps have not made the effort to try and understand Mr. Iyengar's teachings and his culhLre fully or perhaps have not the confidence to follow their own path with­ in the framework of the 8 limbs of yoga. Far worse things I am sure have been fired at Iyengar and his methods but the man himself continuously rises above such nonsense, and the Iyengar movement too, I am sure, will not be phased by this small-mindedness.

Roger Ash Wheeler: After I was invited to make a contribution to the theme of the relationship between Iyengar Yoga practitioners and the guru, I reviewed the questionnaires for both my In troductory Assessment and Certificate, and found that the prerequisites or requirements of the BKSIYTA for a prospective teacher of Iyengar Yoga did not involve entering a relationship with a guru, or spiritu­ al master. Aside from the practical aspect of perform­ ing and teaching the poshLres to a particular standard, the only other written questions asked of me were rather mundane, such as: the date I started practising Yoga, how often I practised, what my favourite poshlre is, my medical history, and various questions related to the teaching of certain poshLres. There was no mention of an initiation to take, no talk of joining a religious or spiritual organisation, and no accepting of certain rites and rihtals upon becoming a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Nor did I have the intention to join a spiritual organisation when I considered Mr. Iyengar's system of Yoga. I believed - and still do - that I was practising a Winter 2002 --------------------------------

well thought-out and meticulous method of Yoga that Me Iyengar spent years of his life perfecting.

However, I did not feel I was entering a guru-disciple relationship with Mr. Iyengar, and that was never asked or expected of me. "To spread the teachings of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar and maintain the teaching standards set by him" (a phrase from the BKSIYTA teacher's handbook) is not the same as engaging in a special relationship with a spiritual master. One is sim­ ply being asked to teach a paIticular style of Yoga.

Yet what I have been reading over the past year has both concerned and confused me, since the memos and messages coming form the BKSIYTA have implied that if! am a loyal discipl ofGuruj i, I should not ques­ tion th imposition of the much debated Certification Mark* . By becoming a certi ficated teacher, does that mean I have joined a spiritual - in this case autocratic ­ organisation, where there is no place or vehicle for debating for what and where the requested £35 annual fee is heading? I even have no idea how my annual £35 subscription to the Teachers' Association is being used.

In Alan Brown 's article "What Kind of Organisation Are We ?" (published in the section that was sent to teachers with Iyengar Yoga News Issue 1 - April 2002) he states "(BKSIYTA) now holds open elections and you are part of a truly democratic organisation". Mr Iyengar is the unelected Honorary President of both LOYA and the Teachers' Association. Does that give him the legal right to do what he wishes with an annu­ al income of about £30000 from UK teachers alone?

Yes, it probably does.

Yet I still feel uneasy belonging to an organisation whose President need not be accountable for his actions, and where there is a lack of transparency in the organisation's presentation to its members and society.

We need to clarify the realtionship betweeen student/disciple and President/Guru.

*Note:

the Certijicatiol1 1V1ark applies only to Iyengar teachers and not to non-teaching pracititioners R ichard Agar Ward:

"Iyengar Yoga" is in reality a method to reveal chiefly the practical aspects of Patanjali's system as laid out in the Yoga Sutras. Prashant reminds us that his father was not taught as we are being taught and that he worked for his knowledge single-handedly and unremittingly, notwithstanding the vital contribution made by B.K.S. Iyengar's own Guruji, Professor T. Krishnamacharya.

"His Guru was a guiding force from within. His Guru was his intelligence, his mind. His Guru was every­ thing in him." He also says that "no one is without a Guru" and the implication is that we may be able to reach, to hear and to be graced by this Guru within.

What a personal Guru may be able to do, with the ded­ icated participation ofthe sishya or aspirant, is to bring the aspirant into contact with this Guru within. In this way, the flower ofthe teaching ofB.K.S. Iyengar for an Iyengar Yoga practitioner is when the gates of the soul are opened to shine in the practitioner.

What does it mean to call oneself an Iyengar Yoga practitioner? Some would point out that there is only one such: Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar himself. He is the pinnacle of the method but the rest of us "Iyengar Yoga practitioners" have a common denominator in that we are followers and fellow pupils of his method.

When we join an Iyengar Yoga class we may have a teacher who is not B.K.S. Iyengar himself but we are all his pupils as we are following his method. As pupils we are all aspirants (sishyas) in his method. For those of us who are teachers of his method can we say that the people who attend our classes are our pupils or our aspirants or are they his? Of course they are his. If we are teaching what he taught then they are his pupils, his sishyas and not ours.

In so far as we choose his method of Yoga and not oth­ ers then he is our Guru from that level onwards; he is our guide to help us move from ignorance to spiritual knowledge. Guruji accepts us as his pupils when we take up his method although in most cases he does not know us beforehand and accepts us on trust through his pupils who teach. The depth of understanding of this relationship wiH vary from sishya to sishya, from pupil to pupil, but Gumji does not vary in his understanding and adherence to principles at al1. He has to be like the Guru within to us.

The question speaks of "Guru" a little ambiguou ly. In "Yoga and the New Millennium" Prashant Iyengar reminds us that we may have the Guru who is a person who teaches us, guides and inspires us (personal guru).

There is also our Guru within.

Knowing that we vary as pupils, for how many of us is it the most important question to as k oUI elves whether we are suitable and fit pupils or genuine aspirants? It comes much more easily to us to question and to doubt others, even our fellow pupils, than it is to question our­ Having reminded us of his father's enormous lifelong selves. Patanjali's recommendation of tapas, svad­ contribution to Yoga, Prashant says that the system of hyaya and isvara pranidhana is the key without which Yoga known as Iyengar Yoga is not really an individual we cannot unlock the door to the inner discovery for or a separate system from that described by Patanjali. which God has provided a guide.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

31

-----------------------

Winter 2002

Statement on the Certification Mark - Elaine Pidgeon

(Chair of BKSIYTA)

Guruji has decided that he would like to donate 40% of the income from Certitication Mark fees to the Iyengar Associations worldwide.

He has written saying "40% of the collection after deducting all expenses would be lefl for the Associations for the development of Yoga in their areas".

Each Association will be given a period of time to discuss ways to use the money.

Then we will send our ideas to Guruji for his approval.

So the committee of the BKSIYTA would like to hear from you with ideas about how we can best use the money in the UK.

Astadala

Yogama~a

Fund Appeal Report - Brigid

The Astadala Yogamala Fund (J J Evans) appeal was launched in December 200 I, but the news about it was only more widely broadcast in Issue 1 oflyengar Yoga News (Spring 2002), at the Crystal Palace Convention in May, and then on the www.iyengar-yoga.com web­ site. I promised to report on progress to you all.

You may recall that the appeal has two objectives: - to create a much wider interest in and knowledge of Astadala Yogamala - Gumji's collected works, which are intended to mn to 13 volumes when com­ plete, with two already available; - to create a fund to enable John Evans to assist with the next eleven volumes.

The fIrst objective is well on the way to being achieved in the UK at least! At the Crystal Palace Convention all the available volumes 1 and 2 sold out, and there was a long list of orders. The Iyengar Yoga Institute (Maida Vale) also offered the volumes at cost price during the week of its fundraising event (workshop), which proved popular. If you have not got your copies hurry to your nonnal stockist! They are suitable for all levels of student, and many chapters are only a page or two in length, often with pictures. I recommend my students to pace themselves and read a chapter a week, as the words are few but the ideas are profound and difficult for us to absorb and actually to incorporate into our lives and practice (which is the point after all!).

We are all delighted with the fundraising efforts. So far we have collected just over £ 1600. The collection box Iyengar Yoga News No.2

32

Philip

at the Crystal Palace Convention made £195.34, and three institutes subsequently made donations totalling £600 (UYS, ORlYI, and IYIMV). Eleven individuals also sent very generous cheques, including, as a result of the appeal letter which Stephanie Quirk hands out in Pune, a surprising (and large) cheque, which alTived out of the ether from Oita City, Japan. As we now seem to have sufficient funds for current needs, we propose to close (temporarily?) the fund at the end of the year (anyway until more funds are needed). So if there are any more cheques in prospect please send them ASAP, made out to Astadala Yogamala (J J Evans) Fund, to Brigid Philip, 59 Northchurch Road, London Nl 4EE, and anyway before the end of the year, when I move house.

John is grateful for the interest shown. He has fInished his editing contribution to the text ofAY volume 3 and sent it on to Patxi Lizardi. It is due out this autumn, he thinks, and reports that it includes terrific material on Ayurvedic topics. He remains very keen that we read and digest Gwuji's collected works. He thinks that teachers, particularly, need to familiarise themselves with yoga philosophy in such a way that they are able actively to articulate it in their teaching and practice, rather than have just a passive understanding.

Needless to say Gumji and Geeta are both encouraging, and delighted with our efforts. Stephanie keeps them in the picture.

Thank you all for your interest and support.

Winter 2002

FROM A REMOTE POI NT

Brian Jack reports on the visit of Rajiv Chanchani to Birmingham, August 2002 _iii.Paw~"'1 1 Those of us who attended the Teachers' Convention in Crystal Palace a couple of years ago will remember the teaching of Rajiv and Swati C11anchani with affection and admiration. The husband and wife team worked together to shar their knowl­ edge of the practice and philosophy of Iyengar Yoga and related it to Indian tradi­ tion. We were fortunate to persuade Rajiv to return to the UK last August to teach us again in smaller groups. He began his tour with a weekend at Yogawest in BristoL He followed that with a weekend in Birmingham and finally a weekend in Manchester. This note is a brief recollec­ tion of the weekend in Birmingham. It is not a summaIY of details of asanas but is about Raj iv's visit in general.

After teaching at Bristol, Rajiv spent a couple of days in Bath visiting the city.

Steve Lamont picked him up in Bath and spent a day in th Cotswolds on the way to Birmingham. In Birmingham Rajiv stayed with his uncle and aunt, two local doctors. He did his daily practice in Jayne Orton's new Iyengar Centre of Birmingham. We soon discovered that Rajiv has a strong interest in architectu re and communiti e , so Steve and others took him to visit places of interest. Raj iv enjoyed visits to shops in Binningham run by the local Asian communities and made perceptive comments on the way the British and Asian cultures were interacting and influencing each other. Steve and Jayne took Rajiv to Warwick Castle and I was pleased to welcome him to my home in Stratford upon Avon. We enjoyed Rajiv's company immensely. His interests and comments were stimulating.

Over the weekend Rajiv taught a general day in a local sports hall and an intensive for the Iyengar Institute of Birmingham.

On both days he explained that he was not going to teach advanced asanas, but his intention was to help us to work deeper in our practice. He began the general day with an explanation of the philosophical background to Iyen gar Yoga. Ofcourse he spoke of Patanjali and the Sutras, and of Advaita and Samkya, leading to a discus­ sion of Prakrti and Purusa and their rela­ tionship to our Yoga. He encouraged us to Iyengar Yoga News No.2

33

think of the concept of centripetal force going inward, rather than centJifugal force going outward. I remembered PrashaIlt saying the same thing when he urged a class in Pune to "work in, don't work out".

In the asana class Raj iv explained the con­ cepts and details of key introductory asanas using people having different body types. He emphasised that different types of bodies need different points of correc­ tion. At one point he used the example of standing on a battlement at Warwick Castle the previous day, see photo. From the battlement he could view activity in the distance, he urged us to eXaInine our­ selves in asanas as ifwe are looking at our­ selves from a remote point.

Raji v stmted the intensive day with a dis­ cussion of Ayurveda and its relationship to body type and our practice. He then moved to a more iDten ive study of asanas, again using different body types to explain details. Again the theme was working inwards. The class was asked to comment on a student in Adho Mukka Several comments were Svanasana. made about legs arms etc. Rajiv told us we only look at the outside shape of the posture, never at the inner posture. He instructed us to look at the calm breathing, the passive face.

The class ended with an extended practice of supported Janu Sirsanana.

Rajiv instructed us to maintain support of the head and close our eyes. We were asked to change sides with our eyes closed.

It seemed we were in the asana for an eter­ nity. For many of u , that was an experi­ ence to cherish.

Needless to say Rajiv has been invited back again to Birmingham. A week-long course was suggested. DUling the visit Rajiv showed us photographs of his new Yoga Centre near Dehra Dhun at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a lovely building in a lovely area, near to the home of the Tibetan Buddhist Community.

A spin-off from Raj iv's visit is that his aunt gave Steve a lesson in Indian cookely.

Steve is now acknowledged to be a good cook, Indian style.

Winter 2002

YOGA RAHASYA

Yoga Rahasya is a quartenly journal on Iyengar Yoga and related subjects; often featuring articles by the Iyengars and other senior teachers.

In order to subscr'ibe for a year, please send a request, along

with your name and address and a cheque for £14

(made out to BKSIYTA) to:

Ros Bell, 19 Briston Grove, London, N8 9EX.

Four issues of Yoga Rahasya magazine will then be posted to you direct from India, at approximately quarterly intervals. There is often a delay between your payment being made and your first issue arriving. This may be because it takes time to arrange pay­ ment to India, because copies are posted from India and are some­ times delayed, and because there is occasionally a gap of more than three months between issues. If you need a receipt for your payment, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

IYENGAR BOOKS FOR SALE

The Art of Yoga Tree of Yoga Yoga Rahasya (2 vols.)

£10.50 £10.25 £10.00

Light On Yoga Yoga Pushpanjali Yogadhara

£12.00 £10.50 £12.00

To order any of these books, please make cheque payable to "LOYA(UK)" and send to Jane Comah, 12 Kirby Park, Wirral CH48 2HA, or e-mail detailstocomah@wkirby.u-net.com.

Astadala Yogamala vol. l £10.00 Astadala Yogamala vol. 2 Yoga Rahasya (2 vols.)

A Matter of Health (by Dr Krishna Raman) £25.00 Preliminary Course £7.50 Yoga: A Gem for Women Path to Holistic Health £20.00 (this book costs £25 in the shops)

£10.50 £10.00 £10.00

Currently on order from India: Astadala Yogmala vol. 3 and Geeta's new teaching manual (see p. 45) To order any of these books, please make cheques payable to "BKSIYTA" and send to Patsy Sparksman, 33 Ashboum Avenue, London NW11 ODT (tel. 020 8455 6366) Iyengar Yoga Jubilee videos: Teachers' Event + Question & Answer session (4 tapes) General Event + Question & Answer session (4 tapes) Full set (7 tapes)

£40 £40 £72

The Jubilee videos are available from Jane or Patsy - make cheques payable to "Iyengar Yoga Jubilee" All prices include postage and packing in the UK. Please cntact Jane or Patsy for postage to other countires. Print name, address, phone number and e-mail address (if available) clearly with your order.

Iyengar Yoga News No .2

34

Winter 2002

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Iyengar Yoga News N·o. :.. .:.:;,.:..=_ 2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _~ 3 5 :...-_ _ _ _ _~_ _ _ _ _ __ Winter _ _ _200_ _ _ 2_

LOYA 2002 - THE YEAR OF THE BUTTOCK

Dominic Batten reviews the LOYA 2002/BKSIYTA Convention, held in Sheffield Probably most readers of this magazine w ill be aware of the way Yoga can brin g a creeping transformation to unexpected areas of our lives. r imagin e it is not often that a crowd of people is invited, without ribaldry or embarrassment, to contemplate a person's buttocks on a stage (for those who were not th re, l should mention that the area in question was covered). This was one of many memorable moments in the Sheffield conven­ tion. While one soon gets used to groin and buttock talk in Iyengar yoga it was sti ll a surprise when Corine Biria identifi ed back pain on the basis of the shape of a buttock. No-one who attended Corine's sessions will forget her distinction between football buttocks and rugby ball butt cks, and many will have been experi­ encing how the attention we give this part can signifi­ cantly change the quality of our asana practice.

One always learns something new at a convention, and it can be hard to work out why. We are rarely present­ ed w ith new or radical teaching, and many of the points Corine emphasised were those that Geeta had present­ ed in Crystal Palace (such as the spreading from the inner to the outer in the backs of the legs). And yet some teachers are able to comrmmicate an added degree of penetration in their teaching so we can expe­ rience a sense of newness in how we perform an asana.

F or me, spreading from the inner to the outer buttock in Virabhadrasana J made it a new pose, which found an echo in the softening of the lower back when moving the outer groin away in Supta padangusthasana J. I'm sure everyone who attended LOYA 2002 in Sheffield will have experienced moments of revelation; certain­ ly one could tell by the look on people's faces that it was a good convention.

Noticing how a student's face looks during asanas was one of the points emphasised in the pregnancy work­ shop for teachers . ted Corine prior to the full

convention (a ller account IS grven separately). Two observations to be made about Corine are that - tme to the Iyengar style - she notices every­ thing; and that in her presence and poise can be seen the fruits of many years' practice. Her devotion to the Iyengar method has been nourished through years of nmning the Paris Iyengar Yoga Centre with her hus­ band Faeq Bilia as well as annual visits to Pune, with the additional benefit this year of participation in England and France in Geeta's visit to Europe. It is an inspiration to all students to see how someone can come to embody the benefits of Yoga, not just in terms of physique but also in a manner of presentation which includes humour, compassion and modesty.

The years of LOYA conventions have allowed a partic­ ular ethos to accumulate which encompasses compas­ sion and friendliness . As well as what the teacher can bring to the convention, there is something that LOYA has generated, a spirit which has come about through practice and time. The spirit of LOYA seems to be a constant, so that although conventions are organised in a different place each year by different people, the flow of energy from year to year seems to be unbroken.

Some of this stems quite simply from the practice of Yoga and the inspiration transmitted from the Iyengar family.

Part of the ethos of the conventions is that they are open to all practitioners. Some cifthose attending in Sheffield had only a few months' experience of yoga. Long class­ es are pretty demanding (I remember feeling shattered after Faeq's visit to Sheffield in 1995 !), and mega­ classes do not suit everyone. Having a pool of experi­ enced teachers able to bring their particular gifts and interests meant that a timetable could be planned which could offer something for everyone, and the feedback given from these smaller sessions confIrms that they

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

36

Winter 2002

buttocks, and it would be llilfair not to recall the excel­ lent food, friendly welcoming staff and bright sunshine - we knew Sheffield would do LOYA proud. There were times when planning the convention felt a bit fraught, but all along we could be sure that the yoga The coming-together of a large group of people to itself would generate a good spirit. Now we can feel deepen their practice of yoga in itself creates a sense of oonfident that this good spirit will be carried forward to celebration (a sense which was enhanced by being able the new organisation being formed to safeguard and to make further use of the beautiful banners made for maintain Iyengar yoga in this country. We should also Geeta's visit). Extending this celebration to include an acknowledge our gratitude to the person whose teach­ opportunity to appreciate some other aspect of Indian ings and personal qualities have provided so much culture has always been an enjoyable aspect of LOYA good health and inspiration throughout the world; in conventions. We were lucky this year to have cultural our celebrations, we honour Mr Iyengar. offerings on both evenings, with some gorgeously mel­ low Indian classical violin playing - of interest as this was Prashant's instmment - by a local musician, Kamalbir Singh (who suffers from back pain; we rec­ ommended he try yoga). Oi Bayliss presented another of her mesmerising unfoldings of Indian story-telling and puppetry on Saturday. I like to think that these entertainments have an echo of the cultural festival that formed part of the celebrations of Guruji's 80th birth­ day. were much enjoyed. Planning to make a range of class­ es available also meant that Corine was able to pitch her teaching at a level suitable for more experienced practitioners.

So, overall, there was plenty to remember other than

PREGNANCY WORKSHOP

This workshop was held on the day before the main LOYA 2002 Convention started , and was for Iyengar teachers only - Dominic Batten reports When planning this workshop we expected about 40 applications. The fact that twice that number came showed the hunger for more information and guidance on this topic. Corine's teaching is informed by her own experience of pregnancy, her close and regular links to Pune and the time given to the subject of pregnancy as part of the teacher training presented in Paris.

First, a word of warning. These notes are by no means a comprehensive guide. It was noticeable on the day that Corine would describe, demonstrate (with particu­ lar help from the one delegate who was pregnant) and then ask us to practise, yet many of us showed we had not attended to her teaching. The written word is a very poor representation of the actual teaching, which always needs to be experienced and then consolidated.

The workshop was well attended so consultation with a teacher who was present is recommended before put­ ting these notes into practice!

A four hour workshop only allows for half of the teach­ ing Corine would normally present on the topic. As she pointed out in her introductory remarks, in pregnancy Iyengar Yoga News No.2

37

there are three trimesters, and then there are beginner, intermediate and more advanced students, so there is a wide variation in how the poses can be given.

Particular cautions Corine suggested were: Those with fewer than six months experience should avoid yoga in pregnancy Those with a history of recurrent miscarriage should not practise in pregnancy Abdominal poses (eg leg raises) should be avoided Twists (except Bharadvajasana) should be avoided A fuU sequence of standing poses is too demanding, and if there is anxiety about the pregnancy, standing poses are best avoided.

The importance of rest was emphasised; the compul­ sion to work, even when the work is not physically strenuous, is not helpfu~ in pregnancy. Rest is especial­ ly important for the first trimester. Once past this, a practice should start with 30-45 minutes of resting poses.

Winter 2002

The sequence suggested as being suitable during preg­ nancy IS: Savasana on bolsters or Simhasana box, 5-10 minutes Resting on cross bolsters, feet raised, 5 minutes Supta Virasana (ifknees and lower back OK) loga Mudrasana in Virasono Viparita Dandasana on bench or chair with feet raised, 3-5 minutes Adho Mukha Svanasana, feet wide, 1-3 minutes, or up to 5 minutes if supported by ropes.

Janu Sirsasana, head up with support from a chair,l minute, x 2/3 Paschimottanasana, supported by a chair, 1-2 min­ utes Upavista Konasana, supported by a chair, 1 minute to each side, plus 3 minutes to the fi'ont Baddhakonasana, 3-5 minutes, sitting on bolster unless knees open well Supta Baddhakonasana, 5-7 minutes, one belt for each leg.

Chair Sarvangasana with bolster between legs and seat back, 5 minutes Ardha Halasana, 5 minutes Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, 5 mins Viparita Karani, 5-8 minutes Chair Bharadvajasana, 3 times each side Savasano , 5-10 minutes.

to the lwnbar (it is especially important that there should be no pain in the back; back pain produces stress in the abdomen). A wonderful sense of release irI the legs can be produced by rollirIg two mats together into a tight sausage which is then placed between the legs, which are bound together by belts firmly placed around the mid­ thigh area and top of shirIbone. Rolled blankets can be placed to the side of the hamstrings to allow further soft­ ening in the buttocks. (n.b. after havirIg the legs bound, they should be bent after coming out of the pose).

Areas to observe, apart from the face, are the groirIs - if the lower abdomen is thought ofas a funnel, there should be a sense of upward rather than downward movement; the diaphragm, which should be lifted producing a sense of lightness, and the area between the tops of the breasts which should be open, to help breathing, rather than sirIkirIg. This last area can be helped to open by the use of a slanting plank under the shoulderblades, especiaUy irI the later stages; also, in adjusting, the teacher should finnly roll the shoulder and upper arm downwards to make space irI the armpit chest.

In Baddha Konasana and Supta Baddha Konasana, two belts should be used, wrapped round the groirI and ankle with the buckles placed in such a way that the belt is tightened by pullirIg towards, rather than away fium, the body. Rolled blankets or mats should be placed aslant irI Needless to say, there was only time to practise a few of such a way that they can support both the head of the these poses, and the use of props is essential but slows femur and the ankles. This allows softness and space irI things down. Points to be aware ofare that a bolster is the the lower abdomen. Two belts also should be used irI most useful prop in pregnancy, that the face should Adho Mukha Svanasana, placed around the groins and always be observed carefully for repose and a healthy pulled back and then to the side (hard work for the colour (not a bright pink, or yellow), and that there teacher, this). should always be space for the abdomen, with a sense of upward movement in the groins. In forward bends, the Inverted poses can be done for as long as they feel com­ trunk should stay upright rather than bending forward, fortable. Chair Sarvangasana is good, with a bolster for and the legs can be kept separated. the shoulders and another behind the legs; but there may be a need for extra support from a blanket to lift the Not only is a greater use of props recommended, but the shoulderblade area. As space irI the abdomen becomes adjustment of the props will vary as everyone has a dif­ constricted and the breasts swell, the breathing may ferent shape and area of stiffness. For resting irI become laboured after about 7 months; if this happens, Savasana , two bolsters can be used for support, one the pose should be abandoned for the rest of the preg­ under the buttocks and another giving additional support nancy.

These notes give only a sketchy outlirIe of the teaching presented by Corine in the workshop; we had not realised beforehand how useful a video record of the event would have been. Corine is well aware how much she would be welcome to return to this side of the Channel to present further teaching. If anyone has access to a large hall irI a beautiful part of the country with good transport lirIks to Paris, let's hope she can be persuaded!

(With thanks to Frances Homewood for the use of her notes) Iyengar Yoga News No.2

38

Winter 2002

LIGHT ON YOGA ASSOCIATION (UK) Registered Charity No. 1053093

President: Yogacharya B.K.S. [yengar;

OVA EWS In the last issue of Iyengar Yoga News , we announced the creation of two separate bursaries to help members who find themselves in financial hardship in attending national Iyengar Yoga events.

LOYA is committed to enabling people to practise Yoga following the Iyengar method and we are pleased to say that a number of people took up this opportunity.

There is still money available to he lp LOYA mem­ bers attend Iyengar Yoga events. Please note that you are a member of LOYA either if you pay an individual subscription, or else you are a member of an Institute that is affiliated to LOYA(UK). (i.e. AIYI, BDIYI, CIYI, IIYS, LDIYI, NELlYI, ORIYI, SDIYI and SWIYI).

Renewals for membership of LOYA are normally due by 31st March for the new LOYA year.

However, LOYA may cease to exist as a separate organisation if the plans for unification with the BKSIYTA go ahead. Assuming that the new asso­ ciation is launched some time next summer, your cunent LOYA membership will last until then.

There are some individual members who have not yet renewed their membership: please note that this year we have introduced a new sliding scale for subscription rates. We are asking individual mem­ bers to choose a subscription of between £6 and £ 10, based on their own particular circumstances.

We will not be asking for proof of concessionary situations but will leave it up to individual members to decide on their own level of payment (cheques payable to "LOYA(UK)").

If you would like to apply, please write to: Jane Cornah (Treasurer) Thanks to all members who have already paid their 12 Kirby Park, Wirral CH48 2HA individual subs. and the vast majority of you who cornah@wkirby.u-net.com You will need to provide the following details: chose to pay at a rate higher than the lower limit. name, address, phone number and e-mail address; the name of your yoga teacher; whether you are an Rac hel Lovegrove (Membership Secretary)

individual LOYA member or naming the LOYA 105 Lower Thrift Street,

affiliated Institute to which you belong; a brief Northampton NN1 5HP

description of your financial circumstances. rachel.lovegrove@emimusic.com

LIGHT ON YOGA ASSOCIATION (UK)

Executive Committee 2002-2003

Officers Chairperson Hon. Secretary Treasurer Membership Sec.

Philippe Harari philippe. harari@runbox.coln Alison Trewhela alitrewhela@aol.com Jane Cornah cornah@wkirby. u-net. com Rachel Lovegrove rachel.lovegrove@emimwdc.com

Institute Representatives AIYI Edgar Stringer BDIYI Gillian Clarke-Hill CIYI no cunent rep.

John Robinson IJYS Judi SotTa LDIYI NELlYI Tess Whitelee Joe Burn ORIYI SDIYI Dominic Batten Alison Trewhela SWIYI

Individual Reps: Kirsten Agar Ward, Nathalie Blondel, Martin Hall, Luke Hutchison, Dina Karim, Paul Walker I engar Yoga News No.2

39

Winter 2002

Annual Report of the Executive Committee to the 15th AGM of LOYA(UK) 2001/2002 - presented at LOVA 2002, Sheffield We would like to welcome everyone here to the 15th LOYA AGM. On behalf of the entire LOYA mem­ bership let us convey our sincere respects and heartfelt best wishes to our revered Guruji, Yogacarya Sri B. K. S. Iyengar, president of LOYA(UK) who will soon celebrate his 84th birthday. Long may he con­ tinue to teach us and inspire us in the path of Yoga.

Officers:

Chairperson : Philippe Harari Hon. Treasurer: Jane Comah

Institute Representatives:

Hon. Secretary: Kirsten Agar Ward Membership Secretary: Rachel Lovegrove

Avon: Edgar Stringer Bradford: Gillian Clarke-Hill Cambridge: Karen Stamper Liverpool: Judi Soffa North East London: Tess Whitelee

Oxford: Joe Bum Sheffield: Dominic Batten South West: Alison Trewhela Sussex: vacancy

Individual Reps: Nathalie Blondel, Martin Hall, Luke Hutchison, Paul Walker Meetings held: 14thAGM: 31st August, 2001 (Falmouth); EGM: 25th May, 2001 (London) Executive Committee meeting: 10th November, 2001 (London); 2nd February, 2002 (Bath); 13th April, 2002 (London - special meeting): 15th June, 2002 (London) Finances: LOYA(UK) has continued to maintain its charitable status (see below) and the financial situation is healthy (see Accounts overleaf).

Membership: We currently have about 1400 members. Most of these are members via an affiliated institute but 326 are individual members, 20 of whom have joined from the Sheffield Convention, and a few who have joined since the Jubilee Convention in May. However, according to the database, about half of them have not renewed their membership. I will be sending out reminders but first I would like to know if there are any more records of people renewing or joining from the Convention in May. I will then send out a reminder to let people know that if I do not receive their renewal by the end of October, they will be taken off the membership list. Communication between us and the BKSIYTA is needed before the next magazine goes out, so that the duplication of the mailout to membership of both LOYA and the BKSIYTA does not hap­ pen again*. I would also like to suggest that we think about issuing membership cards of some sort, per­ haps with a membership number, as this has been a criticism from many members that they do not receive acknowledgement of their membership status until they get a magazine or a reminder to renew. Since send­ ing out a letter in April stating that I would be stepping down in September as membership secretary, there has not been anyone coming forward to take on the role. I am happy to continue until the end of the cur­ rent membership year but if anyone would like to take over before then, please can they let the Committee know.

Rachel Lovegrove (Membership Secretary)

* Note: the AGM decided that people who were members of both the BKSIYTA and LOYA should continue to receive two copies of the magazine as they had paid two subscriptions.

Magazine: An issue of LOYA News was published in December 2001. A new magazine, Iyengar Yoga News (incor­ porating LOYA News and the newsletter of the BKSIYTA), was launched in April 2002. The editorial Iyengar Yoga News No.2

40

Winter 2002

board of IYN consists of Kirsten Agar Ward, Joe Burn, Philippe Harari (LOYA reps.) and Ros Bell, Alan Brown and Judith Jones (BKSIYTA reps.).

Charitable status: We have completed our sixth year as a registered charity. Under charity law we are required to list the Light on Yoga Association's main objects and these are, as listed in the constitution: 1. To advance public education in the classical teachings of the science of Yoga based on the principles of the highest standards of personal conduct and service to others.

2. To promote and advance for the public benefit the study and practice of and research into the thera­ peutic effects of Yoga as a means of improving the mental, physical and spiritual health of the com­ munity, and to publish the useful results of any such research."

Activities during 200112002: The major activity undertaken during this year was the organisation of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee in May

at Crystal Palace with Geetaji. The LOYA reps. on the organising committee were Kirsten Agar Ward,

Philippe Harari, Rachel Lovegrove and Paul Walker.

Another significant development was the setting up of a Unity Group, following much negotiation, with

delegates from the BKSIYTA and LOYA (Kirsten Agar Ward, Nathalie Blondel and Philippe Harari) .

Both the BKSIYTA and LOYA unanimously passed a resolution at the Jubilee event which sets out a

process by which a new single Iyengar association will be created in the UK by June 2003.

Following the unity theme, a new joint magazine was launched in the Spring consisting of a publication

aimed at all members of LOYA and the BKSIYTA, and an additional teachers' section produced by the

BKSIYTA.

We have continued to purchase books directly from Pune and have distributed them through mail order,

direct sales at events and bulk orders to institutes. Jane Cornah & Judi Soffa have been liaising with the

BKSIYTA on this to avoid duplication of efforts.

LOYA set up a bursary fund (£1 000) aimed at helping members in financial difficulties attend conventions.

LOYA offered to help the Sheffield Instihlte purchase a building by offering all of the surplus from

LOYA 2002 (guaranteeing a minimum of £500).

Note: the AGM voted to donate £3000 towards the cost of the new floor for the Sheffield Institute.

Martin Hall has continued to maintain and develop the website (www.loya.ukf.net).

The LOYA 2002 Convention was organised by the Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Institute. The 2003 conven­

tion will be organised by another affiliated institute and will, assuming unification of LOYA and the

BKSIYTA goes forward as planned, be the first convention of the new association.

Philippe Harari (Chairperson)

Kirsten Agar Ward (Honorary Secretary)

LOYA(UK) ACCOUNTS 1.4.2001 - 31.3.2002 Income

Expenditure

Institute subs.

Individual subs.

Advertising Convention (Falmouth) Books T-shirts Interest Donations (Liverpool - Birjoo) TOTAL

£ 1602.00 £ 704.00 £ 122.00 £ 1824.54 £3594.22 £ 21.00 £ 19.96 £1934.44 £9822.16

Magazine printing Magazine postage Committee expenses Website Books

£1583.00 £ 303 .39 £1065.04 £ 91.65 £2222.00

TOTAL

£5265 .08

Opening balance: £3875.76

Surplus: £4557.08

Closing balance: £8432.84 Jane Comah (Treasurer)

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

41

Winter 2002

Reports from Affiliated Institutes - 2001/2002 Avon Iyengar Yoga Institute We have enjoyed the continued support of old and new members (around 120) drawn from a broad locality. This year we have introduced membership cards which also make it clear to members that they are automatically members of LOYA. Our listing in the Yellow pages gives people a port of call in their enquiries, from which they're given a list of member teachers classes from Somerset to Gloucestershire. We have also published two issues of our local Iyengar class listings. They have proved very useful in handling enquiries. To celebrate Guruji's birthday last December we had a collection in aid of the Indian earthquake appeal and we raised £800. We had another very successful weekend with Faeq Biria in April and we also held workshops in local schools this sum­ mer with Bob Phillips (back pain workshop) and Margaret Austin, which attracted beginners and old hands alike.

We still provide some of the new books from Pune and the classics which are sold at no profit to us. The A. I.YI website is in the set-up phase, please bear with us until we publish the address. Our committee members have been very active in the process ofjoining the two associations into a single organisation. We look forward to con­ tributing to the new organisation in the future.

Bradford and District Iyengar Yoga Institute This Institute is flourishing with a membership of about 200. Every member receives two copies a year of our local magazine 'Yoga News' which is very good. At present we are looking for new editors, so if anyone inter­ ested is reading this please apply. Among the very successful and well-supported Yoga events were the follow­ ing:A Teachers Workshop; A day of Yoga led by JudI Sweeting. A very enjoyable family event took place in September when a group of Yoga teachers and students with partners, children and dogs went for a walk in the Ogden area near Halifax. There was an interesting mix of terrain. A day of Yoga explaining the correct use of equipment including ropes was planned for this Autumn, but has been postponed until early next year as a new Gymnasium is being built.

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga Institute We currently have about 80 members from Cambridge and the surrounding area. We have organised a number of events in the past year, including a launch event for Janet Tourniere's book, "Eating Fox", a yoga day with Shyam Mehta and one with Cathy Rogers. We have sold several copies of Geeta's "Preliminary Practice" to our members (at no profit). Our website (cambridgeyoga.co.uk) is proving very successful in advertising all the Iyengar classes in the region. We have organised a programme of events for the coming year and are hoping to expand our membership.

Institute of Iyengar Yoga in Sussex No report available at time 0.[printing.

Liverpool and District Iyengar Yoga Institute We have about 90 members. We have had Richard Agar Ward and Cathy Rogers teaching special yoga days for us this year and are delighted at the response to these events with practioners attending from as far as North Wales and also Lytham St Annes. We have some enthusiastic members in Liverpool too with six of us travelling fur­ ther afield to attend the Spanish Yoga Convention and also approx twenty Liverpool members attending Crystal Palace and Sheffield this year. We are now underway with teacher training and hopefully will have ten new teachers in a couple of years time.

North East London Iyengar Yoga Institute NELlYI continues to provide a wide ranging and varied workshop programme, geared to yoga students from beginners to those who teach, with a number ofteachers visiting in the next year, including teachers from Bristol, Oxford and Sheffield, as well as the return of some old friends who we are always delighted to welcome back.

Our magazine, after a bumpy time where we struggled to fmd someone with the time to take on the task, is now I engar Yoga News No.2

42

Winter 2002

flourishing. Membershjp figures having dipped slightly in comparison with the previous year, seem to be improving with new members joining during the year, though it will be easier to analyse once renewal fees come in from September onwards. Many of our members are teachers and trainee teachers, and NELIYI is keen to get more participation from non-teaching students over the next year. Many NELlYI members attended the inspir­ ing Jubilee Convention with Oeeta Iyengar in the spring, and we look forward very positively to the future, new, integrated organisation for Iyengar Yoga in the UK. NELlYI has long worked at fostering links with other yoga groups, and anticipates an exciting time ahead for the Iyengar yoga community.

Oxford aDd Region Iyengar Yoga I nstitute All is well here in the Oxford region. We have five yoga days a year (each in a different part of the region), all well attended. We produce an excellent magazine twice a year. The bank account is healthy.

Sheffield and District Iyengar Yoga Institute This has been a year with a high level of energy in SADM , with the two main projects being the plarming of the convention and rapid progress towards achieving our goal of securing a dedicated Yoga building in the town cen­ tre. Part of this process has included constitutional change as we move towards becoming a charitable company limited by guarantee. We would parti ularly like to register our gratitude for the generosity shown by local and national Iyengar Yoga practitioners who have given both financially and with their moral support. Om Institute is functioning well in other respects with membership levels being sustained at just over 100, the production every six months of a good quality magazine, and fom events a year with greatly appreciated visiting teachers.

A number of us attended the Jubile event at Crystal Palace and were inspired by Oeeta's teaching and the work that had been put into making that occasion the success it was. It certainly feels that the roots ofIyengar Yoga in Sheffield have become stronger and we look forward to future growth.

SADIYI Building news: Many people ha e been generous in their support of our project to acquire a former chapel in Sheffield's cultural industJies quarter (near the station), and some were able to visit the building during the LOYA convention. At present we are having a rollercoaster ride; having arranged a loan from Triodos Bank and raised over £25,000:in donations and loans from members and well-wishers, the offer we submitted to the builders who currently own the building was rejected. The offer we made was slightly higher than the two pro­ fessional valuations canied out on the building, and was as much as we felt we could afford. One of our mem­ bers, Bridget Strong, has spent many hours on preparing a robust (and realistic) business plan. However, we have not given up hope. The building has not yet been sold and one has to question whether the owners will get the p ice they hope for, as there are restrictions on the use of the property and the wider economic outlook suggests a more cautious market. We have also made applications for grants which if successful, would give us more lee­ way on our business plan which would allow us to consider making a further, slightly higher offer. The recent arrival in Sheffield of a si th teacher allows us to plan for an increase in income from more classes. Clearly, we owe it to our members and sponsors not to make a commitment we could not afford to sustain. E en so, we remain convinced that the building is ideally suited to becoming a Yoga centre, which we feel will add to Sheffield's 'spiritual capital' and health. Again, we give thanks to our supporters and hope to have better news for the next magazine South West Iyengar Yoga Institute At present we have an enthusiastic memb rship of80, helped by last year's LOYA 2001 Convention in Falmouth.

We ordered a large number ofbooks from Ptme (via LOYA) on behalf of OUf shldents. We contin ue to maintain the continuity of regular Intennectiate workshops with Richard Agar Ward especially aimed at teachers and the more committed yoga practitioners. We have had a well-attended weekend of yoga with Sallie Sullivan, includ­ ing an evening cone ntrating on the Level 1 Introductory po es, a general cia and a Sunday morning workshop on 'Knees'. Pen Reed taught a yoga class for us after moderating our Teachers' Revalidation Day and she has agreed to teach a whole day n xt year. In September 2002 w will hold a yoga + social event - 3 hours of yoga with two teachers followed by a vegetarian Indian lunch cooked by yoga-practising Rick Stein chefs. Our Website can be found at swiyengaryoga.ukf.net and we plan to produce an updated printed leaflet with SWIYI infor­ mation and a list of teachers as soon as the unification of LOYA and the BKSIYTA takes place.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

43

-------------------------------------------------

Winter 2002

Pr&&IdenlYogacharya BKS Iyengar

Iyengar Yoga News - Teachers' Section Winter 2002

ENDORSEMENT

In my article on communication in the last newslet­ ter, I explained that the Teachers' Association Committee is working to achieve "Accredited Teacher" status for Iyengar Yoga teachers in the UK, and to obtain endorsement of the Iyengar Teacher Training process from the national Regulating Authorities.

This is an update on progress in both areas of activity.

Accreditation.

The word accredited carries a meaning in law. It means the person who is accredited by an autho­ rised body has satisfied the criteria of competence required by that body to carry out work in a speci­ fied activity. In our tenns, Guruji has authorised BKSIYTA to act as an authorised body to train and assess Iyengar Yoga teachers in the UK. Teachers are accredited by BKSIYTA. In national tenns Sport England, acting for the Government, has nominated British Wheel of Yoga (RWY) as the Governing Body for Yoga in the UK. BWY are empowered to accredit UK yoga teachers.

We have been in negotiation with BWY for about a year. In outline, BWY require an accredited teacher to have passed their training course and joined BWY. We have explained to BWY that THIS is unacceptable to a major, self-contained Yoga organisation such as Iyengar Yoga (lY). We reached an agreement with the vice-chair of BWY that a proposal be put to the BWY Executive Committee to award Accredited Teacher status to BKSIYTA as an organisation. The proposal would allow us to police our own systems, with occasion­ al visits from BWY to confinn we do what we say we do. The Executive rejected the proposal. One reason quoted was that other Yoga groups had fol­ lowed the BWY system, and it would be unfair to give us special status. BWY Executive offered a second order recognition called "Registered Iyengar Yoga News No.2

44

Teacher" to us. BKSIYTA committee agreed that only Accredited Teacher is acceptable for our teachers. BWY have been asked to reconsider their decision not to award full accreditation status to us.

We will stay in touch with BWY to discuss how the issue can be resolved. In the meantime we will explore what can be achieved by further discus­ sions with Sport England and the European Yoga Federation.

BvVY have told us that other large UK Yoga organ­ isations are aware that BWY and IY are in negotia­ tion on accreditation, and are waiting in the wings to see how the issue is resolved.

Endorsement of the Teaching Certificate.

A meeting was held with the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to explore the proce­ dures to achieve national endorsement.

Subsequently we have spoken to large and small Awarding Bodies (AB) and National Training Organisations (NTO). The ABs assist the organisa­ tion seeking endorsement to write the training and assessment programme in the fonnat and standard required by QCA, and they monitor the process on behalf of QCA. The NTO ensures industry stan­ dards are met and maintained. Neither is involved in the content of the course.

This work has turned up a· potential problem which is that the Sport, Recreation and Allied Occupations NTO, SPRITO, has worked with the Governing Bodies within the sector to produce a technical definition for the Adult Education Industry. As the Governing Body for Yoga, BWY participated in preparing the text. The result is that the technical definition states that competent teach­ ers and assessors are required to hold BWY diplo­ mas. Clearly this is not acceptable to IY. Sprito Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

agree the wording should read "BWY diploma or equivalent". We will expedite SPRITO to change the wording.

Assuming the technical definition can be changed by negotiation, the stage has been reached when we shall visit selected AB's and work with SPRITO to agree how to proceed with the endorsement of our teacher training system. SPRITO are optimistic.

Certainly our written procedures will require textur­ al revision, but not content revision. BKSIYTA have nominated a task force to carry out the work.

It looks like our teaching qualification will be clas­ sified at NVQ3.

or commitment to obtain 7407 from new teachers before they will be employed. Other Author'ities are training established teachers to C&G 730717407 during their employment.

Our teacher training course incorporates no aspect of this qualification. Previously BWY claimed that City and Guilds had given their training course accreditation to 7307 standards. Recently they told us that some AuthOlities have rejected that.

We need to consult C&G to see what can be done to incorporate aspects of the qualification into our teaching programme, to assist teachers who want to find employment in Adult Education.

As Regulation advances it is likely that other employ­ ers will be required to demand generic teaching qualifications.

Another aspect of regulation to be addressed is the Government's requirement that teachers in Adult Education should hold the City and Guilds 73017307 teaching certificate. It was to be opera­ ble from 2001 , but has been deferred while it is It is clear from this work that we need to work with upgraded to C&G 7407. 730717407 are genelic other Yoga groups in the UK to participate in the teaching courses aimed at developing procedures of regulation of Yoga teaching. Clearly, by not work­ class teaching to improve learning outcome, noth­ ing together in the past we have been left out as ing at all to do with Yoga. C&G 7307 is rated at national standard procedures were drawn up.

NVQ3 and C&G 7407 is NVQ4.

Working together can bring benefits to all Yoga practitioners. We have written to Guruj i to ask him In 2002 some Authorities will demand either 7307 to confirm his support for this work.

BASIC GUIDELINE

CHERS OF YOGA

Another gem ff

by Judy Smith

r-lI!qmiiif;r--, This teachers' guidelines book is based on , and should be used in conjunc­ tion with, Yoga in Action: A Preliminary Course.

practice, and the third chapter introduces a variety of sequences which work effectively on the mind, body and breath to bring about the required change.

The second part of the book deals with the theory of yoga and presents a question and answer section The book is divided into 2 which is succinctly set out and easily understood. It parts, the first deals with helps to organise and categorise some frequently teaching techniques and misunderstood concepts. The are also questions the second gives the back­ and answers on the Hathayoga Pradipika. The ground to the theory of penultimate chapter is the study of anatomy and ........._ _ _ _ _ _ _~ yoga.

Some teaching gives clear drawings and explanations on the tech­ points covered include organisation of the class, niques of asanas using the body as a reference. demonstration of asanas, verbal instruction/voice modulation, student observation and the use of The book ends with sample questions based on the props. Also discussed, are ways of handling com­ Preliminary Course for teachers to study and mon problems and certain conditions such as preg­ answer in order to consolidate their practice and nancy and menstruation. theoretical knowledge. I found this book to be interesting, enjoyable and 'user-friendly'. It clari­ Three chapters are devoted to Sequencing. The first fies , reinforces and expands our ever-present thirst explains the grouping of asanas - standing, sitting, for and knowledge of Iyengar Yoga. forward bends, inversions, etc. - and their effects.

The second is about the sequence of learning the This book will only be available to Iyengar Yoga asanas and offers a 7 month syllabus of suggested teachers (see p.34 for how to order a copy) Iyengar Yoga News No.2

45

Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

M

RS

Our current Moderators are: Lilian Biggs, Silvia Prescott, Penny Chaplin, Elaine Pidgeon, Paricia Booth, Margaret Austin, Pen Reid, Judi Sweeting, Meg Laing and Julie Brown. Although nowhere defined in writing I understand the role of our Moderators is to oversee all matters to do with Teacher Training and Assessment procedures in this country. They make decisions on policy issues to do with those matters as weB as presid­ ing over Assessments and Revalidation Days. Again as I understand it in the absence of a written defrnition, the Moderator's role in an assessment is to ensure that the assessment rules are observed, to be the organ of com­ munication between assessors and candidates and to illfom1 candidates what is required of them. The Moderator's mark does not count towards the frnal result ofan assessment but it may be that the Moderators exert some influence over the outcome in cases where agreement cannot be reached.

Committee. They were: Jeanne Maslen, Sylvia Prescott, Lilian Biggs and Patricia Booth. Margaret Austin joined at that tin1e, having recently become a Senior teacher, to bring the number up to frve. Pen Reid, Elaine Pidgeon and Penny Chaplin were invited to join after a modera­ tor's meeting in August 1995 bringing the total to eight.

The Moderators' committee has connsisted of these eight members until earlier this year when Jeanne stepped down (although she is still helping out with Moderating duties from time to time) and three new members were co-opted; namely Meg Laing, Judi Sweeting and Julie Brown. These three were chosen on the principle that they were the three most senior mem­ bers of the association available, willing and possessing all the qualifrcations necessary for the job.

Our frrst Moderator was Jeanne Maslen, who has this year retired from the Moderator's committee after many years of dedicated service. For some time she took on the task single handed until, in 1985, it was decided that she needed some help. Senior members of the Association were nominated and the entire membership voted to elect a panel of seven Moderators as follows: Jeanne Maslen, Kofr Busia, Angela Farmer, Patricia Booth, Maxine Tobias, Bob Welliam and Diana Clifton. There was also a reserve list of members eligi­ ble for election should replacements be required for the future.

Nowadays Moderators are not elected. In fact they never have been since the fust panel was selected. New Moderators are appointed by the existing Moderators' Committee and this way of doing things has been writ­ ten into the constitution. With the joining ofBKSIYTA with LOYA into one new Iyengar Yoga organisation there will be a new constitution and there are likely to be some changes. It is possible that many of the present duties ofModerators will be taken over by sub-commit­ tees in the new organisation, but how this will all work remains to be seen. In the meantime our current panel of Moderators will continue to serve the needs of our teacher training, teacher trainer and assessment pro­ grams with the same dedication and hard work they have been putting in for so many years.

I don't know what happened in between 1985 and 1992 but by 1992 there were only four Moderators on the

Special thanks to Tricia and Margaret for providing me with the infonnation which has made this article possible.

To Jeanne Maslen who this year has retired from full Moderator duties. Jeanne has given many years of devoted service to the BKSIYTA as our most senior Moderator and we owe her much for all she has contributed to Iyengar Yoga during those years.

Also to Patricia Booth who has recently retired from the post of Assessment Co-ordina­ tor. Tricia has been a Moderator since the formation of the first Moderators' committee in 1985 and has performed the important and demanding job of Assessment Coordinator for much of that time.

We would also like to wish another of our Moderators, Sylvia Prescott, a VERY HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY on December 24th, 2002.

I_engar Yoga News No.2

46

Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

OUR NEW ASSE

CO-ORDINATOR

I have recently taken over from Tricia Booth as Assessment Co-ordinator for the BKSNTA and I have been asked to describe what the job entails. As I have only just taken over, my feel for the duties is still vel)' hazy. But Tricia, who has done the job with calm and cheerful efficiency for many years, kindly drew up a list for me and 1 am unashamedly drawing on that for the job description.

As the title implies, the Assessment Co-ordinator has to collate infonnation regarding all areas of assessment procedure. I shall therefore be in charge of keeping up to date lists of postures for all the different levels in teacher training and assessment. Application forms and the letter ofrequirements for those wishing to start train­ ing have to be kept up to date and supplied to Trainers.

Teacher Trainers and Assessment Organisers also have to be infonned of any changes to syllabuses or assess­ ment procedures. To that end, the Assessment Co-ordi­ nator must keep an up to date list of Teacher Trainers and teacher training courses as well as of Moderators, Assessors and Trainee Assessors. A vel)' important part of the job is to keep a record of assessment results and of who moderated and assessed at each assessment. It is also vital to ensure that all the Moderators send the assessment results to the Membership SecretaI)' so that the membership list can be kept correct and up to date.

I have discovered that answering letters of enquiry of a surprisingly wide range is also part of the remit. I am increasingly impressed by what Tricia has achieved over these past years and extremely grateful to her for her kindness in helping me towards the full handover, which will happen after the October assessments, and in prom­ ising to keep an eye on me and give me advice when I need it (as I surely shall) after that.

I have also been asked to say a little about myself This is a dangerous request to someone as talkative as I am; you may get more than you bargained for. But I shall stick mainly to my experience in yoga, which I feel has been remarkably fortunate at evel)' tum. I was lucky enough to discover Iyengar yoga when I was quite young. I began in 1971 when I was a student of the Histol)' of the English Language at Oxford. My first teacher was the late Penny Nield-Smith who was a mar­ vellous person and a lovely teacher and I was vel)' soon 'hooked'. In 1974 I moved to Scotland, having married a Scot who was finishing his medical training at the University of Edinburgh. So I continued my studies there too. Up till then there had been no Iyengar yoga in Edinburgh, but by great good fortune my move coincid­ ed with the arrival in Edinburgh also of Bob and Kathy Welham, both newly qualified Iyengar teachers. I velY soon joined Kathy's class and was taught by Bob and Kathy for the next ten years.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

47

The Welham's teaching was so successful and classes grew so much in nwnber that they realised they needed some more teachers to keep pace with the demand. I and two others were sent to Manchester to get a taste of Guruji's teaching when he visited there in 1976. In fact that was when I first met Tricia; she and Tom kindly put up the three youngsters from Edinburgh during the weekend course. If I was hooked before, I was now thoroughly overwhelmed with Gu~ji and his wonderful teaching. The next thing I knew, Bob Welham had packed me off to Purle. At least that's what it felt like at the time. In those days, provided you had a letter of rec­ ommendation from your teacher and Guruji gave per­ mission, it was possible to turn up alone to join inten­ sives at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, and that's what I did in the summer of 1977. Nowadays I think I would be considerably daunted by such a prospect, but at the age of24 it just seemed like a huge­ ly exciting adventure. I had a marvellous three weeks and I still remember it as one of the most inspiring and fonnative times of my life. Having a family and other duties intervened, and I did not revisit Pune until 1994 when I was privileged to join a teachers' intensive taught

by Geetaji. That too was a wonderfully inspiring expe­ rience. I am delighted that I am going back again next summer to take part in local classes.

In Edinburgh, Iyengar Yoga continued to thrive and Bob and Kathy set up the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre.

Thanks to them, and to Gwuji, who generously gave it his blessing, Edinburgh was one of the first places in Britain to have its own Iyengar Yoga Centre. We con­ tinue to enjoy it hugely - it is a place ofwonderful fiiend­ lmess and energy and hundreds of students come through its doors each week for classes. My fan1ily and I spent two years in the mid 80s in Boston Massachusetts, where I had classes with Victor Oppenheimer and also did courses at Patricia Walden's Iyengar Centre in Somerville. When I returned, the Welhams had moved to Bristol, but the ErYC was still humming with activity, the directorship having been taken over by Elaine Pidgeon. It was marvellous to return to classes there and to benefit from Elaine's teach­ ing. Not long after I returned, Elaine asked me to help her with the Teacher Training course she had taken over from Kathy Welham. We have been running this course together ever since, and we fInd it one of the most rewarding things we do. We learn a great deal from all our trainees and our own yoga is energized and enriched by their enthusiasm, dedication and commitment.

I have continued my practice and teaching vel)' happily here in Edinburgh ever since, gaining my Senior Intennediate certificate in 1996. I have also enjoyed classes by visiting teachers, some of them from Pune, Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

including most specially Geetaji's recent visit on the occasion of the Assocation's Silver Jubilee at Crystal Palace. Earlier this year I was honoured to be invited to serve as a Moderator. Being very new to this and hav­ ing taken on the Assessment Co-ordinator's job too, I shall have a great deal to learn. I am looking forward to the challenge - if with some trepidation.

Like many other Iyengar yoga teachers, I do not teach and practise yoga full time. I have a 'day job'. I am employed in a two-man outfit called the Institute for Historical Dialectology, which is attached to the English Language Department of Edinburgh University. My colleague works on Older Scots and I on 12th and 13th century English. We transcribe texts from manuscripts, analyse the variety oftheir dialectal spelling systems and plot the results on maps. We are making historical lin­ guistic atlases and are in fact Medieval Dialectologists.

As you can imagine, that is something of a conversation stopper at social events. But I enjoy and am proud of the project, which continues the life work of Professor Angus McIntosh, who was a pioneer in the field of his­ torical dialect studies and whom I was privileged to have as a supervisor when I was a student. He is now 88

years old and long since retired, but I still see him fre­ quently. I feel lucky to have two visionary, pioneering and distinguished teachers in two different aspects ofmy life. I'm sure Angus would agree though that yoga remains a more interesting subject of conversation in mixed company. In fact I recently gave him a copy of Yoga the Path to Holistic Health. He has not done any yoga before, but he is now doing all the stretches and twists that he can manage from his chair and says he is gaining great benefit from them and is very impressed with Guruji's setting out of the philosophical aspects.

My two Jobs' do not often overlap, but occasionally at conferences, when there are comparative historical lin­ guists present, I try to impress them with my knowledge of Sanskrit. It very soon becomes apparent however that my expertise is limited to words for parts ofthe body, the numbers one to six and a rather odd assortment of ani­ mals and birds - I then have to own up to my sources!

As I begin my new roles of Moderator and Assessment Co-ordinator I feel more fortunate than ever that in order to renew energy and to keep a calm and steady mind (at least some of the time) there is the great gift and bless­ ing of yoga.

ASSESSMENT CONGRATULATIONS

Many congratulations to all who gained Junior Intermediate Certificates in 2002

Levell John Aplin Ann Fletcher Rita Gardner Linda Head Karey Morley Joanne Robertson Edgar Stringer Kathleen Vaile Diane West

Level 2 Ann Ansari Sophie Carrington Heide Connell Fiona Fallon Neil Gillies Gael Henry Carol Johnson Dina Karim Caroline Kennedy Susie Lever Judy Lynn Shirin Marshall Christina Niewola Fiona Reid Hilke Tiedemann Judith Tomlinson

Level 3 Jonathan Akester Lesley Buckley Helen Clay Jane Fraser Anna Heavens Brian Ingram Korinna Pilafidis-Williams Veronica Pogson Glenys Shepherd Patricia Sparksman Bob Waters June Whittaker Pisano

Thanks to all those who helped with organisation, moderating, assessing and catering.

Best wishes for next year to those who were unsuccessful this time.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

48

Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

JUNIOR INTERMEDIATE ASSESSMENTS

These will take place in March 2003 Candidates for Part 1 and those wishing to go forward for assessment to Parts 2 or 3, should apply as soon as possible to: Meg Laing (new Assessment Co-ordinator) 36 Comely Bank Edinburgh EH41AJ

N.B. this is urgent so that we can estimate numbers and book suitable venues for the assessments.

Successful candidates last year for Parts 1 and 2 and any res its will by now have heard from Ros Wakeford, the organiser for the 1.I. assessments.

If not then please contact: the Junior Intennediate Assessment Organiser:

Ros Wakeford, 24a Christopher Way, Emsworth, POlO 7QZ

REMAINING REVALIDATION DAYS 2002 Do not wait to be contacted. Apply to the organiser.

Region

Date

Organiser

Moderator

London N. Thames (lYI Maida Vale)

24th November

Korinna Pi1afidisWilliams 020 7372 2726

Lilian Biggs

London S. Thames

1st December

John Shirbon 020 8672 7315

Penny Chaplin

REVALIDATION CHART Date of the last Certificate or Revalidation

Revalidation Due

Second Revalidation

1996,1991, 1986, 1981, 1976 and earlier

2001

2006

1997, 1992, 1987, 1982, 1977

2002

2007

1998,1993,1988,1983,1978

2003

2008

1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979

2004

2009

2000, 1995, 1990, 1985, 1980

2005

2010

I engar Yoga News No.2

49

Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

BKSIYTA Executive Committee 2002 Scotland

Elaine Pidgeon 52a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5PX Email elaine.pidgeon@virgin.net; Tel. 0131 552 987: Chairperson, Unity Group Carol Brown 5 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB Email carol@howkerse.com; Tel. 0131 5575739

North&East

Gordon Austin 8 Stavely Road, Seabum Drive, Sunderland, Tyne& Wear SR6 8JS Email yoga@austinmg.fsnet.co.uk; Tel. 0 191 5487457: Yoga Alliance Liaison Officer Alan Brown 23 Middleton, Cowling West Yorks. BD22 ODQ Email alan@dianalan.plus.com ; Tel 01535637359: Newsletter Editor

North & West

Margaret Carter 14 Foxley Close, Lymrn WAl3 OBS Email mgtcarter@aol.com; Tel. 01925 758382 Christina Niewola 15 Hampshire Close, Congleton CW12 ISF Email chris@niewola.com; Tel. 01260279565: Honorary Secretary

Central

Brian Jack 4 The Gardens, Garden Row (off Scholars Lane) Stratford upon Avon CV376HF Email jacksis@aol.com; Tel. 01789205322 : Development Task Force, Unity Group Sheila Haswell 75 Mary's Mead, High Wycombe HP 15 7DS Email sheila.haswell@talk2l.com; Tel. 01494 711589: Introd. Assessment Organiser

North Thames

Ros Bell 19 Briston Grove, London N8 9EX Email r.j.bell@open.ac.uk; Tel. 020 8340 9899: Yoga Rahasya, Editorial Board IY N Patsy Sparksman 33 Ashboume Avenue, London NWll ODT Email patsyyoga@aol.com; Tel.020 8455 6366: Merchandising

South Thames

Judith Richards 25 Effingham Road, Long Ditton, Surrey KT6 5JZ Email judithrich@btintemet.com; Tel 020 8398 1741 : Treasurer There is one vacancy in this region

South & West

Judith Jones 17 Baydon Road, Lamboume,. Hungerford RG17 8NT Email Judith@jonesyoga .fsnet.co.uk; Tel.01488 71838: Vice Chairperson, Unity Group, Editorial Board IYN Tig Whattler 64 Watermoor Road Cirencester.G'los G 17 1LD Email ciyc@talk21.com; Tel 01285 653742: Membership Secretary

South Central

Ann Ansari 23 Mitchell Road Bedhampton P09 3QA Email yogawithann@btopenworld.com; Tel 02392474197: Assistant Membership Sec. Brian Ingram 51 Meadow Lane, Burgess Hill RH 159HZ Email simhasana@aol.com; Tel 01444436714: Minutes Secretary

Moderators Committee Rep.

Pen Reed

Revalidation Day Organiser

Judi Sweeting 64 Watermoor Road Cirencester, Glos. G17 1 LD Email ciyc@talk2l.com; Tel 01285 653742 Meg Laing 36 Comely Bank, Edinburgh EH4 lAJ Ros Wakeford 24a Christopher Way, Emsworth, POlO 7QZ

Assessment Co-ordinator ./unior In!. Assess. Organiser

8 Greenhill Cottage, Mill Brow, Marple Bridge,

Stockport SK6 5LW; penreed24@aol.com; Tel 01614271763

Margaret Carter has retired from the post of Honorary Treasurer this year and John Shirbon from that of Honorary Secretary. These are both demanding and time consuming jobs which Margaret and John have performed conscientiously and efficiently. The committee expresses its gratitude to them both for their valuable contributions.

Iy ngar Yoga News No.2

50

Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

INTRODUCTORY ASSESSORS December 2001 AGAR WARD Richard (Bristol), AUSTIN Gordon (N.E), AUSTIN Margaret (N .E),

BELL Rosamund (London) , BIGGS Lilian (Bradford), BOOTH Brenda (Kent),

BOOTH Patricia (Manchester) , BROWN Alan (Yorkshire) , BROWN Julie (Manchester),

BROWNE Dave (NE), BUTLER Pam (London), CARTER Margaret (Manchester) ,

CHAPLIN Penny (London), COATS Diane (N.E) , CURTIS Rayner (Sussex) ,

EGGLESTON Yvonne (N.E), ELLISON Margaret (Manchester), GREEN Sheila (Hereford),

HARRISON Cecilia (Nottingham), HASWELL Sheila (Buckinghamshire) ,

HEATH Mary (Boummouth), INSTRELL Catriona (Scotland), IRVIN Dorothea (N .E),

JACKSON Ann (Manchester), JACKSON Peter (Manchester), JONES Judith (Berkshire),

KILBURN Marion (Manchester) , KNIGHT Jean (Scotland), LACK Pam (I\J.E), LAING Meg

(Scotland) , LONG Susan (Essex), LUMBARD Janet (Scotland) ,

LYNCH Jackie (Salisbury), MASLEN Jeanne (Manchester) , MEHTA Rukmini (London),

MUSGROVE Jean (N.E) , ORTON Jayne (Birmingham) , OGLE Lynda (Manchester),

PERRYMAN Sasha (Cambs) , PIDGEON Elaine (Scotland), PRESCOTT Si lvia (London),

REED Pen (Manchester) , RICHARDSON Anne (Salisbury), RIDLEY Josette (Manchester) ,

ROGERS Cathy (Sussex) , SCHOONRAAD Ursula (London) , SOFFA Judi (Liverpool),

SULLIVAN Sallie (Reading), SWEETING Judi (Cirencester) , TROWELL Kim (Dorset) ,

TUERSLEY Pat (Manchester), VAN DOP Judith (Cornwall), WAKEFORD Ros (Hampshire) ,

WALKER Lorna (London), YATES Janice (Manchester)

TRAINEE ASSESSORS Alaric Newcombe, Linda Purvis, Patricia James, Lyn Farquar, Helen Graham , Julie Hodges, Elizabeth Tonner, Dawn Hodgeson Trainee assessors do 4 assessments over two years - 2 part 1 and 2 part 2. Part 1 first year, part 2 second year Anyone who has held a level 3 Junior Intermediate certificate for at least two years and would like to become a trainee assessor please apply to the Moderators' Committee via the Assessment Co-ordinator.

B.K.S.I.Y.T.A. TEACH ER TRAINING COURSES IN THE U.K. June 2001 TEA CHER TRAINERS:­ AGAR WARD Richard (Bristol), AUSTIN Margaret (N .E) ,

BELL Ros (North Thames, London), BIGGS Lilian (Bradford), BOOTH Patricia (MDIIY),

BOOTH Brenda (S. Thames, London), BROWN Alan (Yorkshire) .

BROWN Julie (MD .I.I.Y.and New Cross) , BROWNE Dave (N.E .),

BUTLER Pam (S. London) , CHAPLIN Penny (N.W.& Central London) ,

CLARIDGE Paquita (E. Sussex - not training at the moment), CLARKE Diane (Maida Vale

training with Sallie Sullivan) , GREEN Sheila (Herefordshire), HARRISON Cissy

(Nottingham training with M. Austi n) , HASWELL Sheila (Buckinghamshire) ,

JONES Judith (Berks), KILBURN Marion (MDIIY training with PBooth and J. Brown),

KNIGHT Jean (Edinburg h), LAI NG Meg (Edinburgh), LONG Susan (Essex), MASLEN

Jeanne (MD .I.I.Y. (Adviser), NEWCOMBE Alaric (Maida Vale training with Sallie Sullivan) ,

ORTON Jayne (Birmingham), PERRYMAN Sasha (Norwich , Cambridge),

PIDGEON Elaine (Edinburgh), PRESCOTT Silvia (N.W.& Central London),

PURVISS Linda (Bristol training with Sallie Sullivan) ,

REED Pen (New Cross London) , SCHOONRAAD Ursula (S. Thames, London) ,

SOFFA Judi (Liverpool) , SULLIVAN Sally (Reading London), SWEETING Judi

(Cirencester), VAN DOP Judith (Cornwall), WAKEFORD Roslyn (Hampshire),

WELHAM Kathy (Bristol - not training at the moment).

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

51

Teachers ' Section: Winter 2002

BKSIYTA - Extraordinary General Meeting

An EGM, called for by 286 BKSIYTA members (in a letter paid for by Bradford & District Iyengar Yoga Institute and North East Institute of Iyengar Yoga) is to be held on: Saturday, 1 February 2003 at 1.30pm at 'The Meeting Place', 153 Drummond Street, london NW1 to debate and vote on the motion that: 'There will be no payment of money for use of the certification mark other than for the purpose of one-off legal registration, without the expressed approval of the membership by majority vote'

Applications for Classes at RIMYI, Pune.

Applications now have to be made through each country's national association. For the UK this is the BKSIYTA. A minimum of 8 years practice of Iyengar Yoga is required. The fee for classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune, is $US 300 for one month.

Information for Teachers / Students.

For admission the institute requests that the student's practice of 8 years reflects an understanding of the foundation ofIyengar Yoga. This would include the regular practice of inverted poses (8-10 mins . in the inverted postures). Women should know what is to be practised during menstruation. All students should have read, at the minimum, the introductory chapter to Light on Yoga and be familiar with the terms and principles covered in that chapter.

The following should be noted. There are some changes.

1. RIMYI offers one or two months admission. The deposit of $US 150 is for one month.

2. Admission is strictly for the dates given.

3. Advance deposit is part of the fees and hence not transferable to any other person or course. It is non­ refundable.

4. 6 classes are given per week, each for 2hrs duration. A schedule will be given on arrival.

5. The last week of each month will be pranayama classes.

6. No extensions will be given beyond two months under any circumstances.

7. A confirmation letter will be given from us and should be presented on arrival.

8. The classes will be conducted byBKS Iyengar or his daughter or son or by staff members.

10. Please make your own arrangements for board and lodging 11 . Certificates will not be issued at the end of the course.

12. When applying please include relevant bio-data with any health conditions.

Please send Application Forms (photocopies can be made from the forms that were sent out to all teach­ ers in the last BKSIYTA Newsletter) and your Bankers Draft for $US 150 made out to RIMYI to:

Penny Chaplin, Flat 1, St. Johns Court, Finchley Road, London NW3 6LL Please do not include photos or personal mail. Applications are for individuals only - no groups.

Iyengar Yoga News No.2

52

Teachers' Section: Winter 2002

www.bksiyta.co.uk

www.loya.ukf.net

LOYA (UK) Website Local Classes Listings Service CitylLocality in which teaching ............. ................ ... ............... ..... .............. .... ......... .

Name ................................................................. Telephone ....... .. . ...................... .

Fax .... ............ .. .. ................ . .. ..... .. e-mail .................................. ........................ .

Teaching certificate held: ... ... ............... .. ................. .. .............. ..... .............. ... ........ .

o Individual member of LOYA(UK)

o Member of affiliated institute (please specify) ............... .

Classes (please continue as separate sheet as necessaty)

Day Time Location

Level

I certify that I teach solely Iyengar Yoga and that I am qualified and insured to teach Iyengar Yoga Signed: ...... .. ..... . .............................. .... . ........... . ... Date ............ . ................ . ...... .

Return to: Martin Hall, Glackin, 199 Clashmore, Lochinver, Lairg IV27 4JQ If you want your name and the town/area in which you hold classes published on the BKSIYTA website, as long as you are a current member of the BKSIYTA, please send this information to: Brian Jack, 4 Garden Row, off Scholar's Lane, Stratford on Avon. Warwickshire CV37 6HF

m tters Callers are welcome at our new premises in North London.

Monday-Friday P.30 to 17.30 Saturday 10.00 to ' 3.00, also open Sundays in November and December.

Other times by arranpment

I

I

n

matters~

32 CLA RENDON ROAD LON DON N8 oDJ enq uirlesOyoga matters.com

o 8888 8588 53

Winter 2002

Notices

WANTED

ADVERTISING in IYENGAR YOGA NEWS If you wish to advertise in the next issue of Iyengar Yoga News, please send all text, photographs or artwork, together with a cheque for the correct amount (made payable to 'LOYA') to:

Old issues (1-3 , 5-8, 10,23) of LOYA News for our archive.

Please send to Kirsten Agar Ward 12 Station Road, Lower Weston, Bath BA1 3DY

Small Ads.

Inexpensive INDIAN YOGA

BELTS, BANDAGES,

BOLSTER SETS, PRANAYA­

MA SETS, WEDGES and

Joe Bum at joe.bum@virgin.net ROPES for sale.

SAE price list or 'phone/fax.

or else by mail to

IYN c/o 3 Finch Rd.

Kirsten Agar Ward

Cambridge CB4 3RB

12 Station Road,

(telephone 01223 523410)

Lower Weston, Bath BA 1 3DY.

Tel. 01225 336144

Advertising rates or e-mail;

Iyengar Yoga News is read by at office@bath-iyengar-yoga.com

least 2000 individual Iyengar practitioners. Rates for advertis­ Yoga weekend in Beautiful

ing are as follows: Snowdonia, 14th - 16th March,

Full page: £75 2003, with Ros Bell

Half page: £40 (020 8340 9899)

Quarter page: £25 Small ads.: 30p per word Deadlines The deadline for the next issue of Iyengar Yoga News is:

7th April 2003 NB. the Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse to accept advertisements or parts of adver­ tisements that are deemed to be at variance with the stated aims of the Light on Yoga Association (UK) or the BKS Iyengar Yoga Teachers' Association Iyengar Yoga News No.2

Oh earth, sky and heavens, let us meditate on the splendour of Savitur, so that he may enlight­ en our minds.

The image on the back cover is of the most sacred verse of the Rig Veda . the most sacred book in Hinduism. It is a hymn that praises the God Savitur who is usually associated with the sun, or is perhaps the name of the sun at dawn . The Gayatri Mantra plays a central role in Hinduism as does the Lord's Prayer in Christianity. The God Savitur is described as having golden eyes, golden hands and a golden tongue. Also, there is a metre used in Sanskrit poetry called ,Gayatri which has three feet of eight syllables each. according to the orthodox Hindu tradition the Gayatri may only be uttered by the top three castes.

Translation and commentary by Joe Bum Image supplied by Dale Rathbone

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Winter 2002