Iyengar Yoga News - issue 21 - Autumn 2012

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IYENGAR YOGA NEWS

ISSUE NUMBER 21

AUTUMN 2012

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IYENGAR YOGA (UK) ®

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

IYENGAR YOGA NEWS

Editorial You will notice two changes in this issue of Iyengar Yoga News.

First, we have printed it in full colour throughout.This is an experiment as we need to decide whether it is worth the additional expense; if we added the extra cost of full colour on to membership fees, it would come to about 80p for every member each year. Please let us know what you think of this issue of IYN by emailing us at editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk.

The second change is that we have removed references to IYA and IYA (UK). Last year we became a company limited by guarantee and our official title is now “Iyengar Yoga (UK) Ltd.” This seems a bit formal for everyday use so we are now referring to ourselves as “Iyengar Yoga (UK)”, “IY (UK)” or simply “the Association”.

In this issue of Iyengar Yoga News we have reports from a number of events: Gavin Tilstone reports on the 2012 Yoga and Naturopathy Conference, Janet Swinney tells us about the charity event she helped organise in aid of Womankind Worldwide

We have introduced a new feature where we focus on a particular Affiliated Centre; this issue we look at the Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre. Please let us know if you would like your Centre to feature in a future issue.

President: Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar

Issue No.21 Autumn 2012 We continue our series of practice-based articles with the second part of Judi Sweeting’s piece on back bends (part 3 still to come), and another extract by Ray Long looking at Janu Sirsasana.

Finally, as well as the usual Association reports, there is an article on the 2012 Annual Convention and a booking form for next year’s Convention (although it is much easier to book online from our website).

We are always on the lookout for more articles and reports so please do send us anything you would like to see published.

The Editorial Team

IY (UK) contacts

Katie Owens: Membership and Office Manager Telephone: 07510 326 997 email: katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk Address: IY (UK), PO Box 4730, Sheffield S8 2HE Jess Wallwork: Finance and Bookings Administrator Telephone: 07757 463 767 email: jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk Address: 15 West Grove, Bristol BS6 5LS Jo Duffin: Assessments Administrator Telephone: 07795443375 email: jo@iyengaryoga.org.uk Address: PO Box 255, Royston, SG8 1DU Editorial Board: John Cotgreave, Philippe Harari, Judith Jones, Lucy Osman,Tehira Taylor Layout & Design: Lucy Osman Articles to: editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk Copy deadline 1 December 2012 Advertising: John Cotgreave jbcotgreave@hotmail.co.uk IY Office: admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk Printed by: Blueprint Press, Cambridge, on paper made using wood from sustainable forests and without the use of chlorine ® used with permission of B.K.S Iyengar, Trade Mark owner

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Contents Features

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B.K.S. Iyengar at the Yoga and Naturopathy Conference Backbends Part 2 – Guruji 1988 Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training in Greece Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre Womankind Worldwide IY (UK) Convention 2012 Anatomy of a Pose: Janu Sirsasana

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IY (UK) Reports Assessment Passes Professional Development Days Institutes

The photographs in this magazine were provided by the authors of each article, apart from the photographs of the 2012 Convention, which are by Ros Bell.

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Member Information

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B.K.S. Iyengar at the Yoga and Naturopathy Conference Gavin Tilstone

This took place from 9-13 February 2012 and was the first International conference on Yoga and Naturopathy with the objective of bringing together experts from all over the world to showcase recent advances in understanding and research in these fields. It was organised by The Government of Karnataka who invited B.K.S. Iyengar as the guest of honour to open the Conference and to demonstrate his art of yoga. Prior to the conference, Guruji was presented with the honorary Nadoja Award and a statue of Sri Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, by the Vice-Chancellor of Hampi University and Minister of Health and Education.

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Air-conditioned conference marquees were constructed on the Gayatri Vihar Palace Grounds, Bangalore, to host keynote speeches, scientific presentations, yoga demonstrations, conference stalls and food tents.The main hall was named the “Mysore Yoga Guru, Krishnamacharya Hall� after Sri T. Krishnamacharya and was inaugurated by B.K.S. Iyengar.There were more than 250 stalls exhibiting yoga, ayurveda, homeopathic, lifestyle and nutritional products.The conference was attended by more than 5,000 delegates and was expected to be visited by over 10,000 people.

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Guruji’s Inaugural Speeches and Explanation of Yoga

On 10 February 2012 Guruji delivered his conference address, thus: ‘Lovers of yoga! To the motherland of Karnataka, in particular, which I consider the motherland of Yoga. I am grateful to the Karnatak organisations in making the conference a success. All health systems, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda are complementary to each other.There is only one difference between other systems and Yoga. In the other systems, health is gained by outer needs. In Yoga you have to fight with your own energy to attain the right way of living through one’s life style. A bird’s eye view of Yoga is given by the Great sage Patanjali who says in the first sutra. atha yoga anusasanam ‘Now, being an auspicious moment, Patanjali undertakes to reveal yoga.’ yogah chittavriti nirodhah ‘Yoga is restraint of fluctuating consciousness’.

The sutras teach how to bring the oscillating and fluctuating mind to a single state, so that the multi-mind becomes a single mind.The mind is like a Public Relations Officer, in that it always wants to satisfy what is outside and external. It is essential to transform the mind into a cosmic mind. Patanjali teaches that through the entire philosophy of yoga, the single self should rest on the universal self so that we should know the creator of the universe. Similarly the atma is formless, but becomes akara (form) and takes on the shape of manas, buddhi, citta as various sheaths of the soul, which are difficult to penetrate.The practitioner must use the practice of yoga to penetrate these sheaths and enter the cave of the soul.Yoga is not physical, it is a science that allows us to stare healthily at the soul. Each of us has to develop our knowledge with the yamas and niyamas and cultivate these so that we develop the art of living. Patanjali says we don’t know what is in store for the next stage of life and so the effect of Samadhi is to eradicate suffering. In ayurvedic texts it is said that when all else fails, for healing and suffering one should practice yoga to root out the cause of these afflictions.

Yoga is a subject that touches life like six spokes of a wheel.The mind is affected by things around it (‘pollution’), which make it oscillate. So yoga teaches us to cultivate a single state of mind. In this state, all of the koshas (sheaths) are brought together at one time towards the atma, and the citta illuminates the body.

The sheaths of the body then become directed towards the soul. Asanas are not physical, but meditation in action, which help us to reach the highest level, towards freedom or moksha.Where there is yoga there is no war.We need to start from the principle of where the physical and mental become atma. I bless you all.’

On 11th February, Dr. B.K.S. Iyengar demonstrated his art of yoga. After reciting the invocation to Patanjali, he opened the session, thus: ‘My friends I am grateful to all of you.Yoga is a vast subject; it cannot be covered in time, as it is timeless.Today I will focus on the practical aspects of them.The union of practical yoga in the field of astanga yoga is the art of surrendering to God. For visidhyana there are three ways to surrender to God; jappa, prayer and feeling (or meaning). Patanjali suggests three means: through tapas or the action of kriyas (action or investigation); through svadhyaya (self-study) or the connection of the mind to buddhi; and surrender of ahamkara (ego) to the Lord.

The self is divine.The sheaths of the body should be as clean and true as the divine atma.There are several sheaths – physical, organic, intellectual and conscious body.The practice of yoga from the skeletalmuscular, transforms the sheaths towards the soul, which rests in the heart. In yoga all aspects of the body, from the skin to the self, can become integrated and the subtle and gross body become connected.

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We have over 700 muscles, 300 joints, 90,000 miles of blood circulating, 160,00 miles of nerves; it is a huge international club! Using the three sheaths of the body, how can we balance the muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, in this state of education, where the difference between body and mind disappear? In samye (being equal) yoga, the causes of afflictions and fluctuations of the mind are there to serve the soul.

Patanjali says that yoga is meant for the atma, to

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enable the soul to come out and shine. Health is awareness, not physical fitness, which flows like a river in every part of the body.’

Mr. Iyengar then conducted a two hour and a one hour yoga demonstration with his students Abhijata Sridhar-Iyengar, Raya Ud, Devki Desai, Dr. Manoj Naik, Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, Bhirjoo Mehta and Rajvi Mehta. Some of the asanas are illustrated below.

Guruji opened with: ‘Before the start the body adjusts to the in and out breath. See that the middle portion of the trunk is kept in line with the socket of the hip’. Firstly, whilst grand-daughter Abhijata sat in padmasana on a bench, Guruji pointed out that: ‘Just as in a theatre, there are two gates to enter and exit the auditorium. In yoga the gate for inhalation is below the sinus areas and the air enters from here. In the inhalation, the breath touches the inner septum and it touches the outer septum in exhalation. During inhalation the skin of the front body is flopping down.

The back spine becomes flat or dome shaped and the back body faces up and the front body faces down. At the end of the inhalation, the skin is kept upright. During no inhalation, the sternum bone is sinking.The mistake comes from the movement of the inter-costal muscles which makes the body fall.The frame should not shake and should be kept steady.’

Tadasana Guruji showed on the students that; ‘if the thigh comes forward and the shin goes backward, it means that the body weight is on the sole of the foot. Now press the heels, what happens to the thighs? The weight on the sole is involution, the weight on the heels is evolution’.

Utthita Trikonasana ‘In trikonasana, the hip can come up and the waist can bulge upwards.This is a misinterpretation of the asana. Patanjali says; all the muscles, joints and tissues should be brought into a single straight dimension, which is directed comfortably in the body’.

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Parsvottanasana Guruji showed; ‘when doing paschima namaskarasana, how the sternum and clavicles collapse’. He then showed ‘how to do the pose without the sternum bone collapsing by broadening the clavicle, rolling the bicep out and the shoulder blade in.When going into the asana, the mid line of the buttock should move in and the bottom of the buttock moves down’.Then he rolled the back leg thigh in.

He explained that; ‘without culture of the body, there is no culture of the mind, otherwise you are just cheating in the asana’.

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Guruji correcting the hips and legs in Virabhadrasana I

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana ‘The hip muscles should be passive.The bottom of the ribs should inhale, the top ribs should exhale.You have to release the intelligence to make it flow down. Asanas are not physical, they are intelligent action. So when you go forward, you have to empty the thigh muscles and fill the chest.The more you empty the top leg, the better the asana’.

Virabhadrasana I Guruji got the students to face the audience with the leading leg and asked ‘Is the leg facing you (pointing to the audience) or facing to the side? He then corrected the leg by turning the hip further towards the audience and added ‘In this asana, with the correct action of the hips and legs, the mind becomes a single entity’.

Sirsasana Guruji pointed out that; ‘one should go up from the shoulder blades.’ He asked ‘Are they doing tadasana in sirsasana?’ He then explained that, ‘the muscles should be like fans in the body and should move to the inner body, so that the blood goes to the bone.Then see how much the intelligence touches the asana, then one can observe the intelligence in the straight line of the asana’.

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Paschimottanasana ‘In urdhva mukha paschimottanasana do you see any concavity?

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Ardha Matsyendrasana I In this asana the legs resemble the shape of a fish. The floating ribs have to be bought forwards, so that the ribs become straight

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The back muscles should breathe in. If the thigh muscle comes up it is inhaling, if it goes down it is exhaling.The exhalation empties the body, so empty the thigh muscle and take it down to the floor’.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana Dr. Naik showed in this asana supported on a bench that, ‘the dorsal spine is curved and in front of the dorsal spine, the heart is expanded and the blood supply is improved.Thus any cardiac patient placed in this asana, improves’. Dr Naik then showed that in cardio vascular resuscitation, ‘when the heart collapses in cardiac arrest, the notch at the base of the sternum is pumped with the pressure of both palms. Some patients can be resuscitated, but this can also fracture the ribs or the sternum bone. In setu bandha sarvangasana the spine pushes the heart forward.Venous blood should flow towards the heart for purification. If the shoulders are taken into the body, the ventricle opens and the heart, liver and kidney are cultured. B.K.S. Iyengar’s interpretation of the asanas is to make the props so that the asana and the subject of yoga can evolve’.

Bharadvajasana B.K.S. Iyengar explained that ‘this asana is given to help movement of the spine; it can cure slipped disc.’

Zubin then told the audience how his father suffered an extremely bent spine as the result of multiple sclerosis. Guruji got Zubin to practice yoga, to prevent the DNA effects of his parents affecting him.

Kapotasana As the pigeon’s chest is broad, so in this asana the top chest is kept broad. In back bends all people maintain the spine too narrow.The spine has to be broad then no injury will take place’.

‘Before closing, let me conclude that asana has to be performed in an uninterrupted way so that the intelligence reaches the seat of the soul. Unless you use your intelligence in Sadhana, there will be no evolution at all.Why are the asanas introduced?

In sutra III, Chapter 4, Patanjali explains: ‘nimittam aprayojakam prakrtinam varanabhedah tu tatah ksetrikavat’.

B.K.S. Iyengar with Government ministers.

If this power of nature with all of its potentialities is not used properly, it may create obstacles in the path of spiritual progress. So yoga is liberation, to get the best of the self, so that the ego decreases and negative energy is conquered, then the body can be united with the true self.

I hope that the younger generation in India surpass my presentation, so that some of you go further than me. God bless you all!’

This presentation and closing words were followed by a standing ovation.

Acknowledgements. Dr. Gavin Tilstone is a scientist in Marine Botany at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK, where he works on climate change related research. He travelled to the Bangalore Yoga Conference whilst studying at R.I.M.Y.I. during the month of February 2012. ‘There may be inconsistencies in the text with what Dr. Iyengar actually said, due to my lack of understanding and knowledge. I hope, however, that I have captured the essence of the talks, so that a wider audience may benefit from B.K.S. Iyengar’s teachings’.

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Backbends Part 2 – Guruji 1988 This is the second part of a threepart article on backbends based on the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar on an Intensive in 1988. The aim of the articles has been to show how “current” the teaching is, nothing is new. Over the years we should change, we should grow and we should understand more.

In 2012, what we learn from the work is as meaningful now as it was in 1988. This applies equally to the teaching of Geeta and Prashant Iyengar.

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In the last article, Part 1 of backbends, Guruji said “All I have taught you,Tadasana, Uttanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Adho Mukha Vrksasana, Pincha Mayurasana, Sirsasana and variations, all are included in one Urdhva Dhanurasana”. So we come full circle.The “master plan” can be experienced by repeating all the work from the series of articles.

Begin your practice with the same sequence as in the last article in IYN issue 20.You will be reinforcing your understanding and ready to add the following.

“Come out of an asana because we are missing the outcome of our previous efforts.

So ask yourself and be honest, do you find yourself spending more time on the floor than in the pose?”

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Guruji demonstrated again: We had to observe his Tadasana feet, how he maintained the inner heel skin from the arches; how he moved his back because he had stablilised his feet. He then said:“Watch the hinges from the heels to the top calves. Observe the inner flesh, see the Tadasana on the back of the legs from the heels to the calves. My legs are bent but I will still do Tadasana, now you do it!”.

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Guruji again demonstrated: He had put one belt on each middle thigh. After placing himself, he asked us to watch his knees, especially the outer kneecaps. Without making the knees straight he asked us to observe Tadasana in the legs and to observe the middle sockets of the knees.

Urdhva Danurasana Two belts for the legs – see article Backbends 1.

We did the pose again with the two belts on the legs.

• Walk the feet deep in, pressure on the middle finger mounts, little finger mounts and thumb mounts.

• Press evenly on the centres and then lift the quadricep muscle belt straight up.

• The top portion of the belt is easy to lift, the bottom portion of the belt very difficult to lift. So the head of the calf muscles should move up.

• Walk in more.

• We did the pose again with the two belts on the legs. If your back is aching from your practice you are not using the quadriceps muscles.

• The quadriceps muscles have to move higher than the lumbar. If the lumbar goes up first the

sacroiliac muscles cannot move at all.

• Walk in until you get Tadasana on the bent legs, then move the middle calf muscles to hit the skin of the top calves.

• If you “feel” the back-bend, the sacroiliac muscles are not moving towards the hips, but towards the waist. So move out on the outer edges, then less pain.

We did the pose three or four times, fast, without belts just to feel and understand how the legs behave in an uneven manner.

We then placed one belt on each middle thigh and did three or four more to understand the different approach.

Guruji said, With belts on each leg, you cannot use the stronger side or weaker side more. Both work together. Find out which belt edge goes up, which goes down. The inner and outer edges of the belts should be touching the legs evenly, or is one above, the other below? If the outer is touching, then the inner muscles have to be lifted up. If the inner is touching then the outer muscles have to be lifted, and then you get some sense of direction.

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When we are taught by Guruji, we have to remain fully focused and learn to stay in the pose to follow his instructions. He expresses extreme disappointment when we “come out of an asana” because we are missing the outcome of our previous efforts. So ask yourself and be honest.

Do you find yourself spending more time on the floor than in the pose?

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Guruji said, The buckle does not allow the skin to come out, and then you know what you have to do, and that is the art.

The buckles are used like natural brakes. One should place the belts, when stretching the legs straight in Tadasana, because when the legs are straight the flesh also goes in.

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Feel the sensations on the buckle side, and retain that lengthening on the skin and you will do better. Watch your knees, if they turn out, that is wrong. Can you take the buckles back, (only the buckle).

That is a movement to develop.

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Then we placed the buckles on the outer chips of the knees, we did this in Tadasana.

Repeat Urdhva Dhanurasana three or four times more.

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Feet on bricks/wall/balcony • We prepared for the pose with the feet on the height. Keep the buttock bones in contact with the support.

• Raise the buttock first, then, lift up.

• The thick muscles of the latissimus dorsi higher and higher.

• The tailbone should hit the pelvis.

• The upper arms are very thin and sharp.

Again we prepared for the pose with the feet on the bricks.

• With the head on the floor roll the outer arms in and come up.

•Tricep skin moves straight to the armpit.

Roll the tailbone higher and higher

• Move in, nearer the bricks. Move your knees and go up.

• Knees to touch the wall, press the inner knees up.

• The hands should go back, walk the hands in.

• Go straight up, circularise the buttock.

• Scrub the knees higher and higher.

• Scrub the outer knees to the ceiling.

• Middle thighs up from your palms.

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Guruji asked: “What happens to the lower forearm skin? There are two movements. It is like ‘rinsing’. If you know how to ‘rinse’ your hands, can you ‘rinse’ your wrists?”

We repeated the pose with feet on the bricks.

• The head of the shoulder blades should not shake at all.

• When you raise your body up see that the top shoulder blades do not oscillate • The knees and the shoulder blades do not oscillate.

• Do not oscillate the top shoulder blades, but walk in.

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the knees to the buttocks towards the ceiling, higher and higher?

• The outer thighs and middle thighs should roll in.

• The knees should not leave the wall, so that the hands have to go back nearer the chest.

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Independently When in the pose Guruji asked us to “watch the cells” and then to come down, stand up and do Tadasana. He then asked “How does the back skin move- the posterior skin? When you do Tadasana, the skin does not oscillate, it moves nearer the body, so try again in Urdhva Dhanurasana.”

In the pose again: “All of you are oscillating forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards and saying I’m doing Urdhva Dhanurasana.Watch your cells.The back posterior skin should be nearer the inner body. Do your maximum.”

“Even the skin of the back legs, even the skin of the arms should be nearer the inner body. Do your maximum. If you do not feel it you have to walk in and turn the outer knees inward. Cut the outer edges of the feet on the mat, then stretch the skin straight as if you are doing Tadasana on your outer feet. Now come down and stand up in Tadasana”.

Guruji asked, “How do the outer edges of the feet behave? Roll the skin and it becomes straighter and straighter. Now do Urdhva Dhanurasana with the feet like that.”

In the pose again: with the hands on the floor.

• Watch the skin on your back, watch your knees, watch your toes, watch your heels, if they are slanting then everything goes wrong.

• Watch your middle fingers go straight to the middle wrists. Now suck the skin from the back of the heels to the back of the ribs to move into the body, moving the outer edges of the feet as if you are doing a perfect Tadasana. If the outer edges of the feet go down the rest goes up.

• Observe the outer corners of the knees.They turn inwards towards the spine.Watch my outer spine, how it goes up and becomes parallel to the inner spine. So there is no load on the back.

• Observe the abdominal wall and see if the inner and outer spine runs parallel to each other. Look at the outer abdominal wall, it has to move out and up and run parallel to the inner wall.

Again:We did the pose from the ground. “Learn

now. After lifting up, do not oscillate that skin of the abdomen forwards.”

• Walk in so that your leg sockets remain stable.

Lock the outer buttock sockets without disturbing there.

“Question yourself, Can I do well everywhere?”

• There should be no load on the spine in Urdhva Dhanurasana.

In the pose again: From the ground.

• As you use the pressure of the arms and legs to go straight up, move the sacroiliac muscles straight up also, not the chest.

• Move the sacroiliac muscles towards the buttocks, not the chest. After adjusting everything, can you bring the body weight as in Adho Mukha Vrksasana?

Guruji demonstrated the pose – he said: “the outer spine and the inner spine of the right and left columns, when you hit backwards, this has to be thoughtfully attended to”.

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Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training in Greece George Batistakis

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On Saturday 2 June, the 2012 Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training Course in Greece was completed, as the last seven trainees took their Introductory Level 2 assessment successfully.

The Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training Course was officially initiated by Pam Butler in June 2008 under the umbrella of the IYA (UK), with the blessings of Guruji. Because Iyengar yoga was an entirely novel concept in Greece at the time, Pam had offered a foundation course from September 2007 to May 2008, to allow the first trainees to consolidate the basic principles of Iyengar yoga. Pam was a hard-working teacher who inspired us with her kindness, generosity and devotion to Iyengar yoga.

After Pam passed away in May 2009, Penny Chaplin kindly offered to run the course. An enthusiastic and well-organised

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teacher, Penny gave a boost to the course. She has encouraged us to work hard to meet the demands of Iyengar yoga and showed us how to integrate the clarity and precision of Iyengar yoga in our teaching.

She instilled in us a sense of confidence accompanied by humility and an impetus for ongoing self-improvement.

During the last three years we eagerly attended our training sessions as well as the Intermediate Junior classes she offered for those who had completed the Introductory teachertraining course.

Penny organised two Introductory Level 1 assessments (July 2010; July 2011) and three Introductory Level 2 assessments (July 2010; July 2011; June 2012) in Athens, in line with the standards of the IYA (UK).

There are now 26 Iyengar yoga teachers in Greece, 20 of whom have completed their training and taken their assessments in Athens. Also two of the six teachers who had completed their training abroad upgraded their certificate to Intermediate Junior levels.

Some of us are teacher

members of the IYA (UK).

Having Penny’s guidance has been a blessing for the Greek community of Iyengar Yoga teachers. Penny promised to keep in close touch with us, visiting Greece on a regular basis.We are looking forward to her next class in Athens.

George Batistakis Athens, Greece Email: batisg@gmail.com

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Affiliated Centres We now have 15 Affiliated Centres in the UK and Ireland with three new Centres becoming affiliated this year: Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre; the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Birmingham and the Iyengar Yoga Centre of North Dublin.

We’ve invited each Centre to tell us a bit about themselves and will be sharing their responses with IYN readers, starting this month with Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre. Features on each Centre will also be added to our website (see About IY (UK) Institutes and Affiliates), and a link to the profile of a selected Centre will appear on our homepage.

Here are some examples of information you might like to include: – What led you to set up the centre – Any interesting stories relating to the centre – A bit of background info about you – How many classes you run; any special classes – Feedback from students – Any students you have who have been significantly helped by Iyengar yoga – Anything else you’d like to mention

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If you run an Affiliated Centre and would like to submit an article, please get in touch with Katie in the office: katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk. Copy should be no more than 500 words; we are asking for a maximum of four pictures at 300dpi.-

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Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre The Centre opened in September 2011 and is located in the middle of Congleton, a small market town in Cheshire. Christina Niewola, a teacher and teacher trainer, runs the Centre; she is also an assessor for the IY (UK).

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Commenting on what led to opening the Centre Christina

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said, “Having concentrated on my practice for a number of years I wanted to give something back through teaching, and when my children had grown up the time seemed right to find a studio.

“I started looking for premises a few years ago but those I found were either unsuitable or expensive and so I decided that maybe it was not meant to be.

Last year, whilst on holiday in Spain, an email from one of my students said a dance studio had become available. Just imagine my excitement – I

hoped it wouldn’t be rented out before I got back!

In August I immediately contacted the owner. It was ideal, a clean spacious studio with a changing room. After four hectic weeks of setting up and getting equipment I started classes in September.”

An opening event was held in November with Margaret Austin teaching. Christina says, "We were very privileged to have Margaret here, her integrity and commitment come through in her teaching

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easily keep my centre ready for classes all the time.”

The Centre is well equipped, with all the standard equipment as well as ropes, back benders and a trestler, and Christina runs a range of classes to suit all levels.

Her students appreciate it: “Christina has set up a brilliant centre supplied with everything you need.The class I go to is of mixed ages and ability, which she conducts very well. She is constantly aware of what everyone is doing and knows each person's capability and when they need extra help or need to take care because of injury. She encourages everyone to do the best they can,” said Sheila.

Christina previously held classes in halls and schools and said, “It was always difficult to get rooms warm and clean enough, I scheduled extra time to put the heating on early and sweep the floors. Now I can

Visit Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre's website: www.congletonyogacentre.com

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and that encourages all students to maximise their potential."

Another of her students, Gill, said “I have spent 40 years plus attending yoga classes both in and near to Congleton.These have been in VERY cold school gyms and small and not too clean school drama rooms and in a library where one had to secure a 'spot' where you were not positioned behind a bookshelf or pillar.To all these venues I have also carried my yoga bag with bricks, blocks, belts, towel and blanket.

“Imagine my delight when Christina announced she had secured a dedicated yoga studio – with a supremely clean floor, blinds to stop peeping eyes and last, but not least, all the possible equipment that one could wish for. I am still getting used to leaving the house for my weekly yoga class with only one small purse!

A big thank you to Christina for finding this 'Yoga haven' for us.”

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Womankind Worldwide It all started at a Christmas dinner a few of us Iyengar-ites were having in London in November last year. I was telling these friends about an international development charity I have been involved with for some years now, called Womankind Worldwide.

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Womankind aspires to a world where women are ‘equal, respected and valued’.This is no mean challenge, as some of the statistics concerning the situation of women worldwide are appalling. For instance: women own just one per cent of the world’s property; they do an estimated two thirds of the world’s work and earn just ten per cent of its income. Seventy percent of the world’s poor, and most of the world’s 50 million refugees are women and children. Sixtyseven percent of all illiterate adults are women, and only half as many girls as boys go to school. If you are giving birth in a developing country, your risk of dying is one in 25-40, compared to a one in 3,000 chance if you are in a developed country.

Violence against women is rife across the globe. Much of it is committed in private by the woman’s ‘nearest and dearest’, and much of it is publically condoned either by being quietly ignored by the powers-that-be, or because it forms part of an approved rite of passage from adolescence into adulthood. Increasingly, in times of war, militias use the rape of women as a strategy to subjugate their opponent.When it comes to tackling such matters through political structures, women’s voices are seldom heard: less than eighteen percent of all parliamentarians worldwide are women.

Womankind appeals to me as worthy of support because it works with some of the poorest women in the world, and because it focuses on issues that women themselves identify as their greatest obstacles to leading a life of dignity and full participation in society.

Based in the UK, the organisation is more of a

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facilitator than a direct deliverer of services. It seeks out partner organisations on the ground that already have credibility with women, and works with them to develop and implement strategies that meet local need. For example, in Kembatta, Ethiopia,Womankind’s local partner, KMG, has achieved considerable success in getting communities to abandon the practice of female genital mutilation.

One of the strategies they used was to find alternative employment for the women who traditionally carried out the ‘cutting’. In Bolivia, where there is a wide gap between the political and personal rights ‘guaranteed’ by the constitution and what actually happens in practice,Womankind’s local partners are training indigenous and peasant women to challenge the abuse, discrimination and exclusion they experience.They engage people in discussing these issues in radio programmes broadcast in the languages of the indigenous people as well as in Spanish.

I first got involved because of a longstanding interest in Afghanistan and the situation affecting women there. I started off, as a subscriber, but now I am part of a volunteer network that gives talks, on request, about the charity’s work. Sandi Toksvig is Womankind’s best known sponsor.

So there I was, banging on to my friends about how I would like to mark International Women’s Day with a concert of Afghan music to raise money for Afghan women, when up pipes one Lizzie Biggin. ‘We could do a yogathon,’ she says. I look at her dubiously: ‘But who would teach at that?’ I say. ‘We would,’ she and fellow diner Karen Dunne chorus.

And that was the hallmark of the whole thing: people’s generosity. As soon as I mentioned this venture to anyone, they willingly volunteered their services. In no time at all, we had a full team of teachers for the day-long yogathon. Luckily, Uday Bhosale was still in the UK and readily agreed to teach. So did Alaric Newcombe. In addition, Uday offered to do an illustrated talk about women’s health and yoga and Morley college in Waterloo offered its facilities and the services of its enrolment staff free of charge. Diana Penny donated what must have been very nearly the entire contents of the YogaWest

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Womankind aspires to a world where women are ‘equal, respected and valued’. This is no mean challenge, as some of the statistics concerning the situation of women worldwide are appalling...

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studio for our use for the day, and Lizzie valiantly hauled these up the M4 all the way from Bristol in her rather modest car. Lizzie and two students volunteered to act as demonstrators for Uday’s talk; the musicians donated their services for the concert free of charge, and a friend donated the sound system, the technicians and the stage.

In the intervening weeks, we liaised electronically to put together the programme for the yogathon, and a great deal of effort went into publicity and promotional activity. I learned much about what I would do differently next time (next time?) round. At this juncture, IY (UK) gave unstinting and invaluable support in promoting the yogathon via the Association’s website, and by sending out emails to members.

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I can’t say it wasn’t stressful, and I can’t say everything went according to plan.We had to change the programme for the yogathon about five minutes after the printer finished the first batch of leaflets, and there were glitches with the college’s enrolment system.Two of us got done for blithely entering the Congestion Zone with ne’er a thought, and one of us got done for speeding. I narrowly avoided being prosecuted for illegal bill posting in London Borough of Ealing. (Why do they have so many phone boxes on Southall Broadway if they don’t want people to stick stuff on them?) I compromised my principles at this point, and

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pleaded temporary insanity due to the early onset of a yogathon.

Then International Women’s Day itself arrived. Uday gave a really interesting talk with plenty of live illustrations of poses we could do to relieve particular difficulties at various points throughout the female life cycle. Many of the poses were supported ones, and our three demonstrators leapt to and fro eagerly positioning the props to show what needed to be done.There was a truly surreal moment when, Diane, one of our demonstrators, was sitting on the edge of the stage, bound hand and foot and blind-folded in the manner of hostage, under the caption ‘Women: equal, respected, and valued’, but this aside, the response was enthusiastic, and we clamoured for more, especially us older women.

We had a fortifying Friday in which to gear ourselves up for the yogathon and the concert, and then came the big day.There were five workshops, starting at nine in the morning and finishing at 5.30 pm, with a break of only twenty minutes between them.There were thirty or more students in every workshop.

Fourteen stalwarts attended for the entire day.We worked through a programme of standing poses, backbends, twists and forward bends followed by pranayama. People went home – how shall we say? – starry-eyed.

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everyone of their rights has a linguistic bias that sometimes excludes women, as in: ‘No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property’. (Article 17.2.). It also fails to recognise that women’s experience of some forms of discrimination and disadvantage is very different from men’s and, therefore needs to be tackled differently. So, if we look at Article 13 (1): ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state’, we can guess that ‘freedom of movement’ might mean something very different for women from what it does for men, but this isn’t made clear.

In total, we raised £1,800.You might say there are easier ways to raise this amount of money, but throughout it all, we had opportunities to talk to people about the plight of women in Afghanistan and to point them to our exhibition which included some startling statistics. (For example: Afghan women have an average life expectancy of forty-five years and a literacy rate of less than twenty per cent. Fifty-one per cent of girls are married before the age of sixteen.) In this context, raising awareness is just as important as raising money.

Living in the West, it can be very easy for women to take their human rights for granted. But nothing is fixed: entitlements can be eroded by degrees or overturned more or less overnight, as recent months in the Middle East have shown. Even the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is supposed to assure

While International Women’s Day is, of course, about celebrating and honouring women’s many achievements and talents, it is also about keeping faith with those whose potential is squandered, suppressed, neglected and ignored. It is about standing alongside them and, offering whatever support is possible, great or small, to help them achieve the quality of life and the sense of dignity they deserve. Hopefully, there will be many more cake-baking-line-dancing-communitysing-along-yogathons to come.

Janet H Swinney Freelance writer, and yoga student Note: If this is a cause you are interested in, and would like to know more, or to donate, please visit the website of Womakind Worldwide at www.womankind.org.uk.

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The concert was a great culmination to this series of events. Accomplished musicians John Baily (rabab) and Veronica Doubleday (voice, daireh), accompanied by Jan Hendrickse (flute) performed an entertaining and sometimes moving programme of traditional Afghan music that gave us a real flavour of Afghan culture in more peaceful times.

Our own guru, B.K.S. Iyengar, broke with male-orientated tradition by undertaking to teach women the discipline of yoga and, now, in the West, it is largely women who benefit from his teaching. Geetaji has made it her life’s work to understand the female body and to develop practices that will promote women’s health and well-being. Many of us have benefited from her teaching too. Other than life and love, there can be no greater gift than the opportunity to learn, under expert guidance, how to further one’s own physical, mental and spiritual development. Here, we are able to study in mixed sex classes, under the tutelage of male and female teachers, wearing whatever is appropriate for our practice.These are freedoms that we ought to cherish and give thanks for daily.They are a million miles away from the reality of the lives of many women on this planet.

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IY (UK) Convention 2012

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The 2012 IY (UK) annual convention took place at Brunel University and was taught by Zubin Zarthoshtinamesh, assisted by his wife Parizad.

We have printed below a selection of the many comments from people who attended the Convention. Our intention is to produce a more detailed report of the Zubin’s teaching and make it available to all of our members.

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I found the whole weekend so important. I think that the way in which [Zubin] managed to integrate the importance of asana practice with the profound personal journey of yoga practice in general was really helpful. I felt that some really important messages about the fundamentals of yoga as a way of life, rather than just a physical pursuit, were conveyed in a way that was understandable and applicable

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came away with a deeper gratitude for what Zubin said about how our sensitivities and sufferings along the way can actually be an asset to our practice and our ability to help others. I don't think I will forget the lessons learned in a hurry – hopefully never.

Zubin has reminded me what yoga is all about. He wanted us to

work hard by encouraging us and explaining why it was important, and he enthused us with his practical approach, as well as by explaining the philosophy. I liked working with my para-spinal muscles, instead of just thinking about "the spine" as one big thing. Using two blankets for supine poses, one on either side of the spine, was

in any society and at any level of practice. I found Zubin's manner of teaching was so humane and open and I came away feeling deeply humbled, grateful and with a great deal to think about.The depth of this subject can be overwhelming at times and I know there is sometimes a tension between can-do, must-do, possibly ego-driven asana practice and the perhaps more personal or sensitive aspects of practice and the yoga journey in general. I came away from the weekend with a better understanding of how the same sensitivity must permeate all aspects of our practice. I also

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Where do the legs reach up to?

We think the tops of the legs reach up to the groins, but they reach up to the pelvic heads.

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something I hadn't done before, and now I do, and I know why I'm doing it. I've had shoulder problems for longer than I've been doing yoga.While Zubin was telling us on Saturday morning about working our legs correctly, I started to think, "I wonder if that works for arms too?" so I gave it a go, connecting all the way into my spinal muscles, and it felt wonderful. Later when Zubin also told us to work in that way, I was dead chuffed with myself, for experimenting and for coming to the same conclusion.When Zubin talked about how much we love yoga when we start to learn and then sometimes we reach a point where we hate it, I admit that I had tears in my eyes. I had reached the point where I hated it and was about to give all my classes to someone else because I was on one of those seemingly endless plateaux.

And now I feel that I love it again.

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Yoga is not just for the spine – the spine is deeply embedded inside yet we want to jump on it directly which means we hit it into the body. We should use the limbs and connect them to the outer body, the para-spinal muscles – using the peripheral nervous system to go towards the central nervous system.

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Some of the teaching of reminded me of what I had known but had not brought into my practice for some time.Thinking of the root of the legs in the hips and the root of the arms in the shoulders was new for me. Practicing with awareness of the link between the thighs, buttocks and para-spinal muscles was particularly helpful. I came to the convention with a tender sciatic nerve, and left with it feeling a lot more comfortable.This experience showed me how important it is to vary the focus of attention. In B.K.S Iyengar’s ‘Light on Life, he writes: ‘To a yogi the body is a laboratory for life, a field of experimentation and field for

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How to stretch? What happens when you pull on elastic? It stretches and gets thinner, but in yoga practice, when the muscles get extended; they lengthen but stay broad.

I found Zubin's teaching very inspiring, his knowledge, enthusiasm and clear explanations have really spurred me on with my own practice and my teaching. I've only recently qualified as a teacher and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend the convention this year and learn so much. It has deepened my understanding, not only of the asanas taught over the weekend, but of yoga as a whole and increased awareness within my own body.

I was fortunate enough to do both Sheffield and Brunel weekends with Zubin and he is a truly inspirational teacher. His evident passion for his

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research’. I accept the truth of this but have found it more difficult to work with as I get older. I am 67 years old, and have been practicing for 28 years. I came to the convention with a question about how I might deepen my practice. Zubin provided an answer for me about how an older body might practice. He stressed the importance of not continuing to look for release, but to actively seek an increased awareness of the numb places in the body and to experiment with what might bring life and vibrancy into those places. As there are a lot of those ‘dead’ areas, since coming back from the convention I have found lots of interesting ways of practicing!

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subject and patient yet strong delivery are a perfect combination. He truly makes you want to try to do more and more, but in a considered and intelligent way. His method of demonstration and in-depth descriptions allow you to really try to absorb the teachings and more importantly they stay with you and carry on after the workshop which is so important. Zubin has left me feeling like I can achieve great things and I am totally motivated to improve my practice, and further deepen my understanding of the whole subject of yoga and its philosophy.

The convention was excellent; to be surrounded by so many like-minded teachers and students was a great experience. As a new student I found everyone to be helpful and was often assisted by teachers in the group with areas where I have difficulties.This made the whole experience so friendly and more relaxed than I had anticipated.

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It was also inspiring to see so many UK teachers who I had only read about until this weekend and watching them with their vast experience was also fascinating.They are truly blessed to have been taught by Guruji, Prashantji and Geetaji.

Hopefully one day I will have the honour of visiting Pune. Zubin is absolutely right that the Iyengar community should get together. As he says we are a yoga family and I think that truly represents how the followers of Iyengar yoga should regard themselves.That will keep the tradition strong and true, in the way that only families can.

I thought the convention was wonderful and thanks to all involved in putting it on. Zubin and Parizad are inspiring. I loved the passionate energy and enthusiasm of Zubin's teaching and the clarity and thoughtfulness with which he expressed himself. I will remember a lot of things but in particular the need to become more

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Yoga is not exercise, it’s sensitivity awareness. Skin is the biggest organ of perception; it covers the whole body and gives that sensitivity. Muscles are separate entities, connecting one part to another but the skin unifies us, makes us aware of the whole being. So we should practise with skin awareness.

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sensitive in practice, to keep fresh and keep evolving; not just to say "yoga is an art" but to actually experience practice that way: and to connect the arms and the legs to the trunk as Zubin so clearly demonstrated – in fact I have had a niggling hip problem for ages which has now disappeared thanks, I think, to working from the root of the leg instead of the groin.The convention had a wonderfully warm and encouraging atmosphere thanks to the example set by both Zubin and Parizad – strong, devoted and compassionate. I look forward to our next Iyengar Yoga family gathering!

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Text collated by Philippe Harari Photographs by Ros Bell

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Iyengar yoga has made it into the Oxford dictionary – “yoga done with props”. Only one pose in Light on Yoga is done with props.

What is the role of the props? It should be to develop sensitivity, not just to make life easier.

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Anatomy of a Pose: Janu Sirsasana

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The main story in Janu Sirsasana is an asymmetrical stretch of the posterior kinetic chain, including the muscles at the back of the straight leg and the back itself. Two subplots contribute to the main stretch. One is the action of the bent leg and the other is the action of the arms. In the bent leg, the femur flexes, abducts, and externally rotates, drawing that side of the pelvis away from the straight leg.

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Although the main focus is on the extended leg, periodically bring your attention to the flexed knee.

Look at the muscles that produce the positions of the hip and knee on this side. Engage these muscles to make the pose more active. Grasp the foot with the hands to link the shoulder and pelvic girdles, transmitting a stretch from the back into the leg.

Connect the action of the bent leg with the sameside arm. For example, as the bent knee draws back, flex the same-side elbow more.This creates two counterbalancing forces with simultaneous movements in different directions. We saw this concept in the warrior postures, with the back foot constrained as the front of the body lunges forward.

Observe the effect of flexing the trunk while moving the bent knee back. Note that when the trunk flexes, the muscles and ligaments of the back pull on the pelvis, tilting it forward. Similarly, as the femur flexes, the pelvis tilts forward. In this way, both the trunk and hip work together to affect the

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hamstring muscles of the straight leg. Conversely, the hamstring muscles, which pull on the ischial tuberosities, affect the orientation of the pelvis. As these muscles gain length, the lumbar spine flexes less and the pelvis tilts forward more.

Note how the bent-leg side of the trunk is longer than the straight-leg side.

To balance this, flex the elbow on the bent-leg side to lengthen the trunk on the straight-leg side.

Basic Joint Positions • The straight-leg hip flexes.

• The knee extends.

• The ankle plantar flexes.

• The foot everts.

• The bent-leg hip flexes, abducts, and externally rotates.

• The trunk flexes.

• The shoulders flex, abduct, and externally rotate.

• The elbows flex.

• The forearms pronate.

• The wrists extend.

Janu Sirsasana Preparation The posterior kinetic chain links the muscles, tendons,

and ligaments at the back of the body.Tightness in one muscle affects the position of the joints in other muscles; for example, tightness in the lower back can make it difficult to straighten the knees, and tightness in the hamstrings can make it difficult to flex the trunk.

Identify areas of inflexibility and modify the pose to accommodate these regions.Then use facilitated stretching to create length in the muscles that limit mobility. Bend the knee and use a belt if necessary to link the hands to the foot. As the muscles lengthen (take as much time as needed), straighten the knee. Use your physiological reflexes to gain length in the muscles and mobility in the joints.Work within your limitations, and do not force progress. Use the cradle pose to stretch the tensor fascia lata and gluteal muscles to create length to externally rotate the femur.

Step 3: Contract the

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Step 1: Activate the hamstrings to flex the bentleg knee.The cue for this is to squeeze the lower leg against its own thigh.

Flexing, abducting, and externally rotating the hip activates the sartorius.The psoas contributes an external rotation component to this movement.

Step 2:The gluteals and tensor fascia lata work together in Janu Sirsasana. Squeeze the buttocks to engage the gluteus maximus.This externally rotates and extends the hip, drawing the bent knee back and down. Maintain joint congruency, especially in the knee.With this in mind, maintain the knee as a hinge and gain your rotation from the hip. Rotate the thigh and lower leg as one unit, like a log. Use the gluteus medius and tensor fascia lata to abduct the thigh out to the side, drawing the knee back and down.

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quadriceps to straighten the knee.The tensor fascia lata helps stabilize the outer side of the knee and aids to flex the hip. Notice how the hamstrings relax and feel different in the stretch when you actively engage the quadriceps, their antagonist. Engage the peroneus longus and brevis muscles on the side of the lower leg to turn the foot out and open the sole.

abducting, and externally rotating the bent-leg hip tilts that side of the pelvis back and down.Tilting the pelvis in opposite directions creates a “wringing” effect across the sacroiliac ligaments and produces a stabilizing bandha in this region.

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Step 4: Squeeze the torso against the thigh to engage the psoas. Activate the abdominals to flex and turn the bent-leg side of the trunk. Experience how this action changes the feeling of the stretch in the lower back muscles, including the quadratus lumborum.This is a result of reciprocal inhibition. Note that when the femur flexes, the pelvis tilts forward – an example of coupled movement within the hip. Compare this with how flexing,

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Summary:This orchestra of movement culminates in the characteristic stretch of Janu Sirsasana.The entire posterior kinetic chain stretches in this pose, including the erector spinae, quadratus lumborum, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius/soleus complex.The bent-leg quadriceps also stretch, and the back muscles on this side stretch more deeply than on the straight-leg side.

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Step 5: Connecting the upper and lower extremities allows you to use the force generated by the arms to stretch the muscles of the back and lower leg.

Contract the biceps and brachialis to bend the elbows and draw the trunk further over the leg. Flex the elbow more strongly on the bent-leg side to draw that side of the body more toward the extended leg, stretching the side of the body. If you are grasping the foot as shown, then pronate the forearms by pressing the mounds at the base of the index fingers forward. Engage the infraspinatus and teres minor muscles to rotate the shoulders outward. Fix the hands on the feet and attempt to raise the arms up.This activates the anterior deltoids and draws the trunk deeper. Finally, draw the shoulders away from the ears by engaging the lower portions of the trapezius.

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IY (UK) Annual Convention 6-8 April, 2013 with Rajvi Mehta For 2013 we will hold the convention in the beautiful city of Cambridge. The yoga classes will be held in the Guildhall, a listed building designed in 1939 by Charles Cowles-Voyseyl and located on the Market Square right in the city centre. Cambridge needs little introduction: it is a wonderful place to spend time, to be inspired by the architecture, history and atmosphere for learning.

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Rajvi Mehta Among the most senior Iyengar Yoga teachers Rajvi has been studying Guruji, Gheetaji and Prashantji since 1979. She has been teaching yoga for the Light on Yoga Research Trust in Mumbai since 1987 and has been editor of Yoga Rahasya, the quarterly publication of the Ramamani

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Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, since its inception in 1994. Rajvi has taught yoga extensively in India and abroad and has led the teaching at the Iyengar Yoga Conventions in the UK and Europe.

She has taught at many international conventions, in the UK, France, Germany Netherlands and Spain, and has conducted workshops in Israel Jordan, U.A.E., China, Poland, Belgium and Philippines. Rajvi is a reproductive biologist by profession, working in the field of assisted reproductive techniques. She has recently been involved in research in Iyengar Yoga in patients with Parkinson's disease and was awarded one of the best papers at the Asia-Oceana Neuroscience Conference.

Accommodation We have reserved rooms at Sidney Sussex College. Most of the rooms are standard single rooms (i.e. not en suite) and are to a very comfortable standard, each with their own wash basin and with bathrooms shared between 3 or 4 rooms.There are tea and coffee-making facilities in the rooms and there are shared small kitchens.

There are also a small number of en suite rooms available – please book early to make sure that

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you get the accommodation you prefer.The college has both historic parts and some more modern buildings and our rooms are likely to be shared between these.

Sidney Sussex College is five minutes' walk from

Meals A suitable breakfast will be available at Sidney Sussex.We have decided this year not to include lunch in the Convention cost; the Guildhall is in Cambridge city centre, right next to the Market and with a wide choice of shops and cafés nearby.

Evening meals on Friday and Sunday will be in the dining hall at Sidney Sussex College. Food at Sydney Sussex will be strictly vegetarian/vegan.

Conference social event On Saturday night, we are holding a social event in the Guildhall, with a sumptuous buffet, music and other entertainments. As well as the actual yoga, our conventions are a great opportunity to meet up with old friends, make new ones and strengthen the sense of community that exists among Iyengar practitioners in the UK and Ireland.

Transport As with many historical cities cars are not advised in the city centre and it is difficult to find public parking for a weekend stay, although there is a park and ride if you drive to Cambridge every day (you are not allowed to leave cars overnight in the park and ride).You are strongly encouraged to come by public transport: the train station is a short bus or taxi ride (1.2 miles) from the city centre, and the bus/coach station is a ten-minute walk from Sidney Sussex College or the Guildhall.

Parking is difficult in Cambridge and there are no

spaces at Sidney Sussex.The car parks in the city are prohibitively expensive so the best thing for people coming by car is to find on-road parking in areas without ticket machines.We will prepare a map of Cambridge highlighting appropriate streets for parking; they are about a twenty-minute walk from Sidney Sussex and the Guildhall.

T-shirts You will notice that t-shirts are slightly more expensive this year, but that is because they are manufactured solely using renewable green energy generated from wind and solar power and are a 100% organic product, produced under the Global Organic Textile Standard and certified by The Control Union and The Soil Association.The inks used for printing are also environmentally friendly.The sizes available are: Women’s slim-fit: S 40x65cm; M 43x66cm, L 45.5x67cm, XL 48x68cm Classic fit: S 50x68cm; M 53x71cm; L 56x73cm; XL 60x73cm; XXL 64x76cm

Teachers’ Day It makes sense for both students and the visiting teacher for us all to arrive and start together on

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the Saturday and to work up to the potentially more complex Teachers' Day on Monday, so this year the Teachers' Day will again be the final day of the convention.We are trying to encourage teachers who attend the Teachers' Day also to attend the preceding two days of the convention (i.e. not just come for the teachers' day alone). So, at first, there will only be the option to book for the Saturday and Sunday or for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. If there are still places left by 1st February, we will allow people to book for each day on its own.The hall will only take 200 people and we do expect the main convention to sell out (but probably not the Teachers' Day) – please book early to avoid disappointment. While she is in the UK, Rajvi will also be teaching in Dublin and Edinburgh.

Another change being made this year is that the Teachers' Day on Monday 8th April will be for qualified teachers only.

Non-teachers, including teacher

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trainees, will not be eligible to attend this day.The Teachers' Day at the convention is part of the IY (UK)’s Specialised Training programme in which qualified teachers are required to participate for their continued education and professional development.The day is meant to give teachers the opportunity to learn from the greater knowledge, experience and expertise of the visiting teacher, who will not be expecting to teach non-qualified members.

Provisional Timetable Friday 7.30pm evening meal Saturday 8am breakfast 9.30am-1pm asana class 4.30-6.30pm pranayama 7.30-10pm social event Sunday 8am breakfast 9.30am-1pm asana class 2.45-4pm IY(UK) A.G.M. 4.30-6.30pm pranayama 7.30pm evening meal

Monday – teachers only 8am breakfast 9.30am-1pm asana class 3.30-5.30pm pranayama It's quick and easy to book online for the 2013 convention: visit www.iyengaryoga.org.uk to find out how.

Marketplace The marketplace has been going from strength to strength. In recent years and all members are welcome to run a stall. Suitable contributions include fair trade, ethical arts and crafts, yoga related equipment. If you think you have items that would be of interest to yoga enthusiasts then why not consider running a stall.

Please get in touch with Patsy: patsyyoga@aol.com Tour As well as teaching at our main Convention in Cambridge, Rajvi will be teaching at smaller events in Edinburgh (2nd and 3rd April) and Dublin (13th and 14th April). Bookings for those events will be done locally and not through the IY (UK) website.

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2013 Convention Booking Form Book online: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk We have changed the booking process this year to make it more flexible, so that instead of booking for a package you book for the individual elements that you require. Please note that when you book for bed and breakfast and/or meals, this does not include the tuition and you have to book for that as well.

We are trying to encourage teachers who attend the Teachers' Day on Monday also to attend the preceding two days of the convention. So we are not taking bookings for the Monday alone at this stage. From the 1st February, teachers will be able to book for Monday on its own as long as there are still places left (which is likely).

Another change being made this year is that the Teachers' Day on Monday 8th April will be for qualified teachers only. Non-teachers, including teacher trainees, will not be eligible to attend this day.

The hall will only take 200 people so we are expecting to sell out on Saturday and Sunday.Also we only have a limited number of en suite rooms: please book early to avoid disappointment.

Accommodation B & B en suite B & B not ensuite Friday night £57 £35

Friday evening meal £13

Accommodation B & B en suite B & B not ensuite Saturday night social (inc. meal) Saturday night £57 £35 £20 Sunday evening meal Accommodation B & B en suite B & B not ensuite Sunday night £57 £35 £13 There are a small number of twin rooms available - please contact jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk Classes

Pre-ordered t-shirt

£ £ £

£110 Sat - Mon (teachers only) £165 £ Women’s fitted: S M L XL or classic fit: S M L XL XXL £12 £ Saturday and Sunday

Market place: single table (3’ by 6’) £10 double table (2 x 3’ by 6’) £20 If you are renting a stall, please contact Patsy Sparksman: patsyyoga@aol.com £ IY (UK) membership number: .................................................... or join for 2013: £18 £ TOTAL: £

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Name:..................................................................................................................................................................................

Address:.............................................................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................Postcode:............................................

Telephone:......................................................email:.........................................................................................................

Cheques payable to IY (UK) and sent with completed form to: Jess Wallwork, 15 West Grove, Bristol BS6 5LS.

Cancellation policy: Fees will not be refunded for cancellations received after 1st March 2013 unless there are exceptional circumstances. All changes to bookings and cancellations before this date will be subject to a £15 administration charge. Reduced fees may be available to those experiencing financial difficulties and who can provide proof of their circumstances. Please contact Jess at jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk.

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IYA (UK) Reports CHAIR – EMMA PINCHIN

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 – Autumn 2012

I began my practice of yoga whilst a student at Oxford University over ten years ago. It was my GP who first suggested that I take up yoga following a second crippling bought of glandular fever, from which I had suffered whilst studying for both my GCSEs and A-Levels.Through a string of happy coincidences the first yoga class I ever went to happened to be an Iyengar Class, taught

by Tessa Rowberry, and I never looked back.

When Tessa left Oxfordshire for France in 2004 she suggested I consider teaching. I trained for my Introductory certificate with Sheila Haswell at the Sarva Iyengar Yoga Institute in High Wycombe; passing Level 2 in October 2007.The following year, shortly after returning from my honeymoon I came across an advert in an O.R.I.Y.I. newsletter seeking a new Institute Rep. I began working with IY(UK) in January 2009, first in the capacity of Institute Rep, before becoming Constitution Office and then Vice-Chair in 2011. During this time IY(UK) has become a Company Limited by Guarantee and begun the process of becoming an awarding organisation. As we continue to grow and develop I look forward to supporting the organisation in any way I can.

Alongside yoga, both my own practice and teaching commitments, I work part-time at Oxford Brookes University where I manage a team of administrators who look after undergraduate programmes in Education, Religion,Theology and Philosophy (my own background), among other subjects. I am also a wife and mother, with a young son of two and a half years of age. Sebastian has recently joined me in my practice, and it brings a different dimension to my practice working alongside my child (although I think he much prefers building tunnels and bridges for his trucks with my blocks than actually doing poses!)

I feel a mixture of emotions as I take on this new

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role within IY(UK) – I am deeply honoured and humbled to be continuing the tradition of IY(UK) Chairs; I am keen to continue the harmonious relationship between IY(UK) and its membership; there is also excitement, as well as a little nervousness, at what is to come.

TREASURER – PAM MACKENZIE

On the 1 January 2012 we started trading in the name of Iyengar Yoga (UK) Ltd.To make the transition from IYA (UK) easier for our financial accounting it was agreed at the Executive meeting in September 2011 to change our financial year end from 31 March to 31 December.

At the A.G.M. in June two sets of Financial Statements for the IYA (UK) were presented and approved.The first set covering the financial year 2010/11 as at 31 March 2011 with the Balance Sheet at that time showing net assets of £81,906 represented by the General Fund of £44,996 and the Development Fund of £36,910.

The second set were for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2011 with the balance sheet as at 31 December 2011 showing net assets of £92,722, represented by the General Fund of £54,285 and the Development Fund of £38,437.

The 31 December 2011 was the last day of trading for the IYA (UK) and the net assets were transferred to the new company of Iyengar Yoga (UK) Ltd on the 1 January 2012.

The proposed membership, teacher training registration and assessment fees for 2013/14, were also presented at the A.G.M. and formally accepted, as shown over page.

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Membership Fees Institute members Individual members Overseas membership Individual teachers Teachers supplement Teachers concessionary rate Affiliated centres Teacher training registration Assessments fees Introductory I Introductory II Junior intermediate Senior intermediate

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£ 7.00 18.00 36.00 18.00 38.00 23.00 100.00 37.00

Non-teachers UK ROI Overseas Teachers UK ROI Overseas

73.00 117.00 117.00 117.00

The Certification Mark fee for 2013/14 will be updated on 1st November 2012.The fee is currently based on US$50 and the exchange rate that is in place on that date.

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY – ANITA PHILLIPS

I’m still quite daunted by the responsibilities I’ve accepted as Membership Secretary and as I explore the membership systems and begin to understand the considerable maintenance work involved, I’m very grateful to Brenda for her work in developing the database and website.We’ll benefit from Brenda’s devotion for years to come.

Also, many thanks are due to Katie, who keeps the Membership and Office machines running with calm and kind efficiency, knows the systems inside out, and has been incredibly kind in helping me find my feet!

Membership Figures July '12 Non-teachers Institutes 1050 Individuals 194 Total 1244 Teachers Institutes Individual Total

737 280 1017

July '11

1046 185 1231 743 269 1012

1153 63 28

1143 70 18

933 62 22

927 65 20

We welcome 52 new Introductory Level 2 teachers who passed their assessments in October 2011.There were 58 passes in total, so we hope the remaining six will sign up as teachers in due course.

The online renewal process went really well this year and we hope even more people will renew online for 2013-14.

IY membership numbers have been steadily if slowly increasing over recent years but we would like to welcome even more non-teacher members.This of course must be done in accordance with the aims and high standards of our Association, rather than as an exercise in increasing numbers.

We’ve been working with our 15 Affiliated Centres to promote the benefits of non-teacher membership.Welcome to the three new Affiliated Centres: Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre, Iyengar Centre of North Dublin, and Iyengar Yoga Institute of Birmingham.

After last year’s success we hope our presence at this year’s Yoga Show in London will raise our profile further, attracting even more members.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 – Autumn 2012

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Apart from those who attend the IY convention, most non-teacher members join their local institute because of benefits within their community; how can we support local institutes and help them to increase their membership? Please let us know! Send your suggestions or comments about this or any other membership issue to Katie in the Membership Office: admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk

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SECRETARY REPORT – HELEN WHITE

Hello all

Hope you have had a good summer, and the slugs and the bad weather haven’t destroyed your garden! I am always amazed at how many people who do yoga also grow vegetables, or have allotments: for me, gardening is about being in the here and now, which really relates to yoga. It can be a very meditative process.

Lots of changes in the EX (Executive Council) over the last few months, the biggest being Philippe stepping down after six years as Chair. He has done a wonderful job in steering the IY (UK) through many changes, major and minor, including becoming a limited company and his calmness and patience has been an inspiration to us all.We are delighted to welcome Emma Pinchin as our new chair and Philippe will stay on as Vice Chair for a while.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Stepping down as Membership Secretary after many years hard work is Brenda Noble-Nesbitt.

Brenda has helped us change the membership renewal process to an on-line system, as well as negotiating insurance for us every year. Many thanks go out to her for her hard work. Anita Phillips will be stepping into her shoes.

Both our reps from the Republic of Ireland (Eileen Cameron and Aisling Guirke) have served six years and so have had to stand down and we now have Teresa Lewis representing D.I.Y.I. and Paul Taylor representing all the other members in Ireland.Thanks go to Eileen and Aisling for their cheerfulness and their very useful input, despite having a very long day of travelling to get to the EX meetings and get home again.

Other people leaving the committee are Liz Sumner (G.W.S.I.Y.I.) and Brenda Booth (K.I.Y.I.) and thanks go to them.We are welcoming Brian Stewart (G.W.S.I.Y.I.), Carrie Turck (K.I.Y.I.), Michelle Mangeolles is the new B.D.I.Y.I. rep and 44

Diane Drain is taking over from Anita Phillips as S.W.L.S.I.Y.I.. Karen Dunne and Jill Johnson are our new Individual reps.The contact details of all the EX are on the IYA website, and in this magazine, so do feel free to contact your rep if you want to know more about what we do.

Our next EX meeting took place on 22 September and we will feed back from that soon.

Do you want to become an Iyengar yoga teacher?

Before being accepted onto an Introductory Teaching Training Course a student must have completed a minimum of three years' regular study with an approved Iyengar yoga teacher.

A letter of recommendation from the student's regular teacher is also required. For full details of how to apply to start training, please visit the IY (UK) website.You can also search for teacher trainers near to where you live, and there are details of specific teacher training courses around the country.

Some teachers continue training beyond their Introductory certificate and go onto Intermediate Junior, Intermediate Senior and ultimately, Advanced certificates.To progress to teach more advanced postures, it is up to the individual to attend classes with Senior or Advanced teachers.These more advanced certificates demand more of teachers, both in the number and difficulty of asanas practiced, and in the subtlety of their understanding of the theory and practice of yoga. For more information, and to book an assessment online, please visit www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

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Assessment Passes Congratulations to all those who gained success in their assessments Junior Intermediate Level 2 Louise Kennedy Hannah Lovegrove Agnes Matthews Wendy Fraser David O’Neill Nicky Wright Toby Willis Andrea Ferencikova Alexandra Klein Gillian Kamali Angela Beattie Ulla Bergstrom Jenny Furby

Junior Intermediate Level 1 Annie Rossi Gordon Jardine Sarah Berelowitz Janine Lauder Caroline Turck Jo-Anne Parkinson Honor Pennington Legh Alison Hahlo Craig Blake Demetra Browning Jess Wallwork Noa Arbel Aidan Love Fiona Cunningham Maurice Finn Emma Rattenbury Sarra Whicheloe Veronica Greene Dinah Chesney Dave Dayes Harshini Wikramanayake Evelyn Crosskey Karen Ann Webster Gaetano Mancuso Robert Squire Billie France Kate Gray

Junior Intermediate Level 1 cont.

Maureen Wray Zoe Reason Svava Sparey Norah Phipps Kyoko Atsumi

Introductory Level 2 Agata Saltonstall (formerly Jedynak)

BOOK YOUR ASSESSMENT ONLINE Teachers and trainees can now download syllabus and book and pay for assessments online.

Please visit the IY (UK) website at www.iyengaryoga.org.uk.

The deadlines for assessment applications are: Introductory Level 1 – 1st March Introductory Level 2 – 1st May Intermediate Junior Levels 1,2 and 3 – 30th September

For Intermediate Senior assessments, please contact Penny Chaplin (pennyroyal@btopenworld.com); the deadline for these applications is 1st May.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Junior Intermediate Level 3 Aubrey Maasdorp Larissa McGoldrick Cathy Tincknell Jill Johnson Pascale Vacher Lisbet Wikman Ingrid Engstrom Kally Sorcha Carroll Kate Rathod Cath Barnes-Holt Jen Henwood Deborah Curran Maria Davies Louise McMullen Priscilla Diniz Gavin Tilstone Darren Bloom Anna Macedo Camilla Balshaw Nancy Clarke Valerie Miller Ruth Hancock Indira Lopez-Bassols Teresa Lewis Michael Balshaw

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IY (UK) Professional Development Days 2012 This year’s theme: Iyengar yoga for non-specific back pain and knee problems Area

South West SWIYI Penryn, Cornwall

West & South Wales AIYI Long Ashton near Bristol London & South East NELIYI - North East London

IIYS - Sussex

IYIMV - North West London IYISL - South London North West Region MDIIY & LDIYI - Manchester

Date

Moderator

Gillian Kamali 01736 360559 gilliankamali@hotmail.com

29 Sept.

Sallie Sullivan

Edgar Stringer 01249 716235 (office hours) edgarstringer@gmail.com

22 Sept.

Marion Kilburn

Kate Rathod 0208452 4417 kateyogajudd@hotmail.com Brian Ingram 01444 236714 brianiyoga@tesco.net Barbara Norvell 02076243080 (for bookings) barbara.norvell@googlemail.com Glenys Shepherd 0208 6940155 iyisl@btclick.com

Emma Rattenbury 0783 7811 967 / 0114 255 6406 emma.rattenbury@blueyonder.co.uk

North East & Cumbria NEIYI - Newcastle

Dorothea Irvin 0191 3888593 dirvin@talktalk.net

East CIYI - Cambridge

South Central O.R.I.Y.I. - High Wycombe DHIYI - Bournemouth

Scotland Edinburgh Glasgow Ireland Dublin County Sligo

Northern Ireland Co. Antrim

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29 Sept.

7 Oct.

18 Nov.

Janice Yates 0161 368 3614 janice.yates@sky.com

East Central & North SADIYA & B.D.I.Y.I. Sheffield

West Central MCIYI - Birmingham

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Organiser

Jayne Orton 0121 608 2229 jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com

16 Sept.

Jayne Orton

Dave Browne

Sheila Haswell Already taken place

15 Sept.

Trisha Booth Already taken place

15 Sept.

8 Sept.

Katie Rutherford 01314474708 katie.rutherford@blueyonder.co.uk Liz Sumner 0141 586 9677 liz.sumner@ntlworld.com

22 Sept.

Margaret Cashman +353 (0)1 882 8858 info@iyengaryogacentre.com

22 Sept

Helen Gillan 00353 719146171 helengillan@eircom.net Margaret Gunn-King 028 2586 1202 iyengaryogaschool@gmail.com

Mary Heath

Already taken place

Sasha Perryman 01223 515929 sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk Sheila Haswell 01494 521107 sheila@sarva.co.uk Kim Trowell 01202558049 kimtrowellyoga@gmail.com

Already taken place

Brenda Booth Judith Jones

Diane Coats

Already taken place

T.B.C.

Penny Chaplin Julie Brown Already taken place

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Obituary: Joan Sylvia Oliver 2 November 1926 – 27 April 2012 Joan Oliver died on 27 April, aged 85, in Torquay, where she taught until her retirement in 2010.

She was a good friend and mentor, a rich source of yoga wisdom.

Her pupils and teacher trainees benefited immensely from her rigorous teaching, her wisdom and her keen eye. In the early 1990s she moderated at a number of introductory teaching assessments.

IY (UK) at the 2013 Yoga Show IY (UK) will be appearing at this year’s Yoga Show on 26, 27 and 28 October at Olympia in London.We’ll be at stand G12 giving out information and there will be various demonstrations, a lecture, and classes with Iyengar yoga teachers over the three days.

Thanks to everyone who has offered to help during the event.

The organisers have kindly agreed to let our members have free tickets. See our website www.iyengaryoga.org.uk for details.

Yoga Supplies Inexpensive

INDIAN YOGA BELTS, BANDAGES, BOLSTER SETS, PRANAYAMA SETS, ROPES. Call: 01225 319699 or Email: kirsten@bath-iyengar-yoga.com for prices

The older members of the London Institute will have fond recollections of Joan, her energy and dedication to Iyengar yoga.

She was a wonderful advocate for Iyengar yoga in the south west, and her legacy lives on.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

She encouraged senior teachers to come and teach in South Devon, and Iyengar yoga grew in the region as a result of her efforts.

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Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

IY (UK) Executive Council Officer Rep. Chairperson Treasurer Secretary Membership Sec. Vice Chairperson EC Rep. Chair of AT Chair of TC AIYI B.D.I.Y.I. CIYI DHIYI D.I.Y.I. ESIYI G.W.S.I.Y.I. IIYS K.I.Y.I. LIYI MCIYI MDIIY MDIIY NEIIY NELIYI O.R.I.Y.I. SADIYA SWIYI SWLSIYI RoI Rep Hon Mem Individual Dep.Treasurer Individual Individual Individual Individual Individual

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Name Email Emma Pinchin chair@iyengaryoga.org.uk Pam Mackenzie pammackenzie@live.co.uk Helen White secretary@iyengaryoga.org.uk Anita Phillips anita.phillips@btinternet.com Philippe Harari philippe.harari@runbox.com Judi Soffa info@yoga-studio.co.uk Sheila Haswell sheila.haswell@talk21.com Ros Bell r.j.bell@open.ac.uk Edgar Stringer edgarstringer@googlemail.com Michelle Mangeolles mmangeolles@yahoo.co.uk Isabel Jones-Fielding isabel@movement4health.co.uk Elaine Rees elainerees@europe.com Teresa Lewis teresaflo72@hotmail.com Agnes Matthews cmtpartner@aol.com Brian Stewart brians@chem.gla.ac.uk Mary Mulligan mulligan558@btinternet.com Carrie Turck carrie.t@care4free.net Helen Green helengreen124@hotmail.com Vacancy Joan Abrams joanabrams@hotmail.com Robert Leyland robert.leyland3@virgin.net Gael Henry gaelhenry@btinternet.com Tessa Bull tessabull@onetel.com Clare Bingham bingham_c@hotmail.com Wendy Weller Davieswendy@wellerdavies.co.uk Julie Smith schmooly@hotmail.com Diane Drain dianedrain@btinternet.com Paul Taylor paul.taylor12@hotmail.com Elaine Pidgeon elaine.pidgeon@virgin.net Ally Hill ally@sarva.co.uk Sev Kanay sev.neliyi@yahoo.com Anna Macedo annamacedo@clara.co.uk Sharon Klaff sharon.klaff@btopenworld.com Karen Dunne karenjodunne@yahoo.co.uk Jill Johnson jjyoga@mac.com

Telephone 01235 820223 020 8373 8356 01132746463 020 8675 1631 01223523410 01517 094 923 01494711589 0208 340 9899 01249716235 07910963183 01159749975 01202483951

01273604588 01517287207 01457 763048 0161 440 9941 01914775904 02083402091 01844212770 01142363039 07816 236158 01315529871 01494521107 02083687898 01903242150 07939 834252

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IY (UK) Committee Members Philippe Harari, Sheila Haswell, Helen White, Pam Mackenzie, Emma Pinchin, Sasha Perryman, Anita Phillips

Planning

Sheila Haswell, Philippe Harari, Sev Kanay, Pam Mackenzie, Sasha Perryman, Anita Phillips, Emma Pinchin, Helen White

Ethics and Certification

Elaine Pidgeon, Ros Bell, Penny Chaplin, Judy Lynn, Sasha Perryman (Appeals Officer), Judi Soffa (Rep. on Ex.), Tig Whattler

Assessment and Teacher Training

Margaret Austin, Alan Brown, Debbie Bartholomew, Penny Chaplin, Diane Coats, Sheila Green, Sheila Haswell, Judy Lynn, Sallie Sullivan

Communications & Public Relations

Joan Abrams, John Cotgreave (IYN), Philippe Harari, Judith Jones (IYN), Lucy Joslin, Sev Kannay, Lucy Osman (IYN), Emma Pinchin, Elaine Rees, Tehira Taylor (IYN)

Finance and Membership

Pam Mackenzie, Sev Kanay, Anita Phillips

Archives/Research

Debbie Bartholomew, Suzanne Newcombe, Janice Yates

Conventions/Events

Patsy Sparksman, Isabel Fielding Jones, Mary Mulligan, Vanessa McNaught

Moderators

Richard Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Brenda Booth,Tricia Booth, Julie Brown, Dave Browne, Penny Chaplin, Diane Coats, Sheila Haswell, Judith Jones, Marian Kilburn, Meg Laing, Sasha Perryman, Elaine Pidgeon, Jayne Orton, Judi Sweeting

Professional Development Days Co-ordinator Judi Sweeting

Senior Intermediate Assessment Organiser Penny Chaplin

Junior Intermediate Assessment Organiser Judy Lynn

Introductory Assessment Organiser Sheila Green (level 1), Sallie Sullivan (level 2)

Therapy Committee

Ros Bell, Penny Chaplin, Lynda Ogle, Judi Sweeting, Tig Whattler

Committee chairs are in bold. Co-opted (i.e. nonExecutive Council) members are in italics.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Management Committee

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Member Institutes Please contact the events organiser for details of events and classes, or see the events page on the IYA (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

Avon (AIYI)

Bob Philips yogabob@homecall.co.uk 0117 963006 www.aiyi.org.uk

Bradford and District (B.D.I.Y.I.)

Alan Brown events@B.D.I.Y.I..org.uk 01535 637359 www.bdiyi.org.uk

Cambridge (CIYI)

Liverpool (LIYI)

Judi Soffa info@yoga-studio.co.uk 0151 7094923 www.yoga-studio.co.uk

Manchester and District (MDIIY)

Janice Yates janice.yates@sky.com 01613 683614 www.mdiiy.org.uk

Kim Trowell 01202 558049 www.dhiyi.co.uk

Prabhakara prabhakara@freeuk.com 01214 490413 www.mciyi.co.uk

Dublin (D.I.Y.I.)

Eileen Cameron 00353 12841799 dubliniyengaryoga@gmail.com www.yoga-ireland.com/Iyengar Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Louise Robson: weezrob@googlemail.com Genie Hammond: 01689 836706 www.kentyoga.org.uk

Sasha Perryman sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 01223 515929 www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk

Dorset and Hampshire (DHIYI)

Midland Counties (MCIYI)

Munster (MIYI)

Dorothy Walshe, dorothy.walshe@gmail.com

East of Scotland (ESIYI)

North East (NEIIY)

Glasgow and West of Scotland (G.W.S.I.Y.I.)

North East London (NELIYI)

www.G.W.S.I.Y.I..org

0208 44 20617 www.neliyi.org.uk

www.eastscotlandyoga.org

Valerie Miller vjmiller@talk21.com

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Kent (K.I.Y.I.)

Gael Henry 0191 477 5804 gaelhenry@btinternet.com

Nancy Clarke

nancyclarke@btinternet.com

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Oxford and Region (O.R.I.Y.I.)

Gaby Case gabycase1@gmail.com 01264 324104 O . R . I . Y. I . www.O.R.I.Y.I..org.uk

Sheffield and District (SADIYA)

Dominic Batten dominic.batten@btinternet.com 0114 264 9418 www.yogasheffield.org

South West (SWIYI) Jane Lane janelaneyoga@btinternet.com www.swijengaryoga.ukf.net

South West London & Surrey (S.W.L.S.I.Y.I.)

Jane Howard 07504 126078 S.W.L.S.I.Y.I.@gmail.com

Sussex (IIYS)

Sallie Sullivan sallie.sullivan@virgin.net www.iiys.org.uk

AFFILIATED CENTRES

Bath Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.bath-iyengar-yoga.com Kirsten & Richard Agar Ward, 01225 319699

Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre www.congletonyogacentre.com Christina Niewola 01260 279565 / 07970186109

Cotswold Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.cotswoldiyengar.co.uk Judi Sweeting, Tig Whattler, 01285 653742

Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre www.yoga-edinburgh.com Elaine Pidgeon, 0131 229 6000

Iyengar Yoga Institute of Birmingham www.iyengaryoga.uk.com Jayne Orton, 0121 608 2229

Iyengar Yoga Institute Maida Vale www.iyi.org.uk Alan Reynolds, 020 7624 3080

Knutsford Iyengar Yoga Centre www.knutsfordyoga.co.uk Margaret Carter, 01925 758382

Maidstone Yoga Centre www.iyengar-yoga.co.uk Lin Craddock, 01622 685864

North Dublin Iyengar Yoga Centre www.iyengaryogacentre.com Roisin O’Shea, 01 882 8858

North Surrey Centre for Iyengar Yoga www.yogadham.co.uk Judith Richards, 0208 398 1741

Putney Iyengar Yoga Centre

julieyogaputney@yahoo.co.uk Julie Hodges, 0208 704 5454

Sarva Iyengar Yoga Institute

www.sarva.co.uk Sheila Haswell, Ally Hill, 01494 521107

Sheffield Yoga Centre

www.sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk Frances Homewood, 07944 169238

The Iyengar Yoga Studio East Finchley

www.theiyengaryogastudio.co.uk Genevieve Dicker, Patsy Sparksman,Wendy Sykes 020 8815 1918

West Suffolk Iyengar Yoga Centre www.iyengaryogasuffolk.co.uk Jane Perryman 01440 786228

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

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Yoga Rahasya Magazine YOGA RAHASYA MAGAZIN

Yoga Rahasya is a quarterly publication of the Ramamani Iyengar is Memorial Yoga Institute Yoga Rahasya a quarterly publication of the Ra (R.I.M.Y.I.), Pune and the Light on Yoga Research Memorial YogaMumbai, Institute Pune Trust (LOYRT), India.(RIMYI), It is published on and the Ligh Trust Mumbai, It is published on t the (LOYRT), occasions of the Annual DayIndia. of R.I.M.Y.I., Hanuman Jayanti, Guru Purnima and Patanjali Annual Day of RIMYI, Hanuman Jayanti, Guru Purn Jayanti.

Jayanti.

The aim of Yoga Rahasya is to share the essence Yogacharya B.K.SRahasya Iyengar's teachings.

This the essence of Theofaim of Yoga is to share journal contains original articles and transcripts of Iyengar's contains original ar talks by teachings.

Guruji Iyengar,This Geetajournal and Prashant Iyengarby onGuruji philosophy, psychology, scienceand and art of talks Iyengar, Geeta Prashant Iyen of yoga and life. It also includes articles by his psychology, science and art of yoga and life. It also students on their experiences, practical details on his students theiras experiences, practical details the practice on of asanas well as treating chronic ailments through asanas as well asyoga. treating chronic ailments through 2013 Subscription for Non-Teacher Members of IY (UK) Member Institutes ORDER DEADLINE 1 JULY 2013

Please use this form if you are a member of a Member Institute of IY (UK). Teachers and individual non-teacher members can subscribe when renewing their membership with IY (UK) using the online or paper renewal form.

2012 Subscription for Non-Teacher Members of IYA (UK) Member Inst To subscribe to Yoga Rahasya for 2013 please 2012 complete this form and send with your payment of £16 ORDER DEADLINE 1 JULY

to IY (UK), PO Box 4730, Sheffield S8 2HE by 1 July 2013.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

Please use this form if you are aformember a Member Institute Visit bksiyengar.com/modules/Referen/YR/yr.htm informationof about previous issues.

of IYA (UK). Tea non-teacher members can subscribe when renewing their membership with IYA ( IY Membership No (if known) .............................................................................................................. or paper renewal form.

Name ...........................................................................................................................................................

Address ....................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................................................

To subscribe to Yoga Rahasya for 2012 please complete this form Postcode .....................................................................................................................................................

to IYA (UK), PO Box 4730, Sheffield S8 2HE by 1 July 2012.

and send with y

Please circle your institute: BDIYI, CIYI, DHIYI, D.I.Y.I. (DUBLIN), MIYI (MUNSTER), ESIYI, GWSIYI, Visit LIYI, http://bksiyengar.com/modules/Referen/YR/yr.htm for information IIYS, K.I.Y.I., MDIIY, MCIYI, NEIIY, NELIYI, ORIYI, SADIYA, SWIYI, SWLSIYI. All other Institutes and yoga centres are not Member Institutes.

I enclose a cheque for £16 / €19 payable to IYA (UK)

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Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

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Advertising in the Iyengar Yoga News

We only print quarter page adverts (80mm wide by 118mm high); you can either send the completed artwork (as a ‘press quality’ PDF, a high resolution JPEG or a QuarkXpress document) OR you can send the images (as high res. JPEGs) and wording and we will make the advert up for you. Please note:

If you wish to advertise in the next issue of Iyengar Yoga News, please send all text, photographs or artwork by the next issue deadline of 1 December 2012 to jbcotgreave@hotmail.co.uk

Advertising rates Circulation: 2800. Quarter page £50; Half page £100; Small ads 60p per word NB. the Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse to accept advertisements or parts of advertisements that are deemed to be at variance with the stated aims of the Iyengar Yoga (UK). IY (UK) does not necessarily endorse any products etc. advertised in this magazine.

Iyengar Yoga News No. 21 - Autumn 2012

· Advertisements for yoga classes, events, holidays etc. – will be only be accepted from certificated Iyengar Yoga teachers · Advertisements for Yoga Centres will only be accepted from official Iyengar yoga organisations · Where yoga equipment is itemised in an advert, this will only be accepted for equipment which is used within the Iyengar method. The name ‘Iyengar’ must not be used as an adjective attached to specific items of equipment e.g. use ‘blocks for Iyengar practice’ rather than ‘Iyengar blocks’ etc. · Goods or services which are not used in yoga and/or which are not acceptable within the Iyengar method will not be advertised in IYN · Advertisements for other goods (e.g.

Books/CD ROMS/videos) will only be published if they concern the Iyengar method or have otherwise been approved by the Ethics & Certification Committee of the IY (UK)

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