Iyengar Yoga News Issue 41 - Autumn 2022 issue

Iyengar Yoga News

I YENGAR® Y OGA (UK)

In the light of Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

Hello!

It’s some months since our convention in Harrogate, but wasn’t it nice to be together again? The convention was not just a celebration of practice under the expert guidance of one of the UK’s most loved senior teachers, Margaret Austin, but also a great testament of the strength of her student community at North East England Iyengar Yoga (NEEIY) who ran the event in Harrogate, along with the IY(UK) events team. The convention was also an opportunity for us, the editorial team, to get together in person for the first time after more than a year of meeting online. NEEIY members have written a lovely account of the convention for this issue (p. 12).

We hope that this magazine, like our conventions, serves to bring our yoga community together. Thank you to all the contributors – and please continue to send us your article ideas. We’re launching some illustrations in this issue that we hope you will enjoy. IY(UK)’s own Katie Owens has many strings to her bow, as you can see in her visual art featured opposite and on pages 22-23, 45 and 58-59. Katie is a valued member of our editorial team and we are, as ever, so grateful for her contribution. We are also pleased to include an illustrated Long Covid sequence by Level 2 teacher Svenja Karstens (p. 30).

Happy reading!

Minna & Alice

Correction: We have a correction to make to the Long Covid Study Pilot article in the spring issue (number 40), page 23, namely the beginning of the second paragraph that states: “A junior researcher from York University is currently evaluating the project for us. York University have also said [...]”. This should read: “A student researcher within the School of Science, Technology and Health at York St John University, is currently evaluating the project for us. A research team at York St John University has also said[...]”.

Editorial Board: Minna Alanko-Falola, Alice Chadwick, Charlotte Everitt, Poppy Pickles

Layout: Alice Chadwick, Katie Owens

Articles to: editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Copy submission deadline for next issue: 31 January 2023

Membership and Office Manager: Andy Tait

07510 326 997 office@iyengaryoga.org.uk

PO Box 51698, London, SE8 9BU

PR & Website Manager: Katie Owens katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Finance & Bookings Administrator: Jess Wallwork

07757 463 767 jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk

PO Box 3372, Bristol BS6 9PE

Assessments Administrator: Kate Woodcock

07914 089 360 kate@iyengaryoga.org.uk

PO Box 1217, Bradford, BD1 9XF

This magazine is printed on paper that is sourced under a scheme which ensures minimal environmental impact.

Cover photography: Simon Meyer; for our convention photoshoot see p. 16

Advertising in IYN

To order a full page advert (170mm x 246mm, £180), half page (170mm x 118mm, £100) or quarter page (80mm x 118mm, £50), submit artwork print-ready (‘press quality’ PDF, high resolution JPEG or Adobe InDesign document)

by 31 January 2023 to: minna@iyengaryoga.org.uk.

Contents

Pranic Awareness in Āsana 4

Ali Dashti: in Conversation, Julie Anderson 8

Reflections on the 2022 IY(UK) Convention, Gael Henry 12

Pictures from our Photoshoot, Katie Owens 16

How Garth McLean First Came to the UK, Sheila Haswell 18

How Garth McLean Came to Visit Manchester, Debbie Bartholomew 20

From Teacher Training to Mentoring, Helen Clay 22

How We Engage Children in Yoga and Why Iyengar Yoga? Annie Beatty, 24

The World Yoga Festival, Lisa Bartlett 27

Iyengar Yoga Long Covid Pilot Study Intervention Summary Results, Suzanne

Newcombe and Laura Potts 28

The IY(UK) Therapy Committee’s Covid Recovery Programme, Illustrated by Svenja Karstens 30

A British Empire Medal for Uday Bhosale, Sheila Haswell 35

50 Years of Iyengar Yoga in Manchester, Joan Abrams 36

Yoga Space: Prāņāyāma, with Gabriella Giubilaro 42

In Memoriam Hilda Hooker, Frances Hooker 45

Historic Chapel Set to Become the First Affiliated Centre in Wales, Cori & Pete Norton 46

Iyengar Yoga and No-Dig Gardening – a Complementary Relationship, Roger Halford 48

Ralph de Souza: Memories of Mumbai, Music and Mr Iyengar, Sarah Delfas 50

Gomukhāsana, Meg Laing 52

International Day of Yoga 56

MEMBERS' INFORMATION

IY(UK) Professional Development Days 2022/2023 58

Certification and Assessments 60

IY(UK) Reports 61

Pranic Awareness in Āsana

Re-printed with kind permission from Yoga Rahasya, Volume 11, Number 3, 2004

Guruji opened a totally new dimension to the practice of āsanas and prāņayāma during his presentation on the occasion of his 85th birthday celebration. He explained how the practice of āsanas can be improved following the practice of prāņāyāma. How awareness of the prāņa in the different locations of the body and their balancing brings about tremendous change in the quality of the āsana. We explain here the different prāņa sthānas (locations of the prāņa-life force), how these need to be balanced so as to improve the quality of our āsana practice.

It has strictly been advised that prāņāyāma should be practiced only when the practitioner has attained some stability in his/her practice of āsana. The question that then comes to mind is how important are the practice of āsanas after one has gained sufficient proficiency to practice prāņāyāma? Is the role of āsana only to help one attain stability so as to be able to practice prāņāyāma. Does prāņāyāma aid in the practice of āsana?

How pranic awareness helps in the practice of āsana was brilliantly explained and demonstrated by Guruji during his 85th birthday celebrations. Prāņā is not merely the breath but it is the life force. This force, if not channelised correctly, can also do harm. Therefore one needs to be very cautious in the practice of prāņāyāma. Before proceeding towards prāņāyāma, one needs to understand the location of the five prāņā vāyus; how they keep on moving and playing in the different āsanas. Then we need to learn to balance them and get them to settle down in their own locations. Once that happens, the range of āsana increases and so also the ease in its practice. Āsana then becomes a meditative practice.

The prāņā vāyus

The five prāņā vāyus are apāna, samāna, prāņa, udāna and vyāna. They are respectively located in the region of the lower abdomen (in the region between the pubis and the navel), the upper abdomen, the thoracic region, the throat and vyāna pervades all over the body but is mainly felt in the sides of the chest.

All these five prāņās need to be balanced in the practice of prāņāyāma as well as āsanas. These vāyus tend to move away from their location; one of these vāyus tends to be stronger at the cost of the other and when that happens the range and effect of the āsana as well as prāņāyāma gets negatively affected. The udāna is always stronger than the other vāyus. So, the udāna has to be quietened for the other vāyus to surface.

During inhalation, the apāna slightly moves inwards to support the samāna to move up. The samāna then moves to help the prāņā touch the vyāna. The vyāna gives room (space) for the prāņā but the prana should NOT push the vyāna. There has to be synchronisation in the movement of the samāna and the vyāna.

During exhalation, the prāņā recedes away from the vyāna but the vyāna should remain in its position while the apāna slightly lifts up.

First, we need to understand the location of these vāyus, find out how they express during normal inhalations and exhalations. Then, we need to observe how these tend to get imbalanced in the different āsanas and then practice in such a manner so as to prevent this imbalance.

apāna (lower abdomen)

samāna (upper abdomen) udāna (throat)

vyāna (mostly side chest)

prāņa (thoracic area)

How does the practice of āsanas change when performed by balancing the different prāņā vāyus?

INCREASED AWARENESS AND SENSITIVITY:

When āsanas are practiced in such a manner so as to balance the prāņā vāyus, they are practiced with intense focus. The attempt to balance the vāyus improves one’s awareness of the movement of the prāņā within us. This brings an increased awareness within the practitioner. Practicing in such a manner brings one towards the core of one’s practice and the āsanas are no longer performed only at the physical level.

The increased awareness while practicing enhances one’s sensitivity. We practice prāņāyāma by “feeling”. Prāņāyāma is never done but is our acceptance or receipt of the grace. It requires/ develops an emotional sensitivity in the practitioner and that enhances the overall sensitivity of the practitioner.

CHARACTERISTIC CHANGES:

With an attempt to balance the prāņā vāyus in āsana practice, one becomes quiet, calm and serene. There is no scope of using muscular force or any form of aggression one’s practice. The mind becomes silent, peaceful and tranquil. Such a mind has no motive and aspiration which should be the quality of a yoga practitioner. Regular practice of āsanas in such a manner would gradually change the nature/character of an individual to remain quiet and calm even in adverse circumstances and learn to live in the present state.

BRINGS IN BALANCE:

An attempt to balance the vāyus, develops the qualities of discrimination and judiciousness in the practitioner. This brings about a balance not only in one’s practices of āsanas but also gets one to develop one’s discriminative intelligence.

BRINGS IN HUMILITY AND SUBMISSIVENESS:

Prāņāyāmic inhalation brings in humility and exhalation brings in submissive quality in the practitioner. The quality of humility and submissiveness are essential for any sādhaka. One cannot learn anything with a sense of arrogance or pride. Practice of āsana with pranic awareness naturally subsides the ego opening the gates of knowledge and wisdom. This improves the quality of one’s practice without developing one’s ego.

BRINGS RHYTHM:

Prāņāyāma naturally develops a sense of rhythm. Attempting to balance the prāņā vāyus brings about a rhythm also in the practice of āsanas. One no longer works for the “parts” as the practice becomes holistic. Otherwise, we “work” on our hands at one time, sometimes on the legs depending upon the instruction of the teacher or our recollection of their teachings.

The brain is constantly directing and the practice has no rhythm. This often leads to fatigue in practice. Rhythmic practice leads to uniform channelisation of the energy and does not lead to any amount of fatigue.

“Prāņāyāma is prayer and not a mere physical breathing exercise.”

Yogacharya BKS Iyengar

OBJECTIFYING OF

THE

BRAIN: The brain directs most of our activities in life. The brain therefore is always the subject. In the practice of prāņāyāma, the brain does not direct our prāņāyāma as the prāņāyāma is guided by our feelings and sensitivity. The brain therefore quietens and becomes reflective instead of active and in the process it itself gets objectified. This should be the quality of the brain in āsana . By observing and balancing of the prāņās in the different āsanas , it is possible to bring about a change in the quality of the brain.

This is how Guruji guided us on our āsana practices. We start our āsana practices with the physical body, we observe and bring alignment and balance to the physical body by visualising with the eyes. Then, we need to be able to use the sense of touch (sparsh) to balance our external body. As we evolve and progress, we should learn to perform the same āsanas by observing and balancing the prāņā vāyus. The āsana practice then attain the quality of pratyāhāra (where the sense are totally involuted), dhārana (because of the intense focus and concentration) that naturally occurs and one is in a state of dhyāna in the āsana

Acknowledgements: With our thanks to Randall Evans for sourcing this and previous articles from Yoga Rahasya. Illustration: Alice Chadwick

Ali Dashti: in Conversation

Julie Anderson

Ali Dashti is a Senior teacher who trained at RIMYI and is now based between Switzerland and Pune. Since Covid, he teaches predominantly online and has many international students. Ali has been a regular guest teacher in Scotland since 2000, when Julie Anderson and Carol Nimmo organised his first UK-wide tour. It was a real treat to have him visit again for live classes in June 2022. This interview was recorded prior to this visit and the pictures were taken during it.

I came from Pune but my luggage didn’t! I was teaching in Manchester, so Jeanne Maslen helped me. Her husband lent me shorts and I jumped in to teach the class. I am very thankful to her; God rest her soul. So, I started teaching in the big hall, more than 100 people, and when you spoke it used to echo. In those days in Pune, we did not use a microphone. I had suggested that we should, but Geetaji had a strong voice. I would raise my voice and Geeta would say, “Your voice is not good, you have to have a voice,” so I started yelling. This yelling I took to Manchester. The students were terrified. Then one lady came to me and said, “Please don’t shout at me!” It opened my eyes that actually there was no Pune background traffic, no horns in the background.

On First Visiting the UK

Julie: We have known each other for quite some time. I first went to RIMYI in 1999 with my friend Carol. We were mostly in classes with Geetaji and she demoed everything on Ali. Whenever she was late or needed a break, Ali would cover. We thought: Ali is a great teacher, we are going to bring him to the UK for a big tour. What do you remember about that, Ali?

Ali: When we look back it is many years, but I feel like it was yesterday. I had never taught outside the Institute. When we talked about coming to Edinburgh, I went to Guruji and asked him about making this tour. He gave his blessing, Geetaji too. Even today, teachers who work [at RIMYI] have to get permission.

I taught there for the weekend, staying with Patricia. I was honoured that she gave a room [to me] that Guruji had stayed in too. We had a big dinner with all the Senior teachers of the country. That was very beautiful.

I toured the whole country. I took buses, stayed with different people. It was my first time in the UK, in Europe. I went to Edinburgh and Newcastle. I finished in Maida Vale. I went from Nottingham to Glasgow, then to you. In those days there were no websites or such things, it was all phone calls.

The experience was a big one for me and it really changed me. Teaching in Pune, you are teaching Guruji’s students. Doing this UK tour, I was out of the shade of the Guru. Indian gurus, poets or philosophers refer to the shade or umbrella of the

teacher. I realised in the West, they used the term ‘sunlight’ for the Guru, rather than shade. When I wasn’t in the sunlight or umbrella of Guruji, then people were coming to me! My tour in England really had such an impact. I don’t think I have learnt so much from any other trip, or done a trip like it since.

On RIMYI

Julie: When and how did you start at RIMYI?

Ali: I started in 1986 and I was injured. I was doing martial arts, teaching and practising. It’s a fast sport and I had torn the ligament in my shoulder and had surgery due. My friend encouraged me to attend one of Guruji’s medical classes to get a second opinion before my operation, so I went. My arm was in a sling and I couldn’t move it. Guruji looked at me and said, “Remove this!” about my sling, “Go and hold the ropes”. So I held the ropes. “Go forward”. And he came behind me and kicked one leg and I fell forward out of the ropes. “What is this young man, you are strong but you can’t hold the rope?” I stayed for the class and at the end left thinking I would never return.

My shoulder had been so painful that I had not slept well for many nights. I had taken painkillers but they hadn’t helped. However, that night I slept very deeply. I got up and called my friend, “How do I go back?” I felt something, it was really feeling good. This was Friday morning and I returned to the Institute on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I went again on Saturday morning and attended Geetaji’s class. After the class, I went for a practice and Guruji saw me. He said, “You’ve come back!” I think he knew I wasn’t planning on coming back. That was the insight of Guruji. “Now you do the rope again, by yourself!” That’s how my yoga study started and I have never looked back.

Julie: You continued to be close to Guruji?

Ali: I had a martial arts background where my teachers were rough. Guruji was not like this. Many people were scared of him, but I did not feel scared. He helped me; he had a soft touch. The people that have been touched by Guruji will know he had such a beautiful touch. He also had a very nice smell, the perfume of his body. He did not use any deodorant.

Ali demonstrating Utthita Hasta Pādānguṣthāsana II

Teaching Jaṭhara Parivartanāsana

In Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana

He used to put on oil, ghee sometimes with sandalwood. He would smell very nice.

Because I went there with an injury, he always used to help me. In the beginning he was very soft, even though he pushed me. I learned from him that you need to do something, you can’t just pity yourself. Since I have had all these bad gurus in the past, I felt very comfortable with him. I used to always sit near him. If any functions were on, I would always be there, I would help. I would be there doing my own practice and would be like an assistant.

In the Institute, even today, there is so much work, it’s really 24/7. Back then, every month there was a group, English, German, French, Australian, American, that used to come. One lady was making a big mess of Supta Pādānguṣṭāsana and Guruji was standing next to her. I knew enough to see that she was going to get a beating, so I jumped in and helped her with the rope. I looked at Guruji and thought he was going to say, “Bravo”, but he said, “You are so selfish.” I said, “What? I tried to help her.” He said, “You get better and you just want to do yoga for yourself.” This was around two and half years since my injury. “I have taught you all this, you know exactly what needs to be done. You are selfishly just practising for yourself and you are not sharing your knowledge with others.” It gave me goosebumps. This was his way of giving direction to start helping others.

On Becoming a Teacher

Ali: I had been away on a trip to Goa. When I returned to the Institute, Geeta was sitting on her own, in her room at the Institute. She said, “Ali, go and teach my class.” I said, “What shall I teach?” “Have you practised today?” [she asked.] “What did you practise?” I began to tell her but she said, “Don’t tell me. Go and teach the class what you did this morning”. It was already six o’clock. I sat on the platform. Geeta was punctual so people were ready and getting a little restless. Everyone knows I am working around the Institute at this time; I have been around a long time and sometimes taught the beginners’ class but never Geetaji’s class. I said, “Everyone, sit straight and fold your palms. Geeta is

not coming today. I am taking the class.” Everyone is sitting there with eyes closed but my Indian friends are looking at me aghast thinking, this is not a good joke, please come down, Geeta will appear any moment! So I taught the class. That’s how I started.

On Zoom and Mentorship

Julie: Last year, Abhijata asked you to do mentoring. You are now an international teacher; your students are largely international and you are mentoring online.

Ali: One good outcome after all this hardship for the whole world, for me and other yoga teachers, is Zoom. Previously, I taught students around the world. Some places I visited regularly, especially as I was now living in Switzerland. Europe was easy to do weekend workshops.

Top: beginning the class; bottom: in Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

When the pandemic started, it was one of students in Bern that told me about Zoom. I knew nothing about it but she told me what to do. I watched all the ‘How to do Zoom video meetings’ on YouTube in one day and my son helped me set up the class online for my Bern students. Then the word spread. Now, I have several students from all around the world.

During the pandemic, I went to India and spoke to Abhijata. I had never done teacher training in my life – I was just teaching. Now I was informed about this new rule, mentorship, laid out in December 2019, and knew the system very well. The Institute then started with Zoom. As they had many students interested in becoming teachers, Abhijata asked if I would be interested in helping with mentoring. Now with the blessing of Prashant and Abhijata, I am offering mentoring. I think I am the last Senior teacher [to start] doing mentorship. Among all my colleagues, since 1986, I am the last to start. Many are already established yoga teacher trainers, but I started just recently. Let’s see how it goes!

Practice sessions with Guruji were like a laboratory or a garage. He would experiment...

Julie: Very well by all accounts! How do you think you have matured as a teacher?

Ali: I am still not mature. There are still a lot of things to learn. I think you cannot say, “I know everything”. Practice sessions with Guruji were like a laboratory or a garage. He would experiment on something, a chair, a belt, a brick or some new props he would create, after seeing people’s problems and he would use it in his own practice. He was always about improvement. He never fixed his rules. Guruji, Geetaji, Prashant, they were always changing and upgrading the system, for all the levels.

Today all the Senior teachers are getting old, myself included. So, we have to change our practice. We can’t do the things we did 20 years ago, like in 2000 when I came to the UK. I am also coming to

Edinburgh and it’s been two years since my last visit already. I can’t do the same things and be expecting everyone to keep your brick like this or touch your hands to the ground. We have to evolve around our health and our practice.

I won’t say I have understood everything; there are many things to be learnt and discover. I share my knowledge and I am ready for any kind of feedback or criticism. It’s like the lady I mentioned at the start of our conversation who said, “Don’t shout at me.” It’s eye-opening for me. I don’t have to do it this way just because I did it in Pune.

Julie: You have to have a depth of knowledge and understanding to be creative on the spot. That is what I think has matured for you over the years, about your teaching.

Ali: Prashantji always said that. When he lost his arm in the horrible accident he changed a lot. He always said, and I quote him, “If you are not flexible in your body, you have to be flexible in your mind”.

Julie: Creative thinking, responding to what you see…

Ali: …And not to be fixed on one thing, one way in time. That is the one thing after 22 years of travelling that saddens me when somebody says, “There is only one way of using the brick, the belt or the chair”. This is not Guruji, how he taught or what he wished for. We can have many ways, many possibilities and there are many more to come. We have all the props in the cupboard ready. When I started, there were already students that were aged, so I know lots of tricks to help pass this age and stage, peacefully and in good health.

Julie: Thank you very much for this, Ali. Namaskār.

Ali: God bless you, Julie, and God bless those reading this interview. Stay safe and keep your practice as much as you can. Thank you!

Julie Anderson is a Level 3 teacher, Mentor and Assessor who has visited Pune regularly since 1999. She is currently based in north east Fife where she runs a small studio, Yoga on Tay.

With thanks to East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga for funding the event photographer (esiy.co.uk)

Reflections on the 2022 IY(UK) Convention

with Margaret Austin and North East England Iyengar Yoga

Gael Henry, NEEIY

Photos by Georgia Pearson (NEEIY) and Katie Owens

At one of our classes in Sunderland, Margaret told us that Isabel Jones Fielding from IY(UK)’s Convention team had been extremely persuasive and Margaret had agreed to lead the annual Convention in Harrogate. We were thrilled, and the North East England Iyengar Yoga cogwheels started turning immediately to make this convention special, to honour our beloved teacher, yoga guide and friend, and to make her and us proud. Fast forward to the convention: many volunteers arrived the day before to help the IY(UK) team organise the hall, set up the stage, rehearse our yoga display, to create the stand with photos and books. We all fizzed with anticipation. Did many of us sleep well that night – probably not!

Next day after registration, the first class commenced. On stage with Margaret were two teacher demonstrators who were informed of this honour only thirty minutes before the class! Margaret, thoughtfully, was saving them from pre-performance nerves, but I think all the NEEIY folk were spiritually there on stage with Margaret throughout the whole three days.

Straight after this class, nine of us moved our mats to make a circle and perform the yoga display to music that we had been rehearsing for weeks. The morning’s yoga and adrenalin contributed greatly to our efforts and, along with the evocative music, our display was well received with cheers and tears.

The convention then took its own momentum with special events like Sheila Haswell’s enlightening chanting sessions, and a yoga session in the park, bravely led by Isabel despite dodgy weather, and admired by dog-walking onlookers. New this year was the free photo booth, where anyone could have professional photos taken – perfect for social media and advertising. Cuth Earl, at the session on equity and equality in yoga, gave voice to inspiring comments and accounts from yoga teachers and students who are engaging with communities and individuals, showing how much is done and how much still can be done.

Andrew Knowles (trainee) said: “This was my first IY(UK) convention and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The inspirational teaching from Margaret Austin, fully supported by the brilliant NEElY team, made for a welcoming and enjoyable event. There is something amazing about a large group of people coming together, connecting through the practice of yoga, which brings such vibrant positive energy.”

Trish James commented: “Arrived feeling tired and slightly apprehensive. Left feeling energised, rejuvenated and uplifted. Margaret’s teaching was, as always, fun, inspirational and true to Guruji. Felt honoured to be part of it. Best convention ever.”

Aimi Dunstan said: “For me, this year’s convention will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable. Being together with so many Iyengar students after so long was both exciting and humbling and being part of the North East group of volunteers was an absolute joy. Margaret’s teaching was, as always, delivered with such depth of knowledge, enthusiasm and of course endless humour! From the first to last class, she took us on a journey from Adho Mukha Vīrāsana to Hanumānāsana. For those of us lucky enough to have Margaret as our teacher and those who have been fortunate enough to experience her teaching, we know how it feels to be taught and adjusted by Margaret.

How her instructions and hands on adjusting will have us practising āsanas we didn’t know we could do. Being at the Convention was in many respects like every regular class of Margaret’s – irrespective of how many students she has in her class or their ability, she gives her undivided attention to those students and instills a passion and confidence for yoga. Her dynamism and vibrancy never seem to diminish.”

Carol McCourt said: “The convention was a huge hit, and why wouldn’t it be with Margaret at the helm? So proud of Gael’s girls, a spectacular performance, brought tears to my eyes and I’m sure to many others. The entire weekend has made the North East shine. I sincerely feel we all did Guruji proud.”

Nel Cameron commented: “This convention was a wonderful coming together. It was such a privilege and an honour to be involved. Margaret is a true inspiration for any yogi, no matter where, when and what yoga they practice.”

Speaking for everyone I hope, we are extremely grateful to Isabel for the vision, to all the volunteers involved, and to Margaret who took us on our yoga journey – and said: “I still can’t believe it all happened!”

Save the date for two Conventions in 2023 with Iyengar yoga UK

Online convention – 3 to 5 February 2023

We are delighted to welcome senior Iyengar teacher Jaki Nett from Napa Valley California; inspirational, experienced and compassionate.

Jaki studied directly under BKS Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar, and in 2005 was the first African American woman to be awarded Senior Level Iyengar Yoga certification in the US. Jaki has a MA in Humanistic Psychology, and weaves her research in functional anatomy into her teaching. Her bright, focused energy and straight-forward teaching style inspires and guides students through the challenges and rewards of a committed practice.

This three-day convention is open to all yoga practitioners. Bookings will open soon via Eventbrite.

“I try to instruct in a way that elevates the students’ sensitivity in the poses which can transform the alignment of the asana and aid in developing a deeper understanding beyond the physical. My teaching melds my knowledge of yoga, functional anatomy, design and movement into a methodical teaching style. My goal for students is to leave the class with a deeper understanding of the focused subject.” Jaki Nett

In-person convention – 27 to 29 May 2023

We are overjoyed to welcome Jawahar Bangera back to the UK next year in Harrogate.

Jawahar started practising yoga directly under Guruji in 1969, and accompanied Guruji to many conventions over the years, he is a very experienced senior teacher, leading classes all over the world and at home in Mumbai where he is a director of the Iyengar Institute Yogashraya which was inaugurated by BKS Iyengar in 2002. Jawahar is also a trustee and driving force behind the Light on Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT), formed more than 35 years ago to promote the learning and practice of Yoga in the Iyengar method, including the publication of RIMYI journal Yoga Rahasya.

Join us for this very special convention with Jawahar, an opportunity for us to experience Guruji’s teachings directly from one of Guruji’s most senior teachers. Please save the date now! Bookings can be made directly through Iyengar Yoga UK, with full information available soon for our Convention website. Tickets will be on sale from November/December 2022.

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Conventions

Pictures from Our Photoshoot

Katie Owens

At the IY(UK) 2022 convention in Harrogate, the PR Committee organised a shoot with a professional photographer to capture some of our members in various poses.

We worked through a list from Light on Yoga, with the aim of including as many as possible. Of course, we weren’t able to represent the same level of perfection that Guruji did in his original photos, but we hope they will help us to show that Iyengar yoga is for everyone.

Some of the images will be featured on IY(UK)’s new website (which we hope will be launched by the time you read this) and will be part of a bank of pictures for teachers to use in their own publicity.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in this fun session, especially to our photographer Simon Meyer from Sirastudio in Harrogate, Joan Abrams for directing the shoot, Poppy Pickles and Rosana Fiore for bringing people and props, and Sheila Haswell and the Therapy Committee for checking the final images.

Clockwise from top: Angie Hulm in Parighāsana; Maria Davies in Pārśvarsvaika Pāda Śīrṣāsana; Marton Vass in Aṣṭāvakrāsana

Clockwise from top left: Christine Rumley in Eka Pāda Bakāsana 2; Andrew Lux in Ūrdhva Hastāsana in Tāḍāsana; Tina Freeland in Parvatāsana in Vīrāsana; Aimi Dunstan in Pārśva Halāsana; Margaret Gunn-King in Supta Vīrāsana with support; Jess Wallwork in Ardha Matsyendrāsana 2; Cuth Earl in Adho Mukha Śvānāsana; Kate Goodwin in Jānu Śīrṣāsana

How Garth McLean First Came to the UK

Sheila Haswell

Focus on: Garth McLean

Garth McLean is a Senior Iyengar yoga teacher and yoga therapy teacher based in Los Angeles. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996, his work on yoga and MS has been pioneering. Author of Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis, A Practical Guide for People with MS and Yoga Teachers (2020), he regularly teaches internationally. Here, two of our senior UK teachers recall their early meetings with Garth.

Garth in Adho Mukha Vṛkṣāsana in one of the alcoves in Hampton Court Gardens, 2011 (photography: Shelia Haswell)

hilst studying with Stephanie Quirk on the therapy course, she mentioned that for multiple sclerosis (MS) we should download a leaflet written by US teacher Garth McLean. I was immediately interested as one of my brothers had recently been diagnosed with this condition.

I found out that Garth was soon to be a guest teacher at the French association’s convention and I got in touch right away to see if I could attend. Sadly, it was full but shortly after my call I heard that they had received a cancellation. So, in autumn 2009, I went to France to meet up with Garth. The morning sessions were all taught in French but the afternoons were for Garth, teaching with translation from English to French. I really enjoyed his teaching, which was more on the principles we should apply to our practice in order to be able to help those with MS. Later there were some sessions where he worked with students who were dealing with the condition.

I asked Garth if he would consider coming to teach in the UK and we agreed for him to teach a workshop at Sarva* from the following year. From 2010 until 2014, Garth taught for us annually and we had a lot of support from those teachers who also brought their MS students to work with him. Luckily the studios at Sarva were very well equipped and so there was a lot of scope for helping.

I got my brother Stephen to come down for these sessions and here you will see a few of the photos taken at the time. Sadly, Stephen has primary progressive MS and his condition has deteriorated. He is now in a wheelchair but he still drives (with hand controls) and remains very positive in his attitude to life.

When Garth stayed with me for his teaching weekends, we often took a trip into London and one of his projects was to take yoga photos with some of the London landmarks. These included Śīrṣāsana near Big Ben, Eka Pāda Setu Bandha Sarvāngāsana in front of St Paul’s Catherdral, Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana with the London Eye in the background and Pārśva Śīrṣāsana with the Gherkin in view.

Following the successful workshops at Sarva, Garth was invited to various other UK venues and he has been a regular and popular visitor since.

Stephen and Sheila

Sheila Haswell is the Chair of the Therapy Committee. She has been teaching Iyengar yoga for over 40 years. *Sarva (The Sarva Iyengar Yoga Institute) was Sheila’s first yoga studio in High Wycombe.

Garth working with Stephen Biggs, Sheila’s brother

Sheila in 2010, replicating the shape of St Pauls Cathedral. Notice the shadow on the ground made by the leg variation in Śīrṣāsana! (photography: Garth McLean)

How Garth McLean Came to Manchester

Debbie Bartholomew

In the early 2000s I was teaching a class of students who had multiple sclerosis (MS). It had started off as a Local Authority adult education class. As the word spread of how good Iyengar yoga was for neurological conditions, the class was now exclusively students with MS, except for one.

I was visiting Pune every two to three years and had heard about a really good senior teacher who had MS. Well, you can’t beat learning from someone who has the condition that you are managing in class, so I asked someone to point him out to me. I asked him if I could buy him lunch or dinner so I could “pick his brains”. Many of you will know what a lovely, kind man he is and he immediately said yes. Other teachers found out I was meeting him so they asked if they could come along too. He didn’t mind one bit. It was such a good meeting and

although he was bombarded with questions, he answered them easily and with good grace.

A couple of years later, I had a new student with MS who had done research online about all different cures for his newly diagnosed condition. He joined our class because he had heard how good Iyengar yoga was and he said he would love to go to an Iyengar teacher called Garth McLean. He had seen him online and thought he was inspirational. I thought, yes, I should ask him if he would come and teach our students in Manchester. Again, without hesitation he accepted our invitation.

We arranged a whole weekend. He ran a class for our students with neurological conditions and then some general classes. He is so enthusiastic, energetic and knowledgeable, he really motivated

Garth in Aṣṭāvakrāsana

everyone. He showed how the MS students should rest first and then begin to work and then how to recuperate. It was a great learning experience for all, students and teachers alike.

Students with MS see Garth practising and demonstrating the poses and they are inspired. They talk to him about their symptoms and he knows straight away what they are talking about, how they are feeling and, most importantly, advises them on how to manage their symptoms. In the other classes he certainly puts us all through our paces in a vigorous and energetic manner with lots of humour thrown in. We are in Aṣṭāvakrāsana before we know it!

What is so lovely for me is that he mentions BKS

Iyengar and Geetaji all the time. He is so grateful to them for all they have given and shown him, how

Iyengar yoga has changed his life for the better and helped him to manage his condition.

He regularly comes and teaches in Manchester, London, Sheffield and around the rest of the UK these days. He is hoping to visit again this year. Let’s hope it is in person but if not, there is always Zoom...

Garth with Guruji

Debbie Bartholomew teaches the Therapy Class at Manchester & District Iyengar Yoga (MDIY).

From Teacher Training to Mentoring

Helen Clay

After several short courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Yogic Studies, Helen Clay began an MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at the University of London’s School of African and Asian Studies, completing her dissertation in September 2021. Here she shares some of its conclusions.

In 2017, following consultations with Iyengar yoga associations worldwide, Ramāmaṇi Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, requested that by 2020 all teacher training courses (TTC) be replaced by a new mentoring system. RIMYI’s documentation evidences concerns about increasing commercialisation of teacher training courses, unnecessarily stressful assessments, alongside a rush to become a teacher, that eroded “studentship” and diluted understanding of the broader subject of yoga.

RIMYI presents mentoring as a new learning model for today’s times that can better develop and carry the lineage forward. To help understand how mentoring might accomplish this I compared the content, mechanisms and principles of learning within three frameworks: traditional guru-śiṣya relationships, teacher training courses and mentoring. This comparison illuminates RIMYI's reasoning for mentoring and its emphasis on cultivating one-to-one relationships, community, sensitivity, perceptivity and reflectivity. Mentoring has the potential to build a self-sustaining

framework that promotes reflection not just on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of yoga, but also the ‘whys’, that can help reconnect āsana with its Indian roots and to what Iyengar called yoga’s essence as culturing humanity and refining man.1

To place mentoring in a wider historical and socio-political context, I considered the growing scholarship that shows how practices and understandings of yoga adapt to context and how modern yoga’s primary focus on āsana, developed in response to colonialism and global exchange.2 In travelling out of India, yoga has become distanced from its roots and more narrowly understood in terms of health, well-being and physical practice. Now absorbed within different cultures, modern yoga is influenced by external regulation, digitalisation and commercialisation. Having long been the preserve of Indian ascetic men, modern yoga is now practised primarily by white, middleclass women, which questions its often claimed “inclusivity”. Arguably, modern yoga now may now reinforce individualism and consumerism rather than offer a countervailing force.3

1. Iyengar, BKS, 1985, The Art of Yoga, xiii.

2. Mark Singleton, Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).

3. Farah Godrej, ‘The Neoliberal Yogi and the Politics of Yoga’, Political Theory 45, no. 6 (December 2017): 785, https:// doi.org/10.1177/0090591716643604.

In this study, I interviewed 15 Iyengar teachers from India and from the UK. It was noticeable that where UK teacher-trainers valued the reproducible standards, criteria and objective assessments of teacher training courses, the Indian teachers, trained through RIMYI’s informal model, observed how these limited understanding of yoga: “The lesser aspects have become bigger. Systems set up to maintain the quality of Iyengar yoga have brought rigid adherence to rules and strict regimentation. It has brought rigidity and fears of reprimand that limits and boxes the subject in”. Overall, participants accepted mentoring, seeing potential to promote quality, reduce rigidity and hierarchy, encourage varied approaches and deepen understanding of the subject through relationships, community and lifelong learning. Some felt liberated: “I’d hope you get more joy, confidence and ease in the teaching”.

rejuvenate Iyengar yoga or lead to its demise? How will Iyengar yoga stay “competitive in the market”?

Alongside technical rigour, mentoring introduces substantial, new responsibilities of building community, dialogical relationship and collective responsibility. In 2017, the UK had around 50 teacher trainers, yet by March 2021 there were 123 registered mentors. That 73 of these were newly approved suggests that already significantly more teachers are contributing to the development of existing and future teachers. Mentoring offers a framework and vision for resisting commercialisation and developing Iyengar yoga as a dynamic, vibrant tradition for today’s times. It is early days and ultimately these things will happen or not through the agency and will of the teachers to build a community that works together, to shape and enrich the tradition. Abhijata Iyengar encouraged: “Be the change that you want. It has to start from each individual, practising what we preach. So, for mentoring and assessment, we cannot enforce this, or instil that. It will have to be a harmonious, mutual project that we all undertake with this aim, to be honest to ourselves, to the subject and that’s the aim with which this whole change was conceived.”

However, others found greater challenges. A minority worried about uprooting the whole system. Informal mentoring might work at RIMYI but how could it work in the UK? How will rigour be maintained without a guru or teacher training course structure? Will expertise be lost? Will there be enough mentors and experienced teachers and assessors to support them? Will mentoring make Iyengar yoga more inclusive, opening access to teacher training beyond the usual white, middleclass women, or quite the opposite? Will it

My research suggests that mentoring may be usefully seen as a radical pruning and fertilising of the tree of yoga with aims of reducing commercialisation, bringing light to the broader subject, strengthening its Indian roots and enabling it to bear good fruit for future generations.

Helen Clay has practiced Iyengar yoga since 1983. She is a Level 3 teacher and has studied with Gitte Bechgsgaard and Sheila Haswell. For copies of her dissertation, email hclay480@gmail.com.

Illustration: Katie Owens

“Be the change that you want.” Abhijata Iyengar

How Do We Engage Children in Yoga and Why Iyengar Yoga?

Annie Beatty

Iyengar yoga is often synonymous with props, detailed instructions in āsana and precision in alignment. Come to a children’s class, however, and the only prop you usually find is the sticky mat. Quick instructions come with a pacy variety of āsanas. Precision in alignment occurs as the teacher taps into the child’s imagination, suggesting that they have feet like ‘parallel train tracks’, or lie down like a ‘brand new pencil’.

Many an Iyengar yoga practitioner and teacher has discovered that their small children become interested in yoga through the props as they stack, climb, make dens and use yoga belts for leads for their soft toys. But it is not until the children reach seven years old that we take them for formal classes. Before this time, little ones may wish to join in with their parents’ practice at home, as and when they feel. Yoga for children needs to tap into their playfulness, being quick and joyful. Classes also need to have a base of discipline, but once the child tastes that sense of yoga from the discipline of the subject, they are hooked.

In my twenty years of teaching yoga to children, I have noticed that it is the children who need it the most that have the most profound response. Initially, it may be difficult for these children to engage. Through the directness of the instructions these children access a state of being that is often hidden for them. The yogic state of being is a very attractive state once discovered. By its very nature, yoga is full of energy but has a sense of quiet; this is known as a sattvic state. Children often struggle at school through lack energy and concentration or, because they cannot control their energy; too

much or too little. Yogāsana has the power to lift the energy from dullness and direct the excess energy back into the body. It allows us to become a better version of ourselves.

In my twenty years of teaching yoga to children, I have noticed that it is the children who need it the most that have the most profound response.

If you show a child how to improve themselves, they will flourish. Through yogāsana, children learn to know and make friends with their bodies. They understand there are challenges that we may never know until we explore them and they embrace those challenges positively. It is important that the child is attracted and interested in the subject.

Iyengar yoga teachers are trained over many years to observe the body and understand it in great detail through their own practice, teaching and observation. This understanding translates to how the child can flourish in their postures. Quick encouragement will bring a new experience. Children enjoy a challenge and can also identify how a posture feels better.

Feedback following a class reflects an inner change for the children as they notice their calm, happy and more confident state. Before this is achieved, however, there is plenty of hard work through āsana

Standing poses are important for children, building up their bones and spine, building confidence. Fingers extend to the tips, as if touching the edges

of the room, or palms are held upwards and they imagine a bright rainbow balanced on each palm. As they look up, the teacher observes their neck and shoulders are not tight and automatically the chest is lifted, lungs are strengthened. Jumping as high and as lightly as possible into poses has become a favourite challenge, inspired by Uday Bhosale’s spectacular high jumps. Uday Bhosale, originally from Pune, India, trained and worked with the Iyengar family at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) for many years before settling in the UK. He is one of the world’s leading teachers on teaching yoga to children and works to support our teachers in this area.

There are plenty of opportunities for bouncing about in a children’s class, improving heart rate, increasing lung capacity and helping the whole metabolic system. Backbends can be a real boon for asthmatic children, whereas standing poses can support juvenile diabetes.

As with classes for adults, the end of the class is marked by a period of more reflective work. There are many variations, but allowing children

to experience the opening of the chest and quiet reflectiveness of Setu Bandha Sarvāngāsana will teach them how to develop a quiet state of mind. This leads the child to a brief Śavāsana and an experience of relaxation.

BKS Iyengar was always encouraging children to take up yoga. Through the encouragement of his teachings, and that of his family and teachers at RIMYI who today carry on his legacy, we hope to inspire the young towards the subject of yoga. In developing strong, healthy bodies, children can find greater emotional stability, intellectual ability and a happy state of mind.

www.anniebeatty.com

This article was originally printed in OM Yoga Magazine.

Sarah's class in the school gym (photography: Sarah Delfas)

Annie Beatty is a Level 2 Iyengar yoga teacher and mentor, chair of the IY(UK) Children, Young Adults and Families Committee and mother of five children. Based in Malvern, she has been an Iyengar yoga teacher and primary school teacher since the 1990s.

The World Yoga Festival is held annually in Henley-on-Thames at the end of July. A small group of us travel every year from Somerset and this was our fourth time attending. The festival seems to be a wellkept secret; we have been treated to some amazing Iyengar yoga teachers ‘headlining’ in the main tent, with relatively few Iyengar yoga practitioners attending. Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, Uday Bhosale, Garth McLean, Kirsten Agar Ward and Richard Agar Ward have all taught there, and this year – Usha Devi. This was the first time Usha had taught in Europe, travelling from her Iyengar Yoga Centre in Rishikesh, India, for a small tour of Europe.

Usha taught six classes over three days and I was thrilled to see my friends and fellow teachers, Mirja Nissen and Charlie Dare-Jackson, when I arrived, both long-time students of Usha. I was asked to help them demonstrate on stage (and very quickly regretted having just done an Ashtanga class, with about 600 Chataranga Daṇḍāsanas beforehand!).

The festival hosts teachers from many different systems of yoga, so people come with very different backgrounds – Ashtanga, Kundalini, Hatha etc. It is easy to pick out fellow Iyengar yoga practitioners, not just because they are the ones wearing Pune pants or lugging

The World Yoga Festival

Lisa Bartlett

overhear some great feedback after the sessions. There were real ‘light-bulb’ moments for many who found Usha’s instruction enlightening.

a big bag of props into the tent; and not just because of the quality of their postures. What really hit home was their ability to focus, concentrate, observe and listen – qualities that are also useful off the yoga mat!

One can never be sure how our system will be received by practitioners of other methods, but through Usha’s thorough and deep teaching everyone was challenged and learnt something new. She took us through the basic postures, interweaved with memories of Guruji, inspiring us to stand ‘taller and taller’ and reach ‘higher and higher’. It was heart-warming to

It usually takes me a few weeks to process what I’ve learnt at a festival or Convention (months and years after a trip to Pune!), but my overriding ‘takeaway’ was that we are practitioners of compassion. Compassion in the way that we practise for ourselves and in the way we teach. As Usha walked among hundreds of students of varying abilities, not one missed her eye. Everyone that needed help was given it, while all the attendees were encouraged to ‘come closer’ and observe. From the older gentleman with wrist supports who was given Adho Mukha Śvānāsana with his hands elevated, to the woman with the overflexible lumbar who needed to understand how to work in backbends, people of all ages, abilities and experiences practised together and learnt from each other. I don’t think there was another class at the festival that offered that level of compassion and inclusivity. I find this very moving and it makes me proud to be an Iyengar yoga teacher.

Next year’s festival dates are 3rd-6th August 2023.

https://www.yogafestival.world

Lisa Bartlett has been practicing Iyengar yoga for 17 years and teaching in Somerset and Dorset since 2014.

Top: Usha Devi, in white in the back row; bottom: demonstrating Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana (photography: Geoffrey Murray)

Improving Mental and Physical Wellbeing Iyengar Yoga Long Covid Pilot Study Intervention Summary Results

Suzanne Newcombe and Laura Potts

Recent estimates from the Office of National Statistics1 suggest about around two million people, or 3% of the British population, are suffering from fatigue, ‘brain fog’ and other chronic complaints following Covid infection. The probability of Long Covid persists even with less severe infections, including the now prevalent omnicrom variants, so how to manage and treat the condition continues to be a pressing public health issue.

The Iyengar Yoga (UK) Long Covid pilot project ran for ten weeks between October and December 2021. Fifty five adults (ranging from 22-69 years of age) suffering from Long Covid participated in the programme, in which each student had a weekly online private yoga session with two qualified Iyengar yoga teachers, supervised by a senior therapy teacher. The programme’s basic recommended āsana sequence was devised by Lois Steinberg, shown to teachers in a training session and made available on the IY(UK) website. The pilot study was developed and organised by a working group of IY(UK) teachers and administered by IY(UK) staff. Over 30 teachers volunteered their time in return for professional development training provided as part of the programme.

Participants were asked to complete pre- and post-session symptom evaluations, and postsession reflections through surveys. All this data was analysed and, in a second part to the research, in-depth interviews were conducted by Vishal Shah, an independent student-researcher at York St John University. Eleven students and three teachers were randomly selected for interview, the content of which was systematically analysed by Mr Shah under the supervision of Dr Chris Boyes, who teaches evidence-based practice and research methods in Health and Social Care at York St John University, and Dr Laura Potts.

The interviewees clearly indicated the benefit felt from the teaching: many of the students interviewed were profoundly moved by the care and attention received by their online teacherteams, several to the point of tears. Their accounts also indicate the benefit of the Iyengar approach 1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/

Positive gains in aspects of both physical and mental health were found to be statistically significant for participants.

to therapy support and teaching, whereby programmes are individualised to each student’s needs under the reflexive expert guidance of the teacher. Further research might look to establish a more nuanced understanding of how the āsana and the therapy teaching process severally contribute to health benefit.

The programme produced an alleviation of fatigue, one of the most prevalent symptoms of Long Covid, in all students interviewed. Many commented on how they felt their muscles became stronger, including life-transforming effects for several students who had been bed-ridden for significant amounts of time:

“I got the flexibility in the legs again. I could go one step after the other with my legs. And I’ve also got the energy to do things like cut the lawn and clean the house.”

The interviews also revealed that the Iyengar yoga programme had positive benefits on their ability to sleep, probably contributing to the mental and physical health benefits reported at the end of the intervention:

“I had really bad sleep issues… it certainly helped me straight away to get it better to a point where it [sleeping] was actually manageable.”

All the students who were interviewed after the intervention would absolutely recommend the programme to others and hoped that others could continue to benefit from the programme.

The randomly-selected teachers who were interviewed also reported that the experience in therapy teaching was very much appreciated. Although many found the online format and the form filling challenging, they felt supported in learning the intricacies of observation and in having valuable input from a senior therapy teacher in all sessions. They found that working as a team and focusing on just one student at a time gave them new insight into Iyengar yoga and how to impart it to students. This suggests that the team-teaching online model might have great potential for supervised therapy training in future.

The research team will be publishing a more indepth report of the findings this autumn on the IY(UK) website, as well as submitting the results to a journal for peer-review and publication. We are very grateful for all those who volunteered considerable time and expertise in making this project a success.

Suzanne Newcombe and Laura Potts are both teachers and members of the Long Covid IYUK Working Group.

The IY(UK) Therapy Committee’s

Covid Recovery Programme

Illustrated by Svenja Karstens

Svenja Karstens created these illustrations from the freely available IY(UK) booklet ‘Covid-19 Recovery: A Suggested Yoga Programme’ by the IY(UK) Therapy Committee. The aim of the programme is to aid the process of recovery using mostly basic props and furniture, to make the poses as accessible as possible for everyone.

Svenja is the founder of Svejar, a space where she combines her love for yoga and drawing, and shares her joy and inspiration in illustrated yoga sequences. She studied illustration design and fine arts in Dresden, Hamburg and Berlin and got her diploma in 2009. Svenja is a Level 2 teacher.

www.svejar.com

Download the Covid-19 recovery programme from the IY(UK) website: iyengaryoga.org.uk

A British Empire Medal for

Uday Bhosale

In September, Uday Bhosale was presented with the BEM award (British Empire Medal) at a special ceremony in Reading, for his services to charity in raising over £40,000 for the NHS at the start of the Covid pandemic.

Uday humbly accepted the award saying that he did so on behalf of all the teachers who took part in the event which was jointly organised by himself and his wife Sonali. The bank holiday event included classes with the following teachers:

Abhijata Iyengar, Julie Brown, Jayne Orton, Kirsten Agar Ward, Richard Agar Ward, Sheila Haswell, and the Therapy Committee led a Covid recovery programme. Therapy Committee members were Sheila Haswell, Elaine Martin, Lorraine McConnan, Larissa McGoldrick, Edgar Stringer and Judith Van Dop.

See the blog on the IY(UK) website to read more.

Sheila Haswell

50 Years of Iyengar Yoga in Manchester

Compiled by Joan Abrams

It all began with yoga itself, Mr Iyengar and his life story, which we know very well from “Body the Shrine, Yoga Thy Light”, and then the famous 1954 invitation by Yehudi Menuhin to Guruji asking to teach him yoga in London. Fifty years of Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga (MDIY) began with an inaugural meeting in 1971 and the formation of the Institute in 1972. But there’s a story before that. Here in Manchester, three women met, made friends, pursued yoga, found Mr Iyengar – by chance – invited him up to Manchester, and classes began. They can tell their own stories.

Pen Reed:

In 1963, we had left Cheshire to live near Sutton Coldfield. I joined a class run by the local WI, taken by Sunita Cabral. I attended her classes for a year, and then joined a teachers’ course under Sunita at Birmingham Athletic Institute.

Two years later, back in Cheshire and settled, I began introducing yoga to this area. Advertising in the local paper brought students to our cottage and I began teaching. I also contacted WI’s, Towns Women’s Guilds and FE Centres without success. Then, a Mr A. Sparrow invited me to Withington FE Centre to talk and demonstrate to a group of students. As a result, a small class started in September 1966 and Jeanne Maslen was a member of this class.

Gradually the word spread, and I began training Jeanne to help with the growing number of students. Letters arrived requesting lectures and the need arose for a special course for teachers. Mr Sparrow again showed interest and the first course started in 1967 with eight students.

Then came the turning point: I watched BKS Iyengar demonstrate on a BBC TV programme and a new dimension of yoga opened up. I realised that I was on the periphery of something very profound and was determined to get inside this higher sphere. He taught the postures with depth – whereas there was no depth to the yoga I was doing.

I wrote to Mr Iyengar and he replied immediately that I could attend his London classers and agreed to visit Manchester. In 1968, he gave a remarkable demonstration in front of 500 at Spurley Hey High School in Gorton. For the next four years, Mr Iyengar stayed at my home near Marple every summer and enjoyed the fresh raspberries from the garden, whilst I always disapproved of the amount of coffee he drank!

Pen with Guruji

BKS Iyengar teaching Yehudi Menuhin

Jeanne Maslen:

As a housewife with two small children, I wanted to do more with my time and began going to keep-fit classes at Withington FE Centre near my home. Then Pen Reed came on the scene. A neighbour saw a notice: “Penderell Reed coming from Styal to give a yoga demonstration”. I liked what she did. I thought, “She can stand on her head, so why can’t I?” That day I went home and tried it and broke my husband’s glasses! After the demonstration, the 12 keep-fit ladies became 12 Iyengar yoga students and, after a short time, Pen asked me to be her apprentice.

Later in that first year, I managed to get a first edition of Light on Yoga from the library in Withington. We imitated what we could of the postures from the book and thought we’ve got to be more serious our practice of yoga. And then, my small daughter, Carol, shouted to me to see something on TV. It was a flicker of Mr Iyengar whipping himself into a lotus position whilst in headstand. I went to class and said to Pen, “Did you see that man?”

For the demonstration at Spurley Hey, we pulled out all the stops and filled the hall with over 500 people. Before the demonstration by Guruji, there were half a dozen of us giving a little preview of what we did. I was in Vīrabhadrāsana 3 on

the front edge of the stage, balancing on one leg towards the audience, performing to some lovely classical music. Pen was at the back giving instructions. Mr Iyengar came in in the middle of the demonstration and sat on the front row, inches from my gaze. Afterwards he took us all to task about our practice of his yoga. We had not met anybody like him before. He looked so western in his nice grey flannel trousers and white shirt – but on stage, in his shorts, when he gave us an unforgettable demonstration, he left me in no doubt to what I had been seeking in my yoga practice. After that, we became more serious and were encouraged to go to his classes in London whenever he was in Britain.

From then on, in Withington, Mr Sparrow was inundated with calls from prospective students wanting to do Iyengar yoga. I remember the phone message, “We now know who Mr Iyengar is, but who is Mr Hatha?” We were keen to get Iyengar yoga established in all Education Authorities but they needed some way of measuring its effectiveness. Pen and I wrote a syllabus which showed Iyengar yoga to be logical in its progressive manner compared to other forms of yoga being offered at that time, which was taken up.

Tricia Booth:

In 1968, you’d had Mr Iyengar’s first demonstration, and I was being introduced to the group. There were a few people at the demo who couldn’t cope with that sort of yoga and they left. I particularly liked the Iyengar method because I was a physiotherapist. The other sort of yoga didn’t mean much to me, but as soon as Pen introduced us to Iyengar yoga, I thought, “Wow, this is great.” I came to the first meeting you had in 1971. We were going to call the group ‘Manchester and District Yoga’ and a year or two later it became ‘Manchester and District Institute of Iyengar Yoga’.

adjusting Tricia

Some people were not keen on the ‘Iyengar’ name. Bill Bowen, a bank manager, and student of Pen’s became the Chair for five years. He helped draw up the constitution, along with Pen’s first husband, Peter.

I was one of the early trainees in Jeanne’s group, and I remember, having qualified, we hired a coach to go to London as we were all expected to have a lesson with Guruji before we taught. He came to the UK probably annually then. We had our first lesson with this man. I shall never forget it. It was lovely.

The Committee circulated around the homes of its members, which was really nice as we got to know people better. All the large events were organised:

1972: Demonstration by Mr Iyengar at Renold Theatre, UMIST (now Manchester University)

1983: Talk and demonstration by Mr Iyengar at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester (now a hotel). Following day, Q&A at Refuge Assurance, Oxford Road, Manchester (also now a hotel)

1986: Wythenshawe Forum – 100 students give a demonstration with Mr Iyengar in attendance

1990: Free Trade Hall – Talk and Q&A

As for Chairs of MDIIY, Bill Bowen was followed by Jeanne until 1983 when I took over until 2010. My very first task was to welcome Guruji at the Free Trade Hall. I introduced one of my ‘elderly’ students

to Guruji and she curtsied. I thought that was lovely. I don’t know how many people we had in the Refuge ballroom (1983) but it was a lot. We had a meal on small tables and Tom (my husband) and daughter did all the washing up.

A few years later, in 1986, we gave Guruji a huge surprise by gathering together over 1,000 students to give a yoga demonstration at Wythenshawe Forum. Students arrived in busloads. It was a real surprise as he had no idea what to expect when he stepped into the arena to be greeted by deafening applause from us all.

Those memories tell only the foundations of our Manchester yoga life. How can we recollect the many happenings since?

• The development of teacher training and assessments at all levels

• Teachers’ classes with Jeanne Maslen at St. Chad’s hall in Withington or other venues

• The journeys of our trainees from Level 1 to Level 4, and their giving back with their support

• The volunteer work of keeping our community of students and teachers going (without social media until recently!)

• The many, many visits to Pune and the dissemination of Guruji and the Iyengar family’s teaching on return

• The constant study and progression of our evergrowing band of enthusiastic teachers

• Visiting teachers from India, other parts of the world and our wonderful teachers around the UK

• Regular workshops, varying types of classes

• Many Christmas parties, coinciding with Guruji’s birthday in December

• Minutes of meetings being taken, jobs being done

• Yoga understanding developing and changing

Guruji

Our building:

Without doubt, our fortune in finding our building in Dukinfield has been a game-changer. In 1993, we leased part of the building, and in 2005 the whole building was purchased. We had a building fund contributed to by Mr Iyengar and all our members. Since then, in 2012, we had the garden designed and in 2015 we purchased the cottage adjacent to the building. As well as members who live locally and attend classes, we have members across Manchester and the North West – some teachers travel from the other side of the Pennines or from North Wales to attend teachers’ classes and workshops. Some members don’t come to the centre but teach or go to classes elsewhere in the district. Some of our members live far away – we’ve had students in Japan join us for online classes, or travelling from Jersey or Bournemouth to attend.

We have a paid Centre Manager and a range of classes at the centre: children’s, men’s, women’s, slower-paced, foundation, general, intermediate, teachers, therapy, prāņāyāma, recuperative and an “express” class. We ran ‘Yoga in the Park’ (our local is adjacent!) recently. Twenty teachers run 25 classes per week, as well as workshops for all and specialist ones.

Celebrations:

Finally, to celebrate the work and life of our Iyengar community, we planned a variety of events. We decided to invite again some of our well-known regular teacher visitors from around the UK in person to teach workshops or sessions, and some from India (by Zoom) and had a varied programme from them all.

We had some very well-received memorabilia as well – the green yoga equipment bag being very popular, as well as the absolutely necessary mug and T-shirts.

We also held a weekend of celebration in late June, with two classes taught by Zoom with Jawahar Bangera, and a party with over 100 older, current and younger members there. The yoga demonstration at the party, organised by our advanced teacher, Julie Brown, was inspiring; our Indian caterers (Lily’s of Ashton) supplied, as ever, tasty south Indian treats. We had various entertainments: Indian dance, Indian puppet show, a yoga-themed musical cabaret.

Mr Iyengar came to our 25th Anniversary celebrations in 1997, Geeta Iyengar visited in 2009, and Abhijata (on Zoom from Pune) gave an hour’s class and congratulations on our 50th.

The invitation to MDIY's Golden Jubilee celebrations The new props bag

Now to the future. We asked a variety of members their thoughts:

“I joined the MDIY as a student back in the late 70s. We didn’t have a building then but organised local events, including visits from Mr Iyengar. The building meant we needed a team of volunteers to get it fit for purpose and ensured we had a close-knit, hardworking team to achieve this. I feel this foundation has grown, and the amount of work put into making the 50th celebrations such a fantastic success, particularly following the pandemic, proves it! I was amazed at the time and enthusiasm many people gave and found it heartening and exciting to witness this. Long may it continue!”

Julie Brown, Level 4 teacher

“Following shoulder surgery a few years ago I signed up for a foundation course at MDIY. I had very little shoulder and arm movement and incredible pain before my surgery and the improvements since my very first class have been profound. I really appreciate the use of props and how these can be used to help me hold postures without causing pain and injury. Teachers are enthusiastic and always happy to share personal experiences and stories as many have studied under the direct guidance of the Iyengar family. In addition to stretching my muscles, the āsanas have helped me to build strength in both my body and mind supporting me in the correct alignment of my whole body not just my shoulder and upper back. I have learnt to consider how my muscles are connected to other parts of my body and to engage those as well. I hope in the future to continue to build strength and refine my awareness.”

Sue, student

“I recently returned to MDIY, attending the weekly express yoga class with Clare Tunstall. I’ve attended yoga at MDIY on and off for a number of years but find it difficult to commit to a regular practice of 1.5 hours as a working mum to two young children. Clare’s 45-minute lunch-time class is the perfect solution for me. I find the centre such a calm and welcoming place and the teachers are so knowledgeable, approachable and experienced. I hope MDIY will grow and evolve over the next 10 years and offer more express and lunch time/ weekend classes for a range of levels to be able to fit into our modern lifestyles. I’d love to see MDIY develop its community offering and consider offering classes such as women’s yoga sharing circles in the future.”

Sabine, student

“It was lovely to be at the 50 years celebration of MDIY. There was a great sense of history, happiness and transformation. I think the feeling of ‘transformation’ came as we listened to the stories of past and present teachers and how they’d come to yoga or how they’d inspired others. It brought a feeling of the joy of passing on the yoga baton – sharing their knowledge and teaching, and inspiring others to practise or to learn to teach. This for me is what Iyengar signifies –the tradition of passing on knowledge from one generation to the next, from one teacher to another, from a teacher to a student. I hope the next ten years will bring more of the same. The change to the syllabus seems designed to assist that mission: bringing in new poses to challenge and excite new or existing practitioners of yoga. I qualified as a new Iyengar yoga teacher recently on the previous system, but really welcomed the new syllabus as an opportunity to learn more.” Tara, new teacher

Left: the yoga demonstration – Śīrṣāsana Below, left: the MDIY Journal, celebration cover Below, right: the start of the yoga demonstration

Yoga Space: Prāņāyāma with Gabriella Giubilaro

Transcription by Joan Abrams

Gabriella Giubilaro of Istituto Iyengar Yoga Firenze started to practise yoga in 1973, when she was in her twenties. She started her prāņāyāma practice soon after. Now, she says, the practice of prāņāyāma is the most important because of the benefits to her nervous system and her mind. In April, the IY(UK) PR Committee invited Gabriella to speak about prāņāyāma at an online Yoga Space event. Yoga Space is a series of Zoom sessions that aims to share ideas and information amongst our membership.

Prāņāyāma is part of the eight limbs of yoga and together with pratyāhāra, the fifth limb, they purify the mind. We don’t feel it in the beginning, but after many years of practice you can see your mind is more sharp and clear. The main prāņāyāma for purification is nāḍī śodhana, nasal breathing with one hand on one nostril and then the other.

If possible, you should do prāņāyāma seated. When you sit, the expansion of the chest and the mind is more alert. When you lie down the mind can become too quiet and sleepy. When you sit, the line of the spine is perpendicular to the line of the earth. You are awake and have more expansion. We can always teach awareness of the breath in āsana but not when there is rigidity in the chest or lungs. When the chest is rigid, it is very difficult to do prāņāyāma. If we do prāņāyāma with stiffness in the chest, we disperse the nervous system.

Śīrṣāsana and Sarvāngāsana are the best āsanas you can do before prāņāyāma. They both create elasticity and movement in the lungs. If you want to introduce prāņāyāma in a class where they can’t do Śīrṣāsana or Sarvāngāsana then you can do Supta Vīrāsana, Supta Baddha Koņāsana, Vīparita Karaņi or Sarvāngāsana with a chair. If you do Halāsana

at the end, you have to make sure you do Supta Baddha Koņāsana before Vīparita Karaņi before you start again. Supta Baddha Koņāsana makes the abdomen soft. Vīparita Karaņi makes space between the ribs because you extend the chest away from the pelvis. It is also cools the nervous system. It relaxes the mind by itself, more than Śavāsana.

For prāņāyāma practice, I use Sukhāsana sitting on a blanket. I use a chair a lot, and sitting on the other side holding hands on the back of the chair. The chair is good if you are able to maintain the stability, but sitting on the chair the spine is less stable. The best posture would be Padmāsana because you remain stable. But even Guruji did not do Padmāsana with age when he began to have knee problems, so he taught Sukhāsana When the knees are closer, it is easier to relax the abdomen and have the spine straight. This is a must for prāņāyāma. You cannot do prāņāyāma if the abdomen or diaphragm is tense.

In the beginning the practice of prāņāyāma that is best to do is Viloma. Guruji always taught that first we introduce Viloma then Ujjāyi. Beginners have to work more with Viloma because when

you do inhalation and exhalation, Viloma can be done in many different ways. You can do inhalation (inhale, pause, inhale, pause) if you need to wake up, create space in the lungs, or if you need to create heat because it is cold outside. If it is hot in the summer and you want to relax, it is better to do Viloma in the exhalation. You can do Viloma dividing equal parts, or you can do Viloma with many exhalations and it is very relaxing. It is difficult to do with people with asthma, but they can do this by inhaling normally with exhale, pause, exhale, pause. In this way the fear goes. To do a long, expanded exhalation is difficult but exhale, pause, exhale, pause is much easier for these people.

There is heating prāņāyāma and cooling prāņāyāma. With high blood pressure, don’t do the heating prāņāyāma, for example Antara Kumbhaka, or long inhalation or long exhalation. Surya Bhedana increases heat in the body and increases blood pressure, but there are cooling ones like Viloma expiration. Bāhya Kumbhaka can be done with high blood pressure. Viloma with exhalation is cooling. Another prāņāyāma practice that is very cooling and good in the summer, and if you have high blood pressure, is Anuloma – inhale and then control the nostrils. Guruji would say that is cooling like Nāḍī Śodhana Then, at the end, Śavāsana

How long should I practise prāņāyāma? Guruji said five minutes. If you have too high a goal, then it becomes difficult to find the time. With practice and your increase in interest, you start to go more and more. The longer practice of prāņāyāma comes with regular practice. So, it is better in the morning and important to do Śavāsana after. You are playing

with your prāņa, you have to become quiet, and breath become quiet again before you go to normal life.

Another teaching from Guruji is that prāņāyāma should be done every day. The lungs lose their elasticity very soon. If you have regular prāņāyāma for one week, your lungs expand a little and then if you come back to it after a space, you are forcing the nervous system. When you practise prāņāyāma, you are playing with your nervous system. The practice is not like āsana practice where you do one day standing poses, etc. The prāņāyāma you do for two, three months, same practice. This is the difference: we don’t change every day, unless there is a special reason.

When you inhale the lungs expand, the breath goes in the lungs. The lungs expand, and when the lungs arrive to touch the inner ribs, if the ribs are soft, if the ribs let go, then the breath expands the chest and the ribs. You can’t open the chest forcing. If you inhale lifting the shoulders, spreading the elbows or with attention on the fingers – this is with tension. We learn to observe the expansion of the lungs and when we do the inhalation, the chest expands, the breath goes in, and the chest opens at the same time. The more the breath goes in, the more the chest opens and the more the chest lifts.

How long should I practise prāņāyāma?

Guruji said five minutes. If you have too high a goal, then it becomes difficult to find the time. With practice and your increase in interest, you start to go more and more.

When in exhalation, we have to maintain the lifting when the breath goes down. We lift when the breath goes down. This is more difficult. This is when we sit. When we lie down, we don’t need to lift the chest, but when we sit we need to lift the chest, and that really needs more practice and more attention to maintain. Guruji, Geeta and Abhijata, I heard them teaching they say this area to remain up – the action starts at the back, not the front. If I try to lift my chest from the front body,

there is tension. The lifting only comes from the spine and the back region.

It is important to learn even in the āsana class not to create too much tension and to learn to open the chest on the back of the body, to be able to observe the back of the body, because prāņāyāma involves a lot of this attention. The beginning of the prāņāyāma, the beginning of the inhalation is the spreading of the lumbar. If you push the lumbar forward you don’t spread the lumbar. For beginners this is difficult and this is why we have the practice of the Āsana which teaches you to observe the action of the body.

If you were to introduce indirectly prāņāyāma in the āsana class, talk about the lumbar, the kidneys, the back ribs, the spine. Make the students aware of this part, so when they go into seated prāņāyāma they know to put their attention there and when the breath touches the back ribs

from inside, the back ribs should not move. The inhalation starts from the back ribs but as the same time the back ribs have to remain stable and then when the breath touches the back ribs, the result is the opening of the front and the lifting of the throat.

With age, it happens that āsana practice becomes more difficult – there are āsanas we cannot do any more. Then prāņāyāma becomes the practice that you can always do and that will help us with mental stability.

If any members have further questions for Gabriella, she would be happy to answer. Just email Katie Owens: katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Navaz Kamdin teaching Prāņāyāma at the IY(UK) Convention in 2019, with Uday Bhosale on stage

In Memoriam Hilda Hooker

Hilda Hooker died peacefully on 17 August 2022. Hilda was a friend of the late Jeanne Maslen and helped to start the Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga Institute in 1972. With Tricia Booth and the late Lilian Biggs, Hilda Hooker was a founding senior teacher at the Institute.

Hilda discovered Iyengar yoga through the Townswomen’s Guild in the 1960s and it changed her life. An Iyengar teacher in Manchester once told me that, ‘’Hilda Hooker brought Iyengar yoga to Manchester, she is a Northern Heroine’’!

Hilda (on the left) with Guruji

Hilda in Bakāsana

Frances Hooker (Hilda’s daughter)

Historic Chapel Set to Become the First Affiliated Centre in Wales

and community centres, they have taught in schools, colleges and workplaces and hosted workshops with senior teachers. As a result, a strong and committed yoga community has built up in the area.

Hay is a small market town on the border of Wales and England, sitting within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Surrounded by mountains and beautiful countryside, it’s a conducive environment for yoga practice. Salem Chapel is built of traditional stone and slate and has a calming, peaceful atmosphere typical of a place of worship and devotion. In fact Salem means perfect peace. A Grade II listed building, it has been sympathetically restored to a high standard, specifically for yoga, retaining many of its original features but now with practical modernisations, including underfloor heating and a rope wall.

Salem Baptist Chapel in Hay-on-Wye dates back to 1647 and is the second oldest nonconformist chapel in Wales. This October, the extensively restored chapel and schoolroom will become the home of Wye Valley Yoga and will be the first affiliated Iyengar Yoga centre in the country.

Cori and Pete Norton have been teaching in Hay and the surrounding area since 2008 and established Wye Valley Yoga as a limited company in 2012. As well as regular classes in village halls

The yoga hall is in the main chapel with tall, uplifting, gothic style windows and the beautifully carved wooden pulpit remains as a reminder of the building’s past. The hall is fully equipped to accommodate up to fifty students for regular classes and workshops. The old schoolroom has a high ceiling with exposed beams and is now a reception area with a library, shop and kitchen where students can relax and socialise over a cup of tea or coffee and lunches can be prepared for all-day workshops.

Overcoming the obstacles of a dilapidated building, planning permission and the Covid pandemic all added up to the project taking three and a half years to complete. However, now there is a

Cori and Pete Norton

dedicated space for local students to practise and the potential for the local yoga community to grow with four trainee teachers and the chapel becoming an Iyengar Yoga assessment centre.

Cori and Pete are grateful to local student members of Wye Valley Yoga for their commitment and loyalty, not least those who have contributed financially to the project.

They said: “We’re really excited to be opening a dedicated Iyengar Yoga centre in Wales and we invite you to come and visit and practise here in this amazing building. Visiting teachers are welcome to bring their students on holidays and retreats, which given the increasing urgency for us all to reduce our carbon footprints offers a great alternative to going abroad for yoga breaks. Hay has loads of accommodation ranging from wild camping, bunkhouses and glamping to B&Bs and hotels.

“For partners or families who aren’t doing yoga, the town is a gem for visitors. As well as the famous Hay Festival and myriad bookshops, there is a recently restored castle and multiple outdoor and leisure activities such as mountain biking, canoeing and walking.”

The first open workshop at Salem Chapel will be with Sue Lovell from 25-27 November and will coincide with the Hay Festival Winter Weekend when there is always a great atmosphere in the town.

Cori and Pete look forward to welcoming you!

www.wyevalleyiyengaryoga.com

wyevalleyyoga@gmail.com

Salem Chapel: 01497 820021

Mobile: 07967 318404

Husband-and-wife team

Cori and Pete both trained with Jayne Orton at Iyengar Yoga Birmingham and have backgrounds in food, nutrition and holistic therapy. Cori is a level 3 teacher and Pete is level 2.

Opposite page: main chapel, re-built in 1815

This page, top left: the rope wall; top right: Salem Chapel; centre left: the yoga hall; centre right: the blue plaque; bottom: the gallery

Iyengar Yoga and No-Dig Gardening – a Complementary Relationship

Roger Halford

Should we, as Iyengar yoga practitioners, regard our practice as an end in itself, a path to physical and spiritual enlightenment – samādhi? Should we accept that our improved dexterity is an end in itself, an aid to nirvana, or should we find ways to use our developing physical abilities in other aspects of our lives?

A relatively new development in horticulture in this country is opening up the possibility of a symbiotic relationship between our practice and our vegetable plots. No-dig gardening is a revived approach to horticulture that is being pioneered in this country by Charles Dowding, a market gardener in Somerset with a prolific online presence.

Dowding’s target for criticism is digging – single and double.

The theory behind soil-turning has been passed down over the centuries, evidence the world over. Think of ploughs, for example, using animals to turn the soil. Dowding’s target is human digging

mainly for horticultural reasons to do with the structure and processes of soil. He hasn’t, as far as I can make out, criticised double digging for being unhealthy in terms of its practitioners’ bodies. In fact, The Horticultural Institute together with Coventry University are working to develop healthy ways of digging.

I first became aware of the use of Vīrāsana in horticulture on a tree-planting day organised by Severn Trent Water. There were hundreds of saplings to plant and most of the planters were pensioners. My yoga instinct was to plant in Vīrāsana on very soft grassland. Everyone else stood, leant and stooped. By 4pm, I was the only one left.

Back at the allotment I carried on this configuration of mind, body, plant and soil. My allotment is in Warwickshire and has clay soils. Because of flooding problems, I was encouraged to build woodchip pathways between beds. With loose fitting trousers and flexible shoes, talking to my plants and reasoning with the slugs in Vīrāsana, on a soft but resilient base, becomes a real possibility. My raised beds are a relatively standard size, 2.4m by 1.2m, so it is possible to reach the entire area from a Vīrāsana base.

Dowding argues that a full programme of no-dig gardening involving cardboard and compost means that there are fewer weeds, so interaction with growing plants is more akin to planting, inspection, watering, protection and harvesting. My experience is that all this can be done from a Vīrāsana base. My teachers have responded by asking, “Why just Vīrāsana? You find it comfortable, but others lean forward and it hurts their knees. What about Prasārita Pādottānāsana, Uttānāsana, Mālāsana or Vajrāsana?” I’ve agreed – anything but stooping and double digging!

My inquisitive mind is asking: What are the origins of Vīrāsana? Why is it called the Hero Pose? To proceed with combining Vīrāsana with no-dig gardening, the most appropriate interpretation of the Hanuman legend might be in need of a little adaptation. Hanuman, the monkey hero, has two

aspects – hero and servant. It is more appropriate in the context of no-dig horticulture and Vīrāsana to focus on the dāsa (servant) side: double diggers are the heroes, no-diggers are the servants of the earth.

I must admit that when I’m in Vīrāsana, cropping Brussels sprouts for Christmas dinner, I do feel a bit of a hero!

Roger Halford took up Iyengar yoga following advice by a physiotherapist who was worried about the potential harm of too much cycling and squash on a 50-yearold. Roger served as Chair at Iyengar Yoga London (then Iyengar Yoga Institute Maida Vale) between 2000 and 2003; since moving back to his home town of Solihull, he studies at Iyengar Yoga Birmingham.

Sources: yogainternational.com/article/view/themythology-behind-virasana-heros-pose1

www.housebeautiful.com/uk/garden/a30609738/nodig-gardening/

www.growbiointensive.org/FAQ/FAQ_DoubleDigging. html#:~:text=Well%20loosened%20soil%20increases%20 air,providing%20the%20air%20they%20need

Ralph de Souza

Memories of Mumbai, Music and Mr Iyengar

eyebrows. Shalini, who was the youngest student there, remembers being used as a guinea pig to demonstrate the balancing poses, and then falling in a heap as Guruji let go. There were no fancy, cushioned yoga mats like today, but the family remembers a towel or one of the Indian roll-out cane mats.

Ifirst met Ralph de Souza at a school near Bournemouth. Our daughters had just finished a chamber music course and we were attending the end-of-course, day-long concert when all the groups played to friends and family. We were standing next to each other in the tea queue and I had been struck by the similarity between his daughter and a close Colombian friend of ours with the same name as his daughter, and mentioned this to him. “Actually, I am from Bombay. Mumbai as they call it now,” he said. I had just been to Pune and when he heard this, he asked if I was an IT expert. As I told him about RIMYI and BKS Iyengar, he looked at me as if he had seen a ghost, and told me the story of how he came to the UK.

Ralph’s parents attended Guruji’s two-hour Sunday morning classes in Mumbai from 1968 to 1969. He and his younger sister, Shalini, would be dragged along too, but he didn’t enjoy it at all, to put it mildly. It hurt! He remembers Guruji’s enormous

Ralph was learning the violin from his father, a doctor and self-taught violinist who was very keen on his sons learning to play, and Ralph showed great promise. When Guruji heard this, he insisted that Ralph be taken to the Taj Hotel to meet and play to the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who was staying there. Ralph was bribed to go –dragged along only by the promise of a falooda (a cold dessert) from Crawford Market – and played to Menuhin. Menuhin was so impressed he suggested that Ralph travel to the UK to attend the Menuhin School. The rest is history. Ralph, who was ten at the time, travelled alone to the UK and ended up sharing a room at school with violinist Nigel Kennedy. He went on to win prizes and in 1986 become one of the violinists of the worldrenowned Endellion String Quartet.

At this point of our conversation, spellbound, I had been holding my ginger biscuit dunked in my teacup for far too long. As it fell to the floor and I ran to find a cloth, the concert restarted and our conversation ended. But it stayed in my mind and I wanted to share this glimpse of yet another example of how far-reaching Guruji’s influence was.

Sarah Delfas

Ralph in Śīrṣāsana, Prussia Cove, Cornwall

He showed me a photograph of the young Endellion Quartet at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, where he is standing on his head “for a bit of fun”. It is most definitely an Iyengar

In July this year, our daughter’s quartet temporarily grew to a quintet to give a concert locally. The fifth member was the tiny but supremely competent Maya de Souza, Ralph’s daughter. I opened the front door to find Ralph and his wife, viola player Catherine Bradshaw, dropping Maya off. He was as amazed as I was. We enjoyed an afternoon of drinking tea and chatting, realising that as well as the Iyengar link, we have many connections via music friends. He showed me a photograph of the young Endellion Quartet at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, where he is standing on his head “for a bit of fun”. It is most definitely an Iyengar Śīrṣāsana. He also spoke with warm admiration of hearing Prashantji play brilliantly all those years back in Mumbai. Ralph and Catherine travel regularly to Mumbai to coach classical musicians. I wonder if they could be tempted to brave the Pune highway next time and share this story and some old memories with Prashantji?

The Endellion Quartet recently retired but you can read more about Ralph and the Quartet here: http://endellionquartet.com/members/#ralph

Sarah Delfas is a Level 3 teacher and mentor based in Sussex. She discovered Iyengar yoga as a university student in 1990 and this year celebrates 20 years of teaching. She is a member of the IY(UK) CYAF committee.

Śīrṣāsana.

Gomukhāsana

Meg Laing

Taught most commonly in its ‘arms only’ version, full Gomukhāsana is a marvellous pose, and one that for me embodies the yogic principle of harmony in body, mind and breath.

I will begin with the actions of the legs and hips. The crossing of one thigh completely above the other is not a common action in yogāsanas. Perhaps the nearest to Gomukhāsana in this is Garuḍāsana, though with a different orientation to gravity. Once entwined, however, the balance is easier in Garuḍāsana, because the standing foot is firmly flat on the ground. In Gomukhāsana, one is seated and the toes must point backwards with the tops of the feet on the floor, as in Vīrāsana but without the symmetry or groundedness.

The lower of the two legs has to be the main ‘anchor’ leg, with the shin and foot much as in Vīrāsana but the weight thrown more onto the outer shin. The upper leg has to negotiate the whole breadth and depth of the lower leg. This means that the upper leg foot will be further forward than the lower leg foot, but still has to point back and be parallel to it, with only the top of the foot and front ankle able to press into the floor. Also, the upper leg hip will be higher than the lower leg hip, causing the side waist to be shorter, and the whole trunk on that side (including the shoulder joint) will tend to swing

forward compared to the other side. As we will see below, when we come to the arm action, this is not a bad thing!

Most Iyengar yoga practitioners have been conditioned to go for evenness at all costs, and we are unsurprisingly discombobulated, both mentally and physically, by this blatant unevenness. We want to sit down to make a firm and even base to the pose, and are shocked to find there is no even base to be had; so we find ourselves rather hovering, if not actually falling out of the pose, and with our breathing all over the place. Somehow, we have to squeeze our outer hips together (uneven as they are), lifting the spine strongly up, and then find a way to ‘land’ the buttocks, like a helicopter alighting on uneven ground.

“Most Iyengar yoga practitioners have been conditioned to go for evenness at all costs, and we are unsurprisingly discombobulated, both mentally and physically, by this blatant unevenness.”

Geetaji, ever pragmatic, suggests in Preliminary Course that: “The simple version of sitting position in this āsana is to cross the thighs on each other so that one knee remains on the top of the other

and the feet remain on the sides of the buttocks”. That version will help bring flexibility to the ankles and strengthen the knee ligaments, and allow the breath to be steady, but it tends (in my experience) rather to stretch the outer hip muscles than to help them to grip inwards, which is what is required. I find this ‘simple version’ a better preparation for Padmāsana than I do for Gomukhāsana. Bringing flexibility and strength to the feet and ankles for the performance of Gomukhāsana is best helped, in my experience, by the Vīrāsana preparatory sequence given by Guruji in Light on Yoga (plates 85-88). The final Vīrāsana there remains very compact, and the squeezing inwards of the outer hips is that needed (even more strongly) for the balance in Gomukhāsana.

The other element that brings balance and harmony to Gomukhāsana is completing the full āsana with the arm action. This is because, when the left leg is underneath, the left arm is the upper one, and when the right leg is underneath the right arm is the upper one. In the full pose, there is thus a crisscross action between the arms and the legs that brings equilibrium both to the trunk and to the mind. This is shown wonderfully by Guruji in Light on Yoga (plate 80). For some reason, plate 81, taken from the back, shows Guruji with both right arm and right leg on top, which does not show the criss-cross action, or the resulting contrast in length of the two sides of the trunk.

The much better known Gomukhāsana arm action is introduced to beginner students in Tādāsana, after Ūrdhva Hastāsana, Ūrdhva Baddhānguliyāsana, Namaskārāsana and Ūrdhva Namaskārāsana, all of which open the shoulder joints and armpit chest and extend the sides of the trunk evenly. The action in Gomukhāsana, as we all know, is very different for each arm. The upper one has to open the shoulder and armpit chest, very like the previously learned poses, but with the elbow bending to drop the hand down between the upper shoulder blades. The other arm has to come from below with the upper arm extending down, the elbow at waist level and the forearm coming behind the back and up for the hand to clasp the

Light on Yoga (plates 80 and 81)

Light on Yoga (plates 85-88)

fingers or ‘shake the hand’ of the descending other arm. The clasp of the hands is then used to open the chest further and expand the range of breath. The two arms might be referred to as the ‘Śīrṣāsana arm’ and the ‘Sarvāṅgāsana arm’ respectively, as the shoulder joints have to perform similar actions to what they do symmetrically in those inversions.

The upper arm has to learn to extend the triceps, to enable the elbow to come above the level of the head and behind it. The extension is initiated by spreading the bottom armpit at the back outwards. The lower arm has to learn to bend with an inward rotation of the humerus, whilst keeping the front armpit and shoulder broad and open. The collarbone has to remain wide when the arm comes back. When, say, the right arm is to be the lower arm, you can learn the feel of how its front shoulder should be by taking the arm behind your back and putting the back of the right hand against the outer left waist. Bring the left palm to the right palm and press them together firmly. This broadens the right front shoulder and then the arm can slide up the back more freely.

As is normal with so many different body types and degrees of joint tightness and looseness, some people find the arm actions of Gomukhāsana quite easy to perform, whilst others struggle with them all their lives. Many of us find one side easier than the other. Anyone with a shoulder injury needs to be very careful with this pose, and one should never stress the injury. The shoulder joint is of course a ball and socket joint; but because of the huge range of movement required by the arm, its socket is fairly shallow. With some actions, it is easy for the humerus head slightly to misalign and not be centred in the socket, leading to long-term wear and tear, as well as to local discomfort or pain. We have to learn to find the balance between freedom in the joint and proper firmness in the musculature supporting it. Assuming there is no injury, if we are very strongly right- or left-handed, we may well find that the stronger side is happy to do the very active movement of the upper arm while the more passive side is more able to perform the softer, surrendering action of the lower arm.

Because arms-only Gomukhāsana is so much taught and practised, there are numerous wellknown ways to work for those having difficulty. The default, especially in a busy class, is to use a yoga belt to bridge any gap between the two hands. Working on opening the shoulder joints in all the other standing āsanas, and in the inversions, will gradually enable most diligent students to gain sufficient mobility to improve in the pose. I am one of those who finds Gomukhāsana arms easy to perform when my right (strong) arm is the upper one and my left (passive) arm is the lower one. On the other side, it is quite another matter. I have tried many approaches over the years, but lately I find that to help the lower arm it is useful to imitate the actions of Sarvāṅgāsana II (see image opposite) viz:

(a) clasp the hands behind the back with palms facing inwards, and extending them back and slightly up, whilst keeping the wrists well apart;

(b) turn the clasped hands so that the palms face outwards, still extending them back and slightly up (cf. Light on Yoga, plate 235).

These actions bring the humerus heads firmly into the centre of the shoulder socket.

(c) Then, with the hands still clasped, but allowing the arms to bend as needed, take them across the back – say to the left. This puts an angle on the line of the shoulders (right shoulder dips down) and shortens the right-side waist.

(d) At this point, release the clasp, and slide the right hand up between the shoulder blades. Bring the left arm up and the hand over to clasp the right. And, of course, then repeat on the other side.

Using this method of preparation for Gomukhāsana arms is interesting, in that it temporarily creates the same shortening of one side of the trunk and slight forward movement of the lower arm’s

We have to learn to find the balance between freedom in the joint and proper firmness in the musculature supporting it.

shoulder as the leg position does (see above). A corollary to this dipping and forward movement of the shoulder is that the shoulder joint itself is released and gains some freedom of movement whilst also ‘remembering’ the firm centredness it had from the previous clasped extension. In the full pose, bringing the arm action needs to be done with as much freedom as possible, so as not to lose the balance. The unevenness of the trunk actually facilitates the arms to go into their respective actions, giving an activated upward impetus to the upper arm and a freeing flexibility to the lower

one. Once complete, the Āsana finds its inner equilibrium and harmony.

Meg Laing is a Level 3 teacher based in Edinburgh who was given her teaching certificate by BKS Iyengar himself in 1977.

Please note: those who have had hip replacement surgery in the last two years should avoid the leg actions in this pose.

Imitating the actions of Sarvāṅgāsana II

International Day of Yoga 21 June 2022

Every year since 2015, following a suggestion from BKS Iyengar, the world has celebrated the UN’s International Day of Yoga. To mark the occasion in 2022, we asked our members and social media followers to share their Vṛkṣāsana photos. It was lovely to see so many coming in before, during and after the day. Here is a small selection. You will find all the social media pictures saved as a Highlight on our Instagram account under ‘Day of Yoga’.

iYoga Glasgow class with Katie Rutherford

Elaine Pidgeon’s class at EIYC

Kim Skinner’s MDIY People First students

Semra O’Reilly’s class

Joan Abrams’s class at MDIY

Meg Laing, Edinburgh

Norah Phipps’ students

Haris Lyroni

Kim Skinner women-only class

Pegah and Yvonne, IY Sussex

Maxine Lunn and granddaughters

Katie Rutherford, island of Tiree

Sally Lee

IY(UK) Professional Development Days 2022/2023

PD workshops are not a requirement for teacher renewals this year but we hope in the community spirit you will attend and be able to meet up with your fellow local teachers.

South West

SWIY (Falmouth)

23 October 2022 with Judith Van Dop

Organiser Nick Thompson: 07984 474298 nickthomson76@hotmail.com

DHIY (Mudeford, Dorset)

8 January 2023 with Rachel Lovegrove

Organiser Louisa Elliot: 07708 403876 iyengaryogawimborne@gmail.com

West & South Wales

AIY (Bristol)

19 November 2022 with Richard Agar Ward Organiser Edgar Stringer avoniyengar.org; edgarstringer@gmail.com

South Central

ORIY (Cirencester and Newbury)

26 February 2023 with Sheila Haswell

Organiser Evelyn Crosskey longwittenhamyogacentre@gmail.com

Greater London & South East

NELIY (North & East London area)

27 November 2022 with Ros Bell

Organisers Nancy Clarke: 07900 277327

nancyclarke@btinternet.com

Alles Wilson: alleswilson@aol.com

IYS (Sussex)

TBC with Sallie Sullivan

Organiser Jenny Deadman: 07817 239363 jenny@jcm.co.uk

TBC with Cathy Rogers Evans

Organiser Cathy Rogers-Evans cathyrogersevans@gmail.com

Kent IY

19 November 2022, with Brenda Booth

5 February 2023 with Lin Craddock

Organiser Louise Percy: 07825 528898 louisepercy@hotmail.com

IYL (NW London)

25 February 2023 with Penny Chaplin

Organiser Marco Cannavo 020 7624 3080; office@iyi.org.uk

IYSL (South London)

13 November 2022 with Sophie Carrington

Organiser Marion Sinclair: 07803 170846 marionsinclair@aol.com

SWLSIY (SW London & Surrey)

5 February 2023 with Judith Richards

Organiser Cath Barnes-Holt: 07909 995408 cath@cathbarnesholt.co.uk

North East & Cumbria

NEEIY (Sunderland)

20 November 2022 with Isabel Jones Fielding

Organiser Caroline Earl; carolinejpearl@yahoo.com

West Central / South West Midlands

MCIY (Birmingham)

7 January 2023 with Jayne Orton

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

East Central & North

BDIY (Bradford and Leeds)

19 November 2022 with Debbie Bartholomew

Organiser Jacky McGeoch jackymacyoga322@gmail.com

North West

MDIY & LDIY (Manchester)

28 January 2023 with Marion Kilburn

Organiser Margaret Walker: 0161 3390748 marge.walker1@gmail.com

East

CIY (Cambridge)

29 October 2022 with Sasha Perryman

3 December 2022 with Sasha Perryman

Organiser Sasha Perryman: 01223 515929 sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk

Ireland

DIY (Dublin)

TBC with Aisling Guirke

11 Feburary 2023, with Eileen Cameron

Organiser Eileen Cameron dubliniyengaryoga@gmail.com

Ireland (Munster)

TBC with Margaret Cashman

Organiser Margaret Cashman margaret.cashman@gmail.com

South West Midlands

MCIY (Herefordshire)

25 March 2023 with Sheila Green

Organiser Sheila Green: 01981 580081 sheila@herefordshireyoga.co.uk

Northern Ireland

27 November 2022 with Claire Ferry

Organiser Claire Ferry: claire@claireferryyoga.net

Scotland

ESIY (Edinburgh)

13 November 2022 with Julie Anderson

Organiser Gordon Jardine gordieric@hotmail.com

Certification and Assessments

Assessments are expected to start in 2023. Application information will be posted on the website. There are no longer any set deadlines for application but assessments will be arranged to meet demand. Mentors with potentially eligible candidates will be kept informed by email.

Mentoring Resources on the IY(UK) website

A number of resources are available to all teachers and trainees via the website. In particular, you will find links to:

• A pdf of the Mentoring Manual The Manual is updated each year and is a valuable resource for trainees and for the professional development of all teachers whether or not you wish to continue to further levels of assessment or get involved in mentoring others.

• Downloadable word versions of the forms contained within the Mentoring Manual so that you can easily complete them when you need to.

• A link to the Mentoring Resource Bank – an online resource where you can both find and share information about things that have worked well for mentoring at any level. Submissions are very welcome!

Mentor and Assessor Support Group

A subcommittee of the Assessment and Training Committee (ATC), the Mentor and Assessor Support Group (MASG), has been set up, chaired by Kirsten Agar Ward, and is working on ways to support mentors and their trainees. Please do get in touch, via kate@iyengaryoga.org.uk, if you have suggestions for what would help you.

Yoga Space on Mentoring – Friday 18 November, 1-2pm

You are invited to join a panel made up of ATC members for Yoga Space on Friday 18 November at 1pm, on Zoom for one hour. Open and free to all members if you are interested in finding out more about how Iyengar students are mentored to become teachers. This may be of particular interest to current trainees and mentors as it is an opportunity to meet your contemporaries, share experiences, ask questions and clarify any doubts. Do register even if you can’t attend on the day as the session will be recorded for later viewing.

IY(UK) Reports

Chair Charlotte Everitt

Since our last edition, I’ve seen many of you at our fantastic convention! It really demonstrated what a strong community we have, and how much fun we get out of it! Thank you for taking part in our recent survey about future conventions; two thirds of you said you would be “very” or “quite likely” to attend an online convention next year compared to half saying this of an in-person convention. We are therefore planning an online convention in early February, as well as an in-person convention in May 2023 with Jawahar Bangera.

We’re returning to Harrogate as it’s a venue we know and can rely on, and there is still some uncertainty around how things will look in 2023. However I realise it’s some time since we’ve been “south” so we are looking hard for a suitable, reasonably-priced venue in the south of the UK for 2024, when we hope to welcome Abhijata. Please note – this isn’t a guarantee, we haven’t yet agreed anything!

Thank you to those who were able to attend the AGM. One of the items we covered was agreeing the assessment fee, at £700 per candidate. Planning is underway for the first assessments under the new system. We’ve had some feedback about the cost of becoming a teacher; I’m looking forward to our forthcoming YogaSpace event which is aimed at sharing experiences and understanding what a trainee or mentor should expect from the mentoring process. Meanwhile, the bursary panel is working on agreeing how they will ensure that any trainee who would be unable to take an assessment due to the cost is able to apply for a bursary, through their mentor.

We have been working on ensuring that members feel able to approach us with feedback, and in particular to flag up any incidents or experiences that they are unhappy or concerned about. With the support of the Equity Committee, the Ethics & Appeals Committee have been reviewing our complaints policy and procedure: “Speak Up For Change”. That is to say, members should not feel they have to make a formal complaint before they speak up about something that needs to be changed. The main addition is to create a “precomplaint” stage, where members can report –anonymously or not – occurrences that need to be challenged. For example, if a teacher describes a student as typical of their perceived race or makes a disablist comment, if a student touches a Black student’s hair, or if someone is uncomfortable with a hands-on adjustment. Someone might not consider these worthy of a “formal complaint”, but where we are aware of concerns, we can ensure that we are bringing teachers’ and members’ attention to actions and language that cross boundaries or could be seen as harmful.

On a similar note, some of you will have seen a recent Times article which dealt with the reporting of sexual assault of yoga students and teachers, specifically mentioning teacher training. I want to make it clear that we have received very few reports of sexual impropriety among Iyengar yoga teachers in the UK and Ireland; but of course we cannot assume that no such behaviour will take place. This has prompted us to review and ensure we have the right policies, procedures and attitudes in place to address concerns and complaints around protecting our members, in particular around the risk of harassment and abuse. We believe that we are in a good position but need to be vigilant and mindful. We have our formal complaints process, policies around safeguarding, harassment and bullying guidance on appropriate behaviour and the Teachers’ Handbook. We’ve collaborated with the Ethics Committee to develop a policy on personal

relationships which will help teachers to consider the potential impact of the teacher-student power imbalance.

The website refresh will bring these policies and guidelines together to give easier access to the Complete Guide to IY(UK). By the time you read this, the website will have launched, with improved navigability and teacher/class search functionality. This is where you will find our new Equity Policy.

Secretary Philippe Harari

In the last issue of IYN, we announced the retirement of a number of Moderators. The role of Moderator no longer exists and so we invited applications from Assessors to join the Assessment and Teaching Committee. The following people have now been appointed: Lin Craddock, Isabel Jones Fielding, Rachel Lovegrove, Frances McKee, Shaili Shafai and Edgar Stringer.

Aisling Guirke has come to the end of her tenure as Chair of the Ethics and Appeals Committee and has been replaced by another member of that Committee, Frances McKee. This means that Frances will also be a member of the IY(UK) Executive Council and the Board. This left a vacancy on the Ethics and Appeals Committee, which has now been filled by Andrew Paine.

We have been looking for a Deputy Treasurer for a while and are glad to announce that this role has been taken up by Nick Johnson, who will also join the Executive Council and the Board.

Please do take some time to read this and become familiar with how IY(UK) is committed to promoting equality of access, opportunity, outcome and experience for our members and our non-member students; what you can expect either as a member, or as a non-member attending an Iyengar yoga class; and our key expectations of language and behaviours related to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Jo Mitchell was co-opted to the Communications and PR Committee and was also elected as Individual Representative; she will join the Executive Council in this role. Sally Lee is being replaced as North East London Iyengar Yoga representative on the EX by Louise Leonard. Sally will remain on the Communications and PR Committee as a co-opted member.

A full list of all the IY(UK) Committee members are listed in this magazine and is kept up-to-date on our website.

Finally, just to reiterate that, although we do have paid administrators in the IY(UK), it is primarily a voluntary association. There are currently a couple of important roles unfilled (Deputy Secretary and Deputy Chair) but, overall, we have an enthusiastic, committed and capable team of volunteers. If ever you feel you would like to get more involved yourself, please get in touch.

Treasurer

Michelle Pendergast

The financial statements for the year January 2021 to December 2021 were approved by the Board in April 2022 and presented at the AGM in May 2022. The profit and loss accounts submitted showed a surplus of £126,790 (2020: deficit £3,627). The Balance Sheet at 31 December 2021 maintained healthy net assets of £263,151 (2020: £136,361). The company is in a stable financial position and has sufficient reserves to underpin all ongoing activities.

The budget for 2022, as approved in October 2021, presented a small surplus of £106. This is monitored and reforecast throughout the year, to reflect actual activity and known changes.

Following the generous donations from IY(UK) members, £13,500 is being made to Bellur Trust in respect of the donations received during 2021 (2020: £9,716).

The IY (UK) membership year is April to March, the fees for 2023/24 take account of the increase as approved at the AGM.

The Certification Mark fee for 2022/23 is based on US$50. It will be updated on 1 November 2022 to reflect the exchange rate that is in place on that date.

Membership Secretary

Julian Lindars

At this time of year, we have a much better picture of our membership numbers, as by now we have processed the bulk of the non-teacher memberships, and some postponed teacher memberships have now been restarted.

The figures below show a downward trend, which is perhaps only to be expected. Although the effects of the pandemic on society may have eased, the outlook for Iyengar yoga is still a matter of concern. The cost of living crisis is likely to pose serious difficulties for teachers and yoga centres as people tighten their belts. Even if Covid does become generally more manageable, it is likely to be a while before we return to the world of packed-out classes and workshops – indeed if we ever do. The rise of online teaching, a godsend in the pandemic years and an important tool for increasing accessibility to yoga, could prove to be something of a doubleedged sword. It is hard to see online classes as an adequate alternative to the shared experience of a class under the watchful eye and skilled hands of a teacher in the room – particularly for beginners. The breadth and scope of yoga classes available online may work against drawing new students into the Iyengar community, and could impact upon the nurture and development of a new generation of teachers.

With this in mind we are trying to give as much support to our Member Groups as possible and hope to foster a sustainable growth of Iyengar yoga in our communities. The new website (which will be available before our next renewal period)

has attempted to -clear up some of the confusion around joining IY(UK) through a Member Group. Member Groups are each given their own branded page that can help the user make a decision about which one to join – or whether to join as an individual member. Groups will be able to link to these pages from their own websites, providing the potential for a seamless experience between the Member Group and the IY(UK) sites.

One really exciting aspect of the new website is the introduction of an automated joining and renewal system for non-teacher members. This means that non-teacher members will be able to join at any time of year and enjoy a full twelve-month membership. The process will be quick and simple, and will send instant welcome emails at the point of payment as well as renewal reminders shortly before the membership is due to expire.

In the coming months we intend to review our relationship with independent yoga centres across the country. We want to see what we can do to help them in the current climate, as we feel that they have a crucial role to play in the promotion and development of Iyengar yoga in the UK.

TOTAL MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS

Member Groups

Avon Iyengar Yoga (AIY)

Ginny Owen aiy@iyengaryoga.org.uk www.avoniyengar.org

Bradford & District Iyengar Yoga (BDIY)

Alan Brown info@bdiyi.org.uk www.bdiyi.org.uk

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga (CIY)

Sasha Perryman sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk

www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk

Dorset & Hampshire Iyengar Yoga (DHIY)

Pauline Green admin@dhiy.org www.dhiy.org

Dublin Iyengar Yoga Group (DIY) dubliniyengaryoga@gmail.com

www.dubliniyengaryoga.ie

East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga (ESIY)

Gilly Dennis esiyoga@outlook.com www.esiy.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Sussex (IYS)

Brian Ingram admin@iyengaryogasussex.org.uk www.iyengaryogasussex.org.uk

iYoga Glasgow

Patrick Boase iyogaglasgow@gmail.com www.iyogaglasgow.co.uk

Kent Iyengar Yoga (KIY)

Glenda Jackson kiyisecretary@gmail.com

www.kentiyengaryoga.co.uk

Liverpool Iyengar Yoga (LIY)

Elaine Keating liverpooliyengaryoga@gmail.com

www.yoga-studio.co.uk

Midland Counties Iyengar Yoga (MCIY)

Annie Beatty info@mciy.org.uk www.mciy.org.uk

Manchester & District Iyengar Yoga (MDIY) Clare Tunstall info@mdiiy.org.uk www.manchesteriyengaryoga.org.uk

Munster Iyengar Yoga (MIY) munsteriyengaryoga@gmail.com

www.miyoga.org

North East England Iyengar Yoga (NEEIY)

Gael Henry info@iyengaryoganortheast.com www.iyengaryoganortheast.com

North East London Iyengar Yoga (NELIY)

Louise Leonard membership@neliy.org.uk

www.facebook.com/NELIYI

Oxford & Region Iyengar Yoga (ORIY)

Mary Fitzpatrick maryfitzpatrick10@icloud.com www.oriy.org.uk

Sheffield & District Iyengar Yoga (SADIY) Lorraine Bonete lorraine.bonete@gmail.com www.yogasheffield.org

South West Iyengar Yoga (SWIY) Karen Calder karencalder@hotmail.co.uk www.swiyengaryoga.org.uk

South West London & Surrey (SWLSIY)

Jane Howard swlsiyengaryoga@gmail.com www.swlsiy.org.uk

Affiliated Centres

Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.congletonyogacentre.com

Christina Niewola 01260 279565 / 07970186109

Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.yoga-edinburgh.com

info@yoga-edinburgh.com

0131 229 6000

Hereford Yoga Centre

www.herefordyoga.co.uk

Jenny-May While 01432 353324

Iyengar Yoga Studio East Finchley

Patsy Sparksman, Wendy Sykes, Genevieve Wilcox

www.theiyengaryogastudio.co.uk

020 8815 1918

Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex

Susan Long

www.iyce.com

07460 101510

Iyengar Yoga London Maida Vale iyengaryogalondon.co.uk

Alan Reynolds 020 7624 3080

Iyengar Yoga in the Mews

www.iyengaryogainthemews.co.uk

Nathalie Blondel 07812 010924

Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford

www.iyogawestbridgford.uk

Isabel Jones Fielding & Geoffrey Fielding 0115 9749975

Knutsford Iyengar Yoga Centre www.knutsfordyoga.co.uk

Margaret Carter 07807 348441

Maidstone Yoga Centre www.iyengar-yoga.co.uk

Lin Craddock 01622 685864

Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre

www.sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk

Frances Homewood 07944 169238

Wye Valley Yoga www.wyevalleyyoga.com

Cori and Pete Norton 01497 820021

YogaSouth Sussex www.yogasouth.com

Randall Evans & Cathy Rogers Evans, 01903 762850 / 07774 318105

Yogatree www.yogatree.co.uk

Edgar Stringer and Lydia Holmes 01249 247071

Contact your local Member Group or Affiliated Centre for details of events and classes. For queries about policies or practices of IY(UK), contact your Member Group or Individual Rep.

IY(UK) Executive Council

Officers:

Chair Charlotte Everitt chair@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Chair VACANCY

Secretary Philippe Harari philippe.harari@runbox.com

Deputy Secretary VACANCY

Treasurer Michelle Pendergast michelle@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Treasurer Nick Johnson nick@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Membership Sec. Julian Lindars memsec@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Memb. Sec. Elaine Morrison elainemorrison.yoga@gmail.com

Constitution Officer Rebecca Baron rebecca@dower24.co.uk

Chair of AT Jayne Orton jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com

Chair of EA Frances McKee f.mckee2@gmail.com

Chair of Equity Margaret Hall margaret.rosehall@yahoo.co.uk

Chair of Therapy Sheila Haswell therapy@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Member Group Reps:

Avon Ginny Owen ginnyowen@hotmail.com

Bradford & District Helen White white.helen@btinternet.com

Cambridge Kate Middleton ktmiddleton@yahoo.co.uk

Dorset & Hampshire Pauline Green pauline.yoga@outlook.com

Dublin Melanie Taylor melaniet4@gmail.com

East of Scotland Sue Cresswell sue.cresswell@hotmail.com

Glasgow Tina Freeland theindisputable@hotmail.com

Sussex Bev Appleby bev.appleby.yoga@gmail.com

Kent Margaret Hall margaret.rosehall@yahoo.co.uk

Liverpool

Minna Alanko-Falola minna@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Midland Counties Nicola Scott nicolavesper@aol.com

Manchester & District Sacha Cash quitgrabbing@me.com

Manchester & District Clare Tunstall clare@mdiiy.org.uk

Munster Perry Simpson simpsonperry@icloud.com

North East Caroline Earl carolinejpearl@yahoo.com

North East London Louise Leonard louise@louiseleonard.co.uk

Oxford Tanya De Leersnyder tanya@guyellis.com

Sheffield & District Emma Rattenbury 61emmaratt@gmail.com

South West VACANCY

South West London & Surrey Elaine Morrison elainemorrison.yoga@gmail.com

Individual Geoffrey Fielding geoffrey@movement4health.co.uk

Individual Maria Hrisoheraki goldy.yogaonline@yahoo.gr

Individual Jo Mitchell joclark2020@yahoo.co.uk

Individual Ingrid Olsen ingridolsen@gmail.com

Individual Elaine Spraggett elainebev@me.com

Individual Helen Townsend helen.townsend@hotmail.com

IY(UK) Committee Members

Board

Rebecca Baron, Charlotte Everitt, Margaret Hall, Philippe Harari, Sheila Haswell, Nick Johnson, Julian Lindars, Frances McKee, Jayne Orton, Michelle Pendergast

Assessment & Training Management Committee:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Debbie Bartholomew, Aisling Guirke, Sheila Haswell, Lydia Holmes, Patricia James, Jayne Orton, Katie Rutherford

Assessments and Timetabling:

Lucy Aldridge, Frances McKee, Katie Rutherford, Sallie Sullivan, Kate Woodcock

Professional Development Days, MAT and Specialised Training:

Eileen Cameron, Lin Craddock, Lydia Holmes, Isabel Jones Fielding, Rachel Lovegrove, Edgar Stringer

Manuals and Assessment Paperwork:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Helen Graham, Meg Laing, Cathy Rogers-Evans

Learning Modules:

Tricia James, Alicia Lester, Susan Long, Edgar Stringer

Mentor and Assessor Support:

Kirsten Agar Ward, Debbie Bartholomew, Aisling Guirke, Meg Laing, Jayne Orton, Shaili Shafai, Kate Woodcock

Committee Members

Kirsten Agar Ward, Lucy Aldridge, Debbie Bartholomew, Eileen Cameron, Lin Craddock, Helen Graham, Aisling Guirke, Sheila Haswell, Lydia Holmes, Trisha James, Isabel Jones Fielding, Meg Laing, Alicia Lester, Susan Long, Rachel Lovegrove, Frances McKee, Jayne Orton, Cathy Rogers-Evans, Katie Rutherford, Shaili Shafai, Edgar Stringer, Sallie Sullivan, Kate Woodcock

Archives

Sue Cresswell, Randall Evans, Suzanne Newcombe

Children, Young Adults & Families

Annie Beatty, Uday Bhosale, Sacha Cash, Sarah Delfas, Suzanne Gribble, Korinna Pilafidis-Williams

Communications & Public Relations

Joan Abrams, Minna Alanko-Falola, Alice Chadwick, Charlotte Everitt, Sally Lee, Jo Mitchell, Katie Owens, Poppy Pickles, Perry Simpson

Equity

Lucy Dalley, Sue Forde, Tina Freeland, Margaret Hall, Isabel Jones Fielding, Claire Satha, Helen Townsend

Ethics & Appeals

Toni Elliot, Gael Henry, Frances McKee, Andrew Paine, Jane Walker

Finance & Membership

Julian Lindars, Elaine Morrison, Michelle Pendergast, Katie Owens, Andy Tait, Jess Wallwork, Kate Woodcock

Iyengar Yoga Development Fund

Jen Henwood, Elaine Spraggett, Helen White

Research

Cleo Edwards, Suzanne Newcombe, Perry Simpson

Therapy

Sheila Haswell, Elaine Martin, Lorraine McConnon, Larissa McGoldrick, Patsy Sparksman, Edgar Stringer, Judith van Dop

Note: the Chair of each Committee is in bold

Emergency First Aid at Work Courses for Yoga Teachers

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Holding regular courses for numerous Studios, you can be sure these high-quality courses are aimed at Yoga Teachers by a Trainer who specialises in First Aid Course Provision.

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Sunday 23 October 2022

Sunday 13 November 2022

Sunday 04 December 2022

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Sunday 26 February 2023

Sunday 26 March 2023

Uxbridge, London, UB8 2RR

Thursday 27 October 2022

Sunday 06 November 2022

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Thursday 26 January 2023

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Tuesday 21 February 2023

Thursday 02 March 2023

Sunday 05 March 2023

Wednesday 15 March 2023

Tuesday 04 April 2023

Seaford, Sussex, BN25 2AB

Saturday 19 November 2022

Sunday 15 January 2023

Sunday 19 February 202

Slough, Berkshire, SL3 7TP

Monday 17 October 2022

Wednesday 16 November 2022

Monday 12 December 2023

This is a selection of our schedule. Further courses dates in 2023 are shown on our website.

To book your place please visit www.mgmtraining.co.uk

(Please note off-line bookings incur an additional administration fee)

We are also holding First Aid for Mental Health courses –please check our website for details

MGM Training Limited also offers ‘in-house’ courses for Studios, groups, CPD, and Teacher Training Classes, where we will visit your venue and provide a course for up to and including twelve students anywhere within the UK and outside the UK. In-house courses are charged on an extremely competitive course price.

E X C L U S I V E D I S C O U N T S

As an Iyengar Yoga (UK) member or Iyengar yoga teacher, you get exclusive discounts at Yogamatters

To register for your exclusive discount, simply visit yogamatters com/iyuk or scan the code below and register as an IY (UK) Member