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IYENGAR YOGA NEWS

Iyengar Yoga and

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I YENGAR® Y OGA (UK)

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

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

Editorial team: Minna Alanko-Falola, Mark Jolly and Sara Ledwith

Welcome to IYN! We were brought together and expertly guided by Sunita Parthasarathy, one of Guruji's five daughters, at the online Convention in May. Sunita’s teachings combined yoga āsanas and philosophy, with focus on the five Ayurvedic elements.

You can read more about the elements in Prashant Iyengar’s article from the Yoga Rahasya archive on page 10. Yoga Rahasya – the title means 'yoga secrets' or 'mystery' – is the official magazine of RIMYI. It is distributed for IY(UK) by Kirsten Agar of the Yogvidya store. The current volume for 2025, 31, is available to order and you can pre-order volume 32 now, using the QR code here. https://www.yogawithkirsten.co.uk/store

We’re delighted to welcome two new editorial team members, Mark Jolly and Sara Ledwith. Both bring extensive journalistic experience.

Enjoy the read!

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Designer: Cathy Tincknell

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

Corrections to IYN 47: An important point was omitted in Tina Freeland’s IYDF article (pp 42-43). The primary reason students attend the classes is because they are specifically for people of colour and they feel supported in that environment, not because they are in need of financial assistance.

Photo right: John Ferrabee Cover image: Sharon Gleeson

Pancha Tattva - the Five Elements Prashant S Iyengar

Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex

Susan Long

Does Yoga Help the Heart and Lungs? Dr Deoraj Zamvar

Elaine Pigeon: Life and Legacy

Kirsty MacGregor

Iyengar Yoga and Men

Mark Jolly, Sharon Gleeson

Scoliosis, Yoga and Me

Emma Harrison

Insights from Srineet Sridharan

Iyengar Yoga Development

Fund Opens Helen White

Staying True to the Method

Kirsten Agar, Sheila Haswell, Jo Mitchell

Exchange of Learning Days

Edgar Stringer

Exchange of Learning

Dates 2025-26 Lin Craddock

Autumn Detox Sequence

Chiara Travisi, Svenja Karstens

Obituary: Marion Kilburn

Julie Royle, Lydia Holmes

IY(UK) Reports

and

Convention 2025 with Sunita Parthasarathy

Jess Wallwork

In May, we were delighted to welcome Sunita Parthasarathy, daughter of Yogacharya Sri BKS Iyengar, and sister of Smt. Geeta Iyengar, to teach our annual convention online, direct from Pune. Almost 500 practitioners joined together for the weekend. Sunita’s teaching and wisdom is steeped in the teachings of RIMYI, based on a lifetime of practice and study under her late father and sister. With her trademark clarity and strength, Sunita led us through an exploration of the five elements (pancha mahabhuta) in practice.

Sunita opened her first class with reference to Guruji’s 85th birthday hand-out, where the five elements begin the presentation [see references]. Guruji connected the five elements with āsana practice, and Sunita was keen to begin our study of them. She said: “When we practise, we have to try to trace them, recognise them and if possible understand them, understand it to find out their existence in our body."

Through the first morning, we began to sense ether in the broadening of the heels and the opening of the toes and, holding that space, air as mobility, fire as form, shape, brightness, warmth,

resistance, alignment; water as fluidity, flow, roll, evenness, reflection; earth as structure, weight, grip, firmness, stability

“This is a background and we have to find out in each and every asana.”

“The function of pṛthvī-tattva is positioning of the structure of the body for that particular āsana. I have to see that my body fits into āsana. I have to put my body into that structure. Water element has got fluidity and it gives reflection.”

Sunita observing the earth and water elements.

“The sternum gets lifted so it is the fire area which ascends. That is why we always hear, ‘lift your chest up!’ in every asana, because that fire should not extinguish, it has to remain burning.”

Sunita encouraging observation of the fire element.

“Such a privilege to hear the wisdom, simplicity, depth of your teaching, Sunita-ji, you are an inspiration.”

The

sequences

Saturday

Tāḍāsana

Utthita Hasta Pāśāsana

Utthita Pārśva Pāśāsana

Utthita Trikoņāsana

Utthita Pārśvakoņāsana

Vīrabhadrāsana I

Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

Uttānāsana

Paschimottānāsana

Bharadvājāsana

Śīrṣāsana (or Prasārita

Pādotānāsana)

Sarvāngāsana (or Setu

Bandha Sarvāngāsana)

Sunday

Tāḍāsana

Uttānāsana

Ardha Chandrāsana

Vīrabhadrāsana III

Prasārita Pādotānāsana

Paschimottānāsana

Jānu śīrṣāsana

Parivṛtta Jānu śīrṣāsana

Paschimottānāsana

Śīrṣāsana

Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana

Ustrāsana

Upha Vistha Koņāsana

Ūrdhva dhanurāsana

Attendee Attendee

Śavāsana

“The focus on the five elements was so liberating and revealing for my practice.”

Vīparita Daņḍāsana

Bharadvājāsana

Sarvāngāsana (or supported

Halāsanaor Setu Bandha

Sarvāngāsana)

Śavāsana

Grateful thanks to the demonstrators Tamara Hockey, Khaled Kendsi, Jayesh Mistry, Rachel Lovegrove, Clare Tunstall and Harshini Wikramanayake.

Our convention T-shirt design features a yantra of yoga vidya, a sacred diagram of the ideology of yoga in bringing union between prakṛti (nature) and puruṣa (consciousness/ spirit). Details taken from Aṣṭadaḷa Yogamālā Volume 8, design by Jess Wallwork.

References (materials sent to attendees following the event)

BKS Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. There is an explanation of the elements in the third chapter: Yoga Sūtra III.45 sthūla svarūpa sūkṣmā anvayā arthavatva saṃyamāt bhūtajayaḥ

By saṃyamā on the elements – their mass, forms, subtlety, conjunction and purposes, the yogi becomes Lord over them all.

Guruji’s 85th birthday hand-out, where the five elements begin the presentation, is available on the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States website: iynaus.org/guruji-85thbirthday-pamphlet/

70 Glorious Years of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar

(Light on Yoga Research Trust) gives an explanation of the Sāṃkhya theory of evolution: iyengaryoga.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u =9b2f57838da62dbd23fb22fc8&id=a0e8151f60 &e=6c460ef615

More recently, LOYT have published Geetaji's talk on Yoga & Ayurveda in a new booklet launched in December 2024.

Astadala Yogamala Volumes 1 to 8 are available at yogawithkirsten.co.uk/store or iyengaryogashop.com/. All volumes are also available on Kindle.

Convention T-shirt, designed by Jess Wallwork, is available online at iyengar-yoga-uk.teemill.com/

Ayurveda Lens of Yoga

through the

Most of us are familiar with the invocation to Patañjali we chant before class, which translates: “To the noblest of sages, Patañjali, who gave us yoga for serenity of mind, grammar for purity of speech and medicine (Ayurveda) for perfecting the body, I bow down and prostrate.” Patañjali systematised yoga, Ayurveda and Sanskrit grammar.

Harshini M Wikramanayake

Ayurveda is known as one of the oldest systems of healing and herbal medicine, which originated around the fifth century in India. It means the science of life: ayur is life and veda can be translated as knowledge.

In December 2024, The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) launched Geeta Iyengar’s book Yoga and Ayurveda. In her talk about yoga and Ayurveda at Guruji’s 70th birthday celebration, Geeta explained that both have the same aim: to relieve human suffering. Ayurveda’s focus is on facilitating a long and healthy life, whereas “yoga teaches us to know what is beyond this ordinary life; it tells us how to make use of this prolonged life with the right purpose of life.”

Yoga and Ayurveda form a continuum, and the body is the gateway or entry point for both (chart 1). The body, as opposed to the mind, is physical – we see, feel and can move it, and interface with it more readily than the mind.

Ayurveda does not differentiate between body and mind, as the body is filled with neurons that think, and the mind must digest, absorb and process mental imprints.

Both yoga and Ayurveda are rooted in Sāṃkhya philosophy stating two fundamental principles: Puruṣa (consciousness and spirit) and Prakṛti (matter and nature). Sāṃkhya is one of the six pillars (Shad Darshana) of Indian philosophy. Both yoga and Ayurveda are part of the vedas and thus considered sister sciences.

Chart 1 Origins of Ayurveda

Yoga Mind

Ayurveda Body

Sanskrit Grammar Speech

The Doshas – Ayurvedic Constitutions

Ayurveda holds that everyone is a unique combination of doshas (literally: a fault or a break), and there are three dosha types: vāta, kapha and pitta Doshas are the qualities that influence all the body’s functions from the biological process to thoughts and feelings. Over time our doshas change. The qualities gather or accumulate, become manifest or are provoked, and are pacified or recede.

Five Great Elements (Pancha Maha Bhuta) Yoga and Ayurveda subscribe to the concept that every human cell is composed of the five elements according to the Sāṃkhya philosophy. These are:

1. Earth 2. Water 3. Fire 4. Air 5. Ether or space

The three doshas are a combination of the five elements (Chart 2). Each dosha has a function in our organism, which is neither good nor bad. Most of us will have some vāta, pitta and kapha (Chart 3). The three doshas are qualities that influence all the body’s functions from biological processes to thoughts and feelings.

Dinachariya

– Daily Routine

As we each have a blueprint of doshas that are individual to us, so the day, season, and our lifespan also have doshas (chart 4).

Ayurveda suggests maintaining a consistent daily routine to help maintain the balance of doshas Ideally, waking up at sunrise or between 6-7am and getting to bed by 10pm is recommended by Ayurveda. Upon waking, say a prayer with gratitude for life and set an intention for the day. Then, have a warm drink of water or water from a copper cup to help facilitate bowel evacuation. Cleansing all five senses, moisturising, washing the body, wearing clean clothes and doing a yoga practice is recommended before breakfast.

Afternoon 2pm-6pm Late Night 2am-6am

Early Mornings 6am-10am Early part of Night 6pm-10pm Mid Morning 10am-2pm Mid Part of Night 10pm-2pm

Similarly, an evening routine facilitates a good night’s sleep. A lighter meal between 6.307.30pm, with the aim of getting to bed by 10pm is ideal. Turning off devices and not watching violent films prepare for a restful end of the day. A daily oil massage, abhyanga, such as anointing of the feet with warm sesame oil, can be performed very simply before bed.

Chart 3 Tridosha

Chart 2 Three Doshas Combine the Five Elements

Vāta Air + Ether

Kapha Water + Earth

Vāta Kapha Pitta

Chart 4 Daily Dosha

Pitta Fire + Water

Chart 5 Seasonal Dosha Season

Jul/Aug/Sept

Sept/Oct/Nov

Early

Nov/Dec/Jan

Jan/Feb/Mar

Mar/Apr/May

May/Jun/Jul

Yoga Practice and the Seasons

There are also dosha cycles for the seasons of the year (chart 5). Geeta Iyengar suggests practising both āsana and prāņāyāma with the understanding of one’s own dosha type as well as the season of the year and stage in life.

Winter is the kapha time of year, giving us strength in both body and mind. Geeta suggests using this season to learn new and more difficult āsana and prāņāyāma, to deepen our understanding. Standing poses, backbends, arm balances, and sequential cycles of these āsana groups, as well as Sūrya Namaskār build both strength and energy. Prāņāyāma such as ujjāyī, kapālabhāti, Bhastrikā, Viloma 1 as well as digital pranayama come better in this season as vāta is pacified.

In summer, the pitta time of the year, more supine postures and cooling poses are recommended: Supta Vīrāsana, Supta Baddha Koņāsana, Matsyāsana, Viparita Dandāsana, inversions and resting forward bends. However, if one is in the kapha stage of life and is strong, a more active practice can also be done. Personal customisation and self-understanding are vital.

Digital pranayama such as Chandra Bhedana, Anuloma, Viloma 2 with interrupted exhalations and Shitali help to pacify pitta in the summer.

In Ayurveda, Rhitu Sandhi, the transitions between the seasons, are ideal times of the year for cleansing and detoxification, especially of the bowels. For this, Geeta suggests standing poses, especially standing twists such as Parivṛtta Trikonāsana, Parivṛtta Pārśvakoņāsana, Uttānāsana and Pārśvottānāsana, abdominals such as Jathara Parivartanāsana and Navasana, and advanced forward bends such as Kurmāsana. Inversions, particularly Sarvāngāsana, free-standing as well as chair Sarvāngāsana and supported Halāsana balance vāta in the abdomen, large intestine and colon. Prāņāyāma such as Viloma, Antara Kumbhaka with bandhas is recommended to control vāta.

A cornerstone of Iyengar yoga is the inclusion of Ayurvedic concepts. In the introduction of Yoga and Ayurveda, Geeta writes that her methods are: “according to Guruji’s guidance and teaching to explore how close Ayurveda and yoga come and where they meet”.

The understanding of Ayurvedic concepts underpins Iyengar yoga teaching of therapeutic yoga and is now a requirement for Level 2 teachers who want to proceed to the next level.

We are fortunate that our practice helps us to become more body-aware so that we feel our needs and realise more easily when we are out of balance. The ancient sciences of yoga and Ayurveda are a perfect combination for a happy and healthy life.

Pancha Tattva

The Five Elements

Prashant S Iyengar

Rahasya Vol. 24 No.4, 2017

First published in Yoga Rahasya Volume 24, Number 4 in 2017

Prithvi tattva the element of earth

• The element of earth stands for firmness and solidity.

• People are strong in their minds if a proper constitution of element of earth is there. Mismanagement of the element of earth puts a person in great misery.

• It can play a positive role and a negative role in the mind-set. If it is weak, mind will be infirm. If it is excessive, mind becomes rigid.

• If it is out of proportion, it results in inertia, dullness and laziness in the body and mind.

• Mūlādhāra chakra is the focus of prithvi tattva.

• Mūlādhāra kriyā deals with the management of the earth element, thereby bringing in courage, solidity and determination in the mind.

• It makes us flexible or inflexible, compromising or non-compromising at the right moment and right place in the right way and in the right amount.

Āp tattva the element of water

• The element of water stands for fluidity.

• Mismanagement of the element of water can create devastating conditions like dehydration or inflammation or water retention problems in the body. Common cold, which is a nagging condition that impacts our mind and body is because of excess of water in the body.

• Water seeps everywhere and takes the shape of the container. The great Sanskrit poet Kalidas remarked that the trend of the mind is downwards like water. As water flows on a downward slope, we also tend to have a mind-set that reels down the slope of passion. So, if the element of water is managed well, our mind will not be like water that flows downwards, but can ascend up towards spiritualism.

• Svadhistāna chakra is the locus of āp tattva.

• When the mind becomes dull, inactive and inert, it is due to kapha dosha. This can be managed by the svadhistāna Kriyā.

• Svadhistāna kriyā will deal with the management of the water element.

• Water is also a symbol of purity. We use water to purify ourselves, not just in the physical sense; water can also play a role in purifying one’s mind.

• Another quality of water is that it is very tender and soft. Now, if we are not tender and soft where we should be, but are tender and soft where we should not be, it is mismanagement of the element of water. E.g. our mind must melt when we look at sorrow-stricken people people; our mind must not melt towards passion.

Tej tattva element of fire

• If the element of fire is mismanaged, the person is fiery where he should not be and not fiery where he should be.

• Imbalance in hunger and thirst is a result of mismanagement of this element.

• Manipuraka chakra is the locus of tej tattva.

• When one becomes irritable, angry, frustrated, passionate and obsessive it is due to pitta dosha. This can be managed by manipuraka kriyā.

Vāyu tattva element of air

• The element of air stands for complete freedom of motion.

• Air can go anywhere and assume any shape.

• Air also has pneumatic power. This air is a form of energy.

• If there is mismanagement, the mind gets stuck where it should be free, and is free where it should be stuck.

• Anāhata chakra is the locus of vāyu tattva.

• Air makes the mind wandering and unsteady.

• When the mind is rambling, infirm, fugitive, restless and turbulent, it is due to vāta dosha. This can be managed by anāhata kriyā.

• Anāhata kriyā also manages hearty vritti and hearty pravrittis.

Ākasha tattva element of space

• Ākasha is ether, the ethereal principle.

• Ether is all-pervasive. The nature of ākasha is to go everywhere and anywhere. Wherever it goes, the mind goes.

• If ākasha tattva is wellmanaged, it will take precaution and care to not allow the mind to go where it should not go.

• Thus, distraction of the mind, which is a problem in spiritualism, can be managed by managing the akasha tattva.

• Vāta mind is fugitive, pitta mind is agitated, kapha mind is dull and inert.

Components of the pancha tattva-s in the body

• Prithvi tattva constitutes the bones. Firmness and strength of the bones comes by the element of earth.

• Āp tattva accounts for our muscles and their movement.

• Tej tattva accounts for the majja, the nervous system.

• Vāyu tattva causes limb and body movements, internal organic movements and metabolic movements. Expansion and contractions are all there because of the element of air.

• Akasha tattva accounts for our kama, krodha, lobha, moha and bhaya vikaras of the mind.

Sharirikopanishad beautifully describes all the elements and their manifestation in the body. For any defect in these aspects, we need pancha tattva kriyā-s. Pancha tattva-s works on the body constitution and on the mind constitution.

Thus, elemental management takes place in āsana-s with the pancha tattva kriyā-s. These kriyā-s cannot be carried out without the application of the kriyā-s of pancha vayu-s, pancha prāna-s and shat chakra-s. This works on the citta.

Mismanagement takes place in different sets of postures in different ways. The five elements will be profoundly worked upon in different sets of postures. So, there are many postures, not in order to make things complicated, but to give profound access to various kriyā-s.

The refines and evolution that follows these kriyā-s is not an external brainwash by a philosophy, philosopher, sermon or gospel, but is inherent and intrinsic. This creates an assembly whereby you make headway towards a spiritual state of existence.

In February 1995, a small group of Iyengar Yoga practitioners met at Susan Long's house to discuss the development of Iyengar yoga in Essex. We decided to set up an organisation and call it the Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex.

Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex (IYCE)

Guruji’s name had to come first in our title

We wanted it to be hub where information could be exchanged and shared. We wrote to Guruji and he supported us and gave permission to include his name.

Our inaugural day was 18 November 1995, and that day we focused on connections between various asanas and connections within asanas. It was taught by Susan Long, Lesley Buckley, Arlette McLaren and Geoff Harding.

Left: Marking Guruji's 90th year at the Mind, Body Soul Exhibition, Brentwood.

Susan Long

Above: Workshop wih Lesley Buckley and Susan Long, May 1997 to raise funds for cerebral palsy

Above:Yoga Day with Lilian Biggs at the Christian Centre, Writtle September 2000

Our activities included: providing advice and information about classes; publishing a newsletter; organising workshops and yoga days; training teachers and providing yoga equipment.

We maintained a list of all the Iyengar yoga classes in the county, which was sent to anyone who enquired. Today, our website (iyce.com) includes details of all the public classes in Essex. At the start of 2025 there were more than 70 classes each week.

Our events are taught either by guest or Essex teachers. Our silver jubilee year was 2020 and our celebrations started well with an in-depth weekend of yoga with Julie Brown. Unfortunately the other events were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Right: IYCE's celebration of Guruji's 95th birthday event in December 2013. Classes were taught by Nikki Hollas, Karen de Villiers and Susan Long.

Below: July 2015 at Highwood with Jayne Orton.

The events to celebrate the 30th Anniversary have included a weekend with Lydia Holmes and Edgar Stringer; a first aid course for teachers; workshops with with Sarah Toward and Claire Hanrahan; a yoga day with Jayne Orton and a mentoring session, also with Jayne. Our final event will take place on 15 November and will include a free class taught by Paul Brown, a talk by Susan Long and a question and answer session with a panel of Level Three teachers.

IYCE News is free. It focuses on Iyengar yoga events in Essex and has included selected yoga sūtras and Guruji's translations.

The year of 2014 was pivotal for Iyengar yoga. On 20 August 2014 our dear Guruji departed this world. The October 2014 issue of IYCE News was a commemorative issue and many people wrote or spoke of their encounters with Guruji and how his work had influenced their lives.

The second blow was when Geetaji died on 16 December 2018 and since then we have strived to make our practice worthy of them both.

When IYCE was set up there were five Iyengar yoga teachers in Essex and today there are 22. A few teachers have moved away, some have retired or died, but we have been privileged to welcome others who trained to teach elsewhere and subsequently moved into Essex.

The first introductory teacher training course organised by IYCE ran from 1997 to 1999 and was taught by Jayne Orton, and Susan shadowed Jayne. Four trainees successfully completed the course and gained their introductory certificates in 1999. Over the years, IYCE has trained 26 new Iyengar yoga teachers and helped 11 upgrade.

In recent years we have hosted professional development events for teachers via the programme of Exchange of Learning Days. Today, Essex has 11 Level One teachers, five Level Two teachers, and seven Level Three, two of whom are therapy teachers and one a mentor.

Above and below: National Iyengar Yoga Day January 2019. A group of Essex teachers had attended Yoganushasanam which inspired the workshop.

IYCE provides yoga equipment in order to keep the prices reasonable. For many years, Susan Newton oversaw this and it is now done by Michelle Galliano.

In 2015 IYCE was registered as a charity with the number 1161362. We had hoped to get a dedicated building where classes and activities could take place but our funding option collapsed so we, in common with most Iyengar yoga teachers in Essex, continue to hire venues.

IYCE has always been run by volunteers, most of whom are qualified Iyengar yoga teachers. The initial organisers were Susan Long, Lesley Buckley and Sue Newton.

Lesley was a founder member of IYCE. She helped organise and run many of the IYCE events and behind the scenes she would book venues, look after guest teachers at her home, provide refreshments at yoga days. She was a driving force behind much of the development work and a truly inspirational teacher and a dedicated practitioner. Whether as a friend, teacher or colleague Lesley enriched the lives of those who knew her. She peacefully departed this world in 2010.

The current Trustees who run IYCE are Vashti Davis (secretary), Michelle Galliano, Agipelika Giddings, Sandra Hitchcock, Sharon Murphy chair), Stephannie Percy (treasurer) and Sophie Reynolds.

Above: Highwood with Jayne Orton during October 2024.

Below: Pixie Lillas workshop June 2024.

Does Yoga Help the Heart and Lungs?

Dr Zamvar is a senior physician and practising cardiologist in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. As part of his MSc research, he examined the effects of long-term yoga practice on the structure and function of the heart. Supported by the IY(UK) Research Committee to recruit Iyengar teachers for that study, he now seeks advanced practitioners with a regular prāņāyāma practice to join his research.

Ihave long recognised the deep connection between physical and mental health and overall well-being. Yoga reflects this connection, helping to strengthen the body, calm the mind and support better health. As an ancient discipline, it is increasingly embraced in the modern world for its natural and balanced approach to wellness. I began a personal journey with morning prāņāyāma in 2018 and gradually incorporated basic yoga postures into my daily life, so during my Master's in Sports Cardiology I was keen to explore the effect of regular yoga practice on the structure and function of the heart.

This led to a small study comparing the cardiorespiratory functions of yoga practitioners with athletes. We know the heart adapts to physical activity through increased chamber size, thickening of the heart muscle and a lower resting heart rate. Well-trained athletes' hearts contract slightly less forcefully than others’ when at rest, as they meet the body's circulatory

demands with reduced effort. With the help of the IY(UK) Research Committee, I was able to recruit Iyengar teachers to join the study, which did not differentiate between Iyengar and other styles. There were eight participants, of whom six were Iyengar teachers. One taught vinyāsa yoga and one was a hatha yoga instructor. All had over 10 years of regular practice. Six were female. Their ages ranged from 40 to 67 years, averaging the mid-50s.

All led disciplined lifestyles and spent several hours a week engaged in yoga, either teaching or practising. Notably, their practice was primarily focused on the first three limbs of ashtanga yoga — yamas (ethical restraints), niyamas (self-discipline) and āsanas (postures), with less engagement in prāņāyāma (breath control).

None of the participants did other structured exercise, apart from walking, and none reported participating in any additional physical activity, so the effects I observed could be attributed primarily to their long-term yoga practice.

Dr Deoraj Zamvar

I conducted a comprehensive set of tests: electrocardiograms (ECG), echocardiograms, lung function tests, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and 24-hour heart monitoring.

Here’s what I found:

ECG records the heart’s electrical activity and provides insights into heart rate, rhythm, and the overall health of the heart muscle. In this study, all participants showed normal ECG readings. Unlike endurance athletes, there were no indications of myocardial thickening or significantly lower resting heart rates.

Echocardiograms are ultrasound scans of the heart, using sound waves to create moving images of the function of the heart chambers and valves.

Participants’ hearts showed normal chamber dimensions and wall thickness, with excellent contractile function. There were no structural adaptations such as those observed in endurance athletes.

Lung function tests were carried out using a device called a spirometer. The participant takes a deep breath in and then forcefully exhales into the device, which measures how much air they can breathe out and how quickly. Lung function was assessed using two key measurements: FEV₁ (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second—the volume of air exhaled in the first second of a forceful breath out) and FVC (Forced Vital Capacity—the total amount of air exhaled during the entire breath). Remarkably, all participants showed lung ages younger than their actual age, suggesting enhanced respiratory health. In one striking example, a participant’s lung age was estimated to be half their biological age, based on their FEV₁ score—a finding that reflects exceptional lung efficiency.

Illustration: Vecteezy

CPET measures how well the heart, lungs and muscles work together during exercise. It shows how much oxygen the body can use, helping to assess overall fitness and endurance. The participant pedals on an exercise bike wearing a mask that measures breathing and oxygen levels. The resistance on the bike gradually increases, making it harder to pedal, until the participant reaches their limit. The increased workload results in a shift from aerobic respiration—when the body uses oxygen efficiently for energy—to anaerobic respiration, when energy is produced without enough oxygen, often leading to fatigue. Well-trained athletes can sustain aerobic respiration for longer and very close to their maximum exercise capacity, which reflects superior cardiovascular conditioning and endurance.

Female participants in the study averaged peak oxygen consumption of about 36 ml/kg/minute, which is significantly higher than that of a sedentary individual and suggests moderate physical fitness. Female athletes in their 50s typically achieve peak oxygen consumption of 35–45+ ml/kg/minute, while sedentary women of similar age usually reach only 20–25 ml/kg/minute. This suggests that yoga improves oxygen efficiency, though not to levels seen in athletes.

In 24-hour heart monitoring, heart rates remained within a healthy range. However, unlike athletes the participants did not show unusually low resting heart rates.

These findings were not unexpected. The yoga practitioners exhibited excellent overall heart health but did not demonstrate the same cardiac adaptations seen in elite endurance athletes. Unlike endurance training, yogāsanas do not place significant strain on the heart. Additionally, the average age of participants was in the mid-50s, whereas endurance athletes are typically much younger.

Master athletes (those over 35) also show cardiac adaptations, but these changes are not as pronounced as in younger ones. A comparison between master athletes and long-term yoga practitioners would provide valuable insights into the effects of both disciplines on heart health.

Expanding the research

Moving forward, I intend to broaden my focus to include assessments of autonomic function, balance and coordination. The autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary bodily functions, consists of the sympathetic (fight-orflight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) branches. In trained athletes, a dominance of parasympathetic activity is observed, contributing to overall cardiovascular efficiency.

I hypothesise that advanced yoga practitioners will exhibit similar parasympathetic predominance, with enhanced balance, coordination and overall wellbeing.

Participants in my next study will ideally be capable of challenging asanas such as freestanding hand balance (Adho Mukha Vṛkṣāsana) and have a regular pranayama practice. While asanas are widely practiced and recognised for their physical benefits, I suspect that prāņāyāma offers equally profound, if not greater, physiological advantages.

All participants showed lung ages younger than their biological age. One individual’s lung function measured nearly half their chronological age, suggesting exceptional lung efficiency

Through continued research and collaboration, I hope to contribute to the growing body of scientific literature that validates yoga as a powerful tool for enhancing cardiovascular and overall well-being. Yoga is far more than just an exercise; it is a path

to optimal health, inner peace, and profound selfawareness. I look forward to continued collaboration with the IY(UK) community to recruit dedicated participants for this expanded study.

Level 3 Iyengar yoga teacher Aimi Dunstan, 53, took part in the tests. She said the intensity of the cycling exercise was the most memorable. “You naturally fall into observing the use of your breath and how it can help with your endurance."

Iyengar Yoga

Elaine Pidgeon

A Life in Iyengar yoga and the Legacy of Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre

Kirsty MacGregor

As Elaine Pidgeon opens the door to her Edinburgh home, her face lights up with warmth and delight. We settle in her lovely garden, scones and coffee on a tray between us, and begin to trace over half a century of Elaine’s yoga journey. It’s a memorable conversation.

Several themes arise: the deep simplicity of Elaine’s relationship with Guruji; the enduring bonds with her fellow practitioners and teachers; the formative role of the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre in nurturing a yoga community. Her story is one of love, dedication, and service — to her teacher, to the practice, and to the wider Iyengar community in the UK.

“I Just Loved Him”

When Elaine speaks of B.K.S. Iyengar, her voice fills with reverence. “I just loved him,” she says plainly, recalling how captivated she was by his charisma, genius, and compassion. It was in 1981, on her first trip to Pune with Bob Welham and others, that Elaine met Guruji in person. She vividly remembers his powerful presence at the Institute, and the remarkable classes that followed.

“In one class, I was overwhelmed,” she recalls. “I had recently lost my father. I just wept — and I wasn’t the only one.”

At the end of the class, Guruji simply said, “Some of you have found this difficult. Come back to the evening class. I will put you back together.” And, she says, “He did.” Through breath, alignment, and extraordinary insight, he could bring the mind back to stillness.

Left: Pat Tuersly, Meg Laing and Elaine Pidgeon with Guruji in Edinburgh, late 1990s.

Above: Elaine pictured for the new EIYC website, 2012.

Early Steps and a Teacher’s Path

Elaine’s Iyengar yoga journey began in the 1970s, with classes with William Mowatt Thompson. She was soon attending sessions with Bob and Kathy Welham at the University, after their return from three months in Pune. Bob, she recalls, was “on fire” with what he had learned. “Kathy was so strong — quietly competent. Bob, by contrast, was almost ruthless in his commitment.”

In 1978, Bob invited Elaine to join the first Iyengar teacher training programme in Scotland. She qualified in 1980. “I’ve been incredibly fortunate,” she says. “Bob and Kathy gave me so much. Bob was sharp in the way Guruji was and I benefited from that.”

Circles of Community and Support

Elaine’s path was constantly supported by a close circle of dedicated practitioners. Alan Cameron and Meg Laing became Scotland’s only other certified teachers at the time, alongside Bob and Kathy. Their return from Pune helped establish a firm foundation for the emerging teaching community.

Key early teachers and close colleagues included Catriona Instrell, Janet Lumbard, Tom Yeudall from Glasgow, Catero Hawkins and Meg Laing — friends whose shared commitment shaped the ethos of the centre. Their collaboration brought momentum and warmth to those foundational years. Over the years, Meg and Elaine’s deep friendship evolved into a wonderful teaching partnership and they co-led teacher training programmes for aspiring teachers from all over Scotland.

These individuals — teachers and students alike — helped sustain a culture of learning, encouragement, and mutual respect that defined the Edinburgh Iyengar community.

Right: Elaine in Eka pāda viparīta daņḍāsana for the EIYC website, 2012.

Guruji Comes to Edinburgh

In 1984, Guruji visited Edinburgh. “It just felt natural — of course he would come,” Elaine says, but admits it was also nerve-racking. He arrived by train with a small group, staying with Bob and Kathy. Jody Higgs organised a demonstration, and Guruji observed classes. “He wanted to see us teach. His presence just filled the room.”

Holding the Centre

When Bob and Cathy moved to Bristol in 1986, they asked Elaine to become the manager of the Edinburgh Centre in Bruntsfield. It was a serendipitous moment: recovering from a bout of dysentery, she had decided to scale back from full-time school teaching. Managing the centre, which she later owned from 1998 to 2014, brought new purpose. “I was probably the right person — I’m a terrific nitpicker!” she laughs.

For nearly three decades, Elaine brought her perseverance and devotion to the heart of the

1990s.

centre. “What I miss now,” she reflects, “is the steadying influence of the centre — and all the people who come to learn there.”

A Time of Transition

2014 saw a turning point. Elaine had long felt the centre should be owned collectively; it felt like the time to take a step back. “This is a community project,” she said firmly, “and it should stay a community project.”

A gathering at Elaine and Trevor’s home laid the groundwork. A small, dedicated group explored options, and Lesley Johnston suggested investigating the legal model of a Community Benefit Society. From this seed, the next phase of the centre’s life began to grow.

Left: Meg and Elaine dancing in the early

Right: Meg and Elaine sitting in the Hotel Chetak in Pune, 2016.

Elaine continued to teach for another decade, offering continuity, wisdom, and mentorship. A strong committee and administration team took up the day-to-day running. “The right people always seem to come,” she reflects, “or perhaps one waits until they arrive.”

A Legacy of Practice and Service

Elaine’s contributions extend far beyond Bruntsfield. She served as Chair of the UK Iyengar Yoga Association during the challenging introduction of the certification mark, a period that required both resolve and diplomacy. “Guruji wanted this,” she said simply, “so of course it needed to happen. I had such gratitude for all he gave me — and us.”

She also worked nationally as an assessor, mentor, and trainer, helping to sustain the quality and integrity of Iyengar yoga teaching across the UK. And through it all, her own practice remained steady — deeply informed by her time with Guruji and his senior Indian students.

Elaine’s relationship with Guruji remained heartfelt and humble: “Bowing to him my heart was opened up.”

Elaine Pidgeon’s story is one of quiet dedication and steady leadership. Over more than 50 years, she helped build not only a physical yoga centre, but a living, breathing community — one rooted in the teachings of BKS Iyengar and held together by shared commitment, generosity, and love. As the Bruntsfield centre in Edinburgh continues to evolve, Elaine’s presence remains part of its foundation — a guiding light on the path of practice.

Above: Elaine with her Letter of Appreciation from RIMYI, signed by Prashant.

Iyengar Yoga Men and

Anyone who has been to an Iyengar class in the UK or Ireland knows that it attracts more women than men. Studies show the number of men in classes can average anything from one-fifth to one-third. Why? In India, male and female practise in near equal numbers, and it works for almost everyone. We asked teachers, recently qualified and more experienced, and students for their thoughts.

Why do fewer men practise Iyengar Yoga in the UK and Ireland?

Nick Train (below) teaches a men’s class in Putney, London: The average UK male interested in exercise and fitness does not associate yoga with the body shape, strength and endurance that many aspire to. I often hear beginner males worrying that yoga will not give them the aerobic workout they crave or build upper body strength. Subconsciously, many men exercise because they aspire to be warriors – all explosive strength and intimidating musculature. Yoga practice improves strength, endurance and results in a lean, muscular and supple physique. The warrior poses are not called that for nothing and I often find male students are amazed at the physical challenges. Beginners sometimes assume stretching is like sinking into a warm bath. We know it isn’t!

Mark Jolly

Andrew Knowles (right) qualified in January and teaches in Hexham, Northumberland. Many men still see yoga as non-masculine. Some believe it is not physically demanding. Others worry they will be the only man in the room, or that they are not flexible enough. The focus on precision and inward attention can feel unfamiliar or confronting. For men used to feeling competent, especially in sport or fitness, not being good at it straight away can be discouraging.

Sharon Gleeson (above) teaches in Dublin and has a particular interest in what brings men to Iyengar: In my opinion one of two things happen that stop men from coming to a yoga class. One, they see it as a gentle activity practised by women which would be of little benefit to them. Or two, they feel that they are not flexible and not comfortable in joining a mainly female class.

Márton Vass (above) qualified in 2017 and teaches across South London. In Hungary, where I started my teacher training, we had about half men and women both in the classes and in the teacher training. Two of my first teachers of Iyengar yoga were men. In Amsterdam I was the only man in the teacher training, so the UK is doing slightly better than that. Representation matters for every characteristic, whether it’s ethnicity, gender, age, disability, neurodiversity, and so on.

Richard Holloway (left) has been practising Iyengar yoga for three years. I started yoga in my 50s and was anxious that the classes would be filled with people much younger and more lithe than me and the whole thing would be an ordeal. However, once I started, I found Iyengar yoga welcoming to all people regardless of gender, age, or level of experience.

Continued Over

Iyengar Yoga and Men

Philip Morris, a student of 15 years standing: In comparison to Hatha, Iyengar yoga can be surprisingly hard physically for a male beginner and this means some drop out before realising the long-term benefits..

Edgar Stringer is based in Wiltshire. Yoga is a well-known term but it is not well understood. Many men do not think yoga is for them because in the media it appears to focus on cultivating the feminine figure. Modern, posture-based yoga techniques including Iyengar have been practised by women more than men because yoga was widely introduced in the 1960s and 70s within the existing culture of keep-fit classes.

Why should men do Iyengar Yoga?

MV:Men, women, non-binary, young, old, tall, short, flexible or stiff, everyone should practise yoga! Maybe everyone has slightly different reasons physically – men might be stiffer, and if you do other sports you really need to stretch as well – but the ultimate aim is not just improving the body, but to improve the mind. If everyone practised yoga, I’m sure there would also be much more understanding and much less violence in the world.

RH:Even starting in my 50s I have noticed changes in my body – flexibility and strength in particular. It is a great form of exercise. I have always enjoyed the attention to detail and precision you get in an Iyengar class.

SG:Iyengar yoga is particularly suited to men because of its attention to detail, the use of props and the ability of teachers to tailor a sequence to their particular needs.

AK:Because this method works, not just on the body, but on the mind. Yoga builds strength, balance, and awareness, but more than that, it helps quieten the noise of the mind. A lot of men carry stress without ever talking about it. Iyengar yoga helps undo the pressure and teaches how to observe, adapt, and refine. These are skills that carry into everyday life.

NT:Men should practise yoga because it will make them better human beings at every level. I feel this is an urgent requirement.

PM:Iyengar yoga helps with strength, physique and posture. Later on, the benefits are more mental and psychological, and that may not be a strong motivation to start in the first place.

ES:I would recommend men to learn how to practise yoga to help them understand the origins of suffering, and discover the potential of the human experience.

Right: Márton Vass in Pincha Mayurāsana

What particular challenges — physical and otherwise — do men face in an Iyengar class?

AK:The bigger challenge is often mental. Slowing down, staying with discomfort, and letting go of the need to push or perform can be hard. For some men, that means facing their ego and realising it is not a competition against others, but a practice of patience and self-awareness.

MV:The first is the short hamstrings. But also if you go to the gym, and have bigger muscles, good luck with shoulder stand and limb binds like Garuḍāsana and Marīchyāsana in the beginning. Also, less mobile hips mean it’s a longer time to Padmāsana.and similar poses. Mentally it can also be a bit disheartening when you’re the only man in class, or the teacher gives you less (or sometimes more) more attention than the others.

PM:The biggest challenge for men is to leave their ego at the door, to be patient and open-minded, and most important, to keep turning up.

NT:The main job is to undo the harmful effects of previous exercise regimes. Weightlifting and running tend to result in catastrophically tight shoulders and hamstrings. Although the benefits of yoga are felt almost immediately, some men are discouraged by how long it takes to correct past ingrained habits.

SG:It can be intimidating to walk in to a room of mainly women. It takes dedication to stick with yoga but once men begin to see the physical benefits, they tend to stick with it.

ES:Men face the particular challenge that yoga is

misrepresented in most settings which means that they, like women, may not be aware that the purpose of yoga is to cultivate curiosity about the nature of consciousness.

Does it have to be a whole way of life?

ES:No, It does not have to be but it certainly has the potential to change the course of a life and to make it more whole. Yoga practice can stimulate curiosity about what is most important in life and for some people it provides a framework for contemplating perennial questions such as ‘Who am I?’

SG:The Iyengar yoga journey begins by stepping onto a mat, stretching and improving flexibility. Over time there are many more benefits that can spill over into daily life.

AK:No. You do not need to overhaul your lifestyle or beliefs. Just start by coming to class. You will build strength, mobility, and focus. If it becomes something deeper, that tends to happen naturally over time.

RH:No, but it has to be more than just attending a weekly class if you want to get the most out of it. I do two classes each week, the occasional workshop and I practise most days. It makes me continuously think about how I stand, walk, sit down, breathe.

NT:It doesn’t have to be a way of life, but it seems inconceivable to me that anyone who establishes a regular practice wouldn’t be affected by it, often profoundly.

PM:Beginners may not even think it could change their life. As you start to build an understanding, you realise its positive effect on your concentration, awareness and equanimity. It certainly becomes part of your life, but not necessarily a whole way of life.

Simple doesn’t mean

easy

Sharon Gleeson

Men typically have stiff shoulders, hamstrings and (like women) find going upside down an unpleasant experience at first. Sharon Gleeson, a Level 3 teacher who teaches in Stillorgan, Dublin, takes a particular interest in Iyengar yoga for men and here she shows how the most basic poses can be a challenge but soon improve, and those aches and pains can go away.

Ūrdhva Hastāsana

Ronan (left) has just started yoga and couldn’t straighten his arms. John (middle) has been coming to class for three years and has really improved his flexibility and improved a back issue. Sean (right) has been coming to classes for 12 years and you can see a big difference. His pose starts with the feet, and demonstrates strong legs, alignment and extension. It also shows the effortless effort which we aim for in all our poses.

Below: Even a seemingly straightforward pose like Ūrdhva Hastāsana presents challenges for students at all stages of their yoga journey

Above: Practice and props help with the basic task of sitting up straight (from left Sean, John and Ronan)

Daṇḍāsana

Ever asked a man who doesn’t practice yoga to sit on a stool? They might well look for a wall to lean on because sitting straight is uncomfortable for many men. Daṇḍāsana, a simple pose, improves strength in the lower back and legs, increasingly important as we get older. Our beginner Ronan struggles to sit comfortably on the floor. His hamstrings are tight and his back is rounding. John in the middle has improved his pose by sitting on a block and using a belt to give him a lift. Sean, who is more experienced, is sitting comfortably on the floor in Daṇḍāsana without support

Iyengar Yoga and Men

Uttānāsana

We all want to be able to touch our toes but for men it can be a challenge, usually caused by tight hamstrings, hips and lower back. Time and practice can improve this. Ronan is rounding his back and struggling to reach the floor, John has taken support to allow him to create length in his spine and a concave action in his upper back. Sean can easily reach the floor without support and shows the correct actions to practise safely. In the second photo, Ronan has taken a chair to improve his work, John is working at the intermediate stage and Sean has come to full Uttānāsana

Above and below: from left, Ronan, John and Sean demonstrate the safe ways to improve one of the basic, and most important, āsanas.

A

Salamba Sarvāngāsana

Inversions are hugely important. In Light on Yoga, BKS Iyengar describes shoulder stand as one of the greatest boons conferred on humanity. Many teachers say that if you have time for just one pose it should be Sarvāngāsana. At first it can be hard to get into, disorientating and uncomfortable. Sharon shows Dave how to get into it by taking his feet to the wall to get lift in the pose (A and B) and gradually move safely to the full pose (C). The wall gives Dave a feeling of safety and control and he can come down at any time. This was Dave’s first time in Sarvāngāsana but it won’t be his last.

B

Inflexibility can be a blessing says Uday Bhosale

When Uday Bhosale first stepped onto a yoga mat, he wished he had been more flexible. But three decades later, he believes that those who begin with stiffness are the lucky ones.

A renowned level three teacher, Uday began his training with Guruji, Geetaji, and Prashantji in Pune in 2002. Now based in Reading, he teaches online and internationally. He said: “If you are an inflexible man, that’s fantastic – you are fortunate! Stiffness makes you more mindful. It stops you from

Below: While learning the full pose, half Padmāsana helps with knees and hips, when done correctly

proceeding in an uncontrolled way and instead teaches you to work with precision and awareness. That’s a gift. In contrast, if the body easily falls into poses, you may not experience that struggle or learn that depth of attention.”

Uday remembered his early struggles in Supta Vīrāsana. “Someone once told me they fell asleep in the pose. I couldn’t believe it! I would be counting the seconds until the teacher said to come out. But that very difficulty taught me patience, endurance, and respect for the process.

“It is like climbing a mountain. The one who climbs slowly, camp after camp, gains experience at every stage. They may not reach the very top, but their

Below: Some students take many years to learn and gain the benefits from Padmāsana

journey is rich with learning. Against that, if you just take a helicopter and it drops you at the summit, that person can only tell me what it is like at the top. That’s what Iyengar yoga is about – working steadily with the body you have, and discovering strength and awareness along the way.”

The mountain path also builds resilience. “When you climb step by step, you learn how to adjust – how to manage your breath, your energy, your food, and your rest. Every camp becomes a place

of learning. By the time you move on, you carry with you an understanding of what worked and what didn’t. That’s exactly what stiffness does in yoga. You may not be racing to the summit, but that is not the point.”

Flexibility can also be deceptive. “Without strength and control, flexibility alone can bring injuries. Stiffness demands alignment and conscious effort. That’s why it can be such a powerful teacher.”

When Uday moved to England, he was surprised to find fewer men in yoga classes compared to India, where participation was equal. “Many men feel self-conscious. If I am not even able to bend forward

“In India, yoga attracts men and women in equal numbers”

Left: In Iyengar yoga, Uday demonstrates a challenging pose such as Ardha Chandrāsana can be achieved with the help of two walls and a brick

Iyengar Yoga and Men

easily to pick up something I dropped on the floor, stepping into a class where everyone else seems to form different shapes gracefully can feel intimidating. The male ego sometimes says I don’t belong here. But yoga exists for that reason – to help where we feel limited.”

He added: “Another common misconception is that yoga is only about stretching or that it isn’t really for them. Culturally, many men are conditioned to focus on sports or strength-based activities, and flexibility can feel like a weakness rather than something worth developing. In reality, yoga develops a unique combination of strength, balance, and focus. Especially with Guruji’s method – holding poses, working with props, moving with control – builds stamina and stability in ways that complement other forms of exercise. Many men who first arrive expecting a gentle stretch are surprised to discover how physically demanding and rewarding a wellsequenced Iyengar class can be. Yoga is not about doing more, but about doing with intelligence, and that makes the practice invaluable for men of all backgrounds and ages.”

Uday welcomes men who come to yoga with specific goals. ‘If someone wants to improve their running, or another sport, I respect that. My job is not to demand that they embrace the whole of yoga on day one. Coming to a yoga class is like stepping into a shop. You don’t have to commit to buying everything before you enter. Just step in, have a look around. I’m confident you’ll find something valuable to you. And often, you’ll come out with many more wonderful things than you expected.

“If you are free to browse, you will naturally find something that catches your eye. Slowly, you may return for more. That is how yoga works. You may come just for flexibility, but you end up leaving with balance, better sleep, sharper focus, and a calmer mind. These are things you never expected to pick up, but they become part of you.

“Guruji worked with everyone – labourers, intellectuals, athletes – without telling them

Above: Purvottanāsana is great for releasing tension in the shoulders, an issue with many men, and is easier to do at the start with bent legs

to give up their lives for yoga. He let them experience the benefits, and from there they chose their own path.”

Uday believes beyond the physical side, yoga also supports mental health. “Many of us, especially men, are conditioned to believe we must stay tough and not show vulnerability, which often means stress and emotion get pushed down rather than dealt with. On the mat, we learn to slow down, to breathe, and to steady the mind. That space to pause allows things to surface and release, leaving you clearer, calmer, and more resilient.

“Yoga gives men a different way of working with effort. In sport and in daily life, the tendency is to push harder, to force a result, or to compete with others. In yoga, that competition drops away. The focus turns inward – can I align better, can I breathe more steadily, can I stay longer with calmness?

“Unlike sport, where performance and winning can separate people, in a yoga class everyone is working through their own challenges. I often see men come in thinking they are the stiffest in the room, only to realise that every student is dealing with something. That shared effort brings a sense of camaraderie.

“Instead of feeling out of place, you feel included – and from there the practice becomes not only personal, but also a source of connection and support. This too is central to Guruji’s legacy – yoga as a practice for all, where no one is excluded.

“Sports are wonderful. They challenge us and bring joy. Yoga doesn’t replace them, but it adds another dimension: strength, mobility, and balance for better performance, and resilience to face ageing with steadiness and grace.”

Three decades after he first stepped onto a mat wishing for flexibility, Uday now sees stiffness as a gift. For men who worry that they are too tight for yoga, his message is clear: that very thing is the reason to begin.

Below: Vṛkṣāsana has huge benefits, both physical and mental, but like all other asanas, presents challenges

Men in Iyengar yoga was the subject of a Yoga Space event discussion hosted by level three teacher and assessor Edgar Springer in March. You can watch here: https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/yogaspace/

Scoliosis, Yoga and Me

When Emma Harrison, a level 2 teacher based in Nottingham, first learnt that she had scoliosis, it was the first step on an illuminating yoga journey. She believes a focused Iyengar yoga practice has protected her from a life of crippling back pain.

Iwas lucky enough to discover Iyengar Yoga when I was 20, at university. But it was only after 20 years of regular practice, during Introductory teacher training when I was 40, that my teachertrainer told me I had scoliosis.

It's not always advisable to tell people this. They can react badly and have to be ready to hear it. It is possible for a teacher to deal with the condition without labelling it.

In my case, knowing I had scoliosis made sense of certain difficulties that I had noticed. Why, despite long years of practice, could I not yet achieve a free-standing Śīrṣāsana Or Paripūrna Nāvāsana?

In the earlier days I understood I may have insufficient abdominal and shoulder-strength, but once I was experienced, why did such poses still elude me?

Knowing I had scoliosis made sense of these difficulties.

A body with irregular twists and turns learns to adapt to everyday activities but if you turn it on its head, the usual adaptations don't apply. Similarly with Paripūrna Nāvāsana: whenever I tried to lift my arms in the pose I would collapse. Now I know my double curve-pattern (Right Thoracic/Left Lumbar) meant my thoracic was turning to the right and my hips to the left, so of course it was hard to balance.

That's not to say students with scoliosis can't learn how to adapt to inversion and balance; some can. But without understanding their bodies or how to adapt to their own curve patterns, it is difficult.

Illustration: Vecteezy

Back then, I had no idea what my curve pattern was. Learning you have scoliosis is the first step on the journey. The next is discovering what your curve pattern is, and then learning to adapt your practice to counter, and de-rotate, your curve. You cannot find this out alone, as you can't see yourself from the back, where any curves will be most obvious.

Staying with a friend in California, I sought out Elise Browning Miller, a Senior Iyengar teacher whose articles and booklet on scoliosis I had come across over the years and found by far the most helpful resources. She identified my curve pattern and taught me ways to adapt my practice.

Following that visit, I invited Elise to teach in the UK. Over the next few years, she taught several times in London and Sheffield. When Covid hit, she conducted online workshops for UK students too. I attended all of them and occasionally assisted, learning so much about different curve patterns and how to help them. From this grounding, my practice to alleviate my own scoliosis took off. I was able to help my own students with scoliosis and occasionally others who found me.

I also learnt how to handle talking to students. In 2014, early on in my career as a teacher I told a relatively new student that she had scoliosis.

She reacted with horror and left the class, never to return. This taught me it helps if teachers respond to a student's own queries about their limitations in a pose and don’t ever impose a ‘diagnosis’ without prompting. With more long-standing students, where there is an established relationship of trust, I have introduced the subject in response to their own questions.

Without Iyengar yoga, I feel it is likely I would be someone crippled with chronic back pain. Even without knowing I had scoliosis during my first 20 years of practice, I was strengthening my body through yoga and was able to alleviate the frequent lower back pain that I experienced. With the understanding of my curve pattern from working with Elise, plus years of focused practice, has come a reduction of the curves.

Scoliosis is, like many conditions, a blessing. It has deepened my practice and developed my proprioception and observation. It is a great motivator: if I lapse practice for a couple of days, I get back and hip pain. The scoliosis drives me onto the mat to practise even when the mind is not willing!

I am grateful to Elise Browning Miller for passing on learning she acquired from her many years working with Guruji, and to my teacher Jayne Orton for being supportive of the adaptations that I make. She suggested I write this piece to share some of my own experience and knowledge.

“Scoliosis is, like many conditions, a blessing. It has deepened my practice and developed my proprioception and observation.”

What is Scoliosis?

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curve of the spine with a rotational element. The name derives from the Greek word skoliosis, which means 'crooked' or 'twisted'.

One problem teaching yoga to someone with scoliosis is that it has several different presentations. It is impossible to give general points which will help every student: you have to help them understand their curve before you can truly help.

90 percent of people with scoliosis have the following curve patterns: Right Thoracic, Right Thoraco-Lumbar, Right Thoracic/Left Lumbar (double curve), Left Lumbar. The rest have the inverse of these types. The adaptations will vary according to the curve pattern.

There is also a distinction between functional scoliosis, caused by heavy lifting for example, and structural scoliosis which develops without apparent cause in childhood or adolescence. With focused yoga practice, functional scoliosis may be eliminated completely. Structural scoliosis is a life-long condition. But even though structural scoliosis can't be eliminated, the severity of the curve and symptoms such as back pain can be reduced through practice.

Teachers must be careful with students who have scoliosis. In twists, students shouldn't push hard in the direction of their curve — that will make it worse.

For instance, students with Right Thoracic dominant, which means the ribcage is turning to the right, find that they naturally twist deeply to the right but turning to the left is challenging. They need to hold back when turning to the right and move their right ribs laterally towards the spine, and work hard at turning to the left. This will help them de-rotate their curve.

Above: The most common curve patterns as seen from the front

Right Thoracic

Right ThoracoLumbar (or C-curve)

3 Left Lumbar

Right Thoracic-Left Lumbar (or S-curve)

Illustration: Shutterstock

Many people have scoliosis mildly. Yoga teachers, through their practice, become aware of imbalances in their own bodies and so can have some understanding of it. Mild and moderate scoliosis can be greatly helped by yoga.

Even severe scoliosis can be helped if the practitioner is guided by a therapy-registered yoga teacher, in conjunction with their medical professionals. Adolescents and young adults who develop scoliosis can, with dedicated, targeted practice, radically reduce their curve.

But with very severe scoliosis there can be compression of the organs which may require back surgery, often resulting in a fused spine. People with a fused spine have less spinal mobility and need special guidance in their yoga practice.

No matter how severe, scoliosis is difficult to deal with in class. Teachers ideally work with a student one-to-one to get a shared understanding of the curve pattern and which adaptations help most. Then the student can apply what they know in class and the teacher, knowing the curve pattern well, can remind them how to adapt if needed.

Above: Adho Mukha Śvānāsana in crossed ropes, support under left hand to release right thoracic

Right: Start of practice, hanging from ropes

There are a few general points useful to all with scoliosis. Guruji said students with scoliosis should always lift the arms to Ūrdhva Hastāsana before a twist, to extend the spine before the turn. In some online classes, Abhijata has said that those with scoliosis should do Adho Mukha Śvānāsana and Uttānāsana in the ropes where possible, to extend and release the spine, and when others are using the chair for backbends, students with scoliosis should use the Dwi Pada Vīparita Dandāsana bench to support their spine evenly.

Above and right: Two different angles show me de-rotating with Adho Mukha Vīrāsana on ropes, left arm extended to a chair

Right: Trikoṇāsana, taking an angular pose when extending left, pushing down on right ribs

If there's no bench, students with scoliosis and others with back problems will benefit from a rolled blanket or rolled mat along the length of the spine. Where these props are not available, Adho Mukha Śvānāsana and Uttānāsana in a belt attached to a door-handle are good alternatives. It is important that the door and handle are properly secured and strong, and the belt should be an Iyengar yoga belt with a strong buckle.

Where the scoliosis is in the lumbar, Elise Browning Miller advises angular standing poses be done on the affected side.

In 2016, Elise brought all her knowledge together in a book, Yoga for Scoliosis: A pathway for students and teachers It is an invaluable resource. It sets out

very clearly the different types of curve patterns, how to help teachers identify what type of curve students have, and gives detailed points for students to adapt each of the more than 50 featured poses for their own curve pattern. She also shows how the breath can be used very powerfully to extend the compressed areas.

Below: My favourite, adapted Anantāsana with a bolster under the apex of my left curve

Further reading: Yoga for Scoliosis, a Path for Students and Teachers by Elise Browning Miller and Nancy DL Heraty

Elise's website has helpful information: https:// yogaforscoliosis.com/

Insights from Srineet Sridharan

Srineet Sridharan is Yogacharya BKS Iyengar’s grandson, brought up in the midst of yoga and currently teaching at RIMYI. Over the last few years, he has conducted sessions with his uncle Prashant, titled ‘Learning the Yoga Sutras with Clarity and Rigour’.

Katie Rutherford has been attending his weekly online class where he blends insights into the philosophical texts with what he has learned from his grandfather’s extraordinary practice and teaching, demonstrating how steeped they were in the underlying philosophy and esoteric physiology of yoga. This article is Katie's transcription from one class where Srineet outlined five aspects of what he believes it means to learn yoga, based on his own personal journey and learnings. We publish it with his permission.

What does it mean to learn yoga and how should we approach it?

There is often a confusion about what it is and it can bother us after a while – which is a good sign because it shows there is a desire to know.

There are five aspects of learning:

1

To learn to do more and more āsanas and to learn to do them better and better. This is like a preliminary level. On one level it can be a bit immature to do āsanas mechanically without much understanding, with willpower. At the same time, it can be sublimated to greater refinement and understanding.

That is a litmus test which ensures we are not fooling ourselves that we are going higher and higher and becoming more advanced. Is there a real improvement in our āsanas or just a semblance of improvement? This first aspect of learning remains important, central. It needs to be refined and sublimated.

2

To understand more and more the various paradigms, techniques, the various kriyās, the various mudras, the various ways to approach āsana and prāņāyāma. In some asanas, these are key aspects to make them shine.

3

Understanding the theoretical framework underlying yoga. This is vast, rich and deep, but there are resources for learning. More important than knowing is developing the wish to know. It is about what is the nature of reality, the deeper purpose of living. Developing an interest in that will completely change our approach to yoga. It is said, “svādhyāya leads to yoga and yoga leads to svādhyāya; and by the wealth of the two, divinity shines forth.” Yoga is all about refining the citta

Photo: Mugdha Sridharan

4

The ability to apply our yogic understanding, our āsanic understanding, our prāņāyāmic understanding for different conditions. It may be to heal a medical condition, it may be to counter stiffness or laziness, it may be something to do with the mind – maybe there is tiredness, lack of motivation, hyperactivity, lack of concentration.

5

Somewhat unique to yoga is the transformative aspect. Yoga can come in and completely transform one’s condition. Why? Because it is directly working on the citta. Not at a superficial level but working on what the citta is constituted of. It is working on saṁskāras, on vāsanās, it is working the relative proportion of the tama, raja and sattva gunas

When we say citta, it doesn’t mean the brain or the mind but the entire embodiment. Citta is present everywhere, it is all-pervading. Whenever we are practicing yoga, things are getting transformed within us, particularly when we do it with understanding and notice the transformation.

As a student of yoga, we have to see – what are the transformations happening in me? Citta is like a river that flows in two directions – either in the path of yoga, auspicious, or in the opposite direction.

Katie Rutherford is a senior Iyengar yoga teacher based in Edinburgh.

My Pilgrimage

Above: The three gals of G005 Lori, Jayne and Sandra

to Bellur

Jayne Wilson

In October 2024, I was invited to attend a yoga intensive at the BKS Iyengar Yoga Retreat Centre (BIYC) in Bellur. Our teachers were Gloria Goldberg, founder and current President of IYNAUS and a Level 4 teacher, and Gitte Bechsgaard, well known for her teachings of Sanskrit, Jyotish and Vedic philosophy and mantra, and for her book A Gift of Consciousness.

This was to be a spiritual pilgrimage, tīrtha, to our Guru’s place of birth. The dates were chosen to coincide with the Indian festivals of Pitru Paksha and Navarātri In Bellur, I would finally get an authentic experience of the esoteric rituals and the Sādhanās, which I had been studying for a number of years with Gitte.

After 11 hours of travel, I arrived at the ostentatious Bengaluru airport (Bangalore) where I met most of the other 28 sādhakas and teachers. The weather was tropical. Our coach transferred us along dual carriageways and then smaller country roads for about an hour to reach Bellur.

BIYC is a gated and walled campus. The security guards welcomed the coach in and we disembarked outside the main reception where our rooms were allocated. I was in Ground Floor 005, sharing with Californian friends Lori and Sandra.

Right:Accommodation block and rooms.

The residential area has solarheated hot showers, western-style toilets and washing machines. There is safe drinking water available all the time. Almost everywhere is spotlessly clean. The floors are polished marble and the bedrooms have comfortable mattresses, lockable wardrobes, a kettle, copper water jug and drinking cup and ceiling fans over every bed for a cool sleep. There was a pretty good wi-fi system.

Our first meal, at 7am, was a traditional South Indian breakfast served on stainless steel thali plates: idli (white rice flour steamed cakes), hot sambar (spicy vegetable lentil stew), vada (doughnuts of urad dal, spices and herbs) and gorgeous coconut chutney. Lunch was another delicious thali plate. All the food was traditional and vegetarian, made on site fresh every day, and of exceptional quality.

The open-air cafeteria has views across the rural landscape to the distant hills. I spied little owls, a heron, bright green Indian ringneck parakeets and an eagle. There was twittering, squeaking and squawking sounds beyond the yoga centre walls, not a single car hooting or dog barking. It felt like a tropical paradise.

Right: The view from the canteen

Above:Thali lunch plate

The yoga hall is an ocean of polished marble, completed in 2015. One end is dedicated to the Iyengar yoga lineage with a large statue of Patañjali, photos of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, the Iyengar family and beautiful gold painted statues of BKS and Ramamani Iyengar. Ropes adorn the roof and walls, there are inspirational photos of BKS in yoga poses and a large equipment cupboard that contained everything you could possibly need.

Two local Brahmins, twin brothers, performed the Patañjali and Guru Pūjās to bless our visit to Bellur, and we all joined in with the invocations and chanting. The Patañjali murti and statues of BKS and Ramamani were blessed with yellow

Above: The yoga hall with BKS and Ramamani Iyengar seated statues

flowers and we received our red and yellow bindis from the Pujaris. Later in the afternoon, Gloria taught a gentle restorative class to help counteract the jetlag. By the time dinner was served at 7pm we were almost falling asleep in our lentil soup.

Above: Ladies in sarees

The programme over the next two days included āsana and prāņāyāma with Gloria, and mantras, Svādhyāyas (study of sacred texts) and meditation with Gitte. This was preparation for us to take part in Pitru Paksha, a festival honouring our ancestors. Wednesday 2 October was a very special day for us, the culmination of our years of ritual study with Gitte. We would be wearing our fine sarees and taking part in Pitru Paksha with the Bellur Pujaris. We also observed a period of fasting.

with our Sanskrit pronunciations as we uttered the sacred words. It was a magical feeling to be present with ourselves, our ancestors, our svādhyāya group, some of whom I had only ever seen on Zoom.

After the Pūjā and our sattvic lunch, we were invited into the Iyengar family home, also found on the BIYC campus. Smt. Savita Raghu, the youngest daughter of BKS, still lives here with her sons. For 45 minutes we were regaled with Savita’s stories: travelling to Bombay by train with BKS, being present in the general classes he taught and how, when she was doing Paschimottānāsana, BKS would say, “jump on me and do Mayurāsana”. Savita spoke with sparkling clarity, showing her delight and love of yoga and of her father. I felt honoured to have shared this time with her.

The following days of Svādhyāya, yogāsana, prāņāyāma, mantra and meditative sādhanā were dedicated to Maha Navaratri, the nine forms of goddess Durga. The teachings were sublime, esoteric, nurturing and purifying, and drew me closer to that peaceful inner path.

We walked to a large freshwater pond on the site where we would perform our Pūjā for Pitru Paksha. It was a glorious sunny day as we sat in contemplation with our sacred ritual offerings before us. The Pujaris were patient and generous

By dedicated practice of the various aspects of yoga, impurities are destroyed: the crown of wisdom radiates in glory. (Sutra II.28, translation by BKS Iyengar)

Left: Durga images in Bellur village

On Saturday morning, we paid a visit to the temples in Bellur village, a ten-minute bus ride away using the yellow Iyengar school bus. We visited the Patañjali and Hanuman temples that Guruji was instrumental in having constructed. In the Patañjali temple, we took part in the Pūjā and then walked across the stone-floored compound to the original and oldest Hanuman temple. BKS Iyengar had a new raised roof and walls built around the existing one about 20 years ago.

Right: Hanuman fanning

Above: Renovated Entrance Sri Ramanatha Temple (from inside temple site)

The black stone cut relief of the monkey god in the temple is almost 900 years old.

There was a moving Pūjā to Hanuman here before walking further through ancient Bellur village to the Sri Ramanatha temple, originally constructed in the 12th century. It had fallen into a ruin until BKS renovated and improved the ancient site. The temple was dedicated by BKS in 2012.

We were treated to a fascinating and somewhat amusing ceremony; pushing a Hanuman mūrti, on a trailer, around the temple three times before the final Pūjā , and enjoying the prasad (blessed food) cooked by the Pūjāris. Much mirth followed as we took part in “fanning” Hanuman with a hairy chamar fan.

Monday 7 October was our last full day in BIYC. Gitte took both classes today, taking us through important mantras and ritual practices so we would be able to complete Navarātri when we returned home. We were honoured with an Iyengar special lunch. All the food in this lavish feast was made with Iyengar family recipes and we were served by the Brahmins themselves. The cafeteria was adorned with beautiful blue sheets with Patañjali motifs, and the food just kept on coming until we literally could eat no more.

The after-feast activity was a gentle stroll and tour of the BIYC campus; visiting the high school, vocational college, the medical centre and the tree-planting areas. To complete our intensive, we all helped plant an avocado tree in memory of the Sādhanā, friendships made and the immersion in the traditions of our Guruji.

It was the fulfilment of many years of yoga Sādhanā to visit this part of India and take part in the esoteric rituals, on my path of dharma I feel truly blessed and grateful to have shared this auspicious experience with such a fantastic community of like-minded souls.

Many thanks to Lori and Sandra for permission to use pictures of them in this article.

Above: Iyengar special feast

Would I recommend a trip to Bellur? Absolutely

Iwas thinking about a yoga trip to India and my teacher, Lisa Wylde, suggested going to Bellur, as it was 50th anniversary of the Bellur Iyengar Yoga Centre. I booked a week under the instruction of Corine Biria who studied with BKS Iyengar himself from 1983 in Pune. I felt honoured but apprehensive to be accepted.

Ialso booked a two-week tour in the Kerala region, followed by another week of Iyengar yoga with Stefano Bendandi at Gokarna. Lisa beasted me through the weeks before I left to make sure I could pass muster.

I arrived very early in the morning at Bangalore airport not having had much sleep. I hung around for a few hours until I spotted a group of women who looked like yoga students. A few more people arrived and we gradually coalesced as a group, waiting to be picked up by the minibus to Bellur.

The reception at the Institute was friendly and efficient. The accommodation was simple but clean, with the use of communal toilet and shower facilities on each of the three floors. The food was vegetarian and varied and the quality was outstanding. The kitchens used water from an industrial-size reverse osmosis system.

Surprisingly, I was the only Brit, the other attendees being Australian, Russian and South African with a few Europeans. There were 23 of us in total and at least half were teachers. Only three were men, and people were of all ages; I, the oldest at 68.

The institute at Bellur is gated for security and includes a school and hospital alongside the rather splendid marble-floored practice hall which is lined with pictures of BKS. There were three yoga sessions each day, the first being prāņāyāma. Corine used a lot of visualisation techniques to assist with the prāņāyāma instructions: the tortoise and the

Philip Morris

Left: Our teacher Corine Biria Above: A typical day in Bellur

mountain with the snake rising; then a bird with muscles on its back preparing to launch into flight; thirdly a transparent lake which can see itself top and bottom. It all made sense at the time!

The āsana classes were tough and Corine didn't miss a thing, showing no mercy to the more experienced teachers among the group. She definitely comes from the BKS (Bash Kick Smack) school of encouragement! She made allowances for the less experienced and older students, suggesting modifications and additional props where necessary. The instruction was detailed and the poses were held for lengthy periods. Two classes per day for six days was extremely taxing and I slept very soundly.

A satisfying moment for me was when we were doing Ardha Chandrāsana against the wall, and I heard Corine shout across the hall: "Yes, Philippe!" in her strong French accent.

Towards the end of the week we were treated to a yoga exhibition by the school children, some of whom were very acrobatic. It was also lovely to hear their young voices across the campus reciting the invocations in the mornings.

Would I recommend a trip to Bellur? Absolutely – the food, the accommodation and the organisation and transportation were all great and tuition was all right on the mark.

It was a great way to start my four weeks in India and something I will never forget.

Right: Philip in the main practice hall

Celebrating 20 Years of Sheffield

Iyengar Yoga Centre

It was hard to believe that I had found the building I had been dreaming of for years. It was June 2005 and I clutched the scrap of paper on which, five years earlier, I had written my requirements – two halls, a library and quiet room, a kitchen and office space, ideally in a former chapel or place of spiritual practice. And after many disappointments, here it was: a non-conformist chapel for sale in a quiet leafy street not far from my home.

Frances Homewood

Below: The teachers demo at the 20th anniversary event in June

The place had not been used for five years, had rotten floors and windows, a dodgy electrical system and it smelt damp. Still, it ticked all the boxes and my joy was unbounded when we managed to get it. Our yoga community, friends and family, especially my husband Mike, generously set to work with time, energy, paint and cleaning materials and slowly we started to transform it into an Iyengar yoga centre (pictured, right).

‘Thanks

to Frances and all the team for creating this calm sanctuary. I’ve been here from the age of 17 to 37 – and hopefully to 97!’

At first, just Marios Argiros and I were the teachers. A small group of my students had started teacher training under the kind guidance of Marion Kilburn but it would be a few years before they qualified.

There was, however, no shortage of students, many of whom had been with me for years and followed me into the various grotty premises I had been forced to use. We still reflect on the disco music that always seemed to be turned on in one of the gyms, just as we started Śavāsana. Or the time I got stuck in a lift with 12 bags of bolsters, mats and blankets in the venue I used for the therapy class. So it wasn’t only me that appreciated having a dedicated, clean and fully equipped space just for Iyengar yoga.

Knowing how Guruji opened the door to yoga for every kind of body and background, we made the

Above: Frances gets the keys to the building in 2005

Francesca

building as accessible as we could, given its age. Grab rails, an accessible toilet and shower and a wheelchair ramp were inspired by my therapy students. Just as important is the work we have done over the years as teachers to look at our own attitudes and approaches, striving to be as inclusive as we can. That work goes on.

In the early days, having inspirational Indian teachers like Birjoo and Rajvi Mehta, whom I had been lucky enough to meet in India, kept the link

Below: Firooza Razvi at the 10-year celebrations in 2015

with our mother institute in Pune. On our 10-year anniversary, we were privileged to have Firooza Razvi teach for us, which started a special link that brought her to us almost every year, shaping our understanding, especially of yoga philosophy. Later, we hosted Stephanie Quirk to run her four-part therapy training, attended by teachers from UK, US, Europe and Japan. Sadly, Covid ended this and so many other things.

Over the last 20 years, there have been the inevitable ups and downs. We have come through the 2008 financial crash, the pandemic and, most challenging for me, the Alzheimer’s that took Mike’s mind and capacity, though never his spirit, which lives on in our beautiful centre. When Guruji talks of yoga helping us to endure what cannot be cured, it resonates so deeply for me. Yoga and the centre have been a bedrock during tough times.

So, on our 20th anniversary celebration in June, where students and teachers were invited to share what the Centre has meant to them, it was moving to hear those stories. It made me both immensely proud and very humble because nothing has been

Above: The fully equipped studio has hosted rope workshops.

achieved without the wonderful team of teachers, admin managers, cleaners, and most importantly students, all of whom describe the Centre as their home for yoga and as a sanctuary.

Like all Centres and studios, we are now in a very different world, with so many forms of yoga around, not to mention online classes.

It is now time for me to step back but I am so pleased that our Centre will continue as an Iyengar yoga centre, under a partnership from within our team. I know the new owners love the building and the community and will bring new energy to its future. This feels like the most fitting way to seal and celebrate the last 20 years and I am happy to continue to teach there and be part of its future.

‘Frances and her unwavering vitality have carried through into the Centre. Its been a real support having this space and the prāņāyāma classes are so restorative, they should be bottled.’ Jane

Above: The fully renovated chapel as it is today

Iyengar Yoga Development Fund

Open for Applications

The Iyengar Yoga Development Fund (IYDF) funds teachers to work with people who would not normally be able to afford or access yoga classes.

BKS Iyengar intended the fund to extend the reach of Iyengar yoga, and to enhance levels of equity and diversity among practitioners.

The fund is open for teachers qualified at Level 1 and above, with three years' or more of teaching experience since qualification. Exceptions can be made for Level 1 teachers, qualified for at least 18 months, if they have been teaching groups that meet the criteria for at least the previous six months. Applicants need to provide evidence in their application that the proposed classes meet the IYDF criteria, and that the teacher has:

• Sufficient teaching experience, to differentiate their teaching in a more challenging environment, working equitably, and ensuring the highest levels of good practice,

• Ability to work in partnership with a partner organisation to help remove barriers to access.

Further information is available in the Resources section of our website, under IY(UK) documents. Search for Iyengar Yoga Development Fund. You can also contact Helen White, Chair of IYDF Committee, at: white.helen@btinternet.com

Staying True to the Method

Kirsten Agar, Sheila Haswell and Jo Mitchell

Many teachers will have been asked to sign off class attendance hours for students who are training to be teachers in other schools of yoga.

On the surface, this may seem to be a generous or inclusive gesture. On closer inspection, it is a matter of professional ethics and IY(UK) policy not to do this. This article examines why, and how upholding this principle helps safeguard the integrity and excellence of Iyengar yoga teaching in the UK and worldwide and avoids misleading, confusing or causing harm, even inadvertently.

Immersion in the Iyengar Yoga Method

It is not uncommon for students to explore various forms of yoga early in their journey, seeking a style, approach or teacher that resonates most with them. This exploration is both natural and valuable, although we encourage settling on a method of learning sooner or later.

When it comes to formal certification in Iyengar yoga, the requirement is that students have undergone a substantial period of study specifically within our system and are committed to it. This immersion provides students with the foundation and depth necessary to teach Iyengar yoga safely and authentically, rather than accumulating hours as a formality.

Not Mixing Methods

At the heart of Iyengar yoga is a progressive and distinctive methodology of learning and teaching yoga, rooted in the teachings of Sri BKS Iyengar. Iyengar yoga teachers do not mix methods - a

Above: The Certification Mark

principle we sign up to when having the privilege to use the Certification Mark. Given this, there is no rationale to sign off hours attendance at our classes for those training in another method and it could give the impression that we advocate such mixing, when we do not.

Upholding the Distinctiveness and Integrity of the Iyengar Yoga Certification Process

The process of becoming an Iyengar yoga teacher is rigorous, involving years of dedicated practice, in-depth study and mentorship. The standards for certification are high and deliberately structured to ensure that teachers possess the embodied understanding and pedagogical skill that defines our tradition.

If hours are signed off for students training in other methodologies, it risks conflating our unique pedagogical framework of Iyengar yoga with the approaches of other systems, which differ significantly

in content, focus and depth. This undermines the integrity of our certification process, potentially allowing individuals to appear to gain recognition for Iyengar yoga expertise without direct and sufficient immersion in its distinctive principles.

Maintaining Professional and Ethical Boundaries

When students attend our classes they are being taught as students. This is very different from being a trainee who is being mentored in that situation. Professional ethics require that teachers act with integrity, clarity, and honesty – both towards their students and towards the broader yoga community. By declining to sign off hours for students training primarily in other systems, Iyengar yoga teachers reinforce clear boundaries regarding what it means to be a student, a trainee and a teacher in our tradition.

These boundaries are not designed to be exclusionary; rather, they serve as a safeguard against dilution or misrepresentation. Iyengar yoga teachers are expected to model the same rigour and respect for lineage that were upheld by our founder. Maintaining this standard protects the reputation of all Iyengar yoga teachers and ensures that those who claim Iyengar yoga training have authentically engaged with the tradition.

Avoiding Inadvertently Vouching for a Student or a Method

In signing off hours, it may appear that a teacher is in some way vouching for the student. It may also appear that by signing a record that forms an official part of someone’s training in another method, the teacher is inadvertently vouching for content and approaches that may not align with our standards, potentially misleading certifying bodies, studios, or future students regarding the teacher’s actual experience and training in Iyengar yoga.

Mitigating Legal and Insurance Risks

There are also practical considerations. Certifying hours in a system outside one’s own expertise could expose teachers to legal and insurance

Below: Vīparita Karaņi using the stump

risks. If a student is later found to be teaching Iyengar yoga – or claiming such training – without the appropriate background, questions may arise regarding the teacher’s role in signing off those hours. Clear boundaries protect both the teacher and the student from these potential complications.

Honouring the Global Iyengar Yoga Community

The Iyengar Yoga Certification Mark, which all Iyengar yoga teachers use, is recognised globally and carries with it an assurance of quality, depth, and continuity. This is not the result of accidental happenstance, but of decades of adherence to high standards across the international community. Upholding these standards requires consistency from every certificated teacher.

By refraining from signing off hours for students of other schools or methods, Iyengar yoga teachers contribute to a collective effort to maintain the respect and credibility of the Iyengar tradition. This ensures that the name ‘Iyengar yoga’ remains synonymous with excellence and reliability in the world of yoga.

Conclusion: Choosing Integrity over Convenience

While it may feel compassionate to help a student “tick a box” by signing off hours, it is ultimately a disservice to the student, to our tradition, and to the integrity of yoga teaching more broadly. Instead, Iyengar yoga teachers can guide interested students towards authentic engagement with our method and support their genuine learning journey.

Maintaining the integrity of our tradition is of paramount importance and this is reflected in the policies and procedures that govern the certification, accreditation and ongoing learning and knowledge of yoga teachers.

Let us collectively uphold the values and standards that make Iyengar yoga respected and beloved around the world. In doing so, we not only protect the legacy of Sri BKS Iyengar but foster a community where depth, clarity and honesty flourish for generations to come.

Below:Vīparita Chakrāsana

Exchange of Learning Days

Edgar Stringer

Across the UK and Ireland, preparations are being made for the 2025-26 Exchange of Learning Days (ELD) for teachers. These events are an opportunity for us to gather and share our love of the practice and develop as a community.

These events are a required part of our Continuing Professional Development, designed to complement what we continue to learn about yoga from our teachers in RIMYI and our mentors closer to home. The topics are based on teachers’ feedback and the collaborative format involves group practical work and discussion.

There were 27 Exchange of Learning Days last year, titled ‘Yoga for all Ages’, which gave teachers an opportunity to share their experiences of teaching children and teens and selecting methods appropriate to the needs of all age groups. The workshop started with an inversions practice. Regular practice of Śīrṣāsana and Sarvāṅgāsana supports us into old age, when we may find other āsanas less accessible. In the discussion time, we considered the ways in which teachers adjust their approach to suit the needs of the group.

Most of the feedback received has been very positive about the ELD format including group work and discussion. Respondents also appreciated the connection they made with other teachers in their region. Some people commented that there’s a lot

“Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.”

BKS Iyengar

to take in and it’s difficult for everyone to be heard in larger groups. To help communities to hold more, smaller events, the Professional Development Group of the IY(UK) Assessment and Training Committee is working to organise more EL days and some with different teachers leading.

Yoga for All Bodies

Some would say that Guruji’s methods, which he continually innovated and evolved by observing his students, are intrinsically inclusive. With his ingenious use of props and progressive sequences a wide range of people have found access to learn and practice and study yoga under the guidance of their teacher. However, there are students whose experience in class has been such that they felt they could not, and would never be able, to “perform” the āsanas “correctly” because of the way their body was proportioned.

The title of the ELD programme for this year is ‘Yoga for All Bodies’. We will start with a group practice session which will open an exploration into how our bodies’ different constitutions respond to our actions both in common ways and also in different ways. We

will look at the role of the teacher in guiding all students to find the underlying actions even if the final stage of the classical asana feels far away. We will consider how some students may experience unintended exclusion and discuss how factors such as the words we use, our body language and class management affect everybody in the group differently.

Discussion will also invite us to explore how unconscious bias may shape our students’ experience of our classes and whether becoming more aware of this helps us to communicate more effectively.

Details of EL days can be found on the following pages. If you have any questions or comments about Exchange of Learning Days, please do get in touch by email to PDD@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Feedback from ‘Yoga for all Ages’

“Very useful way of working to extract thoughts, as every individual has a different perspective to offer and using those thoughts collaboratively, to formulate a plan.”

“I found the notes from IY(UK) very helpful and the whole day with different elements well-constructed. It's so valuable to have this time to come together in person and learn from each other.”

Edgar Stringer is a member of the Professional Development Group of the IY(UK) Assessment and Training Committee.

Exchange of Learning Days 2025/26

London

and

South East England

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga

Sasha Perryman

sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 01223 515929

1 November 2025 Sasha Perryman

25 January 2026 Sasha Perryman

Philippe Harari (organiser for shaili) philippe.harari@runbox.com

22 February 2026 Shaili Shafai

Iyengar Yoga London (Maida Vale) lucy@iyengaryogalondon.co.uk

15 October 2025 Alaric Newcombe

Iyengar Yoga Sussex

Cathy Rogers-Evans cathyrogersevans@gmail.com

11 October 2026 Cathy Rogers Evans

Iyengar Yoga South London

Marion Sinclair (organiser for Helen) marionsinclair@aol.com 07803 170846

23 November 2025 Helen Graham

Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex

Sandra Hitchcock (organiser for Susan) sandra.hitchcock@outlook.com

18 October 2025 Susan Long

Avon Iyengar Yoga

Edgar Stringer (organiser for Lydia) avoniyengaryoga.org edgarstringer@gmail.com

24 January 2026 Lydia Holmes

South West Iyengar Yoga

Kent Iyengar Yoga

Louise Percy (organiser for both) louisepercy@hotmail. com 07825 528898

10 January 2026 Brenda Booth

8 March 2026 Lin Craddock

North and East London Iyengar Yoga

Mags Bee-Quigley (organiser for Ros) hello@iyogawithmags.co.uk

29 November 2025 Ros Bell

South West London and Surrey Iyengar Yoga

Cath Barnes-Holt (organiser for Judith) cath@cathbarnesholt.co.uk 07909 995408

25 January 2026 Judith Richards

The Iyengar Yoga Studio East Finchley

Wendy Sykes (organiser for Edgar) info@tiys.co.uk 020 88151918

8 March 2026 Edgar Stringer

South West England

Dorset and Hampshire Iyengar Yoga

Sally Collins (organiser for Edgar) sally@yellowboxcom.com 07825 61100

7 February 2026 Edgar Stringer

Nick Thompson (organiser for Judith) nickthomson1976@googlemail.com 07984 474298

Date to come Judith Van Dop

Midlands

Iyengar Yoga Birmingham

Jayne Orton

jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com 0121 608 2229

4 January 2026 Jayne Orton

Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford

Isabel Jones Fielding isabel@movement4health.co.uk

8 March 2026 Isabel Jones Fielding

Jill Johnson (Altrincham)

Jill Johnson

jjyoga@mac.com

4 October 2025 Jill Johnson

Midlands Counties Iyengar Yoga

Sheila Green

sheilagreenyoga@hotmail.co.uk 01981 580081

8 November 2025 Sheila Green

Oxford and Region Iyengar Yoga

Julia Harding (organiser for Sheila) jhardy2406@gmail.com

Date to come Sheila Haswell

Date to come Judith Jones

North West England

Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga

Clare Tunstall (organiser for both) clare@mdiiy.org.uk

24 January 2026 Debbie Bartholomew

14 March 2026 Julie Brown

North East England

Bradford and District Iyengar Yoga

Billie France (organiser for Kirsten) billie@bdiyi.org.uk

7 February 26 Kirsten Agar Ward

East Yorkshire

Chris Rumley (organiser for Debbie) christine.rumley@yahoo.com

30 January 2026 Debbie Bartholomew

East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga

Gordon Jardine (organiser for Julie) gordieric@hotmail.com

16 November 2025 Julie Anderson

7 February 2026 Joe Burn

Iyengar Yoga Ireland (Dublin)

Caroline McKeogh (organiser for all) cazmckeogh@gmail.com www.dubliniyengaryoga.ie

22 November 25 Aisling Guirke

10 January 2026 Eileen Cameron

29 November 2025 Aisling Guirke

North East England Iyengar Yoga

Caroline Earl (organiser for both) carolinejpearl@yahoo.com

16 November 2026 Isabel Jones Fielding

17 February 2026 Trish James

Sheffield and District Iyengar Yoga

Pascale Vacher (organiser for Debbie) pascale_vacher@ yahoo.co.uk 07941 646418

16 November 2025 Debbie Batholomew

Scotland

iYoga Glasgow

Sarah Hunter (organiser for Frances) sarahyoga64@gmail.com

25 October 2025 Frances McKee

8 March 2026 Helen Graham

Ireland

Iyengar Yoga Ireland (Northern Ireland)

Claire Ferry (organiser for all) claire@claireferryyoga.net

2 February 2026 Aisling Guirke

14 February 2026 Aisling Guirke

22 November 2026 Claire Ferry & Ann Traynor

Autumn Detox Sequence

Read across the spread from left to right

Yoga sequence by Chiara Travisi • Yoga illustration by Svenja Karstens

Svenja Karstens studied illustration design and fine arts in Germany graduating in 2009. In 2016 she qualified as an Iyengar Yoga teacher and in October 2019 received the Junior Intermediate I certification. For more information about Svenja's work go to: svejar.com

Chiara Travisi – PhD researcher and Level 3 teacher created this seasonal sequence. It's one of a series for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Chiara is the director of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Milan. www.iyengaryogamilano.it

Marion Kilburn

27 September 194422 May 2025

“May you walk in love and dance in beauty.”

In January 1990, Jeanne Maslen, our teacher at MDIY, took a group of teachers to Pune on an intensive course with Guruji. Marion couldn't make the pre-trip meeting. I filled her in: the good news, we were staying at the Ajit Hotel; the bad news, she was sharing with me. She gave her hearty laugh and so began a beautiful and special friendship forged through our shared love of yoga and nature.

Marion loved to be on her mat. With Jeanne's encouragement, her practice deepened and she achieved her intermediate senior certificate in the 1990s. Marion was a dedicated practitioner and teacher. Yoga became her way of life. She was a popular teacher, admired for her great energy, joyful spirit and warmth. She had a great connection with people, encouraging us to embrace our uniqueness and always reminding us to live in the present.

Marion was proud of her Irish roots. She shared her love of Irish dancing with her students and at many MDIY events. Marion had a strong yogic body but

was so light on her feet when dancing, a delight to watch. I remember Marion being moved at RIMYI celebrations when Geetaji said, "Yoga, dance and music are sisters." Many will remember the uplifting circle dance sessions that Marion taught at the convention in Harrogate.

Marion was a giver. She was always grateful for what yoga had given her and gave back to the Iyengar community: teacher training in Manchester and Ireland, and first to train students in Sheffield, personal development days. In 2005, she organised a village concert at MDIY with proceeds for Sri Lanka Tsunami fund.

The wind was Marion's element. She loved the beauty of nature and being outdoors. Our yoga was always with us on our many treks and adventures: Uṣṭrāsana in front of camels in Mongolia, Ūrdhva dhanurāsana over hay bales and pack horse bridges, Parighāsana in front of old wooden gates...

A colourful personality, Marion always dressed in bright colours. Red hats or party hats often came out on our walks. Marion had great gratitude for her family, yoga and life. She was so proud when her daughter, Justine, qualified as an Iyengar teacher.

Marion touched the lives of so many with her positive outlook and zest for life. I am forever grateful for our special friendship and memories of her life well lived.

Julie Royle

“Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Marion was unlike anyone I have ever known, and I feel incredibly grateful to have had the good fortune to meet her. She was the most influential person in my life. Without Marion, I don’t know what path my life would have taken.

I met Marion in a beginners’ yoga class at the McDougal Centre at Manchester University in 1991. I had just returned from six transformative months travelling in India where I had become aware of yoga. When I returned, I decided to join a class and this is what led me to Marion. I was hooked from the very first class. Marion was small, perfectly formed, a maverick, and a force of nature. She had a beautiful voice, green eyes and a cloud of auburn hair.

Marion was not a stern teacher, but always welcoming with boundless energy. She was always cheerful, smiling and had a magical innocence and childish quality about her. She took Edgar and I under her wing, inviting us to celebrate the Solstices with circle dancing. She read wonderful Iyengar quotes and always had words of wisdom. She had a deep connection with nature.

In 1997, Edgar and I became Iyengar yoga teachers. In 1999, we asked Marion if she would marry us, whilst we were in India for Guruji’s 80th celebrations.

I had always dreamt of an Indian wedding, and we wanted to be married on a houseboat on the Ganges in Varanasi.

The day arrived and was freezing with thick fog. I was disappointed, thinking we would be married in a cloud. We did cold sun salutations on the rooftop where Marion stayed and by 11am, the clouds lifted and it was a glorious day. We decorated the houseboat with 100,000 marigolds, turning it from blue to orange. Marion conducted our ceremony and blessed us.

There was always fun, mischief and adventure to be had when Marion was around. Marion was an inspirational yogi, wise, at ease in āsana and completely adhered to the yamas and niyamas. She was so proud of Justine and Jason and her beautiful grandchildren.

I consider Marion to be my yoga mum. She brought me into the yoga world and was always there for me. Edgar and I treasure these memories and are forever grateful for the love, blessings, and wellbeing she brought into our lives.

Lydia Holmes

Hannah Lovegrove Chair Report

Looking back at Charlotte Everitt’s last report as Chair, two things stood out to me.

First, the numbers: of the 7,459 teachers from 38 associations across 109 countries worldwide, the UK and Ireland represent about one sixth. That is a remarkable share. Yes, IY(UK) has seen a decline in teacher and member numbers this year, but in global terms we remain a strong and active association, sustained by many hard-working volunteers and staff who are committed to building a healthy future for everyone — members, teachers, students, and the association as a whole.

Second, the message from RIMYI: what comes through overwhelmingly is compassion (karunā), loving-kindness (maitri), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣhā). In everything they share with us, the Iyengar family encourages us to observe these four Brahmavihāras. As Chair, I have the privilege of communicating with RIMYI, and I have been struck by how consistently and effectively they embody these principles in everyday matters. I sincerely hope we can follow their example.

Since taking over as Chair, and coming to terms with the challenges we face both within the association and in our lives, I have come to believe that the success of any endeavour depends on the quality of our interactions — our thoughts, words, actions.

Membership of IY(UK) is open to everyone. That is not only a fundamental principle but also Guruji’s

explicit request. What this means is simple: when you come to Iyengar yoga, you leave your bags, your shoes, and your water bottle outside the door. Along with them, you leave your likes and dislikes, your opinions and preferences. Inside, there is no hierarchy of background, belief, identity, or circumstance. This is Iyengar yoga and everyone is welcome.

Each of us has a duty to make participation a safe and supportive experience for all. For the benefit of one another, we set aside our differences and welcome everyone — regardless.

So, as we move forward, let us keep returning to the foundations of our practice, not just on the mat but in how we interact with one another in daily life. When our collective efforts are rooted in compassion, joy, equanimity, and loving-kindness, we have every reason to be optimistic.

There is no doubt that hard work lies ahead but no one came to Iyengar yoga expecting an easy ride. We are here because we welcome challenge, and because we understand that only through sustained effort and deep self-reflection can we grow and develop as individuals. And if we stay true to Guruji’s vision — an Iyengar yoga that is open to all, inclusive of all, and safe for all — then our work will not only sustain this association, but help ensure that Iyengar yoga continues to flourish for generations to come.

Rachel Overton Secretary Report

Itwas a privilige to be appointed as IY(UK) Secretary at the Executive Council in April to serve you all. At the AGM, I shared with you that I hoped that my decades of experience in programme management for organisations in the UK and Ireland, in the public and private sector and as a Chartered Manager would be an asset to you in this role. I’m a level 1 teacher, working towards Level 2, and teach as my livelihood and I absolutely love it. I’m so grateful to all the teachers, the Iyengar family and the wider community of Iyengar practitioners.

It’s been both busy and joyful engaging the dedicated teams of volunteers and staff that keep the organisation running so that we can all benefit. It is great to use my skills in helping support our community and for yoga.

I encourage you all to step forward in whatever capacity you have to join in, be it reaching out to other practitioners in your community, coming along to events, volunteering some of your time or putting yourself forward for a committee role.

Hannah Lovegrove and Caroline Earl were formally elected at our AGM on 8 June 2025 as Chair and Deputy Chair respectively. Charlotte Everitt retired formly at the AGM after many years of Board roles and we owe her a huge thank you for her leadership.

When I joined as Secretary, our priority was to get a Treasurer in place and I’m delighted to say that the Board appointed Karen Sherpa on 6 May 2025, subject to ratification at the EX in September.

We also welcome our new Marketing and Communications manager Kelly Brooks who will be working 1.5 days a week in this key area. She has presented to the Board and the Marketing and Communications committee and we’re really excited

about the positive impact her role will make for all members.

Sadly, after many years leading the Therapy Committee, Sheila Haswell is standing down in November. Sheila has been an incredible asset to IY(UK), including the therapy manual, therapy workshops and video archive that our members find so useful. We thank her for her leadership and work in this area.

There have been other changes on our committees and there are vacancies which we encourage you to apply for. There’s a supportive team to join and you will be helped to get up to speed in whatever capacity you decide to volunteer. Have a look on the website for information on the committees and vacancies –you are most welcome to join us!

Committee changes

Very sadly Sharon Allaway who served on our Reseach Committee has passed away. We send our deep condolences to her family.

The following people retired from our committees, and we thank them for their time and efforts: Leonie Corfield – Secretary Robert Newman – Treasurer Poppy Pickles – Marketing and Communications (IYN) Nicky Scott – Events Committee Maylis Pagot – Marketing and Communiciations Committee

We welcome our new committee members: Helen Ayling – Ethics and Appeals Committee Harshini Wikramanayake – Equity Committee and Individual Representitive on EX

Sara Ledwith – Research Committee; Marketing and Communications Committee (IYN)

Mark Jolly - Marketing and Communications Committee (IYN)

Treasurer

Report Karen Sherpa

I’mdelighted to take on the role of IY(UK) Treasurer, it’s a great way of giving something back to the Iyengar family and all of my teachers past and present for their teaching and guidance throughout the years. My journey with Iyengar yoga started around the same time I started my Chartered accountancy training in the early 1990s, and I’m now a Level 2 teacher. I look forward to bringing my many years of experience in the world of finance to help the IY(UK) Board, Committees and members in promoting Iyengar yoga throughout the UK and Ireland.

Development Fund General Fund

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Limited

At the time of writing this report, I’m a few weeks into the IY(UK) Treasurer role. First priorities are reforecasting the financial year to 31 December 2025 and looking at assumptions for the next financial year’s budget to 31 December 2026. I’m looking forward to working with everyone on the Board and Executive Committee to ensure we can safeguard the future financial position of IY (UK) to support members, staff and volunteers and

Financial Statements for the year 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 were approved by the Board in May 2025 and presented at the Annual General Meeting on 8 June 2025. Abbreviated accounts were filed at Companies House on 16 July 2025.

The combined profit and loss account for 2024 showed a surplus of £24,203 compared to a surplus of £1,862 in 2023. The reserves of IY(UK) as at the end of 2024 are now £271,864 which is a satisfactory level to support the future financial commitments of the organisation.

2024 2023

£112,019

£83,661

£159,845 £163,999 £271,86

of course to ultimately promote and support the teaching and practice of Iyengar yoga throughout the UK and Ireland.

The IY(UK) membership year is April to March. It was agreed at the AGM for fees to increase in line with Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) each year. For the 2026/27 membership year fees will increase by 3.4% (in line with CPIH) as follows:

Mentoring & Certification Report

See the IY(UK) website: Members’ Dashboard: Mentoring section. All IY(UK) members can see information about Mentoring for Level 11

Teachers and registered trainees can access the Mentoring Resource Bank2, the Mentoring Resources page3, the RIMYI Certification & Assessment Guidelines4 and the up to date pdf version of the Mentoring Manual5

Hard copies of the RIMYI Certification & Assessment Guidelines and the Mentoring Manual may be purchased (details on the Mentoring Resources page).

Congratulations to our new Level 1 teachers!

Rach Evans

Catherine Goodman

Anabela Monteiro

Laura Newson

Stacey Righton

Louise Robb

Tabitha Tarran

Moving towards Level 2 and Level 3 Teaching

Teachers are reminded that if they wish to start preparing for the next level of assessment, they should formalise a relationship with a suitably qualified mentor and register that intention with IY(UK), via the Registration as L2 or L3 Mentee6 form on the website, at least a year before they would hope to take assessment – see Section 3.3 of the Mentoring Manual.

Latest News & Training Dates (Mentoring & MAT)

On this new page7, you will find information and booking links for workshops and training related to mentoring and assessment, including:

1. https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/mentoring-for-level-1/

2. https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/mentoring-resource-ideas/

3. https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/members-dashboard/mentoring-resources/

4. https://bit.ly/41rLkPL

Kate Woodcock

Confident Mentoring Workshops (all teachers and registered L1 trainees welcome). All mentors, especially those new to the role, are recommended to attend. Attendance counts as five hours of in person CPD for teachers.

• Sunday 14 September, IYCE, Essex, led by Jayne Orton

• Saturday 1 November, YogaNow, Edinburgh, led by Kirsten Agar

Assessor Training Level 1, Parts 1 & 2 (for registered mentors and assessors). Useful experience for all mentors. Assessors are required to attend before assessing. Attendance counts as 4 hours of in person CPD for teachers.

• Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 November, IYSL, London, led by Kirsten Agar

• Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 November, MDIY, Manchester, led by Debbie Bartholomew

MAT meetings (for registered mentors and assessors). A requirement for all mentors and assessors.

Confident Mentoring sessions are arranged to meet demand and are open to any teacher wanting to find out more about mentoring. If you would like to find out how to organise a session in your area, please register on our Mailchimp survey.8

The Mentor & Assessor Support Group (MASG) plans to offer the Level 1 Assessor Training twice a year, in different locations, in order to give new assessors, and those who missed the earlier sessions, the opportunity to attend. You are welcome to attend more than once in order to keep up to date with the elements of the Level 1 assessment.

5. https://bit.ly/3HUZWk5

6. https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/registration-as-l2-or-l3-mentee/

7. https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/mentoring-mat-news-training-dates/

8. https://bit.ly/4mt03Cs

Tina Freeland Equity Report

The Equity Committee was established to embed inclusivity and call out discrimination of all kinds. Our first act was to bring IY(UK) into line with UK Equality law, by creating an Equity Policy: “To provide guidance on our expectations in terms of language and behaviour related to equality, diversity, and inclusion from our members.” (Ethical Policies of IY(UK), F6 Equity Policy)

Our second was to make changes to the complaints procedure, to attempt to make our members less fearful of raising a concern or a complaint. We did this through the introduction of Speak up for Change (SUFC), which for the first time, enabled concerns to be documented anonymously. The review process, intended to make the experience of bringing a complaint to light and receiving a clear and timely response or resolution to it, continues. Though it has been hard at times to be heard, we are contributing to the process.

At the same time, I have been working alongside Gael Henry of the Ethics Committee, monitoring the SUFC inbox and facilitating in two complaints. In addition, two serious concerns were brought to the attention of the Board. Without our members speaking up, we are unable to tackle the inequalities that exist in our association. So, although it takes courage to do so, we would urge you to bring your concerns about any form of discrimination, bullying or exclusion to us via the IYUK website and the email: speakup@iyengaryoga.org.uk.

Hannah Lovegrove, our new Chair, published a statement saying that she was committed to

“cultural change”. Ours is a culture of hierarchy, of putting the highest value on seniority and those that “can do”, whilst making a spectacle of and potentially othering, anything that differs from “the norm”.

The key question is: “Can we be Iyengar yoga teachers and practitioners and embrace difference with confidence, and question ourselves as others question us?” Change can only happen with dissent – with people identifying what their true values are and defending them – seeing or experiencing injustice or harm and calling it out, questioning it, because it has no place in our yoga spaces.

“We invite everyone to engage in active listening, and to recognise that real change must be matched by actions, not just intentions. This work may be difficult and sometimes uncomfortable— but it is necessary. Each of us must strive to do better. There will be opportunities for everyone to take part, to commit to greater openness and understanding, and to align our behaviour with our shared purpose.” Hannah Lovegrove, Yoga Space: Yoga & Healthcare

We would argue that those opportunities have always existed, and that failure to act positively is to make a negative choice. We all have a duty to inform and improve ourselves and our understanding. We hope that the willingness our chair expressed will be matched with support for our initiatives, and continues with “actions, not just intentions”.

Tanya De Leersnyder Membership Report

Teachermembership renewals for 2025 are now complete, and I’m pleased to report that the simplified renewal process introduced this year was well received. We received significantly fewer queries and referrals to the Ethics and Appeals Committee compared to previous years, an encouraging indication that the process was smoother and clearer for members.

We also warmly congratulate and welcome the 31 new Iyengar yoga teachers who qualified between June 2024 and April 2025. Of these, 29 have already registered to begin teaching, demonstrating encouraging commitment and enthusiasm within the teaching community.

However, as reflected in the figures below, we continue to see a gradual year-on-year decline in total membership, and this remains a central focus for IY(UK). This year, we are actively exploring ways to make local member groups more attractive and better known. These groups play a crucial role in connecting practitioners and fostering the community spirit that lies at the heart of our association.

As we continue to evolve and strengthen our community, we would like to hear from you, our non-teacher members. Your experience is at the heart of what we do, and we want to ensure that your membership offers the maximum value to your practice and personal journey in Iyengar yoga.

How can we support you better? What additional resources, activities, or opportunities would enhance your membership? We are eager to learn about your thoughts and ideas. Please do not hesitate to reach

out to me at info@kalyaproducts.co.uk with your feedback. Your insights are essential as we strive to serve our community more effectively and continue to grow together.

Additionally, we encourage all members, including non-teachers, to consider getting involved in the broader Iyengar yoga community. Many of our Member Groups are actively seeking volunteers to join their committees. Volunteering is a wonderful way to deepen your connection with fellow practitioners, contribute to the ongoing success of Iyengar yoga in the UK and Ireland, and offer your time and energy to a cause that enriches us all. We welcome your participation, whether you have experience or simply a desire to give back.

Membership Analysis

1. Overall Membership Trends

The data shows a continued but slowing decline in total membership since 2020. From a peak of 2,457 members in 2020–2021, we are now at 2,041 as of July 2025. Covid certainly accounts for most of the decrease (300 over 2 years, 2021 and 2022). The drop has been more pronounced among teachers (a 19% decrease), although non-teacher membership has also fallen by about 15%.

2. Teacher Membership Insights

High retention among newly qualified teachers: Of the 31 new teachers this year, 29 registered—a strong 94% conversion rate.

The number of individual teacher members (not in groups) fluctuates but has stayed between 139–162 in recent years, while the number affiliated with

Member Groups has declined slightly, possibly indicating some potential shift in how teachers are affiliating.

3. Non-Teacher Membership Patterns

Non-teacher numbers showed a temporary dip in April 2024 (855 total), likely due to a renewal gap, before recovering to 1072 by July 2024 and 1083 in February 2025.

TEACHERS

NON TEACHERS

However, the current July 2025 number is 1053, indicating a net drop since last year.

Interestingly, Member Group-affiliated non-teachers rose in 2025 (from 909 in February to 938 in July), suggesting that Member Groups may still play a vital role in retention and engagement. The work that the Scottish member groups did around their 50th anniversary in bringing in new non-teacher members demonstrated how it is possible to attract new members given the right offering.

TOTAL MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS

4. Member Group Health

Member Group numbers have been more resilient among non-teachers (up from 875 in January 2023 to 938 in July 2025).

Among teachers, however, Member Group affiliation has declined from 900 in January 2023 to 837 in July 2025 – a drop of 7%.

Looking Ahead

Our challenge now is to address this gradual membership erosion proactively. We aim to:

• Improve communication about Member Group benefits

• Enhance the value of membership at all levels

We welcome all input from our community. Thank you for continuing to support IY(UK).

Member Group Teachers Non-teachers

Avon Iyengar Yoga (AIY) 59 (-1) 35 (+12)

Bradford and District

Iyengar Yoga (BDIY) 25 (-1) 36 (-1)

Cambridge Iyengar Yoga (CIY) 33 (+4) 21 (+9)

Dorset and Hampshire Iyengar Yoga (DHIY) 49 (-2) 56 (+5)

East of Scotland

Iyengar Yoga (ESIY) 56 (-3) 78 (+21)

Iyengar Yoga Ireland (IYI) 84 (-2) 82 (+13)

Iyengar Yoga

Sussex (IYS) 32 (+1) 28 (-10)

iYoga Glasgow 35 (+1) 38 (-16)

Kent Iyengar Yoga (KIY) 53 (-1) 26 (+1) Membership

Liverpool Iyengar Yoga (LIY) 7 14 (+3)

Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga (MDIY ) 116 (-9

Midland Counties Iyengar Yoga (MCIY) 22

(-7)

(-5)

North East England Iyengar Yoga (NEEIY) 60 (-2) 70 (-4)

North East London Iyengar Yoga (NELIY) 61 (-3) 37 (-2)

Oxford and Region Iyengar Yoga (ORIY) 45 (-2) 35 (+2)

Sheffield and District Iyengar Yoga (SADIY) 20 (-1) 23

South West Iyengar Yoga (SWIY) 27 (-6) 35 (+1)

South West London and Surrey Iyengar Yoga (SWLSIY) 53 (+2) 28 (+7)

Member Groups

Avon Iyengar Yoga (AIY)

Sarah Constantinides aiy@iyengaryoga.org.uk www.avoniyengar.org

Bradford & District Iyengar Yoga (BDIY)

Geraldine Hale

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)

Karen Legge admin@dhiy.org www.dhiy.org

East of Scotland Iyengar Yoga (ESIY)

Jo Mitchell esiyoga@outlook.com www.esiy.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Ireland (IYI)

Mary Duane info@iyengaryogaireland.ie www.iyengaryogaireland.ie

Iyengar Yoga Sussex (IYS)

Randall Evans admin@iyengaryogasussex.org.uk www.iyengaryogasussex.org.uk

iYoga Glasgow

Michael Wright membership@iyogaglasgow.co.uk www.iyogaglasgow.co.uk

Kent Iyengar Yoga (KIY)

Jane Collins

admin@kentiyengaryoga.co.uk www.kentiyengaryoga.co.uk

Liverpool Iyengar Yoga (LIY)

Elaine Keating

liverpooliyengaryoga@gmail.com www.yoga-studio.co.uk

Manchester & District Iyengar Yoga (MDIY)

Jayne Wilson info@mdiiy.org.uk www.manchesteriyengaryoga.org.uk

Midland Counties Iyengar Yoga (MCIY)

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

North East England Iyengar Yoga (NEEIY) Aimi Dunstan info@iyengaryoganortheast.com www.iyengaryoganortheast.com

North East London Iyengar Yoga (NELIY) membership@neliy.org.uk www.facebook.com/NELIYI

Oxford & Region Iyengar Yoga (ORIY) Julia Hardy 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) Hannah Benham www.swiyengaryoga.org.uk

South West London & Surrey (SWLSIY) Elaine Morrison swlsiyengaryoga@gmail.com www.swlsiy.org.uk

Iyengar Yoga Centres

Charlbury Yoga Studio

Matthew Greenfield info@matthewgreenfield.com www.charlburyyogastudio.com

Congleton Iyengar Yoga Centre

Louise Wallace

admin@congletonyogacentre.com www.congletonyogacentre.com

Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre

Jane Walker edinburghiyengaryoga.cbs@gmail.com 0131 229 6000

www.yoga-edinburgh.com

Garway Iyengar Yoga Studio.

Sheila Green

sheilagreenyoga@hotmail.co.uk www.herefordshireyoga.co.uk

Hanuman Iyengar Yoga Studio

Sarah Delfas sarah@hanumanyoga.co.uk 07901 833585

Hereford Yoga Centre Jenny-May While 01432 353324 www.herefordyoga.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Birmingham

Jayne Orton info@iyengaryoga.uk.com www.iyengaryoga.uk.com

Iyengar Yoga Centre for Essex

Susan Long info@iyce.com www iyce.com

Iyengar Yoga London Maida Vale iyengaryogalondon.co.uk 020 7624 3080 office@iyengaryogalondon.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Shala - High Wycombe

Sheila Haswell sheilahaswell.yoga@gmail.com www.iyengar-yoga-shala.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Studio East Finchley

Wendy Sykes, 020 8815 1918 www.theiyengaryogastudio.co.uk

Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford

Isabel Jones Fielding & Geoffrey Fielding www.iyogawestbridgford.uk 0115 9749975

Just yoga

Melanie Palmer mel@justyoga.co.uk www.justyoga.co.uk

Long Wittenham Yoga Centre Evelyn Crosskey longwittenhamyogacentre@gmail.com www.longwittenhamyogacentre.com

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

Putney Iyengar Yoga Centre Julie Hodges julieyogaputney@gmail.com https://putneyyogacentre.co.uk

Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre info@sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk 07944 169238 www.sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk

The Studio at Albert Mews Karen Hamer karenhameryoga@gmail.com www.karenhameryoga.com

Warwickshiure Iyengar Yoga CIC Lynee Myall iyengar.yoga@yahoo.co.uk warwickshireiyengaryoga.co.uk

Wye Valley Yoga Cori and Pete Norton www.wyevalleyyoga.com 01497 820021

Yogatree

Edgar Stringer and Lydia Holmes www.yogatree.co.uk 01249 247071

YogaSouth Sussex

Randall Evans & Cathy Rogers Evans www.yogasouth.com 01903 762850 / 07774 318105

IY(UK) Executive Council

Officers:

Chair Hannah Lovegrove chair@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Deputy Chair

Secretary

Deputy Secretary

Treasurer

Deputy Treasurer

Membership Sec.

Deputy Memb. Sec.

Constitution Officer

Chair of AT

Chair of EA

Chair of Equity

Chair of Therapy

Member Group Reps:

Avon

Bradford & District

Cambridge

Dorset & Hampshire

East of Scotland

Glasgow

Ireland

Kent

Liverpool

Midland Counties

Caroline Earl caroline@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Rachel Overton rachel@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Minna Alanko-Falola minna@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Karen Sherpa karen@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Nick Johnson nick@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Tanya De Leernsyder info@kalyaproducts.co.uk

Elaine Morrison elainemorrison.yoga@gmail.com

Rebecca Baron rebecca@dower24.co.uk

Kirsten Agar atc@iyengaryoga.uk.com

Toni Elliott ethics@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Tina Freeland theindisputable@hotmail.com

Sheila Haswell therapy@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Debbie Rivers-Moore riversmooredebbie@gmail.com

Jo Lovell info@jolovell.yoga

Kate Middleton ktmiddleton@yahoo.co.uk

Semra O'Reilly semra.dhiy@gmail.com

Sue Cresswell sue.cresswell@hotmail.com

Sarah Hunter sarahyoga64@gmail.com

Rachel Overton rachelovertonyoga@gmail.com

Angela Hulm angelahulm@hotmail.com

Minna Alanko-Falola minna@iyengaryoga.org.uk

Nicky Scott nicolavesper@aol.com

Manchester & District VACANCY

Manchester & District

North East

North East London

Oxford

Clare Tunstall clare@mdiiy.org.uk

Cuth Earl cuth_earl@yahoo.com

Louise Leonard louise@louiseleonard.co.uk

TanyaDeLeersnyder info@kalyaproducts.co.uk

Sheffield & District VACANCY

South West

South West London & Surrey

Sussex

Karen Calder karencalder@hotmail.co.uk

Jane Howard janehoward111@hotmail.com

Bev Appleby bev.appleby.yoga@gmail.com

Individual Geoffrey Fielding geoffrey@movement4health.co.uk

Individual Vianney Faudemer howdowebeginagain@gmail.com

Individual Sandra Gallagher sandra.gallagher@icloud.com

Individual Helen Townsend helen.townsend@hotmail.com

Individual VACANCY

Individual VACANCY

IY(UK) Committee Members

Board

Kirsten Agar, Minna Alanko-Falola, Rebecca Baron, Tanya De Leersnyder, Caroline Earl, Toni Elliott, Tina Freeland, Sheila Haswell, Nick Johnson, Hannah Lovegrove, Rachel Overton, Karen Sherpa

Assessment & Training Management Committee:

Kirsten Agar, Debbie Bartholomew, Eileen Cameron, Patricia James, Rachel Lovegrove, Katie Rutherford

Assessments and Timetabling: Frances McKee, Katie Rutherford, Kate Woodcock

Professional Development:

Eileen Cameron, Lin Craddock, Jill Johnson, Isabel Jones Fielding, Edgar Stringer

Mentoring Manual: Kirsten Agar

Learning Modules:

Tricia James, Alicia Lester, Susan Long, Edgar Stringer

Mentor and Assessor Support:

Kirsten Agar, Debbie Bartholomew, Aisling Guirke, Shaili Shafai, Kate Woodcock

Committee Members:

Kirsten Agar, Debbie Bartholomew, Eileen Cameron, Lin Craddock, Aisling Guirke, Sheila Haswell, Lydia Holmes, Patricia James, Isabel

Jones Fielding, AliciaLester, Susan Long, Rachel Lovegrove, Frances McKee, Katie Rutherford, Shaili Shafai, Edgar Stringer

Archives

Sue Cresswell, Randall Evans, Vanita Mistry

Children, Young Adults & Families

Kerry Allsop, Annie Beatty, Korinna PilafidisWilliams, Kirsty Richardson Reps

Marketing and Communications Committee

Minna Alanko-Falola, Gerda Baylis, Sandra Gallagher, Angela Hulm, Mark Jolly, Sara Ledwith, Hannah Lovegrove, Cathy Tincknell

Equity

Cuth Earl, Tina Freeland, Sue Forde, Isabel Jones Fielding, Harshini Wikramanayake

Ethics & Appeals

Toni Elliott, Gael Henry, Georgia Marnham, Norah Phipps

Events

Caroline Earl, Veronica Kendsi, Nivona Sewpal, Pegah Sharghy, Clare Tunstall

Finance & Membership

Tanya De Leersnyder, Nick Johnson, Elaine Morrison, Kate Peters, Karen Sherpa, Andy Tait, Jess Wallwork, Catherine Wilkinson, Kate Woodcock

Iyengar Yoga Development Fund

Jen Henwood, Helen White

Research

Julia Bennett, Sandra Gallagher, Sara Ledwith, Louise Robb

Therapy

Tessa Bull, Sheila Haswell, Lydia Holmes, Rachel Lovegrove, Elaine Martin, Korinna Pilafidis-Williams, Patsy Sparksman

Safeguarding Leads

Marianne Gautier, Noelle Riggott

Note: the Chair of each Committee is in bold

BIRJOO MEHTA

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Convention 2026

Join our community for three days of celebration and practice

Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th & Monday 25th May

The Hilton Glasgow • 1 William Street • Glasgow • G3 8HT • United Kingdom

Birjoo Mehta is a renowned senior Iyengar yoga teacher based in Mumbai, India.

He began studying with BKS Iyengar in the 1970’s & as a young man travelled worldwide to conventions to help assist and demonstrate the finer points of practice in Guruji’s teachings.

His workshops are renowned for their depth & precision, seamlessly integrating the philosophical aspects of yoga with the practice of asana & pranayama.

Birjoo teaches regular classes at the Iyengar Yogashraya Centre in Mumbai.

IY(UK) are delighted to welcome him back to teach in Glasgow at our 2026 convention.

In Stunning Irish Countryside on the Táin Way

Direct links from Dublin and Belfast

Venue sleeps 14 plus teacher

All-inclusive / delicious vegan fare

Purpose-built studio with rope wall