FITNESS FRONT
by Karen Robiscoe
Ms Robiscoe is a certified fitness trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and conventionally published author of short fictions, essays, and poetry. Her chapbook: Word Mosaics, is available online at Fowlpox Press. E mail Karen at chickenscratch@cox.net, or visit http://charronschatter.com
A Yoga Experience
Montecito’s 83-year-old Iyengar yoga instructor Eric Small, with some of his notable credentials behind him
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here are yoga classes, and there are experiences, and then there are yoga experiences. Having guested at many yoga classes while researching Fitness Front, I can state emphatically that the classes I attended under Eric Small’s tutelage were definitely the latter. I found Iyengar yoga to be the most rewarding of all yoga forms, both physically and spiritually. With the instructor’s vigilant guidance, I stretched my inner body as well as my muscles, and the relief I felt from everyday stress was an entirely unexpected bi-product of the class. A senior teacher, and first-generation practitioner of the Hatha yoga form, Eric studied the discipline in Puna, India, with the founder of the modality himself: B. K.S. lyengar, a man Eric affectionately calls Guruji—a respectful term denoting wisdom. The 50 years Eric has devoted to learning his craft surpasses most teachers’ dedication by decades. And it is teaching. The degree to which the mind comes into play during an Iyengar yoga class is far beyond that of directives to “chaturanga” or “assume a warrior pose.” From standing triangles, to leg extensions with belts, to modified downward dogs, the execution of asanas (physical practice of yoga poses) is always preceded by explanation, demonstration, and deconstruction. “The reason why the details and dynamic are so important is that Iyengar yoga engages the mind,” Eric explains. “This increases concentration; that in turn increases consciousness; and what is consciousness if not enlightenment?” Eyes sparkling with good health, the
83-year-old belies his age as he moves lithely about his high-ceilinged studio, fragrant with the scent of sandalwood incense wafting in through open doors, the background of burbling fountain as melodious as his modulations that caution the class to keep soft knees as they perform movements designed to improve standing posture. “The training of the teacher emphasizes safety and respect for the student. It’s a professional, highly regulated training program,” he says. “There are thousands of teachers that teach yoga,” he notes, “but very few as trained as Iyengar instructors. You go to an Iyengar class and you’re going to have the very best.” Kamala Nellen, a coach for elite athletes, agreed. “I come because Eric has a very subtle understanding of Iyengar yoga. He’s better than ninety percent of the instructors out there.” It’s an opinion shared by fellow classmate Alicia Ross, who adds, “I like the poses especially well, because I can feel my inner body relaxing.” Clearly, the Catalina Island native is no slouch when it comes to instilling a sense of appreciation in his clients. Having taught the discipline for more
than 50 years, Eric brings an artist’s flair to the lessons, having earned a B.A. at UCLA, and a Master of Fine Arts from Otis Institute. Having attained the excellence necessary to be awarded a Senior Intermediate Level II certificate from the B. K.S. Iyengar lnstitute, he’s taught yoga since the mid-1960s. A one-time instructor at UC Berkeley, Los Angeles Unified School District, Beverly Hills Adult Education and the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Los Angeles, he’s also served on the teaching staff at Iyengar Yoga conventions, both in America and across the seas. A true powerhouse, Eric travels nationwide teaching Yoga workshops and seminars for MS and non-MS students alike, and you can be sure the four weekly classes he stages in Montecito and Santa Barbara are as top-notch as his following indicates. “When you come into a workshop or class with me, you’ve already filled out a questionnaire. When I walk into the room that first morning,” he explains, “I already know who’s in the class. I make my evaluation of that student, so I can tell student A needs a chair, student B needs a strap, and student C needs a block – based on what I’ve learned.” He points out however, that the focus of each session is formulated at the moment the group convenes, or as he puts it, “Teaching is here and now.” Encouraging his students to adapt exercises to the appropriate level given any physical limitations, Eric cues these modifications with such simple directives as to press splayed fingers together, to extend arms overhead from the elbow instead of the shoulder, and to align the head with the heart rather than position of the leg. “I use a lot of props,” he says, “and the reason why is to avoid injury, and to avoid any unknown or ill effect. My students leave the class with a very positive, informed attitude.” With the aid of bolsters, belts, sticky mats, and chairs, we worked our way through four asanas – not, as Eric informed me – the 15 or so poses you might perform in a less advanced practice. More mysterious to me, initially, were his instructions to “move the navel to the left” when performing leg extensions from a prone position, and to “keep the tongue away from
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the roof of the mouth and teeth” when performing all the activities we covered, but I was to learn both play key parts in attaining the full benefit of the movement. The former addressing the Iyengar tenet of “flushing, squeezing, and rinsing” the visceral organs near your lower extremities, and the latter pertaining to opening up the lungs. “Classes are a thing of the West,” Eric opines. “In India, yoga was never taught as a class. A student used to come and sit at the feet of a yogi and wait until the yogi accepted him. A process that sometimes took months.” He notes that “Regardless of locale, an Iyengar instructor enables you to use what you learn in the class for everyday tasks. It’s applicable to daily living.” And not-so-daily living. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when he was just 22, Eric was galvanized into action rather than sidelined by the neurological affliction that causes communication problems between the brain and body. Defying doctors’ predictions by living far beyond the 40 years they projected, and ambulating with grace and ease, I was hard put to tell he had any infirmity at all during the classes I attended, a result the Montecito resident attributes directly to Iyengar yoga. Those are benefits he is determined to share with other sufferers of MS; one of his weekly classes is geared toward those living with the malady and other neurological conditions. “He does the scope,” says Anamaria Herrera, her warm brown eyes giving no hint of the autoimmune condition she endures. “I’ve been coming for years,” she reveals, adding, “His incredible knowledge of the poses is unparalleled.” And his approach is always fresh. With his suggestion “to keep it new, and continue evolving” echoing in my mind, I finished my review of this exceptional man as an entirely invigorated and enlightened participant. You can reach Mr. Small at (310) 2756850 or via email: EricSmall@YogaMS. com •MJ
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