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Summer 2001

NAMASTE,
In recent years, as yoga has become increasingly more visible to a wider audience, various media outlets - newspapers, magazines, radio and television - have contacted me to find out what this yoga stuff is all about. One question that I am often asked is: "What is Iyengar Yoga and how does it differ from other styles?" As a result of repetition and the media requirement of brevity, I have trimmed my definition to be succinct and to include several distinctive features with variations depending on the circumstances. It goes basically like this:

"Iyengar Yoga is named for B.K.S. Iyengar, the world's foremost living yoga teacher and author of the classic text, Light On Yoga. The Iyengar method involves performing the yoga asanas (postures) and pranayamas (breathing exercises) with an emphasis on alignment and the development of self-awareness through precision in movement and attention to the more subtle aspects of posture and breath. The practice is vigorous, balances flexibility and strength, and builds endurance. Props such as blocks, straps, chairs, bolsters and blankets are used to enable the student to obtain the benefits of otherwise inaccessible postures and/or internal actions and states. Iyengar teachers give detailed, anatomical instructions and hands-on adjustments. These help to guide the student toward safe, effective practice and an increasingly concentrated state of mind, and in this way, Iyengar Yoga becomes meditation in motion."

To further differentiate Iyengar Yoga from other styles or methods, I sometimes mention that we don't play music; we keep the lights on; we practice with our eyes open; we are interested in fostering in-the-body not out-of-body experiences (the media generally likes cute or catchy); and teachers are required to study for at least three years and pass a difficult, comprehensive assessment to become certified.

Of course, this is a thumbnail sketch and doesn't begin to convey the scope or depth of what Iyengar Yoga is. Thousands of pages have been written or transcribed by the Iyengars and their students covering various aspects of Iyengar Yoga, its philosophy and methodology, so my definition for the media omits a great deal.

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One aspect that I often leave out in deference to time or space limitations is the element of rest and relaxation. A few years back, this is all that most folks thought yoga was - some gentle stretching and lots of relaxation. "Stretch your arms, stretch your legs, lie back, relax, breathe softly and deeply, imagine you're floating on a cloud or walking through the forest," etc. This is one of the reasons men avoided it like poison. And, to tell the truth, a lot of yoga was like that. That particular concept of what yoga is still lingers.

But with all the more recent publicity about yoga, the upsurge of more energetic forms developed by teachers like B.K.S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Bikram, and the public's awareness of people like Madonna, Sting, other Hollywood stars, and a number of athletes who practice these more strenuous styles, the popular conception of yoga has begun to change. The part of the public that doesn't associate yoga with gazing at your navel now is starting to equate it with buff bodies and lots of sweat. (Fortunately, it isn't quite that grim, and I don't want to be seen as biting the hand that feeds me, but we may be in danger of jumping from the frying pan into the fire.)

Many who have heard of Iyengar Yoga think of it as a physically challenging approach. While there are, arguably, more vigorous styles, Iyengar Yoga can be strenous. As students become more experienced and accomplished, they build up to more and more difficult poses and longer times in them. Nevertheless, relaxation and rest are an essential part of the method. This is so in several ways.

Relaxation in its most obvious sense is a part of just about every Iyengar Yoga class. As the last asana in our practice, we lie on our backs in a pose called Shavasana (Corpse Pose). Very consciously and deliberately, we relax our physical bodies and direct our attention inward to bring the mind to a level of deep quietude. It is a commentary on the state of our society that this is such a difficult task for so many, but deep relaxation can be learned through guidance and practice.

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There is also, within the Iyengar method, a group of asanas known as restorative poses. In these poses, the body is supported, usually with the use of props, in a variety of postures that help to relieve muscular tension, soften the breath, and alter the physiology of the body to foster relaxation and restore depleted energy. These postures, in a variety of sequences, are taught to all students of Iyengar Yoga so that they can add them to their repertoire and use them when needed. Fatigue, pregnancy, menopause, and menstruation are common conditions that call for the use of restorative poses. They are also employed in working with such illnesses as fibromyalgia, heart disease, high blood pressure, back pain, asthma, and a host of other ailments. But the daily vicissitudes of ordinary life and the stresses to which we are all subject make them valuable tools for us all.

Even the ordinary asanas we regularly practice incorporate the element of relaxation. Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutra (II.47), states that asana is mastered by contemplation and relaxation of effort. As we become more skilled in our practice of asana, we learn to discriminate what work is necessary to perform the asana and where we can let go of unnecessary effort and find quietness within the pose. B.K.S. Iyengar says that, "The sadhaka [practitioner] can be considered firm in his postures when persevering effort is no longer needed... Then he gains the art of relaxation..."

The practice of pranayama takes relaxation to a much deeper level. Softness, quietness, and receptivity are both the prerequisites for and benefits of the practice of directing, expanding, and slowing the breath. The use of effort and willpower, while they have their place in the practice of asana, are contraindicated and counterproductive in the practice of pranyama. This yogic science of breathing carries us well beyond the realm of physical relaxation to bring us to a state of profound mental clarity and quietness.

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To return to a more basic level, in Light On Yoga, Mr. Iyengar recommends that once a week we limit our practice to restorative poses and pranayama or take the day off altogether. Our bodies and minds are finite and need time off to rest and recuperate. This, too, is part of the practice. As some great yogi said about the yoga postures, " Ya gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em."

After spending last year writing the Asana column for Yoga Journal, traveling to India and Italy to study and teach, opening another studio in Bethesda early this year, and just generally keeping up with running Unity Woods and the rest of the life of John Schumacher, I am ready for some rest and recuperation myself. So I'm going to fold my hand and take the summer off from my regular classes at Unity Woods. I'll still be teaching a couple of weeklong workshops (Feathered Pipe in July and Durango in August), and there are a couple of projects - a book with Patricia Walden and an audiotape on pranayama - that I'll be working on, but having the time off from a regular teaching schedule for a couple of months will give me a chance to recharge my batteries, indulge in my own practice, and spend some time with my family.

We are all creatures of habit to a greater or lesser extent, and I know that my absence will discombobulate some of you a little. It's only for a couple of months and besides, my classes will taught by some of the excellent teachers here at Unity Woods. Steve, Esther, Mary, and Colleen will take over for me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesday night my classes will be taught by our newest teacher, Cristin Fair.

Cristin began her studies at Unity Woods ten years ago. She apprenticed with me in 1994 and '95 and taught at Sun And Moon Yoga Studio in Arlington for a year during that time. Five years ago, she stopped teaching yoga to give birth to and raise two sons. During that she maintained her practice, her children are older, and now Cristin is ready to resume teaching. She has resumed apprenticing with me on Wednesday night for the past two sessions to refresh her teaching skills and to get to know the Wednesday night students she'll be working with this summer. Cristin's sharp mind, warm heart, and ready smile make her a natural teacher. The maturity developed over years of deep devotion to her yoga practice makes her teaching special. The Wednesday night students - and indeed, all my students - will benefit from the skillful guidance they will receive in my absence. And I'll be back for the fall session, Lord willing. In the meantime, I wish you easy livin' and a relaxing summer.

       

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