The Iyengar approach to yoga, founded on the teachings of BKS Iyengar, a living Yogacharya who turned 90 in December 2008, and carried on today by his daughter Geeta and son Prashant Iyengar at their Pune Institute in India, is classical Indian yoga. BKS was the eleventh born to a working poor south Indian family and suffered from influenza, malaria and typhoid as a child. After his father died the physically feeble BKS went to stay with first an older brother and then with an older sister. It was during this time in his sister's home he began his and study of yoga with his uncle Krishnamacharya. One of the ironies of Mr. Iyengar’s youth is that he did not finish high school due to failing English and not having the money to retake it; today he is a prolific writer and international speaker with numerous published books including “Light on Yoga” (LOY), regarded as the landmark treatise on yoga. On my first visit to RIMYI (The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute dedicated to BKS deceased wife) in Pune, Prashant Iyengar walked us around the room to look at pictures of Mr. Iyengar taken from LOY, he asked us to study his face in each pose; I noticed a dynamic inward focus conveying equanimity and fortitude no matter the degree of difficulty of the asana - “Perform each asana as a mantra and each pose as a meditation, then the light will dawn from the centre of your being” BKS Iyengar. RIMYI is an institute where both international and local students attend daily classes and open practice six days a week. International students must be recommended by a senior teacher, have a minimum of eight years of experience and go on a wait list. I love wandering the heavily treed sidewalks of Pune to class. Classes are taught in English by Geeta and Prashant; Mr. Iyengar, who is no longer teaching classes, is always present doing his own practice and he cannot stop himself from injecting his pearls of wisdom into the classroom. His enthusiasm for yoga is mesmerizing, imploring us to see through to the depth of his understanding with intense eyes that express his seventy years of uninterrupted practice. At RIMYI general classes are for teachers, there are also beginner, children’s and medical classes. Props typically seen in yoga studios around the world today were invented by Mr. Iyengar. In the book “Iyengar, His life and work” he describes how in 1948 he picked up a brick from the street to help him work with Baddhakonasana and later in 1975 when RIMYI opened he advanced his exploration of how props help adapt the asana to the student without losing the integrity, the inherent seed of wisdom and vitality embedded within each asana. Anyone who uses a block, chair, rope, wall, bench or countless other innovative props can thank Mr. Iyengar for this gift. The Iyengar method focuses on alignment, action and sequencing of asana for health and vitality and on self-study, svadyaya, to take the student deeper inward. Classes are taught in levels, beginning with the introduction of asana for strength, flexibility and stamina and graduating into more complex asana, study of the yoga sutras, chanting and the weaving of all eight limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras into the practice. A student may stay an experienced beginner and enjoy the health benefits or delve more deeply into the study by attending higher level classes and connecting with the spiritual teaching and as Prashant would say, “Plowing, irrigating and cultivating the Self” Today Iyengar teachers are required to attend two to three year teacher training followed by two sets of national assessments (taking two more years) to become certified. Teachers must be familiar with asana, Sanskrit names, The Yoga Sutras, pranayama, human anatomy, pregnancy, common health matters, and of course have an established practice. 12/17/11
What is Iyengar Yoga?
The Iyengar approach to yoga, founded on the teachings of BKS Iyengar, a living Yogacharya who turned 90 in December 2008, and carried on today by his daughter Geeta and son Prashant Iyengar at their Pune Institute in India, is classical Indian yoga. BKS was the eleventh born to a working poor south Indian family and suffered from influenza, malaria and typhoid as a child. After his father died the physically feeble BKS went to stay with first an older brother and then with an older sister. It was during this time in his sister's home he began his and study of yoga with his uncle Krishnamacharya. One of the ironies of Mr. Iyengar’s youth is that he did not finish high school due to failing English and not having the money to retake it; today he is a prolific writer and international speaker with numerous published books including “Light on Yoga” (LOY), regarded as the landmark treatise on yoga. On my first visit to RIMYI (The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute dedicated to BKS deceased wife) in Pune, Prashant Iyengar walked us around the room to look at pictures of Mr. Iyengar taken from LOY, he asked us to study his face in each pose; I noticed a dynamic inward focus conveying equanimity and fortitude no matter the degree of difficulty of the asana - “Perform each asana as a mantra and each pose as a meditation, then the light will dawn from the centre of your being” BKS Iyengar. RIMYI is an institute where both international and local students attend daily classes and open practice six days a week. International students must be recommended by a senior teacher, have a minimum of eight years of experience and go on a wait list. I love wandering the heavily treed sidewalks of Pune to class. Classes are taught in English by Geeta and Prashant; Mr. Iyengar, who is no longer teaching classes, is always present doing his own practice and he cannot stop himself from injecting his pearls of wisdom into the classroom. His enthusiasm for yoga is mesmerizing, imploring us to see through to the depth of his understanding with intense eyes that express his seventy years of uninterrupted practice. At RIMYI general classes are for teachers, there are also beginner, children’s and medical classes. Props typically seen in yoga studios around the world today were invented by Mr. Iyengar. In the book “Iyengar, His life and work” he describes how in 1948 he picked up a brick from the street to help him work with Baddhakonasana and later in 1975 when RIMYI opened he advanced his exploration of how props help adapt the asana to the student without losing the integrity, the inherent seed of wisdom and vitality embedded within each asana. Anyone who uses a block, chair, rope, wall, bench or countless other innovative props can thank Mr. Iyengar for this gift. The Iyengar method focuses on alignment, action and sequencing of asana for health and vitality and on self-study, svadyaya, to take the student deeper inward. Classes are taught in levels, beginning with the introduction of asana for strength, flexibility and stamina and graduating into more complex asana, study of the yoga sutras, chanting and the weaving of all eight limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras into the practice. A student may stay an experienced beginner and enjoy the health benefits or delve more deeply into the study by attending higher level classes and connecting with the spiritual teaching and as Prashant would say, “Plowing, irrigating and cultivating the Self” Today Iyengar teachers are required to attend two to three year teacher training followed by two sets of national assessments (taking two more years) to become certified. Teachers must be familiar with asana, Sanskrit names, The Yoga Sutras, pranayama, human anatomy, pregnancy, common health matters, and of course have an established practice. 
Iyengar Yoga Workshop with Marlene Mawhinney June 15th - 17th 2012
Marlene is a senior Iyengar Yoga instructor based in Toronto. She is the founder and director of Yoga Centre Toronto where she teaches classes and trains teachers in a comprehensive YTT program. She has also been pivotal in the founding of Iyengar yoga teacher training in Canada. Precise and detailed in her instructions, Marlene has also made it her life's work to develop therapeutic yoga as prescribed and handed down to her by BKS and Geeta Iyengar.
This will be an all levels workshop for experienced students and teachers. All methods welcome.
June 15th, 16th 17th 2012
Friday 6 to 9pm
Saturday & Sunday 9am to 1pm daily
Cost: $275 received before May 1st, $300 received after
To register contact Leigh A. Milne 902-273-9642 or leigh@thesadhanacentre.com
Weekend Yoga workshop with Fr. Joe Chester NS September 14th, 15th, 16th 2012
Father Joe is a renowned senior Iyengar yoga teacher from India. He is an Indian Jesuit Priest and worked very closely with Mother Teresa. Fr. Joe say’s that Mother Teresa is his left hand and yogacharya BKS Iyengar is his right. Fr. Joe travels each fall to raise money for his addiction recovery and AIDS centres across India. In his last incarnation Fr. Joe was a professional singer and retains a deeply soothing voice. Join us for a deeply restorative weekend of yoga. Register early as this will fill quickly. Cost:
Friday 6:30 - 9:00 pm - $75 advance registration
Saturday 10 to 1pm and 3:30 to 5:30pm
Sunday 10 to 1pm
Sat/Sun - $200 or $225 received after August 1st 2012
Open to experienced students of yoga.
Information about Chester accommodation available on request. 902-273-9642 email: leigh@thesadhanacentre.com Visit http://www.kripafoundation.org/ to learn more about Fr. Joe’s work.
9/8/11
Yoga, Ayurveda and Spiritual Wisdom
Satya Narayana Dasa, PhD, (thesis: ‘An Analysis of Bhakti Sandarbha’) M.A. Sanskrit, is the author of 15 books on Indian culture and philosophy and founder of the Jiva Institute of Vedic Studies to promote Vedic culture, philosophy, and Ayurveda through education. He regularly teaches classes on Hindu philosophy, the Sanskrit language, and ancient Indian sciences for scholars from around the world. He has initiated a program for preservation, translation, and publication of ancient Indian works of science and wisdom, and serves as a visiting professor at the State University of New Jersey, Rutgers, and American Hindu University. He maintains an office in Vrindavan, India.
Cost: Friday October 6th, 6:30 to 9pm - $45 Saturday October 7th, 9:30 to 12 and 2:30 to 5pm - $75 or both $100 with preregistration before September 1st
Where: The Sadhana Centre, 71 Duke St. Chester, NS, Canada
Register: with Leigh A. Milne, 902.273.9642 or leigh@thesadhanacentre.com
9/17/10
Havana Yoga Vacation March 17th to 21st 2011
Thursday March 17thArrive at Old Havana Hotel - check in
Friday March 18th – Sunday March 20th
Breakfast
One hour pranayama
Juice break
2.5 hour asana
Free time
Saturday March 19th
Dinner with Havana yoga community
Monday March 21st
Breakfast
Departure or book with hotel to stay on if you prefer
Yoga is all levels of experience. You must bring your own yoga props. I mat, belt, block and 3 firm blankets. Yoga self-care for RMT’s will be incorporated into this weekend. Yoga will be co-taught by Leigh Milne and Havana yoga maestro Eduardo Pimentel. Havana yogis will be participating and yoga will be taught in English and Spanish (and Sanskrit).
Havana is a city of culture. The hotel concierge can help you find museums etc. This time of year there may be a Ballet performing. We know where to go dancing!! We may be able to arrange for a dance lesson if interest. Havana Viejo (old town) is a walking district rich with galleries, music and restaurants. Monday March 21st I recommend heading to a resort or casa particular in Veradero and spending the rest of Monday March 21st through Thursday relaxing then fly out Thursday night (7 day total trip).
Flights: Most charter flights are 7 or 14 days from Halifax to Veradero.
Havana is 2 hours by bus to Veradero or you can hire a taxi. Also coming from Airport to Havana the bus can drop you off in old town. Approximate cost for bus is $25 CUC (approx. $26 CD) per person each way. I suggest Barry Freeman at Maritime travel to help you with air, Veradero resort and transfers (902) 492-6702
Cost for accommodation, breakfast, Yoga and one group dinner at a restaurant (in Canadian $$) see below rates:
Hotel Conde de Villanueva (location of yoga) or Hotel Valencia
Four night’s $978 single or $718 per person double occupancy, plus 15% HST. This is a modest to mid range hotel. Both are older converted casa/mansion boutique style and walking distance to one another. Old town is stunning but can be noisy at night; expect this and bring ear plugs.
Prices do not include gratuities, taxes, entertainment, ground or air transport.
To register $200 non-refundable deposit payable now and the remainder is payable in Full by November 15th. Otherwise rate increases to $1078 single and $818 double after Nov. 15th payable in full at time of registration.
Call Leigh 902-273-9642 or email: leigh@thesadhanacentre.com for the registration form.
12/20/08
BKS Iyengar
"Anyone and everyone can make the yogic journey and reach the goal of illumination and freedom."- B.K.S Iyengar
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
