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IYENGAR
The magazine of the Iyengar
YOGA N EWS
®
Yoga Association of the United Kingdom
ISSUE NUMBER 10 SPRING 2007

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IYENGAR YOGA ®
www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
ASSOCIATION (UK) President: Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar
IYENGAR ® YOGA N EWS - I ssue n o.10 - S pring 2 007

Editorial Board E D I T O R I A L
Issue 10 of Iyengar Yoga News includes a tribute to Guruji
Sharon Klaff, John Cotgreave, Helen Dye on his birthday in December, part 3 of “Guruji: Profile of a
Philippe Harari, Judith Jones, Rachel Lovegrove Yogi”, as well as Chandru Melwani and Carole Sender's
colour photos from Pune. The Bellur Trust remains a high
Layout: Rachel Lovegrove and Philippe Harari priority with news of the inauguration of the hospital and
Photographs by Carole Sender, Rachel Lovegrove and an appeal for funds. Meg Laing's ADESTE introduces a
Chandru Melwani focus for practice and teaching. There are two articles by
yoga practitioners with medical conditions - Cathy Slow
Front Cover - Ramamani Institute Practice Hall writes about her experience as an arthritis sufferer and
Back Cover - Statue of BKS Iyengar outside the Rama- Lucy Brown about yoga and scoliosis. These two articles
mani Institute arose from readers' questions and prompted the planned
introduction of the "exploring yoga" page for the autumn
Printed by: Blueprint Press, Cambridge, on paper made using wood edition. It will be edited by Cecelia Harrison who will
from sustainable forests and without the use of chlorine research the topics you raise, and reviewed by the editorial
board prior to publication. Contentious issues will be sent
® used with permission of BKS IYENGAR,Trade Mark Owner
to Pune for advice.
Regular readers will notice a change in our pre-convention

coverage. This year, the guest teacher interview will appear
Copy deadline for next issue (IYN no. 11): after the convention in the autumn edition together with
the convention report. This issue includes the interview
Ist June, 2007 carried out with Jawahar Bangera following the 2006
convention. The series of interviews with the original
Iyengar pupils in the UK continues with Diane Maimaris' in
IYN 11 will be published in September 2007 conversation with Diana Clifton. We are happy to receive
contact details for any of these teachers who might like to
Articles, letters, photographs* and be interviewed for this series.
illustrations should be sent to:
The increased interest in Iyengar Yoga in the UK has seen
Sharon.klaff@btopenworld.com the recent opening and growth of several new Iyengar
Sharon Klaff, 13 Totnes Walk, London N2 0AD yoga studios around the country. In this issue, we have
reports from two of them. If you have opened or are plan-
Small ads to Leza Hatchard at: ning or expanding an Iyengar yoga studio, we would like to
admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk hear from you for a future special feature on this very
encouraging development.
Box adverts to John Cotgreave at:
jcotgreave@merseymail.com Your contributions are gratefully appreciated. Don't wait
for an invitation or a deadline - if you take beautiful photo-
*(if sending images via email please send seperately graphs or write and have something to say which is rele-
in tiff or jpeg format and at a minimum of 200dpi) vant to Iyengar yoga, please simply send in your photos,
Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 2

C O N T E N T S
ARTICLES
4 A Tribute to BKS Iyengar: on the occasion of his 88th Birthday on 14th December 2006
8 P r o f i l e o f a Y o g i - R e c o g n i t i o n : Part three of Kirsten and Richard Agar-Ward’s occasional series
22 In Conversation with Diana Clifton: by Diane Maimaris
25 Interview with Jawahar Bangera: by Sharon Klaff and Jenny Scott
29 Bellur Hospital Opening - 2006: by Stephanie Quirk
31 Iyengar Yoga for Mind Body & Soul: by Sallie Sullivan
32 Pictures from the Ramamani Institute in Pune: by Carole Sender and Chandru Melwani
34 Can You Help Fundraise for Bellur? Information from The Bellur Action Group
36 SARVA IYI - Three is Not A Crowd: by Ally Hill
38 One Year Old - Glasgow & West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute: by Helen Graham & Fiona Dewar
39 Yoga Show London - 15th to 17th September 2006: by Patsy Sparksman and Leza Hatchard
SPECIAL FEATURES - Focus on Practice and Health
11 ADESTE: Alignment, Direction, Extension, Sequencing,Timing, Effects by Meg Laing

14 Astanga Yoga in Adho Mukha Svanasana: by Arti H Mehta
15 Astanga Yoga in Urdvha Mukha Svanasana Part One: by Arti H Mehta
18 A Personal Story: by Cathy Slow
19 Yoga for Scoliosis: by Lucy Brown
REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
41 Logging in to the Discussion Forum and Updating Classes on www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

48 Chair’s Report, Treasurer’s Report, MOM’s Report
50 IYA (UK) 2007 Convention Details
MISCELLANEOUS
42 Events Listings - Your Guide to Iyengar Yoga Institutes Around the UK

44 Assessment Results
45 Professional Development Days 2007
46 Teacher Trainers List
52 Classes at RIYMI
53 Yoga Rahasya
54 IYA (UK) Merchandise
56 Advertisements
62 IYA (UK) Executive Council
THE IYA (UK) MAIN OFFICE HAS A NEW ADDRESS:

LEZA HATCHARD (MEMBERSHIP and OFFICE MANAGER)
IYA (UK), PO BOX 54151, LONDON W5 9DH
A TRIBUTE TO
BKS IYENGAR -
88 ON 14th
DECEMBER 2006
An article by Judith Jones first written for and published in
Yoga & Health Magazine, December 2006
A mini tornado burst open the door of the hall. A

student, late for the yoga class, had arrived. It was
pràõàyàma week and the other fifteen or so bodies were
philosopher and family man. Genius is rare - BKS Iyengar
is unique and his work in the field of yoga unparalleled.
already lying on bolsters in supta baddha koõàsana . A Despite his fame, Guruji (as he is respectfully and affec-
few heads popped up to see what was going on but the tionately called) continues to live a simple life, still prac-
more experienced serenely ignored the disturbance.After ticing àsana and pràõàyàma daily. His home is the
the class the now equally serene late-comer sighed, “oh I Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in
always feel so different after yoga - as if I have been Pune, India, which is also the spiritual “home” for many
washed out inside”.This is what BKS Iyengar has given us hundreds of his pupils, who attend classes there as often
- a way to change as they are able and
ourselves through the which is also visited by
practice of àsana and many dignitaries, officials,
pràõàyàma , which is BKS Iyengar’s life has been one journalists and groups
accessible to everyone. from a wide range of
of service to mankind. He bore different backgrounds.
To hundreds of people all They come to get close
over the world, whether
they “do” yoga or not, the
much hardship and suffering as to this special man who is
not an armchair philoso-
name Iyengar is synony-
mous with this ancient
he struggled to earn a living as pher but teaches by
example, his life steeped
practice. From humble in the spiritual discipline
beginnings in a small a teacher of yoga and support of yoga.
village in Southern India
where he was born the his family. BKS Iyengar’s life has been
son of a schoolmaster, one of service to
BKS Iyengar has become mankind. He bore much
the greatest Yogacharya of our age - maybe of all time - hardship and suffering as he struggled to earn a living as a
but certainly a legend in his own lifetime. teacher of yoga and support his family.
Sickly and weak as a child, his own education suffered but When he first came to teach in the UK in the late 1950’s
because of his great strength of character, his determina- he suffered racial prejudice, had little to eat as a vege-
tion, curiosity and single-mindedness, he survived and tarian diet was practically unheard of, had to walk for
succeeded. He is a man of high moral and ethical char- miles to teach classes and had to practice in someone’s
acter, demanding, compassionate, humble, generous and kitchen. But his endurance and determination bore fruit
has a great sense of humour. He is a scientist, artist, and by the late 60’s and early 70’s Iyengar Yoga was

spreading and teachers authorised by Guruji were through his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama,
teaching for the Inner London Education Authority and in Light on the Yoga Såtras of Patanjali and the latest addi-
other parts of the country. Soon teacher training courses tion to the series Light on Life. Many teachers eager to
were set up and in 1977 the first national Iyengar Yoga jump on the bandwagon have used the term Iyengar style,
Association. Guruji himself has never called his method of method, influenced by etc to describe their brand of yoga,
teaching Iyengar Yoga.This term has been adopted by his despite not having been properly trained in his method.
pupils. He maintains that there is no distinction between For this reason an (Iyengar) Certification Mark has been
one form of yoga and another. He says that water can be introduced in recent years to trademark the name
poured into different shaped containers but it is all the Iyengar in relation to yoga and the method of teaching
same water, so too yoga is the same no matter what which is called Iyengar Yoga. The trademark logo and
name it bears. name can only be used by properly trained and qualified
Iyengar Yoga teachers and is intended to be a safeguard to
Nevertheless, Guruji has evolved a unique method which maintain the purity of this tradition of yoga.
has transformed yoga from a mystical secret practice into
a science, therapy and art accessible to everyone - not Today in every yoga book there are glossy photos of
that the path of liberation from pain and sorrow is easy - beautiful people demonstrating yoga poses and in every
especially under the guidance of BKS Iyengar! He type of yoga class asanas are taught in a multitude of
demands sincerity and hard work from his pupils in the different ways with as many different influences. In
discipline of body, mind and will through the practice of comparison the photos of Guruji in Light on Yoga show a
àsana and pràõàyàma . Guruji’s method of practice beautiful, artistic, graceful, skillful presentation of àsanas
requires “great effort, perseverance and patience to that are an embodiment of all the qualities we should aim
penetrate from the outer skin towards the core of the for in yoga. They are not held with hard muscular effort
being and back to the periphery” - “the evolutionary and - the skin is soft and the poses appear effortless. They
involutionary journey to have a quality of timeless-
search for the Soul”. ness. Even today at 88
when he usually practices
One class with him is with the use of props that
humbling as his students ... Guruji has evolved a unique same quality is evident.
realise that they are just
scratching the surface of
the subject. His knowl-
method which has transformed To quote from the Yoga
Såtras of Patanjali:
edge of the intricacies of
the body and the working
yoga from a mystical secret 1.2 yogaþ cittavçtti
of the mind is awesome. nirodhaþ : yoga is the
His practical philosophy is practice into a science, therapy cessation of movements
woven from the threads in the consciousness.
found in the Yoga Såtras and art accessible to everyone ... 11.46 sthira sukham
of Patanjali, and the Eight àsanam: àsana is perfect
Limbs of Yoga are firmness of body, steadi-
completely integrated ness of intelligence and
within his teaching. benevolence of spirit.
11.47 prayatna ÷aithilya ananta samàpattibhyàm :
Guruji says, “Yoga is the most abused as well as the most perfection in àsana is achieved when the effort to
respected subject in the world”. Nowadays this is espe- perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within
cially true with the emergence of all kinds of “yoga”, as is reached.
could be seen recently in London at an event that
included yoga dance, builders’ down the pub yoga and Guruji has given us the key to make this tranquil, timeless
yogapilates. Until Guruji the classical asanas that everyone quality accessible to anyone to some degree. By concen-
knows nowadays had been forgotten, even in India. BKS tration and observation in àsana we go through a
Iyengar has been tremendously influential, especially process of organising ourselves outside and inside to gain
clarity and for a moment in time, although the pose is gives neurological strength. For example when
imperfect, there can be a feeling of equilibrium. Through sarvàngàsana is done independently the temples “hit
systematic, sequential adjustments and alignment of each out”, but when done with correct use of a chair for
and every part of the body the àsana becomes firm, support this does not happen. Props are not used just to
stable, light, balanced. Neither a casual, self-satisfied, make the pose more comfortable but to help gain neuro-
dreamy approach nor a purely gymnastic performance logical control. Yoga is a neurological science. (Ref: Yoga
has any substance. Guruji maintains that a disciplined Rahasya Vol. 12 No.3 2005). In general practice the props
approach to yoga disciplines the mind; “agility in action are an aid to learning, the challenge being to achieve the
brings agility in mind; precision of movement and control same balance without their use.
of body brings mental control and clarity of thought”. As
the Yoga Såtras say both strength of body and mental Guruji’s talent is that he can teach yoga to anyone: to the
clarity are needed for spiritual progress. young and the elderly, the sick and healthy, supple and stiff,
intellectual and illiterate, from every class or profession, of
This does not mean that only fit, able people can benefit any creed or culture. He wants the experience of yoga
from the practice of yoga. BKS Iyengar has tremendous to be accessible to EVERYONE. His life has been spent
compassion and can be seen in the medical classes at the propagating yoga and he has been so inspirational that
Institute in Pune working with today there is a large
people who have the most network of interna-
extreme difficulties: paralysis, tional Iyengar Associa-
heart conditions, depression, tions and yoga
deformity …… all are given Props are not used just to make centres, many
help to find the physical or hundreds of Iyengar
psychological “tools” to the pose more comfortable but teachers and thou-
improve or overcome their sands of students,
problems, to bring relief, inner to help gain neurological who all love what they
strength and inner peace. It is do, derive immense
especially in this field that
Guruji has developed the use
control. Yoga is a neurological benefit, and owe it all
to Guruji.
of “props” for which Iyengar
Yoga has become famous. science. He teaches not
mechanical yoga but
At first common household how to work for our
objects, walls, window sills, own evolution and
furniture, blankets became tools to help open, extend, integration. This is his great gift to humanity. If we find
support the body and then also the use of wooden peace in ourselves we can act peacefully in the world.
bricks, belts, ropes, chairs and various purpose made
heart benches, halasana stools, setubandha benches and Love and compassion flow from Guruji, but he does not
many more, all designed to enable everyone, no matter just offer words - for example he acted instantly when an
what their inability, stiffness, problem or affliction, to be earthquake struck the remoter villages of Gujarat and
able to gain the maximum benefit possible from the ther- Maharashatra a few years ago. He even sent his own
apeutic application of the yoga postures for their condi- surplus clothing as well as teachers to bring psychological
tion. The most amazing transformations can be seen to help to the suffering people.
take place as relief is gained from pain and suffering.
He is a man of action and works with immense energy
Nowadays the use of props like bricks, belts, foam pads himself and more than that he is able to ignite the energy
and chairs are commonly used in general yoga classes, and of others to help achieve his dearly held goals. For many
not just Iyengar classes, the techniques being borrowed years he has had a vision - to bring yoga and with it health
without full understanding of their application. Guruji and prosperity to the people in the villages of India. He
teaches that extension and relaxation in yogàsana should has now taken the first step to realise this dream in the
go together, then biological relaxation takes place and this village community of his birth - Bellur.
The plan, which is rapidly becoming a reality, is to bring

about educational, health and social reform to turn
around the lives of the people who exist in abject poverty
with no opportunity to change their plight. Until 2004
Bellur did not even have clean drinking water. A charitable
trust was set up with money donated by Guruji and the
Iyengar family and students worldwide. A health centre
was built and other plans for a high school, technical
college, establishment of cottage industries, and much
more began to take shape. The existing primary school
was refurbished and a yoga room built. The children
started having yoga classes!
Today a hospital has been built and a High School is

providing free education to girls as well as boys beyond
primary school age and both serve the needs of the
surrounding district as well as Bellur. Guruji has financed
the construction of a Temple to Patanjali - the first in India.
To see the completion and maintenance of all these proj-
ects Associations worldwide have begun to launch fund
raising appeals for the Bellur Trust.
When asked to write a tribute to Guruji my first thought

was where would I begin? BKS Iyengar is held in such high
esteem by all people who come into contact with him -
there are countless testimonies from people whose lives
have been transformed by him - the walls of the Institute
in Pune display honorary doctorates, awards and presen-
tations from all over the world - in 2002 he was
presented with the Padma Bhushan award by the Indian
government, the highest civic honour made to people
who excel in their field.
Yet he remains humble. He carries on practicing yoga. His

impact on the subject is unquestionable and there will be
no end to the wealth of knowledge, which he has blessed
us with.
God bless you Guruji on the occasion of your 88th

Birthday and may you continue to enjoy good health and
vigour. May the light of your wisdom continue to shine for
all of us who gratefully and reverentially follow your path.
If you would like to make a donation to the Bellur Trust

Appeal in honour of BKS Iyengar, please see page 34.
Yoga Rahasya is the quarterly magazine of the RIMYI -

see page 53 for details. C

GURUJI: P ROFILE O F A Y OGI

Part 3: Recognition
The way Guruji lives his life is a shining example of how we should
strive to live in a yogic way. As Geetaji has told us, we should imitate
Guruji, not just in posture but in his determination, his devotion to
yoga and his philosophy of life. We would like to use this series to help
you to get to know Guruji, the man. In this part Kirsten and Richard
Agar Ward explore the esteem in which Guruji is held by other yogis
and spiritual leaders as well as the great and the good in other
spheres whilst remaining humble and according others respect.
T he walls of the stairs leading to the practice hall at

RIMYI in Pune are crammed full of honours given to
Guruji from all over the world - by Universities, by cultural
Guruji even earned the respect of his own Guru Sriman
T. Krishnamacharya (no mean feat!).This is well illustrated
by a story told by Geetaji on Guru Purnima 1987. She
and administrative bodies, by spiritual groups, by medical describes how when Sriman Krishnamacharya was in
authorities and by the Government of India [see box Pune one day in 1961 she and her cousin were practising
below]. It is striking how highly regarded this man is by such for a yoga demonstration and unusually Guruji had some
a diversity of people and institutions across the globe. free time and was watching and explaining the points in
each àsana , correcting and improving, leading towards
Guruji has won the admiration of saints, yogis and holy precision and perfection. Sriman Krisnamacharya was
men. For example, the Viswa Yoga Samaj hailed him as watching and afterwards went to Guruji’s wife Rama and
“Yoga Ratna” (Jewel among Yogis). MP Pandit of “praised my father for all that he has worked for precision.
Aurobindo Ashram described him as a “Light and Force”. He appreciated the hard work that Guruji had put to
Others including Swami Venkatesananda and Swami improve so much.” She goes on to describe how the next
Sivananda Radha were deeply impressed by him and his day Sriman Krishnamacharya went to a goldsmith to get
system. Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh declared Guruji to him to make a gold medal with the inscription “Yoganga-
be a reincarnation of the great yogi Matsyendra, so Shikshak-Chakravar ti” engraved on it (Emperor of
impressed was he, and in 1952 conferred on Guruji the Teachers in Yoga). It was presented at a specially arranged
title “Yoga Raja”. Guruji’s teachings and practice were also public function and as Geetaji puts it: “It was a golden day
appreciated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI. In 1998 Guruji in Guruji’s life, a Guru praising a pupil as ‘Emperor’.” In
received an award from Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, confer- Light on Pràõàyàma there is a tribute to Guruji from
ring upon him the title Arsha-Kula-Sresthah for his Sriman Krishamacharya “… The work is of immense value
achievements in introducing yoga all over the world to ardent practitioners of pràõàyàma . Scholars will surely
through innovative teaching methods, without compro- be interested by this thought-provoking treatise, a
mising its classical form. precious gem in the firmament of yoga.” All praise indeed
from a taciturn man who did not give praise easily.
The esteem in which he is held has been demonstrated
by the number of eminent people who have sought to Guruji in turn has great respect and reverence for his own
become his pupils. For example the prominent Indian Guruji. At his own 60th birthday celebration despite
philosopher J. Krishnamurthi, asked Guruji to teach him himself having name and fame and the demands of an
which he did for 20 years. He also taught the Indian intensive to teach he was seen to be a humble ÷iùya to
freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan and the great Jain Sriman Krishnamacharya, attending to the smallest of his
Guru Shri Badrankarji Maharaj. The great violinist Yehudi needs. On Krishnamacharya’s 100th Birthday Guruji said
Menuhin was of course foremost amongst many Western “As one of his pupils I consider it as a privilege to be a
artists and alumni who became pupils over the last six part and parcel of this great function… The merit of this
decades. success from his pupils entirely belongs to Guruji who has
remained as a light to us all.” In a 1993 interview with souls with a spiritual touch in life.”
Mary Dunn when asked about his teacher and his lineage
he said, “Due to my Guru’s extraordinary brilliance in Guruji is respectful of other leaders whilst remaining
scriptures he had the pride that none could defeat him in truthful. Guruji said of Jiddhu Krishnamurti: “As an indi-
discussions. With all this he was an upright man.” Guruji vidual he was a gem” but he also criticises that Krishna-
shows great respect for his Guru, whilst at the same time murti did not show people practical ways to reach his
being honest about the lack of direct teaching he received ideas. He acknowledges though in the book ‘Seventy
from him. Geetaji talking on Guru Purnima 1987 on the Glorious Years’ what Krishnamurti taught him: “I learnt
Guru-Pupil tradition said: “Sometimes Guruji says in class something from him. I should not be disturbed or swayed
that he was not taught much by his Guru, which is true. by the opinions of others.” He also talks about how
This suggests that their relationship was not fulfilling, but in Krishamurti’s talks inspired him regarding the language he
fact Guruji was so devoted to his Guru that he used to used in his teaching.
prostrate himself 108 times in front of his photo. I was not
born then, but my mother told me about it. Perhaps it is His warmth toward his fellow yoga sàdhakas was
this bhakti and shraddha demonstrated in his recent
[devotion and faith] that have visit to Sri K Pattabhi Jois
lead him to such a high peak.” ‘I was moved by his (who was also a student of
Krishnamacharya) shor tly
When questioned about his simplicity and benevolence, after Jois’ 90th bir thday.
Guru in 1993 he said: “I revere Guruji had been unable to
him, I admire him… He was though he was guarded like attend the birthday itself as it
very versatile, endowed with was at Guru Purnima, but
scholarship, mastery of Sanskrit, a king of old. I folded my shortly afterwards he was at
deep insight in esoteric matters
and above all a ‘practical man’ a hands and bowed to him. Tumkur being honoured at a
yoga festival and he took the
‘doer’ in his time.” And: “The
ethos around my Guru, his
He moved with warmth four-hour drive south to visit
Jois. They enjoyed a warm
learning with deep insight and and kindness....’ and cordial afternoon
experience marked him out together summed up by
from other masters and he was Guruji “1934 together, 2005
in a fine state of preservation and his marvellous practice together. I think that is iimportant. It is a rare privilege.”
of all facets of Yoga was his strength. He practised what he
preached and so I was paying my respects with rever- Guruji holds others and their beliefs with respect beyond
ence.” In Yoga Journal 2001 he said: “I am a small model in India. In 1966 his Holiness Pope Paul VI honoured Guruji
yoga; my Guruji was a great man.” by granting audience, blessing him and giving him a medal
in appreciation of his services to humanity. Guruji write:s
Guruji extends this willingness to hold others in esteem ‘I was moved by his simplicity and benevolence, though he
beyond his own Guruji. When asked in an interview for was guarded like a king of old. I folded my hands and
the Maharastra Herald 1984 (reprinted in Astadala Yoga- bowed to him. He moved with warmth and kindness
mala IV) “Who have been the great yogis of our time?” he towards me and caught my palm firmly and said: “I love
replied. “ We have had the great good fortune of having India and Indians. I liked your book [Light on Yoga].You are
seen three great yogis in India in our time. Shri Ramana iindeed a professor and a director… I bless you with my
Maharshi of Arunachalam, a great jnana yogi who had a heart and I wish you well. I hear that you have done very
ripe intelligence of knowledge of the soul. Then we had good work in your art and again I bless you…”’
Shri Aurobindo, a great bhakti yogi whose heart was filled
up with love and compassion and the Father of the Guruji was awarded the even more prestigious Padma
Nation Mahatma Gandhi, who was a great karma yogi, Bhushan in 2002. He also received an honorary doctorate
man of action.” Interestingly Guruji has also said: “Though in literature in 2002 from the Tilak Maharastra Vidyapeeth
I met a lot of saints, sadhus… artists, politicians, yogis and and Doctor of Science from the University of Mysore.
philosophers in my life, I feel that Shri Jayaprakash Narayan Despite the esteem in which he is now held and the
(though a politician) was one of the finest and noblest recognition he has earned, Guruji remains humble enough

to see the greatness in others and to use that as an inspi-

ration. Quoted in The Times newspaper in 2005 he said:“I
wanted to be to yoga like Mahatma Gandhi was to non-
violence, like Menuhin was to music, like Krishnamurti was
to philosophy, by revealing the hidden things that could be
revealed.”
Throughout his life it is above all Guruji himself who has

brought such immense recognition and esteem to yoga,
this great philosophy, art, science and gift to humankind.
Millions of people throughout the world have been intro-

duced to and practise his method of yoga. This must be
the greatest award and recognition for his work. C
Guruji paying respect to Krishnamacharya
A SMALL SELECTION OF GURUJI’S AWARDS
1948 Yoga Raja - Swami Shivananda

1961 Yoganga - Shikshak-Chakravarti (Emperor of Teachers in Yoga )
- Sriman T Krishnamacharya
1981 Yoga Raja - title conferred by Vishvayoga Sammelan
1988 Star named after him - The Ministry of Federal Star registration, USA.
1991 Padma Shri - Government of India in recognition of his
distinguished contribution
1991 Fellow of the International Council of Ayurveda.
1991 Purna Swasthya - World Federation of Societies of Holistic Medicine.
1991 Doctor of Science - Open International University for Complementary
Medicine
1992 Sri Krishnanugraha Prasasti Patra - Jagadguru Shri Madhva Mula Matha Mahasanustanam
1997 Best Citizen of India - International Publishing House, India
1997 Doctorate of Science - University of Mysore
1997 Vipra Ratna - Karnataka Brahman Mahasabha
1998 International Man of the Year - International Biographical Centre, Cambridge
1998 20th Century award for achievement - International Biographical Centre, Cambridge
1998 Arsha-Kula-Sresthah - Arsha Vidya Gurukulam
1999 20th Century achievement award 500 leaders of influence - American Biographical Institute.
2002 Padma Bhushan - Govt. of India in recognition of distinguished service
of a high order to the nation.
2002 Yoga Bhaskara - Sanskrta Academy, Madras
2004 One of 100 most influential people in the world - Time Magazine

A D E S T E
by Meg Laing
A few years ago I produced as part of our teacher-

training course at the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre
a mnemonic for a number of very important things that
If one thinks of extension as being the stretch of a length
or strip of elastic, it can be stretched in two different ways:
all students of yoga, should have in mind when they teach (i) by moving the two ends (or edges) evenly away
and practise. It is in the form of an acrostic: ADESTE. from each other so that the elastic in between
Adeste in Latin is a plural imperative which means ‘be extends from the centre point
present’, ‘be in the present’. (Some of you will know it (ii) by keeping one end firmly held down and
from the Christmas carol tune: Adeste fideles - ‘O come extending the other end away from it. These
all ye faithful’). So the acrostic itself has yogic resonance. kinds of extension are also found in àsanas .
Some of the notes attached to the headings were incor-
porated into the new written syllabus for the Introduc- In yoga, an example of (i) is the outward extension of the
tory Level certificate of IYA (UK). But the full text with arms in e.g. trikoõàsana , pàr÷vakoõàsana etc. An
the acrostic has not been printed before, and only example of (ii) is the rooting of the feet while the legs are
teachers who have been recently trained at EIYC will lifted and the trunk and spine extended in e.g. tàóàsana ,
know it; so here it is. trikoõàsana , and the other standing àsanas ,
Alignment, Direction, Extension, Sequencing,Timing, Effects Extension in a yogàsana is to do with the inner action of
the pose. It includes, for instance: the gradual, safe, non-
Alignment in a yogàsana is to do with the position of the injurious stretching of muscles, tendons and ligaments; the
body in space and the position of its parts relative to each expansion and lift of the chest; the elongation of the limbs
other, and to the floor, the wall or any other props. Align- and the trunk to create space and lubrication in the joints;
ment has to be checked, and if necessary adjusted, after the lift of the trunk and inner organs. Extension is facili-
any movement, i.e. repositioning of any part of the body, tated by correct alignment, and interacts with it also to
for instance when moving from an intermediate stage of improve alignment itself. Understanding of extension
an àsana to its final stage. Alignment therefore has to be includes awareness of the possibility of over-extension as
considered at all stages of an àsana : preparation, going well as under-extension. It also includes bringing life and
into the pose, being in the pose, coming out of the pose. awareness to areas that are dull.
At a more subtle level, alignment is also to do with the
internal balance of a pose while it is being held. It is the Sequencing is central to all aspects of yoga. Awareness of
poise or ‘re-pose’ in the pose that brings quietness to the sequencing involves:
brain and stills the vibrations of the mind and nervous
system: cittavçtti nirodhaþ . (a) knowing how correctly to go into a pose, how
to be in it, and how to come out of it;
Direction or Directionality in a yogàsana is what links its (b) how to order the àsanas so as not to irritate
alignment with its extensions. Awareness of directionality the nervous system.
includes knowing what parts are stable or rooted and
what parts are to be extended and/or expanded and in The standing àsanas include all the different spinal move-
what direction. One must know: ments and therefore are taught first and become the
foundation for all the other àsanas . Sequencing includes
(a) what kind of extension is involved - forward, therefore the order of learning the àsanas and knowing
backward, lateral, rotational what preparation is required before learning certain
(b) the direction of the extension from its source or àsanas , e.g. inversions or backbends (or pràõàyàma ). It
root also includes the order of performing the àsanas ,
whether in practice or in class: what àsanas are simple

and basic and what are complex and advanced, what are stimulating or relaxing, what are energising or calming, what
should come at the beginning of a class or practice and what at the end. Yoga is a penetrative discipline and its prac-
tice is a long-term commitment to a journey of increasing awareness and subtlety of perception. The eight limbs of
yoga - yama, niyama, àsana , pràõàyàma , pratyàhàra, dharàõà , dhyàna and samàdhi - are themselves a sequence
from the outward journey to the inward or spiritual journey.
Timing involves knowing what proportion of a class should be spent on different types of àsana , e.g. standings, and
how long each should or may be held. Some àsanas are difficult for beginners or for weaker students and should be
taught on the basis of ‘touch and go’, only holding very briefly. Others should be held for longer so that their effects
may be understood and absorbed. Sometimes it is beneficial to work at speed to promote energy and lightness; some-
times one should stay and experience a posture. As strength, awareness and capacity increases it becomes possible
to hold difficult poses for longer. A teacher should always be aware of the capacity of his/her students and see that
the pose can be held quietly without shaking or strain and with normal/natural breathing. Timings (and sequencing)
must be adjusted accordingly. In one’s own practice and in teaching, ahi§sà - non-violence and compassion - must be
observed.
Effects are why we do yoga. They can seem very clear and obvious - backbends make one feel energised and “up”,
forward bends make one feel quiet and contemplative. The doing of an àsana or pràõàyàma can certainly bring bene-
ficial effects when correctly performed: such effects are listed under each àsana and pràõàyàma in Light on Yoga and
in Light on Pràõàyàma . But the effects of àsana and pràõàyàma are in fact very complex and subtle and can vary
from person to person and from time to time, and according to what sequence one does them and with what timings.
One learns these subtleties gradually through years of practice. As the practice of yoga penetrates deeper, it affects
not just joints and muscles but the respiratory, digestive, nervous and endocrine systems; this of course includes the
brain, mind and also what we may call the soul or spirit. It is important to have a balance of different types of àsanas
in your practice. When àsanas are correctly timed and sequenced, they balance body, mind and spirit.
ADESTE C

ASTANGA Y OGA I N
ADHO M UKHA S VANASANA
From Yoga Rahasya Vol 7.4 Compiled by Arti H Mehta from Guruji’s teachings at the
Iyengar Yoga Festival 1998 and Silver Jubilee 2000
I n this issue, we are going to discuss the range of tech-

niques which can be used to progress towards a
“perfect” adho mukha ÷vànàsana . As discussed in the

sucked towards the deltoids.
The elbows should not descend when the head moves
towards the floor.
previous article, prayatria (effort ) to perform this àsana Move the shoulders towards the waist and the
starts diminishing as the student attains the capability of shoulder blades into the body and towards the kidneys
understanding and implementing these techniques. Thus, so that the arm pit is well exposed.
depending upon the level and maturity of the student, the The arch of the foot should be lifted and should be
student will be able to experience the physical, physiolog- moving towards the heel so that there is heaviness felt
ical and mental changes pervading the various aïgas on the heel.
(limbs) of aùñàïga yoga that the practice of this àsana The inner and outer ankle should be lifted up.
brings about. Adjust the palm in such a manner that from the centre
of the palm, one feels the energy moving forward
This article should be read in conjunction with Light on towards the tips of the fingers as well as backwards
Yoga . towards the wrist.
The sensations from the wrist should be ascending up
Watch your joints of your fingers. All the joints should towards the shoulders and then towards the head of
be touching the floor. the pelvis.
Each of the three joints on each of the finger should be The bottom of the front portion of the bottom of the
in contact with the floor. ribcage should move towards the back. When this
The elbows should be moving towards the upper arm. happens, the arm pit “opens out” still further. When
Extend the arms in such a manner that the biceps get this happens, the breathing becomes still easier.
Feel the sensation in the arch of the foot while
extending it towards the heel. When this happens,
frontal thigh muscles (quadriceps) start moving towards
the back of the thighs.
The attention should be towards the inner “head” of
the heel - which should be moving towards the back of
the heel.
To descend the heels down, move the head of the shin
towards the back of the knee and then lift the kidneys
towards the buttocks.
Try and extend the chest horizontally.
Move the sternum towards the diaphragm and then
the breathing becomes deeper.
Watch your palms and “feel” if all the corners are
evenly touching the floor. The middle finger should be
exactly in the centre and should not be tilting and the
other fingers should be branching from the centre.
Adjust the skin of the mound of the middle finger and
the little finger evenly on the floor.The third portion on
the palm that needs to be placed firmly is the “middle
portion” of the base of the palm. All these three points

should be very firm and uniformly placed on the floor. The horizontal movements require the brain. First
Nail the middle portion (which is more towards the “stretch” horizontally and then maintaining that hori-
wrist) of the palm on the floor. Draw a thin straight line zontal stretch - move vertically.
from the wrist of the palm to the thumb and then Stay in the àsana and then watch the side ribs espe-
extend towards the shoulder blade but do not push cially the back portion. The side of the ribs should not
the head down. be pushed towards the legs but the front corner should
One tends to stretch the outer upper arms more than be moving vertically upwards. The sensation is very
the iinner upper arms. In order to “feel” the inner arms soothing. Never push the head as it is a jarring action.
too, the thumb should be touching the floor as much Like jarring music blocks your ears and this expression
as the mound of the little finger. Also, slowly stretch the shows on your face, pushing the head leads to jarring in
skin of the outer upper arm and the inner arm starts the pose. The lower arm extends and naturally
getting longer. becomes thin and long - try and make the upper arm
If the weight is felt on the lower legs and not the thighs thin and long too.
then the distance between the palms and feet is too To move the head down, move the trapezius muscle
much. If the distance between the feet and palms is too towards the kidney. Never move only from the arm
close, then the thigh muscles are extended. You also pits.
have to watch the middle of the knee and learn to The back of the pelvic girdle tends to bulge away from
adjust from there. If the thigh is longer than the lower the body. This indicates that the root (the heel) is not
leg then move the feet back and if the lower leg is placed correctly. Lengthen the foot from the centre of
longer then move the feet forward. the arch by stamping the middle mound of the sole. By
Move the metatarsals towards the ankles; extend the extending the arch - one manages to move the pelvic
shin and then descend the foot down. girdle into the body and also improves the pose.
Imagine as if the buttocks are the “Everest”. Like the
peak of the mountain is covered with snow, your atten-
tion should cover the entire buttocks. This is how you
have to learn to adjust the pose.
The buttocks, the perineum and the tail bone have to
be parallel to each other.
“Watch” the shin bone. The middle of the shin bone
tends to be closer to the back of the leg while the top
of the shin bone moves away from the back of the leg.
This leads to a distortion in the flow of attention and
“intelligence”. So, move the skin on the middle of the
Remember that the foot has two arches - one in the shin closer towards the bone. This brings about a
centre of the foot and the other between the toe and uniform flow of intelligence.
the mound of the toe. The latter is the subtle arch.
When this arch is “opened” - the back of the heel gets The subtle movements have to be brought about with
heavier the heel fails to touch the floor. Otherwise the one’s intelligence and not force.
“back” portion of the heel fails to touch the floor.
There should be even pressure felt on the mounds of These subtle movements bring about silence in the body
the fingers and the mounds of the toes. There should and mind and this is meditation! C
be harmony in all these movements and adjustments.
And it is harmony and adjustment which leads to a
divine state.
There is a vertical extension from the back of the thigh
to the heel while a horizontal extension from the inner
ankle towards the outer ankle. Extend from the inner
arch towards the inner heel.
Also, from the middle of the back of the knee - extend
horizontally and equally towards the outer and the
inner back of the knee.
URDHVA MUKHA SVANASANA

Part One of an article taken from Yoga Rahasya Vol 10 Compiled by Arti H Mehta from
Gurujis teachings at the 80th Birthday and Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Institute
O ver the years, Guruji has given us hundreds of thou-

sands of gross and subtle points to improve the
performance of each of our àsanas. These “points” are
horizontal lines from the inner edge of the foot to the
outer edge of the foot or the outer edge of the foot to
the inner edge of the foot.The lines should run parallel.
based on his years of hard work, experimentation, reflec- Join the feet together and open out the legs. Feel the
tion on the experiences followed by clear articulation of energy flow from the inner heel to the outer heel, inner
instructions to guide us through the àsana. We, his sole to the outer sole, inner arch to the outer arch of
students, do not have to experiment on ourselves the way both the feet. Can you feel the curvature of the arch
he did since we are provided with ready guidance in the like the curvature of the calf muscles? The calf muscles
form of clear instructions on what adjustments we need to turn from inside out but the arch turns from outside in.
make while striving for a sthira sukham àsanam . Our Check this.
performance naturally improves in his presence. But, we When the knees are on the floor there is space
tend to forget the adjustments of the head, chest, arms between the knee-cap and the knee joint. Suck the
when we are instructed about the legs or vice versa even knee-cap as though it is leaving the floor and feel the
while attending a class. Therefore, it seems impossible for effect on the ligament of the knee at the back.
us to recollect all his instructions, remember the experi- Lock the top chip of the knee.
ence they have led to and then implement them while Open the inner calf muscles and the arches of the feet
practicing on our own. So, in this article on årdhva mukha by maintaining the contact of the metatarsals on the
÷vànàsana, we are providing capsules of specific pointers, floor.
each of which emphasizes on certain aspects, for us to Move forward like a snail. Gradually, drag your legs
refine our årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana. With regular practice, forward towards the arms but keep them together.
we should be able to simultaneously adjust and integrate When the trunk is moving forward, the quadriceps
all these points in our àsana. muscles should be touching the floor not the knee-cap.
Now, the grip that you get in the inner quadriceps
This article has to be read in conjunction with Light on muscles is the key to årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana .
Yoga and Yoga In Action. The mind should be reflecting and holding the middle
of the quadriceps muscles while you slowly go into the
pose without loosing the contact of the mind and intel-
ligence on your legs
Either take the hands back or take the body forward.
When in the àsana :

The inner lower arm circularly turns out while the
upper arm circularly turns in. The upper arm should
circularly turn out like the lower arm. Stretch and raise
the trunk up by moving the bottom elbow to the
Our elbow joint is always bent when we stand or when elbow joint. Equally lift up on both the sides.
we walk and this leads to arthritis of the elbow joint. We Then there is life in the back of the arms. If the elbow
are also inattentive on the shoulder and hip joints and is bent, you live in the front of the arm, if it is straight
these also get stiff as there is no circulation. årdhva mukha you live in the back of the arms.
÷vànàsana breaks the calcification that takes place in Maintaining the life in the back of the arms, move the
these joints. waist a little forward. The outer side of the leg is alert,
the inner side of the leg is bent. Open your calf muscles
Attempt 1: Going into the àsana to the sides. Charge the flesh at the head of the inner
Lie down on your stomach. Imagine many vertical lines calf muscles below the knee.
from the heel to the sole of the foot. Also draw many
Attempt 2: Going into the àsana: Never lift the outer

Lie down on your stomach. Move the body four to five chip of the knee.
inches forward as if you are swimming. Keep your palms Learn rhythmically by
close to the waistline where there are no bones. This moving the inner chip
allows your waist to lift up as well. of the knee in par
Spread the skin of the palms such that the centre of the with the outer chip of
metacarpals should go down towards the floor when the knee, then both
you press your palms down. have to go together.
Create space in the face of the palms, not only by Why do you use the bricks? What do you learn? How do
stretching vertically but also expanding horizontally when you implement it? You can place two flat bricks one
you go up into the pose. above the other with a sticky mat between the two
Do not drag the nail of the big toe towards you. Sepa- bricks.
rate the nail from the first knuckle of the big toe that The inner upper arm becomes longer than the outer
moves forward. upper arms as some life automatically comes at the
elbows.
When in the àsana: Maintaining the intelligence that has been developed in
Lift the collar-bone a little.You get a logical correct pose the arms by placing the palms on the bricks, implement
not the physical correct pose. the same by keeping the palms on the floor.
The entire body from the toe to the Watch the length from the inner elbow to the armpit.
head including the wrists moves up With the palms on the floor the length reduces and you
while the diaphragm moves down. cannot lift.
Stretch from the wrist to the middle Move forward from the shoulder blade region of the
of the forearm, stretch that bone. back to the chest and then lift from the top inner upper
The diaphragm goes up. So, the arm to the armpit. Go up from there and you can lift.
physiological organs are elavated
from their position which otherwise “The intelligence, the consciousness play like demons, so
sink because of the diaphragm yoga is meant to make angels by removing the demonic
which moves towards the abdominal organs. characteristics”.
The correct årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana is where the Attempt 4: Going into the àsana:
diaphragm does not move down but the entire body Lie down on your stomach with the brick on either side
moves up which leads to better breathing. of your waistline. With the legs on the floor, stretch the
outer edges of the diaphragm (not the centre one) a
Attempt 3: Going into the àsana: little forward.
Lie down on your stomach with the palms placed on Don’t raise the body from the floor but just extend the
two bricks.The ligament of the inner elbow is the brain dome of the diaphragm that is connected to the floating
in årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana. Normally, you use the gross ribs, straight to the front.
body and not the subtle body, which is the inner body. Press the palms
The energy of the arms ascends but it descends from the down. Keeping
line of the elbow to an inch above the elbow (towards the knees on the
the bottom upper arms). Ascend in that region and the floor, straighten
body lifts up. the back of the
legs.
When in the pose: Move up from
If you observe the inner side of the leg and the outer the floating ribs
side of the leg, you will find that the inner side of the leg and not just from
is shorter. To get the correct årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana of the top ribs.
the legs, charge the points in the two legs (two inches Come up. Floating
above the space between the inner ankle bone and the ribs should come
hinges of the heels) without lifting the top chip of the forward not the
knees.Try the pose with poker stiff legs. top chest.

Drag the legs forward without loosing the weight on the not forward as you go into the pose.
wrists. Create space between the side latissimus and the
armpits. Patanjali states “ When the citta does not move, the atman
Stretch the inner arm vertically up from the thumb side rests in its abode”. With similar interpretation learn how
of the wrists. each muscle in each àsana, in each spindle, in each ligament
Both the wrists should touch the brick evenly. If it does should remain in its position after the action. How to bring
not then come down and adjust.Then come up again. it back in its position is the real art.
When in the àsana Don’t lift the outer chip of the knee more than the inner
chip of the knee from the floor. You have to measure to
Pressing the mounts of the thumbs on the brick, open see that the chip of the knee is parallel to the floor.
the inner biceps. Space is created in the ribs as you raise Dip the head of the femur down but not the knee up.
the inner biceps. Now just crawl forward with your foot, the head looking
When you place the middle toe knuckle on the floor, the back and raise the armpit of the frontal chest.
calf muscles that turn in start to turn out. Observe how the middle shin goes and sucks into the
Resisting on the outer leg, create motion on the inner leg body. ( this is a good clue for adho mukha ÷vànàsana).
for the weight to fall exactly on the middle toe and not
on the big toe or the little toe. How do you get rid of the fear that is felt in the cells in
The big toe and the little toe must be in the same level årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana?
but the other three toes must help you to do the correct The moment you feel that you are falling you have to
pose.The top leg adjusts and the femur moves in. take the head back a little more, the cervical spine lifts up
helping you to throw the head back. The fear goes off.
“ Sequencing of the part of the body is very difficult but If there is fear to move the chest forward, look back and
sequencing of the àsana is very simple”. push the chest forward. The fear goes off.
Attempt 5: Going into the àsana: The effects:

After lying on your stomach when you are about to do the Watch the sensation that you get in the inner upper
pose, are the abdominal organs in a sleepy state or an arms. There is a feeling of lightness because the tension
active state? Are the thighs in a sleepy state or an active and stress on the arms is taken off in the stressing pose.
state? They are in a sleepy state.Then how can you do with You feel the flow of energy getting longer and extending
wholeness? Whole means you have to think how you have and percolating and the spot where you feel the perco-
to stretch from the knuckle of the toe. lation is the area where the energy is flowing. It does not
flow everywhere.
The top knuckles of all the toes form the root.The pose
must be coming from the first top knuckles of the five “ Consciousness is the ocean, intelligence is the river. As
toes by creating life and activising there. the river joins the ocean, the river in your body (the energy
Let the root be firm and the metatarsal active as you which creates sensitivity and intelligence) has to run in such
come up. a way that they are one with the ocean. So once they are
With resistance, move the outer chip of the knee in, one with the ocean the consciousness receives the river.
inner chip of the knee up and top chip of the knee back When the river water mixes with the ocean, the ocean
for the calf muscles to open. does not come up but it maintains its own level. Similarly
Bring the middle chest to move forward. the consciousness in your body maintains its own level, it
doesn’t go beyond the banks”.
What happens to the shoulders, the trapezius muscles, the
collar-bones if there is fear complex when the chest comes In each pose, the consciousness is hidden inside the level
forward? but we do not trace the level. You have to learn to keep it
so that you charge the frame of the intelligence to trace
When you get something, you loose something. The wherever the consciousness is dormant. There are many
trapezius muscles come forward, the shoulders roll in and more methods by which one can proceed towards experi-
the collar bones loose their alertness. You should continue encing a sthira sukha årdhva mukha ÷vànàsana. These would
to keep the trapezius muscles in its position i.e. going back, be covered in the next issue. C
A P E R S O N A L S T O R Y
by Cathy Slow
I was introduced to Iyengar yoga when the teacher who

had been taking the class left and Patsy Sparksman took
over the course. I knew immediately that this was some-
put all my efforts into fighting the disease and should be
exercising daily. I was really helped by a physiotherapist
who was impressed by my range of movement and when
thing for me and several years later I was regularly going she said that I moved “so gracefully” something clicked
to general and intermediate classes with Silvia Prescott - into place and I knew that I should be using yoga to
I first became ill around Christmas with a ‘flu type virus combat the disease rather than giving up. I started with
which developed into erythrema nodosum, a rare condi- the recuperative postures and used ropes for ÷ãrùàsana
tion affecting joints and causing blisters on the shins. I was and a chair for sarvàngàsana to avoid any pressure on my
unable to walk for several days and had to take steroids wrists and shoulders. When September came I decided
to control the inflammation. A few weeks later, I was able that I must go back to regular classes to maintain my prac-
to get to Silvia’s remedial class, with Patsy helping by drop- tice. Since then, I have rarely missed a class, I have
ping me off at the front door to avoid the sometimes long completed a year of teacher training and passed level one
walk from a parking place. I began with recuperative of the introductory assessment. I have received confir-
postures; working on the joints which had stiffened and mation of a place in Pune for a month in July 2008 and I
with Silvia’s help I was soon able to join the general hope to take the level two assessment in October 2007.
classes, although I had to be careful with my energy levels
and did standing postures against a wall. Rheumatoid arthritis is an incurable auto immune disease
which affects connective tissue. There is still very little
Although I felt much better, I never quite returned to full known about why it occurs and no one can predict how
health and found I was often struggling with every day it will affect an individual. Yoga is an ideal way of managing
tasks. I was referred to a rheumatologist and eventually the symptoms and reducing the effects of drugs taken to
given a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. I had to learn to accept control the inflammation. Over the years I have learned
limits which were totally alien to me; I had a full-time job, to adapt postures (with the help from Susan and the
three children and a busy life and I was used to being a patient understanding of my fellow students), to cope
person who “did everything”. with stiff or swollen joints. I use resting poses to help me
through bad days, pràõàyàma to maintain a balance both
I am sure Silvia knew I was not fully recovered. I physically and mentally and inverted postures and twists
remember asking her what she thought about my going daily which I am sure help to combat the effects of the
to Pune and she shook her head, saying not yet. When I medication. On good days (which now out number the
talked to her about the fibromyalgia, she said I had drawn bad) I can work through more active postures and enjoy
on energy reserves which shouldn’t be used, which made the freedom of being able to do so! I am also able to ride
a lot of sense and I knew it was time to make changes in my horse out on Exmoor which is such a wonderful
the way I was living. I gave up work and we moved to experience even on wet and windy days (which we have
Devon with our youngest son. I carried on with my own frequently!)
practice and was able to get to yoga days at Silvia’s and to
occasional classes in Bristol until I found Iyengar classes in I may not be able to progress in the more advanced
Minehead with Susan Vassar which I could get to more poses, but as Silvia once told us, yoga isn’t always about
frequently. improving, but sometimes about maintaining what one
already has and I wholeheartedly agree with what she said
Four years ago, things deteriorated, my feet were really in the last issue about understanding yoga from the intro-
painful, I couldn’t move my wrists and shoulders and I ductory postures. I continue to learn from my practice
knew there was something seriously wrong. I was told I and I try to enjoy the challenge rather than being defeated
had rheumatoid arthritis and I think that was the point by it. Yoga teaches us control and feeling you are able to
when I gave up. I just couldn’t cope with the deteriora- be in control of your body is especially important when
tion happening day by day and I went through a few working with health problems. I know I was fortunate to
months feeling totally sorry for myself. I even began to have already had many years of yoga practice before I
think there was no point in doing yoga as the disease was became ill and to have had such good teachers to help
taking over. I was given immune suppressants, which I me. Yoga is an integral part of my life and without it I
reluctantly agreed to try and after several months my know I would be losing the battle against ill health and
joints became less swollen and I was told that I needed to negativity. C
YOGA FOR SCOLIOSIS

by Lucy Brown
I was 19 and about to leave London to go to Edinburgh

University when a back specialist told me I had a 20-
degree scoliosis in my lumbar spine but that it wasn’t bad
Beginners level standing poses do this very effectively.
Lateral extensions (trikoõàsana, pàr÷vakoõàsana) help
develop awareness of the sides of the spine and are
enough to require surgery. He also told me there was markedly different on each side. Prasàrita pàdotànàsana
nothing I could do for the scoliosis, or to prevent the creates space in the sacral and lumbar regions. Ardha
inevitable backache I would suffer later in life (“everyone uttànàsana (with hands on the wall) enabled me to learn
gets backache” were his encouraging words!). Luckily for to lengthen the back muscles and adho mukha ÷vànàsana
me, I found an excellent osteopath in Edinburgh for a on ropes is excellent for bringing freedom and length to
second opinion and even more luckily, she recommended the spine. I had no problem doing sàlamba sarvàngàsana
I go to Iyengar Yoga classes with Elaine Pidgeon at the for the first 14 years, but as I have got older, I have devel-
Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre. oped more problems with my neck so I usually practice
this pose on a chair (see “Yoga - The Path to Holistic
My first class was 20 years ago and I am now an Iyengar Health” by B.K.S.Iyengar, pub. DK 2001, p.212) and do
teacher in Edinburgh. I teach one of the yoga classes at ÷ãrùàsana on ropes or 2 chairs. All twists are excellent,
Edinburgh University and I currently have 3 students with obviously, and forward and backwards extensions are
Scoliosis in my class. What follows is my own experience much better after twists. Forward bends are very useful,
of working with my scoliosis and how I work with my especially jànu ÷ãrùàsana, for understanding my own scol-
students with scoliosis. Also the work Firooza Ali from iosis. As with any physical problem, I have had to learn to
Mumbai did with me when she visited Edinburgh, to help work with sensitivity, developing awareness and mindful-
with my neck pain. My spine actually has several S shaped ness. I usually begin my practice sitting for a long time,
curves, not just one, but the largest curve is in the lumbar observing the breath and releasing tension from the
region. This causes my rib cage to rotate to the right, muscles. I think I am quite slow! It still takes me a while
displacing my right shoulder blade and causing my right to “undo” enough to listen to my body’s intelligence.
shoulder to drop slightly forwards and my left shoulder to
elevate (see photo A). Working with students who have Scoliosis, I have found
only a few modifications to the general Beginners’ level
course are necessary. I usually get them to work with
support in uttànàsana (the wall or a chair). One of my
students has a functional scoliosis (not due to the shape
of her bones, like mine, but muscular, caused by misalign-
ment in the pelvis) and she is currently holding lateral
extensions for at least twice as long on the left as she
does on the right (see “A Matter of Health” by Dr.
Krishna Raman, pub. 1998 p.464-6). If I had ropes, I would
get them all to do adho mukha ÷vànàsana on ropes but
since I don’t, I use belts in the same way as you would use
wall ropes. Sometimes, sarvàngàsana and halàsana are
difficult, in which case I use chairs - either sarvàngàsana
with the hips on a chair and a high raise (bolster or
blocks) under the shoulders (as mentioned above) or
supported halàsana. Placing bent knees on the chair (like
karõapãdàsana) can bring relief to the lower back. In all
In short, my body is very uneven, especially to the eye of àsanas, I am observing the alignment of the spine, making
an Iyengar teacher. Rather than trying to make my ribs, corrections to bring more length and a more even exten-
side waist, shoulders etc. “balance”, I have found it much sion to the spine. I look for “dull” bits of the spine, where
better to focus on lengthening the spine and this is where there is no extension and where possible, make adjust-
Elaine began with me. ments to the student to facilitate the action.
My advice to any teacher working with a student with

scoliosis is to be very observant about the spine rather
than getting distracted by uneven ribs etc. The rotation of
the ribcage is usually very noticeable but it is a result of
the curvature of the spine, not the cause. Correct the
spine, then the hips and shoulders as far as possible and
you will probably find the ribs will begin to even up. Most
importantly, from my own experience, when I begin to
find extension and alignment in my spine, energy and
awareness flow more freely along the spine. This is the
most valuable thing your students will learn because
seeking and responding to this flow will guide them in
their practice.
From my own experience, simply learning Iyengar yoga

brought almost immediate relief from my backache.
Exploring and developing the range of movement in my
spine gave me greater confidence and awareness. I am
sure these are things every student experiences but they Next she placed the belt around my upper arms, drawing
have extra significance for the scoliosis sufferer. Balance is them towards each other behind my back, to remove
not naturally present in my body so each simple action, tension from the thoracic spine (see photo C). This
bringing even weight to the buttock bones in daõóàsana, reduced the curve in my thoracic spine - Firooza pointed
for example, required inward focus from the start. Scol- out that my arms and ribs were still uneven - the point
iosis gives the yoga student an extra incentive to learn the was to align the spine (left to right rather than front to
sensitivity that Iyengar Yoga practice develops. I can never back).
thank Elaine Pidgeon enough for the gift she gave to me.
She not only helped me understand my back, she intro-
duced me to the teachings of Guruji and trained me to
pass on what I have learnt to others.
In May this year, Firooza Ali visited Edinburgh from

Mumbai, at the invitation of Annamaria Sacco. We were
very honoured to have her here and I benefited in partic-
ular from her advice and demonstrations on how to
work with my scoliosis. The particular problem I
presented was the pain in my neck and shoulders, caused
by the “pull” on the muscles from my scoliosis and the
misalignment of the bones. Here are the suggestions she
made (thanks to Julie Anderson for her notes from the
day) with some photos of me recreating some of the
àsanas, with the help of Annamaria Sacco. Firooza began
by observing the curves in my thoracic and cervical spine To work on the spine as a whole and especially the
as I stood in tàóàsana . She used a belt around my outer lumbar spine, I did adho mukha ÷vànàsana on wall ropes.
shoulder bones (see photo B) pulling it tight to abduct Firstly, over one rope, padded with a blanket, to allow the
the head of the humerus bone and take the trapezius muscles to relax. Since I am short on the left side waist,
down. This released the tension from my neck muscles Firooza pulled the rope back at my left hip to lift it and
and according to onlookers, the kink in my cervical spine lengthen the waist. Then she pulled my wrists forwards,
disappeared. This was a great relief to my neck and it has bringing a greater extension to the spine and placed 3
been much improved since. After a few minutes I got blocks under my head. She said it is good to stay here for
pins and needles in my arms and the belt was loosened a while. Then adho mukha ÷vànàsana with crossed ropes,
slightly. one for each thigh (see photo D).

sarvàngàsana, she showed

me ardha uttànàsana with
my chin on a ledge,
extending the chin away
and interlocking the fingers
behind my back. Then
hanging from the ropes we
used for ÷ãrùàsana, feet on
the wall, head hanging
down towards the floor
(photo F). Halàsana can
also be done this way, using
Here, Firooza was working from the core to the bolsters under the shoul-
periphery, looking for an even extension in the spine. She ders. Followed by back-
took hold of my wrists and pulled them away from the bends, using the ropes.
wall to lengthen and to my right, to extend the left side
(see photo E). Backward extension can
be difficult for scoliosis
This felt wonderful. My sufferers and I have found it important to go slowly, grad-
body looked very uneven ually building awareness and extension of the spine.
(hips, ribs etc.) but my Standing facing the wall, with the lower rope around my
spine was straight and as I sacrum, going back into årdhva dhanuràsana, I began with
was getting longer, she small backward extensions, gradually increasing as the
took away one of the lumbar became free. She also showed me how to use the
blocks under my head. I backbender, to feel alignment in the back bend, again
remember when Firooza beginning with a gentle extension, supported with
did this she kept adjusting bolsters and blankets as necessary and gradually
the rope for my left thigh, increasing. We finished with setu bandha on crossed
pulling it back and lifting. bolsters, with my feet into the wall and folded blankets
Next Firooza adjusted my under my head and shoulders. My spine felt lovely after
ribs, rolling the left side up all this! It felt like an unblocked pipe, energy, breath and
and the right side down and pulled my wrists out again awareness flowing freely again.
bringing even more length and placing just the one block
under my head. Writing this, I feel everything I have learned about working
with my scoliosis is part of what every yoga practitioner
Sãrùàsana on wall ropes, with my head ending up about 2 does. We all try to extend the spine evenly after all. With
feet above the floor so that gravity provides the traction. a scoliosis, you just have a bit further to go. What feels
Firooza instructed me to exhale in turn to soften the straight is actually crooked so you have to relearn the
lower abdomen, diaphragm, front chest, side ribs and alignment. But I look around my Beginners class and I see
cervical spine. I was advised to continue practicing “crooked” where there should be straight all the time!
sarvàngàsana over a chair with a bolster and I was helped We all have to learn and relearn alignment and extension.
into halàsana with my thighs supported on a chair and Scoliosis can be a bit more frustrating perhaps and I have
bolsters and Firooza lifting my hips with a belt. Weights had to learn to accept my spine, as well as learn how to
were added at the ankles and this was the first time I had work with it. On balance though, it was my scoliosis that
successfully practiced halàsana for a few years - usually I brought me to yoga and because of my scoliosis, I instantly
feel too much pain in my neck but this took almost all the recognised Iyengar yoga as something I wanted to keep
weight away from my neck. doing. So you may find some of your students come to
your classes because they have a scoliosis, but it will be the
After this, I did bharadvàjàsana on a chair, then adho mukha yoga that keeps them coming back.
vãràsana with Firooza pressing her palms onto my shoul- C
ders to release them. To release the neck after

IN CONVERSATION
WITH DIANA CLIFTON
by Diane Maimaris
just come along. There were only two others in that class
I met Diana Clifton at her home in Southgate on one of

the hottest days in July 2006. The front door was held
open by a large fruit bowl to encourage a through
- Silva Mehta and Angela Marris, the secretary of the
Circle. We did standing poses. Then Mr Iyengar asked if I
had done head balance. I said, ‘Yes, but could I do it by
draught, and I was ushered into the study by Diana’s the wall?’ He said, ‘I’m better than the wall - I’ve got arms’.
husband, Adrian. Diana, who had recently had an eye So I did head balance, and he just left me there. I hadn’t
operation, looked immaculate in linen slacks and shirt, had the courage to do it in the centre of the room before.
perched on a low swivel chair. Supplied with a soft drink He just made me do it”.
by Adrian, and cooled by an electric fan, I asked Diana to
tell me how yoga came into her life. After that first visit to London, Mr Iyengar asked Diana to
lead the students who had been to his classes and wanted
“My son, who was then about 16, was always in the library, to continue to practise. “At the end of the first class, I
and he brought me back a book called “Forever Young, asked Mr Iyengar if I could learn to teach, and he nodded.
Forever Healthy” by Indra Devi. I thought it sounded I don’t know how I had the nerve to ask him, but I was so
gimmicky and I put it to one side. One day I had to do enthusiastic. To me yoga was a jewel - I wanted everyone
the washing, and I didn’t want to - I was always tired. I to do it”.
picked the book up, read a few pages, and thought, ‘my
god, this is what I’ve been looking for’”. Mr Iyengar returned for three or four weeks every
summer for the next 15 years. In between visits, Diana
Diana’s first husband was killed in a car crash when her sent him photographs of herself doing various asanas, and
children were six and eight, and she married her second Mr Iyengar would send them back to her with comments
husband, Cliff, five years later. She says that, although she on the back.. Diana assisted him at his classes, and
didn’t know it at the time, she was probably anaemic. watched everything he did. “He would take somebody up
“When life gives you a big knock you start to look more
seriously at things. So when I found this yoga book, I
realised it’s what I needed and I practised like mad from
it. I’d been sinking into feeling that I couldn’t cope, and I
had a lot of headaches, constipation - all sorts of little
things. So yoga saved me.”
After about a fortnight, she began to feel much better. “I

had more energy, the constipation vanished and I was
saying to everybody: ‘You must do yoga, it’s a magical
thing, marvellous!’ They looked at me blankly and just
didn’t take any notice. So I stopped trying to push it and
just got on with my practice”.
Shortly afterwards, she read an article in the Daily Mail

about the violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, doing yoga with Mr Practising with Mr Iyengar in the garden of the Asian Music Centre -
Iyengar, and the next day there was a letter in the paper Diana is 4th from the front on the right
by Mr Angadi, the Director of the Asian Music Circle in into headstand and make me stand behind them to give
Finchley, which was sponsoring Mr Iyengar in the UK, them confidence while he took up another one”.
inviting those interested to join Mr Iyengar’s classes. “I Diana took all her students to him every year, so Mr
rang up and spoke to Mr Angadi, explaining that I’d only Iyengar could see how her teaching was going. “I was
been doing yoga from a book, and he said that was fine,
Two photographs of Diana performing asanas which she sent to Mr Iyengar for long-distance
teaching - he returned them with his hand-written comments written on the back
ticked off quite a lot, and my students got pretty upset at for Angela. But he said ‘Angela climb over’. We said,
the way he shouted at me. I remember once two of my ‘Angela will not climb over’. He unlocked the door.
students were doing forward bends, catching their toes,
and Mr Iyengar said ‘good’. One of them was upset “We used to get a bucket of hot water every morning at
because he’d been so cross with me and said ‘Thanks to 6am for washing, and that sometimes came late, so we
Diana’, and he said, ‘No, thanks to yoga’. He could see had to rush to get up to the àsana room for the first
what the danger was for me - he didn’t want me to get class. In the morning, the birds would fly in, if we had the
an inflated ego. You see, when you’re a teacher, you get so window open, and peck the buffalo milk - there was no
much praise, so much gratitude. He would bash me on fridge. At night we’d make yoghurt and in the morning it
the head - wham that was my ego being knocked down”. was almost hitting the ceiling. I was the only one that ever
cleaned up - I was the housewife after all. One day I was
It was only after about ten years that at last Mr Iyengar boiling a dishcloth and forgot about it. We went up to the
told Diana that her yoga had improved, and that in àsana class, and when we came back the place was full of
another three years she would be a very good teacher. “I smoke. We were frantically trying to wave it out of the
couldn’t believe it. Praise from Mr Iyengar after all those window - we had lit joss sticks and tried to get rid of the
years!” smell - when Geeta came in and said, ‘What’s burning’. So
I owned up. We were like schoolchildren. We got the
I asked Diana about her first visit to Pune in 1976. giggles every day because we were so tired”.
“Mr Iyengar was taking an advanced class with Dona Diana took semi-retirementd from teaching for six
Hollerman, Mary Stewart, Angela Farmer and myself. We months after the death of Cliff, her second husband. He
stayed at the Institute, and we had a wonderful time but had been very ill for two years, and during that time,
it was like being in a convent. We had to be in by 9 pm Diana stopped taking classes in her home. Although she
and that wasn’t always easy, because we’d go and have a always continued with her own practice, she had virtually
meal in Pune and couldn’t always get back in time. The given up teaching when she met Adrian at the Vegetarian
place would be locked up and we’d have to climb in. One Society. They became friends and gradually she intro-
night Dona and I took a rickshaw and Angela was on her duced him to yoga. “He had a very bad knee from playing
own in another rickshaw. We got back just as Mohem, the rugger at school, and was the stiffest man I had ever seen.
servant, was locking the door and we asked him to wait Some of my students can remember. Now he is very
supple, and I point to him in class, and say, ‘If Adrian can Today, Diana teaches two classes a week in her home, one
do it, so can you’”. general class, and one for teachers and teacher trainees.
“I tell the teachers and trainees that when they teach
Adrian tried to persuade Diana to go back to teaching, meditation or just Savasana, they must draw on their own
but she felt that she had retired and explained that when experience not anybody else’s. I’ve tried to point out that
you stop, you lose confidence. One day, a friend and yoga meditation comes in everything - it can be with you all the
student from America rang to say she was going to be in time. Yesterday I was taking some pràõàyàma and after-
London for a day and could she come to a class. Diana wards one of the students told me it was the first time
contacted some of her old students and asked them if anybody had ever taught her how to meditate. I said ‘I
they’d like a class, and from that point, her yoga teaching didn’t teach you how to meditate’ - you can’t teach
started again. “When Adrian came along, the teaching anybody how to meditate - you can only point people in
feeling came back”. certain directions. It comes to you when you are ready
for it”.
She went to the
USA several times I asked Diana why many Iyengar teachers held back from
when Iyengar teaching pràõàyàma . “I think people are more confident
yoga was just teaching the àsanas and in fact, the àsanas incorporate
beginning to take everything that’s in yoga. From the very beginning you can
off there. “One of go from moving into the àsana into concentration, from
my former concentration to contemplation - then if you’re really
students asked involved, it is meditation”.
me to come over
as she was very Adrian commented that Diana was not inclined to define
unimpressed with meditation. Diana agreed: “It’s like the birds in the park -
the teaching whoosh. A lot of people have these moments without
there. But it was realising what it is - looking at a beautiful picture, perhaps
extremely difficult - they lose themselves - it’s like a little death”.
because these
people were so Diana concluded: “I love teaching because yoga is such a
noisy and wonderful thing, and I’ve always wanted to pass it on to
excitable. I really others. I feel I’ve got to give as much as I can, while I can.
had to take And now I see these younger teachers coming on, I’m
control and after a really pleased about it”. C
week or so they quietened down. I went back a year later
and I was quite astonished to see how they’d changed,
how much quieter they’d become in that year, practising
Iyengar yoga in the right way”.
I asked Diana to tell me about Mr Iyengar and his teaching

philosophy. She told me that in the early years his
students would sometimes take him to Regents Park after
classes: “They were lovely occasions - he would talk to us
about philosophy and meditation. He would say ‘You
won’t understand now but you will understand later’.
Once we were all listening to him telling us mythical
stories, and all of sudden, there was a flight of birds taking
off with a whoosh from a tree above us and we all looked
up and that, he said, was meditation. As we looked up we
became that rush of air - egos were all forgotten in that
moment”.

INTERVIEW WITH
JAWAHAR BANGERA
by Sharon Klaff and Jenny Scott
I first met Jawahar Bangera

in October 2004 when I
attended a workshop he was
your own discretion and your karmas. You have a mind of
your own. Everybody agrees that yoga is a good thing
but, how many actually come to it? All of us are obsessed
giving at the IYI Maida Vale in
by health and one of the best fool-proof methods [to
London. A point that keeps
achieve good health] is yoga, but in spite of knowing this,
returning to mind is the
we don’t always do what is good for our health. There is
emphasis on memory, not
a flaw in our intelligence”.
the recall of instruction, but
the imprint and result of
Jawahar has been teaching yoga since 1980, both in the
each movement in achieving
institute in Mumbai and outside. There were very few
the necessary balance, using
Iyengar Yoga classes in those days and after the establish-
the memory to be able to
ment of the Light on Yoga Research Trust of which he is a
go into a pose, stay quietly in that pose after self adjust-
trustee, public classes were started in rented accommo-
ment, leaving sufficient energy to come out of the pose in
dation until in 2001/02 when the trust was finally able too
the reverse order. So it was with great anticipation that
purchase a permanent base. Mumbai is a very large city
Jenny and I met Jawahar after class at the IYI Maida Vale
with a population of 14 million people and there are 3
on 28th June 2006 to record this interview.
Iyengar institutes in which all classes are well attended.
Having returned home from boarding school in 1969
Jawahar told us that Guruji started one of his first public
Jawahar found that his parents were already involved with
classes in England. Until then Guruji was teaching royalty,
Iyengar Yoga. He explained: “This suited me fine because
but he wanted to also teach the general public. One of
of the discipline of boarding school when you had a fixed
his students at that time was the violinist Yehudi Menuhin
time for everything - yoga was something to do on the
who encouraged him to come to the UK where he met
weekends”. He was not able to pinpoint exactly when he
Silva Mehta, Silvia Prescott, Diana Clifton, Lillian Biggs, and
became serious about yoga, but recalls that following his
Jean Maslen amongst others, who became his first
marriage he moved with his new wife from Mumbai to a
students and teachers in the UK. Students from other
town where they did not know many people, so he began
countries came to the UK to train and so Iyengar Yoga as
to practise yoga for ten minutes a day, stretching that over
it became known spread to the rest of the world. “The
a period to two hours.
seeds were planted here in the UK with the root in Pune,
so the branches are from the UK, but we are all in the
In 1969 when he started attending Iyengar Yoga classes,
same family, one large family with Guruji at the helm.”
Guruji was already travelling to Europe. In those days
there were about 12 young people including Jawahar who
“My coming to the UK is because with Guruji’s permission
were “youngsters” as students. By 1978 he found that he
I have been able to accept the invitations that have been
had earnestly embraced yoga so it seemed a process
extended to me. I don’t travel that much, about 6 weeks
rather than at a particular juncture that it became a major
in a year when someone invites me and I ask them to
influence in his life. Subsequently Jawahar was privileged
approach Guruji and only if he says I can travel am I happy
to accompany Guruji on his travels in 1984, ‘87, ‘90, ‘92
to. I always ask Guruji, but I can speak only for myself, as
and ‘93.
it is the right thing to do - that I should ask. I feel very
strongly about this and say that if Guruji permits, I will
Of his three siblings only Jawahar has continued with yoga.
come - if someone is going to teach he should be aware
“So much for sociology - no it’s more to do with yourself,
of it and also know who is inviting.”
We asked him about the teaching of beginners and the against the wall and once there is a sense of balance then
principle of first bringing their awareness to the shapes of the attempt is to slowly move away from the wall. It can
the postures. He explained that it is essential to first bring also be taught in the corner so that there is hip contact
about body awareness:“Now you have the arms, you have and shoulder contact to remove the fear and learn the
the legs, you have the trunk and it is by the action of the balance. So, with balance, comes the shape and the
arms and legs that you move the trunk. The first action is imprint of memory.”
to understand the movements before beginners can
understand shapes, as first of all they don’t know what We asked him to expand further on the general use of
they can do and we as teachers won’t know what they yoga props.
can do. Beginners don’t have any idea of how it works so
we have to give them the movements: straighten the arms “In the beginning we had no props, a blanket and yes we
and the legs so they say ‘ah, so the arms move this way had a wall, but no blocks or straps. When Guruji used to
and the legs that way’ and then we can give them some teach he found there were those who couldn’t do àsana
more instructions, bringing their attention to the shapes because of disease or stiffness, so to enable students to
and then further improvement can be achieved. learn the postures he introduced props that can help
develop confidence and then gradually be removed. It is
“So it’s really a kind of our fault if we become
progression, like teaching dependant on these
a child to write the letter “You graduate from trikoõàsana props - we don’t want to
‘A’. The initial attempts be weaned away from
result in a crude ‘A”. The and pàr÷vakoõàsana to vãrab- them. This reluctance
child must first learn what
it can do with its hands,
hadràsana I , so the square is comes out of a lack of
confidence. If we are
recognise shapes and required, but it will only come if dependant on the props
then slowly improve. As we will no longer make
long as there is a lack of you work the back leg - which an effor t to become
understanding the Guruji mentions as the unknown. independent. It’s a nice
instructions will always be way to learn. When
gross.” This seemed a That is also where the duality there are no props like
good time to prompt him blocks or ropes or
to expand on the
comes in....” trestler, we must be
meaning of memory. inventive and think how
best to help the students, utilising a wall or whatever else
“As teachers we are always correcting others, but how is around. You saw at Brunel [IYA (UK) Conference June
many of us take the trouble to correct ourselves? The 2006] how we used the grille [lattice bars], but that is
errors are due to carelessness, so we have to be careful. what was required for those two men who had very stiff
Because we cannot see our own errors there is a lack of shoulders and I wanted to help them, so I looked around
intelligence. Just as we are used to standing on our feet, and found the grille because they needed it. That is not
we think that we are in tàóàsana , but it is only after we to say that what I used for them is for everybody. So for
understand what needs to be done that we know what setu bandha we used the seats/benches. You remember
tàóàsana is. It is about balance, first we must learn the how the blocks were added to make a square of the front
balance and then the shape will come, but sometimes the leg in vãrabhadràsana II ? What happens is that you bend
posture is wrong and we are blissfully unaware until less in this àsana than in pàr÷vakoõàsana and even less
someone points out the errors. So, for example, we prac- in vãrabhadràsana I because of fear. You are unable to
tice head-stand with the body against the wall to become hold your balance because you are unable to keep the
aware of the posture and then slowly come away from back leg heel down, so you lift it to form the square and
the wall to learn balance. By then we are only interested think you are doing vãrabhadràsana I .
in the balance and not the posture. If we are asked to
correct the posture when we are balancing in the centre, “There is a hierarchy in àsana - from the lateral to the
we are reluctant in correcting it because of the fear of revolving postures, from narrow stance to wider stance.
falling over. So for instance, head balance is first taught You graduate from trikoõàsana and pàr÷vakoõàsana to

vãrabhadràsana I , so the square is required, but it will only works, how the shoulders work and once that awareness
come if you work the back leg - which Guruji mentions as is achieved, then the prop can gradually be reduced and
the unknown. That is also where the duality comes in, the finally removed. “So you may use the props to protect the
right and the left, the front and the back. We are not able students.” He agreed that to some extent we had
to think of the higher duality, of the head and the heart, become dependent on these props:“You should gradually
so we are trapped in the superficial duality because of the reduce, say from 5 blankets to 4 then 3, etc, but first of all
lack of intelligence to connect the head and the heart so you need to train yourself with appropriate props until
that duality ceases to exist. you can learn to do the pose without them. If you
become dependant it is your own fault. Of course as I
“Therefore Guruji says unless you get the action from the said we are afraid of hurting ourselves, the fear factor. So
unknown, the back leg of pàr÷vottànàsana or vãrab- that is why you have to find out where you are comfort-
hadràsana I , you must learn with the help of a prop, for able, like today you learnt how to use the wall for support
example use the wall as support, or the benches as we and once you have achieved that, come back to the centre
did at Brunel, so the back leg becomes alert and is stable. [of the room] and try to do it that way. If there is a
In lateral posters the leg is the same, but only the foot problem, then by all means use a prop.”
turns, whereas in revolving postures such as
pàr÷vottànàsana the leg Jenny asked him if as
turns and you need the introductory teachers,
perception of what we are less able to iden-
changes and then you tify these problems and
realise the action or lack “I advise those of you use therefore we should
of it in the back leg. The always use a prop, at least
direction of the leg computers to adjust the screen at for new students.
changes your perception
because the body
eye level so the head is straight - Jawahar impressed again
that it is our duty to look
perception changes from this is what I do, keep it at eye after our students, to see
lateral to revolving so the that they don’t harm
behaviour of the leg level....” themselves. So if as
changes.” teachers we feel a
student needs a prop,
When we told him that then we must use what is
we had embarked on a series of interviews of Guruji’s appropriate. “It is there for you at your discretion, but you
original students in the UK, he interrupted to say that we are responsible for seeing no harm comes to your
are all original students of Guruji “………you must know students, so as a rule to use props, first see how the
that you come to the teachers because of Guruji and so students are performing, introduce props and then gradu-
you are also part of the family, the grandchildren.” ally do without support. For many of us the trapezius is
short as we don’t sit erect/upright. And so the trapezius
With that rather warming thought we explained that one moves upwards. For instance you are often slouched,
of the issues Silvia Prescott spoke about in her interview peering at computers so the neck thrusts forward and
with Diane Maimaris (IYN9) was the increasing reliance you lift the trapezius, which puts a strain on the cervical
on props, specifically in sàlamba sarvàngàsana . She which puts a strain on the dorsal causing it to be stiff and
made it clear that unless we have a problem we need to that puts a strain on the lumbar. Like now as you see,
try this posture without a lift under the shoulders, but you’re all sitting badly because you’re writing, but as you
some of the senior teachers are concerned about contra- see I sit on the edge of the seat. I sit like this on the edge
dicting Guruji’s directive regarding these props. of the seat (whenever I can) which helps keep my spine
erect and avoids all the problems listed above.”
Jawahar said that we should not get into any controversy.
He explained that Guruji is concerned that where there I told Jawahar that I had recently developed a left shoulder
is a problem, or that the neck is vulnerable or that it is not problem, something I hadn’t experienced for many years,
possible to hold the pose straight to stay in it to get and I couldn’t understand why until one day I realised that
benefit, prop support is needed to learn how the neck my computer screen had been tilted and I was peering at

it in that slouched way he had just described. When I “So you ask someone why he or she comes to a yoga
straightened the screen it went away. His advice was class.The standard answer is to be flexible, keep in shape,
invaluable: “I advise those of you use computers to adjust lose weight, peace of mind, etc. More importantly for the
the screen at eye level so the head is straight - this is what time they are in class, perhaps it keeps him/her out of
I do, keep it at eye level - but then you know what mischief! But you have to ask yourself why yoga is
happens, many people don’t know typing so they need to designed this way and then you have to delve into the
look at the keyboard [and this disturbs the balance]. I philosophy and you have to explain this to them when
know typing so I can keep looking ahead at the screen. So they are ready. Some will understand and persevere. As
learn touch typing. Also the use of the mouse! What I do for the others, at least it will keep them healthy.”
is one week I use the right hand mouse for right hand
control and the next week the left hand mouse for left We mentioned that the word intelligence is used a lot in
hand control or you can also learn the keyboard functions yoga and asked him to expand on the meaning. “It is
instead of using the mouse.” connected with discrimination, more to do with research;
after all the trials are over,
Jenny asked how old you don’t do trials any
people can be encour- more. When there is no
aged to keep active. more experimentation
“But the fear of confronting pain then you just know this is
“It depends on how often causes people to go to the right, the intuition is there
much mobility they have. and that becomes intelli-
Bones can become brittle doctor, when they could at least gence. First you have to
with age, so it is better use your senses of
that they start with àsana
learn to take care of some of their perception of which the
that do not involve problems themselves through their skin is one sense. Now
balance. They can do the skin is connected to
poses lying down on the practice. “ the touch sensation
floor, like supta pàdàn- “sparsha”- that is where
guùthàsana with feet the flow of intelligence is
against the wall, or if they connected to the skin -
can’t lie on the floor, practise it on the bed, supta baddha you must have heard Guruji say the intelligence is
koõàsana , a little chair twisting and so on. Guruji often connected to the skin. Developing intelligence is where
mentions that old people have problems with the chest continuous practice comes in, that is when we are unable
because the sternum area dries out. So they need to to observe because of the lack of perception. We are
learn to keep the chest open and hence those particular insensitive to the touch sensation and so lag behind in our
àsana have to be learnt. It becomes rigid because they progress or are unable to maintain the progress that has
allow it to happen. But the fear of confronting pain often been achieved. If we are able to understand the sensations
causes people to go to the doctor, when they could at that we experience and retain it in our memory, then we
least learn to take care of some of their problems them- have scope for recollection and progress.
selves through their practice. Where there is an infection
and medication is needed then they must take it. What is the one message that Jawahar would like to bring
However, if as introductory teachers you are not trained to us?
to take care of these issues then refer them to your
teacher, who in turn can consult with Guruji who is always “That we should be available to one another as a commu-
happy to help. There is a wear and tear of the body and nity and bring about harmony that is so much lacking in
that’s why yoga is there to preserve what we can. There our society. So we can start a new community of yoga
is no age limit to when you can start yoga, no such thing practitioners and maybe we can change the world and
in the yoga scriptures, not too young or too old, only make it a more peaceful place. We can all get along, and
whether you want to stay alive taking medicines or this is why I don’t feel out of place when I come here [the
healthy without medicines.” UK] as we are all studying the same subject.” C
We asked him whether or not yoga is holistic.

Bellur - Hospital Opening

November 2006
words by S t e p h a n i e Q u i r k
W hy did they bring us here? Waste land, red earth,

windswept grass and weeds, nothing to see but
rocks, rocks everywhere, not even good enough to take a
ploughing, there is now a bustling High School attended
by girls and boys not only from Bellur village, but also from
many other local surrounding villages. They study all the
plough. It was December 2004, after the Yog-Sadana in typical high school subjects such as maths, sciences,
honour of Geeta’s 60th birthday. I was part of a group of computers, geography, history etc. However these
Iyengar yoga students who had travelled to the village of students also have the unique benefit of studying a very
Bellur, S.India for the final ceremonies marking the inaugu- special subject. On the second floor is a large yoga room
ration of the first and only Patanjali Temple in India, built where all the students attend weekly yoga classes. The
by Guruji in his home village. We had been sitting for school has been open for two years now and next year
hours through the various phases and stages of the long will be running to its full capacity. It currently covers
pujas, (religious ceremonies). We watched, sweating and grades 8, 9 and 10, the year when all students sit the
red faced in front of the ‘homa’ fire (ritual fire), the national exams. The response has been good and the
cleansing of the idol of Patanjali. Many of us had come students’ grades have improved.They are happy and keen
because we were interested in Guruji’s plans for his to further their education and The Bellur Trust is consid-
village, which we were supporting through the Bellur ering the establishment of an intermediate level college
Krishnamachar Seshama Smaraka Niddhi Trust (The Bellur where the students prepare for tertiary education, univer-
Trust). It was a chance to be with Guruji on this auspicious sities and undergraduate colleges.
occasion and to see the village for ourselves.
Adjacent and to the right of the High School there is a
Finally it was all over. We were tired from the long puja’s, newly built, vast, flat roofed structure. At one end is the
filled with the rich feast given by Guruji to everyone. We kitchen that provides the school’s midday meals. The
had wandered about the village meeting people, seen the remaining space is for the establishment of cottage indus-
water tank and the new addition to the primary school. tries for the village, with a very large ground floor space
We were ready to climb aboard our buses and head back, and a mezzanine floor for activities that do not require
anxious to be in time for our flights and trains. However, heavy machinery.
no sooner were we on the road, than we were diverted
along a rough bumpy track. “You have to see this!” we Behind the High School is the Guest Cottage and Trust
were told. “See what ?” - there was nothing to see. “Oh! Office. For the occasion of the opening of the new
It’s the 16 acres The Trust has bought!” We peered out at hospital it was occupied by Guruji and his large extended
the 16 acres of barren, rocky landscape. family, who had come to take part in the celebrations.
Like Guruji, they too have a love of the old village that
Now, two years later, November 2006, students from gave birth to themor their parents and nurtured them in
Pune, Bombay and all over India had again come together their youth. Many of the family members are also trustees.
on that same 16 acres of land. They had come to cele-
brate the work of The Bellur Trust and to be with Guruji We had all come together to watch or take part in the
on the occasion of the Opening of the new Ramamani ceremonies performed around the fires of the “homa” by
Sundararaja Iyengar Hospital. the tireless priests, who conduct elaborate rituals which
mark the opening of such ventures. They recite the
In the two years that have passed a phenomenal change appropriate recommendations to the multitudes of deities
has taken place to the 16 acres of rocky land. The area that are believed to be present on these occasions and
has been dramatically transformed and the work that has which are implored to bring great benefit to all in the
gone into making it what it is now is inspiring. Where name of the Hospital, the Cottage Industries Hall or what-
there had been a rocky waste, not even suitable for ever is being blessed. The pujas began at seven in the
evening and continued until two in the morning, when it ings in a little under two years. They have arranged for
was deemed suitable to take a break for a rest in the flowering gardens, fresh green lawns, paving and fences to
proceedings. The pujas continued the next morning and surround the buildings. In the entrance of the hospital
finally concluded shortly before midday. In attendance there is a fountain with water burbling and gushing,
throughout were Guruji, Prashant, Sucita and her husband bathing a host of idols seated amongst the rocks. The 16
Shridar, Vanita and her husband Shridar and his son-in- acres have been transformed from a bleary and barren
law, Ragu and daughter Savita. state to a beautiful oasis.
Though we all know he is unique and one alone, Guruji’s I had some idea that the hospital would be a small “day-
presence was everywhere at all times. He was there to clinic” where a doctor would come from Bangalore
welcome each of his relatives, and kindly acknowledged perhaps a few days a week to attend some of the cases
each of his students as they arrived from all over India, from the village. But there is in Ramamaninagar (the name
sitting amongst them listening to their news and ensuring given to the 16 acres) a fully equipped hospital with oper-
that all were accommodated and well fed. In the morning ating theatre, accident and trauma clinics, overnight wards
of the first day he joined everyone for breakfast whilst and doctors’ consulting rooms. It has a beautiful entrance
also seeing to the preparations for the ceremonies: talking with the water fountain and a welcoming reception desk.
to the various village and district authorities, settling small It has a ramp to transport patients in the future to the
arguments that threatened the smooth running of the upper level, as yet un-constructed. But for now the first
programme, looking into the details that needed attention floor is complete and functioning.
and again sitting with everyone for the midday meal, then
more meetings and discussions. Some great news that Guruji had received was that all
newly trained doctors now have to do part of their
Along with all the observed actions to bring “boon”, internship in a rural hospital. Until now there has only
meaning good luck, which included a led circumambula- been one distrcit hospital where doctors could do this in
tion of two (reluctant) cows, there was the unflagging Kolar, 20 miles away. Now there are two! This means
bright presence of Guruji. By midday the pujas were finally that there will be no shortage of staff for the facility. As
complete. Lunch was another sumptuous South Indian from the 6th December 2006 the Hospital will have 24
feast, generously provided by Guruji to all of us who had hour medical care. Two Medical Officers, a midwife and
come for the occasion, all the various visiting dignitaries nurse will be staffing the hospital. Any required surgery
and their assisting retinues and not forgetting a single will be performed by two visiting surgeons from Banga-
villager who wished to join in! Seemingly without a break lore and Kolar Hospital.
Guruji was then present at the ribboned door of the
Hospital building, chatting with the special invited digni- To the left of the high school one can see the foundation
taries and politicians who were to officially open the work of what will be the staff quarters for the doctors
Hospital. and nurses of the newly opened hospital. The Kolar
hospital has indicated to the Tust that they are keen to see
Not more than ten minutes after the completion of a College of Nursing established. Soon to be erected
ribbon cutting and inspection, Guruji arrived in the large around the entire complex at Ramamaninagar will be a
Cottage Industries Hall for the speeches and bestowing of compound wall, of approximately 3,000 feet in length.
garlands, shawls and coconuts that always accompany an When finally we left for Bangalore it felt as if we had been
event such as this in India.Then after everyone had given in Bellur for two weeks, not just two days.
their speeches Guruji spoke to the assembled crowd. He
was tireless, patient, welcoming, generous, indefatigable The occasion had been full and rich. We said goodbye to
and indefeatable, his stamina far greater than ours. His our very gracious host, Guruji, and took our flights back
energy, his love, his desire that the people of his home- to Pune. C
town should have a better life is clearly shown in his
unfailing devotion to the work he has undertaken.
Guruji’s son-in-law and daughter; Ragu and Savita have

been responsible for overseeing the construction,
plumbing, electrical wiring, and painting of all these build-

I Y E N G A R Y O G A F O R
M I N D , B O D Y & S O U L
IIYS at the Mind, Body, Soul Exhibition, Brighton 7th-8th October 2006 by Sallie Sullivan
B righton racecourse is an unlikely venue for matters

spiritual - with its seedy gangland overtones from
Graham Green’s Brighton Rock. (My mother and grand-
nudge and some information. Other Sussex teachers had
enquiries afterwards and I have gained at least two new
students, one of whom was a fellow exhibitor in ‘chakra
mother used to walk from Rottingdean to race meetings dance’ and very enthusiastic.
there between the wars). So I had no idea what to
expect when I carried in a box of photos of Guruji, of We had offered a demo and were a bit surprised to be
classes in Pune, of Geeta at Crystal Palace and a rare one given two slots for each of the two days, not on the main
of Prashant laughing! We had books to display and DVDs stage, but quite well placed very near the Hari Krishna
to play but nothing for sale. We were just there to stand doling out tasty Indian snacks. I put together a
provide information about Iyengar Yoga nationally and of simple demo - not much space, so two trainees
course in Sussex. Sussex in the very earliest days had the performing a sample class and me explaining: the physical,
benefit of regular visits by Guruji. Brian, our chair, had mental and spiritual benefits of different poses, the class
prepared a really good leaflet and Andy had produced structure, why and when props, yoga is for all, Mr Iyengar,
‘corporate’ IIYS tee shirts for our helpers and demo team. precision and safety, strict teacher training - we tried to
cover a lot, but simply, in less than half an hour. We did
not hold the poses more than 10 seconds each side, to
show a good range - one of our demonstrators said after-
wards that she felt worn out, not refreshed as usual after
a practice and now she understood just why timings are
important in the poses.
Was it worth it? It cost a fair bit and probably in money

terms it was not. However the committee and friends
really enjoyed working as a team over that weekend.
More important, in an increasingly frantic world where
Andy and Orit in the Sunday demonstration.
even yoga is competitive and its seeds scattered, we’ve
done a bit in our seaside corner of the UK to spread the
We soon forgot the unusual nature of the venue as Brian
word about the precious yoga heritage gifted us by Guruji.
expertly Velcro’d up our display. It looked informative and
catchy, even if more than a little restrained alongside the C
angels and witches, exotic hangings, crystals and aura
readings on display at other stands. We began to wonder
if we had seriously misread the possible target ‘audience’
and were wasting our time.
However everyone, exhibitors and public alike, was very

open, cheery and friendly - more so than at the Yoga
Show, I felt. We gave out all our leaflets and the IYA ones
as well, we talked to a lot of people and I found, again,
more interest in actually trying Iyengar Yoga than I
remember at the Yoga Show. Of course at the latter most Andy Roughton (IYA Representative), Rayner Curtis (ex-Chair and
of those attending already do some form of yoga and may Membership Secretary), Sallie Sullivan,Yvonne Holmes (holding her
not be about to try a different method. Here were lots newspaper article “I’m 89 and feeling fine” showing her performing
headstand), Brian Ingram (Chair).
of people, possibly with interests in similar areas and who
might have thought about trying yoga and just needed a
PICTURES FROM THE RAMAMANI INS

Photographs by Carole Sen
Self Practice in the Yoga Hall
Using the tressler for Trikonasana Urdhva Dhanurasana from a high support
Adho Mukha Svanasana Using weights and various supports
Yoga Karunta (Rope Work)
Achieving precision of alignment

TITUTE IN PUNE - NOVEMBER 2OO7

nder and Chandru Melwani
A Class with Geetaji
Prayers at the Beginning of Class Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana
Urdhva Dhanurasana Geetaji observing Sirsasana
Eka Pada Sarvangasana Just about room for Savasana!
More photos on page 63

CAN Y OU H ELP F UNDRAISE F OR B ELLUR?

Information from The Bellur Action Group - Leza Hatchard, Judith Jones, Judith Richards
and Patsy Sparksman
I n the last edition of Iyengar Yoga News there was a

feature on Bellur (the village where Guruji was born)
and the Bellur Trust (the charity founded by Guruji, his

education beyond primary school
a 20 bed day hospital - now up and running
a guest house for visitors to Bellur
family and students. The feature also included information
about the fundraising project, which has been launched
internationally in the Iyengar Yoga community, to raise
money to see the completion and maintenance of
Guruji’s vision for the development of Bellur.
Before 2004 Bellur was an archaic community, which had

no resources or means to improve the day to day exis-
tence of its impoverished people, who are from the
poorest and the most underprivileged strata of society in
Facilities already built will transform health, education and future

lives - but there is still much more to achieve!
Future projects include:

Further equipping & staffing the Ramamani Iyengar
Hospital
Building a nursing college
Improving public health awareness & helping to alle-
viate suffering
Children from Bellur enjoying their yoga class Continuing to fund the provision of 100% free educa-
tion
India. Bellur is typical of many communities in India where Building and setting up technical & educational institu-
people live in abject poverty and life is extremely hard. tions, vocational training and adult education to help to
Guruji has begun to fulfill his long-term vision of bringing create employment and income
prosperity and reform to the simple existence of these Establishing cottage industries & teaching about
people. He is offering hope for the future, especially for modern farming methods to improve current crop
the children of Bellur and the surrounding area, by yields
building amenities which everyone can be proud of and Promoting the technical and artistic skills of traditional
which bring a real benefit to all. handicrafts with the aim of establishing rural industry.
Helping realise Guruji’s long-term dream of bringing
So far the Trust has: yoga to the lives of ordinary people in India
Erected a 50,000 gallon water tank which provides
fresh, clean drinking water Guruji’s long-term desire has been to bring yoga to the
Re-furbished the primary school and built a further villages in India. This is now happening in Bellur. Both the
level to provide a large space for yoga classes and primary and high school children have yoga classes and
lessons Guruji has funded the building of the first temple to
Purchased 15 acres of land for other building projects Patanjali in India in Bellur; which gives the community
Completed the building of:- something to be really proud of and which is now regu-
a High School for boys and girls to provide free larly visited by Hindu worshippers and yogis from around

the world. The villagers, who have many social as well as economic problems, are now gaining pride in themselves,
their heritage and community and have positive hope for the future.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Organise a fundraising enterprise - a yoga day, raffle, or sponsored event. There are so many different ways to fundraise
and you can have great fun doing it at the same time! If you haven’t got the time to organise a specific event you may
like to make a donation.Whichever way you choose, you know that your donation will be helping to improve the lives
of the people of Bellur and also benefitting surrounding communities as well.
To date approx.. £8,000 has been donated from various events and individual donations in 2006-7 and thanks go to
all of those people who have kindly sent in donations. If you would like to help by organising an event, please contact
Leza at the main office: admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk and she will be able to help you with promotional material such as
flyers, pamphlets artwork etc.
OR MAKE A DONATION by post using the Donation Form below or via the online form on the IYA (UK) website
How do I make a Donation to the Bellur Trust?

Due to Indian Government regulations covering charitable donations, NO DONATIONS, no matter what currency,
can be accepted personally by the Bellur Trust, the Iyengar family or any other individual connected to the Trust; so
please DO NOT try to take your donations directly to Pune. Only donations from organisations that have completed
the necessary Indian Government documentation can be accepted. Please therefore send your donations to IYA (UK).
Everyone who sends a donation will in turn be sent a receipt. Your donation will be forwarded to the Trust at the
earliest opportunity.

Bellur Trust Donation Form
Please cut out this slip and post with your donation to: IYA (UK), PO Box 54151, Ealing, London, W5 9DH.
All cheques & postal orders payable to: IYA (UK). Euros can be accepted from Rep of Ireland only. For all other
overseas payments please contact the main office first for advice on the best way to send your donation.
Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………………..…..……...
(can be individual name or organisation)
Address:…………………………………………………………………………………...………..……..…..
……………………………………………………………………………………………….………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……
Tel:…………………………………………………………………………………………………..………..
E-mail: ………………………………………………………...……………………………………………...
Amount donated : ……………………….. Date: …………………………………….
Would you like your name / group's name/ centre's name to be listed? YES / NO (please circle)
Do you wish to remain anonymous? YES / NO (please circle)

SARVA IYI: THREE IS NOT A CROWD

By Ally Hill
Four years ago Sheila Haswell and I opened what was tions at us and a bill for £6,000 as our contribution to the
then called the Sarva Centre in Buckinghamshire. Sheila ‘transport strategy of the town’.
had been teaching Iyengar yoga for nearly 30 years at this
point and had been wanting her own space for as long as No matter what obstacles they put in our path somehow
she could remember. The idea of no longer having to lug we overcame them and with only two weeks to go before
all the blocks, bricks and bolsters with her everywhere she the new term started, we picked up the keys. All the
went; no longer working in draughty halls and no longer family rolled up their sleeves and we converted the first
coming in to use a place only to find the previous hirer floor of the building into a yoga centre with an office and
had been a children’s party (sticking to your mat and two therapy rooms.
sticking to the floor are very different and the latter is defi-
nitely undesirable!) was a dream she had held for a long As I said at the start, that was four years ago. It soon
time. became apparent that we had planted a seed in the Estate
Agents mind. Soon they were showing the empty ground
floor to potential gym owners and worst of all a children’s
Nursery. Their statement that the Nursery would only be
for babies who don’t make a lot of noise amused us
greatly, as, being the mother of four children between us,
we knew differently! This, plus other factors regarding our
lease and the number of classes we were able to put on
decided us that we should take over the whole building.
Simple you would have thought, as we were already

tenants but no. There were too many interested parties
to make things go smoothly - there was our landlord, their
I was lecturing at the local Further Education College and solicitor, their agent, the owner, our solicitor and us. The
whilst I loved the teaching aspect of my job, the paper- facility for Chinese whispers was extraordinary. Time and
work that went with it was becoming increasingly time again we would say something to our landlord only
onerous, if not dominant. to have the solicitors decide we had said something totally
different! It took nearly two years to sort it out. In the
It wasn’t until we realised we had much in common that end we picked a date and said now or never (or words
our friendship grew and out of that, the idea of having our to that effect).
own centre.
It worked. We were in. But in to what? Unlike the
Finding a suitable venue is hard, as any teacher who has upstairs where one group of small offices had been
looked will tell you. Finally we found 161 West Wycombe opened up into a large, light, airy room, downstairs was a
Road. It had been empty for eight years and was an warren of little rooms with a long straight corridor
unloved office building on the outskirts of High running right down the middle. The building had, in a
Wycombe. previous incarnation, been carpenters’ workshops, so the
shell was strong and the office walls all stud partitions and
In spite of its apparent redundancy as offices, we still had were thus easy to remove. I say easy …hum… but I’ll
to battle hard with our local authority to get the change come to that in a bit.
of use needed. They told us ‘we were taking away
employment opportunities from the town.’ We pointed Now just to make matters interesting, Sheila is the organ-
out the 259,000 sq feet of empty office space between us iser for the Introductory Assessments, and usually spends
and the centre of town in a straight line! So they backed every weekend in October in a School in Birmingham
down on that point but then threw the highways regula- trying to facilitate around 15 teaching assessments. So,

believing that we would have signed back in February capped off so when they turned the heating back on to
2006 at the latest and having been given the go ahead by test it, we found the coffee lounge had sprung a fountain
the Assessing and Teacher Training Committee to have the that we hadn’t ordered!
assessments at Sarva (three fully equipped, dedicated
yoga studios are better than three school halls with chil- We decided to go for under-floor heating in the
dren’s art work covering the walls and the worst chairs Oakwood studio half way through the build, as the
for back-bending you could imagine!), we had cancelled thought of ruining those lovely clear walls with radiators
the school booking and agreed that National Assessments was too much to bear.
would be held at Sarva for the first time in the October
of 2006. So yet again we had a deadline to meet. We had We even had the builders all doing handstands in the
from 1st August to 7th October to rip out all those walls, Oakwood when they put the new floor down and they
install under-floor heating and have the whole place clean were most respectful of the ‘no shoe’ rule upstairs every
and usable as our target, with no margin for error. time they came up to the office to ask us something,
which was often. And yet they still kept smiling and
Our builders, plumbers and electricians were brilliant. turning up at 8am each day. There have been rumours
They understood what we needed and why but not the that they only came for the free tea and biscuits plus the
detai. occasional cake but I think that’s unfair.
They finished at 6:30pm on the Friday before the first

assessment on the Saturday. It took Sheila and I till 1:30am
to clean the place but we made it. We now have three
studios, the Sandalwood, the Oakwood and the Rose-
wood, currently two changing rooms and a students’
coffee lounge. So no crowds just plenty of room for yoga.
Our poor electrician put all the cables for the lights too
low for handstands and had to move them all up. That’s
after he repaired all the lighting to the Rosewood studio
- our plumber (married to one of our teachers so not
someone we want to lose - not that anyone is dispen-
sable) managed to pull out all the wiring when removing
a redundant pipe! Some kind soul had decided it would
be a good idea to attach all the cabling for the back room
to the plumbing as an earth - how he wasn’t electrocuted Everyone has been very kind and supportive. We were
we do not know to this day! granted Iyengar Institute status by Guruji when Sheila and
I were out in India in January 2006 and have had many
When the electrician repaired the feed to the car park wonderful comments on the new facilities. It is our hope
lighting he put the timer up by the ceiling, presumably that Sarva IYI will go on to prove an asset to all the
terrified we’d ask him to move it if he put it within reach. Iyengar community. Who knows, if you haven’t been here
He’d already had to move the control panel for the already, maybe we’ll see you down in High Wycombe one
heating, as he put it just were we had planned a wonderful day. C
picture of Guruji with Sheila’s mother Lilian Biggs would
go; Lilian was a much loved and is a sorely missed Senior
teacher who officially opened the upstairs.
The builder plastered over a pipe end that hadn’t been

ONE Y EAR O LD - G LASGOW & W EST O F

SCOTLAND I YENGAR Y OGA I NSTITUTE
by Helen Graham and Fiona Dewar
Iyengar Yoga Teachers and more will follow to take
Guruji’s brilliant teachings to the people in Scotland.
We celebrated our first year on ropes! A weekend with
O ur new Institute began with a group of enthusiastic

practitioners a beautifully designed logo and a day
of inspired teaching with Jeanne Maslen in November 05
(above). Since then we have been very busy organising
events for beginners, experienced bodies and the first
teachers training course since 1991. Sheila Haswell using ropes on school wall bars, for many
people it was their first time on the ropes....it was a great
The monthly course run by Gordon Austin (below) had weekend. The last year has seen lots of hard work and
applicants from all over Scotland and we are pleased to dedication in laying a strong firm foundation on which our
have 15 dedicated trainees who will take Iyengar Yoga to yoga community can grow and spread...as Guruji says
the outer corners of Scotland! ‘Words cannot convey the value of yoga - it has to be
experienced.’ It is hoped that our new Institute will give
people the opportunity to experience Iyengar Yoga.
We have had the support of several experienced

teachers over our first year and our membership has
grown we now have over 120 people as members, Our wider community is always welcome so if you find
attending GWSIYI workshops and classes. We gained 3 yourself in our part of the country please do come to
new teachers recently so we now have 11 registered class our website is www.gwsiyi.org.

Y O G A S H O W L O N D O N
1 5 TH- 1 7 TH
SEPTEMBER 2006
by Leza Hatchard and Patsy Sparksman
IYA (UK) had a stand, various workshops and demos at

the Yoga Show again this year, which was held at London’s
Kensington Olympia. Nineteen people helped over the
adverts placed by the private centres around the UK and
Ireland. The public could take this away with them so that
they had the details of whom to contact in their own time
three days either by volunteering on the stand or and the directories were also displayed on the stand.
presenting or helping at a demonstration or workshop.
All workshop and demo teachers and stand volunteers
We decided on a slightly smaller stand based on the hire wore distinctive navy t-shirts with ‘Iyengar Yoga Association’
expense and set it up with the tables at the back this year in white across the chest. This was very effective as IYA
to encourage as many people as possible to walk ‘in to’ the people were easily identified by the visitors to the show.
stand. This way they could have better access to view the Whenever we walked around the show for a break we
black and white photo display of Guruji and to approach were approached and asked questions about the associa-
the volunteers directly with their questions. This proved tion.
successful and the feedback from the people who came to
the stand was excellent. The response to our demos and workshop classes was
very good. Judi Sweeting and her team from CIYC,
presented two demonstrations called ‘Alignment is Enlight-
enment’ on a small demo stage on the main show floor.
Both the men’s and the women’s demos were well
attended and well received despite Yoga Show allocating us
to a much smaller demo stage than originally booked.
Thanks goes out to all of those involved who made the
best of the situation and presented possibly the best
demonstration of the entire show.
Margaret Rawlinson held a ‘Freedom in Backbends’ work-

shop which filled to capacity of 46 paying attendees, whilst
Mary Niker held an ‘Iyengar Yoga for Beginners’ workshop
which was attended by 66 people free of charge. Both
Priti Mehta at the IYA (UK) stand workshops were extremely successful and received excel-
lent feedback from people who then visited the stand after
A lot of people who were not already familiar with Iyengar attending.
Yoga were fascinated by the photographs and by the 1938
practice video of Guruji which was played throughout the Korinna Pilafidis-Williams held an ‘Iyengar Yoga Childrens’
3 days. Maida Vale kindly supplied us with DVD and video class for those aged 8-11 years in an open demo area set
copies of this to sell and the DVD copies sold out on the up for children. Korinna felt that her demo was better
first day with requests for more copies. attended than the previous year with 12 children actively
joining in and enjoying the experience.
The stand focussed on information with a small selection
of books for sale. All ticket buyers to the Yoga Show were There were unfortunately some downsides this year to
given a ‘goody bag’ at the door which we arranged to have being at the show. The workshops and demos suffered
4,000 copies of a simple black and white Iyengar Yoga from a higher level of noise distraction and the quality of
Association directory inserted into. As well as information the workshop areas were lower this year as they were
about BKS Iyengar, the Association, teacher training, an IYA held on an open balcony, rather than in enclosed areas like
membership application form etc; the directory featured previous years. General response was that attendance was
details of the member institutes and a selection of paid low, especially on the Saturday, and a lot of the other
exhibits were not representative of yoga. The venue is too large and inhospitable and feels more like a commercial
market place in which to shop rather than somewhere to really experience yoga. The events company gave away a lot
of tickets to the show which questions whether they had difficulties in selling the event and how it will continue in future
years.
The Cotswold Iyengar Centre men’s demonstration
However, IYA (UK) did pick up some new members and it was an opportunity to profile the association and its teachers.
Patsy and Leza would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped at the Yoga Show this year, your input
was very much appreciated and without you we couldn’t have made it happen! C
IYA (UK) DISCUSSION FORUM

One of the new features of our website is a discussion forum, open to all members.
You will need to login with your username and password and then you have to
register - you only need to do this the first time you use the forum.Teachers already
have a username, and non-teacher members have been e-mailed with their log-in
details.
The forum provides an oppor tunity to ask questions, raise issues and express opin-
ions relating to Iyengar yoga and the Association. You can star t off new discussions
or respond to comments already posted by other people. It is really easy to use,
even for people who have never done this kind of thing before. Why not give it a
try? Visit www.iyengaryoga.org.uk.

HOW TO LOG-IIN TO THE DISCUSSION FORUM AND

HOW TO LOG-IIN AS A TEACHER TO UPDATE YOUR CLASSES
The IYA (UK) website now has a fantastic discussion Username = put the name you want people to see
forum where you can all come together and swap ideas, when you post a message i.e. John or John Brown or
comments, ask questions; discuss your experience and so anything else you prefer.
on. The discussion forum is open to ALL IYA (UK) Password = choose a password which will be easy for
members (teachers, non-teachers and trainees). you to remember.
Email address = you are asked for it twice to make sure
Teacher & Non Teacher Log-iin for the Discussion Forum you have entered it correctly. The required boxes are
marked with a "*". If you don't complete these boxes
Go to the website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk and you will not be able to complete the registration
REGISTER on the Discussion Forum page.The reason you process but you can ignore the other boxes.
need to register as well as having a separate log-in is that Click "Submit"
the discussion forum is open to IYA (UK) members only
and NOT the general public. For you to gain access to You should now be able to begin using the forum.You can
the forum you must have a current e-mail address on the find further information on how to use the forum under
IYA database. If your e-mail is not in our database or you the topic headed "How to use the member's discussion
want to check it's correct then please e-mail Leza at the forum". If after reading the "How to use the members
main office using admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk discussion forum" you are still having problems; please e-
mail web wizard Andy Roughton on:
Discussion Forum Register amroughton@yahoo.co.uk
1. Click on Discussion Forum on the left hand menu bar, TEACHERS ONLY LOGIN
4th item from the bottom.
2. The first time you use the forum you will be asked for 1. Click on Teacher Log-in on the Home page on the left
your username. This is your first name followed by a hand menu bar - 2nd from the bottom of the list.
dot followed by your surname i.e. John.Brown Do not 2.Type in your user name (This is your first name followed
leave gaps and if your name is double barrelled sepa- by a dot followed by your surname i.e. John.Brown
rate it with a hyphen, for example, John.Smedley-Brown Leave no gaps - if your name is double barrelled sepa-
3. Type in your password which you will need to e-mail rate with a hyphen, for example, John.Smedley-Brown).
me to ask for: admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk 3. Type in the password - which you will need to e-mail
4. The next time you use the forum you won't need to me to ask for: admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk
do this initial login as it will be stored on your computer 4. If you have not already changed your password, it will
already (called a cookie). prompt you to change it to prevent other people
5. On the Welcome page click on the hyperlink "Click accessing your personal teacher records. Choose a
here for details of how to register for the forum". password which is easy for you to remember and keep
6. You should now be able to read the forum topics and it safe.
threads. 5. If you get stuck e-mail web wizard Andy Roughton:
amroughton@yahoo.co.uk
If you want to contribute to the forum (post questions or
replies) you will need to register for the forum by clicking Whilst in your teacher log-iin why not UPDATE your
on "Register" at the top of the page (small letters in pale classes! If you do this then people looking for classes in
green). Click on "Agree" on the Privacy statement. Fill in your area can see where you teach and contact you if it
the details on the form: is of interest to them. Please take this opportunity to
advertise your classes, it is both simple and effective!
EVENTS LISTINGS: YOUR GUIDE TO

Avon Iyengar Yoga Institute C Please contact the events organiser for details of
events and classes, or see the ‘events’ page on the IYA
Paul Reilly (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
07796 302708
reillyyoga@yahoo.com
Bradford and District C Please contact the events organiser for details of
Iyengar Yoga Institute events and classes, or see the ‘events’ page on the IYA
Alan Brown (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
01535 637359
alan@dianalan.plus.com
Cambridge C Please contact the events organiser for details of

www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
Sasha Perryman
01223 515929; sperryman@yahoo.co.uk
Dorset and Hampshire C Workshop with Julie Brown

Iyengar Yoga Institute Saturday 14 April 2007 10.00-16.00.
Kim Trowell DHIYI members: £18 Non-members £20
01202 445049
www.DHIYI.co.uk
East of Scotland C 10th & 11th March 2007 - Patrick & Dominique Le Roy from France
Sunday 22nd and Monday 23rd April - Judi Sweeting & Tig Whattler
Iyengar Yoga Institute Saturday & Sunday 2nd & 3rd June 2007 - Ali Dashti andI AGM
www.gwsiyi.org.uk
Saturday 27th October 2007 (pm) - Diane Coates
November 24th and 25th 2007 - Richard Agar Ward from Bath
Glasgow and West of C Please contact the events organiser for details of
Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute events and classes, or see the ‘events’ page on the IYA
www.gwsiyi.org (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
Institute of Iyengar Yoga

__
C 21st January 07,Alan Brown at Brighton Natural Health Centre
in Sussex 29th April 07, IIYS AGM, Sallie Sullivan at Washington Village Hall
www.iiys.org.uk 10th June 07, Richard Ward, venue TBC
I Brian Ingram Our PD Day next year is on 17th November with Jayne Orton at
Brighton Natural Health Centre
01444 236714; brianyoga@tesco.net
Liverpool C Please contact the events organiser for details of

Judi Soffa (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
0151 7094923
mail@yogastudio.f9.co.uk

IYENGAR I NSTITUTES I N T HE U K
Midland Counties C Please contact the events organiser for details of
www.mciyi.co.uk (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
Brian Jack
01789 205322; jacksis@aol.com
Manchester and District C 17th March 2007 - returaning teacher from Pune - tva
Institute of Iyengar Yoga 21st April 2007 ditto 19th May 2007 tba
www.iyengar-yoga-mcr.org.uk 6th June 2007 tba 28th July 2007 tba
Janice Yates 15th September 2007 tba
01613 683614; mdiiyoga@amserve.net
North East C Please contact the events organiser for details of

Institute of Iyengar Yoga events and classes, or see the ‘events’ page on the IYA
Gordon Austin (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
01915 487457
yoga@austinmg.fsnet.co.uk
North East London C 4th March Half day with Pam Butler
Iyengar Yoga Institute 1st April Yoga day with Bob Waters
www.neliyi.org.uk
Nancy Clarke
0208442061; nancyclarke@btinternet.com
Oxford and Region C Please contact the events organiser for details of
www.oriyi.org.uk (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
Sam Smith; 01608 730932
O . R . I . Y. I . sam.smith@oriyi.org.uk
Sheffield and District C Please contact the events organiser for details of
Iyengar Yoga Association events and classes, or see the ‘events’ page on the IYA
Dominic Batten (UK) website: www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
Tel: 0114 264 9418
dombatten@aol.com
South West C Marion Kilburn, 21st-22nd April 2007

Iyengar Yoga Institute Richard and Kirsten Agar Ward, 28th-29th April 2007
www.swiyengaryoga.ukf.net Richard and Kirsten Agar Ward, 29th-30th July 2007
Jean Kutz Judi Sweeting & Tig Whattler, 2nd-3rd Nov 2007
01872 572807; jean.kutz@tesco.net
Affiliated Iyengar Institutes are non profit-making membership organisations committed to promoting the practice and
philosophy of Iyengar yoga in their areas. They offer a wide range of classes and workshops led by qualified teachers with
years of experience. For details of classes and local teachers please contact the people listed above. The membership fee
brings you membership of both IYA (UK) and the Institute. As a member of both organisations you are entitled to: local
newsletters, free copies of Iyengar Yoga News twice a year, local events and classes at reduced prices, discounts on national
IYA(UK) conventions, the opportunity to network with other Iyengar yoga practitioners.
A S S E S S M E N T R E S U L T S
The following people were successful in Level 2 of the Introductory Assessments taken in
October 2006 in the UK. Congratulations!
Jane Adams Anna Kycia Cheryl Westbury
Orit Adari Naomi Lake Cathy Whelan
Pouran Alam Llana Landwer Harshini Wikramanayake
William Arkle Anita Langford Shirley Wilson
Karen Ball Shelley Lea Cecilia Winter
Catherine Barnes-Holt Nick Long
Charlotte Bennett Aidan Love The following people were
Maria Bird Neil Mackay successful in the Senior Inter-
Andy Brennan Anna-May Mahon mediate Assessments taken in
Sally Brett Gaetano Mancuso November 2006.
Mark Brougham Lisa Mane
Susie Brown Jacky Mangold Senior Intermediate Level 1:
Peter Burnham Hazel Marr Julie Hodges
Frederic Cabaz Scott McKendrick Christine Mcoy
Murielle Carrasco Manuela Meadows Judith Richards
John Carty Catherine Mitchell Senior Intermediate Level 2:
Sally Child Lisa Morris Alice Appleton
Julie Cook Beata Nawrocka Debbie Bartholomew
Anita Cullen Sarah Nicholas Ros Bell
Fiona Cunningham Sorcha Ni hEilidhe Pam Butler
Maria Davies Jan O’Nions Annette Dyrbye
Maria Drozdowska Keiko Onishi Aisling Guirke
Elizabeth Eagling-Vose Norah Phipps Barbara Leyland
Dave Edwards Mary-Rose Portelli Shirin Marshall
Leigh Elson James Pritchard Christina Niewola
Tracey Evans Liz Rigby David Reddicen
Marianne Farish Sandra Robinson Julie Royle
Gabriel Finn Andy Roughton Elizabeth Tonner
Ann Fitzpatrick Penny Routledge Susan Vassar
Sissi Gill Barbara Saunders Bob Waters
Ann Haley Julie Smith Tig Whattler
Sirpa Henckel Carol Stephens June Whittaker-Pisano
Lynn Henderson Liz Sumner
Ian Hibbs Lorna Taylor Best wishes next time to those
Alison James Breda Turbitt who were unsuccessful this
Simon Josebury Darel Turney time. Many thanks to all those
Lucy Joslin Victoria Unthank who helped with the organisa-
Avril Keegan Tara Walsh tion and running of the assess-
Louise Kennedy Gobnait Walsh ments.
Lawrence Klyne Tracey Wearne

I YA ( U K ) P R O F E S S I O N A L
D E V E L O P M E N T D AY S 2 0 0 7
AREA ORGANISER DATE/LEVEL Moderator/Senior
South West SWIYI Anita Butcher 29 September 07 Richard Agar-Ward
Chagford 0136 465 3012 Intro/Junior 1 & II
West & South Wales AIYI Edgar Stringer 26 September 07 Sasha Perryman
01249 716235 (office hours) Intro/Junior 1 & II
(yoglyded@yahoo.com)
Greater London Catherine Coulson 22 April 07 Brenda Booth

NELIYI 020 8347 8115 Intro/Junior 1 & II
cakcoulson@blueyonder.co.uk
IIYS Brian Ingram 17 November 07 Jayne Orton
01444 236714 Intro/Junior 1 & II
IYIMV Korinna Pilafidis-Williams 15th September 07 Penny Chaplin
0207 6243080 Junior 3/SENIOR
(korinnapw@internet.com) 3rd June Judi Sweeting
Intro/Junior 1 & II
North West Margaret Hall 3 March 07 Jeanne Maslen

MDIIY & LDIYI 01457 871296 Junior 3/SENIOR
28 April 07 Meg Laing
Intro/Junior 1& 2
East Central & North Alan Brown 10 November 07 Dave Browne

SADIYI & BDIYI 0153 563 7359 Intro/Junior 1& 2
North East & Cumbria Dorothea Irvin 29 September 07 Julie Brown
and Tyne & Wear 0191 3888593 Intro/Junior 1& 2
NEIYI
West Central Jayne Orton 29 September 07 Jayne Orton
MCIYI 0121 608 2229 Intro/Junior 1& 2
South Central Sheila Haswell 24 November 07 Judith Jones
ORIYI 0149 452 1107 Intro/Junior 1& 2
Scotland Carol Brown 9 September 07 Elaine Pidgeon

Junior 3/SENIOR
28 October 07 Diane Coats
Intro/Junior 1& 2
Glasgow Helen Graham 14 April 07 Margaret Austin
01416420476 Intro/Junior 1& 2
The 2007 PD Day programme is concerned with backward extensions “Purva Pratana Sthiti”. The programme is taken from the syllabi
for all the levels of certification.You should attend the day,which is devoted to your present level of certificate.Please contact the organ-
iser for your area to book your place. The programme will show “sequencing” and how to introduce backward extensions into your
classes, (see p.37 of “Basic Guidelines for Teachers of Yoga” by B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta S. Iyengar). There will be an opportunity to ask
the Moderator any questions and to share your experiences with others. In some centres/institutes it may be possible to show rope
work (Yoga Kurunta).
TEACHER TRAINERS
NAME AREA CONTACT DETAILS
Kirsten Agar Ward* Bath & North East Somerset office@bath-iyengar-yoga.com 01225319699
Richard Agar Ward Bath & North East Somerset office@bath-iyengar-yoga.com 01225319699
Gordon Austin Tyne and Wear yoga@austinmg.fsnet.co.uk 01915487457
Margaret Austin Tyne and Wear yoga@austinmg.fsnet.co.uk 01915487457
Rosamund Bell London r.j.bell@open.ac.uk 02083409899
Brenda Booth Kent brendaboothkent@aol.com 01892740876
Tricia Booth Derbyshire tricia@booth1.plus.com 01663732927
Alan Brown West Yorkshire alan@dianalan.plus.com 01535637359
Julie Brown Cheshire julie.brownie@virgin.net 01625879090
David Browne Tyne and Wear davebrowne100@yahoo.co.uk 01915213470
Pamela Butler Kent p.butler@3mail.com 01689851232
Gerry Chambers Bristol office@yogawest.co.uk 01179243330
Penny Chaplin London Pennyyoga@btopenworld.com 02076244287
Diane Coats Tyne and Wear coats@ukonline.co.uk 01914154132
Lyn Farquhar Perthshire 01786823174
Helen Gillan Co.Sligo helengillan@eircom.net 00353719146171
Grainne Gilleece Co.Dublin grainne.gilleece@ireland.com 00353 12393410
George Glen Midlothian georgeglenok@yahoo.co.uk 01875320765
Sheila Green Herefordshire sheilagreenyoga@hotmail.com 01981580081
Aisling Guirke Co.Dublin aislingguirke@eircom.net 00353872891664
Cecilia Harrison Nottinghamshire cecilia.harrison@ntlworld.com 01159857692
Sheila Haswell Buckinghamshire Sheila@sarva.co.uk 01494711589
Julie Hodges* London julieyogaputney@yahoo.co.uk 02083929120
Dawn Hodgson County Durham 01325721518
Frances Homewood* South Yorkshire franceshomewood@hotmail.com 01142335753
Judith Jones Berkshire jjyoga@btinternet.com 0148871838
Rita Keegan Co.Dublin keeganrita@hotmail.com 00353 14976080
Marion Kilburn Manchester marionkilburnyoga@hotmail.com 01614429003
Jean Knight MidLothian jeanjknight@hotmail.co.uk 01316639838
Meg Laing MidLothian m.laing@ed.ac.uk 01316677790

Susan Long Essex susan@iyce.com 01245421496

Alaric Newcombe London alaricnewcombe@yahoo.co.uk 02072819491
Christina Niewola Cheshire chris@niewola.com 01260 279565
Jayne Orton West Midlands info@iyengaryoga.uk.com 01216082229
Sasha Perryman Cambridgeshire sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 01223515929
Elaine Pidgeon MidLothian elaine.pidgeon@virgin.net 01315529871
Silvia Prescott London 02076244577
Lynda Purvis Bristol office@yogawest.co.uk 01179243330
Pen Reed Cheshire penreed24@aol.com 01614271763
Judith Richards* Surrey judithrich@btinternet.com 0208 3981741
Ursula Schoonraad London enquiries@iyyoga.com 02086727315
Judith Soffa Merseyside mail@yogastudio.f9.co.uk 01517094923
Sallie Sullivan East Sussex sallie.sullivan@virgin.net 01273478271
Judi Sweeting Gloucestershire ciyc@talk21.com 01285653742
Elizabeth Tonner West Yorkshire liztonner@hotmail.com 01484315736
Judith Van Dop Cornwall 01736360880
Sue Vassar Somerset susan.vassar@btinternet.com 01643704260
Roslyn Wakeford Hampshire ros@slomotion.com.au 01243374918
Kathy Welham Bristol k_welham@yahoo.co.uk01179626774
Robert Welham Bristol rk_welham@yahoo.co.uk 01179626774
* Indicates Trainee Teacher Trainer
ASSESMENT RESULTS CORRECTION

In IYN issue no. 9 the following people were successful in Level 3 (not Level 1 as advised) of the Senior
Intermediate Assessments. We apologise for the error.
Helen Graham Sheila Green Judi Van Dop Alaric Newcombe Margaret Rawlinson Lynda Purvis

I Y A ( U K ) R E P O R T S
Chair’s Report - Philippe sion from individual teachers would have been in breach
of the Data Protection Act. Teachers should make sure to
Harari tick the appropriate box on their renewal form if they
wish this information to be sent to Pune.
This is my first report since I was elected
as Chair of the IYA (UK) at the 2006 The Bellur Trust
AGM. In this report I will try to give an
idea of what the IYA (UK) has been up to over the past Fund-raising for the Bellur Trust is going to become a
few months: major focus for our Association over the next few years.
This is a very worthwhile charity and one that is close to
Mr Iyengar’s heart. Of course, there are lots of other
Yogacharya Festival July 2007 worthy causes in the world that we could choose to
support, but the EC have decided that it is best to concen-
This is a major event being organised in the USA by a trate our fund-raising efforts on this single charity. There is
teacher who used to live and work in the Oxford region, much to read about this project on other pages of this
Kofi Busia. There have been some difficulties with the magazine.
timing of this Festival as it is scheduled to take place only
2 months away from the US national association conven- Membership and finance
tion (in the US they hold a convention every 3 years, but
it is a much bigger event than our annual ones). However, Please see below for full reports from the Treasurer and
at the time of writing, the Festival is due to go on and Kofi the Membership Secretary. Since the AGM we have a new
has invited delegates to attend from all the national Iyengar Treasurer; Diane Clow has replaced Judith Richards in this
associations worldwide. Their travel and accommodation role. More recently, we have elected a new Membership
costs will be paid out of the profits made by the Festival Secretary, Brenda Noble Nesbitt. She has taken the place
and the aim of getting all these delegates in one place is to of Louise Cartledge, who is now Deputy Membership
launch a process for creating an international Iyengar asso- Secretary. Membership of the Association continues to
ciation. The IYA Executive Committee (EC) agreed that rise, and the key financial development this year has been
this was a very good idea, but we recognise that bringing setting up on-line payments. Hopefully this will make
together all the associations from around the world under paying for membership subscriptions and conventions
a single constitution will be a long and difficult task! much more simple, and will also lead to a further rise in
membership.
Applications for classes at RIMYI
Iyengar Yoga Development Fund
In the UK all applications for classes at the RIMYI must be
made through Penny Chaplin (see page 52 of this maga- There are currently around 1000 press clippings about
zine or the website for details), whereas students from Guruji located within the RIMYI, from an international
some other countries apply directly to the RIMYI. Penny range of English language newspapers and magazines.
forwards all applications she receives immediately to Over the past 8 years, these have been collated and
RIMYI and chases them up afterwards; waiting times for mounted into 5 large volumes; an electronic catalogue has
UK applicants are no longer, and in some cases actually been started and full details for about one-third of the
shorter, than for applicants from other countries. clippings have already been entered into an Excel spread-
sheet. There are also thousands of photographs in boxes
The RIMYI website teachers’ list in the RIMYI. The IYDF Committee is instigating a major
project with two aims:
Some time ago the RIMYI website requested that we send
all of our teachers’ details to them so they could update 1. To continue to preserve original clippings andphotographs
their listings, which are now a few years’ out of date. so that they can be stored safely at the RIMYI for posterity.
However, sending this information without getting permis-
2. To make the ever-growing archive accessible to the many Results of the June 17th 2006 AGM
thousands of Iyengar students world-wide, and to anyone
interested in the subject and curious to know more about · Special note of thanks to the out-going treasurer Judith
it. Richards for all her hard work
· The 2004 - 2005 financial statements were accepted as
The proposal is for national Iyengar Associations around published in the IYN Feb 2006 issue
the world to work together to create a dedicated website · The Membership and Assessment Fees for 2007/ 2008
for this archive.The site would be owned by the RIMYI and were ratified as follows: -
managed on its behalf by a group set up collectively by the
national Associations who have chosen to get involved. Membership Fees £
Our aim is to have the website archive completed in time Institute Member 6.00
for Guruji’s 90th birthday so that it can be presented to Individual Member 13.50
him as a gift from the international Iyengar yoga commu- Overseas Supplement 13.50
nity. Teacher’s Supplement 35.00
Teachers’ Supplement Conces. Rate 21.00
This project to create an international Iyengar archive is Affiliated Centre 100.00
particularly exciting for a number of reasons; it will provide Friend 25.00
an excellent resource for students of yoga around the Assessment Fees £
world, it will allow the various international Iyengar asso- Introductory Level 1 55.00
ciations to work together on a single task and last, but not Introductory Level 2 88.00
least, it will be a great birthday present to give to Guruji Junior Intermediate 88.00
on the occasion of his 90th Birthday in December 2008. Teacher’s Supplement 35.00
Senior Intermediate 88.00
Miscellaneous news Teachers’ Supplement Conces. Rate 21.00
Tchr.Trainee Registration 32.00
o The EC agreed that assessors should be paid for marking
exam papers (£1 per paper for level 1 Introductory, and Euro equivalents included in membership form/online
£2 for higher papers) membership web page - please note Euro’s are only
accepted now from Republic of Ireland members. Overseas
o We have scaled down our merchandising operation so payments must be made in £ Sterling and transfer details of
that we only stock books bought directly from the RIMYI IBAN code or electronic payment via Paypal (see below) can
in Pune, and not readily available from any other source in be obtained from Leza.
this country. However, we are having trouble maintaining
even this service and are looking into alternative ways of Financial Statements for 2005/06 as at 31st Mar 2006
providing access to these publications for our members (enclosed with this issue):
o Our website is continuing to develop and expand with · Please do review the notes and any queries please don’t
new pages and constantly updated news and events hesitate to contact me.
listings · These 2005/06 financial statements will be presented to
the 2007 AGM for acceptance.
Continuous Improvements & Strategic Changes

Treasurer’s Report - Diane
Clow Electronic Payments via Paypal and the IYAUK website are
now in pilot and by Spring ‘07 it is hoped will be in full use
I was voted in as Treasurer at the last initially for membership renewals and then extended for
IYAUK AGM in June ‘06 and having shad- use such as conventions/workshops. We sincerely hope
owed Judith Richards for a couple of this is received as a positive step and taken up especially
months I am still coming to grips with the breadth and by overseas teachers as overseas cheques are too expen-
diversity of this role but happily ensconced now as part of sive in charges and administrative time. Thanks to Leza
the Finance team. Hatchard, Prabhakara and Andy Roughton for their help.

Bellur Trust Fundraising: a £500 starter fund was agreed to volunteer their time and energy to IYA for free. I really
be donated from the IYAUK to help with the promotion appreciate their help and couldn’t do this job without them.
and administration of this year’s emphasis on the Bellur Here’s to a fantastic 2007 for all of the IYA membership!
trust.
IYA (UK) 2007
MOM’s Report - Leza
CONVENTION
Hatchard
There are only a few places
Dear all - where does the time go! It only left for the 2007 Conven-
seems like 5 minutes ago that I was tion for both the Teachers’
writing to you all. I will once again be workshop on the Friday and the main weekend convention
submerged in the renewals when you on the Saturday and Sunday. If you would like to book a
read this. If you haven’t already done so, submit them to me place please send your booking form and fees to the main
as quick as you can and teachers; remember to let me office to confirm your reservation. If you would like a copy
know if you want your details on the website so that of the booking form you can either download it from
people can contact you about your classes. We only print www.iyengaryoga.org.uk or emaill Leza on admin@iyen-
the phone and e-mail where consented to and never your garyoga.org.uk or telephone: 020 8997 6029.
full address. IYA (UK) continues to grow not only in
membership but also in the direction of new projects and Friday 22nd June 2007: The teachers’ workshop is open to
new ideas. By the time you read this we may have the all certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers and Iyengar Trainee
secure website online payment facility set up and in place. Teachers. As well as an excellent opportunity to work with
This will make it much easier for everyone to renew and Rajlaxmi and Devki’s assistance, this will be a chance to
make payments and will cut down on a substantial amount practise alongside other teachers for a day – Pune style!
of work it takes to bank and process cheques. It will also be The workshop starts at 8am and en-suite accommodation
easier for all our overseas members to renew and make is available on the Thursday night for anyone travelling to
their payments. the venue.
Saturday & Sunday 23rd and 24th June 2007: The Weekend
The 2007 convention in June is booking very well and if you Convention will start at 10am on Sat & Sun and will finish
have not sent your booking form to me yet, please send it at 2pm on Sunday 24th June. En-suite accommodation
to the office as soon as you can to avoid missing out on a available.
place. The Stephanie Quirk remedial workshops have been Venue: Brunel University, Uxbridge (20 mins outside
a great success to date and places for all of the level courses London) and easily accessible by car, tube, bus, rail and
up to 2010 are filling as quickly as the details for them are plane. Both teachers, Dr Rajlaxmi and Devki Desai
released. We hope to provide more events through IYA (pictured above) from Pune, India, are well-respected
(UK) in the future and the events committee welcome your senior students of BKS Iyengar, working closely with Guruji,
ideas and suggestions. Geetaji and Prashantji. Dr Rajlaxmi has been practising yoga
for twenty years. She is a consultant in Gynaecology and
85 new teachers qualified in 2006 and I am always keen to Obstetrics and has been assisting in medical classes for
help to promote all of our teacher membership as much as eight years, particularly working in ante and post-natal care.
possible to help them to get new students in to their Also at the Institute, Rajlaxmi has taught general Yoga classes
classes. I am still regularly mailing out information about IYA for six years, often taking Geetaji’s classes. Devki has been
and our teachers to gyms and health clubs and with the teaching at RIMYI since 1995 although she has been prac-
help of the PR team, I hope to get more information out to tising since 1984. She was initially taught by Guruji in
the national press in 2007 to continue to build awareness Mumbai until her marriage in 1989 when she moved to
of the association. Pune where she was taught by Prashant and Geetaji. Like
Rajlaxmi, Devki also assists in medical classes, teaches for
I always like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Geetaji in her absence and takes children’s classes. She
committees involved with IYA in their support to this busy accompanied Geetaji on her 2004 tour to Johannesburg,
office role. We have an excellent team of people building Perth, Sydney and Auckland. See 'NEWS' for competition
the future for IYA (UK) and all of them, apart from me, details open to members.

A N N O U N C E M E N T S
IYA(UK) AGM IYA ( UK) D atabase
Date: Saturday 23rd June 2007 Time: 2pm There are many members for whom we do not have an
Venue: IYA (UK) Convention, Brunel University e-mail address on our database, particularly non-teacher
members. If we have your e-mail address, we can send
Agenda: you useful information now and then (don’t worry, you
o Apologies won’t be inundated with spam!). Also, we need to know
o Minutes of last meeting to be approved your e-mail address before you can register on our on-
o Chair’s report line discussion forum. You can tell if we do not have
o Treasurer’s report your e-mail address because you will not have received
o Secretary’s report an e-mail from us last month telling you all about the
o Membership secretary’s report forum. If you wish to tell us your e-mail address, please
o AOB send it to:
If any member of the IYA wants a motion voted on then

that must be sent to the secretary of the Association 40 admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk
days in advance of the meeting. It must be proposed and
seconded by members of the IYA.
Announcement for anyone Teaching Children or Vulnerable Adults

This announcement is particularly for any teacher who runs private classes for children (including teenagers up to
18 years) but is also for anyone who teaches classes for adults with special needs on a private basis. If you teach
such a class for a school, college or training centre they will be responsible for seeing that a disclosure is obtained
for you. All people in regular contact with children and vulnerable adults must be vetted by the Criminal Records
Bureau to see that they have no criminal convictions that would debar them from contact with children or vulner -
able adults.
Private individuals are not allowed to apply for a disclosure so the IYA(UK) has organised a disclosure procedure for
our members who teach privately. This has been done in conjunction with Lloyd Education. You will need the
enhanced disclosure which is for people who are in sole charge of children and vulnerable adults.
The procedure is as follows:-

1. if a teacher needs a criminal disclosure document then he/she must write to Lloyd Education and ask for one
(they will get a pack telling them what to do and can phone Lloyd Education if they have any questions).
2. Lloyd Education carry out the procedure(which takes about three weeks) and then send one copy of the disclo-
sure documents to the applicant and one copy to Leza who will file it away in a lockable and immoveable cabinet
to which no unauthorised person will have access.The documents will be stored until such time as they are no
longer needed when they will be destroyed.
The cost for this service is £48.00 per applicant of which £34.00 goes to the CRB and £14.00 to Lloyd Education.
The IYA(UK) makes no charge.
Lloyd Education, 2 Mallard Business Centre, The Old Station, Little Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 6LT
Tel. 01473 333880 www.lloydeducation.com

CLASSES AT RIMYI
If you wish to attend classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune, you must apply through the IYA
(UK) - individual applications sent directly to the RIMYI will not be accepted (people from some other countries
with less well established national Associations do apply directly to the Institute using a form that they download
from the RIMYI website, but this option is not open to people from the UK, and definitely does not result in getting
onto classes earlier).The application process is as follows:
1. Download an application form from the IYA (UK) website (w www.iyengaryoga.org.uk) or contact our Office
Manager, Leza Hatchard, on 020 8997 6029 or at admin@iyengaryoga.org.uk
2. Fill out the form and send it with a Bankers Draft for US$150 made payable to RIMYI to:
Penny Chaplin, Flat 1, St. Johns Court, Finchley Road, London NW3 6LL
Please do not include photos or personal mail. Please note:
For admission, the RIMYI requests that the student’s practice of 8 years reflects an understanding of the foun-
dation of Iyengar Yoga. This would include the regular practice of inverted poses (8-10 mins. in the inverted
postures), and the regular practise of pràõàyàma, Women should know what is to be practised during menstru-
ation. All students should have read, at the minimum, the introductory chapter to Light on Yoga and be familiar
with the terms and principles covered in that chapter
RIMYI offers one or two months admission with no extensions beyond 2 months under any circumstances
The total cost is $US400 a month and a deposit of $US150 must be paid in advance, with the balance payable
on arrival at the RIMYI.The advance deposit is part of the fees and hence not transferable to any other person
or course. It is non-refundable. In additon to the balance of $US250 payable on arrival at the RIMYI, you will need
to present your letter of confirmation and two photocopies of your passport and visa
6 classes are given per week, each for 2hrs duration. A schedule will be given on arrival
The last week of each month will be pràõàyàma classes
The classes will be conducted by BKS Iyengar, his daughter, Geeta Iyengar or son, Prashant Iyengar or by staff
members
When applying please include relevant bio-data with any health conditions
Certificates will not be issued at the end of the course
You will need to make your own arrangements for board and lodging
Applications are for individuals only - no groups. However, if you would like to go at the same time as a friend,
you should both indicate this clearly on your application form.
3. If you would like a confirmation that your application form and bankers draft has been sent to the RIMYI, please
enclose a self-addressed envelope. All application forms are automatically forwarded to Pune and there is absolutely
no selection process at this stage.
4. When the administrator at RIMYI, Mr Pandurang Rao, receives your application form he will automatically place you
on the next available course and send you a confirmation letter. Please note:
The RIMYI receives many applications from all over the world; the waiting list for classes is around 2 years
You may have to wait from 3 months to a year to receive your confirmation letter
If your confirmation letter comes direct from India please let Penny know. You will know the letter has come
direct from India by the stamp and postmark. If you receive a photocopied letter posted from London then your
confirmation letter has gone through Penny and you don’t need to inform her. (Pandu sometimes sends a group
of confirmation letters to Penny for her to forward to applicants)
Do not ask to change the date you are given unless you have a serious need to do so on compassionate grounds.
Prices correct at the time of printing. Check the www.iyengaryoga.org.uk for latest news, more information, travel
details, contact numbers for accommodation etc.
Y O G A R A H A S Y A
Yoga Rahasya is a quarterly Iyengar yoga
journal published in India. Four issues a year
are mailed to you, normally starting from the
next available issue. Back copies are some-
times available (£3.50 each); please write a
separate note if you are enquiring about
these, listing the issues you are seeking. To
subscribe, or to renew an existing subscrip-
tion, please complete and return the form
below with a cheque made payable to “IYA
(UK)” to:
Tig Whattler, 64 Watermoor Road,

Cirencester, Glos. GL7 1LD.
Queries to this address or to

info@cotswoldiyengar.co.uk.
Please write very clearly (or type the informa-

tion on a separate piece of paper).
In order to comply with the provisions of the Data

Protection Act 1998, IYA (UK) agrees not to release
the details you give us here to any external party
without first seeking your permission. We may pass
on these details to our Indian Yoga Rahasya
publishing partners. This information is collected,
stored and processed for the purposes of Yoga
Rahasya journal subscription and distribution
administration. IYA (UK) does not sell or exchange
its membership lists with other organisations.
Name: ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Address: ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................ Post code: .............................................
Telephone: ............................................................ e-mail: ............................................................................................................................................................
Is this a renewal? ............... If so, please state issue no. new subscription is to start with, if known. Vol. ............... No..............
Amount enclosed (cheque to “IYA (UK)” please) £........................................................ (one year’s subscription (4 issues) is £16)
Please enclose a stamped s.a.e. if you require a receipt.
Signature ........................................................................................................................................................ Date .......................................................................

IYA(UK) MERCHAND ISE

All prices include p & p in the UK. Please ask about postage to other countries.
Make cheques payable to “IYA (UK)” and send to:
Patsy Sparksman, 33 Ashbourne Avenue, London NW11 0DT
All enquiries to Patsy Sparksman and NOT to the main office please: 020 8455 6366; patsyyoga@aol.com
PLEASE PRINT name, address, phone number and e-m mail address clearly with your order.
BOOKS
Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar: Mr Iyengar invites both those new to yoga and those who are expe-
rienced practitioners on an Inward Journey designed to increase their physical stability, emotional
vitality, mental clarity, intellectual wisdom and spiritual bliss. Special Price £12
Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar: for practitioners of Iyengar yoga, Mr Iyengar’s classic book is the
seminal text, and the photographs of the author demonstrating the àsanas are truly inspiring.
New edition available for £15
Light on P r à õ à y à m a by B.K.S. Iyengar: A variety of pràõàyàmas are described and each is broken
down into easy components so that the practitioner can build him/herself up without strain.There
is also a long section on relaxation.The practice sequences in the back are really excellent. £12
Light on t h e Y o g a S å t r a s o f P a t a n j a l i by B.K.S. Iyengar: Mr Iyengar offers his own interpretation and

translation of this notoriously difficult work. He demonstrates how Patanjali’s philosophy runs
through his own practice and teaching of yoga. Cost: £15
Astadala Yogamala by B.K.S. Iyengar: a collection of Mr Iyengar’s writings, projected to run to 13

volumes. Volumes 1 to 5 now available. Cost: £12 per volume
Yoga: a Gem for Women by Geeta S. Iyengar: Geeta integrates yogic theory, practice and personal
experience into an accomplished and inclusive guide to the discipline of yoga with meticulous details
and corresponding photographs for more than 80 àsanas , appealing to both the beginner and the
advanced practitioner. Cost: £12
Yoga in Action: a Preliminary Course by Geeta S. Iyengar: a preliminary course of àsanas and
pràõàyàma based on the syllabus taught at the Ramanani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute.
An excellent reference for beginners and also for teachers. Cost: £10

Tuesdays with Prashant by Prashant S. Iyengar: transcripts of the Tuesday evening classes taught by
Prashant Iyengar in 2002-2003 including sequences and instructions and also his analogies from
day to day life and his quotations. Ring-bound for convenience during practice. Cost: £12
Alpha and Omega of T r i k o õ à s a n a by Prashant S. Iyengar: trikoõàsana is used as an example to explain

how àsana practice is a journey from external beginnings to the knowledge of the ‘soulosphere’.
Cost: £12
A Matter of Health by Dr Krishna Raman: an in-depth look at the relationships between health,
modern medicine and yoga from a medical point of view by one of Mr Iyengar’s students. Extensive
information on anatomy and physiology and how it is affected by yoga practice with extensive help
and advice on remedial work. Illustrated hardback book. Cost: £27
Yoga for Children by Rajiv and Swati Chanchani: yoga presented for the benefit of children by
senior students of B.K.S. Iyengar. Fully illustrated. Cost: £14
Basic Guidelines for Teachers of Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta S. Iyengar: based on the preliminary
Teachers’ Training taught at the RIMYI in Pune. Note: this title is only available to certificated Iyengar
teachers. Trainee teachers can obtain a copy from their trainer. Cost: £12
CD-ROMS and Videos
Yoga for You - CD-R

ROM by B.K.S. Yoga for Stress - CD-R
ROM by B.K.S.
Iyengar Iyengar
Cost: £14 Cost: £14
Clothing
LEGGINGS F OR S ALE - These cotton footless tights are made with a super-soft cotton lycra and
198g weight fabric giving you a pair of leggings that are great to wear and durable.
Colour: black Cost: £20
All prices on these pages include postage and packing in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Please enquire
about postage to other countries.
ADVERTISEMENTS
ADVERTISING
in
IYENGAR
YOGA N EWS
If you wish to advertise in the next issue of Iyengar Yoga
News, please send all text, photographs or artwork to:
jcotgreave@merseymail.com
The deadline for the next issue of Iyengar Yoga News

(due out September 2007) is 1st June 2007.
Advertising rates
Quarter page: £35; Small ads.: 40p per word
NB. the Editorial Board reserves the right to refuse to
accept advertisements or parts of advertisements that
are deemed to be at variance with the stated aims of
the Iyengar Yoga Association (UK)
S M A L L A D S
YogaSupplies
Inexpensive INDIAN YOGA BELTS, BANDAGES,
BOLSTER SETS, PRANAYAMA SETS, ROPES.
Call 01225336144 or e-mail
kirsten@bath-iiyengar-yyoga.com for price list
Flat to Rent in Pune

Quiet location. Comfortable, spacious and clean. Short
pleasant walk from the Institute. Cleaned daily and cook
available if required. For details contact:
deepchandi@hotmail.com or 0141 357 2175
Yoga Holidays in South West

France 2007
June 14th-18th Beginners/ General June 18th -22nd
General/Intermediate. Holidays also planned for
Spring/summer 2007 near Carcassonne. For more
information telephone 01245 398424 or see website
www.loisshiltonyoga.co.uk
Affordable wooden Iyengar yoga props

direct from French manufacturer. Wide range of blocks,
wedges, stools, benches, backstretchers, trestlers etc. For
more information or to place an order, please visit our
Internet shop at:
www.stores.ebay.co.uk/harconwoodproducts

ADVERTISEMENTS

ADVERTISEMENTS

ADVERTISEMENTS

ADVERTISEMENTS

ADVERTISEMENTS

IYA (UK) EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Officer position Rep. Name e-m
mail Telephone
Chairperson Philippe Harari philippe.harari@runbox.com 01223 523 410
Treasurer Diane Clow dclow@hotmail.co.uk 0131 334 7544
Secretary Joe Burn joe.burn@virgin.net 01224 632 932
Membership Sec. NEIIY Brenda Noble-N Nesbitt b.noblenesbitt@gmail.com 0191 388 4118
Vice Chairperson Margaret Carter mgtcarter@aol.com 01925 758 382
AIYI Cat Savage treens.savage@btinternet.com 01761 435 468
BDIYI Alan Brown alan@dianalan.plus.com 01535 637 359
CIYI vacancy
Deputy Secretary DHIYI Andrea Smith andrea@iyengaryoga.me.uk 0239 246 6750
ESIYI vacancy
GWISIYI Helen Graham helenyoga.glasgow@yahoo.co.uk 0141 642 0476
IIYS Andy Roughton amroughton@yahoo.co.uk 01273 326 205
LIYI John Cotgreave jcotgreave@merseymail.com 07985 332 820
Deputy Treasurer MCIYI Prabhakara prabhakara@freeuk.com 0121 449 7496
MDIIY Debbie Bartholomew debrabartholomew@btinternet.com 01706 841 942
MDIIY Justine Kilburn flychi77@hotmail.com 07989 819 688
NEIIY Brenda Noble-N Nesbitt b.noblenesbitt@gmail.com 0191 388 4118
NELIYI Diane Maimaris diane.goldrei@googlemail.com 020 8883 2074
ORIYI Judith Jones jjyoga@btinternet.com 0148 871 838
SADIYA Mary Carol aloxley@waitrose.com 0114 251 7359
SWIYI Jean Kutz jean.kutz@tesco.net 0187 257 2807
Dep. Memb. Sec. Individual Ros Bell r.j.bell@open.ac.uk 020 8340 9899
Individual Judith Richards judithrich@btinternet.com 020 8398 1741
Individual Brenda Booth brendaboothkent@aol.com 01892 740 876
Individual Elaine Pidgeon elaine.pidgeon@virgin.net 0131 552 9871
Individual Patsy Sparksman patsyyoga@aol.com 020 8455 6366
R. of Ireland Aisling Guirke aisling_guirke@hotmail.com 00353872891664
R.of Ireland Eileen Cameron eileencameron@eircom.net 00353 12841799
Committee members:
Note: Committee chairs are in bold. Co-opted (ie. non- Executive Council) members are in italics.
Management Committee: Alan Brown, Joe Burn, Margaret Carter, Di Clow, Philippe Harari, Judith Jones
Planning: Ros Bell, Joe Burn, Alan Brown, Margaret Carter, Louise Cartledge, Di Clow, Philippe Harari, Brenda Noble-
Nesbitt, Prabhakara, Andrea Smith
Ethics and Certification: Ros Bell, Penny Chaplin, Judith Jones, Elaine Pidgeon,Pen Reed, Judi Soffa, Judi Sweeting, Tig
Whattler
Assessment and Teacher Training: Margaret Austin, Debbie Bartholomew, Alan Brown, Julie Brown, Brenda Booth
Sheila Haswell, Meg Laing, Jayne Orton, Sasha Perryman
Communications & Public Relations: Jon Cotgreave (IYN), Helen Dye (IYN), Philippe Harari, Judith Jones (IYN),
Judith Richards (PR), Andy Roughton (website), R.achel Lovegrove (IYN)
Archives/Research: Debbie Bartholomew, Rachel Lovegrove (Photographs)
Conventions/Events:: Carol Brown, Helen Graham, Patsy Sparksman
Merchandising Committee: Patsy Sparksman, Tig Whattler (Yoga Rahasya)
Moderators: Richard Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Brenda Booth, Tricia Booth, Julie Brown, Dave Browne,
Penny Chaplin, Diane Coats, Sheila Haswell, Judith Jones, Meg Laing, Sasha Perryman, Elaine Pidgeon,
Jayne Orton, Pen Reed, Judi Sweeting
Professional Development Days Coordinator: Judi Sweeting Assessment Co-o ordinator: Meg Laing
Senior Intermediate Assessment Organiser: Jayne Orton Junior Intermediate Assessment Organiser: Sasha Perryman
Introductory Assessment Organiser: Sheila Haswell Republic of Ireland Assessment Coordinator: Margaret Austin
For more photos from Pune see page 32
A class with Geetaji and Geetaji with her neice, Abiata, Guruji’s grand-daughter
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Viparita Dandasana


Iyn 10

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IYN10 FINAL2.

qxd 28/01/2007 23:48 Page 1

ISSUE NUMBER 10 SPRING 2007

IYENGAR ® YOGA N EWS - I ssue n o.10 - S pring 2 007

Regular readers will notice a change in our pre-convention

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 2

SPECIAL FEATURES - Focus on Practice and Health

11 ADESTE: Alignment, Direction, Extension, Sequencing,Timing, Effects by Meg Laing

41 Logging in to the Discussion Forum and Updating Classes on www.iyengaryoga.org.uk

42 Events Listings - Your Guide to Iyengar Yoga Institutes Around the UK

THE IYA (UK) MAIN OFFICE HAS A NEW ADDRESS:

A mini tornado burst open the door of the hall. A

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 4

The plan, which is rapidly becoming a reality, is to bring

Today a hospital has been built and a High School is

When asked to write a tribute to Guruji my first thought

Yet he remains humble. He carries on practicing yoga. His

God bless you Guruji on the occasion of your 88th

If you would like to make a donation to the Bellur Trust

Yoga Rahasya is the quarterly magazine of the RIMYI -

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 7

GURUJI: P ROFILE O F A Y OGI

T he walls of the stairs leading to the practice hall at

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 9

to see the greatness in others and to use that as an inspi-

Throughout his life it is above all Guruji himself who has

Millions of people throughout the world have been intro-

Guruji paying respect to Krishnamacharya

A SMALL SELECTION OF GURUJI’S AWARDS

1948 Yoga Raja - Swami Shivananda

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 10

A few years ago I produced as part of our teacher-

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 11

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 12

I n this issue, we are going to discuss the range of tech-

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 13

URDHVA MUKHA SVANASANA

O ver the years, Guruji has given us hundreds of thou-

When in the àsana :

Attempt 2: Going into the àsana:  Never lift the outer

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 16

Attempt 5: Going into the àsana: The effects:

I was introduced to Iyengar yoga when the teacher who

YOGA FOR SCOLIOSIS

I was 19 and about to leave London to go to Edinburgh

My advice to any teacher working with a student with

From my own experience, simply learning Iyengar yoga

In May this year, Firooza Ali visited Edinburgh from

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 20

sarvàngàsana, she showed

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 21

I met Diana Clifton at her home in Southgate on one of

After about a fortnight, she began to feel much better. “I

Shortly afterwards, she read an article in the Daily Mail

I asked Diana to tell me about Mr Iyengar and his teaching

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 24

I first met Jawahar Bangera

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 26

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 27

Iyengar Yoga News Number 10 Spring 2007 28

Bellur - Hospital Opening

W hy did they bring us here? Waste land, red earth,

Guruji’s son-in-law and daughter; Ragu and Savita have

Attempt 2: Going into the àsana: Never lift the outer