Who, me, an Iyengar Yoga snob?

I've noticed that some yoga students who come from other traditions feel like the Iyengar Yoga community excludes them.    They may be seasoned yoga students who do difficult poses with grace, strength, and beauty, but if they ask about attending Iyengar Yoga workshops or experienced-level Iyengar yoga classes, they may be told that the classes are only open to students with prior Iyengar yoga background.    So why are they being excluded?   Why are we being so snobbish?   Do we think that Iyengar yoga is better than what they do?

No, it's not that, of course.   Well, at least I hope that's not it!

One of my yoga teachers likened it to different kinds of musicians.   Consider two trumpet players.   One may be a top-notch jazz trumpetist, and the other a lead trumpet player in a world-class philharmonic orchestra.   They both are excellent trumpet players, but both come from very different traditions.   The jazz trumpetist couldn't expect to play in the world-class philharmonic orchestra, any more than the philharmonic trumpet player could expect to be a member of the top-notch jazz band.     If they want to explore the other style of playing, they get this experience in the appropriate venue -- they learn in a more "beginning level" setting.

So it's not our goal to exclude non-Iyengar practitioners (not my goal, at least), but we do have certain expectations from the students who come to higher level classes.   They're  expected to already have a certain knowledge of the methodology and terminology of Iyengar Yoga.     You learn these in the lower level classes.   If you jump into an experienced level class that assumes a certain prior knowledge, you may be doing the teacher and the rest of the class a disservice since the teacher may need to spend more time teaching you what the others have already learned in a lower level class.   This applies to all fields, not just Iyengar yoga, not just yoga classes in general, but in any endeavor where there's sequential learning.  

I've been practicing yoga since 1993, only in the Iyengar Yoga method.   I do think a Vinyasa, or Ashtanga, or Yin Yoga class would be a lot of fun, and I may try one of those classes some day.  But I certainly wouldn't go to an advanced level class.   I'm experienced in Iyengar Yoga -- that's it.   Many of the elements that I know would translate well into other styles of yoga, but not all.   It would be hubris on my part to feel entitled to attend an advanced level class outside of what I know.

I probably wouldn't even attend an "advanced" Iyengar yoga class if taught by someone I'm not familiar with, for the same reasons as above.    Different teachers have different expectations for their students, and it is good for us students (teachers need to remain students too) to honor these expectations.   The teacher of an advanced class shouldn't have to back-track to help out the new student who doesn't have the prerequisite background.   This is unfair to the rest of the class.

Personally, since my more experienced-level classes are not large, I do enjoy having people from different traditions attend as long as they're willing to take my instruction.   There is a certain amount of discipline expected -- not a harsh, overly-strict discipline in my class, but still, the discipline to follow my instructions to the best of your ability even if you can do more.   I wrote about "Beginner's mind vs. Prideful mind" in an earlier blog entry.    Cultivate your own "beginner's mind" in my classes, even if you already have a vast amount of experience.   You will learn something this way, not just get a workout.   It's a good idea for you to contact me first, before dropping in, so we can come to an understanding of what I'd expect of you in class, and what you hope to get out of a class.   Our expectations may not mesh, but then again, it could be the beginning of a beautiful yoga relationship :-)

Manouso Manos yoga workshop at the Ann Arbor YMCA Nov. 13 -- 15

Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher, Manouso Manos, will be teaching workshop classes at the Ann Arbor YMCA November 13 -- 15.     Manouso is one of the  most capable and experienced senior Iyengar Yoga teachers in the United States.  A student of B. K. S. Iyengar since 1976, he holds one of only two Advanced Senior certificates granted worldwide  (the other is Patricia Walden).    He's methodical in his teaching, first helping us to develop a strong foundation in the yoga asanas (poses), then progressively helping us to refine the poses.  "His sense of humor and sensitivity shine through as his dynamic and challenging teaching style moves you beyond perceived limits." 

We've been lucky here in Ann Arbor to have Manouso come on a yearly basis to teach workshop classes.

Classes this year are open to yoga students who have at least 2 years recent Iyengar Yoga background.    This assumes that you are already familiar with Iyengar Yoga methodology, and know how to work in head balance and shoulder balance as taught in the Iyengar Yoga system (i.e. know how to set up for shoulder balance with the blanket platform).  

(So, this isn't for students in the Gentle class, or probably not for students in my Level 1 classes even if you've been taking classes for 2 years.)
   
Registration is through Yoga Focus (not the YMCA).

From my past experience in these workshops I can tell you that for the most part we'll be working more deeply within the poses that you are already  familiar with.   The 3 hour Sunday class will probably include about an hour of Q & A.   

Times and fees:

Friday, Nov. 13        6:00-8:00PM      $35.00

Saturday, Nov. 14    9:00-11:30AM    $40.00

Saturday, Nov. 14    2:30-4:30PM      $35.00

Sunday, Nov. 15       9:30AM-12:30PM  $45.00

For those of you who take classes with me, I have workshop flyers at the studio.   Otherwise if you're interested, contact Karen Ufer at Yoga Focus (link is above).

Yoga and Meditation -- Part 3

When we talk about Yoga and Meditation, many people consider them to be different although compatible practices.   We often think of Yoga as the physical practice of poses, and Meditation as sitting in contemplation.

The full practice of yoga, though, includes more than just the practice of poses.   It also includes meditation.

The eight limbs of Yoga are:

• Yama --  ethical practices toward society
• Niyama -- ethical practices towards yourself
• Asana -- practice of poses 
• Pranayama -- breathing exercises
• Pratyahara -- withdrawal of the senses
• Dharana -- concentration
• Dhyana -- meditation
• Samadhi -- enlightenment, being one with the universe

We can embody all of these limbs of yoga within the practice of asana (and in some later posting I may discuss these more fully).    Very briefly, the practice of Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses; looking inward) leads to Dharana (concentration), which leads to Dhyana (a more profound concentration -- or meditation), which leads to Samadhi (being at one with God or with the universe).

Many people have described the practice of yoga asanas as a physical meditation or a meditation in movement.    To practice well, to do the poses as a meditation, we have to turn our awareness inward while practicing the pose.  We learn to discriminate between the different movements of the body, we  learn to develop more of an awareness of our full self, as we move deeper into the practice of the pose, an awareness not just of the physical body, but also the physiological, mental, emotional, and spiritual layers of ourselves.

B.K.S. Iyengar writes in "The Tree of Yoga", "We must learn in our performance of asanas to express the outer form and beauty of the pose without losing our inner attention."  He talks about reflecting in the pose, judging whether we are doing it correctly -- where it is wrong, and where it is right.  He continues, "You have judged.  You have reached a state of balance, so there is oneness.   There is awareness through your whole being from the skin to the self and from the self to the skin.  Then you know how to see outside and how to see inside.  There is fullness inside and fullness outside."   Later, " Can I extend my awareness of my self and bring it to each and every part of my body without any variation...[...] ...I learn to how to be at one with my body, my brain, my mind, my intelligence, my consciousness and my soul without any divisions at all.   That is how I practice.  That is why for me there is no difference between asana and dhyana."

Yoga and Meditation -- Part 2

As I was writing Part 1 of Yoga and Meditation, I noticed that AnnArbor.com carried an article on meditation that same day (Thursday, October 8):
Meditation grows in popularity for both health and spiritual reasons

I was struck that the reasons given for practicing meditation are basically the same as the reasons for practicing yoga asanas (poses).   The second sentence, "Over the last few decades, meditation has evolved from a fringe practice to a mainstream stress-reduction technique that might be recommended by your family doctor"  could easily have been written with "yoga" replacing "meditation".

Both practices help to improve our physical and mental health and well-being.  Both are a practice of mindfulness and of staying in the present moment, and may develop into more of a spiritual practice over time.

People often choose to start either practice as a way to quickly feel better physically and/or mentally.    People may start a yoga practice to help with physical issues like achy backs or sore joints, and to develop strength and flexibility, as well as to reduce stress.   People may start a meditation practice because of emotional issues (that may lead to physical problems), and again, as a way to reduce stress.

I like what Carol Blotter says in the article about people beginning their practice of meditation (or of yoga) with the thought, “ ‘just give me something to do to make me feel better in this moment",  and over time it may change to, "Help me live my life with more honesty, clarity and openness from the heart."     She continues,  "Many people start with the motivation to ‘just fix this one thing right now,’ and, over time, it changes into an awareness of a spiritual nature.”

The sustained study and practice of either yoga or meditation will bring us greater knowledge of our own true nature and of our relationship to the world around us.

Yoga and Meditation -- Part 1

It's been interesting teaching our "Integrating Yoga and Meditation" class with my husband, David,  these last three weeks.     We are both passionate about what we teach, we've both been thoroughly trained in teaching our particular method, and we know that the two subjects, as we've experienced them, should go well together.  

We come from two very different teaching traditions though, and putting the two together, given our different traditions, has been a bit of a challenge.

I teach Iyengar yoga as a very practical, physical method of improving one's health and well-being.   Most of the emphasis is on learning and practicing the poses, especially for beginners.   There is some awareness of the breath, and occasionally some philosophical concepts introduced as we are practicing the poses, but the initial "thrust" of the practice is of learning and practicing the physical poses as a way to learn to pay attention to the body -- to learn to concentrate, which in turn leads towards a meditative state of mind.

David teaches Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation.   As he teaches it (as I understand it -- and my understanding is limited!), there is more discussion on the different aspects of meditation, often in the form of dharma talks (lectures on a topic), as well as the actual meditation practice.   There's also been time set aside for students to share their experiences and to ask questions.

These different practices (Iyengar Yoga, Vipassana meditation) tend to draw different types of people.   There's some overlap, but not nearly as much as we thought there'd be.    People who have a  background in Vipassana or other formal meditation techniques may have less of an interest in the strongly physical aspects of Iyengar yoga.   People with a stronger background in a physically active yoga tradition may have less  interest in sitting still in meditation for long periods of time.   We have students from both practices -- and trying to find the common ground between the two has been challenging.   Neither of us has time to teach as fully as we'd like during each class (we'd need a 3 hour class for that!), but hopefully it's giving students a taste of how the two practices can be used together.  

Both are practices in mindfulness.   Both help to improve our health and mental well-being.   And both are great stress-reducers.   And David and I learn from this challenge of trying to satisfactorily incorporate the two methods into one class -- it'll take time to "iron out the wrinkles", but the challenge is a good one!

Iyengar Yoga and Low Back Pain

In my most recent email newsletter to students and friends of Harmony Yoga of Ann Arbor (HYAA), I included information about a study that came out showing that the practice of  Iyengar Yoga provides significant improvement of chronic low back pain in individuals with mild disability.

One of the HYAA students (thanks Deb!) also pointed out that there's an article on the IYNAUS website (Iyengar Yoga National Association of the U. S.) that gives a brief overview on this research --  Research on Iyengar Yoga and Chronic Lower Back Pain.   This includes a link to a pdf file, "Therapeutic Application of Iyengar Yoga for Healing Chronic Low Back Pain".  

The overview and the article may be of interest to any of you who have low back problems.   The article includes a section on the philosophy of yoga and some of the key aspects of Iyengar Yoga.    Sequences of poses that are used to aid in healing low back problems are shown in drawings and photos.   Many of the poses that are shown are much more prop-intensive than how I normally teach them in class (I don't have all the props, and it wouldn't be time-effective to work on poses this way in a regular, general class), but the actions and the aims are still the same.  

I'm happy to work with any of you HYAA students who'd like extra help with low back issues, in private or semi-private sessions.   If you're interested, you can talk to me next time you're in class, or contact me through our Harmony Yoga website

Desiree Rumbaugh Yoga Workshop Classes on Wednesday, October 14

Nationally-known Anusara Yoga teacher, Desiree Rumbaugh is coming to the Ann Arbor area on Wednesday, October 14, to teach two classes.     These workshop classes are being sponsored by Michele Bond, a local Anusara Yoga teacher, of Yoga House in Ann Arbor.      Registration information can be found here.

The morning class has a therapeutic theme, and it is appropriate for all levels of experience.   The afternoon class sounds like it will have an interesting mix of many different poses.

Unfortunately the deadline for a discount has passed (sorry!), but the classes are still very affordable.

Anusara Yoga, founded by John Friend in 1997, is an alignment-based yoga method developed in large part out of his extensive experience in Iyengar Yoga.

I haven't had any experience with Anusara Yoga, but feel that it is probably quite compatible with the teachings of Iyengar Yoga.   I'm considering attending her afternoon class (I teach during the time of her morning class).   Let me know if any of you are going!