Iyengar
Iyengar
From the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States: Yoga is for everyone. No one is too old or too stiff, too fat or thin or tired. A Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher can guide students of all ages and physical conditions to an experience of yoga, which is safe, accessible and rewarding.
Certified Iyengar Yoga instructors are held to an unusually rigorous standard. Only after years of training and evaluation do they become certified. Iyengar Yoga teachers modify the classic asanas (yoga postures) for individual students with the use of props -- such as blocks, blankets and belts. Props allow for a deeper penetration into the posture, as well as a longer stay.
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Journal Post
Summertime Fire Relationships, Routine & Spontaneity Live Yoga Classes, FREE Intro to Iyengar Yoga Series, Summer Intensives with Lois Steinberg, Intermediate Yoga in Fiji with Elise Miller & More!
The ability to relate to other people arises from the fire energy of the summer season. The emotions of the summer season encourage fluidity, flexibility and going with the flow. Summer is the season we spend more time with family and friends and highlights the strength of our relationships. During a season when it feels like everyone is on vacation or at a party, if you are not, it can feel a little disheartening or lonely and points to a need to strengthen your fire energy.
Guru Purnima & the Full Moon in July: Clips with Abhijata Iyengar. New Live Yoga Class! FREE Introduction to Iyengar Yoga Class Series! Introduction to Asana with Lois Steinberg and Beginning Yoga with Erich Schiffmann!
The full moon in July is known as Guru Purnima and is the time when we honor our gurus. A guru can take many forms and translates as the one who brings us from the dark to the light. We think of our yoga teachers, who through asana and pranayama practice, as well as guiding us on the eight-limbed path of ashtanga yoga, help us to remove the veil of ignorance, heralding the dawn of wisdom (Iyengar, 2002).
Welcome Summer!
With the Memorial Day weekend, we officially welcome the summer season. For many of us, the start of summer means a lack of routine or a total change in schedule, especially if you are in the academic profession or have kids in school. Everything is upended in an instant! And for some of us, this is fantastic! We need a change of schedule to break up the routine, but sometimes this can feel like too much change and might be disorienting.
Last month may have been the first month since we started iHanuman (15 years ago!) that we did not send out a newsletter and I realized it was probably time that we let you all know about some things we have been up to. We have all been transforming through this period of time, we have to! And we have all had difficult circumstances to navigate. I have shared about some difficult family circumstances that I have endured which is requiring me to show up in different ways for my family and my community. This impacted me so much that I took a sabbatical from teaching this winter for the first time since I started teaching 20 years ago!
In Honor of Women's History Month, We Celebrate Women's Yoga Expert Bobby Clennell. Discounted Yoga for Women's Health Classes, FREE Yoga for Beginners Class Series and Charitable Donations Towards Women's Health in Ukraine.
Finally, in February, we welcome the return of the light with Candlemas on Feb 1 - the midway point between the Winter Solstice & the Spring Equinox. This year it also marks the Lunar New Year! You may have noticed an increase in energy as the days become lighter for longer.
Hopefully, you have spent some time in reflection and are starting to feel the call to begin to plant seeds to grow your vision for the New Year. February is a great time to get organized and dive deep into your goals for the New Year, but it is also a time to continue to nourish the water element and to "go with the flow".
Happy New Year! I wrote this at the end of 2021, but wanted to send it along as I believe it is still relevant and timely. And be sure to read the end for news on the release of a FREE Class Tonight!
Here we are at the end of the year, exhausted, and trying to decide what to do for the holidays. This time of year is characterized by the metal element. Metal is shiny, strong, and flawless. Precious metals are valued for their beauty and rarity. The higher the quality of metal the more it's worth. Metal strives for perfection and a sense of value.
Interestingly, if you execute a search for the word gratitude, the top results are links to research by academic institutions like Harvard Medical School. Research has been conducted on the beneficial effects of gratitude on our health and wellbeing. Research has shown that by expressing gratitude, you decrease the focus on negative emotions and report improved mental health. Gratitude has also shown long lasting positive effects on brain scans.
Dear Friends,
After a temperate October, we have transitioned into the cooler days and nights of Fall - the perfect time of year to take stock of the year's inventory. Since last year felt as if we were constantly learning something new, these last two years feel like one long year and perhaps we are only now able to take stock and process what may have occurred. To the best of our ability, we take an honest inventory to reflect on our gains and losses. What are we ready to let go of and what do we want to take with us into the new year?
Ahhh! The shift into late summer and early fall is finally upon us. August was a heat wave! I had the opportunity to take some time away and visit with family and friends at the beach. We have been hunkered down in our remote rural Virginia farm location for almost the entirety of the past two years and it was a relief to enjoy of a change of scenery and a cool ocean breeze. I was literally going to melt.
Summer is in full swing! And not only is it hot (and humid), but everyone’s routines have shifted. We are the stewards of a 10-acre farm in central Virginia, so we are outside as much as possible, planting and harvesting fruit, flowers and herbal medicine. The change in seasons affects different people differently. Some people enjoy heat more than others. You will find me under shade and out of the sun between 10 - 2pm, but my husband LOVES doing work outside during the heat of the day. Summertime is an opportunity to pay attention to the heat and what affect it has on you.
The spring is a powerful time of year. We watch in awe as green sprouts out of the ground and buds burst on spring-blooming trees. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the spring is governed by the Liver and Gallbladder. The Liver is our decision maker. If the Liver is not functioning well, we lack the ability to make clear decisions. In TCM, the eyes are the external organ of the Liver, so we might encounter vision problems, if our Liver is out of order. The Liver is not only related to our physical vision, but also our metaphorical vision. When someone has difficulty envisioning the future or has no vision for her life, we look to the Liver to bring about change.
What a year it is has been! On SO many levels. I have so much to write about and yet so much is still percolating. One item that I do want to mention is that this year marks the 20th year since I started practicing Iyengar Yoga! I lucked into a 5 day workshop during my travels in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A friend recommended the course as I had already been practicing yoga on my own, with books and classes at the Y in college. Even though no one else signed up for the Intermediate course that week, the teacher taught me privately for 5 hours per day! It was such an incredible gift!
We just passed through the first New Moon of the New Year. New Moons are always potent times to set intentions, but particularly the first New Moon of the New Year. This past year felt particularly destabilizing and I have absolutely cherished my yoga practice, as it keeps me steady, clear and grounded in the present. I pay fairly close attention to what is going on around me, but as a yoga practitioner, one of the disciplines of the practice is to not get pulled into the drama - the ups and downs of everyday human existence.
In the yoga sutras, Patanjali talks about effortless effort - "Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached." - Light on the Yoga Sutras, BKS Iyengar
Perfection is connected to the metal element present at the end of this season - the need to be perfect, valuing oneself, the need to have shiny material possessions and conversely, the exact opposite - not valuing oneself or not believing oneself worthy of respect. It is something well worth examining as we close out this year.
Dear Friends,
As we mentioned last month, we are in the season of the Lungs and Large Intestine. It is the time of year to whittle, to hone, and to refine. These are two of our organs of letting go. I am finding time this week to reflect on what I was able to accomplish this year and letting go of what's left. It is a time of resetting and putting things to rest.
"Grief, expressed out loud, whether in or out of character, unchoreographed and honest, for someone we have lost, or a country or home we have lost, is in itself the greatest praise we could ever give them. Grief is praise, because it is the natural way love honors what it misses.” - Martin Prectel
I have to admit, I was dragging my feet on sharing a monthly newsletter, which we have done monthly since we launched over a dozen years ago! It happens sometimes, writer's block sets in, and in my experience, I just have to push through it. To be honest to some degree, I have not felt much like sharing on social media at all since the pandemic started. Mostly, because everything feels so uncomfortable, unusual & unsettled during this time.
As we have talked about in previous articles, summer is represented by the Fire element which is our passion, joy, creativity and the quality of our relationships. This period of time of social distancing makes some of these aspects of summer challenging but we must keep these important qualities at the forefront during these fleeting months. For example, now is a great time to dig deeply into connecting or reconnecting with what brings you joy; to discover or rediscover some areas of life about which you are truly passionate.
We are reconciling what we have collectively witnessed with regards to racism and injustice in our society. We stand with our brothers & sisters of color in solidarity and will continue to educate ourselves and foster work that helps tear down the walls of inequality in our communities.
Yoga is a gift to humanity that helps us dissolve ignorance and brings us closer to uncovering the fact that we all come from the same Divine source. We are all one race - the human race - and these horrific events have the potential to wake us up and bring us together in collective action.
We are all feeling the pain of being apart right now, even though many of us are blessed with the ability to teach and participate in our classes online. It is a very different world and it looks like it has the potential to remain in this evolved state into the foreseeable future. I don’t have a crystal ball but I do not think we are going back to where we were. The yoga studio where I teach has already decided that we will be online at least through the end of August. It is certainly unsettling AND it is giving us an opportunity to change, to innovate, and to get out of a rut.
The Full Moon this month is a particularly auspicious moon on many calendars. Native Americans named it the Pink Moon to denote the Pink Phlox which spreads as one of the first harbingers of spring. It is the Pesach or Passover Moon in the Hebrew Calendar. In the Christian Calendar this is the Paschal Moon as it is the full moon that marks the date of Easter or Pascha. And in the Hindu Calendar this Full Moon corresponds with the Hanuman Jayanti Festival celebrating the birth of Lord Sri Hanuman. This full moon is also the largest super moon of the year!
We are celebrating with some stories of Hanuman from our archives and with an offering of 20% off ALL Downloads in our Store this month. We hope you will enjoy!
We are so lucky to have our yoga practice particularly during times of change. One of the ways we remain grounded is by adherence to the Yamas and Niyamas, one of which is Svadhyaya or self study but also includes the study of spiritual texts. I recently began re-reading the Bhagavad Gita during a particularly tumultuous time with my family. The first chapter of the book introduces us to the protagonist, Arjuna, who must go into battle with his family.
Yoga mudras: what are the types of yoga mudra, how do we practice yoga mudras, and what are the beneficial effects of mudras? Mudra means "seal", "gesture" or "mark". And simply put, yoga mudras are gestures or shapes we make with our hands. Each has it's own unique intention and implication, and they help facilitate the flow of energy through the subtle body and can enhance one's yoga practice.
Finally, in February, we welcome the return of the light with Candlemas on Feb 1 - the midway point between the Winter Solstice & the Spring Equinox. You may have noticed an increase in energy as the days become lighter and lighter. Hopefully, you have spent some time in reflection and are starting to feel the call to begin to plant seeds to grow your vision for the New Year. And it's ok to move slowly, like the Groundhog, and return to your Winter's nest for a few more weeks.
We hope you survived the New Years Celebrations relatively unscathed? So what have you learned? Not just from the holidays but from the lessons of the past year. Wintertime, the essential time of annual hibernation, is upon us and despite how our LED-powered world removes the enforcement of winter rest, we really are better served to heed her call.
200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India
Happy Solstice!
We approach the end of this year (and Decade!) and the shortest day of the year. We then begin our return to the light from now until the Summer Solstice. For now, we rest in the stillness that the dark nights bring. Now is the time to turn inward, to rest, recover and recuperate. We will be turning the lights down low through the end of the year to spend time with friends and family to restore ourselves from a challenging year.
While we are resting, the elves in our download store will be working overtime to offer you all a gift for the end of the year! Now through the end of this decade, we offer you 20% off all classes in our store!
Here we are again at the end of what has proven for me and my family to be quite a challenging year. We are encouraged to practice renunciation as we enter the last few weeks of the year or the letting go of the results of our efforts. This is the foundation of yoga as we read Sutra I.12 in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - abhyasa vairagyabhyam tannirodhah - "Practice and detachment are the means to still the movements of consciousness." - BKS Iyengar
Halloween has always been a favorite celebration of mine. I love coming up with a costume and actually creating something beautiful or scary to wear. I teach yoga this Halloween so I have had a lot of fun turning my creativity towards designing a sequence of poses that are in the Halloween theme. My sequence includes poses like Skeleton Pose, Full Moon Pose, Zombie Pose, Rabid Dog Pose, Headless Headstand Pose, Frankenstein Pose, Swarming Locusts Pose, Dead Bug Pose and of course Corpse Pose. You can see a link to the traditional names of these yoga poses here.
We have entered my most favorite time of year. Earth is the name that the Chinese give to the energy of late summer. Earth is the time of harvest and gathering. It is the midpoint in the cycle of life. The time when we raise a family, create a body of work, settle down, and begin to reap the rewards of our labors. Our thoughts turn to nurturing, parenting, mentoring and mothering.
Earth governs our bodies, our flesh and our ability to nourish ourselves through the foods that we eat. Earth governs our cycles - sleeping, eating and breathing. Earth energy also helps us on a mental level to digest ideas, process experiences and form thoughts. Out of balance Earth can be obsessive, obstinate and stubborn.
Can we finally begin to breathe a sigh of relief? July was unbearably hot. August invites a cooling down period or at least tells us there is an end in sight! We kept visions of cool ponds, pools, rivers and oceans everywhere we went. In southwestern Virginia, we were lucky to receive plenty of rain in the spring and early summer, but now everything is dry and hot!
Wow Friends!
We are almost halfway through the year and there is so much to celebrate! The summer solstice is right around the corner and with it the peak growth and full blooms of all of our hard work this year. The first official day of summer is also the day that the United Nations chose to celebrate International Yoga Day! There are events happening globally. It is an opportune time to be with your community to celebrate the gifts of yoga and share those benefits with others.
200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh India (200 hrs Yoga TTC)
Eligibility for the course - Intermediate
Medium of Instructions - English
Duration - 4 Weeks
Our Basic Style of Classes – Hatha, Astanga, Iyengar and Mixed yoga style
Objective of the course – To spread and explore the traditional Yogic practices for your wellbeing.
FEES : $1300 (Shared Room) , $1400 (Private Room) * ( USD 100 Discount on Early Bird Booking )
Do you want to start your yoga practice but finding it hard to enrol in a class? The reasons could be many but don’t let this demotivate you. Here are 7 tips for you to start a successful home yoga practice.
Though it is always recommended to practice yoga under the watchful eyes of a guru but, at times it becomes difficult to enrol in a toga teacher training. The reasons can be many – time crunch, financial issues, etc. You can start your practice at home too. All you need is a proper mindset and access to YouTube videos; you can follow the same initially. Here are some tips for a successful home yoga practice:
Though it is always recommended to practice yoga under the watchful eyes of a guru but, at times it becomes difficult to enrol in a toga teacher training. The reasons can be many – time crunch, financial issues, etc. You can start your practice at home too. All you need is a proper mindset and access to YouTube videos; you can follow the same initially. Here are some tips for a successful home yoga practice:
The spiritual link, versatility in yoga, experienced and professional yoga gurus and schools have made Rishikesh the haven for yoga and wellness enthusiasts. The following article will highlight the same.
Rishikesh isn’t just a tourist place. Over the last few decades, the city has established itself as a hub for those seeking spirituality and wellness. It is now home to various yoga schools where reputed yoga gurus bestow their knowledge to yoga aspirants from different corners of the globe. Since yoga originated in India and Rishikesh has carried forward the legacy, it is also known as the ‘yoga capital of the world’.
To be an evolved practitioner and an eminent yoga teacher, you need to undergo yoga training, and all the better if it is Nepal. Explore the article and know why to do yoga teacher training in Nepal and the opportunity the country bestows.
Traverse to the land that witnesses the mystical merger of nature, spirituality, and yoga, and submerge deep into this magical world created by the country of Nepal. Renowned as the meditation capital, Nepal is an ancient yogic land of yoga that bestows you a wonderful opportunity to discover ‘self’ and form a connection with your spiritual being.
Yoga is described as the journey of the self, through the self, to the self according to Bhagavad Gita and the ancient old practice helps you to discover your true self. Learn how by reading this article.
“Whichever path you take, carrying yoga with you will make it easy and beautiful” – Sadhguru
Humans have forever been on a journey to find more meaningful and deeper experiences in life. It comes natural with being human, and arguably since, the word “more” has been easily attached to this search for better experiences. More of materialism, more of love, more of grief, more of money and more of love, almost as though they are testing their extremes.
Humans have forever been on a journey to find more meaningful and deeper experiences in life. It comes natural with being human, and arguably since, the word “more” has been easily attached to this search for better experiences. More of materialism, more of love, more of grief, more of money and more of love, almost as though they are testing their extremes.
While we spent January in introspection and reflection, February brought a welcome lightness as we passed through the midway point from the Winter Solstice to the Spring Equinox. We also recognized the Lunar New Year and I found myself getting even more excited about the New Year and the possibility of things to come. It can be challenging to stay grounded in the present moment as we contemplate the potential of the coming spring.
10 Days Iyengar Yoga Workshop In Rishikesh India
Dear Friends,
We hope you took advantage of our call to restart or reinvigorate your pranayama practice this Autumn. It is a subtle and yet profound cleansing process we can engage in.
This season is the time to cleanse the lungs and large intestine. This is not the time to live it up and binge on food, drink and stimulation as many of us are encouraged to do during the holidays.
We are saddened to lose one of the world's most influential yoga teachers. Geeta Iyengar, the daughter of BKS Iyengar, passed away at 74, just after celebrating her father's 100th birth anniversary. Geeta has been a guru to many serious students of yoga; guiding us with her expertise in the practice of yoga for women. Her books Yoga a Gem for Women, Yoga for Motherhood as well as the Preliminary Course and the Intermediate Course are textbooks for students and teachers along with her father's collection of books. Geeta was the ultimate disciple, who was dedicated to her father and guru, BKS Iyengar, guided by the teachings of Yoga.
Most of you know, if you have been subscribed to the iHanuman Newsletter for some time, that we pay a lot of attention to the changes and transitions of the natural world. Every year, we are prompted by traditional healing philosophy to reinvigorate pranayama practice in the fall. The fall is the season of letting go and releasing as well as the organs of the Lungs and Large Intestines.
Dear Friends,
As the sun shifts into Virgo and the late summer's earth element, we are enjoying the fruits of our labors along with the slowing & cooling down of summer. The earth element brings us stability and a space to pause and collect ourselves between the seasons. The calm and steadiness of earth helps prepare us for the shifting unsteadiness of the air element which visits us in the fall.
I love this time of year! The weather is a perfect mix of warm days and cool nights. AND September is National Yoga Month! This is a wonderful time of year to get the word out about the benefits of yoga. Reference our resources below on the benefits of yoga as a place to start your conversation with new students.
Today marks the halfway point between the summer solstice and the fall equinox. It's called Lamas and it signals the beginning of the harvest season. We are about to transition into Late Summer as we move beyond the peak of summer. Before we do, take with you the lessons learned from your growth this year. Take some time to honor what you have accomplished before you begin to reap what you have sewn.
Memorial Day marked the unofficial start of the summer season. Summer ignites the fire element. The warmth of fire has the power to bring us out of the contraction of the cold dark winter into a state of expansion and joy. We have more energy to accomplish our tasks and more hours of light within which to accomplish them.
Fire is known for its dynamism, transformation and passion, but also gives us the capacity to feel joy, compassion, empathy as well as deep sadness, because only a strong heart can truly feel deep sadness.
200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India
I taught a restorative yoga retreat last month where we contemplated the energy of the Ayurvedic constitution made up of Earth and Water, Kapha. We contemplated stability, density, structure, boundaries and flow. We discussed ways to antidote the excess and deficiencies that arise with these elements, which are predominant in the winter and early spring.
One of my favorite topics to discuss as a remedy for Winter stagnation is the creation of clear un-obstructed space. This time of year is ideal for space clearing of any kind. As a Virgo and a Pitta Kapha, this brings me joy.
It has been a little while since you have received an email from us. If we are being totally honest, this past year was a particularly challenging one on a number of different levels, personal and professional. I remember reading and sharing about last year being the Year of the Fire Rooster, in Chinese Astrology. What I read, indicated that Rooster years are about doing the constant disciplined day to day work. I certainly found this to be true this last year. It was a year of keeping my nose to the ground, putting one foot in front of the other and doing the work. Have any of you found this to be true?
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