IYENGAR YOGA
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.
Iyengar Yoga teachers use their deep-seated knowledge of the asanas to individualize corrections for each student. Students know they are observed and, if necessary, adjusted. Clear demonstrations, a well-developed eye, and specific teaching points which awaken the body’s intelligence - these are the marks of an Iyengar Yoga teacher.
Students of Iyengar Yoga begin with elementary postures, with an emphasis on the standing asanas (postures). In time, other postures are added, including forward bends and back bends, twists, inversions and restorative poses. Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulder Balance) is introduced as soon as students are ready because of its many therapeutic benefits. Each class ends with Savasana, corpse pose or deep relaxation. Students learn to rest in a profound way, completely releasing the body while drawing the mind towards the peace within.
As the student progresses, Pranayama (the control of the breath) is introduced.
Teachers devise sequences of poses, which build skill and understanding, from posture to posture, and from class to class. Students are encouraged to develop their own home practice; without one, the study of yoga is incomplete.
IYNAUS, "IYENGAR YOGA." HTTPS://IYNAUS.ORG/IYENGAR-YOGA. BKS IYENGAR AND IYNAUS. 2016.
B.K.S. IYENGAR
Called the “Michelangelo of Yoga” and the “King of Yogis” and named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in the world, Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (B.K.S.) Iyengar is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest yoga teachers.
B.K.S. Iyengar was born in India in 1918. After struggling through a childhood of poverty and numerous illnesses, Iyengar began his studies of yoga when he was just 15 as a way to improve his health. B.K.S Iyengar went on to become a guru for thousands of people, no matter their level of strength or experience. He continued to teach yoga and practice daily in Pune, India all the way up until his death at the age of 95.
His innovative guide, Light on Yoga, was one of the first books which brought attention to the practice of yoga in the United States. Written as both a guide to the practice of Iyengar Yoga as well as a mix of philosophy and physiology, B.K.S Iyengar outlines the curative nature of his yoga style, from becoming more present in your every day life to a host of biological benefits such as increasing flexibility and balance.