The Iyengar Method
This practical approach to yoga will leave your mind calm, relieve stress and tension and improve overall health. New practitioners of yoga invariably mention how much taller and more open they feel after class.
BKS Iyengar, considered the world’s greatest yoga master referred to his lifelong work on the subject as a “Journey of Discovery”. This discovery encompassed practice, philosophy and the teaching of the art of yoga.
By exploring alignment in the yoga poses, sometimes with the use of props, the body becomes stronger and more flexible, awareness develops and so the inward journey begins……
BKS IYENGAR
Yoga’s popularity in the West world owes much to the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar. His method of yoga instruction, known as ‘Iyengar yoga,’ has become the most widely practiced approach globally.
B.K.S. Iyengar dedicated over 75 years to studying, practicing, and teaching yoga both in India and internationally. His mastery of yoga earned him worldwide respect and recognition, he helped make yoga accessible and relevant to people from all walks of life, even those with difficulties, thanks to the use of supports or yoga props.
His profound insights have transformed the way yoga is taught worldwide.
THE METHOD
Iyengar yoga is accessible to all, it offers a multitude of benefits including strength, increased flexibility, stamina, improved posture, enhanced concentration and mental tranquillity. The emphasis on precision and alignment prioritises the quality of movement over quantity in all postures (asanas).
The use of props such as blocks, blankets and belts enhance the understanding of postural alignment and assists individuals in being able to achieve this in a structured and safe way. The practice is progressive, establishing a firm foundation before advancing further. It includes a wide range of postures, from standing and seated poses, reclining (supine) postures, forward extensions, inversions, twists, backbends, and arm balances.
Iyengar yoga is a holistic approach, each group of yoga postures develop the body in different and complementary ways, offering grounding, strengthening, energising, stimulating and calming qualities.
At the end of a class time is always allocated for relaxation, this helps assimilate what has been learned. When practitioners have built up sufficient strength and concentration, they learn pranayama (yogic breathing).
Each Iyengar yoga class will focus on a particular theme so no one class will be identical. Poses are selected from various groups to emphasise different aspects of the practice. This approach integrates mental and physical elements, often described as meditation in action, or skill in action, harmonising the mind, body and breath.
“It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence”.
BKS Iyengar