Iyengar Yoga

B.K.S Iyengar was taught yoga in his youth by his brother-in-law, T. Krishnamacharya. B.K.S. Iyengar developed his innovative and inspired approach to yoga through intense practice and self-study. His seminal book, Light on Yoga, has been continuously in print since originally published in 1966. According to Mr. Iyengar, "The yoga I teach is purely Astanga yoga, known as the eight limbs of yoga. My pupils who follow me call it ‘Iyengar Yoga’ to distinguish it from the teachings of others." Iyengar Yoga is differentiated from other methods by a world-wide, standardized system of instruction. Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers (CIYTs) undergo rigorous training and evaluation to earn their certifications. Only CIYTs are permitted to describe their method of instruction as "Iyengar Yoga." CIYTs are trained to provide clear demonstrations of each posture and are skilled in the use of simple props to maximize the opening and awareness of the body, providing support to the less flexible, and extra extension to the more advanced student.

Teaching is oriented towards gradual but steady progress, rather than quick and fleeting results. Each Iyengar Yoga class is a unique sequence developed by the CIYT to guide students through a safe and systematic progression. Through skilled instruction and practice, students learn to penetrate beyond the physical body to the inner kosas (layers) of mind, energy and spirit, gaining vitality, clarity and calm through the practice.

Iyengar Yoga is a powerful and sophisticated discipline which can be practiced in all stages of life. The benefits are far-reaching and will assist the practitioner in every aspect of daily living.

Description courtesy of www.iynaus.org

Tribute to Geetaji, March 2019

Geeta Iyengar, or Geetaji as we lovingly call her, was Guruji’s first born. She left her body just 11 weeks ago in Pune, India, after teaching a massive intensive course to over 1000 students to honor the 100th birth anniversary of Guruji. Following the end of this course, we celebrated what would have been his 100th birthday over a period of two days.  She left us 36 hours after the end of these celebrations.

After her father passed on in 2014, she constantly made reference to her own death. She told us that she had been suffering for a long time but that she kept her will to live in order to spare her father from the pain of her death while he was still alive. She often said, “How could I die in front of Guruji? How could I do that to my father?” “But now that he is gone, I am telling all of you that my time is near. I am in tremendous pain.” This was her selflessness.

Despite her weak state, she gained health in the time leading up to Guruji’s centennial celebrations. Her will kept her strong, intense, focused, and fiery in her teachings. She said she had to make it until the 100th birth year event. No one wanted to believe or take seriously her earlier declarations of dying. She was vibrant, luminous, alert, and absolutely engaged. No one could escape her gaze during the intensive course in December nor throughout the month of November, when she was consistently teaching the ladies classes and present in each and every medical class. We did not want to imagine her departure from this earthly plane. It was a shock to us all throughout the world when we received the devastating news in the early hours of December 16th. Her sister told us she ordered specific fruits for her breakfast the night before — she wanted fresh guava and fresh figs. 

We all readied and rushed to the Iyengar home, within the same compound of the Institute. Her body was beautifully draped in white, covered in magnificent flowers. Her brother Prashantji, other men in the family, and the priest performed rituals and chanting which lasted several hours. In Indian thought and culture, the body has little value once the soul departs and it is burned soon after the physical death. 

There are different degrees of mourning allotted for different periods of time. The first 12 days constitute the first period. During these 12 days, it is believed that the soul resides close to us in the earthly plane, after which it departs. We are encouraged to release our attachments by day 13, so that the soul is free and not held back. This first period is followed by a 45 day observation, which then continues for a period of one year where there are no celebratory functions. 

I would like to briefly present a few of Geetaji’s defining key qualities, which set her apart from any other being and which she displayed unwaveringly until the very end of her human life— 

*Unparalleled devotion and dedication* to yoga as developed and taught by her father; she was ultimately and absolutely devoted to Guruji.

Her brother Prashantji said, “The most astounding feature, was not only her total dedication to Guruji, not only love and reverence ... but her implicit faith in whatever Guruji said was enormous. Apart from love, dedication, and reverence, she had implicit faith in the words of Guruji....implicit faith and belief in Guruji’s deeds, implicit faith and belief in Guruji’s acts”

“There was no thought or intellectual process which interfered or came in the way of this ...”

“For her, his words were inscriptions.”

*Honesty*

She was brutally honest. There was an innocence to that honesty. She didn’t think about the impact or effect of her honest observations. There was no agenda attached to what she spoke.  It was her duty to speak the truth and she did.

*Uncompromising ethics*

If she witnessed any behavior that went against our ethics, she dealt with it right there and then.

For women especially, she created a feeling of safety in our place of practice and learning which many of us here who have studied with her, may not have felt with anyone else. There was complete trust in her. 

*Her selfless passion* — for the upliftment of women and vulnerable people, & the patients in the medical classes at RIMYI. 

She was absolutely unable to turn a blind eye on anyone who was suffering or struggling, despite her own declining health and limited energies. She gave of her entire self without thought. When we see her life, we see that she never wasted a single moment. She did not engage in anything that took her away from the subject of yoga. Every moment was a purposeful moment on the path of yoga. 

For us as students here today, as learners and practitioners of Iyengar Yoga, we can see that Geetaji was the ultimate shishya. Geetaji represented in all ways the essence of being a shishya. In Sanskrit this term loosely translates to student and disciple. But no English word can fully capture the meaning of this term. Just as the English word teacher also cannot be used as the definition of a guru. As a shishya, Geetaji strived to represent Guruji day and night, steadfastly. There was nothing that could dim her.

She stood for the ultimate representation of a shishya and through that, became an unsurpassable Guru in herself. And above all, a mother.

No words of mine can do justice to the great life force that was our beloved Geetaji, but it is my hope that those of you who did not know her may experience a glimpse.