Monday, October 22, 2012

Yoga For All, Yoga Now

BKS Iyengar Yoga with Patricia Walden
Yoga for All, Yoga Now
Alicia Silver Mucha
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            Yoga is getting to be a pretty big deal, and that may even be an understatement. Yoga is everywhere, with studios in every neighborhood, both urban and suburban, in most countries, on college campuses, and in prisons. Everybody is practicing yoga. With a cultural explosion this huge naturally there are some questions that come to mind. Mainly, how did an eastern practice become so popular in a country that typically holds such staunchly conservative views? While studying and practicing B.K.S. Iyengar yoga I began to understand how yoga became so accessible. In this practice in particular religious views are set aside so the practice is a spiritually neutral and accepting place.
             The founder of Iyengar yoga, Bellur Krishnamachar Sunararaja, was first introduced to yoga by his guru Sri T. Krishnamachrya. At the young age of 18 he was sent away to teach yoga to others and by doing this he developed a unique and sincere teaching style of his own that includes a lot of vocal cues and guidance. Iyengar’s teachings captivated the first president of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Pope Paul VI, and J. Krishnamurti. B.K.S. has taught many influential people over the years which has led to yoga being more broadly practiced. The Ramami Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India is run by his children and promotes Iyengar teachings. His book, Light on Life, is used in all Iyengar yoga classes today. Although B.K.S. is now an older man at 91 he still practices and teaches regularly. The focus of Iyengar is fitting yoga to the practitioner. If we age, yoga ages with us and we adapt to the postures, the asanas.
            Iyengar is widely practiced in the United States, Canada, and Britain. It is a form of yoga that allows the student to practice the postures without prescribing to any one particular belief.
Generally speaking, Iyengar yoga as taught in Britain has very little in the way of religious doctrine attached to it. A significant event in the popularization of yoga in Britain occurred with the teaching of yoga through the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). B. K. S. Iyengar worked with Peter Mackintosh, Chief Inspector of PE, to design the requirements and curriculum (Harthan). It was a condition of the ILEA that these classes be physical and not religious in nature. (Hassel-Newcombe, 2005)
There are similar cases in physical education classes all over America. In order for a subject to be taught in a public school it has to be spiritually neutral, “Although Patan˜ jali’s soteriological assumptions underpin the asana teaching, any philosophy or theology is left up to the individual to explore.” (Smith, 2009). Other than being accessible because of its neutrality, Iyengar also appeals to people of all ages, experience levels, and physical capabilities. B.K.S. stresses the importance of proper body alignment through slow fluid movements. The order of postures is also stressed; every movement is done intentionally, with reason.
         Great attention is placed upon the sequencing of postures in the Iyengar
         tradition; the postures should be performed in a particular order for maximum
mental and physical benefits. The physiological effects of the asana assist in this process—in certain positions, the blood pressure drops, in others, the nervous system is stimulated. By learning about alignment and sequencing, while paying attention to the inner somatic experience, students are encouraged to develop an increasing awareness of the physical body, breath, and mind. (Hassel-Newcombe, 2005)
The awareness of one’s own lived experience is of the utmost importance. Compared to other forms of yoga such as Astanga or Bikram, Iyengar is slow. Astanga begins with sun salutations and has the intention of getting your heart rate up to stimulate the sweat glands. In Astanga the aim is to purify the body through constant movement. Bikram is almost like an accelerated form of Astanga in a hot room. From slowest to fastest we have Iyengar, Astanga, and Bikram. Iyengar brings all parts of oneself together, mind, body, and spirit through slow movement and proper body alignment. While Astanga and Bikram aim to fight off disease and impurities by sweating everything out. These are fundamentally different approaches to yoga. So, who is each practice for? Iyengar seems to be for everyone, with accommodations for every need, and the promotion of overall wholeness and wellness. Astanga and Bikram are more aerobic and are presented as more athletic. Yoga studios that hold Astanga and Bikram classes have fit young women on the pamphlets, while Iyengar is more inclusive.
         Iyengar has also been promoted as healthcare tool. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that Mind Body Therapies like Iyengar Yoga are helpful in reducing blood pressure and hypertension.
There is emerging data that mind-body therapies (MBTs) may be useful in managing modest elevations in BP [7]. Yoga, a movement-based MBT, is especially attractive as a candidate therapy in the management of elevated BP because of its wide appeal to Westerners and its combination of gentle physical activity, slowed regulated breathing and meditation. If yoga practice were to be effective in preventing, delaying or treating mild hypertension, this could translate into a clinical and health economic benefit in people motivated enough to pursue this kind of treatment. (Cohen, bloedon, & Rothman, 2011)
As a country with millions of dollars in healthcare costs yoga would be a holistic and inexpensive solution to many health issues. When healing related to Iyengar is discussed it is different than Astanga or Bikram. The “sweat” yogas find the need to purify the body and treat it as though it is separate from the mind and the spirit. Iyengar treats every part of the body as a piece of the whole.
         When I began my research I first wanted to go to a yoga studio called Sweat and Soul yoga and quickly changed my mind. Sweat and Soul offers Vinyasa yoga classes that are primarily focused on breaking a sweat and are targeted at young women in my age group, which seems to be typical for yoga classes today. I wanted to experience something different so I switched to Yoga Now with Patricia Walden in Cambridge. Patricia is one of two North Americans that hold an advanced certificate in the Iyengar method. She has studied under B.K.S. and his family since her early 20’s and is heavily involved in the local Iyengar community.  In addition to her classes in Cambridge and Newton, Patricia also has instructional videos, holds retreats, and does workshops.
         This yoga studio, unlike others has multiple teachers that teach the class as a team. This is the biggest difference that I notice in my visit. Jarvis Chen and Nancy Turnquist are both Junior Intermediate II Iyengar yoga instructors. In addition to teaching classes Jarvis is a research scientist at the Harvard Public School of Health. Nancy has taught in both the United States and Spain. She has studied under B.K.S. Iyengar and his family in Pune, India. The effect of team teaching the class is getting all of the students in the proper body alignment during each pose, this is a huge help to people like me.
         Besides having multiple teachers, this class is also unique in its location. Yoga Now is held in St. Mary’s Orthodox church on 8 Inman St. in Central Square, Cambridge. Before this experience I had never done yoga in a church before. So this alone is a little bit jarring. My friend Audrey who has taken it regularly for quiet some time now has recommended me to the class. I went to one class myself and talked to Audrey about her history with the class to get a broader overview of her experience. I notice that Patricia’s classes are offered at night on a variety of days. There is a student rate and a regular rate, as well as a drop in rate (which is what I am). All of these things tell me that this yoga studio encourages all different kinds of people to practice yoga.
         The space is clam and quiet. There is no music during the practice. I notice there is usually music in the faster paced classes and just the voice of the instructors in the slower paced classes. For complete attention and focus music would be distracting and counterproductive. There are mats and props provided for everyone, which is not always the case. Already, there is a sense of community in the space because everyone is sharing materials. Patricia is in the front, but the other two teachers navigate the room so there is no central feeling of authority, which again, makes things feel more communal.
         The class is bigger than I am used to and is made up of around two-dozen people under the age of 35, but I know that I’m the youngest person there except for Audrey. There are 10 or so older people in their 40s and 50s. In the entire group there are eight men. There are no families in the group; most people have either come alone or in a couple. The majority of students are white. Everyone is wearing “yoga clothes” nothing too pretentious though, only a couple of lulu lemon ensembles. There is one leotard.
         The class begins with three Om chants and some breathing exercises Patricia talks about Iyengar’s Light on Life. Audrey tells me this is an integral part of every class. The chanting is more substantial than any other class I have ever taken. Our class and Patricia’s have been my first exposures to chanting. All Vinyasa, Bikram, et all yoga classes seem strictly focused on the body and how to get a “yoga butt”.
         Patricia talks a lot, in a good way. There is a lot of verbal direction and guidance that helps people like me through poses so I’m not second-guessing myself constantly. I’m able to remove myself from being the third party observer and just be in the pose. I am monetarily taken out of strictly being in the pose when one of the instructors, I can’t tell which because my head is down, adjust my position. At first, I am a little on edge about being touched by someone I don’t know, but the assistance they provide me is so helpful and really get’s me to achieve the right alignment. I am at ease once again. There is a great focus on adjustment and the use of props and modifications is strongly encouraged. I am starting to let go of my need to push myself to adhere to the norm because there is no norm here; everyone is in a different position.
         All of the movements are slow. We stay in each position for a long time so my confidence builds. I’m not shaky now, but strong. If this were a Bikram yoga class I’d be wobbling and out of breathe, but I’m not. I’m calm, breathing deeply, and have my feet firmly planted on my mat. This technically may be the easiest yoga I have done, but it is certainly the most effective.
         Every once in a while Patricia has someone demonstrate a pose. She is very sincere, and kind. Audrey tells me that she has a good sense of humor and often makes jokes. I can feel the lighthearted nature of the group. The room is not too serious like most yoga classes are. People are smiling and having a good time instead of sweating and suffering. We start to wind down with a deep relaxation, shavasana, or corpse pose. Normally, during the deep relaxation pose my lower back hurts, but it doesn’t this time. We slip deeper into relaxation pose. Before I know it we are doing the closing chants and the class is over.
         The word that I walk away with is inclusive. This Iyengar class had a way of meeting all of its participants half way to create the best experience for them that it could by providing us with incredibly knowledgeable teachers. Although the class lacked a spiritual component I think that it promoted the discovery of one’s individual spirituality. I believe that Iyengar in general promotes the ability to have spiritual competency instead of just forcing a specific set of ideals on its practitioners. There is a definite implied encouragement of mind, body, and spirit wholeness through the poses, breaths and chants that helps lower my anxiety level from earlier in the day. Overall, it is clear this studio promotes a more holistic view of the student and practice of yoga in comparison to other studios I’ve attended in the past.

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Bibliography

Buckingham, L. (2008, February 22). Astanga Vs. Iyengar Yoga. Retrieved October 2, 2012, from Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk

Cohen, D. L., bloedon, L. T., & Rothman, R. L. (2011, January 1). Iyengar Yoga versus Enhanced Usual Care on Blood Pressure in Patients with Prehypertension to Stage I Hypertension: a Randomized Controlled Trial. Retrieved October 2, 2012, from HIndawi: www.hindawi.com

Hassel-Newcombe, S. (2005). Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’ in Contemporary Society: A Case Study of British Practitioners of the Iyengar Method of Yoga. Journal of Contemporary Religion, , 20 (3), 305-321.

Smith, B. R. (2009, August 12). Body, Mind and Spirit? Towards an Analysis of the Practice of Yoga. Retrieved October 03, 2012, from Sage Pub: http://bod.sagepub.com


        

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