Yoga for All, Yoga Now
Alicia Silver Mucha
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.
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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