Iyengar Yoga News

Iyengar Yoga News 

Spring 

2016 

Issue 

number 

28 

Iyengar Yoga News No. 28 

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I YENGAR® Y OGA (UK) 

Honorary president: Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar 

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Iyengar Yoga News 

Spring 2016 Issue number 28 

Editorial 

In this issue of IYN, we have published the second part of the edited transcript of Birjoo Mehta’s teaching 

at last year’s annual IY (UK) Convention in Exeter. In this part, we have covered the pranayama classes that 

he taught. We are very grateful to Birjoo for the work he has done in helping us prepare this transcript. This 

year’s Convention in Harrogate will be taught by Raya Uma Datta, and we have an article by him about his 

discovery of Iyengar Yoga. We have reports from Yoganusasanam 2015 as well as regular reports and features. 

We hope you enjoy reading this issue. 


Editorial Board: Philippe Harari, 

Judi Soffa, Tehira Taylor, Sigute Barniskyte-Kidd, 

John Cotgreave 

Layout & Design: Sigute Barniskyte-Kidd 

Articles to: editor@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Advertising: John Cotgreave 

cotgreavej@gmail.com 

Copy deadline: 30 July 2016 

This magazine is printed on paper that is 

sourced under a scheme which ensures 

minimal environmental impact. 

Membership and Office Manager 

Andy Tait 

Telephone 07510326997 

email offce@iyengaryoga.co.uk 

PO Box 51698, London, SE8 9BU 

PR & Website Manager 

Katie Owens 

Telephone 07510 326 997 

email katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

IY (UK) PO Box 4730, 

Sheffield S8 2HE 

Finance & Bookings Administrator 

Jess Wallwork 

Telephone 07757 463 767 

email jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

15 West Grove, 

Bristol BS6 5LS 

Assessments Administrator 

Kate Woodcock 

Telephone 07914089360 

email kate@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

PO Box 1217, 

Bradford, BD1 9XF 

Photo credits: Kirsten Agar-Ward, Cath Barnes-Holt, Ros Bell, Gerry Chambers, 

Sheila Green, Abi Myles, Charlotte Rosser, Jasvinder Singh 

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Contents 

Features 

Dharma in Theory and Practice 

IY(UK) Convention 2015 page 4 

Solstice Class 

by Diane West page 18 

Atha Yoga Anushã sanam 

by Raya Uma Datta page 20 

My First Faltering Steps in Yoga at the Age of 67 

by Jasvinder Singh page 25 

Geeta - a Gem for Women and Men 

by Janet Swinney page 29 

Yoganusasanam Comments 

page 32 

A Tale of County Folk 

by Sheila Green page 35 

National Iyengar Yoga Day UK 2016 

page 36 

Member information 

IY(UK) Reports page 38 

New Admin Contacts page 41 

Assessment Results and Notices pages 43 

IY (UK) Professional Development Days 2016 page 44 

List of Institutes and Centres page 48 

Charity Yoga Notebook 

by Prithi Irani page 54 


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Dharma - in theory and practice 

Transcript of IY(UK) Convention 2015 teachings with Birjoo Mehta 


In June 2015, three hundred people attended the 

IY(UK) annual convention at Exeter University with 

Birjoo Mehta. In the last issue of IYN we presented 

extracts from the asana classes. The following is a summary 

of the three pranayama classes he taught. 

Transcripts by: Isabel Jones Fielding, Vanessa McNaught, 

Katie Owens and Jess Wallwork 

Editing by: Birjoo Mehta, Philippe Harari and Judi Soffa 

1st Session 

DHARMA AND THE ECOSYSTEM 

Invocation: 

As before, focus on the chest for which the action has 

been done but do not focus on the actions and sensations 

from the skeleto-muscular body, which is the doer. 

When the chest experiences fullness, the mind becomes 

quiet. While the movement of the breath is felt, do not 

allow yourself to get involved in that. And in this quiet 

state, with poise in the mind, peace in the body, we shall 

invoke Sage Patanjali. 

Let’s start with the concept of dharma. There is no 

one word in the English language that accurately conveys 

the concept of dharma, because that’s a concept 

which comes only in the Indian tradition. Dharma is 

sometimes translated as “law”, sometimes as “rules” 

for conduct of life, sometimes as “religion” at other 

times as “duty” to be performed. So, depending on 

the context, people give different meanings. 

Being students of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, we will go 

by the definition which he has used, which comes 

from the Mahabharata: 

“Patitam, patantam patishyantam dhãrayati it 

dharmaha” 

Dharma is defined as that which uplifts and sustains 

those that are falling, those that have fallen and those 

that are yet to fall. As yoga students performing an 

asana, that which brings about a long, stable and sustained 

state in the asana is dharma. As inhabitants of 

the planet, all our human endeavours are possible 

only if the planet itself is sustained. If we sustain our 

lifestyle at the cost of our planet then such action 

would not be dharmic. Therefore sustenance should 

be looked upon at an ecosystem level. Dharma operates 

at the holistic or ecosystem level. 

Some people injure their hamstrings while attempting 

Hanumanasana. This would be the consequence 

of an improper practice. This will affect their practice 

of other asanas and so the attempt to perform Hanumanasana 

at any cost is not dharmic. Why does an 

injury happen? This is because we are more focused 

on doing – working on the legs to spread the legs - 

rather than checking what is happening to the rest of 

the ecosystem of the body by the action of spreading 

the legs. If we watched the fullness of the chest 

and maintained that, we would not over stretch and 

would not injure ourselves and this practice would 

be dharmic. 

We make a mistake when we think that to work on 

the chest we have to work from the chest. It is the 

other parts of the body that support the chest, and 

in turn the chest supports the other parts. Once 

you know the interdependency, you then operate 

for the ecosystem. A person working only for himself 

disturbs the ecosystem. If one works only for 

oneself – this is against dharma (adharma) and if one 

considers the whole ecosystem, then one is with 

dharma. I have to support somebody, somebody 

else supports somebody else and, in turn, I am also 

supported. Then what happens is that your view 

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of yourself as being an individual 

changes and you become universal, 

because you start to identify 

yourself with the ecosystem and 

not your individual self. And when 

you start to identify with the ecosystem, 

the individual in the ecosystem 

performs the task assigned 

for the benefit of the whole ecosystem. 

The Bhagavad Gita in the eighteenth 

chapter also says the same 

thing: 

18.47 shreyansvadharmo vigunah 

paradharmatsvanushthitat 

It is better to do your own job 

or your own Dharmic duty even 

if it is not done well, rather than 

do somebody else’s task, because 

every cell has to do its own task. 

So every task is important in the 

whole ecosystem. 

OBSERVING THE MIND 

Whenever I ask what is happening 

in the chest, what do you do? 

You direct the eyes to the chest. 

Here the chest becomes the object 

of the observation by the 

eyes. The eyes become the subject 

– the story teller. Actually we 

should be taking in the perspective 

of the chest. What is the observation 

made by the chest? The chest 

ought to become the subject and 

the chest should look at the head. 

The moment this happens it brings 

quietness. 

Once you know the interdependency, 

you then operate for the ecosystem. 


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Mind cannot directly observe the mind, the body cannot 

directly work on the body. If you want to build 

muscles, do you think the body alone can accomplish 

this? Or do you require the mind to say 'come 

what may, even if it’s hard, I am going to do the work 

out.' You need will power, isn’t it? There the mind is 

required to build the body. Similarly to observe the 

mind, the body is required. Directly you cannot do 

it. The mind is dependent on the body, the body is 

dependent on the mind. The mind is dependent on 

the breath, the breath is dependent on the mind. The 

body is dependent on the breath, the breath is dependent 

on the body. So it is an ecosystem of connections. 

If you want to make the mind stable, you need 

to work through the body. 

Consciousness is composed of the mind, the intelligence 

and the ego; the mind is “manas”, the intelligence 

is “buddhi” the ego is “ahamkara”. When you 

say somebody’s conscious, what do you mean? A 

person is conscious if he appropriately responds to a 

stimulus. Now let us look at the process of response. 

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An external stimulus stimulates the 

senses of perception, the senses 

of perception create an impulse 

which the mind carries to the processor 

of the information, the intelligence, 

for a decision on what to 

do. The intelligence with the help 

of the memory takes a decision. 

This decision is conveyed through 

the mind to the organs of action 

and the organs of action complete 

the action. So this is the complete 

path from stimulus to response. 

If any of these parts fail, then one 

would appear to be unconscious. 

For example, if the connection 

through the mind from the brain to 

the organs of action stop, the person 

will not display consciousness, 

but the person would be feeling 

everything, a state known clinically 

as a “locked in” state. Similarly, if the 

senses are not there completely, he 

may be alive, alert, but he doesn’t 

know anything is happening to him 

and so he will not respond. He will 

be called unconscious to the surrounding. 

Let me use an analogy between 

the three aspects that constitute 

the consciousness and a computer 

system. Now in a computer system 

we have input devices, like the 

keyboard, that provide the inputs 

for processing. In the same manner 

the senses of perception provide 

the input to be processed. The 

computer program or application 

processes the data that has been 

input. This is like the intelligence 

or buddhi which analyses the information 

and decides on an adequate 

response. The memory or 

database is like ego or ahamkara 

which stores the past impressions. 

The organs of action are like the 

output devices such as a printer 

or display screen. The operating 

system, such as Windows 7 or 

Android, manages the computer's 

memory, processes, and all of its 

software and hardware and allows 

you to communicate with 

the computer. Without an operating 

system, a computer is useless. 

Likewise the mind acts like a bridge 

between the sense of perception, 

organs of action, intelligence and 

ego. 

The mind performs functions that 

are common for all life forms. Like 

a computer application that performs 

a specific function, the intelligence 

performs a specialised 

function that makes us human. 

Whereas ego is individualised for 

each person like the memory and 

database for each computer user. 

Collections of whatever you have 

felt and experienced and your perceptions 

and your behaviour, all 

this becomes the memory or the 

ego. It is the ego that makes us different 

from another person. 

The physical body along with the 

senses and organs of action is the 

hardware. Consciousness, consisting 

of the operating system (mind), 

application program (intelligence) 

and database (ego) is the software. 

The breath (prana) is the power 

supply. The hardware on its own 

without software serves no purpose. 

The software on its own 

cannot function. And for the hardware 

and software to function we 

need power or breath (prana). 

For a response or an action, any 

one of the three, the mind, the intelligence 

or the ego may take a 

lead. The yogi does things with discrimination, 

with buddhi. The mind 

will be there but it will play a subordinate 

role. The ego will be there 

but it too plays a subordinate role. 

It is the buddhi which should predominate. 

Discrimination comes 

from buddhi. To know that my left 

arm is lower than the right arm, 

that is buddhi. So to go on adjusting 

until I feel them equal, that happens 

through the buddhi, the intelligence. 

To be able to discriminate 

is what makes us human. 

Normally the mind can observe 

other things but not itself. But when 

the chest becomes the subject, the 

observer and the story teller, the 

mind is known. This is what the 

Yoga Sutra says: 


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III.35 hrdaye cittasamvit 

By samyama in the region of the heart, a yogi acquires 

a thorough knowledge of the contents and tendencies 

of consciousness. 

When the chest experiences fullness, the mind (as an 

object) is perceived and known by the mind (the observer 

or the subject). It is only in this condition that 

the subject (the mind that perceives) is the same as 

the chosen object (the mind that is being perceived). 

This is meditation. As both the object and subject are 

same, there is no relative movement between the 

two and therefore the mind experiences stillness. 

Why does this happen? This is because the body is 

not doing its dharma. And therefore the mind and 

the pranayama is suffering. What is the dharma of the 

body? It is to remain erect and keep the chest full. 

Depending on the region of the chest where the 

breath touches, the mind experiences a particular 

condition. When the breath touches the mid chest 

region, the mind is alert, sharp and attentive and if it 

is in the top chest region one gets emotional. When 

the breath is in the lower part of the lungs the mind 

becomes dull. You can direct the breath to this region 

when you want to rest. When the breath is in the abdominal 

region, your mind initiates thoughts. 


To get the fullness in the chest we need the whole 

body to work as an ecosystem to prop the chest. 

Guruji has said the body is my first prop. It is the body 

that supports and gives the chest the fullness so that 

the mind expands and can therefore be observed by 

the mind. When you do setu bandha sarvangasana, 

are you not spontaneously silenced? Why is that? Because 

the chest is radiating. When the chest radiates, 

the mind is looking into the mind, it is stilling. When 

you look at the mind through the head, there is instability. 

OBSERVING THE BREATH 

Frankly for many, many years I found pranayama exasperating. 

Have we all not experienced that the first volitional 

inhalation of breath is deep and fulfilling? But the exhalation 

that follows is short. Also for the first few 

cycles we are very sharp, attentive, shoulders are kept 

back, armpit chest is forward, everything is fine. After 

a few cycles we become dull. And later after the dullness 

of a few cycles, our mind starts to wander. 

Initially in our practice of pranayama, we are sharp 

and the breath is directed to the middle chest. Then 

you get one cycle or two cycles of good breath. Then 

the breath slowly drops to the lower chest and you 

start to feel sleepy and then later it drops further 

to the abdominal region and then your mind starts 

to wander, eyes open and we fidget. Now why does 

it happen? Because progressively the spine collapses. 

The spine collapses first in the middle chest, then it 

collapses in the lower dorsal region, then it collapses 

in the lumbar region and that is the time when the 

thoughts arise. 

Nowadays a lot of people want to do meditation. 

Guruji never talked about meditation in public. But 

without mentioning the word, he made the students 

experience this, by arranging the body to support the 

chest and spontaneously the mind observed the mind 

and experienced stillness. Now you will understand 

why so much importance is given on the sitting. If you 

don’t sit properly and keep your spine erect throughout, 

your mind is bound to be restless. 

Now I will make you aware of where and how things go 

wrong in pranayama. 

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Sit erect. Lift the side chest up. Shoulders back. Shoulder blades in. 

These are all correct instructions. However, the mistake we make is that we follow the instruction by acting 

on the skeleto-muscular body and observing the skeleto-muscular body. Thus it is the body doing for itself 

and this is therefore not Dharma. The correct way would be to adjust the skeleto-muscular body to make the 

chest experience fullness. Once the chest experiences the fullness, the body should adjust so that the fullness 

of the chest is sustained. 

Now remaining there, with the head erect move the eyes back, as if the eyes are going deep into the sockets. Spontaneously 

within a short while you will become aware of the movement of the breath. The next mistake we make is 

that we start to get involved in the breath. We observe the breath as it goes in and out cyclically. Our mind follows 

the breath and it starts to move cyclically along with the breath in the chest region. 

One should know that to move any part of the body, the mind needs to be present in that part. And as a corollary 

if the mind is in any part, displacement will take place in that part even if there is a slight disturbance of the mind. 

Now observe and follow the breath. You are following the inhalation as it flows in. You will follow the exhalation as it 

flows out with your eyes closed. Keep on following the breath. As the breath goes in you follow it inside. As the breath 

goes out you follow it outside. 


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Keep following the breath, your mind 

on the breath, the mind going circularly 

with the breath. Slowly you will 

find yourself becoming very calm, 

quiet. You will find yourself becoming 

quiet. This is because now the awareness 

is not of the breath touching the 

mid-chest but of the breath touching 

the lower region of the chest. This is 

a consequence of the displacement 

of the spine due to the movement 

of the mind and the spine collapsing 

towards the lower dorsal region. 

Continue with the mind following the 

breath and observe how the touch of 

the breath moves further down the 

chest and how the spine too slowly 

collapses. Then you deviate further 

and slowly you become aware of the 

movement of the abdomen. This is 

what happens spontaneously. Now 

as you become aware of the movement 

of the abdomen and start to 

follow that, then thoughts start to 

emerge. Then the thought comes 

to you, why is the breath losing its 

rhythm and you want to control the 

breath. Then one thought leads to 

another and your mind spirals into 

a cacophony of thoughts. Then you 

suddenly become aware that your 

mind has wandered, the chest and 

spine have collapsed. And then you 

readjust. Then as you once again follow 

the breath the whole cycle repeats. 

Let’s understand what displacements 

have taken place in the body while 

your mind followed your breath. Take 

the shoulders back. Are you able to 

do it? That means the shoulders had 

come to the front in the interim period. 

Make the spine erect. Are you 

able to do this? This means that the 

spine had collapsed. 

If you were able to once again bring 

about the openness in the chest, it 

means that chest had collapsed earlier. 

This means that the mind had 

moved from the middle of the chest, 

where the mind observed the mind, 

to the lower chest where you feel 

relaxed. In this restful state you feel 

happy because you are very quiet. 

And in that happiness due to the 

dullness, the chest sinks further, and 

your mind starts to wander. The mistake 

was not in your sitting, the mistake 

was in your watching the breath 

as it moves, as the breath goes in 

and out. 

So, now don’t observe the breath. 

Disregard the breath, just as you 

disregard the background noise of 

a fan whirling. Cup your hands and 

place the fingers on the floor slightly 

behind you so that you are able to 

maintain the opening of the chest. 

Corners of the shoulders back, the 

side chest moving to the front, as if 

it is bursting. Nothing should disturb 

the chest, even the breath should not 

disturb the chest. This feeling should 

be retained. No oscillations in the 

chest. It’s as if the radiation is taking 

place from the chest everywhere. 

Keeping the chest exactly as it is, 

now without any disturbance felt in 

the chest take a deep inhalation. You 

might feel a slight movement in the 

first few cycles because the chest 

may not have been well opened, but 

after the initial cycles of breath nothing 

should disturb the chest. 

Now keeping that opening… exhale… 

you’ll realise what happens to 

the abdomen… inhale… exhale… 

attention in the chest… attention 

in the shoulders… attention in the 

corners of the shoulders… inhale… 

with that same opening… exhale… 

no feeling of change in the expression 

of the chest… inhale… exhale. 

Now after these cycles of ujjayi inhalation 

and exhalation, see if you 

can take the shoulders back. Could 

you move them or were they still in 

place? Try to lift your spine. Could you 

lift it or was it still in place? Wasn’t 

your sitting undisturbed? It remains 

undisturbed if you had maintained 

the opening of the chest throughout. 

Then release. 

What did you feel different now from 

what you did before? Stillness, peace 

and poise? But you are not dull. Now 

this is why so much attention is given 

on the sitting. 

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You know that in pranayama we should take the 

head down. When the chest is lifted, the head comes 

down easily. But when the chest is dropped, and one 

tries to take the head down there is a pull and it 

hurts you. So keep the chest fully opened to take the 

head down. 

First, keep the hands back, take the corners of the shoulders 

back. It is as though the chest is like a balloon getting 

compressed from top and bottom and spreading 

in the centre. First feel the fullness in the chest before 

taking the head down, as if the chest is radiating, as if it 

is spreading all over. So when the chest is open the head 

goes down naturally. Then when you inhale and exhale 

there is no disturbance in the chest. 

In the inhalation, it is the back region of the abdomen 

that lift up, it’s an organic action not a muscular one. 

And if you keep the chest open and radiating, in the 

exhalation you shall observe that the frontal region of 

the abdomen, the viscera, the organic body, that moves 

up. Don’t follow the breath, on the inhalation or the exhalation. 

Only maintain the chest. The movement in the 

abdomen should be observed as if it is happening in the 

background and is not of interest. 

OPENING THE CHEST 

In the Yoga Rahasya of December 2014 there is a picture 

of Guruji sitting on a chair with his chest open. 

Even when he exhaled and even when he retained 

the breath, his chest stayed open, his chest did not 

change. It would be useful to see his practice on film. 

If you were to see his practice you will see there is no 

movement in the chest, even when he did Bhastrika 

or Kapalabhati. Whatever he did, his chest was undisturbed, 

it was fully radiating whether he did exhalation 

or inhalation. 

Complete your last cycle, then after finishing raise the 

head up. What happened to your mind now? Quiet and 

alert. This illustrates the importance of the chest. The feeling 

is of sharpness. If a feeling of dullness is felt then that 

what you did was not pranayama. 

PRANAYAMA IN THE SUTRAS 

Let us now see what Patanjali has to say about pranayama 

in the 49th Sutra of the second chapter. 

II.49. tasmin satisvasa prasvasayoh gattivicchedah 

pranayamah 


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Pranayama is the regulation of the 

incoming and outgoing flow of 

breath with retention. It is to be 

practiced only after the perfection 

of asana is attained. 

Svasa is inhalation or inbreath, or 

movement of air into the lungs, 

and prasvasayoh is exhalation or 

outbreath, or movement of air out 

of the lungs. After asana, Patanjali 

now moves to the breath – the 

movement of the breath and its 

stoppage. 

Immediately thereafter in Sutra 

II.50. he says, 

11.50 Bahya abhyantara stambha 

vrittih desa kala samkhyabhih 

paridrstah dirgha suksmah 

Pranayama has three movements; 

prolonged and fine inhalation, exhalation 

and retention; all regulated 

with precision according to 

duration and place. 

Bahya is external, abhyantara is internal, 

stambha is restraint and vritti 

of course is movement. 

The question I have is that Patanjali 

is so precise and concise that he 

has provided the complete knowledge 

of yoga in 196 sutras. So if 

he was referring to the movement 

of the air in the lungs in this sutra, 

then why would he repeat what 

he has said in the previous sutra? 

Secondly, why did he use words 

Bahya and abhyantara indicating 

external or internal movement 

and not svasa and prasvasa once 

again? And thirdly why in II.49 he 

uses svasa or inbreath first before 

prasvasa or outbreath and in the 

II.50 uses bahya vritti or external 

movement first before abhyantara 

vritti or internal movement. 

My proposition is that the Sutra 

II.49 refers to the breath and the 

next sutra refers to the mind. The 

sequence of the words, svasa prasvasayoh 

and Bahya abhyantara is to 

indicate that when the inhalation 

takes place, the mind moves outwards 

and in exhalation the mind 

moves inward and when the breath 

is restrained – gati viccheddah the 

mind is stabilised - stambha. So, in 

these two sutras Patanjali helps the 

practitioner to cognise the mind – 

that which moves outwards during 

inhalation and inwards during 

exhalation. So from observing the 

gross breath one can recognise the 

subtle mind. And by regulating the 

breath, the mind becomes stabilised. 

Sutra II.51: Bahya abhyantara visaya 

aksepi caturthah 

The fourth type of pranayama, 

transcends the external and internal 

pranayamas and appears effortless 

and non-deliberate. 

Here I understand that in the first 

three movements of the breath, inhalation, 

exhalation and retention 

it is the breath that regulates the 

mind. In the fourth, it is the stability 

of mind that stops the breath. 

The earlier sutras refer to the 

breath that is retained after inhalation 

(abhyantara kumbhaka) 

or exhalation (Bahya kumbhaka) 

which cause the mind to be stilled. 

These types of kumbhakas (retention) 

are qualified by the sequence 

– either after inhalation or exhalation. 

The fourth type referred to in 

sutra II.51 is a retention that comes 

with stillness of the mind – and this 

therefore is retention after neither, 

inhalation or exhalation, – unqualified 

by sequence and therefore 

called kevala kumbhaka or stillness 

of the breath by itself, spontaneously 

caused by the stillness of the 

mind. 

Sutra II.52: tatah kshiyate prakasha 

avaranam 

Pranayama removes the veil covering 

the light of knowledge and 

heralds the dawn of wisdom. 

So here Patanjali says that when 

the mind is completely stilled, what 

covers the light within is removed 

and the light of the conscience radiates 

and shines forth. The moving 

mind is like a dust storm that 

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covers the light and when stilled the light of the conscience 

shines. If your pranayama does not go beyond 

controlling the breath that is moving in and out, you 

will not be able to go from breath to the mind and 

then on to the conscience. 

Sutra II.53 dharanasu ca yogyata manasah 

The mind also becomes fit for concentration. 

Now what is the mind? What is the fluctuation of the 

mind? When inhalation takes place something seems 

to be expanding and you become aware of the outer 

layers of the chest. Since awareness is the result of 

the presence of the mind in that region, one may 

conclude the mind is expanding. However, when you 

exhale the outer layers become desensitised. That 

means the mind is no longer there. This is the fluctuation 

of the mind in breathing. 

When you place this imaginary reflectors you will experience 

the breath stopping. When you can’t maintain this 

state, take off the reflectors and let the radiation go out 

again. The breathing commences. Then when you can, 

put the reflectors back on again so that the radiation is 

reflected back in. Try again, remove the reflectors, and 

allow the radiation to spread outwards, and then put 

the reflectors back and experience the radiation going 

inwards. 

Then quietly release, and lie down on two blankets folded 

three folds supporting the spine. Even while lying down, 

let the radiation of the consciousness from the core of 

the chest towards the periphery continue. 

Even while lying down, you should let the chest continue 

to be the subject. Whether you are inhaling or exhaling, 

the chest should radiate out. The mind should not be 

LEARNING TO OBSERVE THE CHEST 

NOT THE BREATH 

Sit on a height, outer shoulders back, take a couple of 

deep inhalations for the first 2 cycles to get to maximum 

capacity so you can feel the expansion of the chest. Then 

take the head down. 

Don’t observe the breath, observe the chest. The expression 

of the chest should be the same for the inhalation 

and the exhalation. Then after the last cycle quietly raise 

the head up. 

With the head up now, continue to take the corners 

of the shoulders back. Feel the expansion in the chest, 

observe the radiation in the chest. The next step is to 

have this radiation reflected back. So place imaginary 

reflectors on the front and sides of the chest so that the 

radiation is now reflected back in. 


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disturbed, the feeling of the chest should not be disturbed whether you are inhaling or exhaling. As you approach 

the end of inhalation, with the chest radiating put the reflectors onto the front and on the sides of the chest so that 

the radiation reflects back in. You will find the breath stopping, when you cannot maintain the state remove the 

reflectors and let the breath get exhaled, then after exhalation put the reflectors on. Remove the reflectors and let 

the inhalation happen. Remember the radiation should continue regardless of whether you are inhaling or exhaling. 


Now as we come to the end of this pranayama, do nothing. There should be no volitional radiation or reflection back 

into the chest. Most of you will be experiencing a thoughtless state. When you experience the movement of the 

abdomen this state will slowly dissipate. Slowly become aware of your surroundings and then whenever appropriate 

for you, you can bend your knees and roll over to your right side. 

Pranayama starts with the breath but it is not about the breath. Just as asana is not just about the body, pranayama 

is not just about the breath. You can become meditative both in the asana and in the pranayama. 

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2nd Session 

You all must have experienced something that is 

known as a 'song worm'. Here, a song, or a melody 

continues to play in your brain even if you don't want 

to hear it. Try as much as you want, it just doesn’t stop. 

This is an example of disturbed consciousness. 

But the moment you take your shoulders back, open 

the chest, and radiate you will find the song worm 

stop. That is because a radiating chest stills the mind 

and disturbance stops. Similarly if you are bothered 

by ceaseless flow of thoughts, you will be able to stop 

this by getting fullness in the chest and radiating. 

Yesterday you heard how to get the chest to experience 

fullness by taking the shoulders back. Another 

way is to move the ninth dorsal vertebra forward 

towards the centre of the sternum. As before, the 

dorsal vertebra must work for the chest. Don't focus 

on the doer, the dorsal vertebra. Focus on the 

chest, which is the seer. Hear the story of the chest. 

Adjust the dorsal spine so that the chest experiences 

fullness. Any part of the body may be a doer, but the 

subject should always be the chest. 

Now you will be doing a few cycles of ujjayi. 

Now in ujjayi keep the chest undisturbed. As explained 

yesterday, the posterior organs of the abdomen will lift in 

inhalation and the anterior organs of the abdomen will 

lift in exhalation. When the chest is full, bring the head 

down. As you inhale and exhale deeply, you will hear a 

faint sound in the throat, but it will not be an irritating 

sound. This is the sound of ujjayi. 

Let me now introduce you to another aspect to cognise 

the mind. Let us take an analogy of a boy singing 

in chorus. As all the members of the chorus are singing 

in unison, it is not possible to isolate and hear the 

voice of the boy. However if the rest of the members 

of the chorus become quiet you would be able to 

hear the voice of the boy. 

Normally, the breath, the mind and the chest move 

in unison and therefore we cannot get an isolated 

perception of the mind. The three appear to be integrated. 

So how are we to isolate the mind from the 

non-mind? 

We know that a body is always at rest with respect 

to its own frame. Those outside the frame appear to 

be moving. When the chest is full, the mind is observing 

the mind. Therefore in the frame of the mind, the 

mind is still. At this time, with respect to the frame 

of the mind, the breath will appear to move. Therefore 

one understands that the breath is not the mind. 

The body appears to move with respect to the mind 

as you breathe. So you understand that this which is 

moving is not the mind. Just as when the voice of all 

the rest of the boys in the chorus are silenced the 

boys voice is heard, in the same manner when all that 

appears to move is eliminated, what remains is the 

mind. 

So while you are in pranayamic inhalation and exhalation, 

let the subject be the mind in the region of 

the chest. Do not focus on observing anything that 

appears to move, since it is not the mind. Only focus 

on that which remains absolutely stable. In this manner 

you will be able to isolate the mind from the 

body and the breath. If you continue in this fashion, 

you will realise that some part of what was initially 

considered to be mind, initiates the breath. This too 

appears to be moving. Now you will be able to filter 

the gross mind which is moving from the subtle mind 


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that remains stable. The gross mind will lead you to 

perform all the pranayamic techniques whereas the 

subtle mind remains an observer or a witness. In this 

manner the mind is trained to be fit for dharana or 

concentration. 

Sutra II.53 dharanasu ca yogyata manasah 

The mind also becomes fit for concentration. 

Initially when the concentration is weak, you shall feel 

the mind constrained within the physical body. When 

the mind is further concentrated, it is not restrained 

by the physical body but spreads beyond. Then the 

“asmita” or your understanding of what constitutes 

“you”, changes and you do not identify yourself only 

with your physical body but to a larger ecosystem. 

When the ecosystem becomes your asmita, the 

whole ecosystem, the whole world, the whole universe 

becomes you. And therefore, there is a feeling 

of maitri, friendliness; karuna, compassion; mudita, joy; 

upeksha, indifference to one and all. Then there is 

gratitude, because you realise the ecosystem is feeding 

you. And when that gratitude comes, then all your 

actions start to be for that ecosystem, for the universe 

and, not for yourself. You realise you cannot act 

for the benefit of yourself and whatever you receive 

is from others. Then your concerns become universal. 

Then all actions will be conscientious. All actions 

will be Dharmic. 

3rd Session 

Sit straight, fold your palms, keep the back and the head 

erect, close your eyes. See that the weight of the body 

is taken on the frontal buttock bones or the area where 

the pelvic girdle meets the femur bones. When you sit in 

this manner the spine is kept lifted. Move the side waist 

up, side chest up. Even the armpits may go up. But keep 

the shoulders down, and extend the upper arms towards 

the elbows. Move the corners of the shoulders back so 

that the chest becomes the subject and then the chest 

radiates. At this time the mind becomes still. Then quietly 

take the eyes back so that the brain becomes quiet. So 

from being an actor you have to become the observer, 

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and from an observer, to an uninvolved observer or a witness. Then you are fit for prayer. We invoke Sage Patanjali, 

we invoke the qualities, attributes of Sage Patanjali so that we may experience the bounty of yoga. 

Yoga is citta vritti nirodhah. Citta is the consciousness, and vritti is the disturbances of the consciousness, and 

nirodhah is to cease or restrain. So, if I have to restrain the disturbance of the consciousness, I first have to 

know what the consciousness is. Only when I know the consciousness I will be able to understand the attributes, 

and from the attributes will I understand what can help to cease the movements. 

What is the mind? The idea of mind is very nebulous. But now, you have an understanding that when the chest 

has expanded there is something which is radiating and that something is the mind. So what’s the next step? 

As you breathe you experience the expansion, contraction of the spread of radiation, and you realise that the 

mind is constantly modulating. But you can stop it from modulating. The practice of pranayama helps to stabilise 

and stop the mind from modulating. And when the mind is stable, the breath goes into kevala kumbhaka 

and the clutter surrounding the conscience is removed and the light of the conscience shines. Conscience is 

dharmendriya or the sense organ of dharma. From then on the conscience guides all action such that the actions 

are Dharmic, and the asmita becomes universal. 

If you follow this process, then pranayama becomes a very attractive proposition as every time you do 

pranayama you shall be learning something new. You will go beyond the boundaries of your own knowledge 

intuitively. But if you just go on following the breath, you will initially experience dullness and later boredom. 

Now you know the reason why you sometimes feel sleepy and sometimes restless in pranayama. The fault is 

not with you but the process you have adopted.\ 


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Solstice Class 

Exeter Cathedral 

Diane West, Dorset Teacher 

It was a pleasure to take part in the summer 

solstice yoga class in front of Exeter’s magnificent 

cathedral. The class was well supported by 

convention attendees and the pre-arranged coach 

was much appreciated. 

Fortunately we had good weather. A sunny, bright 

and breezy afternoon with blue sky and fluffy 

white clouds. We even had the cathedral bells 

ringing out while the class was in progress (was 

this by chance or arranged?). The wind tried in 

vain to lift the mats from the ground but failed as 

we held them down. 

We assembled in front of the cathedral with 

mats lined up and handbags parked to one 

side. We were ready to begin the 

invocation to Lord Patanjali. 


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Sheila Haswell led an excellent class. Poses 

were called, relayed and we flowed from one to 

another. Minimal props were used (no time for 

these). Cobbles may have been hard through the 

mats but this was put aside as we moved as one 

in yoga. Even the occasional seagull dropping a 

gift did not daunt us. It was an enthusiastic class 

full of fun and laughter. 

Many students were dressed in convention t-shirts 

and leaflets were handed out to the shoppers and 

tourists who quickly gathered around to watch 

and take pictures. All too 

soon the class came to an end but there was 

still time for a welcome coffee with friends then 

back to the University. 

The memorable experience was of child-like fun 

and unity and a feast for the senses being outside 

on such a lovely afternoon. So pleased to have 

taken part. Well done events committee for the 

excellent organisation. \ 


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Atha yoga anushāsanam 

Raya Uma Datta 


RIMYI, January 1999. 9.10 am: I was about to leave the Institute after attending my class. ‘Ae 

Raya.’ A voice came from nowhere. I looked here and there with disbelief. ‘Come here.’ He 

was looking straight into me. I got intimidated by the sight under the bushy eyebrows. He 

was standing with a taut face and a slight grin. 

‘Did he really call me? Or was I day-dreaming as always?’ I looked at him. 

He was standing outside his house with white veshty and the crème kurta. The students 

were greeting him and touching his feet. Why was he calling me? 

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I was twenty. I had quit studies 

halfway. I could be called a dropout. 

People around me were 

deeply worried that this chap is 

going nowhere, only wasting his 

time. I was a lost person. I had 

started working at a desk top 

publishing firm like an office boy 

and earning some amount of 

money. The eightieth birthday 

celebrations were over a month 

before that. During the celebrations, 

I did help with publishing 

activities and was also a part of 

the kid’ s demonstration. 

‘Come here.’ He called me 

again. I felt like running away but 

I walked to him and touched 

his feet. ‘What are you doing 

NOW?’ He asked. ‘Nothing. 

Going home.’ I answered 

sheepishly. 

‘I mean what are you doing 

NOW in your life?’ His eyebrows 

became even more curved and 

his eyes drilled me. In my life? 

What does one have to do in 

life? Nothing much! I thought. I 

shrugged my shoulders. ‘I work 

with this firm,’ I started telling him 

my daily routine, ‘I earn money… 

‘What is use of that?’ He sliced 

my answer half-way. I felt like a 

bowler thrown over the ropes by 

Tendulkar. 

‘Why don’t you practise?’ he 

asked me. ‘I come for the classes 

very regularly.’ I was fumbling 

over the answers. ‘Why don’t 

you practise?’ He was not backing 

out. I was perplexed. Where was 

this conversation heading? His 

next question was like a bolt. ‘Do 

you know how to practise?’ I was 

dumbstruck with a blank look in 

my eyes. ‘What am I here for?’ 

With one hand on his waist and 

the other questioning he asked. 

‘I will teach you. You should not 

waste your time here and there 

NOW’ 

I nodded yes. ‘But what about 

my job?’ ‘Is that your life? What 

respect do you have with this 

job?’ He was bombarding me 

NOW 

begins the 

exposition 

of yoga. 

questions that I was running 

away from. ‘Start practice. That 

will bring you some good life’. ‘A 

better life?’, I was really shaken 

with what was happening. ‘Be 

disciplined’. He gave the last 

boost with a warm smile. 

I had just started getting 

comfortably numb with the life 

I was living. He churned me 

inside out. As I walked out of 

the Institute gate, I was shocked, 

surprised and scared with 

excitement.’ Did this actually 

happen? Guruji himself called me 

by my name.’ I pinched myself. 

Eleven years have passed. Guruji 

initiated me into the practice. 

He asked me to follow the 

‘discipline of practice’. I remember 

the conversation very vividly. 

Guruji started with NOW and 

concluded with DISCIPLINE. 

This directly connects to what 

Patanjali has stated. Atha yoga 

anushasanam. 

Today on Patanjali Jayanti let’s 

look at this sutra: atha yoga 

anushasanam. 

atha: Now, here on, here after 

yoga: union, to unite, to yoke, 

Samadhi 

anu: to follow something, to go 

after, to trace behind 

shasanam : order, training, 

educating, directing, rule 

NOW begins the exposition of 

yoga. 

Atha - NOW: 

Such a magnificent start! Patanjali 

does not ask, what have you 

done earlier? Where do you 

come rom? Whosoever shows 

the inclination and courage can 

walk on this path. The darshan 

- subject is available as a guiding 

light. Start, at this very moment. 

Not later. As you are! 

With whatever you have. NOW! 

A few years ago a guy walked 

in. Small built with anxiety on his 

face and eyes stressed. He had 

faced a combat. He was HIV 

positive. Very hesitantly he went 

to Guruji. ‘Life is not over. Don’t 

lose your heart. What happened, 

happened!’ Guruji consoled. 

‘NOW on don’ t miss your 

practice.’ 

He is still walking on this path. 


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On numerous occasions this hall has seen Guruji 

ask, ‘Can you tell me, where are you not reaching 

in the asana?’ We generally miss the bus looking 

for a correct ‘answer’ - bottom foot or the top of 

the head? We forget the silent NOW in the question. 

He is asking, ‘where are you NOW? Is your 

awareness spreading everywhere uninterruptedly? 

Are you aware of NOW?’ Our answer is based 

on yesterday’ s answer. Guruji is asking us in the 

present and we are reacting from the past. We live 

in yesterday. The NOW is dismayed. 

darshan. He transcends the boundaries of personnationality-ethnicity-religion-tradition-culture. 

The 

yoga-sūtra-s lead us like the road maps. Guruji tells 

us, ‘keep the practice on top of your priority list. 

Other things will follow.’ 

Mr Joglekar, almost 6 feet tall, a broad man bent 

towards his late sixties. The three men who 

brought him in, sat down gasping. He suffered from 

a massive stroke - paralysis. ‘Can I get any better?’ 

With his slippery tongue he asked Guruji. ‘Yes’ 

This is the tender 

connection between 

Patanjali and 

Guruji. What 

Patanjali has 

said centuries 

ago, Guruji is 

re-iterating now. 

This is the tender connection between Patanjali and 

Guruji. What Patanjali has said centuries ago, Guruji 

is re-iterating now. 

Guruji said. Mr Joglekar paralysed face emoted slides 

of disbelief-hope-determination-will-negativity and 

positivity. 


After atha-NOW, the next term in the sutra is yoga. 

Yoga is to unite. To yoke. To join. The second sutra 

defines Yoga about which I will not go into details. 

Anu — to follow: 

The term anu follows yoga! Anu means to follow. 

Patańjali’s objective approach is clearly expressed 

in this word. He does not direct us to follow any 

human. He only points to follow the subject - the 

‘From NOW on, if you are ready to follow practice 

you will get better’. Guruji gave him an ‘anushãsana’. 

Mr Joglekar started coming regularly months on end. 

One day I overheard him telling Guruji ‘I drove the 

car to the institute.’ His voice was full of joy. For me 

it was unbelievable. I thought, Guruji just asked him 

to follow the discipline. It encouraged him, gave him 

confidence to stand by himself. The entire process 

was anushãsana for him. 

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Once I was sitting in the library 

reading something. A couple of 

people walked in. They had built 

a hall for ãsana classes. They were 

asking for Guruji’s guidance on 

the essentials to conduct a class. 

They told Guruji that they have 

the grill, the horse, ropes on the 

wall, but nothing else. ‘Do you 

have any students?’ Guruji asked 

them. They nodded, yes. ‘Then 

that’s it’, Guruji leaned back in his 

chair. ‘All you need is students 

who want to learn. Rest of the 

things are not of importance. 

They can be managed with or 

without.’ Guruji pointed towards 

the core. Following yoga is going 

towards the core. Anushãsana 

takes us towards the core. 

We look at the word anushasana 

with a very limited perspective. 

We take it as discipline. By action 

Guruji has expanded the meaning 

and added wisdom to that. 

End of summer. I was riding back 

from Raigad at night since it is a 

very pleasing environment to ride 

at night. I took an uncommon 

road and climbed the difficult 

Warndhaa ghaat. I parked my 

bike and stood at the cliff and in 

the front, the valley spread down. 

I could only hear the wind hissing. 

The shades of darkness were 

spread across. I closed my eyes. 

The shades of darkness even 

matched. Suddenly a long spark 

cracked in front of my closed 

eyes. Light moves faster than 

sound. Thunder followed. 

The earthy smell filled the 

ambiance. Rain drops started 

washing my face. I stood there. 

Eyes closed. Ears open. Skin 

soaking in the coolness. I was on 

the edge of transition. Nature 

was turning the wheel. Summer 

was leaving and rains approaching. 

A line, an edge between summer 

and rains. There is none. It 

is boundary-less existence. It 

was an experience of a natural 

phenomenon. A feeling and an 

inner understanding of oneness. 

Everything exists in relationship. 

A profoundly deep relationship. 

The apparent separate entities 

follow one shãsana. Nature 

is intuitively in harmony. The 

harmony is internal coordination. 

From that comes spontaneity, 

naturality, intuition. To achieve 

such simplicity and ease in living, 

anushãsana has to be observed. 

We store everything in memory. 

Memory shadows spontaneity. 

Memory leads to habit. Last 

year Abhijata spoke about how 

a ‘habit is a disease’. We are all 

diseased. 

Let us take the example of 

Ardha Chandrãsana. How do we 

do Ardha Chandrãsana? Keep 

aside the technical details. The 

moment I hear ‘go to Ardha 

Chandrãsana’, my memory starts 

intervening. I get entrapped in 

comparison. Comparison of 

yesterday’s Ardha Chandrãsana 

and today’s Ardha Chandrãsana. 

A judgemental opinion erupts. 

I am doing superior or inferior 

or equivalent than yesterday. 

The comparison ceases if the 

core of ardhachandrãsana is 

reached. I would not be doing 

ardhachandrãsana. There would 

be only Ardha Chandrãsana! It 

would be boundary-less existence 

in the present. 

The other day Guruji came 

back f rom Bangalore. He came 

in at 2 in the afternoon. At 

2.45 he walked into the library. 

Sometimes I think he forgets his 

age! Today, I push my work to 

tomorrow. I postpone my today 

to tomorrow. 

In Guruji’s daily life, anushãsana 

and atha have interchanged their 

place! We have to start with now 

and follow the discipliner. Then 

comes a stage after following 

the discipline comes the NOW. 

That NOW which is a poorna - 

complete. 

In modern times, people behave 

as if they are at war with 

themselves. In such conditions, 

we get disconnected with 

ourselves. We feel an urge, a 

need of internal harmonious 

dialogue. Yoga-darshan gives a 

direction, a hand for stopping the 

damage and fall of oneself. 

Many of my friends work as 

software professionals. Time 

and again I hear their discussions 

about changing jobs and more 

salary. I asked one of them, ‘Why 

do you have to change the job 

so many times?’ She said, ‘to see 

more’. More? I did not exactly 

understand, what more? May be 

more was with respect to the 

salary coming in! 

We want more. We ask for 

more. We jump up with the idea 

of having more for tomorrow. 


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Anu means to follow. Patanjali only points us 

to follow the subject - yoga. Guruji tells us to 

give priority to practise. The rest will follow. 

We keep on wandering. A wandering swing manifests 

between the past and the future. The other 

day, Guruji said, ‘Wandering mind dissipates energy. 

One pointed mind retains energy.’ If wandering is 

between past and future, then being one pointed 

is in NOW. Patanjali asks us to follow the shãsana 

that leads to one pointed mind. 

knew when the roads would reopen. The situation 

was completely out of our control. On the other 

side, the ‘time-out’ from responsibilities was getting 

over. We had to leave the bikes back there. One 

of my friends was completely dejected. He was not 

ready to leave the bike. Finally we flew back and 

after much awaiting, the bikes too followed. 


Is it only the military order, the anushãsana ? 

When we accept the shãsana, it is not an externally 

imposed law and order. It is not the structure 

of crime and punishment. Guruji speaks about 

the open chest - opening the mind. Actually, he 

removes the separation of ‘on the mat ‘ and ‘off the 

mat’. He joins the ãsana - prãn˛ãyãma learning to the 

way of life. A Trikonãsana or a Viloma prãn˛ãyãma 

becomes a metaphor. As we observe every pause 

we take in Viloma carefully, similarly every moment 

we live, we need to be aware. 

Riding my bike through the ranges of Himalaya, I 

was in Ladakh. Three of us. You may call us the 

three musketeers or three idiots! When we were 

there, there was a cloud burst. All the roads we 

could have taken to return were blocked. No one 

Our emotional grip did not want us to leave 

the bikes back. We often stress reality in such 

emotionality. Anushãsana gives us clarity and 

courage to get over such an emotionality which 

only binds us. Every moment has its own truth. 

There is no conflict if we confront it. Harmony 

surfaces. 

Eleven years have passed. The path which began 

with Now and Discipline is not a linear road 

anymore. It is a wide spread space. 

Atha yoga anushãsanam \ 

This article first appeared in Yoga Rahasya, Vol. 18 No 

2, 2011. 

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My first faltering 

steps in yoga at 

the age of 

67 

by Jasvinder Singh 

I met Yogacharya BKS Iyengar Ji once, many years ago. He suggested I take up yoga, but I ignored his 

advice. I will come back to our meeting later. It has taken decades for me to see what he was saying. It 

is said that you will meet the teacher when you are ready. Help is always there, sometimes right in front 

of your nose, but you will pass it by if you are not ready. My short story will hopefully provide motivation 

to others, regardless of their age, circumstances and disabilities. 

I was born in Kenya, East Africa. My first 7 years 

were spent in jungles, being at one with nature, 

and having very little contact with other humans 

including my parents. This was the start of my 

‘awareness of life’. Unfortunately, whenever I raised 

any questions about life with grown-ups or priests, 

they simply brushed my concerns aside with a joke 

or a laugh. It was frustrating, and I began losing 

trust in the so-called priests. At nine years old I was 

sent to India to study in the Himalayan mountains, 

but spent four years playing truant from school. I 

roamed the jungles, valleys and mountains. I would 

spend time with individual holy people, and my 

favourite place was the cremation grounds. 

A few years after moving to England at the age of 

13, I ran off to London. Luckily I was accepted at a 

university. Again I spent much of the time searching 

for answers and attending lectures given by Noble 

Laureates. I was also a keen sportsman and became 

the university’s sports president. Unfortunately I 

suffered many injuries, but being very strong-willed 

I never paid any attention to my body and never 

worried about pain. After university I took up 

jobs in non-governmental bodies in order to help 

people. This took me to Africa, Europe, and finally 

to India. I was becoming more and more frustrated. 

While my friends were chasing status, marriages 

and homes, I was searching for answers to life and 


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becoming more isolated. In the 

late 1970s and early 80s I ended 

up in India. The hippy era was 

coming to an end. 

I was working in Mumbai, and 

frequented Pune many times. 

The fashionable society I was 

living with were into many things, 

but I could see that it was all a 

game; they were concerned with 

who they know rather than the 

essence of learning. I used to be 

dragged from one teacher or holy 

man to another. I met Iyengar Ji 

on a number of occasions in the 

company of my hosts. I still feel 

his kind, penetrating eyes as he 

looked at me and suggested that 

I take up yoga and that it will help 

me. Because I was with my hosts, 

I felt it was inappropriate to raise 

my issues in case I was perceived 

as taking advantage of the situation. 

I kept quiet. I looked at my 

hosts who were all overweight 

and full of themselves, and in 

my ignorance and arrogance I 

equated the great teacher with 

them. I was already feeling frustrated 

with the extreme poverty 

I saw in India, and I told Iyengar 

Ji I do not believe in circus acts. 

The great teacher smiled and 

accepted my reply. My isolation 

and my frustration made me blind 

to the fact that the answers I was 

looking for were staring me in the 

face at that very moment. 

I rejected Iyengar Ji’s recommendation 

to do yoga, and continued 

with my business back in Britain. 

I continued to search for spiritual 

guidance through my intellect 

and ego. In 2008 my business 

collapsed, and you could say my 

life collapsed. I lost everything, 

including my finances. I became 

suicidal, confused, and could not 

understand what was happening 

to me. My body was giving up 

on me. This could have been my 

greatest period of reflection, but 

no. Instead, I managed to get a 

full-time job as a senior clinical 

psychotherapist. I was working 

18 hours a day, and I was totally 

at the mercy of my ignorance 

and arrogance. I took pride in my 

work helping others, and disregarded 

my own needs. 

In 2011, I collapsed at work 

from over-work and was diagnosed 

with septicaemia. I had 

no idea what that meant. I was 

isolated, lost and helpless, and 

did not know how long I would 

survive. Although I worked in a 

medical setting, I had to depend 

on doctors who spoke to me in 

a language I did not understand. 

For somebody who has not been 

to the doctor’s for most of my 

life, from 2011, I was having 2-3 

appointments with the doctor 

and hospitals every week. The 

use of my legs became so bad 

that amputation became a real 

possibility. I became diabetic, with 

high blood pressure and arthritic 

joints; I had difficulty walking (I 

used two walking sticks) and was 

in considerable pain. 

From my own clinical practice, 

I had known that when some 

clients go so low that death stares 

at them, they seem to develop 

such extraordinary insights and 

courage that they become well. 

These were the thoughts which 

started to take root. Somewhere 

in the back of my mind, I knew 

I could be helped. But at that 

moment I knew I had no way of 

accessing help, so I made myself 

walk and be in nature. I started 

taking care of my body, doing 

gardening, and clearing clutter in 

my house. I did not want others 

to clear my mess after I am gone. 

I spent every moment in deep 

self-reflection. It helped me to 

slowly start looking at my predicament. 

I was a born a Sikh and I had 

always dreamt about learning to 

read the Guru Granth Sahib in 

Gurumukhi, but because of the 

busy-ness of my life, I never had 

time to do it. However, I received 

a rare opportunity when elderly 

monks agreed to teach me to 

read the Holy Book. Just like with 

Iyengar Ji decades earlier, I raised 

my issues that I don’t even look 

like a Sikh, and how in my 60’s 

am I suddenly going to change? 

The most senior monk asked 

me one question: Was I going 

to learn through the heart or 

through my assumptions? He told 

me that if it is through the heart, 

then he will accept me. I started 

learning, and slowly I was even 

accepted to read Guru Granth 

Sahib in the monastery. 

But I had to face my next challenge. 

My body. How do you sit 

on the floor, cross-legged, for a 

minimum of two hours? I have 

never sat on the floor in my life. 

I cannot sit on the floor for two 

minutes, let alone two hours. 

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The pain in my legs, hips, chest, shoulders, and neck 

was unbearable. The sitting was impossible; I had to 

move my legs this way and that way. It was a real 

drama. The pain began with my legs, and then some 

other part of my body would start crying out for 

attention. It was like dealing with a mental hospital 

inside me. Finally my body was going to take 

revenge on me! I toyed with physical exercises and 

physiotherapy. They were helpful, but did not have 

the results I was looking for. 

I was clear that I needed a step-by-step approach in 

order to slowly start freeing my body. What do I do? 

Where do I go? I was under a great deal of stress. I 

felt lucky to have been given a role 

of praying at the temple, but my 

body was in pain. Drugs were not 

an option; they would just send me 

to sleep. Will I now lose my dream 

because I have neglected my body? 

One day I was passing the Iyengar 

Institute in Birmingham, which is just 

100 metres from my home. It has 

been there for 13 years and I pass 

it many times a day, but it never 

occurred to me that this is where 

I could get help. I rang the bell and 

Andrew, the teacher, came to greet 

me. I explained to him my problems. We made a 

connection – I would describe it as a deep, spiritual 

connection – and he explained to me how Iyengar 

yoga works. It is a step-by-step approach, using props 

so that you push your body to your limits without 

overdoing the stretching. This minimises injuries. I 

thought I’d give it a try. 

As I turned to leave the building, I saw the portrait 

of Iyengar Ji, and said to Andrew, ‘I met Iyengar Ji 

30 years ago, but I rejected his suggestion to do 

yoga’. It was both an embarrassing moment for me, 

but also, at the same time, I knew I was in the right 

place and that I was open to learning. As I hobbled 

home, in a great deal of pain, my mind went into 

overdrive and I almost decided not to pursue this 

route. Fortunately, competing with my pride and 

embarrassment was the burning desire to take 

care of my body so that I could carry on with the 

prayers. This tug-of-war kept me awake all night, 

and in the morning I went to the class. 

I arrived full of doubt and conflicting thoughts. I was 

shown the mat and I commented to Andrew that 

I have never sat on the floor so I don’t know how 

to sit. He told me I needed foam blocks. I sat on 

eight of them, stacked 4-high, so that I could bend 

my knees a little bit. As a 67-year-old Indian, I felt 

embarrassed. I felt that I am going to be judged, and 

that some people may think I am a drama queen. 

Andrew was firm, very instructive, and explained to 

me why I need what I need. Also, 

I could see some other students 

having the same sort of problems 

I was having. 

I attended three classes that 

week, and each time I felt my 

body opening up. I knew I was in 

the right place. Very soon I could 

walk home without using the 

walking sticks. A few weeks’ later 

I underwent a routine medical 

check. My blood pressure had 

returned to almost normal and 

my diabetes had come down 

considerably. Two months later I amazed my 

physiotherapist by touching my toes – my arthritis 

had subsided. I was astonished at the difference 

yoga had made to me in such a short time. With 

improving health came other challenges. Being 

intellectually oriented, my mind wouldn’t rest. I 

have read many books on enlightenment, and the 

madness of the mind makes me believe that I am 

already enlightened. I read all of Iyengar Ji’s books 

and, as usual, the ego kicked in. I began discussing 

the books and intellectualising them, and my focus 

shifted from the practical to the theoretical, to the 

point where I was already imagining being a teacher 

of yoga. I was astonished at how quickly my mind 

hijacked the whole process, and suddenly, in my 

arrogance, I had forgotten the recent pain, isolation 

and lonely nights thinking of death. 


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I had to get back to the practicalities 

of the beginner’s Asanas. 

I progressed in them slowly and 

steadily, and began realising the 

subtleties of the poses. There is 

much more depth than I realised; 

a depth which will probably 

take many years to fully appreciate. 

It has been a very humbling 

experience. I can now sit with 

crossed legs on three foam blocks. 

My posture, my walking, and my 

general health have improved 

beyond all recognition. And 

when I go to prayers now, 

I can bend my legs in such 

a way that I can sit for 20 

minutes at a time. 

The more I focus on the 

poses and reside in the 

moment, without showing 

how hard I am working, the 

more I am realising that all 

I have in any moment is 

where I am in my body, and 

all I have to focus on is now. 

Be in the present and be in 

contact with the body. This 

is going to be a constant 

challenge as I experiment 

with and experience the 

sensations of each asana, and 

work methodically, step by 

step, fully internalising the experience. 

I have become aware of 

how my mind has a tendency 

to take short cuts rather than 

exercise discipline, because after 

the first few classes I was already 

asking the teachers when I will be 

joining the advanced yoga class. 

The biggest challenge I face is 

to avoid intellectualising and 

discussing yoga. It is simply about 

being in a pose. For example, 

doing Tadasana, there are so 

many things to be corrected; it is 

not just about standing upright. 

Also, I have to be aware when I 

am walking: aware of the position 

of my feet, my legs, my spine, my 

shoulders, my neck, and my head. 

That has made a vast improvement 

to my health, and every 

day I keep on discovering things 

which need correcting. 

I am on a long journey, but that 

is not an issue. I feel – for the 

first time in my life – that I am 

being guided to take one step 

at a time, and am able to gratefully 

accept the guidance I am 

receiving. I have taken the first 

steps on this journey and I can 

see that I have a real possibility 

of being congruent, peaceful and 

contented. 

In my clinical psychotherapy work, 

I have observed and witnessed 

that some people actually die 

in ignorance and a great deal of 

pain, both of mind and body. I 

consider myself very lucky that 

I am receiving a priceless gift 

which creates the possibility that 

the last moments of my life will 

be in conscious awareness. I 

am appreciative of my teachers, 

Andrew, Jayne and Claire, and 

their constant encouragement, 

precision, and commitment 

to making sure that I keep 

my intellectualism in check 

as they guide me through 

the step-by-step process 

towards my health and wellbeing. 

The fellow students 

are a great inspiration also, 

as we motivate each other 

on the journey of true wellness. 

So, not only is yoga helping 

me to get my body in shape, 

it is also having a profound 

effect on my mind. I have 

noticed that I am taking very 

slow steps to quieten my 

mind, and I am thankful to 

Iyengar Ji for his meticulous 

research of the ancestral 

knowledge, for the example he 

set with his life and his practice, 

and for making yoga practical and 

accessible to modern society. A 

true Guru Ji. \ 

Jasvinder Singh is a senior clinical 

psychotherapist & business 

adviser/ counsellor 

Tel: +44 (0)21 707 4307 

Email: jstmc@live.co.uk 

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Geeta 

a gem for women and men 

A personal recollection of Geetaji’s 

teaching at Yoganusasanam 2015 

by Janet H Swinney 


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6th December 2015 



1. Everyone is interested in upgrading. But it's 

easier to upgrade the exterior rather than the 

interior, and yoga is the process of upgrading 

the interior. 

2. Mind, intelligence and ego - all of these have to 

be restrained. There is a consciousness above all 

of these. 

3. Think of the eight aspects of yoga as eight petals 

linked to a central core. The flower blooms step 

by step. 

4. If you ignore yamas and niyamas, yoga becomes 

just physical exercise. 

5. One must practise 'involution'. This means 

looking inward, reducing one's engagement 

with and enjoyment of the external world. 

'Bramacharya', for example, means focusing on 

the business of Brahma, rather than externalities. 

6. Aparigraha means avoidance of holding on. We 

beautify ourselves in order to try and hold on to 

youth. We live our lives as though we are going 

to be here for ever. We must learn to let go (as 

Guruji did at the end). Nor should you hold on 

to your achievements. You did something: it may 

have benefited someone, that's all - let it go. 

7. If you practise in this manner, i.e. mindful of 

yamas and niyamas, your experience will change. 

8. The experience (e.g. stress, turmoil) that you 

don't want, don't get involved with it. Turn the 

senses in-over (pratyahara). You have to know 

how to practise so that you don't create problems 

for yourself. 

9. Control what you can control. 

10. Dharana, dhyana and samhadhi cannot be 

taught. But read on… 

1. Be internally aware. Be present in whole of 

the pose the whole of the time. Aim for multipointedness, 

not one-pointedness. This internality 

is what differentiates yoga from physical 

exercise. 

2. At the start of your practice, in sukhasana, take 

the gaze in, towards the back of the head, 

where there is nothing to look at. 

3. Some people think that when the mind has 

been emptied, then the ultimate goal has been 

achieved, but no, there's more... 

Today’s key messages: 


1) It's important to have honesty/integrity in your 

practice: no good having a difficulty, masking it and 

carrying on regardless. Yoga is not about being 

in a race with other people: it's about facing up 

to yourself, that's the hard thing. If you have a 

problem, you need to investigate the cause and 

sort it out. 

2) Just going to workshops with different teachers 

will not do the trick. A teacher who does not see 

you regularly does not know your body and cannot 

communicate with you about it. 

3) You should not throw yourself at the poses 

'willy-nilly'. You need to know what you are doing 

and approach them step-by-step. 

4) Doing just what you fancy is no good, either. 

You must explore what needs to be done, and do 

it. This requires discipline. A disciple is one who 

applies discipline. 

5) Don't burden students with the negative by 

telling them about the risks they might be taking 

in doing something. If you do that, you are already 

encouraging them to set up limitations in their own 

minds. Instead, tell them positively what needs to be 

done. (It struck me here what a risk-averse society 

the UK has become.) 

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10th December 

More of Geeta's gems (though not necessarily in 

the order she presented them): 

1) Doing asanas is not intellectual work. It is a 

process of witnessing. 

2) Asanas are about involution with the eyes open: 

pranayama is involution with the eyes closed. 

3) You must prepare for pranayama, i.e. by lying 

in savasana and doing ujjayi. You cannot hurry it. In 

fact, rushing can cause damage. 

4) Dhyana cannot be taught, but through 

pranayama, you can create the conditions in which 

it can occur. 

5) Inhalation touches the septum wall: exhalation 

touches the nasal wall. 

6) During inhalation through partially closed 

nostril, draw the wall of the nostril down: 

during exhalation through partially closed 

nostril, draw the wall of the nostril up. 

7) Use ujjayi for recovery whenever needed. 

12th December 

Geeta spoke today about the responsibility a 

teacher must take for his/her students. She pointed 

out that in our global community, where each guru 

has numerous followers, the intimacy of the relationship 

between students and teacher is well-nigh 

impossible to maintain. She had started the week 

sounding doubtful about whether or not there 

would ever be another Yoganusasanam. By today, 

she was talking about the fact that we were her 

students, the importance of the continuity of the 

relationship and saying that together we needed to 

go on and do the work that needed to be done. 

Not surprisingly, we all agreed with her! 

...astounded by 

what she can spot 

from miles away... 

And finally 

Geeta is a remarkable teacher. She seems to have vision like the Hubble telescope. Anyone who has been 

in her presence is astounded by what she can spot from miles away, and then set about rectifying. Her 

patience with those who need help is endless. You can’t fail to be impressed by the lengths she goes to 

find a solution for someone who has a difficulty. I’m thinking specifically of the woman who struggled with 

pranayama because she felt as though she had an elephant sitting on her chest. No stone was left unturned 

until that elephant was sent packing. For this reason alone, people feel a strong emotional bond with her. 

I also experience a great sense, via Geeta, of connectedness with the long and extensive tradition of Indian 

thought. She moves seamlessly from Sanskrit to English to Marathi, drawing upon scriptural references as 

she goes. I regret that I do not have either the learning or the intellect to do justice to this. 

In sum, Geetaji has a wealth of knowledge, the eye of an eagle, a mischievous sense of humour, endless 

compassion, great problem-solving ability and a fierce intellect. \ 

Janet H Swinney is a freelance writer. She teaches yoga at Morley College, near Waterloo, London. www.janethswinney.com 


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Yoganusãsanam 

6-13 December 2015 


Yoganusasanam 2015 (intensive yoga course) was held for the second year running in December 2015 with 

fourteen hundred attendees from all around the world. The idea for a special course in Pune, for all students of 

Iyengar Yoga with a minimum of three years practice, originated in early 2014. Although this was planned for 

December 2014, with Guruji, it was unclear whether Geeta would continue to hold the event that year as it 

was so soon after Guruji’s passing but Geetaji and the Iyengar family were keen to proceed and so it went ahead. 

Such was the success of the first event that Geetaji conducted another course in December 2015 with the 

teaching of asanas combined with pranayama and dhyana. 

The course was held outside Pune city, approximately half an hour's drive away, at a sports complex called Balewadi 

Stadium. The organisers attended to all of the participants needs and went out of their way to ensure the event ran 

smoothly; props bags with name tags supplied, a vegetarian daily lunch served, bus transport available for those staying 

in Pune, along with foreign currency exchange, a book stall and props stalls. There were large screens for all to see, 

sensitive heat control and a daily rotation of placement in the hall so that everyone had a chance to be near the front. 

Geeta taught from 8.30am to 1pm with a short break half way. She brought Abijhata and her most senior teachers 

to assist her and demonstrate on stage. This was followed by lunch and a programme of afternoon events, including 

a presentation on props, a film of Guruj teaching in Panchghani in 1993, a music concert, a question and answer 

session as well as several talks by Guruji’s close students reflecting on Guruji’s yoga practise and insights. 

Seventy five students attended from the UK and several of the participants have sent us some of their 

impressions and descriptions of the event which we are pleased to share with you below. 

Geetaji has hinted that she ‘might’ hold another course next year. The IY will send out details to all members as soon 

as we hear if the course is running. We hope that you will consider attending as this is a fantastic opportunity to study 

in India with Geeta Iyengar and join the rest of the Iyengar family and so many practitioners from all around the world. 

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I attended this year’s convention having also attended 

the 2014 Yoganusasanam convention last year. After 

attending both years, I am struck with lasting impressions 

of Geeta’s voice. Since my return, whilst practising, 

I hear her instruction resonating, in the ears, the 

body and the mind. With so much direct instruction 

form Geeta herself, every day, for several hours, over 

7 days, something seems to have reached deep into 

the core. 

Geeta was inspirational. She had carefully planned the 

event, slowly increasing our awareness, our strength 

and understanding. She drew 1300 of us all as one 

towards the wonderful deeper work required in 

pranayama. 

Every day, after a wonderful 

resonant Ohm chant to Patanjali 

combined with the Guru chant, 

she would begin with up to an 

hour of spoken introduction. Then 

followed in depth descriptions of 

how exactly to perform the asanas, 

opening the chest and lengthening 

the body. Sometimes she would 

spot a problem in the room and 

then try to help us all to understand 

how that particular problem would 

need to be overcome. The instruction 

was clear with much insight, 

how to look for problems, how to 

help students and ourselves. Every 

type of asana group was covered, 

standing, forward bends, backbends, twists and inversions. 

And then the pranayama. This is when something 

magical seemed to happen. Geetaji has such a clear 

and straightforward approach to teaching this subject 

and many of the other attendees agreed that this tricky 

area was made so understandable. In a room of 1300 

people, she had the ability to draw you into a quiet 

state with minimal disturbance, so that we were able 

to focus completely. Sometimes I was breathing, within 

a trance, maybe asleep at times, but then as we practised, 

I found I became more present in understanding 

of my breath than ever before. I continue to hear her 

distinctive voice, ‘Slow soft inhalation, Slow soft exhalations’ 

- Ujjayi breaths repeated over and over between 

more complicated patterns. I wish to thank Geeta for 

the incredible gift of her time, patience, sharing and 

incomparable teaching for the convention this year. 

Lisa Morris 

Having never been to Pune before I came with far too 

many warm clothes and not enough foot scrub! 

As we had already booked for month in Pune over two 

and a half years ago I wasn’t sure what to think about 

the event that had been recently announced but on 

the Sunday 6th December we dutifully boarded buses 

to Balewadi. 

It was likened to the UN as Geeta later told us with 51 

countries represented and large groups from US, Russia 

and China and 75 people from the UK. 

Geeta arrived to rapturous applause and we had a 

lecture on yamas and niyamas on the Sunday afternoon. 

Monday dawned and an early start as the buses left the 

institute at 7.30am for Balewadi. 

On to the yoga – I have never 

Geeta was been taught by an Iyengar before 

so it was a privilege but my main 

inspirational... observation is how long you are 

kept in the asanas! Basic standing 

She drew 1300 

poses done so thoroughly! All the 

details from a woman who is obviously 

in some pain and has to sit for 

of us all as one 

most of the class is astonishing. But 

towards the 

when she is adjusting someone on 

wonderful deeper stage she seems to leap into action 

shouting at all the teachers to get 

work required in belts, bolsters, bricks etc and has an 

amazing eye for detail that makes 

pranayama. all the senior teachers on stage look 

like beginners! She would sit on the 

stage from 8.30am until 1-ish every 

day without moving and one day she did allude to the 

fact that at our break around 11-ish we would all dash 

off to chat, drink chai and go to the toilets while she 

would sit quietly. 

She kept the teachers who had the dubious honour of 

sitting on the stage in front of her – Zubin, Rajlaxmi, 

Firooza, Jawahar amongst others – on their toes as she 

was microphoned and they often could not hear her 

instructions. Sometimes they sat for an hour in perfectly 

still swastikasana with only sweat dripping down their 

faces. 

In summary, a week of learning – how I don’t think I 

know much at all about yoga – what a great sense of 

humour Geeta has. 

Rebecca Morris 


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Despite my deep and sincere love for yoga I had a 

long list of reasons why I couldn't possibly go to India. 

I've never been the adventurous type and the prospect 

of leaving my family, travelling so far away from 

home and experiencing a completely different culture 

was not part of my plan. I admit it - I was scared! Like 

so many others for whom yoga is a huge part of their 

life I thought that I would go... "one day." Thankfully 

a friend was signing up for Yoganusasanam 2015 and 

I decided it was now or never and I made one of 

the best decisions of my life, I was going too! The 

event was really well organized and included a varied 

programme of asana, pranayama and afternoon talks 

sharing knowledge, experience and memories of 

Guruji. It was such an honour and privilege to 

be part of such an amazing event, and sharing the 

experience with around 1000 fellow devotees from 

around the world was truly memorable. Geetaji's 

teaching was kind, patient and inspirational and I 

am thankful to her, Guruji and the Iyengar family 

for so generously sharing yoga with me and for the 

special memories I will always 

treasure of Yoganusasanam 

2015. 

Louisa Elliott 

Towards the end of the first 

Yoganusasanam yoga convention 

in Balewadi, Pune, back in 

December 2014, Geeta was asked during the Q&A 

session if she would do a second convention for us in 

2015. Her answer was that God would decide. Well, 

our prayers were answered! 

Yoganusasanam 2015 started on a high note, without 

the emotion and sadness of the previous year when 

we had so recently lost Guruji. 

Geetaji was obviously delighted to be back, and 

opened the Convention with a rousing orientation 

talk, in which she said she understood the necessary 

pulls of the external world in things like 'upgrading' 

with exams, in gaining qualifications and in running 

organizations, but that 'yoganusasanam', the exposition 

of the discipline of yoga, tells us we have to get 

upgraded inside. The more we have to go outside to 

'upgrade' in life, the less enlightenment inside. We 

have to learn through yoga to throw the light inside, 

like a torch turning inwards to see what's happening, 

until the torch becomes instead a big light, and the 

torch is no longer needed. 

But prakriti, nature, shrouds purusha, the soul, so 

it remains unseen, its pure light hidden by the dark 

glasses of prakriti, just as when we can't tolerate the 

sun, we have to wear sunglasses. And so we're left 

in the dark, covered in the tamasic (inert/dull) nature 

of tamaguna, which has to be removed so we shine 

with the enlightenment of sattvaguna. 

Geeta talked at length about the obstacles (especially 

the ego) which we have to overcome on the involutory 

path of the 8 limbs or 

petals of astanga yoga. We 

were told we must start with 

the base of the first 2 limbs, 

the moral and ethical code 

of yama and niyama, without 

which yogasana is just physical 

exercise. That's where 

we all have to become advanced, with the correct 

attitude, and not (in the case of the teachers) with 

senior certificates. 

"In this Yoganusasanam, you can stay here all day, to 

stay on the yogic path, and not have to go out for 

experiences. So put aside the external business, and 

go in." 

Mary Heath \ 

'yoganusasanam'... 

tells us we have to 

get upgraded inside 

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A TALE OF COUNTRY FOLK 

by Sheila Green 

About 12 miles from Hereford on 

the Welsh Borders is a small village 

called Garway. If you wander down 

the little lane, half a mile from the 

Garway Moon Pub and cross over 

the bridge by the stream, you will 

come across something not often 

found in the countryside – an 

Iyengar Yoga Studio! 

We bought our cottage 12 years 

ago in a very sorry state – had 

been empty for over 20 years 

and the 4 acres it was hidden in, 

a wilderness! After spending the 

last few years renovating and then 

extending the cottage, I now have 

a fully equipped Yoga Studio. In the 

Spring I started a local class, while 

continuing to run my other classes 

in Ross-on-Wye – some 10 miles 

away. Then fate took a hand! 

After teaching weekly classes 

in Ross for over 15 years, the 

Council in its wisdom decided 

to sell off the building, giving 

all hirers only 3 weeks’ notice! 

The decision was made. I took 

a chance and transferred all my 

classes to my studio, knowing 

it was a gamble as some of my 

students would have a longer 

journey to a class. However, 

most of my good, loyal students 

followed me, and I think they 

were delighted to have a lovely 

warm room, clean floor, equipment 

provided, including wall 

ropes (I do have difficulty getting 

down off them, such is the 

novelty!) after years of cold halls, 

sweeping dirty floors and moving 

unwanted furniture before we 

started the class! 

Our ‘official opening’ was by 

Senior Teacher Judi Sweeting 

(Cotswold Iyengar Yoga Centre) 

who gave us a ‘master class’ 

on rope work and backbends, 

assisted by husband, Senior 

Teacher Tig Whattler. Judi 

very generously waived her fee 

and all monies collected from 

students was donated to The 

Haven, Breast Cancer Centre in 

Hereford (www.thehaven.org.uk) 

where I teach a remedial class 

for those going through and after 

treatment for breast cancer. 

As well as weekly classes, I hold 

monthly workshops, after which 

we all gather around the kitchen 

table for lunch and then students 

have the opportunity to explore 

our land and talk to our lovely 

Jacob sheep, two Labradors and 

two cats, or walk by the steam 

or have a dip in our pool (discovered 

buried under brambles!). \ 

sheila@herefordshireyoga.co.uk/ 

www.herefordshireyoga.co.uk 


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National Iyengar Yoga Day 

16th January 2016 

We received a good response to our call for NIYD 

co-ordinators, with 43 people coming forward in total. 

We are aware of 143 different classes or events 

happening around the country; these were plotted on 

an interactive map on the IY (UK) website. There was 

a good spread of classes around the UK and Ireland. 

Co-ordinators received a pack containing a press 

release along with guidance on gaining publicity 

and press coverage; a poster design, kindly provided 

by Denise Lundberg whose colleague designed the 

original posters for NIYD in Ireland in 2014. At least 

five posters and a bunch of promotional leaflets were 

posted to each co-ordinator. The event was promoted 

via social media and press releases were sent to major 

newspapers and magazines. A5 Iyengar yoga booklets 

will be ('WERE'???) available for teachers to hand out 

to students attending their classes. 

Many thanks to the NIYD team and to our administrator, 

Katie Owens, and to all the co-ordinators who 

did a great job of sharing ideas, encouraging local 

activity, contacting local press, collating details and 

feeding back to the office. 


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This issue of IYN is a little late for us to publish accounts from around the country about how the day went, but 

please do send in your reports, high resolution photos and comments for the next issue. As an inspiration, we did 

receive one report from Charlotte Rosser in Derby: 

As well as offering free taster classes at different venues in Derby on National Iyengar Yoga Day for those 

new to Iyengar yoga, I also wanted to do something for existing Iyengar yoga students. 

I came up with the idea of the Derby Iyengar Yoga 'Marathon' Class and it seems to have caught people's 

imagination! The idea being that existing Iyengar yoga students in Derby would celebrate National Iyengar 

Yoga Day by doing as many poses as could be safely done in a special 2 hour class, with the proceeds of 

the class going to the Bellur Trust. 

Derby Iyengar Yoga students certainly rose to the challenge of the 50 pose sequence in the 2 hours and had 

great fun too - I've been asked when I'm teaching the next one! 

All but one of the people who came to my free taster classes on National Iyengar Yoga Day did so on the 

recommendation of existing students, and have now signed up to beginners classes. So a big thank you goes 

to the Derby Iyengar Yoga students for that, as well as for being such great sports and for raising funds for 

the Bellur Trust. 

They certainly made my National Iyengar Yoga Day! 

Charlotte Rosser \ 


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IY(UK) Reports 


Administration Update 

A new year brings new changes 

to the Administration team 

supporting the work of IY(UK). 

From the beginning of January 2016 

Katie Owens, former Membership 

and Office Manager, reduced 

her hours in order to focus on 

other projects. Katie retains a role 

with IY(UK) focusing on marketing 

and PR and website development. 

She will be working 1.5 days a 

week, spread-out throughout 

the week. Following interviews in 

London before Christmas, Andy 

Tait has been appointed to the 

Office Manager role. Andy will be 

working the equivalent of three 

days, again spread throughout 

the week, thereby continuing to 

provide a five-day-a-week service 

to our members. Kate Woodcock 

retains her Assessments Administrator 

role, whilst Jess Wallwork 

remains as Finance and Bookings 

Administrator. For more information 

on specific hours, responsibilities 

and contact devtails please see 

the website. 

National Iyengar Yoga Day 

for the United Kingdom 

As I write this we anticipate our 

own National Iyengar Yoga Day 

on the 16th January 2016. The 

aim of such an event is to raise 

the profile of Iyengar Yoga in the 

38 

SPRING 2016 

Chair - Emma Pinchin 

UK through the generation of local 

and national media coverage as a 

result of a range of free classes 

being offered to the public. It is 

hoped that the event will promote 

the practice of Iyengar Yoga in 

local communities, thereby generating 

new students. A great deal 

of thanks must go to Katie Owens, 

the NIYD working group, led by 

Mike Penny, and of course all 

those teachers who are kindly 

giving their time to teach these 

free classes. 

Website 

Our new website was launched 

early last autumn, and whilst, as 

there always is with such things, 

there were a few teething problems, 

it provides us with a valuable 

resource that we look forward to 

developing over the months and 

years to come. 

Assessments 

Following the meetings in Pune 

in December we await a formal 

report about assessments. 

However, we welcome the news 

that our current training and 

assessments cycle can continue as 

planned for 2016. 

Conventions 

Once again our Convention has 

proved to be popular, selling out 

well ahead of schedule. We will 

welcome 400 members to the 

International Centre in Harrogate 

from the 14-16th May, for three 

days of, what we anticipate to be, 

inspiring teaching from Raya. 

Goodbyes 

This is my final Chair’s report for 

IYN. Back in the autumn I made 

the decision to stand down from 

the role of Chair of IY(UK) at the 

end of January 2016. I have spent 

7 years working for IY(UK), first 

as ORIYI Rep, then Constitution 

Officer, before taking on the role 

of Vice Chair, and finally Chair in 

the summer of 2012. I have been 

fortunate during this time to have 

birthed two babies, and as these 

babies grow I find that they need 

me more, and that the time I have 

to serve the work of the association 

becomes less. I feel very 

privileged to have been allowed 

this opportunity to support the 

Iyengar Yoga community in the 

UK but the time is now right for 

a new Chair. Following a call for 

nominations from the Executive 

Council I am pleased to introduce 

Jill Johnson, who was installed as 

Acting-Chair at the EX meeting 

at the end of January. Jill will 

remain in post as Acting-Chair 

until the AGM in May, where the 

membership will have the opportunity 

to approve her appointment 

as Chair. I wish Jill well and 

know that she will be wonderfully 

supported by members of the 

Board of IY(UK), especially Vice 

Chair, Philippe Harari. I would like 

to end my report by thanking all of 

our members for your continued 

support of IY(UK). Guruiji left us 

with a great legacy and it is in his 

name and for his memory that we 

do all that we do. 

Namaskar. \ 

IYN28 version 4.indd 38 21/02/2016 18:55

Secretary - 

Charlotte 

Everitt 

As Emma mentions in her report, with her decision 

to stand down as Chair, a new Chair for the EX and 

IY(UK) was needed. As well as chairing meetings, 

the Chair co-ordinates the work carried out across 

the organisation and in particular facilitates communication 

between the Standing Committees, represents 

the work of IY(UK) to outside organisations, 

and also acts a line-manager to administrative staff. 

Consequently, in November, the Executive Council 

was asked to nominate candidates to take over the 

role of Chair; Jill Johnson was nominated and was 

elected at January’s meeting of the EX. Jill is now 

Acting Chair until our AGM at May’s convention; at 

the AGM we will look to ratify her appointment by 

means of a vote amongst the members attending. 

This follows Jill’s re-election as an Individual Representative 

– representing our Individual Members. 

We now have a full complement of Individual Representatives, 

but there are a few vacancies among 

Institute Representatives as several reps have stood 

down at the end of their terms. If you are interested 

in getting more involved, then please do talk to your 

Institute’s Rep or committee to find out how you can 

help – all Institutes are very grateful to the volunteers 

who support them and I am sure could find work for 

willing hands. 

The other EX member now taking on an additional 

role is Cathy Rogers Evans, who is taking over 

administration of the Iyengar Yoga Development 

Fund (IYDF). The IYDF helps to fund teachers to 

work with people who would not normally be able 

to afford or access yoga classes and could benefit 

a great deal from the positive outcomes of regular 

yoga practice; currently it supports 12 teachers with 

a range of different students, including prisoners, 

carers, and vulnerable women in a refuge. 

We marked Geetaji’s birthday in December by 

sending a card. \ 

Treasurer - 

Velika 

Krivokapic 

The annual accounts for 2015 are currently being 

prepared for approval by the Executive and Board and 

formal approval at the AGM in May 2016. 

I can report that the 2015 IY (UK) Convention was 

once again very well supported and a surplus of around 

£34,745 is expected. 

I have listed the membership and assessment fees for 

2016/17: 

Iyengar Yoga (UK) Fees 2016/17 £ 

Institute Members 8.00 

Individual Members 19.50 

Teachers Supplement 41.00 

Teachers Supplement Concessionary 24.60 

Overseas Supplement 39.00 

Late Renewal 15.00 

Teacher Trainee Registration 45.00 

Introductory Assessment 139.50 

Junior Intermediate Assessment 139.50 

Senior Intermediate Assessment 139.50 

Affiliated Centres 110.00 

The Certification Mark fee for 2016/17 is based on 

US$50. It was e updated on 1st November 2015 to reflect 

the exchange rate that is in place on that date. \ 


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IYN28 version 4.indd 39 21/02/2016 18:55

IY(UK) Reports 

Membership 

Secretary – 

Anita 

Phillips 

Membership 

Work continues on the new IY(UK) website and 

database. There are some interesting new features 

and most members have been navigating without 

any issues. We wrote to everyone in January about 

their new membership numbers, now visible once a 

member is signed into the website. 

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service, formerly CRB) 

checks are now a requirement for IY(UK) teachers 

of children’s classes. We wrote to all teachers 

about this in November 2015; more information is 

available in the Documents section of the IY(UK) 

website. 

Everyone who subscribes to Yoga Rahasya should 

now be up-to-date with back issues; there had been 

a problem with the mailing system, now resolved. 

We continue to be in touch with Pune about the 

www.bksiyengar.com website, thank you everyone 

who has been in touch with us about this for your 

patience. We continue to supply current teacher 

information and have received many assurances that 

the website will be updated. 

Congratulations to the 37 candidates who passed 

their Introductory Level 2 assessment last October. 

We had 32 new teacher members at year-end 

2015, hopefully more will take up their teacher 

membership for the 2016/7 membership year. 

Katie Owens will be giving up her role as Membership 

and Office Manager in order to focus more on 

her family business – some of you may have come 

across the yummy Savvy spreads in your local health 

food store. It has been such fun to work with Katie 

over the past few years; even when the pressure is 

on she retains her good humour, and I am continually 

impressed at her ability to embrace new technology 

and bend it to her will. Katie will continue in 

her role supporting the PR and Events Committees, 

and also some aspects of her work on the website, 

so I’m glad this isn’t a farewell. I am very happy to 

welcome Andy Tait as our new Membership and 

Office Manager. Andy is a committed IJ3 teacher 

from London with an enormous enthusiasm for this 

role who comes to us from The Wire magazine. 

Current Membership Figures 

All Membership Institute (MI) membership years 

are now in line with that of IY UK), which should 

increase the accuracy of these numbers in future. 

We rely however, on MIs to provide us with information 

about members who join them directly 

rather than via the IY(UK) online facility. As we’ve 

not yet had end-of-year information from all the 

MIs, these figures are subject to change. 

Membership 

Year 

Date 

Teachers 

Total UK ROI Overseas Individual Institute 


2015-2016 Dec-15 1136 1027 93 16 247 889 

2014-2015 Dec-14 1119 1013 87 19 v 825 

2013-2014 Dec-13 1025 933 70 22 270 755 

2012-2013 Dec-12 1067 970 71 26 298 769 

2011-2012 Jul-11 1071 983 67 21 318 753 

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IYN28 version 4.indd 40 21/02/2016 18:55

Membership 

Year 

Date 

Non-Teachers 

Total UK ROI Overseas Individual Institute 

2015-2016 Dec-15 1348 1263 59 26 209 1139 

2014-2015 Dec-14 1395 1295 73 27 236 1159 

2013-2014 Dec-13 737 674 43 20 178 559 

2012-2013 Dec-12 1419 1305 79 35 259 1160 

2011-2012 Jul-11 1473 1355 91 27 274 1199 

Membership Year Teachers Non-teachers Total 

2015-2016 1136 1348 2484 

2014-2015 1119 1395 2514 

2013-2014 1025 737 1762 

2012-2013 1067 1419 2486 

2011-2012 1071 1473 2544 

Contact Us 

Membership and Office Manager – Andy Tait 

Telephone: 07510326997 

Email: office@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Address: IY(UK), PO Box 51698, London, SE8 9BU 

Hours: Main Office day: Thursday 9-5pm; 

remaining hours to be worked throughout the week (23.4 hours per week). 

• Staffing the office: taking phone calls and responding to emails from IYA members and members of 

the public. Andy should be your first port of call if you have a general query, or are not sure who to 

ask. 

• Membership: processing renewals and new applications; assisting Membership Institute Secretaries with 

the renewal process. All queries about membership payments, insurance documents and certificates 

should go to Andy. 

• Teacher training: processing applications to become a teacher trainee. 

• Communications and Website: Andy is the person to speak to if you are having trouble updating your 

personal or class details. He can help you navigate through the process. Please take this opportunity 

to log in to the website and make sure that we have your complete and correct contact information. 

Andy will be able to assist you if you have trouble logging in. Liaising with Member Institutes for the 

IYN mail out. 


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IYN28 version 4.indd 41 21/02/2016 18:55

Finance and Bookings Administrator – Jess Wallwork 

Email: jess@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Address: IY(UK), 15 West Grove, Bristol BS6 5LS 

Hours: Most evenings (10 hrs per week) 

• Finance: keeping the accounts, making payments, processing expenses etc. Most of this is behind the 

scenes work; if you do have a query about a payment you have made to IY(UK), apart from convention 

bookings, it is best to go through Andy first. 

• Bookings: taking bookings for Conventions and other events IY(UK) organises. Any queries about the 

Convention or any other events should go to Jess. 

Assessments Administrator – Kate Woodcock 

Telephone: 07914089360 

Email: kate@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Address: IY(UK), PO Box 1217, Bradford, BD1 9XF 

Hours: part-time through the week, not available on Thursdays (24 hrs per week). On call during assessments. 

• Assessments: taking bookings for assessments, sending out paperwork to candidates and assessors, 

sending out pass/fail letters and small certificates, updating the database with results. All queries about 

assessments should go to Kate. 

• Timetabling: gathering Moderator and Assessor availability; finding and booking venues for assessments; 

putting together the timetables for all assessments; dealing with all the timetable relevant issues, 

all cancellations, requests for refunds, Moderator / Assessor emergencies and standbys etc; Kate will 

be “on call” for emergencies during the Assessments. Please contact Kate in the first instance during 

assessment times if you cannot make your allocated assessment date for any reason. 

• Appeals after Assessment: Kate is the first point of contact for the formal appeals process following an 

unsuccessful assessment result. 

PR and Website Administrator - Katie Owens 

Email: katie@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Hours: Most evenings (11 hrs per week) 


• Communications and Website: updating the website (behind the scenes data); collating and producing 

publicity material, including promotional leaflets, for use by IY(UK) teachers and members, particularly 

in relation to International Yoga Day and National Iyengar Yoga Day. 

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Assessment Passes 

Congratulations to all those who gained success in their assessments 

Introductory Level 2 passes: 

Senior Level 1 passes: 


Ainhoa Acosta 

Stuart Bobbett 

Margaret Bolger 

Maria SavalCalomarde 

Lynne Clough 

Richard Delaney 

Marcelle Edwards 

Vasili Eleftheriou 

Louisa Elliott 

Sarah Franklin 

Jennifer Garcia 

William Grant 

Zoe Hope 

Maria Jardardottir 

Darren Johnson 

Patricia Kelly 

Urszula Knapik 

Alice Knowelden 

Anna Motture 

Mirja Nissen 

Margaret O'Grady 

Barbara Pozzoni 

Nathalie Rasteu 

Georgina Roberts 

Kristyan Robinson 

Therese Ryan 

Norma Shannon 

Lauren Smurthwaite 

Katarzyna Solczynska 

Nick Thomson 

Nick Train 

Suzie Walker 

Jayne Walker 

Giles Watts 

Holly Wazelle 

Emma Wynne 

Anna Zlateva 

Lucy Aldridge 

Elizabeth Biggin 

Maggie Dix 

Ingrid Engstrom 

Grazia Farina 

Neil Gillies 

Peter Kosasih 

Larissa McGoldrick 

Frances McKee 

BarbaraNorvell 

Kate Rathod 

Roberto Silva 

Kristien Van Reusel 

Nathalie Blondel 

Marco Cannavo 

Lin Craddock 

Fiona Fallon 

Ofra Graham 

Jill Johnson 

Katie Rutherford 


Lydia Holmes 

Edgar Stringer 

Congratulations to Julie Brown who was awarded 

the Advanced Junior Level 1 certificate by Geetaji last November 

Book Your Assessment Online 

Teachers and trainees can now download syllabuses, 

book and pay for assessments online. 

Please visit the IY(UK) website at 

www.iyengaryoga.org.uk. 

Assessment deadlines 

Applications will be available 

online as follows: 

Introductory (combined), 

1st-31st May. 

Intermediate Senior Levels 1, 2 & 3, 

1st-30th June. 

Intermediate Junior Levels 1, 2 &3, 

1st-30th September. 


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IY (UK) Professional Development Days 

2016 

Please note: PD days run with the calendar year from 1 January to 31 December. 

South West 

SWIYI – 24 September 2016 with Gerry Chambers 

Organiser: Gillian Kamali – 01736 360 559 / gilliankamali@hotmail.com 

West & South Wales 

AIYI – 23 April 2016 with Tricia Booth 

Organiser: Edgar Stringer - edgarstringer@gmail.com/ 01249 716235 

Greater London & South East 

NELIYI – North East London – 19 November 2016 with Penny Chaplin 

Organiser: Nancy Clarke - 07900 277327 / nancyclarke@btinternet.com 

IIYS – Sussex – 12 November 2016 with Richard Agar Ward 

Organisers: Jenny Deadman – jenny@jcm.co.uk and 

Cathy Rogers-Evans – cathy@yogasouth.com 

IYIMV – North West London – 11 September 2016 with Sheila Haswell 

Contact: Iyengar Yoga Institute Maida Vale office 020 7624 3080 

Organiser: Marco Canavo - office@iyi.org.uk 

IYISL – South London – 27 November 2016 with Judi Sweeting 

Organiser: Glenys Shepherd – 020 8694 0155 / iyisl@btinternet.com 

SWLSIYI – South West London & Surrey – 3 July 2016 with Susan Long 

Organiser: Anita Phillips - 07771 642 883 / swlsiyi@gmail.com 

Kent IYI – Kent – 16 April 2016 with Brenda Booth 

Organiser: Brenda Booth – 01892 740 876 / brendaboothkent@aol.com 


South Central 

ORIYI, Cirencester – 24 September 2016 with Judith Jones 

Organiser: Elaine Martin – iyakemblepdday@gmail.com 

DHIYI, Bournemouth – 30 July 2016 with Sasha Perryman 

Organiser: Kim Trowell – 01202 558 049 / kimtrowellyoga@gmail.com 

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West Central 

MCIYI, Birmingham – 10 September 2016 with Margaret Austin 

Organiser: Jane Orton – 0121 608 2229 / jayne@iyengaryoga.uk.com 

East 

CIYI, Cambridge – 5 March 2016 with Sallie Sullivan 

Organiser: Sasha Perryman – 01223 515 929 / sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 

North East & Cumbria 

NEIYI, Sunderland – 5 June 2016 with Elaine Pigeon 

Organiser: Dawn Hodgson – 01325 721 518 / dawnlesleyhodgson@btinternet.com 

East Central & North 

SADIYA & BDIYI, Sheffield and Bradford – 24 September 2016 with Diane Coats 

Organiser: Emma Rattenbury – 07837 811 967 / 01142 556 406 

emma.rattenbury@blueyonder.co.uk 

North West 

MDIIY & LIYI, Manchester – 7 May 2016 with Brenda Booth 

20 November 2016 with Jayne Orton 

Organiser: Janice Yates – 0161 368 3614 / janice.yates@sky.com 

Scotland 

Edinburgh – 20 March 2016 with Meg Laing 

Organiser: Katie Rutherford – 0131 447 4708 / katie.rutherford@blueyonder.co.uk 

Glasgow –10 September 2016 with Cathy Rogers Evans 

Organiser: Valerie Miller – 0141 339 0442 / vjmiller7882@gmail.com 

Ireland 

Crumlin, Dublin – 28 May 2016 with Mary Heath 

Organiser: Aisling Guirke – 00353 87 289 1664 / aisling_guirke@hotmail.com 

Phibsboro, Dublin – 26 November 2016 with Marion Kilburn 

Organiser: Margaret Cashman – 01882 8858 / info@iyoga.ie 


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IY (UK) Executive Council 

Officer Rep. Name Email Telephone 

Acting Chair Jill Johnson chair@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Treasurer 

Velika Krivokapic 

Deputy Treasurer Pam Mackenzie pammackenzie@live.co.uk 020 8373 8356 

Secretary Charlotte Everitt secretary@iyengaryoga.org.uk 07812122617 

Membership Sec. Anita Phillips anita.phillips@btinternet.com 020 8675 1631 

Vice Chairperson Philippe Harari philippe.harari@runbox.com 01223 523 410 

EA Rep/Constitution Officer Jill Johnson jjyoga@mac.com 01619299462 

Chair of AT Julie Brown julie.brown61@live.com 

Chair of Therapy Judi Sweeting therapy@iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Chair of Ethics and Appeals Sasha Perryman sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 

AIYI Julian Lindars julian@lint-free.com 

BDIYI Michelle Mangeolles mmangeolles@yahoo.co.uk 07910 963 183 

CIYI Shaili Shafai shshaili@yahoo.com 

DHIYI Vacancy 

DIYI Martina Durnin martina.durnin@yahoo.co.uk 

ESIYI Agnes Matthews cmtpartner@aol.com 

iYoga Glasgow Brian Stewart brians@chem.gla.ac.uk 0141 334 3834 

IIYS Cathy Rogers Evans cathyrogersevans@gmail.com 

KIYI Carrie Turck carrie.t@care4free.net 01580 240 421 

LIYI Judi Soffa info@yoga-studio.co.uk 0151 7094923 

MCIYI Annie Beatty yoga@anniebeatty.com 

MDIIY Charlotte Everitt c_a_everitt@yahoo.co.uk 

MDIIY Joan Abrams joanabrams@hotmail.com 

NEIIY Jeannie Adams jeannieadams63@gmail.com 

NELIYI Larissa MacGoldrick larimcgoldrick@yahoo.com 

ORIYI Clare Bingham bingham_c@hotmail.com 01844212770 

SADIYA Caroline Anschutz anschutz_knowles@btinternet.com 

SWIYI Judith Higgins jsporik@hotmail.com 

SWLSIYI Diane Drain dianedrain@btinternet.com 

RoI Rep Paul Taylor paul.taylor12@hotmail.com 0035361924236 

Hon Mem Elaine Pidgeon elaine.pidgeon@virgin.net 0131 552 9871 

Individual Anna Macedo annamacedo@clara.co.uk 01903 242 150 

Individual Jill Johnson jjyoga@mac.com 0161 9299462 

Individual Richard Agar Ward, richardhagarward@yahoo.com 

Individual Kirsten Agar-Ward kirstenagarward@icloud.com 

Individual Vanessa Allen vmcnaught@hotmail.com 

Individual Isabel Jones-Fielding, events@iyengaryoga.org,uk 

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IY (UK) Committee Members 

Board 

Philippe Harari, Julie Brown, Jill Johnson, Velika 

Kripokavic, Sasha Perryman, Anita Phillips, Charlotte 

Everitt 

Ethics & Appeals 

Gerry Chambers, Jill Johnson, Larissa McGoldrick, 

Sasha Perryman, Amparo Rodriguez 

Assessment & Training 

Richard Agar Ward, Margaret Austin, Debbie Bartholomew 

(Communications Officer), Brenda Booth, 

Tricia Booth, Dave Browne, Julie Brown (Chair), 

Penny Chaplin , Diane Coats, Sheila Green, Sheila 

Haswell, Tricia James, Judith Jones, Marion Kilburn, 

Meg Laing (Secretary), Susan Long, Judy Lynn (Acting 

Vice-Chair), Jayne Orton, Sasha Perryman, Elaine 

Pidgeon, Sallie Sullivan, Judi Sweeting, . 

Communications & 

Public Relations 

Joan Abrams, John Cotgreave (IYN), Philippe Harari, 

Judi Soffa (IYN), Lucy Joslin (PR), Katie Owens, 

Emma Pinchin, Sigute Barniskyte-Kidd (IYN), Tehira 

Taylor (IYN). 

Finance & Membership 

Kate Woodcock, Velika Krivokapic, Pam Mackenzie, 

Anita Phillips, Jess Wallwork, Andy Tait 

Archives/Research 

Suzanne Newcombe, Brian Stewart, 

Janice Yates, Gael Henry, Kirsten Agar Ward, 

Lara Speroni, Randall Evans 

Conventions/Events 

Philippe Harari, Isabel Jones Fielding, 

Vanessa Allen, Charlotte Carson 

Therapy Committee 

Penny Chaplin, Judith Jones, Susan Long, 

Lynda Purvis, Judi Sweeting, Tig Whattler 

Committee chairs are in bold. Co-opted 

(i.e. non-Executive Council) members are in italics. 


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Member Institutes 

Please contact your local Institute for details of events and classes. 

If you are a member of IY (UK) and you have any queries or issues about policies or 

practices of the IY (UK) please contact your Member Institute Rep. 

Avon (AIYI) 

www.aiyi.org.uk 

Kirsten Agar Ward 

kirsten@bath-iyengar-yoga.com 

Bradford and District 

(BDIYI) 

Alan Brown 

events@BDIYI.org.uk 

01535 637359, www.bdiyi.org.uk 

Cambridge (CIYI) 

Sasha Perryman 

sashaperryman@yahoo.co.uk 

01223 515929 

www.cambridgeyoga.co.uk 

Dorset and Hampshire 

(DHIYI) 

Helena Chiu, chiuhasang08@gmail.com 

www.dhiyi.co.uk 

Dublin (DIYI) 

Beccy Cameron 

00353 860620660 (text only) 

www.iyengaryogainstitute.com 

East of Scotland (ESIYI) 

www.eastscotlandyoga.org 

Foyle Institute of Iyengar 

yoga Northern Ireland 

evelynyoga@hotmail.com 

Evelyn Donnelly 

07738 067290 

iYoga Glasgow 

Valerie Miller 

vjmiller7882@gmail.com 

07970 681 425 

iyogaglasgow.co.uk 

O.R.I.Y.I. 

Kent (KIYI) 

Kathy McCarthy 

kath@oakhillmail.co.uk 

0779 6936754/01732 465241 

www.kentyoga.org.uk 

Liverpool (LIYI) 

Judi Soffa 

info@yoga-studio.co.uk 

0151 7094923 

www.yoga-studio.co.uk 

Manchester and District 

(MDIIY) 

Janice Yates 

janice.yates@sky.com 

01613 683614 

www.mdiiy.org.uk 

Midland Counties 

(MCIYI) 

Prabhakara 

prabhakara@freeuk.com 

01214 490413 

www.mciyi.co.uk 

Munster (MIYI) 

Eilish Boyle 

boyleyoga@gmail.com 

www.miyoga.org 

North East (NEIIY) 

Gael Henry 

0191 477 5804 

info@iyengaryoganortheast.co.uk 

www.iyengaryoganortheast.co.uk 

North East London 

(NELIYI) 

Louise Leonard 

leonard.louise@blueyonder.co.uk 

07939 901515 

www.neliyi.org.uk 

Oxford and Region 

(ORIYI) 

Mary Fitzpatrick 

maryfitzpatrick@ntlworld.com 

www.oriyi.org.uk 

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Sheffield and District 

(SADIYA) 

Lorraine Bonete 

lorraine.bonete@gmail.com 

0114 236 2115, www.yogasheffield.org 

South West (SWIYI) 

Jane Lane 

janelaneyoga@btinternet.com 

01326 319809, www.swiyengaryoga.org.uk 

South West London & 

Surrey (SWLSIYI) 

Jane Howard 

07504 126078, swlsiyi@gmail.com 

Sussex (IIYS) 

Cathy Rogers Evans 

cathyrogersevans@gmail.com 

www.iiys.org.uk 

Affiliated Centres 

Bath Iyengar yoga Centre 

www.bath-iyengar-yoga.com 

Kirsten & Richard Agar Ward 

01225 319699 

Congleton Iyengar yoga 

Centre 

www.congletonyogacentre.com 

Christina Niewola 

01260 279565 / 07970186109 

Cotswold Iyengar yoga 

Centre 

www.cotswoldiyengar.co.uk 

Judi Sweeting, Tig Whattler 

01285 653742 

iYoga Centre 

www.iyengaryogamanchester.co.uk 

Carolyn Ferguson, 

07763 346332 

carolyn@iyoga.org.uk 

iYOGA Dublin 

Iyengar yoga Centre 

of North Dublin 

www.iyengaryogacentre.com 

Roisin O’Shea, 00353 1882 8858 

Knutsford Iyengar yoga 

Centre 

www.knutsfordyoga.co.uk 

Margaret Carter, 01925 758382 

The Iyengar yoga Studio 

East Finchley 

www.theiyengaryogastudio.co.uk 

Genevieve Dicker, Patsy Sparksman, 

Wendy Sykes 

020 8815 1918 

West Suffolk Iyengar yoga 

Centre 

www.iyengaryogasuffolk.co.uk 

Jane Perryman, 01440 786228 

Iyengar Yoga Centre for 

Essex 

www.iyce.com 

Susan Long , 01245 421496 

Edinburgh Iyengar yoga 

Centre 

www.yoga-edinburgh.com 

Lesley Johnston, 0131 229 6000 

Maidstone Yoga Centre 

www.iyengar-yoga.co.uk 

Lin Craddock, 01622 685864 

Iyengar Yoga Studio Tooting 

www.iyyoga.com 

John Shirbon, Ursula Schoonraad 

020 8355 3498 

Iyengar yoga Institute of 

Birmingham 

www.iyengaryoga.uk.com 

Jayne Orton, 0121 608 2229 

Iyengar yoga Institute 

Maida Vale 

www.iyi.org.uk 

Alan Reynolds, 020 7624 3080 

Putney Iyengar yoga 

Centre 

julieyogaputney@gmail.com 

Julie Hodges, 0208 704 5454 

Sheffield Yoga Centre 

www.sheffieldyogacentre.co.uk 

Frances Homewood, 07944 169238 

Long Wittenham Yoga 

Centre 

www.longwittenhamyogacentre.com/ 

Evelyn Crosskey 

07786 065253 

Peak Iyengar Yoga Centre 

www.peakyoga.org.uk 

Sue Lovell, 07851 195208 


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YOGA RAHASYA MAG 

Yoga YOGA Rahasya RAHASYA is a quarterly publicat 

Memorial MAGAZINE Yoga Institute (RIMYI), Pun 

Trust 

Yoga Rahasya 

(LOYRT), 

is a quarterly 

Mumbai, 

publication of 

India. 

the 

It is p 

Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), 

Annual 

Pune and the 

Day 

Light 

of 

on 

RIMYI, 

Yoga Research 

Hanuman 

Trust 

Jayan 

(LOYRT), Mumbai, India. It is published on the 

Jayanti. 

occasions of the Annual Day of RIMYI, Hanuman 

Jayanti, Guru Purnima and Patanjali Jayanti. 

The aim of Yoga Rahasya is to share the essence 

of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar's teachings. This journal 

contains original articles and transcripts of talks by 

Guruji Iyengar, Geeta and Prashant Iyengar on philosophy, 

psychology, science and art of yoga and life. It 

also includes articles by his students on their experiences, 

practical details on the practice of asanas as well 

as treating chronic ailments through yoga. 

The aim of Yoga Rahasya is to share t 

Iyengar's teachings. This journal conta 

of talks by Guruji Iyengar, Geeta and 

If you would like to subscribe to Yoga Rahasya, 

psychology, 

please tick the relevant 

science 

box when 

and 

renewing 

art of yoga an 

your IY (UK) membership on-line and the £16 

his 

subscritption 

students 

will 

on 

be added 

their 

to your 

experiences, 

total. 

pra 

Visit http://bksiyengar.com/modules/Referen/YR/yr.htm 

asanas for information as well about as previous treating issues. chronic ailm 


SPRING 2016 51 

If you would like to subscribe to Yoga Rahasya, please tick the releva 

(UK) membership on-line and the £16 subscritpion will be added to 

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Advertising in the Iyengar Yoga News 

You can order a full page advert (170mm wide by 246mm high), a quarter page advert 

(80mm wide by 118mm high) or a half page advert (170mm wide by 118mm high. 

Either send the completed artwork (as a ‘press quality’ PDF, a high resolution JPEG or an 

Adobe InDesign document) OR you can send the images (as high res. JPEGs) and wording 

and we will make the advert up for you. 

Please note: 

· Advertisements for yoga classes, events, holidays etc. – will only be accepted from certificated 

Iyengar yoga teachers 

· Advertisements for Yoga Centres will only be accepted from official Iyengar yoga organisations 

· Where yoga equipment is itemised in an advert, this will only be accepted for equipment 

which is used within the Iyengar method. The name ‘Iyengar’ must not be used as an adjective 

attached to specific items of equipment e.g. use ‘blocks for Iyengar practice’ rather 

than ‘Iyengar blocks’ etc. 

· Goods or services which are not used in yoga and/or which are not acceptable within the 

Iyengar method will not be advertised in IYN 

· Advertisements for other goods (e.g. Books/CD ROMS/videos) will only be published 

if they concern the Iyengar method or have otherwise been approved by the Ethics & 

Certification Committee of the IY (UK) 

If you wish to advertise in the next issue 

of Iyengar yoga News, please send all text, 

photographs or artwork by the next issue 

deadline of 1 August 2016 to 

cotgreavej@gmail.com 


Advertising rates 

Circulation: 2800. Quarter page £50; Half 

page £100; Full page £180. Small ads 60p 

per word NB. the Editorial Board reserves the 

right to refuse to accept advertisements or parts 

of advertisements that are deemed to be at 

variance with the stated aims of the Iyengar 

yoga (UK). IY (UK) does not necessarily endorse 

any products etc. advertised in this magazine. 

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Charity Yoga 

Notebook 

by Prithi Irani 

Available now: a beautiful 300 page lined 

hardback notebook with illustrations by Prithi 

Israni and quotes on yogic living and practice on 

every page, approved by B.K.S. Iyengar. 

This is a perfect yogi’s notebook for 

practice notes or personal writing. 

Prithi Israni is a close devotee of B.K.S. Iyengar 

and spent time with him during his last years. 

He guided her with his wisdom and love in her 

practice as well as in life. 

Practice is a mirror of life and Guruji was an 

example to us all. He never stopped his practice 

till his last breath. He practiced Savasana till his 

last day and shared his knowledge with everyone. 

The quote on the front of the book is from 

Guruji a few months before his passing. Prithi 

hopes that it is a quote that will help us continue 

with the love, commitment and determination 

that Guruji had within himself to spread his 

teaching and continue 

our practice with faith and truth. 

All the profits from sales of this book will be 

given to the Bellur Trust, to aid the uplift 

of Guruji’s place of birth. 

You can buy this book for £14.50 

(including postage and packing) 

from our website: 

https://iyengaryoga.org.uk 

Or, to place a large order please email: 

PrithiD@aol.com 


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Iyengar Yoga News

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