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We honour and pay tribute to

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – Madiba 1918 - 2013

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YogAfrica June 2013

CONTENTS

Message from The Cha ir 4

Ed’s Notes 5

L ight on L i fe — B .K .S . Iyengar 6

Uj jay i Pranayama 9

A V is i t to Pune — Gil l ian Bacon 13

Bhoga is the New Yoga — Lars Kruger 16

Yoga as a Universal Journey — Chr is t ie Ha l l 19

Sequence for May 2013 Workshop in Bergv l ie t 22

Lois S tenberg in Sou th Afr ica 24

Lois S te inberg — A Pic tor ia l 26

News from the Reg ions 27

Courses 32

Notices 35

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

STRATFORD CANNING

A question that has occupied my mind for qui te somet ime is , “Can you main ta in f i tness through Yoga?” My GP, probably because o f ignorance and a mis impress ion of the pract ice o f yoga, was o f the opin ion that yoga was not aerobic enough to sat is fy ones f i tness needs . I once ment ioned th is to David Jacobs who then proceeded to demons trate poses tha t p rov ided an excel len t workou t for the hear t and respira-

tory system.

In an ar t ic le pub l ished in Yoga journal in Ju ly , John Schumacher proved th is po int by undergoing r igor -ous f i tness tes ts at the age o f 52 and tes ted nea r the top o f h is age group. He proved to be in excel len t phys ical cond it ion and h is doc tor was of the op in ion tha t he had less than a one percent chance of suf-

fer ing a card iac even t .

So there you have i t ! Regu lar pract ice of yoga is a l l you need to keep f i t . Bu t th is doesn ’ t s top you from

engaging in other ac t iv i t ies.

I t is amazing how 2013 has f lown by . So much has happened. I wi l l p ick up from June . In August we hosted Lois Ste inberg in Johannesburg and Cape Town and wha t a dynamic and humourous teacher she proved to be. The innovative ways of ge tt ing s tudents in to poses that they were never able to execute was qui te amaz ing. I th ink o f her way of ge tt ing s tudents in to Padmasana as an examp le (us ing bo ls ters and foams) . The del igh t on the faces of those having achieved the pose for the f i rs t t ime was so grat i fy -

ing.

In November we saw S tephan ie Quirk a t Goudin i Spa aga in where she presented her s ix th and last Re-media l Tra in ing Course , preceded by a one day workshop in Cape Town, at tended by 40 very a ttent ive

par t ic ipants .

As we wind down for the year , the last o ff ic ia l funct ions wi l l be ce lebrat ing Guru j i ’s 95 t h b ir thday on 14 t h

December .

Membership cont inues to grow. We star ted the year with 434 members, bu t qu i te a number o f these were in defaul t , so in the las t few mon ths we wor ked to c lean up our database. Here I mus t thank Car la Rech and Me lanie Harding for their e ffor ts in sor t ing out Gau teng . Qu ite a number o f memberships were cancel led in the process and ye t we s t i l l ended the year w ith 481 members (before the c leanout we were at over 500) . Al l the ef for ts of our teachers in recru i t ing new members is apprec iated by the Cen-

tra l Commi t tee.

Our websi te con tinues to a ttrac t many h i ts , no t only loca l ly , bu t from overseas as wel l . We do t ry and keep the conten t up to da te and I would ask teachers and members to use th is med ium for adve r t is ing

of spec ia l even ts.

As I wr i te th is we are a country in mourning wi th the pass ing to h igher serv ice o f our beloved Madiba .

He was a very specia l person who brough t uni ty to th is nat ion. May h is legacy be remembered forever .

F inal ly I would l ike to thank Br ig i t ta and Judy for their ongoing suppor t and advice. My thanks a lso go to our regional chairpersons and their commi t tees for keeping the wheels of the inst i tu te wel l o i led . Their ded icat ion to the ins t i tu te is gra t i fy ing . Fur ther thanks go to G i l l ian Bacon and her Asscomm com-mi ttee for the ir work in teacher tra in ing and Mo Marshak for look ing a fter the E th ics and Cer t i f i cat ion

funct ion .

Al l tha t rema ins is for me to wish a l l our members wel l over the fes t ive season. May i t be a t ime of

peace and happiness and may 2014 br ing you a l l success.

Yours in Yoga

Strat ford

YogAfrica December 2013

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YogAfrica December 2013

ED’S NOTES

RIVA HIRSCHOWITZ

A very busy year is near ly a t i ts comple t ion. With the t ime of year comes a feel ing o f nos ta lg ia on

look ing back on the year that was and a cur ios i ty and exc i temen t look ing forward to the New Year .

I t has been a very busy year for me . As the cu lmina tion o f a dream, I spen t the mon th o f Janua ry at-

tending c lasses at the Iyengar Inst i tu te in Pune . I remember c lear ly s tanding in the regis trat ion room

and ge tt ing my f i rs t g l impse of Guruj i . Wha t an exc i t ing momen t .

As Lars Krüger says in h is ar t ic le (page 16) , we are very pr iv i leged to be sur rounded by the commi tted

teachers we have. The d isc ip l ine of learn ing for both teacher and s tuden t is never end ing , and that i s

as i t should be.

December is a t ime o f re f lec t ion. Take t ime to breath and to a l low breath to move you in to tha t quie t

space where you may f ind the peace and harmony you need to move into the New Year wi th insp irat ion .

(See page 9 for the ar t ic le on Uj jay i breath) .

We mourn the pass ing o f a grea t man , Nelson Mandela. We can on ly thank h im for h is contr ibut ion to

peace in Sou th A fr ica and for be ing an inspira t ion to a l l .

Once again , thank you to a l l the contr ibu tors for their wonder fu l ar t ic les and o f course to S trat fo rd for

doing the type se tt ing of the newsle tter .

May you be wel l

May your b less ings be many

Namasté

Riva

Editor ,

YogAfr ica

Teaching i s not mere ly teaching to earn you r l i ve l i hood. Teaching i s l earn ing a lso — learn ing to re f ine

Your body, nerves, i n te l l i gence and se l f , So that you can re f ine those who come to you.

- BKS Iyengar

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YogAfrica December 2013

B.K.S. IYENGAR

Named one o f the 100 mos t in f luen t ia l people in the wor ld by Time last year , B .K.S. Iyengar has had a huge impac t on yoga in Amer ica. In h is book L igh t on L i fe, he reveals how the pract ice can change your l i fe .

No mat ter what s ty le o f yoga you pract ice or whe re—whether i t 's Ashtanga at the Yoga Workshop in Bou lder , Colorado ; Yee Yoga at Yoga Shan ti in Sag Harbor , New York; or Anusara a t Yoga Sangha in San Francisco—your yoga has been inf luenced by B.K .S . Iyengar . The huge popu la r i ty o f yoga in the West can in large par t be at tr ibu ted to Mr . Iyengar , who f i rs t in troduced h is s ty le o f yoga to the Uni ted S tates several decades ago . Many o f h is innova tions are s tandard fea-tures today: He moulded the way we th ink abou t a l ignmen t and developed ana-tomical ly prec ise ter ms to convey i t ; p ioneered the use o f props as learn ing tools ; and taugh t how to min imize eso ter ic H indu trappings wi thou t sacr i f ic ing the yoga quest for un ion o f body , mind , and soul . One of h is most s ign i f icant contr i -but ions , however , has been the use o f yoga as a therapeut ic too l . His d iscover ies have prov ided ev idence of yoga 's power to deal with a hos t of ma lad ies, and the

results of h is work have ra ised the credib i l i ty of yoga in the sc ien t i f ic and med ical communi t ies. Mr . Iyengar 's book Light on Yoga , f i rs t pub l ished in 1966 , has become a c lass ic and is considered the u l t ima te reference manual o f asana prac t ice ; when teachers refer to the cor rect way to do a posture, they 're usual ly a l lud ing to the a l ignment Mr . Iyengar instructs and exper t ly models in h is book . In fact , a t Yoga Journa l we wouldn ' t th ink o f do ing a pho to shoot w ithout a copy o f L igh t on Yoga on the set. "The popular i ty o f yoga and my par t in spreading i ts teachings are a great source o f sat is fac t ion to me, " Mr . Iyengar says . "But I do not want i ts w idespread popular i ty to ec l ipse the dep th of wha t i t has to g ive to the pract i t ioner . " He shares h is understanding of wha t const i tu tes the fu l l yogic journey in Light on L ife . Rather than presen t the yoga pos tures as he d id in L ight on Yoga , Mr . Iyengar reveals in L ight on L i fe the "hear t of yoga" that he personal ly d iscovered through more than 70 years of d isc ip l ined , dai ly prac-t ice . He explores the yog ic goa l o f in tegra t ing the d i f feren t aspec ts o f our ex is tence (phys ical , emo-t iona l, men ta l , and sp ir i tua l) , the ro le tha t yoga postures and brea th ing techniques p lay in our search for wholeness, the ex ternal and in ternal obstac les tha t keep us from progress ing a long the pa th, and the prec ise ways tha t yoga can transform our l ives and help us l ive in harmony wi th the wor ld a round us. In the fo l low ing excerp t from L ight on Yoga, Mr . Iyengar exp la ins why asana prac t ice is impor tant on the yog ic journey, bu t is not the end goa l. The purpose or goal of asana is to a l ign and harmonize the phys ical body and a l l the laye rs, or sheaths, o f the subt le emot ional , menta l , and sp i r i tua l body. Th is is in tegra t ion . Bu t how does one a l ign these layers and exper ience in tegra t ion? How does one f ind such profound transfor mat ion in wha t from the ou ts ide may look s imp ly l ike s tre tching or twis t ing the body in to unusua l pos i t ions? I t begins wi th awareness. We th ink of in te l l igence and percept ion as tak ing p lace exc lus ive ly in our bra ins , but yoga teaches us that awareness and in te l l i gence must permea te the body. Each par t of the body l i tera l ly has to be en-gulfed by the in te l l igence . We mus t create a marr iage between the awareness o f the body and that of the mind . When the two par t ies do not cooperate , i t leads to a sense of fragmenta t ion and "d is-ease ." For exam-ple, we should only ea t when our mouth spon taneously sa l iva tes, as i t is the body 's in te l l igence te l l ing us tha t we are tru ly hungry. I f not , we are force- feeding ourselves and "d is-ease " w i l l sure ly fo l low. Many moderns use their bod ies so l i t t le tha t they lose the sens it iv i ty o f th is bodi ly awareness. They move from bed to car to desk to car to couch to bed, bu t there is no awareness in their movement, no

LIGHT ON LIFE

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in te l l igence . There is no ac t ion . Act ion is movement wi th in te l l i gence. The wor ld is f i l led wi th move-ment . Wha t the wor ld needs is more consc ious movement , more ac t ion. Yoga teaches us how to in fuse our movement wi th in te l l igence , transforming i t in to act ion . In fac t, ac-t ion that is in troduced in an asana shou ld exc i te the in te l l igence. When we in i t ia te an act ion in asana and somewhere e lse in the body moves w ithou t our permiss ion, the in te l l igence quest ions th is and asks, " Is that r igh t or wrong? I f wrong, wha t can I do to change i t? " How do we develop th is in te l l i gence in the body? How do we learn to turn our movement in to act ion? Asana can begin to teach us. We develop such an intense sens it iv i ty tha t each pore of the sk in acts as an inner eye. We become sensi t ive to the in ter face between sk in and f lesh . In th is way our awareness is d i f fused throughout the per iphery o f our body and is ab le to sense whe ther in a par t icu lar asana our body is in a l ignment . We can adjust and ba lance the body gent ly from w i th in w ith the he lp of these eyes. This is d i f ferent from see ing w ith our normal two eyes . Ins tead we are "sens ing" the pos i t ion o f our body. For example , when you stand in the Warr ior Pose with ar ms extended , you can see the f ingers of your hand in front of you , bu t you can a lso fee l them. You can sense the ir pos i t ion and their ex tens ion r ight to the t ips o f your f ingers . You can a lso sense the p lacement o f your back leg and te l l whe the r i t is s tra igh t or not withou t look ing back or in a mir ror . You must observe and cor rect the body pos it ion (adjust ing i t f rom both s ides) w ith the help of the tr i l l ions o f eyes tha t you have in the for m of ce l ls . This is how you begin to br ing awareness to your body and fuse the in te l l igence o f bra in and b rawn. This in te l l igence should ex is t everywhere in your body and throughout the asana. The momen t you lose the fee l ing in the sk in , the asana becomes dul l and the f low or cur rent o f the in te l l igence is los t. The sensit ive awareness of the body and the in te l l igence of the bra in and hear t shou ld be in harmony. The bra in may ins truct the body to do a pos ture, but the hear t has to feel i t , too . The head is the seat of in te l l igence ; the hear t is the seat of emot ion . Both have to work in cooperat ion wi th the body . I t requires an exerc ise of w i l l , but the bra in mus t be wi l l ing to l is ten to the body and see what i s rea-sonable and prudent wi th in the body 's capaci ty . The in te l l igence o f the body is a fac t. I t is rea l . The inte l l igence o f the bra in is on ly imagina t ion. So the imagina t ion has to be made real . The bra in may dream of doing a d i f f icu l t backbend today, bu t i t cannot force the impossib le even on to a wi l l ing body. We are a lways try ing to progress, bu t inner cooperat ion is essen tia l . The bra in may say : "We can do i t ." Bu t the knee says: "Who are you to d ic ta te to me? It is for me to say whether I can do i t or no t. " So we have to l i s ten to wha t the body says . Sometimes the body coop-erates w ith us and somet imes i t th inks th ings over . I f necessary, we must use our in te l l i gence to re-f lec t. Solu t ions w i l l present themselves even though th is in i t ia l ly occurs through tr ia l and er ror . Then you wi l l have true understand ing between the body and the mind, bu t th is requires not only the humi l i ty of the bra in bu t a lso understand ing in the body. The bra in does no t know everyth ing. I f the bra in re-ceives knowledge from the body , i t wi l l be able to increase the in te l l igence o f the body la ter . In th is way, the body and the bra in beg in work ing toge ther to mas ter the asana. This is the process o f in terweav ing and in terpenetrat ion, when the layers of our be ing work in ha rmony with one ano ther . By in terweav ing , I mean tha t a l l the threads and f ibres o f our be ing a t every level are drawn into con tac t and communica t ion wi th each other . Th is is how the body and the mind learn to work together . The sk in prov ides our ou termost layer of in te l l igence . A t our core l ies our innermos t wisdom. So the knowledge from ou ter perception and inner wisdom shou ld a lways be in con tac t in you r pos-tures. At that t ime there is no dual i ty : you are one; you are complete . You ex is t wi thou t the fee l ing of ex is tence . The chal lenge from the sk in shou ld tap the Sel f , our Soul , and the Se l f has to say: what more have I to do? The ex ternal knowledge inc i tes the Se lf to ac t . As I have sa id , wh i le do ing yoga , the body must te l l one wha t to do, not the bra in . Bra in has to cooper -ate wi th the message i t receives from the body. I wi l l o f ten say to a s tuden t, "Your bra in is not in your body! Tha t is why you can' t get the asana. " I mean of course tha t h is in te l l igence is in h is head and not f i l l ing h is body. I t may be that your bra in moves faster than your body, or your body may fa i l to fu l f i l l the instruct ions o f your bra in ow ing to lack o f r ight gu idance from your in te l l igence . You mus t learn to move the bra in a b i t more s low ly so that i t fo l lows the body , or you have to make the body move faster to match the in te l l igence o f the bra in . Le t the body be the doer , the bra in the observer . After act ing , ref lect on what you have done . Has the bra in in terpreted the ac t ion cor rect ly? I f the bra in

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does not observe cor rect ly , then there is con fus ion in ac t ion . The du ty o f the bra in is to rece ive knowl-edge from the body and then guide the body to fur ther ref ine the ac t ion. Pause and ref lec t be tween each movemen t. Th is is progress ion in at tent ion . Then in the s t i l lness you can be f i l led w ith awareness. When you ask yourself , "Has every par t of me done i ts job? " th is is se l f-awareness. The Se lf has to f ind out whether th is has been done we l l or not . Pausing to ref lec t on your movement does no t mean tha t you are not ref lect ing throughout the move-ment . There should be cons tan t analys is throughout the ac t ion, no t jus t a fterwards . This leads to true understanding . The rea l meaning o f knowledge is tha t ac t ion and ana lys is synchronize . S low mot ion a l lows ref lec t ive in te l l igence. I t a l lows our mind to wa tch the movemen t and leads to a sk i l fu l act ion . The ar t o f yoga l ies in the acu ity o f observa t ion . When we ask ourse lves, "What am I doing? " and "Why am I doing i t? " our minds open. This is se l f-awareness. However , i t is necessary to poin t out tha t s tudents shou ld be sel f-aware , not se l f-consc ious. Se lf-consc iousness is when the mind constant ly wor r ies and wonders about i tse l f , doubting constant ly and be ing sel f-absorbed. I t is l ike hav ing the dev i l and ange l both s i t t ing on your shoulders continua l ly arguing over what you should do . When you are sel f-consc ious, you are going to exhaust yourself . You are a lso go ing to s tra in the musc les unnecessar i ly because you are th ink ing about the asana and how far you want to s tre tch. You are not exper ienc ing the asana and stretch ing according to your capaci ty . Self-awareness is the opposi te o f se l f-consc iousness. When you are sel f-aware, you are fu l ly with in yourself , no t outs ide yourself look ing in . You are aware of wha t you are doing wi thout ego or pr ide . When you cannot hold the body s t i l l , you canno t hold the bra in s t i l l . I f you do not know the s i lence of the body, you cannot understand the s i lence o f the mind . Act ion and s i lence have to go toge ther . I f there is act ion , there mus t a lso be s i lence. I f there is s i lence, there can be consc ious act ion and not just mo tion . When ac t ion and s i lence combine l i ke the two p la tes o f an au tomob i le 's c lutch , i t means that in te l l igence is in gear . Whi le do ing the postures, your mind shou ld be in an in ter ior consc ious s tate , which does no t mean s leep; i t means s i lence, empt iness, and space which can then be f i l led wi th an acute awareness of the sensations g iven by the posture . You watch yourself from ins ide . I t is a fu l l s i lence. Main ta in a de-tached at t i tude towards the body, and a t the same t ime , do not neg lect any par t of the body or show haste, bu t remain a ler t wh i le do ing the asana . Rushing saps the s treng th , whether you are in De lh i or New York. Do th ings rhy thmical ly wi th a ca lm mind. I t is d i f f icu l t to speak of bodi ly know ledge in wor ds. I t is much easier to d iscover what i t fee ls l ik e. I t is as i f the rays of l igh t of your in te l l igence were shin ing through your body, out your arms to your f inger -t ips and down your legs and ou t through the soles o f your feet . As th is happens , the mind becomes pass ive and begins to re lax . This is an a ler t pass iv i ty and not a du l l , emp ty one . The sta te of a ler t re-pose regenerates the mind and pur i f ies the body . As you are doing an asana, you have to recharge your in te l lec tual awareness a l l the t ime ; tha t means the at ten t ion f lows wi thou t in ter rupt ion. The moment you co l lapse , you do no t recharge, and the atten-t ion is d ispersed . Then the pract ice of the asana is a habi t , not an inv igorat ing creat ive pract ice. The momen t you br ing at ten t ion , you are creat ing someth ing, and creat ion has l i fe and energy. Awareness a l lows us to overcome t i redness and exhaust ion in our poses and in our l ives. Awareness in act ion br ings back energy and re juvenates the body and mind . Awareness br ings l i fe . L i fe is dynamic , and so therefore the asanas should a lso be . Excerpted f rom Light on Li fe: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ul t imate Freedom by B.K.S. Iyengar.

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YogAfrica December 2013

f rom websi te ht tp :/ / iyengaryogaaspen.com/u j jay i .htm l

Ujjay i , the pref ix "ud" mean ing upwards or expanding and " jaya" mean ing conquest or success, is a method o f pranayama where the lungs are complete ly expanded , f i l l ing the en t ire cav i ty of the chest. There are many stages to U j jay i pranayama. The f i rs t four s tages are excel lent for beginners because they teach the pract i t ioner to "d iscover" h is breath. The studen t begins to develop an awareness of how the body breathes, becoming sens it ive to the opening o f the r ib cage and chest even as the breath enters the body . U j jay i pranayama teaches one how to d is t ingu ish where and when there tends to be more tens ion in the body. For examp le, some exper ience more in ternal tens ion wh i le leng then-ing the in breath , wh i le others exper ience more tens ion wh i le leng then ing the ou t breath. And for some, perhaps for the ma jor i ty , the mos t d i f f icu l t phase is the f i rs t phase: s imp ly watch ing the breath. The nature of our monkey minds keeps us from concentrat ing. W ith prac t ice th is becomes easier . And on some days , a l l we can do is be led around by the monkey ! In U j jay i pranayama the organs o f percep tion retreat and are w ithdrawn. The tongue shou ld remain pass ive and sof t and should rest l ight ly on the lower pa let te , away from the teeth so that ther e is space ins ide the mou th . The l ips are c losed wi th the corners o f the mou th so ft . The eyes are c losed with the inner gaze look ing back and down at the hear t. The eyel ids shou ld remain so ft and pass ive. The inner ears should re lax but a lso s tay a ler t and receptive to the sounds and v ibrat ions of the breath. The jaw and temp les shou ld remain re laxed and pass ive . Uj jay i pranayama is to be per formed when the mind is ca lm - pass ive yet a ler t , on an emp ty s tomach, after the b ladder and bowels have been re l ieved, and pre ferably a f ter a shower in a quie t, c lean space. I t is best to pract ice f i rs t in the morn ing o r at the end of the day , bu t may be done a t any t ime of the day. Uj jay i pranayama should be s topped i f fa in tness , ag i tat ion, or shor tness of breath is fe l t . When f in-ished, savasana is per for med ( f i rs t wi th ben t knees for a minute or two i f s i t t ing for pranayama) . I f do ing more than one type or s tage of pranayama, do savasana on ly once a t the end of the prac t ice . Uj jay i pranayama may be per formed ly ing down on the back wi th the torso suppor ted by fo lded b lan-kets or pranayama bols ters p laced the length of the spine , and the head suppor ted s l igh t ly h igher than the chest , arms out to the s ides w ith palms up; seated on fo lded b lanke ts on the f loor with the back next to a wal l , the base o f the sacrum and the top of shou lder b lades touch ing the wa l l ; seated fac ing backwards on a cha ir , hands res t ing face down , l igh t ly p laced on the back o f the cha ir ; or seated s l ight ly e leva ted on fo lded b lankets on the f loor in the centre o f the room. When seated, the spine shou ld be perpendicula r to the f loor and the back should be kep t s tra ight from the base o f the sp ine up to the neck, as in s iddhasana , swas tikasana, bhadrasana, v irasana, baddhakonasana and padmasana . The pa lms in the seated pos i t ions shou ld rest l ight ly on tops of the th ighs , in the cen tre of the th ighs . When the palms are turned face down , i t is eas ier to keep the shoulders from creeping up towards the ears. When the palms are turned face up , the armpi t chest can open more freely . In a l l the sea ted pos it ions the head is t ipped forward from the back of the neck to the crown of the head , towards the l i f ted ches t, in order to br ing the chin down in to a chin lock or ja landhara bandha . Stages I- IV are prepara tory s tages and are to be done ly ing down . The ly ing down posi t ion is very benefic ia l for beginn ing s tuden ts and for those who are fat igued due to mens truat ion , emo tiona l or phys ical s tress , and "for those whose hear t fee ls heavy, fu l l or painfu l , when there is an abnor mal hear t beat , or i f the d iaphragm is hard" (pp. 123 L ight on Pranayama) . Th is is because when ly ing down, the body is a l lowed to be comp lete ly re laxed even whi le the lungs f i l l wi th a ir . A weigh t p laced

UJJAYI PRANAYAMA

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on top o f the th ighs can fac i l i ta te an even deeper re laxa t ion . Al l s tages of Uj jay i pranayma begin w ith an exha lat ion ( rechaka) , breath ing out wha tever res idual a ir is in the lungs , and end wi th an inha la t ion (paraka) . Al l inha lat ions and exha lat ions in Uj jay i pranayama are done through the nose with the mou th c losed . The inhala t ions make a s ib i lant sound "ssss" and the exhalat ions wi th aspira te "hhhh". The sound can be compared to the sound one hears when scuba d iv-ing or when b lowing up a ho t a ir bal loon .

Stage One The f i rs t s tage o f U j jay i pranayama teaches the pract i t ioner how to become sensi t ive to, and observant of, the breath , the lungs and r ib cage . S tage I teaches one how to breathe evenly in to a l l s ides of the body. With each inhala t ion the prac t i t ioner at temp ts to expand the brea th evenly on both the r ight and lef t s ides of the body, as we l l as the fron t and back body. As a result , the s tuden t may beg in to observe and fee l how the r ib cage opens and widens la tera l ly and how the ches t moves both upwards and out-wards. Each exhala t ion of fers the oppor tun ity for the s tudent to observe the lungs de f la te in a un iform manner ; to fee l tha t the breath leaves both r igh t and le f t lungs equal ly , and to learn how to comp lete ly empty the lungs . Technique To do s tage I o f Uj jay i pranayama, l ie down on the f loor on the back , w ith the base of the sacrum jus t near one or two b lankets fo lded leng thw ise (or a pranayama bols ter p laced the length o f the spine ) and the torso over the fo lded b lanke ts (or bols ter ) . Use another fo lded b lanket fo lded three t imes w idth wise to be p laced underneath the head , creat ing a s l ight l i f t and ja landhara bandha . Make sure that the edge of the b lanke t underneath the head touches the tops of the shoulders. Feel i f the sp ine is d irec t ly in the cen ter of the b lanke t/bo ls ter . Fee l bo th r igh t and lef t s ides of the back and shoulder b lades in re lat ion to the b lanket/bo ls ter . Feel that the back of the head is rest ing evenly in the centre of the b lanke t . Release r igh t and lef t arms equal ly towards the f loor . Re lease r ight and le f t legs equal ly towards the f loor . A l low the b ig toes to fa l l away from each o ther . Begin by ly ing s t i l l for a few minu tes . Close the eyes. Release the tongue , the jaw, the temples . Breathe normal ly through the nose . Begin to observe the breath . As you inha le , feel the lungs expand evenly on both the r igh t and le ft s ides . Fee l the s ides of the r ib cage open up s ideways . Feel the ches t open both upwards and ou twards . Quie t ly exhale and feel the breath ex i t the body in a uniform manner . Observe that the breath leaves both r ight and le f t lungs equal ly . Le t a l l brea th c omple te ly empty from the lungs . Cont inue for ten minutes . Stage Two The second s tage o f u j jay i pranayama teaches the prac t i t ioner how to e longa te the dura t ion o f each exhalat ion . The inha lat ions are normal , as in s tage I , bu t here the prac t i t i oner begins to deep ly , s lowly , smooth ly and un ifor mly leng then the exha la t ion . I t is per formed ly ing down , as in S tage I . Technique L ie qu ie t ly . Become aware of the brea th. Exhale .

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Inhale norma l ly through the nose. L ight ly c lose the back o f the throat and exha le s lowly , deep ly and s tead i ly . The sound o f the exha lat ion is an aspirant ‘hhhh’ . Keep the tongue pass ive , res t ing on the lower jaw. Exhale to the bo ttom of the breath, comp le te ly emp ty ing ou t the lungs, w ithout cons tr ic t ing the abdominal organs. Inhale and exhale normal ly be fore beg inn ing another cyc le, a fter an exhala t ion. Cont inue for ten minutes - then re lax .

Stage Three Stage I I I o f U j jay i pranayama tra ins the s tuden t how to lengthen the dura t ion o f each inha la t ion. In s tage I I I the s tudent learns how to inhale in a long, smoo th, con t inuous breath w ithout creat ing tens ion in other par ts o f the body. The exhala t ion is a normal exhala t ion, as done in s tage I . This s tage is per -formed ly ing down, as in s tages I and I I . Technique L ie down on the back , w i th props suppor t ing the torso and head. Palms up . L ie qu ie t ly for a few min-utes. Comp lete ly re lax the body and the l imbs. Feel the inner th ighs fa l l away from each o ther . Feel the l i t t le toes fa l l towards the f loor . Begin to observe the breath . Exhale comp lete ly . Inhale s low ly , deeply and stead i ly through the back of the throa t mak ing a s ib i lan t "ssss " sound . Feel each inha lat ion r ise la tera l ly from the lower r ibs , the s ides o f the torso and up to the top o f the s ter -num, a l l the way out to the corners of the col larbones. Let the abdomen rema in pass ive . Keep the eyes pass ive, the inner gaze drawn towards the back of the head . Keep the tongue inact ive. Exhale s low ly and comple te ly , (but no t deep ly) whi le keeping the d iaphragm immobi le . Breathe normal ly be fore beginn ing a new cyc le, and s tar t aga in and af ter an exha lat ion . Repeat for ten to f i f teen minutes - then rest .

Stage Four The four th s tage of Uj jay i pranayama comb ines deep and pro longed inha lat ion wi th deep and pro longed exhalat ion – s tage IV is the comb ina tion o f s tages I I and I I I . In each inha la t ion the pract i t ioner draws the breath in through the back o f the throat and a l lows the breath to f i l l the lungs from the bo t tom up, moving la tera l ly from the bot tom r ibs, a long the s ides and back of the torso and up into the expansion of the ches t. In each exha lat ion the s tuden t beg ins to learn how to re lease the breath from the back of the throat deep ly , s lowly , evenly and cont inuous ly - whi le at the same t ime reta in ing the expansion and openness of the ches t. As in the prev ious three s tages, s tage IV o f u j jay i pranayama is done ly ing down. Technique After assuming the prone posi t ion , adjus t the body so tha t i t l ies in the cen tre o f the b lankets . Be s t i l l . Exhale comp lete ly . Inhale us ing a long, s low, smooth , even and contro l led s ib i lant ‘ssss ’ . Expand the r ib cage out to the s ides s tar t ing from the lower r ibs , then the middle torso, then the arm p i t chest , and last ly up to the top of the s ternum and co l lar bones. Exhale us ing a long , s low, smooth , even and contro l led aspiran t "hhhh". Stab i l ize and gr ip the d ia-phragm, re leas ing i t s lowly and gradual ly wi th the exhala t ion. Fee l the exhala t ion beg in from the gr ip

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of the d iaphragm and try to ma inta in the openness and l i f t o f the s ternum even as the lungs empty comple te ly . This comple tes one cyc le . Inhale and exha le norma l ly before con tinu ing to nex t cyc le, af ter an exha lat ion . Cont inue cyc les for ten to f i f teen minu tes - then r est brea th ing norma l ly . Reference I yengar, B .K.S. . L ight on Pranayama, the Yogic Art o f Breath ing. New York: The Crossroad Publ i sh ing Com-pany, 2003.

Al l may be ab le to do yoga but on ly one in a m i l l i on is f i t t o be ca l led a Yogi .

–BKS Iyengar

For a yogi , t he body i s h i s l aboratory for perpetua l expe r iment and resea rch.

–BKS Iyengar

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YogAfrica December 2013

GILL IAN BACON

Fr iday 28 t h June at 05h15 my journey began . I was dr iven to Cape Town In terna t iona l Airpor t where at

07h00 I boarded a p lane for O R Thambo Internat iona l A irpor t. On ar r iva l there I co l lected my luggage

and proceeded to the In ternat iona l Depar tures Lounge to check in for a f l igh t to Mumbai . The f l igh t

which was fu l l le f t a t 11h30. The uneven t fu l journey seemed shor ter than usual due to in terest ing con-

versat ions wi th a fe l low passenger and the SAA c rew who p l ied us w i th meals and l iqu id refreshments.

We ar r ived in Mumba i a t 11h55 feel ing rather weary. A fee l ing of re l ie f came over me when I saw my

luggage pop through an opening and proceed a long the conveyor belt towards me. There was a long

delay as the queue edged s low ly forward towar ds the Immigrat ion desks. Upon reaching the desk the

Immigrat ion Of f icer asked me “wha t was the pur pose for my v is i t to Pune ”? I rep l ied that I wou ld be at-

tending yoga c lasses at the BKS Iyengar Inst i tu te. The Of f icer ’s face l i t up and he proudly exc la imed

that Mr . BKS Iyengar was a very famous and respected gent leman in Ind ia. I agreed who le hear tedly .

With my luggage trundl ing beh ind me and a backpack on my back I s tepped out in to the Mumba i a tmos-

phere. Phew, the a ir wh ich brushed my face was 27degrees C! My eyes scanned the sea o f faces be-

fore me as I searched for the welcoming s ign of Sandis Shu tt le Company . My hopes began to drop

when no such s ign appeared. I s tepped forward in to the murmur ing crowd and was somehow gu ided to-

wards the far r ight hand s ide of the crowd. There i t was – a smal l s ign w i th Sandis Shu t t le wr i t ten on i t

and my name wr i t ten below. So I was no t to be abandoned at Mumbai Airpor t in the tender hours of the

morning !

At 01h00 a sma l l car ar r ived to transpor t me to Pune and the Hote l Chetak . The dr ive through the Mum-

bai suburbs was eternal and windy. Even tua l ly the car reached the Freeway. I use the term “Freeway ”

loosely . In some areas the Freeway is s t i l l under construct ion caus ing de lays . The verge a long s ide the

Freeway d isappeared and appeared at frequen t in tervals . The traff ic consis ted ma in ly o f laden t rucks

of a l l shapes and s izes and cars weav ing their way through th is maze of trucks . I t was an educat ion to

watch the dr ivers, inc lud ing my own, success fu l l y negotia te the ir vehic les through wha t seemed to be

gaps tha t were too nar row and which would miraculous ly widen to a l low the vehic le sa fe passage

through them. A fter four hours of dr iv ing my dr i ver s topped the car and said “Ho te l Chetak , okay? ” I

was great ly re l ieved. I congratu lated h im on h is exper t ise and sk i l l a t hav ing go t us safe ly to the hote l

in Pune.

The n igh t watchman a t the ho te l welcomed me, handed me a bo tt le of minera l wa ter and a key and

bade me good n ight . I fe l l in to bed and s lep t un t i l 11h00. Whereupon I showered, dressed, had some-

th ing to ea t and set of f for the Ins t i tu te . Pandu was there to greet and reg is ter new ar r iva ls . Af ter a l l

the paper work was done I was handed my c lass schedule . I then returned to the ho te l to set t le in . I t

was help fu l hav ing two days to acc l ima tise befo re s tar t ing c lasses on Monday morn ing a t 07h00 . Two

impor tant fac tors to remember : keep a s tock o f bott led water in the room and to i le t paper . One can’ t

dr ink the tap wa ter and the ho te l does no t supp ly to i le t paper .

Class schedule for teachers was as fo l lows :

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – 07h00 to 09h00 and own pract ice – 09h00 to 12h00 .

Wednesday ( ladies) – 09h30 to 11h30 and own pr act ice – 16h00 to 17h45 .

Wednesday (gents) – 07h00 to 09h00 and own pr act ice – 16h00 to 17h45 .

Fr iday – 18h00 to 19h30 (Pranayama) and own pr act ice – 09h00 to 12h00 .

Saturday ( ladies) – 09h30 to 11h30 and own prac t ice – 16h00 to 17h45 .

Saturday (gen ts) – 07h00 to 09h00 and own pract ice – 16h00 to 17h45 .

A VISIT TO PUNE, JULY 2013

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My journey to the Ins t i tu te each day took me through the park . I t d is tanced one from the traf f ic and

traf f ic no ise . The park was in the mids t of receiv ing a face l i f t . New benches w ith canopies over the top ,

extended ne t work of pa thways and p lan ts were being added . Un for tuna te ly the work was no t completed

before I le f t Pune a t the end of Ju ly so I d id no t see the f in ished pro ject . There was a ch i ldren ’s p lay-

ground in one corner of the park. Many joggers, wa lkers, young coup les and ch i ldren p lay ing happi ly

gathered in the park each day to en joy the p leasant and fr iend ly a tmosphere.

The yoga c lasses at the Inst i tu te were o f top qual i ty . Prashan t taught the ear ly morning c lasses and

Geeta taugh t the Wednesday ladies ’ , the Pranayama and Sa turday morning ladies ’ c lasses . Pr ashant

taught us to combine body, m ind and breath once one was in the asanas. An ana logy he made was –

the aerop lane, the p i lo t and the a ir traf f ic contr o l ler . The aeroplane was the body , the p i lo t the mind

and the a ir tra ff ic con tro l ler was the breath . These three components depended en tire ly upon one an-

other . Thus the comb ina tion o f body , m ind and br eath is v i ta l when per for ming an asana.

Geeta ’s ins truct ions brough t abou t change and improvement in our asanas . One example was when

seated and br ing ing one leg in to Padmasana , keep the knee of the Padmasana leg w ide to the s ide,

hold the b ig toe o f that foo t and pul l i t away from the knee . I f s tand ing and at tempt ing to take one leg

in to Padmasana keep the knee of tha t leg wide to the s ide and move i t back as far as poss ib le before

attemp ting to p lace the foo t in Padmasana . Another example was when do ing Eka Pada Sarvangasana

with the r ight leg down, take the r igh t s ide o f the lumbar back and v isa versa.

On Saturday the 27 t h Ju ly Gee ta j i was unavai lable to teach so Guru j i taugh t the c lass wi th Raya as the

medium. How wonder fu l and for tuna te to receive the teach ing from our be loved Guruj i !

One o f h is ins truct ions was to make the d is tance between the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana jus t

wide enough so that when one took the head back through the arms the ears would s l ight ly brush

against one’s inner arms . Guru j i exp la ined that th is increased the ac t ion in the ou ter upper ar m and

shoulder b lades and l i f ted the shoulders . Th is asana preceded Sirsasana .

There is jus t too much in format ion to men tion! For tunate ly Geeta ’s c lasses are recorded on DVD. One

can select which c lasses one would l ike and these c lasses are p laced on one DVD for one to buy. The

same appl ies to Prashant ’s c lasses . They are recorded on a separate DVD as two d i f ferent peop le do-

ing the recordings.

On 2n d Ju ly after Prashant’s c lass the s tudents paid tr ibute to Prashant as i t was h is b ir thday . The

photo is o f a modest and be loved Prashan t sea ted on the p la tfor m whi le some of the s tudents made

speeches. Af ter the speeches we were treated to Ind ian swee ts w i th cour tesy from Prashant .

Monday 22n d Ju ly was Guru Pur inam. A t 16h00 the hal l began to f i l l wi th s tuden ts from Mumba i , Puna,

those a ttend ing general c lasses and many o ther fo l lowers . We gathered to honour our Guruj i . The hal l

was packed and people had to be accommodated in the foyer , on the s ta irs and out in the cour tyard.

Many tr ibu tes were paid af ter wh ich Guruj i made h is speech. His mind is s t i l l sharp and a ler t even at

age 95 . We were tru ly b lessed .

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I was saddened when Sa turday 27 t h Ju ly ar r ived and i t was t ime for my return home. I was thank fu l for

a l l tha t I had learned, for the fr iendsh ips I had made and the pr iv i lege of being ab le to a t tend c lasses

at the Ins t i tu te in Pune once again .

An asana i s not a posture which you assume mechan ica l l y . I t requi res thought a t t he end of which ba lance i s ach ieved

between movement and res is tance. . - BKS Iyengar

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YogAfica December 2013

LARS KRÜGER

L.E . Krüger d iscusses the f ine l ine between yoga and bhoga; the d is tor t ion of the anc ien t pract ice to f i t

in to today’s cul ture; and the cha l lenges th is poses to Iyengar teachers and pract i t ioners.

Bhoga is the new yoga

“Because I am wor th i t ! ” is the one marke t ing s logan that a lways br ings a smi le to my face . And not jus t

because of a l l the pre tty women . According to L ’Oreal , the f ive words represen ted the new sp ir i t o f

feminism in the ear ly 1970s . The ir ego boos t and ca l l for se l f- indu lgence was mean t to l ibera te. A for -

mula tha t has s ince proven t imeless – probably because the ‘dye’ was cast mi l lenn ia ago.

After a l l , vani ty , pr ide and ego , a long wi th a ttachment to p leasure and grat i f ica t ion of the senses, aver -

s ions, the fear o f aging and dea th , are what Patan ja l i in the Yoga Su tras re fers to as

“af f l ic t ions ” (k leshas ) to the human consc iousness. So, presumably they have been around s ince hu-

mans f i rs t became sel f-aware.

Tapping in to these f luctua t ions that ru ff le our mind and take us on a cons tan t ro l ler coaster r ide of

emot ional ups and downs , na tura l ly , makes for resourcefu l psychologica l man ipula t ion. We have mar-

ket ing gurus try ing to s t imula te and explo i t them, p i t ted aga ins t yoga gurus try ing to s t i l l and conquer

them. Pub l ic vo ices te l l ing us to wear our af f l ic t i ons on our s leeves and def ine who we are in ter ms of

what we look l ike, wha t we own and how we express ourselves. Inner voices usher ing us to s i lence

these a f f l ic t ions through med itat ion, involu t ion and the pract ice of the e igh t l imbs (ash tanga) o f yoga.

Unsurpr is ingly , free market consumer ism and the anc ient ar t , sc ience and phi losophy o f yoga have

never made for par t icu lar ly comfor table bed fe l lows. Adver t isers had to be crea t ive . A creat iv i ty not

without i ts con tradic t ions . In i t ia l ly yoga was p lac ed in the “hea lth & beauty ” ca tegory; commerc ia l in ter -

ests then co-op ted i t in to a commod i ty ref lec t ing s ty le , money and sta tus ; la te ly , however , i t has dog-

gedly sp i l led over in to the en ter ta inment indus try .

In a new appl ica t ion of L ’Oreal ’s formu la, f lour ish ing s trands have turned in to colour fu l creat ions con-

vey ing the new spir i t o f yoga. The adver t is ing we see endors ing the a l lure o f “ce lebr i ty teachers ”, “ fun

f low sequences ”, a long w ith the ca l l to “come and p lay ” and “comb ine f i tness wi th FUN”, is a te l l ta le

indica tor tha t yoga is once again s tre tching i ts l imbs to f i t the demands of an age . An age wher e the

speed at which we can communica te - be i t v ia soc ia l med ia, in ternet or smar t phones - pushes our

minds in to s tates of con tinued s t imu lus and communica t ion . A t the c l ick o f an app , or the sw ipe of an

index f inger , we are impe l led to seek out instan t grat i f ica t ion .

No wonder s tudio owners and yoga teachers are f ind ing themselves in a b i t o f a conundrum. How to

uphold the in tegr i ty of the anc ient lore in a cu l ture where the pursui t o f fun , prof i t and se lf- fu l f i lmen t

are pract ica l ly regarded as a commandmen t?

With seemingly s incere enthus iasm, a wr i ter in Yoga Journal summar ised how the s ign of the t imes

transpires in to a yoga c lass : “Romp ing through a Fr iday n igh t AcroYoga c lass a t Om Factory in New

York City , she g iggled dur ing par tner f ly ing and Thai massage wh i le her teachers and fe l low s tudents—

yogin is spor t ing s tr iped socks , p ink ha ir , and Winnie- the-Pooh T-shir ts - cavor ted by her s ide . ”1

BHOGA IS THE NEW YOGA

1Yes, It Is the Best Medicine, Molly M. Ginty, Yoga Journal

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I f a l l th is cavor t ing sounds l ike a load o f bhoga , wel l , i t probably is . BKS Iyengar cal ls bhoga yoga “ look

good, feel good bu t do no good yoga ”.2 E lsewhere, however , he asser ts tha t “ar t for p leasure has i ts

va lue, of course, but i f the in tens i ty and devo tion d isappear , i t can eas i ly degenerate in to kama-kala,

ar t for sensua l gra t i f ica t ion, or bhoga-kala, the a r t for the p leasure o f body and mind . ”3

The intens ity and devo tion Iyengar ta lks abou t are sel f-d isc ip l ine and auster i ty ( tapas) , educat ion of

the se l f through s tudy (svadhyaya) and the dedicat ion of one’s act ion and wi l l to a h igher cause ( I svara

pranidhana ) .

In o ther words, i f we pract ice to ga in sel f-know ledge, to become a “bet ter ” person, and then sha re the

fru i ts o f our pract ice wi th those around us with non-attachment , we may be pract ic ing yoga . I f on the

other hand , we pract ice ha lf-hear tedly , avo id ing any semb lance of d iscomfor t, wi th the in ten t ion o f

p leas ing our ego , then we are not seek ing se l f-knowledge but se l f- indu lgence , and we can hard ly cal l i t

yoga.

As we are often to ld tha t i t mat ters less what we do in pract ice than how we do i t and why we do i t , I

wouldn ’t want to judge anyone’s in tent ion in the i r pract ice. Conceivab ly , though , arboreal yog is , swing-

ing from branch to branch l ike gor i l las in the mis t , may just have less o f a leg to s tand on when comes

to asser t ing their c la im on “yog ic consc iousness ” .

In any case, one of the b igges t chal lenges fac ing the yoga commun ity today is no t tha t people want to

have fun or be enter ta ined . We a l l s tar ted wi th d i f ferent purposes and on ly gradual ly began to explore

our spir i tua l i ty . Far more wor r isome is the rapid mul t ip l ica t ion of teachers. S tuden ts w ith negl ig ib le ex-

per ience enrol on shor t teacher tra in ing programmes , where no effor ts to screen appl icants ar e made

as long as they are wi l l ing to pay. Once qual i f ied, and wi th no fur ther guidance , they w i l l increas ing ly

in terpret mat ters according to the ir own emo tional frame o f mind and come up wi th new schemes to

pursue fun, prof i ts and fu l f i lmen t . This gradual d ivers i f ica t ion or mutat ion of yoga may not ta int the

t imeless pro fundi ty o f i ts teachings, bu t w i l l con t inue to con tr ibu te to the publ ic ’s and s tudents ’ m iscon-

ception o f what yoga is real ly abou t . Not to ment ion cal l ing yoga in to d isrepu te a l together .4

What w i l l some of the repercuss ions be of th is mass yoga embrace?

Wel l , i n terms of reta in ing our in tegr i ty , I th ink we are pretty safe. The Iyengars, our Senior teachers,

our tradi t ion s teeped in the Raja Yoga o f Patanja l i , our Ins t i tu tes, our es tabl ished repu tat ion , and our

lengthy appren ticesh ip programmes, fo l lowed by a r igorous cer t i f icat ion process, a l l act l ike a system

of checks and balances to ensure we rema in t rue to our in ten t ions as s tudents and teachers. This

s tructure makes us fee l par t o f a greater who le and permanent ly encourages us to deepen our own

pract ice .

In terms of los ing popu lar i ty as more fun-or ien tated schools of yoga enter the market , there might be

less af fect ion for the o ld “tough love ” schools . We do have a reputat ion o f being harsh and r ig id, even

unfr iend ly and unwe lcoming, bu t largely because we are uncompromis ing , cr i t ica l and demand ing. How-

ever , a l i t t l e p lay fu lness may no t be out o f p lace after a l l , espec ia l ly g iven that fu ture generat ions ’ at-

tent ions spans wi l l become shor ter and shor ter . BKS Iyengar says, “whi le adu lts need med i tat ion, be-

cause our minds are a lways moving to the past o r the future , ch i ldren w i l l get bored i f submi tted to end-

less explana t ions to contro l the mind. That ’s why I do no t con tro l them. ..somet imes I p lay w ith them,

that ’s a l l . . .by coming to their leve l, phys ical ly and men tal ly , I can bu i ld them up s low ly . ”5

Another chal lenge may be tha t wi th so many d i f ferent types of yoga on of fer , we migh t fa l l in to the trap

of be ing p igeon-holed as those who predominant l y teach women , the e lder ly , the in jured and d isabled –

we therefore have to keep our teachings dynamic and access ib le to everyone, and no t just be known for

our props or therapeutics . No doub t, many w i l l become weary of bhoga yoga one day and seek out a

more au thent ic and tradi t ional me thod . We are ideal ly p laced to del iver .

2Light on Life, BKS Iyengar, 2005, p. 204 3The Tree of Yoga, BKS Iyengar, 1988, p. 139 4“How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”, by Glenn Black, Published: January 5, 2012, New York Times Magazine 5The Tree of Yoga, BKS Iyengar , 1988, p.19-21,

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Lastly , there is a lways the chal lenge o f not le t t ing our pr ide get the be t ter of us. When we v iew other

s ty les as hav ing less dep th, other teachers as being less qua l i f ied , less ser ious ( the trap I am fa l l ing

in to) , w i l l we seek solace in our exc lus iv i ty and e rect h igher bar r iers o f en try? Or are we going to apply

our ins ights of a deeper pract ice to our env ironment around us? In the in troduct ion to L ight on Yoga ,

BKS Iyengar men tions d isregard (upeksha ) , which he expla ins as “no t merely a fee l ing o f d isdain or

contemp t for the person who has fa l len in to v ice (apunya ) or one of ind i f ference or super ior i ty towards

h im.. . the yog i unders tands the faul t o f others by seeing and s tudy ing them f i rs t in h imse lf . This sel f-

s tudy teaches h im to be char i tab le to a l l ” . (p . 8)

And tha t ’s where our ro le as Iyengar teachers and s tuden ts l ies, to share the deeper ins ights we have

gained through our pract ice , and so ensure that more and more peop le w i l l understand tha t yoga is not

only bhoga but a way “to contr ibute to our soc iety and c iv i l isat ion, as against the explo i ta t ive and nego-

t iab le aspects of p leasure ”.6

6Yehudi Menuhin, in his 1984 foreword to The Art of Yoga, BKS Iyengar

Yoga i s l i ke music . The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind

and the harmony of the soul , create the symphony of l i f e .

- BKS Iyengar

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YogAfrica December 2013

CHRISTIE HALL

Iyengar Teacher B ir joo Meh ta on the True Meaning of Yoga

Chr is t ie Ha l l is a wr i ter , yoga teacher , and long- term Iyengar yoga pract i t ioner . In th is ar t ic le , she de-

scr ibes some impor tan t lessons learned a t the r ecent na t ional Iyengar yoga con ference in San Diego ,

t i t led Yoga , Universa l to Al l , or Sarvabhauma Yog. Par t icu lar ly notewor thy were the sess ions headed

up by B ir joo Meh ta , a senior Iyengar yoga teacher and increasingly , a leading force w ith in Iyengar

yoga.

Bir joo Meh ta leapt l igh t ly to the s tage the f i rs t evening o f the Iyengar Yoga con ference and convention

in San Diego , May 10-15. He was to spend the next several days showing us how to create s tead iness

and balance as a means of br ing ing consc iousness in to our poses .

He was a ch i ld when he began s tudy ing w ith BKS Iyengar in 1974. As a young man, he trave l led wi th

h is teacher through Europe , the Un ited Sta tes and Austra l ia , demonstra t ing poses . An engineer by pro-

fess ion , he has led Iyengar yoga convent ions in the Un ited Kingdom s ince 2001, and he travel led to

China in June 2011 wi th Iyengar , teach ing the evening sess ions wi th guidance from his teacher .

My teacher , Manouso Manos , had urged us a l l to get to the con ference to exper ience B ir joo ’s teaching,

but I achieved far more comprehens ion of the pur pose of yoga than I ever dreamed I migh t .

" ’Yoga is the s t i l l ing of the f luc tuat ions of consc iousness ’ (Yoga Sutras I ,2 ] Yoga is seen as the s tudy

of the work ings of the mind. The way the mind interacts w ith the senses, the breath and lays down

emot ional impr in ts . I t is a s tudy o f consc iousness .” ~ A lan Goode

The message from BKS Iyengar has a lways been two fo ld : F ind the cor rect a l ignment in the pose and let

consc iousness spread un ti l the pose i tse l f fe l t whole . For some such as me , however , learn ing a l ign-

ment has been such a task that sp ir i tua l accomp l ishmen t has been even more e lus ive than the tur n of a

femur . A t some poin t , I mos tly gave up try ing .

Bir joo brought us a s imple how- to message , however , a map any indiv idua l can fo l low to f ind tha t s t i l l -

ness in a pose. We should wor ry less about making a l ignment cor rect ions in a pose, he taugh t. Instead,

we have to use our minds even more than we use our bodies . As Manouso of ten notes : F inding resolu-

t ion w ith the phys ical body is considerably less threatening .

Rather than focus ing on the f ine po ints of a l ignment, Bir joo pu t much more emphasis on the mean ing of

yoga – s t i l l ing the f luctuat ions o f the mind to reach an awareness o f our true, unchanging sel f . He set

out the process in a pragmatic fashion, l ikening i t to a corpora te in i t ia t ive , ou t l in ing the s teps fr om v i-

s ion to accomp lishment :

1. What is the v is ion o f yoga? Develop ing the ab i l i t y to perceive our per manent form.

YOGA AS A UNIVERSAL JOURNEY

20

2. What is the miss ion o f yoga pract i t ioners? St i l l ing the f luc tua t ions of though t – in order to per ceive

our true, unchang ing sel f .

3. Wha t is the s tra tegy for accompl ish ing our miss ion? Pract ic ing yoga asana.

4. Wha t tac t ics shal l we use in our s tra tegy? F inding a l ignmen t in yoga pos tures.

L ike h is teacher , Bir joo brought joy to h is teachings. He made us laugh w ith impl ied threats o f long

holds of Kapo tasana . His hands wove l ike b irds as he spoke. He smiled , he coaxed , he reached for

analogies to help us understand how to perceive consc iousness with in yoga postures and, once per -

ceived, to command i ts use. By the second day , h is vo ice was a b i t hoarse.

I began to understand some wr i t ings tha t had long been obscure to me:

"From f luc tua t ion to s t i l lness , s t i l lness to s i lence, and s i lence to s ight o f the sou l is the journey of

yoga." BKS Iyengar in Tree o f L i fe p . 121

As much as I longed for the s tate descr ibed in Yoga Sutra 1 .3, tha t hav ing s t i l led the mind , “The seer

res ides in h is own true sp lendour , ” I was very much stuck in 1 .4 : “At other t imes , the seer identi f ies

with the f luctua t ing consc iousness . ” ( Iyengar , pp . 52-3.)

Bir joo 's theme of awareness and consc iousness in the pose vs. phys ical ac t ions proved d isconcer t ing

unt i l I had the fa i th to actua l ly try i t . Here are some ref lect ions from Bir joo ’s sess ions on how th is pr in-

c ip le appl ies to the prac t ice of yoga asanas .

Find ing Tadasana in Every Pose – Samasthit i

This pose is l ike the unchanging sel f a t the cente r of a l l our f luc tuat ions . I t is the touchs tone , the p lace

of qu iet a t the cen ter o f a pract ice . The o ther poses a l l become var ia t ions. The key to env is ioning th is

is in the nameSamas thi t i : sama – same; s th i t i – s teadiness .

To f ind the qu ie t wi th in f luc tuat ions o f other poses, Bir joo d irec ted us to br ing an e lement

of Tadasana to each pose. In Ut th i ta tr ikonasana , Bir joo sugges ted we mainta in the back leg act ions

of Tadasana in both front and back legs as we s lowly lowered in to the pose .

I kept the back leg and buttock in the neutra l i ty o fTadasana , and connected the fron t leg but tock bone

f i rm ly toward the heel . Al though phys ica l ly exhausted af ter a chal leng ing day of s tand ing poses, I

found tha t a surpr is ing k ind o f s tead iness resulted; a quiet , unf luc tuat ing mind trans la ted to a pose that

fe l t grounded.

The next af ternoon, he brough t Tadasana to the pract ice of Bharadva jasana 1. Once we had turned the

abdomen and chest , B ir joo asked us to recreate the torso o f Tadasana . One s ide o f my body had be-

come no ticeably shor ter . Once I opened and leng thened i t , aga in qu ie tness descended.

We touch back to universa l i ty when we br ing Samasth i t i to other poses .

Balanc ing consc iousness

For any other phys ica l ac t iv i ty , the movement i tse l f is the poin t. In yoga , the asana star ts when the ac-

t iv i ty and movemen t o f creat ion s tops . We pay at tent ion to the de ta i ls of the pose as we crea te i t , then,

once in the pose, we le t awareness move to wher e consc iousness is . Then we seek to balance the con-

sc iousness throughou t the pose.

21

The second day of the conference, Bir joo asked us to add another layer of awareness to our poses. In

a l l the asymmetr ica l s tanding poses , consc iousness concentrates in one leg or the other , he noted. He

descr ibed i t th is way : ac t iv i ty , the movement i tse l f is the poin t. In yoga , the asana s tar ts when the ac-

t iv i ty and movemen t o f creat ion s tops. We pay at tent ion to the de ta i ls o f the pose as we crea te i t , then ,

once in the pose, we le t awareness move to whe re consc iousness is . Then we seek to balance the con-

sc iousness throughou t the pose.

Where there is excess consc iousness , the pose i s more dense . Where there is less consc iousness, the

pose becomes l igh t.

Bir joo ou t l ined th is process in Utth i ta tr ikonasana , where the back leg becomes l igh t , wi th consc ious-

ness concentrated in the front leg. He suggested moving the bones where consc iousness , dens i ty re-

mained , and to move from the f lesh to br ing consc iousness to the pose where i t was l ight , such as the

back leg .

Another consc iousness-ba lanc ing techn ique wor ks through awareness of oppos ites . He sugges ted that

where the f lesh was pu ffed ou t or extended, excess consc iousness ex is ted . He a lso equated th is wi th

ahamkara, sense of se l f . On the opposi te s ide was an inter rupt ion o f consc iousness . To balance con-

sc iousness, we had to reopen tha t in ter rupt ion. For example , a locked e lbow produces excess con-

sc iousness a long the inner e lbow, and we mus t r e lease the back s ide o f the e lbow to crea te evenness.

In Ut tanasana , the puf f iness of the upper or lower back requires an opening o f the fron t chest or abdo-

men.

These mod if ica t ions requ ired someth ing much d i f ferent than wha t he termed the beg inner ’s approach of

pay ing a ttent ion to a l ign ing the pose . Instead he inv i ted us to ar r ive in a pose and exp lore, to be open

to the areas ca l l ing for our awareness .

Once we f ind he igh tened percept ion in one area , we next draw tha t awareness to the opposi te reg ion of

the body to balance awareness , consc iousness throughout the pose . Al l i n a l l , the con ference gave me

a whole d i f ferent leve l o f understand ing o f the subtler leve ls o f exper ience in yoga asana and of the

amazing dep th o f the teachings o f BK. Iyengar .

Chris t ie Hal l began study ing yoga in 199 5 to cope w i th cr ipp l ing back pa in . Her home p ract i ce s ta r ted w i th the

book, Yoga: T he I yen gar Way. She star ted tea ching i n 1997 af ter s tudy ing w i th I yen gar teache r Ka r in O 'B annon

and she has s tud ied as s tud ent and a s teache r ex c lus ive ly w i th I yengar teache rs, i nc lud ing BKS Iyen gar i n

Colorado in 2005 and Geeta I ye ngar in 2 0 07. More of he r wr i t i ngs can be found o n he r

b log:www.prat ipaksha.com. Her Web s i te i s www.chr i s t i eyoga.com.

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YogAfrica December 2013

SEQUENCE FOR MAY 2013 WORKSHOP IN BERGVLIET

The f i rs t Western Cape Reg iona l Workshop was held in May 2013 and was enjoyed by a l l who at-tended . Thank you to G i l l ian Bacon for tak ing the Asana Class . I have inc luded the sequence for those o f you tha t would l ike some insp irat ion for your personal pract ice over the hol idays .

Riva

Sequence for May 2013 Workshop in Bergv l ie t .

Adho Mukha Virasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Tadasana – Urdhva Has tasana - Ut tansana – U tkatasana – Ut tanasana – Adho Mukha Svanasana – Chaturanga Dandasana – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana – Adho Mukha Svanasana – Ut tanasana – Urdhva

Hastasana – Tadasana 6X

Ut tansana 1) feet ma t wid th apar t 2) feet apar t wi th toes turn in .

Virasana wi th metatarsals on foam and ro l led b lanket, p lus Gomukhasana arms

Upavis tha Konasana wi th e lbows press ing down on seat o f a cha ir to br ing sp ine in to the body .

Parsva Upavis tha Konasana – e lbows press ing down on chair seat .

Upavis tha Konasana in to Ardha Baddha Konasana – 1) bel t under Baddha Konasana ankle bone to l i f t

the ank le bone . 2) bel t behind Baddha Konasana knee being pu l led ou t to the s ide.

Upavis tha Konasana going forward in to Adho Mukha Upav is tha Konasana (use chair for sore back )

Sukasana e lbows press ing on cha ir sea t .

Baddha Konasana – e lbows press ing down on chair sea t, ro l led be l ts under outer ank le bones .

Supta Pandangus thasana 1 – sma l l loop o f a be l t around l i f ted leg hee l. Take down leg ou t to the s ide

for sore backs .

Supta Padangus thasana la tera l .

Tadasana 1) Fee t apar t – bend knees , take head of femur bone back, l i f t nave l to s ternum, s tra ighten

the knees. 2) Fee t toge ther – broaden f loat ing r ibs to the s ide .

Ut th i ta Tr ikonasana – lower hand on b lock or cha ir . Take back foot fur ther back – sore backs .

Ut th i ta Parsvakonasana- lower arm forearm on chair – sore backs .

Virabhadrasana 11 – p lace hands on back o f chai r for sore backs.

Bharadvajasana 1 – sea ted on f loor and e lbows p ress ing down on seat o f cha ir .

Prasar i ta Pado ttanasana 1 – hands forward on chair and concave back for sore backs.

Salamba S irsasana 1

Adho Mukha Virasana

Sukasana – arms stretched back on chair seat th rough back o f chair . .

Eka Pada Bhekasana – Bhekasana knee on seat of cha ir , s l ide the knee back, trunk upr igh t .

Chair Dwi Pada V ipar i ta Dandasana – midd le shoulder b lades on edge , lower shoulder b lades on edge,

23

shoulder b lades jus t o f f edge , knees bent and taken down to the f loor .

Ustrasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Parsva Ut tanasana

Halasana

Salamba Sarvangasana

Halasana – Parsva Ha lasana

Paschimo t tanasana – s tretch ing forward wi th hands hold ing back o f chair .

Savasana

As a go ldsmi th weighs go ld , you have to ad just your bod y so that i t i s Perfect l y ba lanced in the median p lane.

- BKS Iyengar

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YogAfrica December 2013

ROSE SONNENBERG I a t tended the Johannesburg workshop on the Fr iday and again on the Monday morning . I am sad to have missed out on the Saturday and Sunday workshops, but feel that my yoga pract ice has grown ex-ponentia l ly from one and a ha lf days o f Lois ’s teachings. I am a beginner ; I have been pract ic ing Iyengar Yoga for 5 years now. My state o f beginner -ness was confirmed a fter one and a half days of Lois ’s wo rkshop. Actua l ly i t was conf irmed wi th in the f i rs t hour of the workshop. And th is is mean t in a deeply pos i t ive, insp ir ing and profound way . Perhaps a k inder way of say ing th is is that my yoga journey is ver y much a t the beg inn ing, and beg inn ings are exc i t ing . I o ffered myse lf as a beginner -guinea-pig to demonstrate U tth i ta Tr ikonāsana. I have pract iced th is as-ana many many many t imes over the past 5 yea rs. I pos i t ioned mysel f in the asana as I have a lways done, and then w ith a few swi f t ad justments fr om Lo is , Tr ikonāsana became an a l l new expe r ience (again) . For me, these instruct ions from exper ienced teachers, the knowledge and teach ing from Gu-ru j i ’s books toge ther wi th one’s own unders tanding, a l low one’s yoga journey to con tinuous ly grow and deepen. I a lso th ink that hav ing an open hear t and mind is essent ia l to a id one’s process. Another ins igh t from Lois tha t tru ly resonated wi th me is wha t she said abou t asana pract ice: she em-phasised tha t we a t tend a c lass to learn and to be instruc ted by our teachers, but to become a yogi, th is a lone is no t enough . D isc ip l ined , regular se l f-pract ice , whereby you take the t ime to l is ten to your own body, is key to expand your unders tanding and exper ience . On ly through the joy of regular immer-s ion in prac t ice can who le-body transforma t ion be at ta ined. I en joyed Lo is ’s approach to teach ing, a l though I have to admi t tha t a t t imes I was fear fu l , she doesn’t suffer fools g lad ly . She was f i rm, engag ing and c lear ; her a ttent ion to de ta i l was impress ive and con-veyed her enthus iasm, knowledge and acumen ; and a l l o f th is enveloped in humour and amusing anec-dotes about her t imes spent w ith Guruj i .

I love how much Lo is is ded ica ted to yoga. I t inspires me . She shared a s tory abou t her love of Piñca

Mayūrāsana: Lois descr ibed tha t she wou ld prac t ice th is asana over and over again , over t ime . She ex-

p lored i t and approached i t in so many d i f feren t ways. And why no t? Yoga is a s ta te o f being and doing.

Thanks to Lois , and a l l the wonder fu l teachers that I have exper ienced , I ’ve learned that do ing the pose

once, th ink ing tha t you ’ve achieved i t is no t an opt ion . Yoga is ongo ing , a process, a journey that re-

quires exp lorat ion, ded icat ion and love .

SUE BRYANT

It was wi th grea t exc i temen t bu t a lso some trepidat ion that I booked for the Lo is S te inberg course. Ex-

c i tement as I had no t been to Cape Town in more than twen ty years and trep idat ion (and exc i tement) in

that I had no idea what to expec t from th is wo rkshop. In Zimbabwe , we are not for tuna te enough to

have many or (any!) external teachers prepared to come to Zimbabwe to teach yoga and for many of us,

the expense of travel ing ex ternal ly to a yoga workshop/convent ion is no t a luxury we can af for d very

often . However I was de termined tha t I should at tend th is course no ma t ter wha t. As i t turns out , I was

not the on ly Yog i from Z imbabwe, Ange la Rogers from Bu lawayo and A l ison Macdona ld from Harare

a lso a t tended.

The workshop l ived up to my expecta t ions in every way! The weather was not very wel l behaved with

cold, w indy, we t b lus tery weather but the venue was such that at no t ime were we cold and uncomfor t-

able. Lo is ’s teaching was excel lent and dynamic, wi th c lear ins truct ions and a touch of compassion

where i t was deserved!

LOIS STEINBERG IN SOUTH AFRICA 2013

25

This woman , wi th a very ord inary look ing body, demonstrated we l l execu ted asanas and she was not

afra id or too bash fu l to admit tha t she too , had d i f f icu l ty at t imes wi th the some advanced poses, a tra i t

that made her even more endear ing ! Lo is unders tood and acknowledged tha t d i f feren t body types , com-

bined w ith age (advanc ing rapid ly in some of us!) required, at t imes , a d i f feren t approach to asanas.

Her eyes were everywhere and she seldom missed the oppor tun ity to cor rect where necessary. Pra ise

from Lo is was metered out where i t was we l l deserved, as in Gi l l ian bacon’s amaz ing demons t rat ion !

Encouragement was the order of the day !

A tru ly amaz ing week, hav ing me t some great people on the workshop , I wen t back home fee l ing re-

freshed, energized and mo tivated to work harder at my yoga pract ice and conduct my c lasses with a

more pract iced eye and grea ter compassion for those who are l im ited and more encouragement for

those who may be ho ld ing back jus t a fract ion !

MERYL URSON

Once again in the dep ths o f a s tor my win ter Lois Ste inberg ar r ived in Cape Town to de l iver some heat .

Smal l but f iery , she marched around our ha l l a t the Por tuguese C lub de l iver ing her unique br and of

toughness and thoroughness comb ined w i th her outs tanding knowledge o f Iyengar Yoga and he r own

k ind o f humour .

Thankfu l ly the hal l was warmer than o thers we ar e used, so that Lo is d idn’ t have to nurse the ‘ frostb i te ’

she’s had to on prev ious occasions and the s tudents d idn’ t have to shiver or dread standing s t i l l dur ing

the four days o f the seminar .

And a l though the leve l was a general one w i th s tudents o f a l l s tandards a t tending, Lois managed to

leave a lo t of learn ing behind for everyone to chew on af ter she ’d le ft .

Her s ty le is the purest Iyengar mixed wi th Amer ican references, making the learn ing more access ib le to

Westerners than the somet imes more cul tura l ly d is tan t yoga of Pune, wh ich is a lso taugh t in an unfa-

mil iar accen t .

The tradi t ional aspec t of Lois ’s teach ing comes by way of her refusa l to g ive up on s tuden ts ’ ab i l i ty to

take themse lves deeper in to the pract ice than they assume they can go . Her technica l knowledge is so

vast tha t she can draw on many more pa ths to the poses than less exper ienced teachers can .

Her s tr iden t vo ice and energy a lso draw s tudents repeatedly in to the presen t, demand ing the ir at tent ion

to her rapid f i re ins truct ions, wh ich she repea ts with pat ience and humour unt i l the ent ire s tuden t body

fo l lows her instruc t ions .

The poses Lois taugh t were s imp le enough , but she revealed aspects o f them not obv ious before,

through progress ive pract ice and sk i l led sequenc ing.

One of Lois ’s pass ions is therapeut ic yoga , wh ich she shared wi th the group in the af ternoons . Work-

ing carefu l ly in groups of two or three, we learned about common problems such as r ickety knees for

example , for which Lo is in troduced un famil iar props to us – which w i l l now be manufac tured in Knysna.

At lunch t imes the s tuden ts could e i ther s i t or soc ia l ise over the del ic ious l igh t fare tha t the Por tuguese

Club prov ided or could watch some s l ide shows that Lois brought a long, deta i l ing the heal ing pa ths o f

par t icu lar s tudents w ith ser ious hea lth issues in Pune.

Her c lose re la t ionsh ip w ith Guruj i over so many decades has nur tured her sk i l l w i th such s tudents and

i t is c lear from her references to h im how she bo th loves and reveres h im.

At the end o f the seminar Lo is set of f w ith Pa t Deacon and her husband Dave to Namib ia for a wel l -

deserved break and fu l l sunsh ine in her o ther be loved set t ing – Na ture.

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YogAfrica December 2013

LOIS STEINBERG — A PICTORIAL

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YogAfrica December 2013

GAUTENG

CARLA RECH

Greetings from Gau teng ! Hopefu l ly by now you are a l l prepar ing for a re laxed and en joyable hol iday

per iod.

Our busy calendar has jus t c losed w ith a happy celebrat ion for Guruj i 's 95 b ir thday.

We held a very we l l a ttended workshop on Satu rday, 30 November at my Midrand

studio , fo l lowed by a lovely lunch for a l l our members. This was in honour of Guruj i ,

and a lso Gee taj i 's b ir thday , as we l l as the end of ano ther year

of yoga for our community . Gudrun von Wimmersperg taught the

3 hour c lass and i t real ly was a wonder fu l way to pay homage to

our teachers in Pune and the way their legacy passes onto a l l o f

us. We are very grate fu l to Gudrun , for her ded icat ion, her ex-

ample and her generos i ty in shar ing her knowledge. I t was f i t -

t ing tha t somebody who has been taugh t by Gur uj i h imse lf conduc ted the workshop

with us and I th ink we brough t a b i t o f India to everybody - for one th ing , we

squeezed 40 people in to my s tudio wh ich mean t work ing Pune s ty le , ma t to ma t!

Ear l ier th is year we a lso he ld a regiona l workshop where the prof i ts went towards a pro jec t ca l led

Township Yogi . We were able to donate R3000 to them. Thanks very much to Prav ina Ranchod for

teaching the c lass and generously donat ing her fee to the cause . I t was a lso we l l a t tended and every-

body enjoyed i t very much. Some o f our members who were unable to make i t were k ind enough to

make dona t ions, so thanks to them too.

In Augus t, Lo is Ste inberg held a four day Workshop at Wits wh ich was very successfu l . Desp ite the

long weekend, we had over 60 peop le a ttending . She was inspirat iona l and I th ink we a l l learned a lo t ,

about yoga as we l l as ourselves and our pract ice .

In September we held a pre l iminary exam for our second year Introductory teachers and I am pleased

to say that they a l l passed . Congra tu la t ions to a l l o f them and we look forward to the 5 o f them com-

plet ing their th ird year of tra in ing. A lso we wi l l have 9 new people beg inn ing the In tro course next year

as wel l as 6 peop le doing In termed iate I . Th is means our tra iners wi l l have a very fu l l year ahead of

them!

Our usual month ly ac t iv i t ies con tinued r ight up unt i l the f i rs t week of December . We have been hold ing

weekly Teacher Classes as we l l as mon thly Backbend Workouts at Jenny Morr is ' s tudio . We are very

gratefu l to her and Gudrun for running these va luable sess ions.

So un t i l nex t t ime , lo ts o f love and peace from us in Gau teng .

EASTERN CAPE

NORMA KANAAR

2013 is fas t drawing to an end and be fore the c lose of c lasses one pauses to ref lect on the passage of t ime ( t ime f l ies as the say ing goes) but we know tha t i t s tand s t i l l and i t is we who seemingly f ly through t ime at ever increas ingly speeds . Stay ing hyper -busy onl ine has bough t bus iness to a new level , i t can be a hec t ic , crazy way of l i fe for many.

At the t ime o f wr i t ing Eas t London is exper ienc ing ongoing ga le force w inds and i t seems a t t imes many

are busy jus t chas ing the wind . Yoga prov ides a safe and qu iet space just to be in yoga free from pre

NEWS FRO M THE REGIONS

28

occupation and ins tab i l i ty that have troub led the area th is year .

Our teachers repor t fu l l c lasses and yet another gym has sprung up where Jul ie , S tuar t and John cope

with the in f lux of large c lasses wh i le jugg l ing fami ly and careers. Mon ique s t i l l teaches an evening

c lass at a cen tra l photography s tudio and is a wi l l ing locum when required. She was lucky enough to

attend Lois course in Cape Town th is year . Be tt ina, Pat t i and I con t inue as usual in our s tud ios . Our

weekly teachers ’ c lass, and mon thly pranayama c lasses rema in regular and impor tant par t o f our l i ves.

Over the year we have los t dear fr iends in our yoga commun ity who have passed on and I am very

gratefu l to Lo is S te inberg for her book on yoga for cancer – Iyengar Yoga Cancer Book –wh ich is prov-

ing such an invaluable too l in my e f for ts whi le ass is t ing a long term s tuden t in her prac t ice , post che-

motherapy .

The h ighl igh t of the year for me was at tend ing Stephanie Qu irks 6 t h and f ina l course on yoga therapeu-

t ics . Th is has been an amazing journey for me. I t has been grea t to have S tephan ie br ing Guru j i ’ s l i fe-

t ime work in the medica l c lass in Pune where she works wi th the Iyengars to share wi th us here in

South Afr ica.

Our f ina l course dea lt w i th the senses of percep t ion and the mind w ith i ts associa ted cond it ions, a fas-

c inat ing area o f s tudy par t icu lar ly in the cur rent d ig i ta l era where our bra ins are evo lv ing a t a speed

l ike never before . According to the sc ien t is ts , we are beginning to see a deeply d iv ided bra in gap be-

tween o lder and younger minds wh ich has resulted in more than jus t a generat ion gap but in to two

separate cu l tures .

Our pract ice t ime and the sequences g iven prov ided a wonder fu l space in wh ich to exper ience the vast-

ness of our sub jec t as w itness to the movement o f Vata through the four d iaphragms w ith in ourselves.

So thank you S tephanie and thank you to the W estern Cape in organis ing these seminars in the beauti-

fu l sur roundings of Goudin i and to Jenny for compi l ing the notes in to book let form for us .

My studen ts have cer ta in ly exper ienced the calming e ffec ts wi th bandaged heads in the ir last c lass of

recover asanas.

KWA-ZULU NATAL

STEPHANIE ALEXANDER

This has been an unusua l ly busy ha l f-year . In Pie termar i tzburg the f ina l regiona l workshop for the

year , held in la te September , was we l l a t tended , w ith par t ic ipan ts from the coast as wel l as from the

Mid lands. This was fo l lowed dur ing Oc tober by the f i rs t o f wha t is hoped w i l l become regu lar a l l -

morning pranayama workshops, th is one t imed to coinc ide wi th the annua l v is i t o f our Amer ican mem-

ber , M ichael Buchho lz , and much enjoyed by a l l 12 ser ious s tuden ts who at tended . We were able to

tap in to Michael 's exper ience of involvemen t in assessments in the U .S . dur ing our own f i rs t essay in to

readiness tes t ing . Keren Pocock sa t is f ied the r equiremen ts and w i l l begin tra in ing w ith Stephanie in

2014.

The s ix s tudent teachers from the KZN coast showed c lear ly dur ing the second-year pre l ims , held in

November , tha t they 'd worked hard and to good purpose under David and Jurgen's superv is ion. Jenny

Morr is oversaw the assessmen t procedure, and those ass is t ing w ith the process - - David, Jurgen,

Stephan ie, Mabe l H igginson and Mandy Crooks - - learned a great deal dur ing the two days o f in tense

work. A l l s tuden ts were deemed ready to move on to the th ird year o f s tudy .

As our year comes to an end we in Pie termar i tzburg have decided to celebrate wi th a lunch wh ich wi l l

a lso pay tr ibu te to B .K .S. Iyengar h imse lf , about to turn 95. We are aware tha t there w i l l be no grand

publ ic ce lebrat ions in Pune th is year and in keeping w ith tha t our own ce lebrat ion w i l l be low-key wi th

the emphasis on grat i tude, no t jus t for the Yoga d isc ip l ine tha t con t inues to bene fi t each of us phys i-

cal ly , men ta l ly and emo t ional ly , bu t a lso for the fact that Iyengar Yoga has brough t us toge ther in

fr iendsh ip and fe l lowship , a fe l lowship we share with o ther branches of the Iyengar Yoga fami ly wor ld-

wide .

29

NORTHERN CAPE

MARTIN MAREE

As I s i t down to wr i te the regiona l repor t I real ized that the year has passed by at a boggl ing speed of

l igh t. December is upon us and everybody is get t ing ready to re lax, but i t fee ls to me as i f I s t i l l need

about 6 months to ge t through everyth ing .

As far as the yoga in the Nor thern Cape is concerned, Fa t ima, Ardath and myse lf are happy to repor t

that the c lasses are doing wel l and a l though the end of year has taken i ts to l l on numbers, the core of

s tudents are s t i l l happ i ly a ttending c lasses .

The region held another garage sale, wi th great success and the money ra ised wi l l be used to sponsor

members.

We are a lso very happy and proud to announce tha t we wi l l have 3 new studen ts en ter ing teachers

tra in ing, good luck to Ane l l , Mandy and Tan ia.

Fat ima a ttended the las t of Stephanie ’s courses and came back w ith a head fu l l o f knowledge . We

have been pr iv i leged to exper ience some o f th is knowledge in our teacher mornings .

On a more persona l note , Arda th and mysel f we re lucky to have the s tudio revamped . I would l ike to

thank each and everyone who ass is ted in the mammoth task .

Ardath was nominated as Person of the year in Nor thern Cape, and a l though she d id not win, she wi l l

a lways be a w inner to us.

F inal ly I wish you a l l a fantast ic ho l iday and may we grow even b igger in 2014 .

WESTERN CAPE

MERYL URSON

Since our las t regiona l repor t , the Western Cape Iyengar sphere has been an ac t ive one .

In the midst how l ing s torms Lois Ste inberg v is i ted for a teacher ’s c lass before four days o f general

c lasses at our new ly d iscovered venue , the Por tuguese Club . And wha t a love ly haven i t was , w ith i ts

heating , i ts warm teas , soups and even warmer manager ia l s taf f , Maggie and Jonny de Sousa.

Lois , averse to cold a t the best o f t imes , was palpably re l ieved and swep t in to her teaching w ith a l l her

usual gusto and humour . Str ic t and demanding , she perhaps introduced to those unused to such chal-

lenges, how exac t ing Iyengar Yoga can be .

In October the Prel iminary Assessmen ts were once again held at G i l l ian Bacon’s s tud io , where much to

their re l ie f and our congratu la t ions , the fo l lowing people passed : ( I ’m no t sure who they are) .

As summer began to b lossom, S tephan ie Quirk a r r ived on our shores for the last of her s ix annua l v is i ts

to Sou th A fr ica. Again the Por tuguese C lub hos ted the approx ima te ly for ty o f us for a day of yoga at

General Level and as we a lways have, we lef t wi th a lo t to th ink about .

A group of teachers then accompan ied Stephan ie to Goudin i Spa for the las t of her s ix therapeutic

courses, the knowledge from which w i l l sure ly f i l ter down among us as t ime passes .

And now as December dawns, we p lan to pay tr ibute to Guru j i who turns 95 th is year . On 14 December

the Por tuguese C lub wi l l be the venue for some joyfu l yoga to celebra te th is mi lestone, fo l lowed by a

fest ive lunch . Our character - in-chief, Yse tte Myers, wi l l be teaching the Asana sect ion , whi le I wi l l

teach Pranayama.

At the end o f 2013 our regional membership numbers are as fo l lows: Teachers 63, Student Teachers 14

and Assoc iate Members 131 and , as a lways , we encourage new members to jo in the Ins t i tu te.

At the Annual General Mee ting in January 2014 I wi l l be s tepp ing down from the pos t of Cha irperson for

a host o f reasons , but I w ish my incoming replacement a l l the bes t in the pos i t ion.

30

I a lso wish to thank mos t grate fu l ly a l l those who have worked a longs ide me for these past f ive years,

but most par t icu lar ly my Commi ttee members, Riva Hirschowitz (Secretary) and Stra tford Canning

(Treasurer ) . Their hard work and good cheer have not only kep t the Ins t i tu te ’s wheels turn ing , but my

personal ones too.

So as the year runs ou t I w ish you a b lessed Fest ive Season and a quie t Namas te in a l l i ts rush and

bust le .

ZIMBABWE

JENNY GEDDES

I t has been a busy year in Bulawayo wi th 8 c lasses being run weekly . Sue Bryan t at tend Lois Stern-

berg 's course in August in Cape Town and Jenny Geddes wi l l a t tend the 6th and f ina l year of the Reme-

dia l Teacher Tra in ing course being he ld a t Goud in i Spa by S tephanie Quirk .

Un for tuna te ly the two s tuden ts in tra in ing have decided to drop out o f the programme and no t continue

with the ir 3rd year . They s t i l l have ano ther year to dec ide on whe ther to go back and comp lete the 3rd

year , bu t bo th are so commi t ted in the ir work , tha t they jus t fee l the pressure is too grea t.

On my re turn from Cape Town w i l l be going in to hospita l in Johannesburg to have a Bi-La tera l Tota l

Knee Rep lacemen t. My knees have been g iv ing me a great deal of pa in and i t has become increasingly

worse th is year . Have known s ince our acc iden t 12 years ago that i t was lead ing up to th is . Af ter com-

ing out of hosp ita l wi l l go in to a sma l l rehab c l in ic for another 7 days and hopefu l ly by then w i l l be more

mobi le . Wil l on ly return to Bulawayo ear ly Janua ry .

TEACHER TRAINING

GILL IAN BACON

This year has been a year o f change and progress. Changes were made to the Pract ica l Teacher Tra in-

ing Requiremen ts for “Coun try S tuden t Teachers ” and the Introduc tory and In termed iate Jun ior Resi-

dentia l Teacher Tra in ing. These changes a l low for a more accommodat ing approach to the Teacher

Tra in ing programme and w i l l reduce the amoun t of travel expense. The Cer t i f ica t ion Guide l ine docu-

ments for In troductory and Intermedia te Jun ior and the Teacher Tra in ing Manual were up-da ted to re-

f lec t these changes . Thank you Jenny Morr is for up-dating the Manual and Pa t for cop ies of thereof.

I wou ld l ike to thank Centra l Commit tee for suppor t ing the Assessmen t Commit tee ’s in i t ia t ive a imed at

help ing to spread the Teacher Tra in ing Programme in to ou t ly ing regions by means of the ‘Ou treach

Programme’ . The Cen tra l Commi ttee covered the costs of the Eas tern Cape Na tional Assessments in

2012 and subsid ised the cos ts of the 2013 KZN Teacher Tra in ing . The 2013 Sou thern Cape and KZN

Prel im inary Assessments were pa id in fu l l by the ‘Ou treach Programme’ . Assessmen t Commit tee cov-

ered the tota l cost of the Southern Cape Teacher Tra in ing and the par t ia l cos t of KZN Teacher Tra in-

ing.

In November 2012 Pa tt i Gr i f f i th , Ju l ie Pearson and Bett ina S impson ob ta ined their In t . Junior Level 1

Cer t i f ica tes in Eas t London. Our hear ty congratu lat ions go to these success fu l cand idates.

Penny Lankester , Maya P faf f , Cornel ia Pro topapa, Dan ie l le R i t te l and Mar ianne Wiid were successfu l in

obta in ing their In troductory Cer t i f ica tes in Cape Town in February of th is year . Our s incere congr atu la-

t ions go to these success fu l cand idates .

Lois Ste inberg conduc ted two insp ir ing yoga seminars, one in Gau teng and one in Cape Town in August

of th is year . The las t course of Stephanie Qu irk ’s s ix course remedia l programme took p lace in Goudin i

in November 2013. Dean and Rebecca Lerner wi l l be conduct ing a seminar in Apr i l 2014 in Cape Town

and Raya from Pune wi l l be g iv ing seminars in Gauteng and Wes tern Cape in 2014.

The Teacher Tra in ing Programme at present :

31

In troduc tory Leve l.

Ten S tuden t Teachers are in the “gap year ” ca tegory .

In 2014 there w i l l be a large in take of In troductor y Studen t Teachers coun trywide. There wi l l a lso be an

Inter media te Junior Leve l 1 course in Western Cape, Gau teng and Sou thern Cape respec t ive ly p lus the

ex is t ing twen ty two Introduc tory cand ida tes. A busy year !

Kanti la l Parsho tam wi l l have 26 Ana tomy ass ignments to mark in 2014 . Anatomy ass ignmen ts ar e com-

pleted by a l l s tuden t teachers in the ir f i rs t year o f teacher tra in ing .

Teacher Tra iners, Assessors and Moderators must be commended for the ir d i l igent e ffor ts concerning

the Teacher Tra in ing . The standard of teachers emerging from the programme has been ma inta ined at a

s teady level . Co-ord ina tors , markers and those ass is t ing in ar ranging Prel ims and Na tiona l Assess-

ments , especia l ly the vo lunteers are a lso thanked for the ir e ffor ts .

Region 1 s t Year 2n d Year 3 r d Year

Eastern Cape - 1 -

Gauteng - 5 -

Kwa-Zulu Na ta l - 6 -

Southern Cape - 2 2

Western Cape - 6 -

Yoga is the golden key tha t unlocks the door to peace, tranqu i l l i ty and joy .

- BKS Iyengar

32

YogAfrica December 2013

COURSES

VISITING INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS

2014: Dean Lerner: Cape Town : 10 ― 13 April Raya Data: Johannesburg: 05 ― 07 September Cape Town: 09 ― 11 September 2015: Corine Biria: Cape Town & Johannesburg: March (dates to be confirmed)

YOGA RETREAT WITH BRIGITTA TUMMON

Yoga Retreats 2014

13 to 16 June 7 to 9 November

Bodhi Khaya Re treat Cen tre, Gansbaa i

A time of intense yoga sadhana practice of asana and pranayama in the peaceful setting of this beautiful retreat centre.

For more in format ion and booking p lease con tac t Br ig i t ta on 021 797 2810 or e-ma i l :

br ig i t ta .tummon@gma il .com

33

YogAfrica December 2013

IYENGAR YOGA IN OUDTSHOORN

THE BKS IYENGAR YOGA CENTRE, SCHOEMANSHOEK, OUDTSHOORN, KLEIN KAROO, SOUTH AFRICA

This Centre is dedica ted to the teach ings of Sr i B .K.S. Iyengar

Welcome to the BKS Iyengar Yoga Cen tre, nest led in the beaut i fu l and tranqui l Schoemanshoek va l-

ley on the way to the famous Cango caves. Sur rounded only by na ture and the majes t ic Swar tbe rg

Mounta ins , the Centre o ffers the comp lete yoga exper ience. Our fu l ly equ ipped Cen tre is des igned

to g ive the Iyengar yoga pract i t ioner the oppor tuni ty to exper ience h igh-qual i ty yoga tu i t ion in a

peacefu l and pr is t ine set t ing. Dav id and I are act ive ly invo lved in the teacher ’s tra in ing progr am

for bo th In troductory and Jun ior In termedia te levels . Tra in ing is done as a semester -s ty le program

– more deta i ls ava i lab le.

For in forma tion abou t the 3 & 6-day retreats , regular workshops and our res ident ia l teachers tra in-

ing program, p lease v is i t our webs ite, wh ich has been speci f ica l ly des igned to g ive you a compr e-

hensive p ic ture o f what the Yoga Centre has to o ffer .

The Schoemanshoek val ley of fers a var ie ty of su i tab le accommodat ion to comple te the exper ience.

The town of Oud tshoorn comp l imen ts th is qu ie t , rura l env ironmen t and George a irpor t is a mere

65kms away.

More abou t us a t h t tp: / /www. iyengaryogawi thdav id.com

Next 6-day retreats wi ll be SUMMER - Sunday, 16 t h February 2014 to Thursday, 20 t h February 2014

WINTER - Fr iday,13 t h June 2014 to Wednesday , 18 t h June 2014

Ref ine Your Teaching with a

“Teaching Beginners ” 3-day Iyengar Yoga Supplementary Teacher -Tra in ing Course

& 3-day Restora t ive Yoga Re treat

Fr iday 14 t h March – Wednesday 19 t h March 2014

For deta i ls v is i t our websi te

34

YogAfrica December 2013

IYENGAR YOGA AT BUDDHIST RETREAT CENTRE, IXOPO

IYENGAR YOGA AT BUDDHIST RETREAT CENTRE, IXOPO WITH JUDY FARAH - 4 t h Ju ly to 10 t h July 2014

Th is magni f i cent Ret reat Cent re in KwaZulu-Nata l o f fers a peacefu l space for the heart and soul

t o open up to some quie t and focused Yoga Sadhana.

I t can be done in two sect ions: 1 Beginn ing Fr iday evening 19h00, 04 Ju ly to Sunday lunch 06 Ju ly . 2 Beginn ing Fr iday evening 19h0 0, 04 Ju ly to Thurs day lunch 10 Ju ly .

(Fr iday D inne r i s serve d at the BRC at 17h30)

The re t reat w i l l cons is t o f Asana (Postures ) and Pran ayama (bre ath ing), which w i l l bu i ld up over the course of the 7 days. A l l l eve ls o f pract i t i oner are most welcome.

For fur ther deta i l and booking s p lease contact the BRC on 039 8341863 or

brc i xopo@futurenet . co.za. Check the web s i te h t tp : / /www.brc i xopo.co.za

The more I work the more ins ign i f i cant my ef for t s appears to be. I have to be content w ith th i s d i v ine d iscontent

which dr i ves me on. - BKS Iyengar

35

YogAfrica December 2013

NOTICES

Newsle tter comp i led and ed ited by Riva H irschowitz .

Typesett ing by Stra tford Cann ing.

Our s incere thanks to a l l who took the t ime and made the ef for t to con tr ibu te to the con ten ts o f th is magaz ine . Anyone w ishing to con tr ibu te ar t i c les, pho tos, in forma tion or suggest ions to the newsle tter may contac t our ed itor : Ph 082 782 8275, ema i l : r iva.h irschowi tz@gmai l .com

‘Knowledge has no ends’ –BKS Iyengar

Your annual subscr ip t ion is due for renewa l by 31 s t January 2014. Please ensure that you pay your subs in t ime to your Regional Treasurer , a t the same t ime ad-v is ing any changes in your con tact de ta i ls . Th is wi l l enable us to s tay in touch wi th you. Banking deta i ls can be found on the webs i te. Go to www.bks iyengar .co.za , c l ick on START YOGA and then on ‘Jo in Our Ins t i tu te ’ . The rates rema in the same as lev ied in the pas t three years. The ra tes are: Teachers: R450*

Studen t Teachers (who teach c lasses) R300

Associate Members R180 ( inc luding non- teaching teachers) * Inc ludes Cer t i f ica t ion fee. The renewal form wi l l be sent to you separate ly .

RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP FOR 2014