Practice is the foundation for teaching

“As the master tests the pupils, so too the pupils should test the teachers’ standards before accepting them as teachers. A medical man cannot give medicine without undergoing proper training. So the pupils must give medicine to their teachers if they know that their standards are not up to the right level. This is known as an ethical discipline. Teaching with practice is ethical, but it is unethical when teachers teach without clarity in their practice.” ~~BKS Iyengar, from the essay On Teachers and Teaching from his book “Tree of Yoga”, p. 163. 

~~ Jennifer Beaumont, CIYT, teaching a pregnant beginner student.

Photo by Matthew Provoast

the body as the means

Yoga allows us to move forward in our lives.

“Is not the greater challenge and greater fulfillment to be found living in the world with its tribulations and temptations, and at the same time to maintain balance and self-control in everyday life?  To be spiritual, one must not deny or forget the body. Throughout the journey to the spiritual goal, the body must be kept active. Yoga is as old and traditional as civilization, yet it persist in modern society as a means to achieving essential vitality. But Yoga demands that we develop not only strength in body but attention and awareness in mind. The yogi knows that the physical body is not only the temple for our soul but the means by which we embark on the inward journey toward the core. Only by first attending to the physical body can we hope to accomplish anything in our spiritual lives. If a man or woman has aspirations to experience the divine, but his or her body is too weak to bear the burden, of what use are their aspirations or ambitions? That’s all the more reason, therefore for the vast majority of us who suffer physical limitations and debilities to some degree to start Yoga as soon as possible so that we may fit ourselves for the journey ahead of us. Yoga offers us techniques to become aware, to expand and penetrate, and to change and evolve in order to become competent in the lives we live and to initiate sensitivity and receptivity toward the life of which we are still only dimly aware.” Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 21-22. 

Stability

BKS Iyengar on Stability —the Physical Body:

“We begin at the level of the physical body, the aspect of ourselves that is most concrete and accessible to all of us. It is here that yogasana practice and pranayama practice allow us to understand our body with ever greater insight and through the body to understand our mind and reach our soul. To a yogi, the body is a laboratory for life, a field of experimentation and perpetual research.“ ~~BKS Iyengar, “Light on Life”, p. 22  

In the Iyengar Yoga method, we begin with learning grounding standing poses as they help us learn to safely align our musculoskeletal body and correct how we walk, stand and move on our two feet.

Tadāsana ~~Mountain Pose ~~ 

illuminate with union

“Don’t be satisfied with borrowed light.

Let your brow and your face illuminate with union.”

Rumi, IV. 3240.

Preparation for Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana II from Tadāsana. 

involution

 “The gradual involution of the senses and stilling of the mind with the aid of the breath make the practitioner fit for concentration and meditation. Involution means “tuning in”... Consciousness (citta) and vital energy (prana) are in constant association. Where consciousness is focused, there must be the energy of prana too, and where you direct the energy of prana, consciousness follows. Consciousness is propelled by two powerful forces, energy (prana) and desires (vasana). It moves in the direction of whichever force is more powerful. If breath (prana) prevails, then desires are controlled, the senses are held in check, and the mind is pacified. If the force of desire gets the upper hand, the breath becomes uneven, and the mind becomes agitated. These are things you can actually observe, just as you observe right measure and balance in Asana, and this is why and where the practice of yoga brings self-knowledge (svadhyaya). You will not reach knowledge of the divine Self without passing through self-knowledge. Your practice is the laboratory, and your methods must become ever more penetrating and sophisticated. Whether you are in Asana or doing Pranayama, the awareness of the body extends outward, but the senses of perception, mind, and intelligence should be drawn inward.” ~~Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 102, on Pratyahara from the chapter on Vitality—The Energy Body.~~

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Eka Pada Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana ~~ One Legged Upward Bow Pose. With support of the forearms against two blocks and the wall.

within the screen, behind the veil

 “The body itself is a screen

to shield and partially reveal

the light that’s blazing

inside your presence...

A secret we sometimes know

and then not. “

—Rumi, V. 234-6. 

Patañjali Yoga Sutras:

1.3 Tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam ~~then the seer swells in her own true splendor

1.4 Vrttih svarupyam itaratra. ~~At other times the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness.

Pasāsana ~ noose pose  

right effort

“In art, self-discipline and right application in effort act as the two wings of the artist by which he rises to lofty heights.  Effort is the propelling force which spurs one with the power of will and strength to start on one’s chosen art. It is an energetic endeavor to combat weaknesses, moods and pessimism. Effort is of two types, mechanical and dynamic. Mechanical involvement is repetitious; it is habit forming and brings some mobility but no enlightenment. Dynamic effort is total, signifying a single-minded and intense approach.”

—Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, Art of Yoga, p. 27.

whirling in joy and creation

A deep silence revives the listening...

Like the ground turning green in the spring wind.

Like birdsong beginning in the egg.

Like this universe coming into existence,

the lover wakes, and whirls in a dancing joy,

then kneels down in praise.

Rumi, III, 4691-3.

Parivrttaikapada Śīrsāsana

one-legged or split-legged revolving headstand