“Yoga for children is one way to ensure that our children grow up healthy and happy. Of the many aspects of Yoga, Yama and niyama and Asana are relevant for children. While the principles Yama and niyama reinforce the universal values such as truth, non-violence, cleanliness and contentment, the āsanas help a growing child develop physically, emotionally, and psychologically. In this way Yoga is a necessary complement to formal education. By practicing this wonderful art and science, children can blossom into healthy and well-balanced men and women with strong bodies, clear minds and pure hearts.” Chanchani, “Yoga for Children”. ......

This is my son Sebastien hanging out in rope Śīrsāsana before class at the Iyengar Yoga Center of Grand Rapids. He’s been attending the Level 1 class for 6 months and is happy kids yoga is back on the schedule. Kids Yoga class is Tuesdays 4:30pm - 5:15pm. 

 “Our body does not want to open itself in the way we see in a perfectly expressed asana. So we apply ourselves and learn the adjustments that will cause the whole body to open. We extend and redress our arm, lengthen the chest, and open the pelvis. But we also, in the process of applied learning, open our mind and intelligence.” Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, Light on Life. p. 62.

Chelsea Tiernan, PhD, CIYT, teaching the community class (Level 1) Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2)  

“The practice of meditation frees one from all affliction. This is the path of yoga. Follow it with determination and sustained enthusiasm...”. Bhagavad Gita, śloka 6.23

In Iyengar Yoga we train the restless mind to become absorbed in the actions of the body through the practice of asana (first), then the breath (pranayama). Through developing the skill of concentration on the experience of the present, these practices prepare the student for meditative states leading toward experiences of oneness or union.

Iyengar Yoga Deep Study Saturday with Jennifer Beaumont at the Iyengar Yoga Center of Grand Rapids. January 27:

9am Pranayama

10:30am - 1pm Asana

2pm - 3:15pm Teacher Mentoring

Photo is Jennifer Beaumont practicing Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana with the support of a chair

The bow the arrow the target

“Use the body to discipline the mind and to reach the soul. Asanas, when done with the right intention, will help to transform an individual by taking the person away from an awareness of just the body toward the consciousness of the soul. Body is the bow, asana the arrow, and soul is the target.” BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 62-3.

Dhanurāsana. Bow pose  

In the heart

“It is the light of lights,

beyond all darkness: it is knowledge,

the object and goal of all knowledge;

it is seated in the hearts of all beings.”  

Bhagavad Gita

Eka Pāda Rajakapotāsana III 

One legged king pigeon #3

Oneness

The presence that pervades the universe is imperishable, unchanging, beyond both is and is not: how could it ever vanish?

Myriad beings emanate from the One

and have their source in the One. —13.30 Bhagavad Gita

Ākarna Dhanurāsana (stage II) — near the ear bow pose 

Freedom through disciplined practice

“When we are free from physical disabilities, emotional disturbances, and mental distractions, we open the gates to our soul (atma). To understand this, one must gain far more than technical proficiency, and one must do asana not merely as a physical exercise but as a means to understand and then integrate the body with our breath, with our mind, with our intelligence, with our consciousness, and with our core. In this way, one can experience true integration and reach the ultimate freedom.” BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 23. From the chapter on Stability—the Physical Body (Āsana). 

Baddha Padmāsana— bound lotus pose 

Earth quality

“For the yogi, the physical body corresponds to one of the elements of nature, namely the earth. We are mortal clay and we return to dust. All cultures recognize this truth, but nowadays we treat us at as mere metaphor. It is more than that. As you explore your own body, you are in fact exploring this element of nature itself. You are also developing the qualities of earth within yourself: solidity, shape, firmness, and strength.  As we perfect āsanas, we will come to understand the true nature of our embodiment, of our being, and of the divinity that animates us.” BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 22-23.  

~~Virabhadrasana II ~ warrior