“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 postures (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.

Ūrdhva Mukha Svanāsana. Upward facing dog pose with support  

What is within

“What is spiritual about the manifest is not the part that leaves tracks in the snow.” —Mary Oliver

Yoga makes the doorway into the body into that space within

Padma Mayūrāsana lotus-peacock pose

Who are you?

“And the speck of my heart, in my shed of flesh and bone, began to sing out, the way the sun would sing if the sun could sing, if light had a mouth and a tongue, if the sky had a throat, if god wasn’t just an idea but shoulders and a spine, gathered up from everywhere, even the most distant planets, blazing up. “ —Mary Oliver

 “Asanas, important though they are for the health and balance of the body, have a deeper purpose: to diffuse the consciousness uniformly throughout the body, so that duality between senses, nerves, cells, mind, intelligence are eradicated and the whole being is in harmony.” —BKS Iyengar, from the Introduction to Swatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika transl. by Rieker

 “It is by the will of awareness to penetrate that intelligence is able to move into and occupy the darkest recesses of our being. This intelligence is clarity to lighten the darkness. This is the dawn of wisdom, the intuitive insight that sees because it sees, knows because it knows, and acts immediately and spontaneously because the three powers of body, energy, and awareness have merged and aligned themselves with the light emitted by the soul.” —Yogācārya B.K.S. Iyengar, “Light on Life,” p. 172-3.

Ardha Chandrāsana ~~half moon with support (trestler/horse)

Yoga during pregnancy

 “Physical health is of course essential and it comes through Yoga, but mental calmness and health is (even) more important. Therefore, we have to attend to the mother in such a way that she develops a very serene mental attitude. Her yoga practices should be such that she inherits a feeling of happiness and quietness.” —Dr. Geeta S. Iyengar on the subject of teaching yoga during pregnancy, Yoga Rahasya, Vol. 4, no.1, “ Yoga for Women.” 💫

Prenatal Classes at the Iyengar Yoga Center of Grand Rapids continue on Thursdays, 7:15-8:30pm in March. Students must register in advance so we can hold class. 

Union

A seed breaks open and dissolves

in the ground. Only then

does a new fig tree come into being.

This is the meaning

of die before you die.

Rumi VI 4052-4053. 

Chakra Bandhāsana ~~chakra=nerve center/fly-wheels of the machine (part of the subtle body)bandha=fetter/bond

Cosmic intelligence

“Yoga sadhana is meant to knit the fibers to the skin and skin to the fibers so that they coil and interweave the outer kośa (musculoskeletal level of being) into the atma kośa (soul level). Only then can the Oneness of the power we create within ourselves be integrated with the universal power that surrounds us. The power of awareness is nothing less than cosmic intelligence seeping and soaking into the dark spaces of our being to illuminate them with consciousness. Consciousness has to settle down with clarity, brightness, and serenity..” Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 172.