a center for
personal and planetary
awakening

Mystic River Yoga
196 Boston Avenue
Suite 3900
Medford, MA 02155

781 396 0808
info@MysticRiverYoga.com

and what is the Iyengar approach to teaching yoga?

Iyengar is one of the worlds foremost teachers of yoga and author of the classic works " Light on Yoga", "Light on Pranayama", "Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali", "The Tree of Yoga", and "The Art of Yoga". Now 86 years old, his daily yoga practice and impassioned teaching are a source of continuous amazement and inspiration for all of his students around the world.

Born is southern India in 1918, he was introduced to the art of yoga by his brother-in-law, world renowned yoga master Shri T. Krishnamacharya in 1934 to help young Iyengar overcome poor health. Yoga soon became his life long passion. He moved to Pune in 1937 and began his own teaching career. His early years there were full of hardships and challenges, physical and financial, as well as being accepted as a teacher. He introduced teaching yoga to groups and was a pioneer in teaching yoga to women. His ten hour a day practices strained his nerves to the maximum but he persevered. His practice began to pay rewards in the 1940's as his classes gained in popularity. Many medical people began to refer patients to his classes as he began to adapt classical yoga poses to the special needs of each student. Today, Iyengar's therapeutic work with all forms of ailments draw teachers, doctors and patients from around the world to Pune to work with him and his trained staff in his medical classes.

In 1946, Iyengar met J. Krishnamurthi, the renowned Indian philosopher and they soon developed a deep relationship as Iyengar helped K. with his poses and K. helped introduce Iyengar to Europe and the West. The famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin also became a student and he too opened doors in the west for Iyengar's work to be received.

When "Light on Yoga" was first published in the 1960's, the west was finally ready to plunge into the depths of the intense form of yoga taught by B.K.S.Iyengar. He began visiting England and Switzerland and built up followings all over Europe. The practice began to blossom here in the United States with his first visits in the early 1970's and by 1980, B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Centers were appearing in all the major cities of the U.S. Today, Iyengar Yoga National Association of the U.S. (IYNAUS) organizes the activities and serves as a center to exchange information on teachers and yoga studies in the Iyengar method.

B.K.S. Iyengar continues to practice, teach and write at his home in Pune, India. His yoga school, The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune serves as the teaching center for the international Iyengar community. Classes are offered for all levels of students and special teacher training sessions occur throughout the year.

What is the Iyengar approach to Yoga?
The Iyengar system is known for its emphasis on proper alignment of the body when performing the yoga poses, for the use of props to support and aid the student to achieve postures that might be otherwise unachievable, and the emphasis on standing poses as the basis for all other asanas. The poses are introduced sequentially so that experience comes and a balanced practice of all categories of poses can be experienced. This system has a tremendous depth available to the teacher and student.

See also:
~ About Mystic River Yoga
~ Styles of yoga we teach
~ Our philosophy-personal & planetary awakening