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I’m pleased to announce my new level 2 class on Mondays at 9 am at the Brooklyn Iyengar Institute.

I had an excellent month studying at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune. My schedule included classes with Abhijata, Raya, Rajlaxmi, and many other fine instructors.

A discipline like yoga humbles the earnest practitioner to such a degree that the idea of mastery is a distant dream – a point B to keep us going. In one sense, this is just perfect, as we should always see ourself as at point A. And yet. During a recent class at the Iyengar Institute of New York, teacher Kevin Gardiner said, “This work is intermediate/advanced – it isn’t how you teach a beginner, nor is it how a beginner should practice.” He then went on to discuss how Iyengar himself practiced differently than his students. I don’t think Mr. Gardiner meant that as a lofty, divisive statement. I took it to mean that there was a depth Iyengar was practicing toward that required he treat his movements and actions in a more refined manner, and that it was the natural result of all his prior work.
In my teaching, I’m often working with students to create a clear framework. In one sense, the idea of mastery is akin to fine motor skills developing in a child – i.e. they have ‘mastered’ the use of their hands when they can pick things up, open doors, etc. When a beginner struggles with the physical movement of Trikonasana, that period of wrestling with the shape is essential to learning. Once we are established in the idea of Trikonasana, it makes room for another level of observation and experience. It doesn’t in any way say that the pose is finished or perfected, it just allows the work to occur on another level – because it can and, I think Mr. Gardiner, and Mr Iyengar, in fact, would say because it must.

Suffice it to say, one struggles to find accurate or effective wording to convey this. Mr. Gardiner lead us through familiar postures, such as Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose), imbued with a distinct depth of detail in the abdomen, frontal pelvis and various parts of the hand. The work of the hand made a familiar movement, that I had done literally thousands of times, feel completely different. We tell a beginner to stretch their arms, but this approach made the arms feel alert yet more relaxed. It was confusing and amazing.

And so I left the room both confused and amazed, ever more aware of the work needed to be done. Mastery on a very superficial level might mean having a big picture idea of what a posture is. It makes room for another point A, and an ever more wonderfully distant point B.

Beginning this July, I’ll be teaching a Level 1 Class at the Iyengar Institute of Brooklyn on Fridays at 6pm.

During high school, I was playing electric bass. I jammed with friends, listened to records, and talked about music every spare second. At some point, I stumbled upon a collection of essays about various Jazz musicians. The descriptions about each artist, from avant-garde stalwart Albert Ayler, to Count Basie and Duke Ellington, remained etched into my subconscious long before I’d heard much of their music. Now, in one sense, reading a book (I’m pretty sure critic Gene Lees was the author) of this ilk was invaluable in one way; it exposed to me to the vast and diverse world of jazz, and it could be argued that I might have not discovered any of these musicians without some guidance.

But it had consequences somehow. I didn’t realize that I’d been seduced by the curator class.

What the hell is that??

The curator’s role is not making stuff. At best, a curator serves as a needed, or at least useful, conduit between stuff and you (the consumer). So I was reading the well-articulated views of a non-musician, or an amateur musician, who clearly felt passionately about the subject of jazz, and checking out recordings. But the words were hopelessly in front of the experience. Does that make sense? I think it makes sense if you’ve experienced what I’m talking about. I think this sort of backwards entry into jazz created an approach that I’d call head-first, euphemistically. It created a harmful pattern of putting too many words around an experience, and it took a long time to break out of it.

It’s hard. We have to have names for stuff. But even that is a problem. When I teach ‘yoga’, I have to use words, and I have to call the subject ‘yoga’. In a sense that definition is the conduit for an idea, but is it the idea? I’m not sure. I do know that my attention to simple movement in the body takes me somewhere, and that experience is easily tainted by definition. I’m hopeful my words are conduits for authentic ideas in my students. But my seeing (and saying, really) are limited in the end.

Social media fosters a fertile environment for aspiring curators. One could probably say that any educator is a curator of ideas, but the modern ‘curator class’ I’m referring to are web critics, bloggers (ha) and the like who put short blurbs above articles, links to books, recordings, etc.

Yoga has its own legion of curators. You can even take workshops with yoga curators, which is kind of insane, since a yoga instructor is another curator. So it’s essentially curated curation. Anyway, I’ve stated that internet discourse is usually reactive. Thus the pull is all the more seductive. I know this piece might be confusing, but I need to cement my commitment to the ‘doing’ role, and leave the curators to talk about it amongst themselves.

 

I’m pleased to announced that I’ve passed assessment, and am Certified Iyengar Yoga Techer (CIYT). I previously completed another training in 2009.  This process was far more labor intensive, but very worthwhile. Coming later this fall, I hope to have a lot more offerings at my home studio. Watch this space for a new site and a bit of rebranding.

I continue to teach a wide range of public classes. In my home, I’m going to establish courses, which many might not realize was the way classes were originally sold at the Iyengar Institue of New York. As a matter of fact, though they are no longer explicitly sold that way, they are still taught that way. I’m excited to offer students in my area a bona fide yoga education, as opposed to the casual class.

I’d like to publicly express thanks to the many students, current and former, who helped me to learn and pass my assessment. You are my real teachers!

It’s the first week back to school for many. This is a great time of year, and many of us recommit to our disciplines with more zeal, or find new outlets. To be honest, I’ve been ‘back to school’ for several years, and am basically in the throes of it. When you decide to take on Iyengar teaching as a thing, you basically become a full-time student forever. The certification process is long and arduous. It’s worked really well for me. Basically it’s forced me to understand the work to a degree that I might not have otherwise. And it’s put me in the room observing my teacher, James Murphy, for hundreds of hours. Like jazz, we learn teaching osmotically. I watch what he says, and what he doesn’t say. I watch what he does, and doesn’t do. I move things around in the room, mainly to make things work out better for the students. Sometimes I rescue someone stuck in sarvangasana. 

What struck me the most about Iyengar Yoga was the quality of the teachers, and the community that, in my view, is really based on teaching. Iyengar himself had a fervent commitment to teaching and learning. I lament that what I see in the contemporary culture of yoga has veered away from that. Popular classes are mainly lead sequences without any precision, detail or refinement. But rue learning is demanding, and not always polite. Generally, learning thoroughly involves unlearning habits that are holding one back, and that’s rarely much fun. But kriya yoga begins with tapas (austerity, mortification, inner fire), according to Patanjali. That’s where the parinarma (transformation) takes hold.

So, with the new school year now afoot, consider redoubling your commitment to your yoga practice. Study with teachers who demand the most of you. As Genny Kapuler often says, “Even a long life isn’t forever”.

It was a wonderful weekend in Boca Raton. Those in attendance were treated to some spectacular yoga teaching, courtesy of Abhijata Sridhar. She smiled and sparkled, and spoke to all of us. Deep layers moved that I hadn’t felt before.

 

I’ll be offering an Introductory Series at my studio beginning in March. These four classes offer students new to Iyengar Yoga a basic framework for practice, and emphasize standing postures, as well as inversions and restorative work. Those suffering from minor injuries and conditions can be accommodated.

Introductory Series

3/13, 3/20, 3/27 and 4/3

3-4:30pm

$60

Space is limited, and the semi-private nature of these sessions allows for a lot of attention.  For more information, contact me.

 

I’ve toyed with the idea of offering a runner’s yoga class, but I keep stopping myself. There’s a part of me that resists the concept from an ethical standpoint. I don’t really believe that runners need a different form of yoga. There is not one group of muscles, bones, or emotional states that pertains to running more than any other. Runners stand to benefit greatly from yoga, and they should just do yoga.

But there are ways one could practice after a run that are more beneficial than others. Because running is a vigorous, heating activity, poses with support allow for longer, more passive release  and are very beneficial. One doesn’t necessarily need to start with heating poses, such as standing postures, following a run. Because the calves and thighs are used so strongly in running, a five minute virasana, with height as needed under the buttock bones, and a rolled mat between the calves and thighs, is really nice for runners. The front of the thigh is allowed to lengthen, the low back can soften, and the shins receive some nice pressure from the floor, in effect massaging them. I’d suggest moving on to supta virasana for 3-5 minutes, depending on what you can handle (some could handle more than that). Supta virasana increases the effects of virasana, but allows for greater chest opening – and since many runners collapse their chests, this is very helpful. You should learn these poses in person from a skilled teacher.

Runners who have tried these poses tell me they get some relief from shin splints and hip tightness that come from running. They are only the tip of the iceberg, but a nice place to start. I ran through my 20s and became very tight from lack of stretching. I’d suggest leaving some time after your runs to stretch and restore, but I understand that time is limited. But my feeling is that you’ll recover much better with at least 15 -20 minutes of yoga.

Here is one possible routine

virasana 5 min

supta virasana 5 min

uttanasana 3-5 min

forward sukasana 1-2 min each crossing

viparita karani 5 min or longer time permitting

Practical use of a list like this relies on information you’ve received from a qualified teacher. Give yourself some time to learn the basic mechanics of poses before launching into super-long holds. But please let me know if you try these ideas, and if they work for you.