Yoga for the Dancer The Various Yoga Disciplines IV
As we continue with our various Yoga disciplines, let's look at Yoga as a lifestyle. This means living Yoga, practicing Yoga every day, whether it's physical exercises or meditation. It also means applying the wisdom of Yoga to everyday life and to live with awareness. Yoga has an influence on what we eat, how we sleep, work, and relate to others, etc. It offers a total system of conscious and skillful living.
Iyengar Yoga, developed by B.K.S. Iyengar more than 60 years ago, promotes strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance through coordinated breathing and poses that require precise body alignment, stability, firmness, and comfort. To help with alignment, equipment like cushions, blankets, straps, belts, blocks, and even sand bags are used to assist in this strive for perfection in the posture. Iyengar's theory is by achieving exact alignment of the posture, maximum benefit is derived and energy is allowed to flow through the body. Although Iyengar incorporates the traditional asanas (exercises) that make up the broader category of Hatha Yoga, the props make it possible for even the elderly, sick, and disable to practice. Because of it's slow pace (and rest between asanas), attention to detail, and use of props, Iyengar is especially good if you're recovering from an injury.
Iyengar was the brother-in-law of great Yoga master Shri Krishnamacharya and uncle of T.K.V. Desikachar; all three have heavily influenced Yoga in the western world. As a teenager in Pune, India, Iyengar suffered from malaria, typhoid fever, and respiratory difficulties. Stricken by poverty and disease for much of his young life, he was neither flexible nor strong as he grew into a young man. He was discouraged from studying Yoga and out of frustration he began to teach himself the practice. After mastering his own frail health, he began teaching others and started studying with Krishnamacharya. This is when he met his teacher's sister Ramamani. His Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, founded in 1974 in Pune is dedicated to his late wife. It attracts people from all over the world to study with Iyengar.
In the early 1960's, while my teacher, Richard Hittleman, was teaching America Yoga on TV, Iyengar was here opening teacher training studios. He has trained thousands of teachers, and in turn, they are now training new teachers. Iyengar teachers are required to complete two to five years of training for certification. Iyengar has a rigorous and scientific approach to Hatha Yoga. He stresses understanding the body and how it works. His emphasis is on alignment and props for individual needs. The props have established his technique. The focus in an Iyengar class is on symmetry. There may be a lot of standing poses in beginning classes. The flow of a class can vary greatly as a result of changing the props for various postures. Since there are so many Iyengar trained teachers, it will be fairly easy to find a class devoted to his style. Here's To Your Dancing Health!
Revolved Head to Knee Pose
Most of our day-to-day movements involve forward bending. This lateral stretch works into the tiny MUSCLES between the side RIBS while giving the TORSO a welcome twist. You receive a nice stretch in the LEGS, ARMS, and the whole ENTIRE SIDE. The ABDOMINAL ORGANS are contracted strongly and the KIDNEYS are squeezed, rejuvenating the BLOOD SYSTEM of the body. Dancer and I disclaim any liabilities or loss in connection with the exercise and advice herein.
a. Sit with your right leg extended to the side and your left leg bent at the knee in front of you. With your right hand on your left leg, twist the body to the left and look upward.
b. Keep your body turned upward as you reach with your arms stretching toward your right leg. Hold 10-20 counts. Repeat identical movements on the opposite side. Rest and repeat on both sides.