In Iyengar Yoga, the yoga mat is essentially a laboratory for exploration. Students are not expected to know how to do the poses correctly. Rather, the expectation is that students show up with a willingness to learn, observe, and explore different facets of the asanas.

Yoga, by definition, is about union - the union of mind and body. Importantly, it’s not about the union of somebody’s body with somebody’s mind, it’s about the union of your body with your mind. This may seem like semantics, but it’s significant. To me, this is really the heart of what makes yoga a contemplative practice, not a sport or merely exercise.

What is Iyengar Yoga? That's a good question! And one that as a practitioner of the method for almost 20 years, you would think I could easily answer. But Iyengar Yoga is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Still sitting on the fence about online Iyengar Yoga? I get it. Trying something new comes with its own set of mind-chatter and trust me, I've heard it all! In this blog, I bust several myths about online Iyengar Yoga and also share tips for setting up a space in your home to support you on your yoga journey.

In this post, I explain why Iyengar Yoga is exceptionally well-suited for beginners. I also share why, as far as beginner classes go, no one teaches the foundational poses better than a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher! And, if you are nervous about trying online yoga, please read right to the end. I wrote this post especially for you!

In this post, I describe the 3 most popular ways to practice yoga online and also share practical advice for figuring out which approach is best for you. Lots of great info for beginners!

The core teaching is the same, it’s what I consider to be the essence of Iyengar Yoga: develop & harness new awareness & sensitivity through Yoga.

One thing that keeps coming to mind is how special it is to be here and get to be a student of yoga in the truest sense. There is no obligation to teach, no obligation to impress, no obligation to earn an income. My sole responsibility is to study, to delve into my yoga practice.

Unbelievably I am already 14 days into my month of study here, at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. Where does the time go?! Every time I come, I think I am going write a prolific number of blog posts about my experience and then I sit down to write and…nothing. It’s so bizarre.

To follow is a brief outline of the 5 Yamas and a thought process I commonly use to bridge my yoga on the mat with my yoga off the mat.

BKS Iyengar developed a series of syllabi and instructed the founding members of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Canada to follow these syllabi when training and ultimately certifying new teachers.

Picture this: you go to a yoga class and it’s amazing. After class, you feel refreshed, clear, invigorated. You think, ‘wow, I wish I could feel like this all the time’. So, while it’s still fresh in your mind, you jot down the sequence. The next day you go and practice ‘the sequence’. You have a great practice.

A concept that BKS Iyengar often referred to when discussing practice is ‘effortless effort’. I remember the first time I heard that phrase.

I approached the mat with the intention of practicing backbends. I spent much of the morning looking forward to a vigorous and uplifting afternoon practice.

In my early days as a yoga student, one of my first teachers said something that has always stuck with me. He said that as beginners, we come to yoga with legs and arms.

I’ve always been acutely aware of how different my right side is from my left. Early on in my practice, I noticed that in most of my standing poses, going to the right comes more smoothly for me.

The celebration took place at the lovely Govinda Gardens and I would estimate that about 1000 people were there to honour Guruji.

One of the things I love about both the practice and the teaching of Iyengar yoga is that the learning never stops. It seems like the process of continuous improvement is inherent to the Iyengar Yoga method. This, I believe, is a good thing.