What is yoga?

Yoga, the term

The word "yoga" refers to a series of mental and physical exercises that originated in India. The term yoga (Sanskrit: "to yoke, to bind together, to harness") can mean both "integration" and the "harnessing" and "tensing" of the body to the soul for concentration and concentration, or the union of the individual soul with the universal soul (i.e. with God). Since every path to God-realization can be called yoga, there are different names for the various yoga paths in India, which are adapted to the respective dispositions of those striving for God-realization.

Yama (ethical rules), niyama (personal discipline), asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing technique), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and meditation in varying degrees of refinement are the cornerstones of yoga. The practice of yoga is always twofold: the actual exercise polishes the body and sharpens the mind; the detachment from the rule of desire brings peace of mind.

The philosophical foundations of yoga were primarily formulated by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra, while the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, among others, also provide information about yoga.

Patanjali and the royal yoga

Yoga was codified around 2000 years ago by a sage called Patanjali in his work Yoga Sutra. Today, this work is regarded by every yoga practitioner as the definitive text on yoga.
Patanjali's yoga consists of eight limbs:

• Yama - Universal ethical disciplines (dealing with the external world)
• Niyama - rules for your own behavior (dealing with the inner world)
• Asana - practicing postures
• Pranayama - practicing certain breathing techniques
• Pratyahara - mastery over the sensory organs
• Dharana - dominion over the mind
• Dhyana - Meditation
• Samadhi - The emergence into the infinite

Moments of experiencing the higher limbs can occur at any level and with any limb of the practice, which elevates the practice beyond the realm of physical/mental endeavor.

Yoga is built on a foundation of ethics (yama) and personal discipline (niyama). These are universal guidelines found in all societies. Therefore, from a practical point of view, asana can be seen as the beginning of yoga.

Each link forms a part of the whole. In addition, tradition teaches us that even if you have achieved great things in yoga, you should continue practicing asana and pranayama for the health of your body.

How do I recognize
Iyengar yoga?

Iyengar yoga is named after B.K.S. Iyengar,
a modern day master of yoga.

Importance of alignment

Iyengar yoga is famous for its emphasis on correct alignment of the body. Good alignment of the bones and joints leads to better balance without unnecessary work in the muscles. In this way we gain stability in the postures with less effort. Correct alignment strengthens the cardiovascular system, creates space in the body and improves the flow of energy, which brings health and well-being. Paying attention to body alignment is different from making a long list of details to consider when performing yoga poses (asanas). Rather, it is about developing body awareness that reaches into all aspects of life.

Body awareness

Mature practitioners can make corrections and refinements without disturbing the rest of the body by understanding the relationships and connections in the body. The corrections are retained by the practitioner's "body memory". A refined body awareness opens up the possibility of freeing blocked areas of the body. This is one of the reasons why Iyengar yoga can sustainably increase the practitioner's well-being.

Connections

Through his teaching, Iyengar has shown how we can understand connections between the different parts of the body. He teaches that the spine receives the effect of the work in the legs. This is a fundamental principle for all asanas. The work of the feet and legs makes the spine longer in both standing postures and inverted postures. It is often ineffective to work directly on a problematic area of the body. Instead, we prefer to learn to understand the connections that provide information about the problem. Practicing the postures means exploring, discovering and mastering the connections in the body through practice.

Impulses, not movements

When we practise Iyengar yoga, we discover the difference between an impulse ("action") and a movement ("movement"). As beginners, our attention can only grasp the gross body and external, physical movements. As we become more refined, we experience a different way of practicing. We learn to use all our senses in order to be able to perceive not only external but also internal events. Then we reach the point described by Iyengar "where the mind appears as a bridge between the muscular movements and the sensory organs, summoning the intellect and connecting it to every part of the body." We sharpen our discernment and analyze what we feel in the body. It's about the "impulse". "Impulse" is when we cause an inner stretching, a movement that can remain invisible to the outsider, giving our postures, however, intelligence and wisdom.

Train the asanas individually

Through his teaching, Iyengar has shown how we can understand connections between the different parts of the body. He teaches that the spine receives the effect of the work in the legs. This is a fundamental principle for all asanas. The work of the feet and legs makes the spine longer in both standing postures and inverted postures. It is often ineffective to work directly on a problematic area of the body. Instead, we prefer to learn to understand the connections that provide information about the problem. Practicing the postures means exploring, discovering and mastering the connections in the body through practice.

Tools

Another aspect of Iyengar yoga is the use of yoga aids: Blocks, blankets, straps, benches, etc. If a person would benefit from a particular posture but is unable to do it due to lack of skill or strength, a prop can be used. With props, even disabled or very ill people can experience relief through the postures. In addition, aids allow each student to stay in the postures for longer. Staying in a posture for only a short time mainly affects the physical body. By staying longer, the benefits of the practice penetrate deeper into the organic and mental levels.

Yoga wisdom

Those who have had the good fortune to study directly and continuously with Iyengar have not only experienced his words, but also his energy. This energy has led us deeper and deeper into our asanas and into our bodies. Each of us has learned to give our best, to experience our limits and to touch the unknown. This is difficult for someone without guidance. We have learned to teach our students not only with instruction and demonstration, but also to guide and correct them through touch and assistance. In this way, they learn something immediately that would otherwise take them years of effort.

A living master

Yogacharya BKS Iyengar continued practicing and teaching until his death in 2014. His energy level in practicing and teaching, as well as the refinement of his intelligence, continued to grow. Regarding his late practice, he said: "I no longer stretch my body as I did when I was thirty or fifty and have done all these years. Now I stretch my body intelligence, I expand it so that it is the intelligence that stretches my body."

© 2004 - Essay by Gabriella Gubilaro

How does Iyengar yoga work?

The 3 aspects of man

People are made up of three elements: Body, mind and soul. Accordingly, they have three needs that must be satisfied for a happy life: the body needs health; the mind needs knowledge; the soul needs inner peace. When all three are present, there is harmony.

Problems

Modern society faces problems with these three aspects. Today's lifestyle, with its many technological marvels, is a mixed blessing. Convenience and speed are bought at the expense of physical health. Labor-saving devices generally reduce the use of the body in everyday life, resulting in stiffness and muscular weakness. Lack of exercise leads to back pain, neck problems, heaviness in the limbs and difficulty walking. Extensive use of visual media (TV, PC, smartphone) causes headaches and eye strain.

The mental worries of a competitive world drain our inner reserves and invite stress-related problems such as insomnia, digestive disorders and nervous or respiratory complaints. If this pressure is not balanced by time for rest and reflection, the quality of life is impaired.

Yoga helps

Yoga helps with all the problems just described.

On a physical level, it alleviates the suffering of countless diseases. Practicing the postures strengthens the body and gives it a sense of well-being.

Psychologically, yoga sharpens the intellect and improves concentration. It stabilizes the emotions and encourages a caring interest in others. Above all, it gives hope. Practicing breathing techniques creates peace of mind. The philosophy of yoga puts life in perspective.

Spiritually, yoga brings awareness and the ability to be still. Inner peace can be experienced through meditation.

Thus, yoga is a practical philosophy that deals with every aspect of the human being. It teaches the evolution of the individual through the development of self-discipline and self-awareness. Anyone can practise yoga, regardless of their age or state of health, their situation in life or religion.

Who was B.K.S. Iyengar?

Called the "Michelangelo of Yoga" and "King of the Yogis", selected by Time Magazine (USA) as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, B.K.S. Iyengar has been universally recognized as the greatest yoga teacher of our time.

Yogacharya (yoga master) Iyengar brought yoga to the West in the 1960s and 1970s, where his progressive and unique teaching has contributed significantly to the success of yoga today. His masterpiece "Light on yoga" has been the source book for generations of yoga students and is still the main reference work today.

Mr. Iyengar's invention of Yoga aids - which are now an integral part of yoga studios in many other traditions - revolutionized the art of yoga. The appropriate use of blocks, blankets, straps and other aids enables every student - despite any physical limitations - to assume the yoga postures. This encourages the practitioner to remain in the posture for a longer period of time, which allows them to penetrate the posture more deeply and leads to a profound physical and spiritual experience.

Mr. Iyengar also revolutionized the Yoga therapywhich is now used as a treatment method for injuries and many serious illnesses. The posture sequences he developed for pregnancy, menstruation and menopause are now taught by certified teachers everywhere.

Guruji Iyengar died on August 20, 2014 at the age of 95. (see obituary, below). His Daughter Geeta S. Iyengar, his Son Prashant S. Iyengar and his Granddaughter Abhijata Sridar Iyengar have followed in his footsteps and continue his life's work at the Ramamani Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India.

Obituary

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundaraj (B.K.S.) Iyengar, one of the most important and influential teachers of yoga, died on August 20, 2014 in his hometown of Pune, India after a short illness. He was 95 years old. Sri Iyengar wrote the textbook "Light on Yoga" (1966), documenting his own incredibly profound asana and pranayama practice. The work was to be considered a milestone in the popularization of yoga worldwide and still contributes to this today. Other works followed ("Tree of Yoga", "Light on Pranayama", "Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" etc.), which underpinned his reputation as a yoga practitioner, yoga teacher and spiritual master. Prominent students such as esotericist J. Krishnamurti and musician Yehudi Menuhin made him widely known in India and the West as early as the 1950s and 1960s. Over time, thousands have experienced his teachings at first hand and, together with him, have established them as "Iyengar Yoga" throughout the world. In recent years, B.K.S. Iyengar has been widely recognized for his life's work ("the Michelangelo of Yoga", BBC; "one of the 100 most influential people in the world", Time Magazine, USA; and in the very year of his death, the "Padma Vibhushan", the second highest civil order of the state of India).

The beginning

Mr. Iyengar's path to yoga led through illness and despair. At the age of 14, very weak and suffering from various ailments, he moved from his impoverished family to his brother-in-law, Sri. T. Krishnamachar. He taught yoga to the princely family and ran a school in the palace in Mysore. Iyengar was supposed to improve his health with yoga postures, which gradually happened over several years. At the age of 18, Iyengar was given an assignment to teach at a girls' school in Pune. From this point on, he was on his own. After major initial difficulties, he made a name for himself over time. He himself reported giving more than 10,000 three-hour yoga demonstrations over the course of his career.

Family

Mr. Iyengar married Ramamani in 1943, who died in 1973. Six children were born, five daughters and one son. The eldest daughter Geeta and son Prashant took on the task of immersing themselves in yoga at an early age and have long since become internationally recognized yoga masters in their own right. They have been running the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, which was founded in 1975, for some time and are now receiving support from the next generation of granddaughter Abhijata Sridhar-Iyengar, who has also become an authority in the Iyengar yoga world.

Development in the West and worldwide

After the first visits in a small circle, Mr. Iyengar later often visited Europe as a guest of his national associations. After the first "International Iyengar Yoga Convention" in San Francisco in 1984 and a few other major events in the USA, the first major event in Europe took place in 1993. At that time, more than 1000 practitioners traveled to London to celebrate the community over 5 days and also to experience new impulses from the master. In Germany, Iyengar was once in Munich in 1986 on a smaller scale and then in Berlin in 1996 for many hundreds from Germany and other countries. His local association "Iyengar-Yoga-Deutschland e.V." was founded in 1994. This association attempts to bundle the energies of interested parties, coordinate the work of teachers and make Iyengar Yoga better known to the public in the quality that Guruji intended.

Yoga is for everyone

From the very beginning, he has been looking for ways to make yoga possible and accessible to people with different constitutions and in different life situations. In Iyengar Yoga there are, among other things

• the dynamic, stabilizing practice for "normal" performers
• the "Jumpings" (jumps, surya namaskar, flow) for the exuberant
• Yoga as "a jewel for women" (menstrual practice, yoga for pregnant women, yoga for menopause)
• regenerative practice (supported and prolonged, opening and grounding postures for the exhausted, the elderly and those in need of rest)
• the lying pranayama practice as preparation for an extremely demanding seated practice; for newcomers (after 1-2 years of asana)
• the "Medical class" with countless programs (also partly documented by conventional medicine) for the sick, injured and suffering. (More information can be found here)

Spirituality

After 1960, Guruji Iyengar became increasingly involved with the spirituality of yoga. He always kept insights from the classical Indian works (Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika and especially Patanjali Yoga Sutra) in the background when teaching in order to use them as springboards for the students to gain a deeper understanding of the experience in asana and pranayama practice. His reflections on the Yoga Sutras (German version: "Urquell des Yoga") represent an important contribution to the comprehensive understanding of asana as a unified body-mind-soul experience.

Farewell

B.K.S. Iyengar dedicated over 80 years to yoga and the transmission of yoga and yogic values. When he came to modest prosperity in later years, he generously used everything he had to support the development of his home village, which had long lain in ruins. He had a school and a hospital built. He was the driving force behind the restoration of a dilapidated Shiva temple and the construction of the first Patanjali temple and much more. His only condition was that yoga should also be taught in the school.

After his death, Geeta Iyengar said at the cremation ceremony: "Only his body is over. The efforts of one person, from the inside out, have changed the whole world's view of yoga. Nothing remained hidden from the beginning of his practice until his illness and death. Even last night he exhorted Abhijata, "I have shown you all these things. Now it is up to you to realize them for yourself."

In the final phase, he was satisfied with his success. He had done his job.

Compiled by Michael Forbes

Yoga literature

The four main works from the past

• Upanishads
• Bhagavad Gita
• Yoga Sutra by Patanjali
• Hatha Yoga Pradipika

provide the philosophical and practical foundation for yoga practitioners. The works of B.K.S. Iyengar have been groundbreaking for the practice and are still at the forefront today. Many of his principles have also been interpreted anatomically / medically, so that in addition to the practical and philosophical Iyengar Yoga books, there are also anatomical Iyengar Yoga books.