Two tantalisingly opposed principles lie at the heart of yoga. Their dynamic interaction may be the core challenge for any dedicated yoga practitioner:  How do I achieve freedom while giving up struggle and effort?

The principles are abhyasa and vairagya. Patanjali, in one of the most quoted of his Yoga Sutras (I.12), said: Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tannirodhah – “Practice and detachment are the means to still the movements of consciousness.”

 The two principles were discussed as philosophy, but put to an intense practical test, recently in a beachfront hotel at Wollongong, south of Sydney. This was the Iyengar Yoga Australia convention. It was held over three days and nights, led by 11 senior teachers, and attended by more than 200 pupils, many themselves teachers. They travelled from all over Australia to take part in eight intensive classes, two panel discussions and a yoga demonstration.

Abhyasa (practice or dedication) and Vairagya (non-attachment or renunciation) were the themes of the convention. Teachers discussed and applied them in classes. They saw them as a balance of opposing forces or qualities: effort and letting go; action and reflection; willpower and acceptance.

 Pupils were reminded that abhyasa means practice in a very particular sense – “prolonged, devoted, well established, uninterrupted, enthusiastic and constant effort” (Sutra I.14). The teachers, each of whom has practiced yoga for over 30 years, commented on the impact of their own experience:

• The power to transform

“When you meet someone who has practiced, not just read a lot of books, there’s a power, the power to transform. The practice has a deep impact on the psyche.”

• The long ongoing inquiry

“People just want to do things that interest them. Our culture doesn’t support stability, continuity, respect, ongoing investigation. Whereas I haven’t got nearly to where I want to be. Maybe that’s unusual in our culture.”

• When it’s not going well

“Abhyasa means ‘long uninterrupted inquiry’. It’s an investment and commitment into something in yourself. It’s not necessarily measured in terms of how well you’re going, but the enduring nature. You learn also from when it’s not going well.”

• Learning from injury

One teacher began yoga after a serious back injury. “I knew yoga was something I had to do. My injury brought me to it, but then it was not so much about curing the injury but what my body taught me.” Another had had a motor-bike injury. “Instead of going down the knee reconstruction path, yoga became my alternative. It’s still an obstacle – but it prompts the journey.”

• The confidence that comes

“There’s a sort of confidence that comes from practice. [An injury] may not get totally repaired, but it will change. Yoga works on different levels: it works physically and very deeply.”

B.K.S. Iyengar himself has the longest perspective of all on abhyasa: he has been practising and teaching for more than 75 years. Even last year, when he turned 93, he has opened new ground by travelling to teach in China. At the Wollongong convention, Geeta’s comments on her father’s commitment were quoted: “When he was hungry, he practised. When he had food, he practised. When he had students, he practised. When he had no students, he practised. What he did was practise, always.”

What is the counter-balancing principle,vairagya? B.K.S. Iyengar says it is “discriminative discernment, … learning to be free from craving, … training the mind to be unmoved by desire and passion, … to renounce objects and ideas which disturb and hinder one’s daily practices, … cultivating non-attachment to the fruits of one’s labours”.

Delegates to the convention had nearly 20 hours to apply the two principles to their asanas, pranayama and inversions. Inspiring them was the extraordinary Iyengar contribution to the refinement of yoga practice, encapsulated in another of his comments: “Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.”

What inspired the founding teachers of yoga in Australia

“All of us started yoga for the practice: we had no idea of teaching. For many of us it was for the love and commitment that we had… Then perhaps our teacher asked us to teach.” 

The 11 teachers who taught at the Wollongong convention reflected on the 70s and 80s, when there were no yoga schools in Australia. They said that the very idea of yoga as “a livelihood, a vocation, a practice” is relatively recent.

 Bringing a collective 330 years’ experience to the convention, the teachers were Christine Barnes, Glenn Ceresoli, Caroline Coggins, Alan Goode, Frank Jesse, Marina Jung, John Leebold, Pixie Lillas, Simon Maurizio Marrocco, Peter Scott, Peter Thomson and Karen Wilde.

While they have opened yoga schools in cities across Australia, many of them now travel frequently to teach all over the world. This includes several who deliver workshops in the latest country to open up – which is of course China. 

The transcript of a talk given at RIMYI, Pune 37^th annual day celebration 22 January 2012

“Each of us has our own journey that we have to travel and today I am going to speak to you about my journey and specifically about how my experience in the medical class at RIMYI changed my life.

I have been practicing yoga since 1974 and Iyengar yoga since 1989.

My story today begins in 1993 when I had the first of three major operations on my right ear to remove a tumour growing very close to my brain. The result of this surgery was that I became permanently deaf in my right ear, the entire mechanics of my ear were removed and the sternocleidomastoid tendon cut.

When I was discharged from the hospital and well enough to go back to my life, I discovered that I had completely lost my sense of balance, and I could also no longer distinguish where sound were travelling from.

The biggest effect of this operation though was to my yoga practice. I couldn’t balance anymore.

This experience was very humbling as I had to go right back to basics and re-learn all my standing poses as if I was a new student. I didn’t know back then that starting a fresh every practice is what we all need to do to deepen our yoga. I tried really hard not to be angry with my body. I would fall over constantly until I learnt how to change the weight distribution in my feet to allow and compensate for my loss of hearing.

My right shoulder also became very unstable due to my surgery resulting in four major shoulder dislocations. My yoga practice had to change. I had also lost all confidence in my ability to protect and support myself in my practice.

Once again I tried very hard not be angry. I would cry a lot.

Not only had my yoga practice changed but my life, as without my hearing in my right ear my world became almost insular. As in social situations I could not hear the conversations around me.  I guessed what people were talking to me about.

I became very busy in my head too, due to my world becoming so internal and intense. I knew I needed to come here in Pune to the institute to learn how to support my yoga practice and my life. In 2009 I came for the first time to Pune and was privileged to be accepted into the Medical class.

I was very nervous as just three months before attending the institute my shoulder had dislocated again. I knew in my heart though that I needed to learn.

Geeta S designed a practice for me and after two days of taking part in the medical class Guruji came with Stephanie (Quirk) and worked with me for the entire class. With Guruji working with my body and mind I felt as if a miracle had been performed. I could feel my body on such a deep level I have no words to explain. Also my mind became very quiet as if my consciousness had been transported to a completely new place. I knew then what this feeling was and what yoga is and that I must work to reach that same place in my own yoga.

My heart truly felt as if it would burst with gratefulness. Once again for the second time in my life I was truly humbled. I am very grateful for all the help I received in the medical class that month, and I returned home feeling more confident with my body and my yoga.

Then two weeks on returning to Australia I was involved in a terrible accident resulting in a broken right leg and left wrist. I couldn’t practice asana at all for over four months. I was devastated. All the learning I had gained in the medical class I could not practice at this time. I was so sad.

In my mind though I came back to the quiet feeling I had experienced in the medical class and I focused my practice on pranayama. Every morning I would spend an hour practicing pranayama sitting on a chair as I couldn’t get myself up from the floor.  I did Savasana in my bed. But I really struggled as my mind and body were aching to do asana practice. For the first fifty minutes in my pranayama practice everyday I really struggled. I couldn’t concentrate properly. I kept thinking about all the parts of my life I couldn’t participate in. But the last ten minutes of this practice were magical. I would go into another space in my mind which was very quiet and still, and it felt as if my very soul was being nurtured.

I felt absolutely honoured to be given this opportunity and time in my life to be able to feel what I was feeling on such a deep level.

My injuries healed completely. Then just yesterday I was blessed once again with the kind help of Geeta S in the women’s class, as my practice is slowly evolving small steps at a time.

In conclusion, I am giving this talk today as my way of publicly thanking Guruji, Geeta S, Prashant, Abhijata and all of you at the institute for giving me your time and allowing me to learn and to heal.

Thank you.”

-       Lynn Holt

The Ethics and Certification Mark Committee (E&CMC) currently has three members – Darrin McNally (Chairperson), Pixie Lillas (Senior teacher advisor) and Caroline Murphy.

The committee’s role is to oversee the licensing of the Certification Mark (CM) to individual teachers, and to maintain professional ethics and the highest standard of conduct within the Iyengar yoga teaching faculty.

Certification Mark

The CM and the “Iyengar” name are both registered Trademarks with the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). The CM is a logo that pictures Yogacharya BKS Iyengar in Natarajasana over an outline of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Institute in Pune.

Only a certified teacher can use the CM and the name “Iyengar”. It is Mr Iyengar’s wish that all certified teachers use the CM worldwide as an international symbol of the highest standards of excellence in training and continuing education in the Iyengar method of yoga.

The Responsibilities of the Ethics and Certification Mark committee

1. The committee’s activities are focused on ensuring the correct use of CM and use of the name “Iyengar”.  The CM can be used once a teacher is certified at Introductory II. The E&CMC sends out all relevant information to teachers regarding the use of the CM. This includes a copy of the CM and details about how the Mark can be used.

2. To maintain a current teaching certificate a teacher must renew the Certification Mark License each year by completing and signing the Certification Mark Eligibility form and paying the appropriate fees. This is sent out annually from the Membership Secretary, currently Christine Barnes. If a teacher is late in paying their membership fees the E&CMC will follow up with a reminder

Lately there have been members looking to reinstate their membership after a lapse of some years. If a teacher has not paid their membership and /or CM fees the association will follow the procedure recommended by Guruji below, and copied from the teachers manual. Pg 25.

“A. If certified teacher discontinues membership of their Association for a period of up to three years they maybe reinstated as a teacher so long as they pay all membership and Certification Mark dues for that lapsed period.

B. If a teacher discontinues membership for a period in excess of 3 years, they may, rejoin as a General Member paying their membership fees. They cannot use the “Mark”.

C. After a period of one year (as a General Member) if deemed “stable in their practice and wholly within the method” and recommended by a senior teacher(s) or if seen and deemed to be stable in their practices by BKS Iyengar then their status will be a teacher member and they will be able to hold and use the “Mark”, once their Association fees are paid.

A teacher will only be recognised as a practicing Iyengar Yoga teacher, be included in the teacher listing on the BKSIYAA website, be able to use the name Iyengar and the “Mark”, when their Association membership and Certification Mark License are kept current by renewing it each year.”

3. The E&CMC is responsible for monitoring the use of the “Iyengar” name. The committee can be notified and will respond to any concerns of misuse of Mr Iyengar’s name or persons claiming to teach Iyengar yoga who are unlicensed to do so. This is to protect Mr Iyengar’s name and your teaching qualification.

Teachers who are certified at the introductory level and above can use the certification mark and use the name “Iyengar“ in written information about their teaching.

Junior Intermediate level 2 teachers or above can apply to use the name “Iyengar” in the naming of their school.

 A license to use the Certification Mark is not a license to use the name “Iyengar” as part of a teacher’s business name. Guruji has directed that only teachers certified at Intermediate Junior Level 2 or above may use his name in the name of their school. Teachers who wish to use the name “Iyengar” in their school/business name must request permission to do so by writing directly to Guruji stating the name and location of the school. They must notify the Association of the selected name and then send copies of the letter of request and of Guruji’s letter granting his permission to the Association for its records.

Guruji has requested that if a location is used in the school name, it should be a suburb, or a smaller unit, not a large area such as a city or a State, which might infringe upon the rights of other Iyengar Yoga teachers in the same city or State etc 

4. The committee aims to encourage the use and understanding of the CM within the Iyengar teaching community, and to increase the understanding and significance of the CM in the wider community.

We would like to take this opportunity to encourage more teachers to use the CM in their advertising so to raise the wider community’s recognition of Iyengar Yoga.

Please refer to the following on the BKSIYAA website for further information.

-Teachers and Teachers in Training:

-Info Packs

-Includes Ethics Guidelines

-Teachers Code of Practice

Use of the Name Iyengar Information about the teaching license can be read in the Teacher Certification Manual, Certification Mark Manual and Ethical Guidelines Manual found on the website.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Darrin McNally, Pixie Lillas & Caroline Murphy

Ethics Committee

Email: ethics_cm@iyengar.asn.au

The website is updated regularly, so please login and look through the pages.

Workshops, Retreats, Professional Development, Teacher Training and visiting teachers are all advertised on the website. No log in is required.

I have uploaded Yoga Vaani issues 86 through to 100 – for you to read along with many inspirational articles for which a Login is required.

For teacher trainees who are going through the assessment process, the info packs are current. Don’t forget we now have a new assessment co-ordinator; Jeannette’s details are in the packs along with the address. Please note that there is no longer a postal re-direction in place, therefore it is imperative to have the latest updates.

Also, note that your CPR certificate must be current at time of assessment. If you have attended a two or three year senior first aid course this does not cover your CPR – it needs to be updated annually.

From January 2013, all teacher trainees must have been registered as a trainee with the Association for 12 months prior to sitting assessment.

Teachers -  When uploading workshops, professional development and teacher training info please keep to the 20 word criteria and remember the link through to your webpage will enable you to give more information if required.

Regards,

There have been some exciting developments emerging from the new Board’s meeting in February. The Board is represented by five Teacher Directors and four General Member Directors. General members are extremely valued and important to the Association. By being a member you are supporting the Association in promoting Guruji’s teachings and also enjoying the benefits of membership.

New Developments

First, we have invited Geetaji to visit Australia and there are plans for a National Convention. Second, we are redeveloping the website to ensure that members are kept up to date. Third, we are planning to launch a fresh new advertising campaign, using social media forums such as facebook to reach broader audiences. Fourth, we are supporting the Bellur Trust Project which provides support to the population of Bellur (Guruji’s birthplace). And lastly, there has been a renewed commitment to maintain high standards across Iyengar Yoga.

Geetaji’s Visit/National Convention

We have invited Geetaji to visit Australia and are waiting for her to reply. Should Geetaji accept our invitation, the focus is likely to be on pranayama and the sutras. We will let you know all the details as soon as we hear from her.

Our very successful Convention in Wollongong reinforced the importance of getting together as an Iyengar Yoga Community.  If Geetaji does comes to teach, the timing of the Convention will be determined by her, otherwise the Association will plan to hold the next National Convention in 2014.  If you would like to be involved in the organisation of the next Convention, please contact the Events Committee on events@iyengaryoga.asn.au

 Website

The long-awaited online library is now available to all members! We are refreshing the website to ensure members remain well-informed about Iyengar Yoga. This includes details of developments in the Association and the Iyengar Yoga Community, it enables students to locate teachers, it provides members with information about workshops and retreats as well as visits to India and it provides information on teacher training and certification. Most importantly, it now hosts a library consisting of articles written by members of the Iyengar family that are searchable by key words. It also includes all the past Yoga Vaani’s (the first 16 issues are already loaded) which contain so many valuable articles and information.

Thanks must go out to Christine Barnes, our Webmaster, who has managed this project (see Chris’s article on the Website below) and to Carole Hart for all her time and effort in preparing and scanning the Yoga Vaanis.

New advertising campaigns

The Association’s advertising campaign is already underway, and is being coordinated by the Communications and Marketing Committee headed by Michael Duffy. Michael is investigating setting up Facebook for the Association.

Bellur Trust

A new page on our website will be dedicated to the Bellur Trust Project formed by Guruji and his family. It is Guruji’s vision to provide the community with educational and medical opportunities and to improve the quality of life in the small village of Bellur.

 It is our intention to collect all the donations made by the Australian Iyengar Yoga community ie individual yoga students and yoga schools, during the year and send it to Guruji as a donation to the Bellur Trust in celebration of his birthday in December. Students will be able to contribute by following the links provided on the website and to support something that is special to Guruji.

Renewed commitment

The Board renewed it’s commitment to ensuring high standards are maintained across Iyengar Yoga primarily through the development of teachers. Central to this commitment is teacher training and the assessment process.

The Assessment Committee and Assessors gather regularly to plan and review assessments.  The Assessment Committee performed a cost analysis study which showed the average assessment is only covered for 62% of the cost. This does not include the time volunteered by assessors to conduct assessments and travel to various destinations. 

After considering all this information as well as the Association’s current finances, the Board decided to increase Membership and Assessment fees effective from July this year.

Conclusion

Finally I would like to thank all of our members who support the Association and who make it possible to continue to disseminate Guruji’s teachings. We are always looking to find ways of increasing the Association’s membership. Let us know if you have any interesting ideas!

Best wishes

Bertha Shakinovsky
President BKSIYAA

I was one of her first trainees and must say she was a hard taskmaster. Her current trainees no doubt would agree with me. I enjoy these sessions as they give me time to discuss different ways to set students up depending on their difficulties. Not everything works for the same problem for each person that is one of the main things I have learnt. There is never any end to learning be it from our teacher, each other or our own self. I find this an important part of my teaching. The way knowledge is passed down in the Iyengar system is one of the things that makes this yoga special.
 
Apart from these training sessions I also attend about 4 times a year what we call our Professional Development Day. All the teachers in Perth join in these sessions which are run by our senior teachers. Again these offer an opportunity to discuss ways of teaching as well as advise about our own practice. I really don’t think anyone from the Iyengar community stops attending teacher training no matter what level they are.

 Carole Baillargeon, Senior Teacher, Darwin Yoga Space

Teacher Training in Darwin is a small and intimate affair.  First of all, it took quite a while to establish an Iyengar Yoga culture in Darwin and a lot of educating to do along the way but long gone are the days when I had to say:  ‘no, iced coffee cannot be kept on your yoga mat to drink during class’. That was in 1995, and 17 years down we have created, with other schools, a strong Iyengar tradition in Darwin.

At times our need for teachers was desperate and I tried to lure a few from ‘down south’ but without success.  Remoteness and heat alone make Darwin a hard place to sale. So as the students attendance grew and grew I had to start training teachers myself. I started to offer Teacher Training in 2000 and it evolved very slowly in an organic fashion and this month we broke a new record: five new students enrolled in the program which is more people enrolling at once than ever. 

There are many components to Teacher Training but Thursday morning; between 6.30and 10am is when the group comes together. For both parties (the trainees and myself) this session is one of the highlights of our week. Because our group is small, we know each other well and are tightly knitted: the training is challenging in many ways but there is also a lot of banter and laughter and of course at the base of it all a common drive for learning how to be the best teachers we can to support our yoga community. Thinking about it, the warmth and generosity we extend to our students probably comes in part, from the way we go about in Teacher Training.  And the trainees do enjoy their ‘small’ Teacher Training because they individually get a lot of attention from me….. and I Iove giving it to them.

Jamey Cock, Teacher trainee with Lulu Bull, Blue Mountains Yoga Studio

I am currently undertaking my Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training with Lulu Bull in the Blue Mountains, NSW. At present I am working towards my Introductory Level 2 Certificate. One of the main reasons I moved to the Blue Mountains 5 years ago was because Lulu trained her teachers through an apprenticeship rather than a course.

My training consists of the following; I am required to attend a minimum of two classes a week with Lulu. We have a teacher training session once every fortnight with all the trainees, where we are required to teach or practice in front of Lulu. We are required to assist Lulu in one of her weekly classes.  As a part of our training we all teach at least two regular classes within the school. Above all, it is expected that we have a consistent daily home practice of Asana and Pranayama.

It is a huge commitment of time for my family and I. It takes dedication and discipline for myself and also for my husband, who looks after our son while I teach and practice, at the end of his own working day. Doing this style of training has reaffirmed to me that Yoga teaching is not just a job that you leave behind when you go home, but a way of life.  Since undertaking the training my home practice has become very strong. My husband and child know that it is a part of my day and have adapted to that. One of the most valuable things I have learnt in my training is that a sustainable home practice will feed my teaching long after my Introductory Certificates are completed.

With this intensive style of training I feel like I am under the constant watchful eye of my teacher. I see my teacher at least three, sometimes four times a week. The amount of information that I receive formally through training sessions, and classes and informally through being a part of the yoga school and community, is rich and vast. Although I feel comfortable to approach my teacher with questions at any time, my queries are always answered before I have a chance to ask, either through a class or an observation or a point that she has made.  The apprenticeship style of training is a constant exchange of information verbally and non verbally and it seems that sometimes my teacher can read my mind.

My teacher sees me in at least two asana classes a week and is consequently familiar with my body, it’s patterns; it’s strengths and weaknesses. Although a lot of my findings are from work on my own mat, my teacher is able to shed light on things that I have missed and give guidance on a way forward. I find this invaluable.

I regard my apprenticeship as a conversation between my teacher and myself, as opposed to a course that has a definite beginning and end.  As my teaching and my practice become stronger we decide on a time to sit for the exam. This feels like a very natural and organic way of working. In the apprenticeship style you train solely with the one teacher. I have respect for her as a teacher, practitioner and as a yogi.  With this respect I entrust that she will guide me in the right direction. My experience with Lulu and the Blue Mountains Yoga School is inspiring and fulfilling, as a yoga student, as a teacher and an individual. I feel very blessed.

Many years back, one morning in Perth, I was forced to stay indoors because it was raining and I could not go for my usual bike ride with my regular group of fellow bike riders. Riding was my passion and I was feeling deprived. I decided to go to the local gym where I reluctantly joined the regular Yoga class. The teacher was Iyengar trained and I came out of the class having no clue what that actually meant, however something profound resonated inside of me during that first class. I was not sure what that something was. Because of this experience I decided to do the same Yoga class the following week and again a shift occurred inside of me.

Iyengar Yoga had logic and intelligence, and I felt energised after each class unlike my usual exhaustion after a long bike ride. I dug a little deeper, sought out more Iyengar Yoga classes, practiced more regularly and found changes occurring internally and externally in me with every session on the mat. I began to practice at home after having bought some of the Iyengar books, the first being The path to holistic health. I also acquired Light on Yoga, but early on I was daunted by the photos of Mr Iyengar doing asana. I would not even dare myself to read the explanation of how to do the asana. I recall giving my first copy to my teacher saying, “I could never dream to achieve any of the asana shown in this book in my lifetime. So what use is this book to me? You have it.”

I continued practicing and I began to feel different. I also began to question internally, I began to explore externally. I attended many workshops and intensives. I found myself reading Light on Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, The Bhagavad-Gita, and information on the wonderful health benefits of Yoga. I purchased another copy of Light on Yoga. I also began to feel that I wanted to give what I was beginning to experience to the people I cared for.  I then found myself wanting to impart the Iyengar Yoga method to people whom I had only briefly met for a myriad of reasons, be it health, fitness, wellbeing, stress management, lifestyle, etc.

Back in 2009 flyers came out requesting expressions of interest to do an Iyengar teacher training course at Yoga West studio in Shenton Park, W.A. with John Leebold.  I jumped at this opportunity and remember whispers going round that John required sufficient students in order to run the course as he was travelling interstate and internationally. I prayed that sufficient students would materialise because I really wanted to do this teacher training course. I even contemplated doing a distance teacher training course and began my search on the internet should John’s course not materialise.

Thankfully enough Yoga practitioners registered to do the course with John and we began as teacher trainees in May 2010. It has thus far been an incredible journey. I emphasise “incredible” on many core levels where I am challenged and equally rewarded every time I practice. I realised how little I knew before starting the teacher training course and I realise now that I still have so much more to learn and experience. This makes me feel humbled and blessed to be able to walk this journey with John Leebold and my fellow trainees. I am continuously amazed and immensely respectful of my regular teachers who give me encouragement and sometimes let me loose to practice my teaching skills on their valuable students. My teacher training journey will never be over even when I pass Introductory Lvl 2 and I am grateful for that. To be able to continuously learn, experience, and share Iyengar’s Yoga to the end of this life….how lucky I am!

Last year I was fortunate to experience Geeta Iyengar   at the South Africa Yoga convention and I will travel to RYMI in Pune next year. It will be a privilege for me to be in the presence of the Iyengar family and their teachers when I am in India. I believe it will add another layer of understanding and experience to my Iyengar Yoga teacher training and personal Yoga journey. I look forward to that and many more encounters with the Iyengar’s and their fabulous teachers around the world.