Iyengar Yoga Nanaimo

First, devotion.

Guruji’s teaching on what an āsana truly is —
not simply a shape to be held,
but a place to enter.

“There should be devotion in your practice.
Then you have to know the meaning of the asana
in order to do it effectively with its meaning.
Then you have to learn to feel the asana.
If you do not know its feel, you oscillate.
By feeling, you develop stability and poise.
Feel in order to live in it.
Convert the asana into a cave
for you to pe*****te within
to be closer to the soul.”
— Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar, Astadala Yogamala, Vol. 3

Read it as a sequence.

Devotion.
Then meaning.
Then feeling.

There is a timing to it.

Feeling cannot be rushed.
Precision develops through staying, observing and learning.

The shape alone is not the point.

You can reproduce the outer shape
and still remain outside the āsana.

The practice asks us to enter it.

To feel.
To observe.
To inhabit the actions rather than merely perform them.

A cave.

A place you enter.
A place you live in.

At BKS Iyengar Yogashala, we study this —
not only how to make an action,
but how to be inside the action.

So the next time you stand in Tāḍāsana Ūrdhva Hastāsana
and lift the arms overhead, ask:

Am I simply lifting my arms —
or am I entering the āsana?

What āsana has stopped being simply a shape for you
and become a place you can truly inhabit?

We read every response.

“Yoga,” says the Bhagavad Gita, “is evenness of mind.” When you can keep your mind on an even keel in good fortune and bad, in pleasure and pain, when you can be kind to those who like you and to those who do not, then you have reached the state of yoga: you are free.”
– Eknath Easwaran, from "Conquest of Mind"

3 POSES. ONE WORD: URDHVA.

If you practice Iyengar Yoga, you may already know the poses.
But do you know what their names are telling you?
Urdhva means “upward”.

In the Level 1 āsana syllabus, we meet it in three names:
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Urdhva Prasarita Padasana
Urdhva Dhanurasana I

The Sanskrit is not simply a label to memorize.
The name can give us a clue to the direction, shape or action of the āsana.
And notice something interesting: “upward” does not look the same in all three poses.

The body changes.
The relationship with gravity changes.
The expression of Urdhva changes.

One word. Three very different experiences in practice.

💬 Without looking it up, how many āsanas with “Urdhva” could you name?

Interested in exploring Iyengar Yoga through practice?
Looking for Iyengar Yoga classes in Kuala Lumpur?

Join BKS Iyengar Yogashala Kuala Lumpur and experience a methodical practice where precision, awareness, and support help the body learn safely.

IYENGAR YOGA CLASSES IN NANAIMO - SEPTEMBER SCHEDULE - https://mailchi.mp/90e8e39a032e/iyengar-yoga-in-nananimo-18003974

“Often pupils do not remember the asanas or their names. While learning the asanas, apart from putting the body into the correct position, one needs to know the name and form of the asana in order to be in the correct posture. This aids one in the linking of the movement, action, and inner adjustments, not only in that particular asana but also with the next asana.

Knowing the name and form of the asana before entering into the asana yields a preparation not only at the physical level but also at the mental level.”

Geeta Iyengar
Yoga in Action – A Preliminary course

Remembering and honouring Guruji (1918-2014)

“I am old, and death inevitably approaches. But both birth and death are beyond the will of a human being. They are not my domain.
I do not think about it. Yoga has taught me to think of only working to live a useful life. The complexity of the life of the mind comes to an end at death, with all its sadness and happiness. If one is already free from that complexity, death comes naturally and smoothly. If you live holistically at every moment, as yoga teaches, even though the ego is annihilated, I will not say, "Die before you die." I would rather say,
"Live before you die, so that death is also a lively celebration."”

BKS IYENGAR
LIGHT ON LIFE

Honouring Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar
Punyatithi (1918-2014)

🙏

Remembering Guruji.

B.K.S. Iyengar
1918–2014

“Words cannot convey the value of yoga — it has to be experienced.”

Today, we remember Guruji through the practice he devoted his life to.

Not only through words.
Not only through memory.
But through experience.

Through attention.
Through discipline.
Through the work of practice.

— Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar

https://iyengaryoga.org.uk/iyengar-yoga/celebrating-60-years-of-light-on-yoga/?fbclid=IwZnRzaATOe7NwZG9mAWZkaWQWULGkDT7L4yYtAZoai8wTk-eDQbE0hWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzE3Mzg0NzY0MjY3MDM3MAABHl4fGmRonWaN9DY8xobx6Af8ftjDakKYMBc4mCxvnKZDyQqe4A62XKo94zqh_aem_FE5I-edKN4OuuGaKx3cRyg

NEW PODCAST | Coming Monday

For over 60 years, Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar has inspired generations of practitioners and teachers around the world.
To celebrate this remarkable anniversary, we’re delighted to launch Living the Practice - Light on Yoga - a new podcast series from Iyengar Yoga (UK).
Across the series, we’ll be sitting down with some of the UK’s most experienced Iyengar yoga teachers to explore the book that has shaped their practice, teaching and lives. Through personal stories, memories and reflections, we’ll celebrate the enduring legacy of Light on Yoga and discover why it remains as relevant today as ever.

🎧 Our first episode launches next week, featuring John Ferrabee – A collector of rare yoga books and an Iyengar yoga teacher.

John shares how he first discovered Light on Yoga, the story behind the original first edition and why this extraordinary book continues to inspire practitioners around the world.

We can’t wait to share it with you.

Join us Monday for Episode One.