Yoga In Manchester

After a swollen bitten leg this week I really enjoyed this with Elena Grigorenko
The women's health class at MDIY has one week left to go before Summer. I thoroughly recommend you spoil yourself and go. Tuesday 10:15am - 11:45am

Hi everyone, just to remind you this is the last week of classes for one week. There's no yoga with me from 10th July until 18th July.
I've had a fabulous weekend away doing yoga and a bit of a pilgrimage to see Charles Tunnicliffe's paintings, drawings and sketch pads. I stayed in Llangefni then onto Rhoscolyn for yoga. Anglesey is a very special space! Here's a few pics. Oh and a good friend I made on the campsite 😺

I love this. My copy is falling to bits, often held together with a hair band if I need to take it anywhere. I love that it has scribbles from when my nieces and nephews were young and loved looking at the 'bendy man'. I love that I've made notes over 33 years of props I needed/don't need. And more importantly I love that about a half of it is still waiting for notes 😅. Another lifetime maybe!

We'd Love to Hear Your Light on Yoga Story

As part of our 60 Years of Light on Yoga project, we're celebrating the book that has inspired generations of Iyengar Yoga practitioners and teachers around the world.

But this project isn't just about the history of the book - it's about the people whose lives it has touched.

We'd love to hear your memories and experiences:

✨ When did you first encounter Light on Yoga?
✨ Did you learn from the photographs, the sequences, or the detailed instructions?
✨ How did the book influence your own practice?
✨ Has it shaped the way you teach?
✨ Do you have a favourite pose, passage, or memory connected with it?

Whether you've been practising for sixty years or six months, every story helps build a picture of the book's lasting impact.

Share your memories in the comments below, or if you have a longer story, photographs, or would be interested in contributing to the project, we'd love to hear from you. Please email [email protected].

Together, let's celebrate not only an extraordinary book, but the community it has helped to build over the past 60 years.

📚 We can't wait to read your stories.

Hi everyone, for the first time I've my life I've cancelled yoga for football! I hope it's worth it. ⚽
The Chorlton beer festival has cancelled my Thursday night class too. So unless you can make the Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga express class tomorrow at 12 noon, I'll see you next week! For now, here's some courgette flower twins

Loads of this and this. It's like a lockdown out there. It's so quiet. ☀️ 🌞 🥵

Oh back benders on a hot day how I love thee. These are the ones I was telling the Monday class about last night. I've had the most amazingly restorative class with Elena Grigorenko today. A quite ethereal class. 😇

What a beautiful weekend away in Hay on Wye at Wye Valley Yoga. It's becoming a bit of a Summer Solstice ritual. I love it. It's one of my favourite places on earth. 🐇 🐰 Especially with baby rabbits everywhere this year!

Happy United Nations International Day of Yoga on Summer Solstice.

"2026 Theme: Yoga for Healthy Ageing
This year marks the 12th International Day of Yoga with the theme “ Yoga for Healthy Ageing”, which emphasizes the importance of Yoga for all ages. Yoga can be a valuable practice for healthy aging because it supports many of the abilities that help people stay active, independent, and engaged as they grow older. By combining gentle movement, stretching, breathing exercises, and mindfulness, yoga can help improve balance, flexibility, strength, and mobility, while also supporting mental well-being and stress management. Because yoga can be adapted to different fitness levels and health conditions, it offers an accessible way for many older adults to maintain their physical and emotional health. These benefits support several goals of the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), including promoting independence, reducing fall risk, enhancing quality of life, and encouraging person-centered approaches to health and well-being."
Couldn't put it better myself. I hope you have a lovely day! ☀️

I'm working backwards. This is last week's practice which I listed rather than drew. I draw sequences solely for the students in class to remember the sequence, particularly if it resonates with them. It's easier for many people to follow again rather than a list of instructions. Drawing the sequences is really enjoyable and therapeutic for me and again often a little quicker if I have ideas during practice. Quicker to sketch it than to write it all out. So that's why I started. Then funny we have social media now which is a faster way of sharing I guess. It used to be people taking a photo in class which they still do. I'm worried that people are losing the ability to absorb in this fast paced world. If you don't think it's fast then think how many times you use your phone to look something up or do a task. We're being forced to use phones for everything. It's amazing and frustrating all at once. That's a fast paced world. Taking time out to draw and practice this weekend in one of my favourite places on earth. Enjoy. Oh the class plan.... All the energy is up.... Learn to lift up even when parts of the pose are down. So utkatasana bending legs but learn to lift up. Trik & parsvak to a chair so you're not dropping down. Energy of the legs up in PP so that in sirsasana III everything is still up ☝🏻setu bhanda using hands energy up. Enjoy.

Beautiful skies and river walks. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!