Being Thankful for Iyengar Yoga and You

It's close to Thanksgiving, a time when many of us get together with family and friends to share a meal and express our gratitude.  I am so thankful that I am living on this island, full of aloha, full of a friendliness that I haven't seen anywhere else.  I'm thankful to be living just 10 minutes away from our daughter and two grandchildren.  And I am thankful for all that Iyengar Yoga has given me.

When I was 13, my mother noticed that I had a curvature in my spine.  She wasn't concerned or wanted to do anything to fix it, and it didn't cause me any pain or embarrassment since I couldn't tell from looking in the mirror that anything was wrong.  But as I aged, it got worse.  It became more noticeable and sometimes my left side hurt.  I needed to stop the progression, so I looked into deep tissue massage, Feldenkrais (which helped with the pain), and physical therapy.  But I could see little or no change from the work I did.  Then I discovered a book on back care (Back Care Basics) and it mentioned that Iyengar Yoga, which focused on alignment and was known to be therapeutic, could help.  So I sought out a teacher in San Diego and began taking classes. 

The classes were demanding and I was unable to do most of the poses without some props, but that's what is so great about Iyengar Yoga -- B.K.S. Iyengar developed a method of using props so that anyone could find alignment in a pose with the proper support.  I used belts, blocks, blankets, and bolsters.  The studio had a rope wall which also helped me to stretch out my spine in poses like Sirsasana (headstand) where I hung upside down and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog) where the ropes held the tops of my legs so that I could stretch out.  Though it was difficult at first and my muscles felt worked the next day, I loved it because I knew that my muscles were being stretched, strengthened, and re-trained and that eventually I would improve -- maybe not completely, but I would improve.  And little by little, I did.

Now I can do many more poses.  I feel much more aware of the alignment and muscles in my body. There is still room for improvement, as I think there always will be, but I have been able to achieve poses that I thought I never would.  I feel stronger, more balanced, and more at peace with myself.

That's why I decided to teach and to be trained specifically in Iyengar Yoga.  My wish is to help others find more strength, more openness, more balance and peace.  I am so grateful for all who come to my classes.  Happy Thanksgiving!