What is Iyengar Yoga?

Yoga can do wonders for your mind and body. It is a great form of exercise. And, it can help you relax, as well. There are several types of Hatha yoga, which is the umbrella term for yoga tha uses physical practices to achieve the goals of yoga. Iyengar yoga, is one of those types.

Iyengar yoga emphasizes precise alignment of the yoga poses. It is very common to be given directions to tell you where to place your smallest toe in a yoga class of this type. Along with emphasis on alignment, an understanding of the mechanics of the postures is also taught. Because of this precision in learning the poses so exactly, Iyengar is a wonderful place for beginners to start. It is also wonderfully suited for those who wish to improve their posture or those who have a specific health problem they want to use yoga to work on.

In the 1960's, B.K.S. Iyengar was instrumental in bringing this type of yoga to the West. Most yoga teachers have practiced this form of yoga at one time or another in their career path. Even though Mr. Iyengar is in his early 90's at the time of the writing, he still teaches yoga in India. He has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 75 years. His belief is that the body has its own intelligence. And, if the body's physical alignment is focused, a full awareness and balance can be developed between the mind and body.

Unlike Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, where breath is very important to the practice, Iyengar yoga focuses on breathing much later in the learning process. It is considered much more important to focus on learning and understanding each pose before learning the breathing exercises that go along with them. Iyengar also features much longer posture holding times. Props can be used, such as blankets, pads, blocks, and belts to help achieve and hold proper alignment in each yoga pose. Because of the use of these props, this type of yoga is easily adaptable to different levels of strength, experience, and flexibility. And, there is rarely a long meditation time or breath work in an Iyengar class. However, some teachers will start the classes with a short chant to clear the mind.

Yoga is a wonderful for of exercise for both mind and body. Hopefully, this description will help you decide if Iyengar yoga is the right type of Hatha yoga for you and your physical requirements.