Yoga Rahasya

B.K.S. IYENGAR YOGA LIGHT ON YOGA TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION (UK) ASSOCIATION Registered Charity No.1 053093 Presid'ent: Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar President: Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar www.bksiyta.co.uk www.loya.ukf.net IYENGAR YOGA NIEWS - Issue NO.3 - Spring 2003 Editorial Board: Contents Kirsten Agar Ward Editorial 2 Ros Bell Alan Brown Interview with Geetaji by Judith Jones 3 Joe Burn About Menstruation by Dr Geeta S. Iyengar 10 Judith Jones Unification of the BKSIYTA and LOYA(UK) 14 Philippe Harari The Early Days with Mr. Iyengar by Tony Brignull 19 Design: Philippe Harari RIMYI Archive Project by Judith Jones 21 Pnnted by: Red Flag Press, Cambridge Yoga School Appeal by Penny Chaplin 21 BKSIYTA Convention - Manchester 2003 21 Iyengar Yoga Convention - Yorkshire 2003 22 Yoga Babies by Lydia Holmes 24 Institute listings 25 Points of View - Yoga practice and religious beliefs 27 Certification Mark Income by Ros Bell 28 The Monthly Meet by Judith Jones 29 Yoga Rahasya - subscription details 31 Iyengar books/videos for sale 31 Question and Answers about the Certification Mark by Elaine Pidgeon 33 Seeing and Believing: A Diary of Guruji's Practice by Kay Parry 35 Application for classes at the RIMYI, Pune 44 The Sanskrit word on the cover of this mag azine says 'YOGA' , LOYA(UK) - LOYA News 46 one meaning of which LOYA (UK) Executive Committee 46 is to yoke together This cover represents the coming together of BKSIYTA - Teachers' Section the BKSIYTA and LOYA(UK) to form a Assessment congratulations 47 single association, BKSIYTA Executive Committee 48 united in our devotion and gratitude to Guruji for the light he has \Vebsite information 53 shone on the practice of Yoga. Notices/Small ads. 54 Iyengar Yoga News No.3 Spring 2003 Editorial AHIMSA This magazine contains a whole range of material, As Yoga practitioners we follow a tradition that incor from poems to yoga articles to administrative mat porates the concept of Ahimsa - non-violence. Over ters, so hopefully there is something for everyone. the millennia, the concept of Ahimsa, the first of the Yamas - restrictions - gathered moral meaning, Yoga and religion has proved to be fertile ground becoming more and more complex as it evolved. for comment and Geeta talks at length about it in Ahimsa developed into two sometimes over-lapping her interview with Judith Jones (see page 3) and we strands: one pragmatic, protecting and maintaining have a 'points of view' section devoted to this topic the social order by stressing the restraining values; the (see page 27). Ahimsa (non violence) is mentioned other, more positive, stressing the benefits of follow by Geeta in her interview and discussed more than ing the spiritual path. once in the magazine. Ahimsa is a very complicated concept and violence Not everyone is drawn to administrative matters but can be done in subtle ways. Ahimsa operates at all lev we are on the cusp of the unification of LOYA and els, from ensuring exact alignment in asanas (so as not the BKS[YTA and there is much information in the to do violence to one side of the body or the other magazine about this process (see page 14). Please either by over-exertion or neglect); to the way we do read it carefully and digest it slowly; if you interact with our friends, families, students and teach would like to ask questions or make a comment, do ers; to the way governments act on behalf of their so as soon as possible. We would particularly like to people. Violence does not simply mean physical draw your attention to the notification of the meet attacks, but can also refer to verbal abuse, mental cru ings to launch the new association in Manchester on elty or social and economic injustice. Furthermore, 14th June 2003 (see page 13). Ahimsa is not the same as pacifism; apathy in the face of injustice or oppression can also be seen as a violent Although the June convention in Manchester is act. There have been many people throughout history fully booked, there are still places for the teachers' who, despite holding very strong principles of non workshop on the Friday (see page 21) and for the violence, have found themselves with little choice but August convention in Leeds (see page 22). to defend themselves and others against oppression. Even Mahatma Gandhi said that in such circum [t goes without saying that we would like to thank stances it was better to fight than to be a coward. all those persons who contributed material to this magazine and we welcome articles etc for the next From a Yoga point of view we try to address the vio magazine, please do put pen to paper or finger to lence within ourselves, but to condemn others for keyboard on any subject. what we perceive to be their violence can be itself a form ofviolence. That doesn't mean that it is wrong to oppose violence as we perceive it, but once we become angry or indignant we are caught in the web Copy deadline for next issue: ourselves; a part of the problem we thought we were 15th October 2003 trying to solve. Actually, we are all caught up in that web and Yoga is there to help to get us out of it. Yoga Items should be sent to: teaches us that for every action, there is a reaction. Joe Burn at [email protected] Each action has to be judged according to its effects: or else by mail to physical, psychological, social, cultural, political and 3 Gladstone Road, Rawdon, LEEDS LS 196HZ spiritual. This applies to all of us, in our Yoga prac (telephone 0113 2504336) tice and in our social behaviour. If you have any views about the relevance of the Yamas and Niyamas to the world today, please write to the Editors. lyengar Yoga News No.3 2 Spring 2003 ------------~------------------------------------~~----~ INTERVIEW WITH' GEETAJI Following Dr Geeta S. Iyengar s European Tour in April and May 2002, Judith Jones interviewed her for Iyengar Yoga News on 25th August 2002 in the library of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India. In this issue of IYN we are publishing the second of three instalments. IDO you see any particular W(~)lS in ical approach, that has got a different which Europeans need to develop meaning. Like a train that has to move on their practice philosophically and ethical the track, if there is no track or the track is lyas well as practically? broken the train cannot run. It will meet with an accident. The track has to be very Geetaj,i: Are you asking me particularly clear, con·ect. So too with philosophy and about Europeans? ethics, both are like tracks, we have to go on that track. But for the train there is a Yes fixed and visible track, therefore the train will go from one end to the other end, one Then in a way it is difficult to say. It is not station to the other station on the track. only Europeans, human beings are like Here the track is invisible. The ethical and that. When we all practise, we have to philosophical tracks are invisible, and have a philosophical touch to it, an ethical what is invisible you have to trace. If you touch to it. You can't be unethical and prac are a trajn driver the track ,is shown, that is tise yoga, neither can you be un-philo how you know how to drive the train. You sophical and practise yoga. You may prac- just take your train on that track. But here tise up to a certain level with physical there is no clear cut way to say this is I movements and bodily motions but for philosophical, this is ethical. One needs to how long? It will tire you! Somewhere trace the path inside. And there the prob you will get bored and you will say it is lem arises. So I won't say that Europeans meaningless, futile. In your own practice are unethically, unphilosophically practis you feel futile if you are just moving your ing - that cannot be. Then Indians too arms and legs, just keeping yourself fit. It could also be unethically and unphilo doesn't show much depth in the practice. sophically practising. Anybody as a At this point you are likely to brand asanas human being can practise, but for how as physical exercises. So somewhere the long can you practise without a philosoph spiritual and ethical practice has to be ical and ethical application? Somewhere there. Again, I won't say that just having you have to start to question yourself. physical movements is wrong practice. Undoubtedly it gives health, and removes When you question yourself, "Am I right? dullness, slowness and laziness of the Am I doing it in a proper manner? Was I body and mind. These are the prerequisite going in or'was rwatching somef'hing out sfor philosophical and ethical practice. It is side?" When you question yourself you called as sharira-shuddhi, or, kaya shud begin to bring yourself back to that track dhi - the purification of the body. of philosophy and ethics. It is a kind of self-inquiry because you cannot just have But the question remains, when you sayan unethicality or immorality in you, or you ethical and philosophical approach, cannot be non-philosophical, and tread on whether we understand that in a proper the path of yoga. way. Our ethical approach and philosoph- Iyengar Yoga News No.3 3 Spring 2003 Let us say you don't know anything about lem, I have got this disease.

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