What is Iyengar Yoga Therapy?

Fundamentally, yoga practice can be a powerful tool of self-care. When a practitioner understands her/his own movement patterns, habits, structure and preconceptions, he/she can begin to practice in a way to bring balance into life and maintain it. Then every practice session is therapeutic, and the practitioner can trust that no harm will be done (abiding by the first principle of yoga philosophy—non-harming).

One useful way to look at this therapy is to envision a five pointed star.

The top tip is Alignment, and then moving clockwise around the star, the second is Pranayama/breathwork, the third is Ayurveda/daily&seasonal practices, the fourth is meditation/mindfulness, and the fifth is devotion/spiritual practice.

My approach has its origins in my own journey working with a fractured lumbar spine, asthma as a child, disconnection from nature through many years of schooling, study of meditation in the Yoga and Buddhist traditions, and finally an understanding of prayer and bhakti/devotion and its place in daily life. My goal is to facilitate each practitioner’s self-discovery of contented balance using these tools.