How does one explain the difference

[Guest guest]

between Iyengar yoga and Ashtanga to someone who

has never done ashtanga? Every time I am asked this

question I give an answer that somehow doesn't seem

satisfactory. For example, do Iyengar people have a regular

asana practice the way we do in ashtanga? It seems most

of the people who tell me that they do Iyengar

really mean that they go to a yoga class once a week or

so, if that. People have told me that they have been

'doing yoga for a really long time' and it turns out

that they don't have a regular practice of any kind.

What is taught in Iyengar about practice? What poses

are people supposed to do? I went to what was

supposed to be an 'advanced' Iyengar class and it was not

very challenging. Also, don't those props just keep

you crooked? What are the benefits of spending twenty

minutes in different poses? Why not just sit

meditation?<br><br>FBL

[Guest guest]

Turning to the back of light on yoga and there

are courses for four years worth of yoga.....when you

are past beginners and into course two you find the

routines are siomilar to astanga, main diffrerence being

that Iyengar says to stop standing poses on the feet

and do headstand/shoulderstand variations

instead.......also the sun salutes are optional for building up

upper body strength........<br><br>I feel from reading

the postings "taste in yoga" etc that you seem to

confuse classes with practice.....I go to Iyengar

teacher's practice when I can in Manchester, UK and yes

there are props and demos etc.....it is like a

workshop......I have learned a lot from that and I use much of

that knowledge in my classes in ChiangMai, Thailand

where for begginers it is often helpful to break down a

pose or use props. However the aimed for result is

that the student gets the feel of the asana and

eventually the props can be abandonned........<br><br>In

Astanga the same thing is done but the only prop is the

body of the instructor who lifts and pulls, places and

so on the limbs.......the idea is the same to get

the feeling and the opening into the student's body

so he or she can do the pose alone.<br><br>The idea

that Iyengar yoga is all about how many blankets

should be under your shoulders in shoulderstand is a

fallacy, once good alignment is there then it's all done

without props........<br><br>Spending longer in an asana

is a good way to get to know it but for most of the

poses in light on yoga the hold is twenty seconds to

half a minute which is basically the same as five to

eight ujjayi breaths in astanga........the ones that

are held longer are things like kurmasana and

yoganidrasana for a minute at a time which is an extended hold

in a fully stretched position, or the five minutes

and over holds of headstand and

shoulderstand...........again in astanga the finishing sequence postures are

held for longer anyway and that period can be expanded

on if you have time or inclination.......so again

there is not much difference. The reason for the long

hold being that these asanas are relaxing for the mind

and the body.<br><br>So all in all an Astanga class

is more exciting but in an Iyengar class there may

be more learning of one or two things..........the

problem of "challenge"<br>you mention possibly comes from

the class having to encompass everyone's

ability........ask yourself would it be the same if it were private

tuition just for you? I would imagine that the

"traditional" way of yoga instruction was one on one or in very

small groups of maybe two or three students never

thirty in a class or more..........which may be why

classes are as they are viz structure

[Guest guest]

I've studied with some Iyengar teachers and share

your misgivings, though I have to say I'm grateful to

them for what I learned about the whys and wherefores

of proper alignment. <br><br>Astanga really put it

all together for me -- the breathing, a standard

sensible way to practice, the heat, etc. Astanga is really

integral.<br><br>Most every prop i've used seemed a waste of time, but

one: there's a way to stack wooden blocks with a

sticky mat on a folding chair that's absolutely dynamite

for backbends. Nothing like it.

[Guest guest]

I've experienced nothing but benefit in taking a

weekly iyengar class. It's like learning to play a

second instrument. It's all music.<br><br>My body gets a

serious "grounding" from the iyengar method. It has

opened up lots of sticky bits in my body. <br><br>Of

course, the only way to really know how beneficial and

fun it can be is to find a good iyengar teacher and

study once a week.<br><br>I used to be anti-prop. Not

anymore. It's actually quite fun to hang from harnesses

and ropes. <br><br>If you don't keep your mind open,

you will never know how awesome it can all be. After

all, it's all yoga.

[Guest guest]

I am not confusing classes with practice. I think

that many people who take Iyengar yoga are confused

about this. Also, I have read light on yoga several

times and after many years of taking Iyengar classes

before I began practicing ashtanga, it is the first time

I have ever heard mention of any kind of regular

practice. What I want to know is if Iyengar classes teach

about practice. I'm sure that BKS Iyengar probably did,

but it seems that there are about as many people

teaching the method incorrectly in Iyengar as there are in

ashtanga.

[Guest guest]

that was a really nice contribution, thanx.