Iyengar Yoga Detroit

02/07/2025

Pre-register for Gwi-Seok's upcoming spinal health āsana workshop on February 15th. You can join from home via Zoom or come to the studio to tune in and access props.

These times require all of us to be our most upright, upstanding, whole, and aligned selves. But it's hard to be at your best when you have back pain. This workshop will cover the basics of spinal health from first aid to alleviate pain, daily practices to strengthen and stabilize, to recuperative poses to soften and release.

Gwi-Seok's workshops are generally for seasoned Iyengar yoga practitioners, but in this case, beginners will be accommodated as needed. All participants should have a chair, blocks, strap, several blankets, and a wall. Bolsters will be helpful, or at least firm cushions.

01/22/2025

We cultivate community spaces through yoga classes and various study groups - please consider joining an upcoming "Yoga and Politics" event on February 12 from 7-8:30 pm. This is a time for gentle and accessible asana, followed and interspersed with discussion regarding the relationship between yoga and politics. This specific session will be hosted by IYCD's Ahimsa in Action group and focused on takeaways from the book they just finished, The Trauma of Caste.

01/10/2025

Did you know Iyengar Yoga Detroit offers a robust apprenticeship program to support the training and education of folks who want to become a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT)?

You can find one of our current apprentices, Alice Bagley, at the 7:30 AM beginner + class, helping Erin with demonstrations and practicing teaching some of the asanas. Learn more about our pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities on our website, link in bio.

12/11/2024

I had just graduated from college in 2014 when I discovered how profoundly yoga could reshape and transform my life. At the time, I was searching for a connection within myself—a harmony of mind, body, and spirit. I tried everything I could think of: working out regularly, meditating, and even visiting different spiritual spaces, like churches and mosques. But nothing seemed to give me that sense of inner alignment I was craving.

It wasn’t until I started attending yoga classes regularly and immersing myself in the community that I finally felt grounded and connected. My practice truly began to blossom in 2018, and by 2020, I felt ready to take the next step and pursue apprenticeship.

Of course, that was the year the pandemic hit. Most of my training in 2020 and 2021 happened over Zoom, which, surprisingly, turned out to be a gift in disguise. With everything shut down, I had the time and space to fully dedicate myself to yoga. I could spend hours practicing, reflecting, and deepening my connection to my body. It became a transformative period in my life.

That experience cemented my belief in yoga’s power to guide us through difficult and painful times. I see it as a tool to process emotions like righteous anger, relentless grief, and radical hope, all while helping us reimagine a brighter future.

Yoga, for me, is about grounding. With so much happening in the world—whether it’s the chaos of elections, the crisis in Palestine, or the challenges of everyday life—it’s so easy to become disconnected from our bodies and ourselves. Yoga brings me back to center, to that essential connection.

Now, as a parent, these ideas resonate even more deeply. I imagine a world where everyone has a sense of community, a space to be their authentic selves, and the freedom to create. I dream of accountable spaces where everyone feels a sense of belonging and home.

📝 Yemisi Odetoyinbo
📸 .art

12/03/2024

Curiosity and a deep desire to learn have always shaped my life, leading me to explore countless creative paths. This passion guided my journey at Wayne State University, where a chance encounter with Iyengar yoga teacher Laurie Blakeney changed everything. Her brilliance and commanding presence sparked an enduring fascination with the transformative practice of Iyengar yoga.

This newfound interest, however, was not without challenges. When my mother, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, learned I had enrolled in a yoga class, she was deeply disappointed. To her, yoga conflicted with our faith, creating significant tension between us. While I recognized the strain this put on our relationship, I remained committed—a decision that required both courage and self-discovery. Looking back, I see how profoundly a mother’s influence shapes our life path, often in unexpected ways.

Initially, my yoga practice lacked direction. With no Iyengar classes in my area, I spent years searching for the connection I’d felt in college but found nothing comparable. Determined, I began commuting from Detroit to Ann Arbor to deepen my yoga studies. Over time, my dedication grew, and in 2009, I opened the first Iyengar Yoga studio in the Detroit area— a milestone that solidified my dedication to the practice.

While my mother and I maintained a respectful relationship, an undeniable void lingered. I found solace in yoga, which became a grounding force in my life. As my practice matured, I came to see my lifelong quest for new experiences as fueled by an “unsettled” energy —a restless quality yogic philosophy calls “rajasic.” Yoga gave me tools to balance this energy with “tamas,” the stillness I craved, and “sattva,” the clarity and peace that grounded me.

Through yoga’s harmonious blending of energies, I found a sense of balance that keeps drawing me back. It has become more than a physical practice—a reflection of the structure and grounding my mother instilled in our family. In both yoga and her teachings, I’ve found the foundation and stability that continue to guide my life.

📝 Michele Pearson
📸 .art

11/10/2024

A note from IYDC teachers and an invitation to be together.

10/30/2024

George Rahme’s pursuit of yoga emerged from a deep need for healing. Some of the conditions were congenital, some of them accumulated through the wear and tear of daily life, sports injuries, and use of harmful chemicals in the service of a professional art practice. But the deepest issues, according to Rahme, go all the way back to his roots.

“I think that what this comes down to is being uprooted from our land and being first generation from a family that immigrated away from our bloodlines in South Lebanon and mountains of Lebanon,” said Rahme. “It’s much different here [in the US] and being exposed to the food – I experienced it all really rapidly.”

Experiencing joint inflammation and gut dysregulation—due in part to nutritional deficiencies and in part from the medical interventions of the Westernized health industry—Rahme found himself in an increasingly precarious state of physical vulnerability in the midst of his 20s.

“I think it was 2000 or 2001, I was at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival,” he said. “I was in a wheelchair.”

It was then that Rahme began a home practice of yoga, following along with a DVD—one that would evolve over the next 20 years through Bikram and other forms of yoga into a deep relationship with Iyengar Yoga methods and philosophy.

“It’s been about eight years now since I’ve been practicing Iyengar Yoga, even though that first DVD was an Iyengar Yoga teacher,” said Rahme. Over time, Rahme has moved further into yoga and away from a studio art practice that, while successful, ultimately felt dehumanizing for him.

“When I started to participate in teaching, which was before I was certified, I started to experience this type of reward that I had been looking for in art, maybe all along,” said Rahme. “It’s a collaborative experience, like the student or the viewer of an art or the student of yoga might have this great experience, and then it’s reciprocated. I’m constantly giving and receiving, and I think this relationship is really important.”

Written by Sarah Rose Sharp
Photos by .art

08/19/2024

08/02/2024

Please join us on Saturday, August 10th at 6 PM for a potluck and film screening! Bright a dish or beverage to share if you're able.
art

07/24/2024

We are so excited to have our student, Na Forest Lim with .art premiere their short film featuring our apprentice Dawn. The film is a beautiful story about how Iyengar Yoga has influenced Dawn’s life. We hope you all will join us at 2750 Yemans on Saturday, August 10th at 6pm for a potluck and watching this film in its public debut!

07/21/2024

Join us as Gwi-Seok visits us from Hawaii for a week-long intensive! Class options for everyone. Sign up for the whole week or drop in for specific classes. We will end the week with a potluck and film premier featuring one of our students!

07/08/2024

Buckwheat hills are a great natural filling for bolsters and pillows. This amount wouldn’t be enough for a full bolster but would be a great amount for a meditation pillow or pranayama bolster. One of our students is giving these away and we can arrange pick up at the studio. First come first serve! DM to arrange pick up.