Yoga 4 All Bodies

10/01/2025

Here is my translation of the Chant to Patanjali.

Yogena chittasya
Yoga stills the fluctuations of the mind

Padena vaachaaM
Purifies speech

MalaM shariirasya cha vaidyakena
Heals the body

Yo.apaakarottam pravaraM muniinaaM
Let me be like the one who has given yoga

PataJNJaliM praaJNjalir aanato.asmi
Patanjali be with me

Abahu purusaKaram
From hand to the head, shape of a person

Sankha cakrasi dharinam
Holding the conch to awaken, the disc to cut down evil, and the sword to discern truth

Sahsra sirsasam svetam
From the head 1000 white Cobras, looking inward for self-knowledge

Pranamami patanjalim
Be with me Patanjali

Hari Om
May it be so

10/01/2025

What is the Chant to Patanjali

I recently started including the Chant to Patanjali at the beginning of the last class of each month. Chanting to Patanjali at the beginning of class is a regular part of Iyengar yoga. In my personal practice, I chant every day.

I like to chant as it reminds me that my objectives are a calm mind, clear speech, and a healthy body, as the beginning of the chant says. I also appreciate the reminders to look inward and develop self-knowledge, to wake up, to be on the side of good, and to seek truth.

There is a video that describes the history and context of the chant, plus includes a recording of BKS Iyengar chanting, at https://youtu.be/RPvNgkamNHs.

If you want, you can use the video to learn the chant.

10/01/2025

Here is the October/November 2025 class schedule

Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm, in-person
No class October 21

Wednesdays, 9:15am - 10:30am, hybrid and recorded
No class October 22

09/01/2025

Welcome to the September 2025 Y4A yoga news!

Get the September / October schedule
Welcome Fall

Here is the September/October 2025 class schedule

Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm, in-person
No class September 9
Wednesdays, 9:15am - 10:30am, hybrid and recorded
No class September 17

2. Welcome Fall

With the change of seasons comes an invitation to adjust our practice in ways that support us body, mind, and soul.

Cooler weather may energize us or make us feel inclined to practice more standing poses or backbends.

Yoga is noticing. So as the season changes, notice what effect your practice has on you.

Enjoy!

08/01/2025

Here is the August/September 2025 class schedule

Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm, in-person
No classes August 19 and September 9

Wednesdays, 9:15am - 10:30am, hybrid and recorded
No class September 10

08/01/2025

“Teach the student in front of you, regardless of what you had planned.” Abhijata Iyengar

When we practice outside of class, we are both the student and the teacher.

When we are our own teacher, Abhijata tells us to notice what is happening for us and to adjust our practice based on our observations.

Tired? If you do restoratives, do you get more tired? Then maybe what is called for is more active poses. If you do more active poses and the legs shake or the mind rebels, then maybe more restorative poses are right.

The beauty of being one’s own teacher is one can observe trends and changes over time. Of course, there are dips and things that appear to be setbacks, but over time the right practice brings more ease within the effort.

If you like, keep some notes about your observations or about things that work well.

06/30/2025

What are Upashrayi poses?

Geeta Iyengar, BKS Iyengar’s eldest daughter and a genius in her own right, taught that upashrayi poses are the best poses to practice when we are mentally or physically tired or feeling unwell.

You know how when you are restless or sick you don’t feel great lying flat, and you don’t feel great sitting straight up? Well, upashrayi poses are referred to as “L”-shaped poses because in them, you support your back at about a 45° angle.

You can practice upavista konasana, baddha konasana, virasana, swastikasana, and svasana with the back supported so you are neither lying flat nor sitting straight up.

Try it out some of the poses at the end of the day and in your next restorative practice.

Enjoy!

06/30/2025

Our Wednesday recorded hybrid class starts this week!

Here is the July / August 2025 class schedule

*Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm, in-person
*Wednesdays, 9:15am - 10:30am, hybrid and recorded

The Wednesday morning class starts this Wednesday, July 2! This replaces the Friday class and is a hybrid yoga class from 9:15am to 10:30am weekly.

As usual, there are four in-person spots available for the Wednesday class. If you plan to come in-person, sign up for the In-Person & Recording Option.

If you want to participate via zoom or practice on your own time with the recording, sign up for the Wednesday ZOOM & Recording Option.

Regardless of whether you sign up to be in-person or on zoom, you have access to the class recording for 30 days.

Many of us travel in the summertime, which may mean missing an occasional yoga class.

Classes require two or more students to run, so please, sign up for the Tuesday class by Noon on Tuesday and the Wednesday class by 8 PM on Tuesday evening.

Looking forward to seeing you!

06/02/2025

"The body is a house of rhythm. Is every cartilage, every ligament, joint, every muscle allowing the energy to move rhythmically? The rhythm in the flow of energy should be felt in asanas. That is the definition of an asana." ~ BKS Iyengar

BKS Iyengar always said there is no way to separate asana from the other petals of yoga. In his quote above, my attention is drawn to the petal of pranayama. Prana often gets translated as breath, but a better translation is energy.

As we practice this month, notice where the energy flows in the body. Where are the brakes that slow down or stop the energy flow? Where does energy flow freely? Too fast?

Noticing the flow of energy requires pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (focus), dhyana (maintained focus). Becoming one with the rhythm is samadhi (Unity).

06/02/2025

Here is the June / July 2025 class schedule

Here is the June schedule:

Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm - no class June 3
Fridays, 9:45am - 11am

Here is the July schedule:

Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm, in-person
Wednesdays, 9:15am - 10:30am, hybrid and recorded

The last Friday class is June 27. Starting Wednesday, July 2, there is a hybrid yoga class from 9:15am to 10:30am weekly.

As usual, there are four in-person spots available for the Wednesday class. If you plan to come in-person, sign up for the In-Person & Recording Option.

If you want to participate via zoom or practice on your own time with the recording, sign up for the Wednesday ZOOM & Recording Option.

Regardless of whether you sign up to be in-person or on zoom, you have access to the class recording for 30 days.

04/30/2025

I’ve added a LinkedIn page for the studio.

Check it out at https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoga-4-all-bodies-in-the-iyengar-tradition

Feel free to follow and connect!

Yoga 4 All Bodies | Yoga in the Iyengar Tradition. Building strength, flexibility, and equanimity. | Mainstream yoga classes not for you? Do you want personalized and customized yoga classes? In Iyengar yoga, students build strength and flexibility with a focus on safety through alignment.

04/30/2025

Words of Wisdom from Geetaji

Geeta Iyengar, BKS Iyengar’s daughter, advised that we structure each of our practices to first calm anything irritated or injured, then work on corrections and adjustments, and finally to build up.

Here’s an example. I wake up in the morning and my back feels a little stiff. So I start out my practice doing urdhva hastasana, urdhva baddanguliasana, maybe chair bhradvajsana or a few other poses to calm and release the back. Then, I know that I want to continue to work on lifting my knees in my standing poses, so I work on that in Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, and Ardha Chandrasana. Then I can shift to building up, going into sirsasana and using a timer to extend my stay, or working with variations. When I come down, perhaps I do paripoorna navasana to build up my ability to stay. Then perhaps I’m ready for sarvangasana and svasana.

By starting out with addressing anything that is irritated or injured, the body becomes a willing participant in our practice. The key is to let the body be the guide.