Yoga 4 All Bodies

Yoga 4 All Bodies Welcome to Yoga 4 All Bodies, an Iyengar Yoga Studio in Reston, VA with CIYT Leanne Cusumano Roque. The fastest way to reach me is TEXT to 703-297-2224.

Y4A is a home-based studio offering in-person classes for up to 4 people & virtual/in-person privates. I began practicing yoga in 2006 after a friend suggested I try it out. I read a book that said I should wait until I could practice every day for 6 months, so I figured out when I could practice daily and started yoga classes on Mother’s Day 2006. After 6 months of daily practice I knew yoga was the practice for me! I explored multiple traditions along the way, and in 2009 found Iyengar Yoga. I appreciated the way in which sequences were built to create a particular effect, as well as how there was a focus on precision along with an explanation of why it matters. I knew soon that I wanted to become a teacher to help share the benefits of yoga with others. I started teaching in 2012, in 2013 took and passed my first Iyengar assessment, and in 2014 took and passed the second assessment that made me a fully Certified Iyengar yoga teacher (CIYT). Teacher training in the Iyengar tradition is one of the most rigorous and precise trainings for yoga teachers. Trainees are required to have a minimum of three years of practice in the Iyengar tradition, significant training, must be recommended by two senior teachers, and then must pass assessments in front of 3 additional senior teachers. Assessments include written exams, demonstrated practice, and teaching assessment. I continue to take and study higher assessment levels to improve my ability to serve you.

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.

What are Upashrayi poses?Geeta Iyengar, BKS Iyengar’s eldest daughter and a genius in her own right, taught that upashra...
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.

I’ve added a LinkedIn page for the studio. Check it out at https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoga-4-all-bodies-in-the-iye...
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.

Words of Wisdom from GeetajiGeeta Iyengar, BKS Iyengar’s daughter, advised that we structure each of our practices to fi...
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.

04/30/2025

Class Change Coming in July

Starting Wednesday, July 1, there will be a hybrid yoga class from 9:15am to 10:30am weekly.

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

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

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

This Wednesday class is replacing the Friday morning class. The last Friday morning class is June 27.

I hope that this provides you with more options and flexibility to help you get your regular yoga practice.

04/30/2025

Here is the May / June 2025 class schedule

No classes Tuesdays May 6 and June 3, and Friday, May 2.

Otherwise, classes continue as normal.

Tuesday evenings 6:15pm - 7:30pm
Fridays, 9:45am - 11am

03/31/2025

I’ve relaunched the yoga4allbodies.com website and am gradually adding resources. If there is something you’d like to see, let me know. Love your feedback!

Address

Reston, VA
20194

Telephone

+17032972224

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