Center for Iyengar Yoga

Center for Iyengar Yoga You can't find this anywhere else in Metro Detroit.

Our Center Director, Christopher Briney brings 28 years of continuous study (currently under Prashant Iyengar), advanced Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist certifications to his yoga students.

01/17/2026

Two Days Away!

YOGA: PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY
AN IYENGAR YOGA WORKSHOP
at the Center for Iyengar Yoga
Sunday, January 18, 2026
2:30 - 4:30 p.m.

***This workshop will also be held virtually via Zoom***

Did you know that yogasana (the most common aspect of yoga practiced in the world today) is but one of eight components (or limbs) of yoga as a whole? Did you know that the seemingly physical postures have very little to do with the body, or health? Did you know that, classically, yoga postures are not at all for the body, but are meant to culture the consciousness? Did you know that the physical health, strength, flexibility, etc. that yoga postures are celebrated for creating are considered byproducts of their essential practice?

We will explore the essential practice of yoga postures and what aspects of the human being they are designed to impact in this two-hour Iyengar Yoga workshop. The main texts we will explore will be The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Cittavijnana of Yogasanas by Prashant Iyengar. We will take as our starting point this idea from Prashant-ji: “Asanas are done primarily to change the mental state, the mind-set and then the deeper layers of the mind, up to the consciousness and conscience.” If you are hungry for this type of transformation, and for a deeper and more authentic experience and practice of yoga, the Center for Iyengar Yoga’s PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY WORKSHOP is for you. Register today (only a few spots remaining) via: https://www.centerforiyengaryoga.com/class-schedule-pricing/specialworkshop

01/14/2026

The Center for Iyengar Yoga presents:

YOGA: PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY
AN IYENGAR YOGA WORKSHOP
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18th
2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
In-person at: The Center for Iyengar Yoga in Royal Oak, MI
And virtually: throughout the globe!

As a dedicated yoga practitioner, it’s likely you have received extensive technical instruction in how to perform the postures and their movements. At the same time, have you ever wondered what the purpose of all those technical instructions is? Have you ever wondered if there’s an aim to the asanas beyond fitness, strength, or flexibility? Do you practice yoga for a deeper sense of purpose, or to empower your own growth and evolution as a human being? If you answered yes to any of these questions, and if you are hungry for a deeper understanding and experience of yoga and the ocean of knowledge and wisdom that its philosophy contains, this workshop is for you! Register today (link: https://www.centerforiyengaryoga.com/class-schedule-pricing/specialworkshop) to take a powerful step toward your inspiration and illumination. Act now because action is the fuel for transformation! Only 8 in-person spaces remain.

The Center for Iyengar Yoga presents:YOGA: PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHYAN IYENGAR YOGA WORKSHOPSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18th2:30 - 4:...
01/12/2026

The Center for Iyengar Yoga presents:

YOGA: PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY
AN IYENGAR YOGA WORKSHOP
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18th
2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
In-person at: The Center for Iyengar Yoga in Royal Oak, MI
And virtually: throughout the globe!

As a dedicated yoga practitioner, it’s likely you have received extensive technical instruction in how to perform the postures and their movements. At the same time, have you ever wondered what the purpose of all those technical instructions is? Have you ever wondered if there’s an aim to the asanas beyond fitness, strength, or flexibility? Do you practice yoga for a deeper sense of purpose, or to empower your own growth and evolution as a human being? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will find rich answers in this workshop. Register today and let the new growth begin! https://www.centerforiyengaryoga.com/class-schedule-pricing/specialworkshop

YOGA: PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHYAn Iyengar Yoga WorkshopSUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 20262:30 - 4:30 p.m. EST In-person At the Cente...
01/09/2026

YOGA: PRACTICE AND PHILOSOPHY
An Iyengar Yoga Workshop
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026
2:30 - 4:30 p.m. EST

In-person At the Center for Iyengar Yoga in Royal Oak, MI; virtual anywhere in the world!

What are yoga postures really for? Is exercise the ultimate aim of yoga? What is the ultimate aim of yoga and how does practicing yoga postures (yogasanas) lend to fulfilling yoga’s aims?

“Just because you are practicing yoga positions, doesn’t mean you are developing in yoga.” —Anonymous Center for Iyengar Yoga practitioner.

If you are looking for more than mere flexibility and strength, if you are interested in making yourself into the most you can be, if you are a sincere yoga student or yoga teacher and you are looking to explore yoga’s greater depths and profoundest mysteries, this workshop is for you!

The Center for Iyengar Yoga’s “Yoga: Practice and Philosophy Workshop” is aimed at placing the practice of yoga postures in the proper context of traditional yoga and to show how they can offer some of the most profound tools to understand and embody yoga’s illustrious principles and possibilities.

Dive into yoga practice like you’ve never experienced it before. Register today to supercharge your health by anchoring it in wisdom! Register via link in bio.

You can make this the best year ever!The Center for Iyengar Yoga’s 2026 Winter Session begins tomorrow (January 5). We o...
01/05/2026

You can make this the best year ever!

The Center for Iyengar Yoga’s 2026 Winter Session begins tomorrow (January 5). We offer classes tor all levels of students. This session will be designed to take students to progressively deeper layers of insight and understanding in their practice, while developing strength, flexibility, and balance of mind. These multi-week sessions are designed based upon the principle that consistent practice produces the most profound growth for the student of yoga. Cement your commitment to improving your well-being and empowering your personal development in 2026! Register today (link in bio).





Make the best of your New Year with the Center for Iyengar Yoga’s annualNEW YEAR’S DAY REJUVENATION WORKSHOP1.1.20269 - ...
01/01/2026

Make the best of your New Year with the Center for Iyengar Yoga’s annual

NEW YEAR’S DAY REJUVENATION WORKSHOP
1.1.2026
9 - 11 a.m.

We have about 3-4 spots remaining. Save your space now! Register via link in bio.

New Year's Iyengar Yoga Workshops Begin TomorrowNEW YEAR'S EVE NIRVANA (full-spectrum, high energy asana class featuring...
12/31/2025

New Year's Iyengar Yoga Workshops Begin Tomorrow

NEW YEAR'S EVE NIRVANA (full-spectrum, high energy asana class featuring standing postures, inversions, arm balances, backbends and more!): 12/31, 9 - 11 a.m.

NEW YEAR'S DAY REJUVENATION WORKSHOP (restorative yoga and pranayama class taught with the depth and recuperative power that only Iyengar Yoga can provide) - https://mailchi.mp/1b61782a6efa/great-ways-to-practice-yoga-for-thanksgiving-17459531





12/29/2025
Free yourself in body and mind! Experience gravity as a playmate! Learn how in ourROPES, INVERSIONS, and BACKBENDS WORKS...
12/26/2025

Free yourself in body and mind! Experience gravity as a playmate! Learn how in our

ROPES, INVERSIONS, and BACKBENDS WORKSHOP
Saturday, December 27
2:30-4:30 p.m.

Master your hang-ups before they master you.
8 Spaces left, register now via link in bio.




Inspired classes for your Holiday Upliftment!Here’s this week’s class schedule:Tuesday, 12/23: 6:30 - 8:00 a.m. Early Bi...
12/23/2025

Inspired classes for your Holiday Upliftment!

Here’s this week’s class schedule:

Tuesday, 12/23:
6:30 - 8:00 a.m. Early Bird, and
11:00 a.m. - Noon Lunchtime Class

Wednesday, 12/24 and Thursday, 12/25:
CFIY will be Closed for Christmas

Friday, 12/26:
11:00 a.m. - Noon Lunchtime Class
3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Iyengar Yoga for Healthy Digestion Workshop

Saturday, 12/27:
7:30 - 9:00 a.m. All Levels Asana Class
2:30 - 4:30 Ropes, Inversions, and Backbends Workshop

Sunday, 12/28:
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Neck and Shoulder Care Workshop

Stay tuned for more details about next week’s classes, including our annual NEW YEAR’S EVE BLOWOUT and NEW YEAR’S DAY RESTORATION WORKSHOPS!

END 2025 FULLY ALIVE WITH THE CFIY!





One is the external space, the other is internal space, but to yogis the felt space of the Self is actually larger than ...
12/20/2025

One is the external space, the other is internal space, but to yogis the felt space of the Self is actually larger than that of the external space around them.

--B.K.S. Iyengar, LIGHT ON LIFE

Make Space For Your Self this Holiday Season!

THE CENTER FOR IYENGAR YOGA'S
2025 HOLIDAY CLASSES BEGIN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2025
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
"REST BEFORE THE RUSH"

Register today: https://www.centerforiyengaryoga.com/class-schedule-pricing

20% off gift certificates thru Xmas eve.-https://mailchi.mp/17dcc2f0f0ba/great-ways-to-practice-yoga-for-thanksgiving-17459278

Begin Christmas week rejuvenated in body, mind, nerves and, ultimately, every fibre of your being.REST BEFORE THE RUSHA ...
12/19/2025

Begin Christmas week rejuvenated in body, mind, nerves and, ultimately, every fibre of your being.

REST BEFORE THE RUSH
A HOLIDAY RESTORATIVE YOGA CLASS
Sunday, December 21, 2025
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
The Center for Iyengar Yoga
Royal Oak

Give yourself the gift of ease. Register today via link in bio.

Address

1204 E. 11 Mile Road
Royal Oak, MI
48067

Opening Hours

Monday 8:45am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 6:15am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 3pm
5:15pm - 9:15pm
Thursday 8:30am - 7:30pm
Friday 6:15am - 3pm
Saturday 7:15am - 3:45pm
Sunday 8:30am - 12pm

Telephone

+12488219642

Website

https://linktr.ee/centerforiyengaryoga

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Center for Iyengar Yoga

Chris Briney is the Director of The Center For Iyengar Yoga. He is one of only a small handful of teachers in Metro Detroit to attain certification as an Iyengar Yoga Teacher (C.I.Y.T.) by the Iyengar National Association of the United States (I.Y.N.A.U.S.). He is also one of only seven yoga teachers in the state of Michigan to attain an Intermediate, Level III certification, and the only male yoga teacher in the state to do so. Certification as an Iyengar Yoga instructor is widely regarded as the highest standard of certification for teachers of Hatha Yoga worldwide. For more information on Iyengar Yoga teacher certification standards and the certification process, please follow this link: Teacher Certification Process

Prior to yoga, Chris received his B.A. in English Literature with a concentration in Film Aesthetics and History from Oakland University. In 1997, just as he was graduating, he began practicing yoga. It didn’t take long for his study of yoga to become the full-time pursuit it is today. His passion for and commitment to the practice of yoga has taken (and still takes) him around the country for numerous trainings and workshops with some of the most senior yoga teachers in the world.

In 2002, Chris met Laurie Blakeney, a Senior Level Iyengar Yoga teacher from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and began studying with her on a weekly basis. Though he was studying a different Hatha Yoga methodology at the time, it wasn’t long before he found a level of depth and profundity in Iyengar Yoga that inspired him to immerse himself in its practice. After 7 years of rigorous study and apprenticeship with Laurie, Chris successfully completed the Iyengar Yoga teacher certification process in 2009. In 2014, Chris made his first trip to Pune, India to study with B.K.S. Iyengar and his family at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. In the Fall of 2017, Chris received his Intermediate Junior III teaching certificate after successfully completing the rigorous assessment and testing process. His other yogic studies have included: Ashtanga yoga as taught by K. Pattabhi Jois, Vipassana Meditation, and Transcendental Meditation. He has also participated in numerous courses through Landmark Education, and has a passion for Transcendentalist literature and the “New Thought” teachings and writings it inspired. Recently, he also had the good fortune of learning Isha Yoga from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. Chris began teaching yoga in 2001.

Chris’s studies have led him to become one of Metro Detroit’s most highly trained and well-versed teachers of yoga. He is quick to point out, however, that for him teaching is a by-product of his commitment to the practice of yoga as a way of life. As a result, his teaching contains an authenticity and integrity that can only come from the experience gained through devoted practice. In his classes, you’ll find this authenticity and integrity blended with playfulness and humor to yield an experience both enjoyable and deeply transformative.