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.
04/19/2026
We still have a few in-person spots available and unlimited online spots for today's one-of-a-kind Neck and Shoulder Care Workshop from 11am-1pm.
Register now at
Neck and Shoulder Care Workshop — The Center For Iyengar Yoga https://share.google/ImhC9WjLWfjN1wJGt
Both physically and metaphysically, the neck and shoulders area uplifts and illumines us. Join us for this workshop to keep this important area of body and mind in top shape!
04/18/2026
Limited in-person spots remain. Online participation is available as well. Workshop will also be recorded and made available for purchase. Time listed (11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) is EDT.
You cannot get this anywhere else in the Metro Detroit region!
NECK AND SHOULDER CARE WORKSHOP
SUNDAY, APRIL 19th, 2026
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
at THE CENTER FOR IYENGAR YOGA
Royal Oak, Michigan
and/or online “virtually” anywhere in the world.
The only Certified Level III Iyengar Yoga Teacher (and the only Certified Level III Iyengar Yoga Teacher who holds a certification from the International Association of Yoga Therpists) will leave you feeling healthy, knowledgeable and wise with this extraordinary workshop exploring yoga, the human body, and the nature of freedom from suffering.
Save your in-person space today (only a few remaining), and begin your journey to a healthier, wiser, more insightful you.
Limited in-person and online spaces available. Save your spot today!
04/07/2026
Enfold and Evolve with the Center for Iyengar Yoga. As we explore seated postures, inversions and forward bends this week our students will have the opportunity to experience the classical idea that a single point can unfold to reveal the entire universe. Move beyond the exercises into the profundity of existence!
Take your health into your own hands with the Center for Iyengar Yoga’s
NECK AND SHOULDER CARE WORKSHOP
SUNDAY, APRIL 19th
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Learn higher level yoga practice from Metro Detroit’s only Level III Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher.
Both in-person and virtual attendance options are available. All workshops are recorded and available online.
04/04/2026
NECK AND SHOULDER CARE WORKSHOP
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Shed the strain from the burdens you carry. Empower yourself to shoulder more of the responsibilities that uplift your life. Learn to care exquisitely for this important body/mind gateway to higher planes of consciousness with Metro Detroit’s only Level III Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, Christopher Briney. Christopher has nearly 30 years of yoga experience and has trained extensively with some of the world’s most senior-level Iyengar Yoga teachers. After nearly breaking his neck in childhood, Christopher has learned, by experience, how to both heal and promote greater health of the neck and shoulders.
This workshop is open to all levels of students (3 months minimum yoga experience is recommended). Limited in-person spaces are available, virtually unlimited virtual spaces are available.
THE CENTER FOR IYENGAR YOGA’S 2026 SPRING SESSION BEGINS THIS WEEK with STANDING POSTURES and FIRST WEEK FUNDAMENTALS.
Find out what kind of “yoga legs” you stand on with our powerful and profound classes taught by Christopher Briney, Metro Detroit’s only Level III Certified Iyengar Yoga instructor, and Michelle Akler, one of only a handful of Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers in the region. Standing postures are the true building blocks for practicing yoga postures. Both our teachers continue their training and studies, and are actively pursuing advanced-level certifications. When taking their classes you will understand why it is said that “Iyengar Teachers don’t measure their experience in hours, but in decades.”
What does this mean for you, our students? Well, first it ensures your teachers can meet you where you are because they themselves are devoted practitioners. They don’t have a superficial or merely theoretical knowledge of yoga practice, but a deep well of experience and training to draw from to make your practice of yoga acceissible, safe, and highly effective. In short, their (ongoing) training means they keep getting better and better at helping you, challenging you, and guiding you toward your own yogic transformation.
Classes are held both in person at the Center for Iyengar Yoga, 1204 E. 11 Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI, and online anywhere you have a computing device and an internet connection. We also have a vast library of recorded classes and programs for self-guided and self-paced study.
Ready to experience the Iyenagar Yoga difference? Register today via link in bio.
03/29/2026
“WELL BEGUN IS HALF DONE!”
Spring cleaning at the CFIY as we prepare to begin our 2026 SPRING IYENGAR YOGA SESSION.
This session is an opportunity to spend twelve weeks diving deep(er) into this art and science that, in addition to building strength and flexibility in the way only Iyengar Yoga can, helps anyone conduct their with greater skill (and thus satisfaction).
Few approaches to yoga have had as much care, insight and experience invested into helping students learn and grow in an authentic yoga practice as the Iyengar Yoga system. Register today (link in bio) and experience the Iyengar Yoga difference for yourself!
03/26/2026
Why learn yoga in a "sessions" format? Find out for yourself March 30 - June 21, 2026 by participating in the Center for Iyengar Yoga's Spring Session!
We have 14 classes per week to choose from with both in-person and online participation options.
Register today and discover the Iyengar Yoga Difference with Metro Detroit's only Level III Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, Christopher Briney
03/15/2026
Make your voice heard! We are creating our schedule of upcoming workshops and special classes. Don't miss this chance to shape the curriculum that our Director, Christopher Briney will be teaching over the remainder of the year. Let us know what you are interested in learning from Metro Detroit's only Certified Level III Iyengar Yoga Teacher!
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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.
Chris lives and teaches in Royal Oak with his wife, Tracy and his son, Lucas.
