I’m find myself thinking a lot about earth energy. There has been alot of instability and uncertainty this summer. The Okanagan and many other locales across Canada and beyond, have been scorched by wildfires, which has threatened or destroyed homes and habitats and wreaked havoc on our physical and mental health. A few weeks ago …

Years ago, I was going fairly regularly to Yasodhara Ashram in Kootenay Bay, which was founded by Swami Sivananda Radha. They held daily asana classes which were very different from my Iyengar training, and yet, both BKS Iyengar and Swami Radha spoke of a “hidden language” in hatha yoga practice. BKS Iyengar wrote a letter …

And moving into Summerland! From a yogic perspective, moving house can be viewed as more than just a physical transition, because relocation (whether home, job or otherwise) has the potential for deep transformation and personal growth. I’ve lived in Kelowna for 33 years. Within that time, I have moved house many times and each move …

I just came from class where I was instructing students to “take a seat” in Virabhadrasana I, and then a delivery of new yoga chairs arrived. I was immediately reminded of the meaning of the word āsana, that we commonly know as “posture”. It comes from the root word आस् (ās), which means to “sit, …

There’s that saying: “the only constant in life is change.” Life itself is transient, our bodies, minds, thoughts, the earth we live on are all are constantly changing. Whether lightning quick or molasses slow, change is happening ALL THE TIME. Maybe we were really into yoga practice and then circumstances changed. We found it hard …

You may or may not be aware that teachers of Iyengar Yoga follow a set of guidelines that is applicable worldwide. These guidelines originally came from BKS Iyengar himself, and were initially called the “Pune Constitution”; Pune, being the place in India where the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Memorial Institute was established by Guruji back in …

Iyengar Yoga has become synonymous with prop yoga; however, there are times when props are definitely being overused. BKS iyengar has been known to exclaim “I wish I never invented props!” because he saw them often misused. In his younger years, BKS Iyengar practiced more of a vinyasa style of Yoga.  Through his evolution as …

Q: I’m used to flow yoga classes—why are Iyengar Yoga classes so “choppy”? The flow classes that many people are used to taking are most often based on some version of a sun salutation with other asanas (poses) inserted which provide for “flowing” movements from one pose to another. While you will experience sun salutations, …

Eyebrow hair reaching out like tendrils to grasp a hearty but trembling students eye– Guruji, why do we fear your awesomeness? You are the Father of Compassion, you will not waste our time.  Vajra-like bolts of geometric wizardry ricochet off the cement floors of the institute and the grill bars, where pre- and post-surgical magic …

Karma Yoga has become somewhat of a buzz phrase at many local studios these days.  People are trading their time in service for yoga classes.  This is not true karma yoga. In fact, years ago at Kelowna Yoga house we had discussions amongst the teachers that touched on this very topic.  At the time, we had a “Karma Yoga program” but …