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| I practice ashtanga every day. I love ashtanga. I love all the jumping, the sweat, the vinyasas, the breathing, the series,...in short, ashtanga is for me.
I had been before to a iyengar class a couple of times, when i first started yoga, but I was almost put off by yoga in general, because I found it really boring. Luckily I found ashtanga shortly after.
Still, I decided to go to an Iyengar class this week. I thought it might be pretty boring, but nevermind. The thing is that I found it hugely helpful. It really helped me notice my alignment in postures and helped me realise the things I thought i was doing ok for ages but am in fact doing wrong. It was slow, very slow, and holding the postures for ages is definately my idea of torture. I'm not used to using props, and think that that will take some getting used to. I don't like them because in ashtanga they get in the way more than anything else.
Basically, I'm going to go once a week, to work on all those things that I don't focus on in my ashtanga practice. It also gives my body a break from the harshness or pitta nature of ashtanga.
The day after my ashtanga practice, i don't really feel any pain or anything, I used to, but I think my body is used to it now. The day after the Iyengar class, I was broken. My bum hurt and my quads...it's obviously going to do me some good.
Still I had to do a quick half vinyasa at the end of the class, I was yearning for it.
Just wanted to tell you all about it, and ask whether any of you have had a similar experience or what your experience with Iyengar is.
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| D-dawg: It was slow, very slow, and holding the postures for ages is definately my idea of torture.
torture out of boredom or torture out of screaming muscles?
iyengar yoga: finding new places to be sore every day!
seriously though, coming from a style using a fixed series and no props to iyengar is a huge jump. when i switched to iyengar from bikram and ashtanga practice, i too realized the shortcomings in my alignment, and how they had hurt me.
using the props can be awkward at first, but once you learn how they interact with your specific body things will go much more smoothly. and once you begin to really realize how powerful they are and inventing your own proppings, watch out!
it is even possible to bring as much athleticism as you like into iyengar practice. yesterday in class, ingela had us do a very deliberate flow of standing poses, and i was sweating! as you work into new/unused areas of your body, those places receive quite a workout, eh?
AND (this might be my favorite) as practice matures and you gain a handle of sequencing (which i get maybe 10% of the time  ) you will be able to prepare for and perform advanced asanas like never before.
i like to do a forward bending practice, and finish up with something like titthibasana, which is an arm balance and a seated forward bend. having warmed up the extension of your back body will really help you to balance.
i'm glad you liked it, D-dog.
keep us posted.
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| Hello DownwardDog
I think it is great that you are practicing both Iyengar and Ashtanga
I come from Iyengar-influenced backround which I think gives a great grounding in alignment and safety etc. Holding postures for longer builds up stamina in different ways to vinyasas too. having said that my 'main' teacher always includes vinyasas of some sort (she was Iyengar certified but has not renewed her certification as she is not stricly Iyengar anymore) perhaps it depends on your teacher? (or perhaps it is because she isn't 'strictly' iyengar anymore!) I have been to classes where the teacher hasn't included any vinyasas and I really missed them too.
My personal practice is a blend of Iyengar, Anusara and Ashtanga I suppose...I reckon you would like Anusara too...Hard to find a teacher locally for me though, I went to John Friend's workshop in London a while back and really enjoyed his style of teaching....strong slow vinyasas with attention to alignment
Namaste
Laura |
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| Thanks for posting guys
==> "D-dawg: It was slow, very slow, and holding the postures for ages is definately my idea of torture."
It was physical torture, I was very suprised I thought my tough ashtanga regime was keeping me really strong! There was no time for mental torture I was too busy concentrating on what I was (trying to do) doing.
I wouldn't say that I like it at this point, I liked bits of it. I definately think that I need to go to improve my ashtanga though
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| Thaink of it as your "theory class"
Fee |
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| Dear DownwardDog: The whole problem is NOT that Iyengar Style practice is killing you or hurting you. The problem is ONLY the amount of that practice. I mean at one single setting. Therefore, the only thing you have to do is to reduce that amount, that means hold the pose only within your limit and NOT what the others are doing. If that also is too much, follow Orbilla's suggestion that 'Consider it as your theory class'. Actually, to add to Orbilla, make it your theory class. That means do NOT do it! |
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Veteran
Posts: 258
 
| Heeeeeeeey friends, although I am new to yoga (just 3 years) please allow me to comment on some of the above about Iyengar yoga, about holding the asanas so long, about sore muscles, about getting… bored...
Come on, we all know that yoga does not only have to do with muscles ! (and I mean, even HATHA yoga, does not only have to do with this)
Second : how can you get bored when sooooooo many things are happening inside your body and mind, even when you stand “still” in a posture ? The whole matter is to observe, to experience all these things happening inside you and it certainly doesn’t let you get bored !
So, if you do indeed observe inside while holding a posture, apart from aaaall the rest that you "gain", you also don’t get sore muscles, because you loosen what should not be stressed and also you "hear it" when the stressed part “tells” you “O.K. I got tired, let’s stop this and go to the next”
Iyengar super-enthusiast-Kristi
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| postures need to be practised to the extent pain if any is 'sweet' |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
  
| kristi - so true! And davis - yes. A lot has to do with how one defines "pain" and where their personal tolerance level is. For myself, muscular exertion is seldom defined as "pain" until it comes to the point where I feel burning or anytime there is a sharp, searing sensation that you know right away is bad. And for many, the pain comes from fear, and some of it justifiable , especially if one has had an injury and has learned to protect the injured part. There is a great story in this issue of Yoga Rahasya (the journal from the BKS Iyengar Institute in Pune) about a woman who nearly died in a motor vehicle accident (18 surgeries and 13 blood transfusions, two year "recovery" at which point she was still in a wheelchair) and went to the Institute for help from Mr. Iyengar. She says "What Guruji did was amazing. He first removed the fear." Then when he thought she could handle it, he became more demanding and asked her to go through the pain. Amazing story. The kind that makes you feel like all of your own troubles and pains are tiny and unimportant  |
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| the more i learn about Iyengar, the more i want to learn about it him and his techniques
i like how he is very careful to consider the safety of his students
that's admirable to me. |
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| I love mister Iyengar, his books, his philosophy, and the fact that he is sooooo cheerful as well.
I'm not in pain when doing the asanas but rather it's holding them for a long time which I find for some reason frustrating.
Maybe things will change, but for now I'm seeing the benefit but not finding it a fun or spiritual experience as I do with Ashtanga. It is a theory class. For me at the moment it's like having to learn to read music rather than playing it.
I'm hoping that that will change in time.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
|  I find that ashtangis have that feeling of wanting to move, move, move and not stay in the poses. They are just so used to all that action. It is like trying to get a busy little kid to sit still Go inside, go to the base of the pose and see what is happening there. Listen to the teacher and see if you can move or still the areas s/he is talking about. When you have done that, start again and see if you can do it better. |
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| DD,
i think what i've been experiencing the last few months is similar to what you're talking about. i started going to iyengar (because of helpful posts on this forum) for theory and alignment. i, however, instantly fell in love with it. i loved holding and focusing on what was going on in my body. i don't know. i have been going to both classes and practicing ashtanga at home, but it's getting harder and harder for me to go through the ashtanga series and know there are things i'm not doing correctly. i'm struggling with that, because i do love the ashtanga sequence, so i don't want to stop.
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| I fall in love with Iyengar yoga more and more everyday. It is so satisfying to feel my body sink correctly into a pose. It's like working on a thousand piece puzzle and feeling the satisfaction of snapping one puzzle piece into another. I go to one ashtanga class a week and I have to try really hard not to get frustrated at the lack of focus on properly executing an pose. It's mostly frustrating when I see a teacher do it incorrectly.
With Iyengar I can feel my body really learning each pose. It's almost as though my body has it's on memory and each time it does a pose it will try to automatically remeber proper alignment. It's a very cool and spiritual experience for me. |
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iyengar?
