Dear fellow yogis of the Southeast region:
As you know one of the best ways to deepen our Iyengar Yoga practice is through participating in workshops. That’s why we are excited to announce that we have updated our site with all the workshop offerings taking place in our region. Each of them offers something special, I am sure that you will find one that sparks your interest and is aligned with your intentions for this year. You can see the workshop offerings below in this newsletter.
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the great work that Vidya Viswanathan has done as our Webmaster by taking our site to new heights, making it easier to navigate, adding enhanced functionalities and making it overall more attractive. As Vidya leaves this role, I would like to ask for your help. If you know someone, perhaps yourself, who wants to volunteer as our webmaster (see details below), please send me a note, you can reach me at lyase.president@gmail.com.
Much love and Namaste,
Mariana Scotti
|
|
Open Board Position
Attention All Members
Now is your chance to give back to your IYASE Region
We have an opening on the Board for a Webmaster
Skills:
- Ability to use Squarespace admin interface
- Good eye for design
- Excellent communication skills
Responsibilities:
- Work directly with the IYASE Board to update websites
- Make content updates to the IYASE website
- Create new pages matching existing theming
Experience:
- Demonstrated experience with Squarespace
Time Commitment: Approx. 4 hours/week
Location: Anywhere
|
|
Prop Corner
Ustrasana - Camel Pose Using a Bolster
Juli Kagan, CIYT Introductory I & II
|
|
If you are looking to improve your Ustrasana or just make it more accessible to newer students, Juli will show you how to use a bolster to teach proper direction and action in this important asana. A summary of Juli's article follows. To download the full article with pictures, click the link below.
For maximum comfort to knees and shins, fold a blanket under your shins as you place your mat short edge up against a wall:
|
|
Sit on the shins with feet and knees parallel to each other. They become the "feet" of the pose. The shin extends from the knee to the ankle to the toes; including and especially the pinky toes on both feet. Sitting on the feet brings intelligence to the shins and feet.
|
|
Keeping the shins extending, bring your buttocks up and thighs to the wall. The knees are hip width and buttress the wall and the front of the pelvis is in contact with the wall.
Revolve the back inner thighs to the outer thighs by guiding your thumbs laterally/outwardly; this helps create space in the lower back. Compact the outer hips and bring the front hips and pubis bone to the wall.
Lift the back ribs toward the front ribs and the sitting bones down.
|
|
|
Juli shows two ways to use the bolster to get height and curvature in the upper back. First placing the fingertips on top of the bolster, looking at the wall to keep the head from dropping too soon. Second, pushing the bolster back on the feet with hands flat, reaching back to open and spread the chest more, lifting the ribs as the sitting bones go down.
|
|
Juli says the neck should elongate enabling the upper trapezius to draw down the back, especially at C7/T1. According to Geeta Iyengar, C7 should hook into T1 to bring it in. The head can go back as long as the neck continues to extend and the chest continues to lift and spread.
Finally, after incorporating the proper direction and action of the pose, your Ustrasana should be improved and more intelligent as demonstrated in the below photo:
|
|
Upcoming Events & Workshops
|
March 13 - March 15 in Amelia Island, Florida:
March 20 - March 22 in Norcross, GA
March 21 - March 22 in Clemmons, NC
March 26 - March 29 in St. Pete Beach, FL
March 27 - March 29 in Ashville, NC
April 3 - April 5 in Leland, NC
Don't forget to check out the variety of sequences by some of our most experienced instructors at the IYASE website:
SEQUENCES
Does your studio have a workshop
or special event you would like to advertise?
|
|
Studio Spotlight

Iyengar Yoga St. Pete, St. Petersburg, FL
Article by Peentz Dubble, CIYT Int. Junior III
|
|
Iyengar Yoga St. Pete is located at 6480 Central Avenue in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast of Florida. St. Pete is a hip little peninsula city just south of Tampa, nestled between the Gulf of Mexico to the West and Tampa Bay to the East. The studio is owned and directed by Tricia Amheiser, a Jr. II CIYT who married her husband, Nick, a Florida native and relocated from England to live and work in St. Pete. She completed her Introductory Iyengar certification in England, with Sheila Haswell before moving.
After moving to the Tampa Bay area, Tricia realized there was an absence of Iyengar Yoga in this part of FL. She began teaching classes in various studios in Tampa and offered classes out of church halls in Pinellas county, as well as teaching out of her house in the evenings.
|
|
In August of that year (2016) my husband and I were visiting our family in St. Pete . . . Much to my joy, I Googled Iyengar Yoga in St. Pete and found that Tricia had recently opened an Iyengar Yoga studio there! She agreed to have tea with me and thus began a warm and friendly relationship.
I started slowly, getting to know Florida (where have I landed?), the people, the yoga scene in general, and the Iyengar Yoga community in particular. Anastasia Bizzarri is the only other CIYT in St. Pete. There is a small but dedicated core group of Iyengar Yoga students. Although yoga is popular in St. Pete, educating the public about Iyengar Yoga is challenging. Recently, I helped to organize a monthly Yoga Sutra study group among in St. Pete. It is ecumenical in nature, and Tricia and I are the only members representing Iyengar yoga. Now in its 2nd. year, it has been fascinating to hear how people from other yoga traditions understand and find meaning in Patanjali yoga sutras. This group has been helpful in building community among the diverse yoga styles that co-exist here, as well as spreading the word that Iyengar Yoga lives in St. Pete!
Tricia is a hard worker and teaches 6 days a week! She has an interest in helping students therapeutically and offers Care Classes, where students can receive help with neck, shoulder, knee and hip issues. She also has begun to offer a class specifically for women, educating them on female issues. And this year she began to teach a class for pregnant women.
Collaboration between nearby Iyengar studios and teachers is also key, in order to generate enough interest and participation to support visiting teachers and workshops. It is our hope that the seeds we are planting today will continue to grow and Iyengar Yoga in St. Pete and the Tampa Bay area will flourish!
|
|
Alison Lintal
Teacher Education with
Dean and Rebecca Lerner
Recently, Alison was the recipient of a $500 Scholarship for continuing education. She has expressed her gratitude for this opportunity for professional and personal growth and wanted to share her thoughts and impressions and a few photos.
|
|
|
With a smile and her welcoming demeanor, Rebecca Lerner declared, we are here to “learn in a fishbowl of fun.” The February 13-16, 2020 teacher education weekend with Dean and Rebecca Lerner was filled with camaraderie, support, inspiration and fun. Although the focus was on teaching, we continued our studies as students first and teachers second. What I learned from my own experience as well as observing other teachers is that yoga should be primarily about letting students experience the pose. Conciseness is key and teaching becomes well-established when it comes from the heart not the head. The asanas are the vehicle through which we teach students not just how to stretch their arms and legs, but a means to cultivate self-awareness of the students’ inner and outer experience.
|
|
Two of the most rewarding challenges in my life have been becoming an Iyengar yoga teacher and becoming a mother. Both required long, sustained effort, dedication, discipline, faith and surrender. As I look back on my journey to become a mother, the memory of the struggle, pain and darkness that clouded so many years greatly diminishes every time I look into my son’s eyes. He is my reminder to live in the present, to keep practicing and to continue to dedicate myself to this path.
Dean’s words from this weekend continue to reverberate with me – “Experience joy in the pose and not just struggle.” The days with my son are not all easy, but they are all joyful.
|
|
Attention All
IYNAUS and
IYASE members: Don't forget to keep your
online profile up-to-date so you will not miss important communications.
|
|
If you have
NEWS TO SHARE or
SUGGESTIONS for content
Please let us know:
|
|
Hey Newsletter Reader, please don't forget to LIKE & FOLLOW us on social media
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‌ 
‌ 
‌ 
‌