This cracked foundation will not be able to support this building in the long term.  Over time, the crack will grow and the building will crumble. Similarly, a strong Yoga practice requires a solid foundation from which to progress from. 

 
The Foundations Of Iyengar Yoga are the Standing poses, also known as Utthita Sthiti in Sanskrit. 

When a student first learns yoga poses in the Iyengar way, s/he begins with standing poses such as Tkikonasana (Triangle pose), Virabhadrasana 1 & 2 (Warrior poses) and balancing poses. Standing poses tone the legs and back muscles and prepare the student for other poses that deal with forward-bending , back-bending and twisting movements.

In standing poses, the student begins to discover the close connections between the feet and legs and how they align with and affect other parts of the body. 

Standing poses help students learn to engage with gravity by working on muscular contractions, extension, abduction, adduction and rotation. 

Furthermore, standing poses energize and build stamina. 

To deepen your understanding and practice of these essential foundation poses, the Family Yoga Centre offers a Foundations class every Friday eve from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. This class is particularly beneficial for students new to the practice of Iyengar yoga but can also be a great review for experienced practitioners or if you haven't been to us for awhile. Register for the class or just drop in whenever you feel you need a tune up!

2015 marks the 30th anniversary of my first symptom of relapsing-remitting MS and ten years as a student at the Family Yoga Centre.  It is no coincidence that my health is excellent and the progression of my medical situation has remained stable for the past seven years. I feel that a major contributing factor to my health is practicing yoga at the Family Yoga Centre .   

I cannot express enough gratitude for the care and attention that Frema and the other teachers at Family Yoga Centre take to truly understand all of our idiosyncrasies and "special needs". For me, I have numbness in my lower limbs which can make it tricky doing standing poses; Frema recognizes the value of helping me to modify my practice to ensure maximum impact. 

Having MS is not something that I think about every day nor does it define who I am. At the same time, however, it underlines much of what is important in my life; I do yoga twice a week, swim, bike and run regularly and try to balance my work and personal life. 

For the past 5 years, I have ridden in the MS Bike Tour and this year, Frema will be joining our team, The Cyclohooligans. 

So far, I have been very fortunate in how this condition has affected my life but others are not so lucky.  The MS Bike Ride is an amazing collective force with dedicated riders and volunteers who are focused on bringing about an end to this condition. I believe that with all of us working together, we can find a cure.  

(If you would like to donate, click here and go to donations and enter our team name.

Thank you so much Frema and everyone at the Family Yoga Centre for your passion and dedication; my goal one day is to do an arm balance and I have not given up hope!

 Katie