Is Iyengar Yoga for Beginners?
What to expect as a beginning Iyengar yoga practitioner.
Iyengar Yoga is a style developed by BKS Iyengar around the sixties.
Its particularity comes from the fact that every Asana is practiced with high precision, in a specific sequence, and has a specific duration (also known as gestation period).
What makes the Iyengar yoga style so good for beginners is that it offers creative variations to yoga asanas that in other styles might be strenuous (like inversions), using the help of yoga props, which in turn make these poses (and their benefits) accessible to everyone.
The use of props is foundational within the Iyengar Yoga Style and makes this practice accessible not only to beginners but also to those who have suffered injuries in the past or who are particularly inflexible.
In this article we are going to be discussing all there is to know about Iyengar Yoga for beginners, what is it like, and how is it different from other styles so you learn whether or not this style is for you.
Let’s begin…
“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.” B.K.S. Iyengar
Benefits of practicing Iyengar yoga as a beginner
Iyengar Yoga is one of the best yoga styles to practice if you have previous injuries or physical ailments.
But, what are the benefits of practicing this style of yoga if you are a complete beginner who hasn’t been to a yoga class before?
1. Uses yoga props to adjust the intensity of the practice
The use of props makes this style of yoga one that can be approached by anyone regardless of their pre-existing body conditions (injuries, chronic pain, etc…).
Naturally, this makes Iyengar Yoga a great practice for beginners because the intensity of the practice can be adjusted to meet the beginning student needs.
The use of props aids in making all poses, easy ones and more complex ones, accessible to everyone in a very progressive and safe manner.
2. The pace of the yoga class is slower
Compared to other yoga Styles like Vinyasa, Ashtanga, or Hatha, Iyengar Yoga is a much more paced practice.
Beginner classes have a lot of repetition so that the beginning practitioner can start to bring awareness to all the different parts of the body to awaken them.
3. It’s a yoga style based on action
According to the Iyengar philosophy, this is a yoga style based on movement.
This makes it interesting and fun for beginners that have never tried yoga before.
4. Focuses on every unique body
The use of props in Iyengar Yoga is intended to serve you, your body, and your particular needs.
It’s not intended to make you suffer but to help you attain the right pose with precision and without pain.
This is particularly beneficial for beginners who have never tried yoga before because it allows them to get in touch with their bodies and become aware of their limitations in a very safe environment.
5. You don’t have to be flexible nor strong to reap the rewards of this practice
The major benefit of Iyengar Yoga is that it doesn’t require you to be flexible or strong to be able to enjoy the rewards that this practice will bring to your physical body and overall sense of well-being.
This yoga style is thought in a very progressive manner and with the use of yoga props which allow the practitioner to increase their flexibility and strength while enjoying the benefits that the Asana, sequencing, and specific gestation period determined by this yoga style, will bring.
What is Iyengar yoga like?
Iyengar Yoga teaches us the subtleties of every yoga pose.
Beginning practitioners are encouraged to connect with their bodies and with themselves, to learn from the immediate feedback they receive from their own physical body.
With the use of props, we can make every yoga Asana accessible to us, even without any previous training.
This allows us to experience our bodies in ways we’ve never had before and makes for a great introduction to full body awareness.
Iyengar Yoga classes are usually given at a slow pace and are focused on every unique body.
You can expect to use a lot of different types of props like blocks, ropes, or bolsters. It’s also pretty normal to use the walls to stretch and to practice inversions.
Iyengar Yoga can help you:
- Increase your flexibility
- Improve your posture
- Tone your muscles
If you have recurring knee pain after yoga practice 👉 This article explains why that may be, and what to do about it
How is Iyengar yoga different from the other yoga styles?
Iyengar Yoga is unique in that it puts a lot of emphasis on having the right alignment in each yoga Asana.
This style has similarities with other yoga styles like Ashtanga, in the sense that it has a very evident sequence of movements…
However, in a beginner Iyengar Yoga class you would be encouraged to use props to increase your strength and flexibility in a controlled manner, and to take time to precisely align your body to the yoga posture.
This makes this yoga style a great starter practice.
Another quality of Iyengar Yoga that makes it different from styles like Vinyasa yoga, is that poses are held for longer periods of time, which can make it similar to the yin yoga style.
However, Iyengar’s detailed focus on precision, timing, and sequencing of movements make Iyengar Yoga a unique style.
“Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together.” B.K.S. Iyengar
Is Iyengar yoga good for beginners of any age?
Iyengar Yoga is great for beginners of any age. It can be a great beginner practice for seniors that want to improve their flexibility and keep their bodies in good condition in a safe way.
That said, it is very recommended to assist a yoga class for people over 50 years old if that’s your case.
This allows you to follow the class at a certain pace that will prevent you from getting sore after because the class builds up according to the age group that is being given to.
Again, the introduction of props makes this yoga style accessible to anybody regardless of their strength and flexibility level.
In this article 👉 is it ok to practice if you have sore muscles?
Why we need to awaken the kundalini?
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the most influential surviving texts on hatha yoga and one of the oldest sources on kundalini, says that the goal of hatha yoga is to awaken kundalini energy.
The reason why we need to awaken the kundalini is that when this energy awakens to our energy centers, it is then that our dormant potentials awaken in us.
These potentials could be our potential for happiness, better health, or our purpose in life.
It also makes our internal resources available to us, thus enabling us to access all of our courage and strength so we can align to our higher purposes.
What is Iyengar yoga therapy?
Iyengar Yoga therapy is where a particular set of yoga sessions are put together as a result of a previous analysis of the patient by a therapist in order to treat a pre-existing condition.
As we discussed before, Iyengar yoga can be great for treating injuries or for the rehabilitation of different parts of the body.
Iyengar Yoga therapy can help your knee pain your head and shoulders, your back pain, just to name a few…
Ultimately the goal of yoga is liberation. All yoga is therapeutic and can help alleviate physical and physiological ailments to the body.
Iyengar Yoga therapy, with the use of props, can help treat these issues in a controlled and progressive way, accessible to everyone regardless of their condition.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Iyengar Yoga therapy is suitable for beginners.
You can view it as kinesiology for the body, but with the added benefits that a yoga practice can bring to your overall well-being and your everyday life (asanas, meditation, pranayama).
It is important, as a beginner, to talk with your Iyengar Yoga therapist about your pre-existing issue so that he or she can determine the right course of action using all of the tools that this therapeutic practice can bring.
If you want to learn more about yoga therapy, check this article 👉 What does a yoga therapy session look like?
Who should not attempt to practice Iyengar yoga?
Physiologically speaking, there’s nobody that should be advised against practicing Iyengar Yoga.
The reason being that Iyengar Yoga is a very safe form of yoga where teachers are highly trained in getting practitioners in and out of asanas in the safest possible way.
It’s also a practice that teaches mindfulness to the practitioner because poses are held for a relatively long period.
Now, if we compare the Iyengar style of yoga with all the other available options, this style is maybe not the best choice for young practitioners that naturally would tend to prefer a more active style like Vinyasa flow or Ashtanga yoga.
Is Iyengar yoga the same as Hatha yoga?
The Iyengar Yoga style is derived from Hatha Yoga.
Having said that, Iyengar yoga could be considered to be Hatha yoga since it includes asanas, meditation, and pranayama.
Hatha Yoga traces its Origins to 200 years before the common era (BCE).
It promotes mastery of the body as the way of attaining a state of spiritual liberation.
Hatha yoga is the root of all the other yoga styles that we are now accustomed to hearing about. (Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Yin, etc…)
Iyengar Yoga is just a branch that’s steamed from the ancient practice of Hatha Yoga. So no, Iyengar Yoga is not the same as Hatha yoga but it shares a lot of similarities.
Who is Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar?
BKS Iyengar was the founder of the Iyengar Yoga Style.
In order to enhance the yoga practice experience, especially in the field of therapeutic yoga, Iyengar developed a specific usage of the props within a predetermined sequence of movements with very precise timing to make the yoga practice available to all.
His intention was mainly to bring the benefits of the practice to everyone by making it accessible through the use of yoga props.
This way, everybody, regardless of their physical condition or preexisting physical ailment, could benefit from the healing powers of yoga.
BKS Iyengar Died in August 2014 but his teachings live on…
Conclusion
Iyengar Yoga is a style that is suitable for beginners, and especially interesting for people that have pre-existing body conditions and or that are unable to perform Hatha yoga due to a lack of flexibility or because of an existing injury.
With the use of props, Iyengar Yoga allows us to increase our flexibility and perform asanas in a very precise and safe way.
By creatively using these props, BKS Iyengar was able to bring the healing benefits of Hatha yoga asanas to everybody regardless of their flexibility, physical strength, or condition.
“Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul creates the symphony of life.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
Did you find this post useful? Save THIS PIN below to your Pinterest Yoga board on Pinterest for later!
