Iyengar yoga is a variety of yoga that was implanted thanks to B.k.s and his children, who were Geeta and Prashany Iyengar (hence the name of this type of yoga). The father, Iyengar, was practicing and teaching until he died, at the Ramamani Iyengar memorial institute Pune. It is one of the modalities (like some others) of classical yoga.
What does this type of yoga offer? Among some of its virtues are those of trying to balance and align the body. It’s not turkey mucus. Achieving a correct alignment of the spine is very important not only to avoid ailments in the back, cervical, lumbar, etc. But also, to avoid walking “bent”, taking bad postures … and have an impact on health in the long run.
Instructions
- Among the most famous or most recurrent postures in Iyengar yoga, are the mountain postures. That exercise and / or posture, surely you have seen before. If you are a bit of a yogis, you will sound tadasana, if not, the posture in which you have one leg up.
- Others that are repeated a lot, are those that you are sitting, along with the hip, feet, spine … Fully aligned. In this way, it is possible to have a channeling of energies and a correct body posture.
- It can be differentiated from other types of yoga, because with this, there are no problems in using accessories. That is, if something presumed Iyengar, it is what could be used cushions, cushions, blocks, blankets, straps, ribbons, chairs, etc. All this, to help basically, all the people who started with this modality and did not yet have a good management of coordination, nor much flexibility, lack of muscle tone, etc. Always starting, with some help, benefits beginners a lot. As progress is made, the materials are eliminated.
- You should know that despite being a classic and / or traditional yoga, the postures are very tired (most), but as you practice them and advance with them, you can see how your resistance increases, you have more flexibility, you improve the toning of the body … and improve breathing.
- One of the most frequent or recurring questions are the doubts of knowing if you can practice this type of yoga, for example, if you are overweight, if it helps you lose weight, if you tone, if you can do it at any age, etc. Well, let’s tell you. For starters, it doesn’t matter if you have a few kilos left over. You can practice it without problems. Here what is going to work, above all, is flexibility and strength. And that does not depend so much on the kilos that you have left over or not. In fact, if you are practicing this yoga, you will see how little by little, you are losing weight. Therefore, point in favor.
- Regarding age. In Iyengar yoga, there are no ages… It can be done by the young, the old… Everything will be valued according to their abilities and from there, they will work. So, of course you can.
- As we said before, in Iyengar yoga, it has the nickname or can be known, as the yoga of furniture or yoga furniture. This refers to what we told you about the gadgets that can be used to practice it.
- Do not be fooled into thinking that it is another type of yoga, that it will be easier because you can help yourself with gadgets to practice it, etc. Nothing is further from reality! In this modality of yoga, you sweat. And you sweat a lot, folks. It’s tired, very tired. The whole body is worked. From the arms, shoulders, forearms, hips, pelvis, feet, legs, etc. You will move the whole body and, above all, you will have and if you do not have it, you will get it, have a lot of flexibility and a lot of muscle strength. All this always, very controlled. They will monitor you and make sure that, at all times, you have a correct alignment of the spine.
- Is it, therefore, a yoga that serves above all to exercise and get in shape? The answer is no. In part, the whole body is worked, a large number of muscles and so on, yes. But there are other modalities of yoga that, with their bases and their exercises to be more elaborate, are more tired and more physical. In the Iyengar, more than on a physical level, they care about the level of health.
- For example, one of the questions that we answer you already, is that if in your case, you are worried or afraid of not being able to practice it because certain parts of the body hurt, you have past injuries, etc. This is precisely the most suitable yoga for you. In fact, many start with him and integrate, because they were looking to channel their ills, ailments … and relieves a lot. Keep in mind also that there are a lot of asanas that are focused exclusively on healing and relieving pain.
- The same happens if you are a person who is extremely stressed, who has a lot of stress on you.
- There are many asanas that are also intended to be able to breathe correctly, to relax, to find peace … all this will get you to start relieving tensions, relaxing, disconnecting, having greater inner peace, you will be happier and you will channel all the anger, stress or problems, etc.
- You should not worry about if you have ailments, being able to end up worse because of the postures or having past injuries. If this yoga is useful and will help you, it is precisely that all the asanas are performed slowly, gradually, with great attention to the movements, to the spine, to the whole body in general. Therefore, they will always be watching your abilities, your injuries, what you can do and also what you can’t. All this, to help you improve and recover. To do this, never forget, tell as soon as you sign up, to the teacher, what ailments you have, what hurts, injuries you may have had, fears, insecurities, etc. Everything. The more he knows about your fitness, the more he can help you.
- You will realize little by little, how after doing this yoga, you will gain more flexibility, so much so as to be able to bend without problems and without pain.
- You will also gain a lot of toning. That is why it is also indicated for weight loss. Not so much as a cardio exercise, as if because it tones the body. It is gaining greater firmness and the body is stretched, therefore, the muscles also and when trying to gain a correct position of the back, optically, you walk better, more upright, straighter, more stretched and all this, makes you look slenderer. You also strengthen the body, so you will gain resistance and the skin will look better. The tighter meats, less cellulite, less flaccidity, etc.
- Stress is often related to muscle contractures, stiffness in the neck, neck area, back pain … if this is your case, do not think about it and start letting yourself be advised to do yoga Inyengar. By releasing stress, meditating, blanking the mind, breathing deeply, having tranquility and peace, the body releases endorphins.
- With yoga, the part of the energies is worked and tensions are relieved and, therefore, everything that is entangled by stress and nerves. If you are practicing it and you manage to spend a couple of months with this practice, more than sure, that you will realize that you are better, you have fewer ailments, you do not take everything so to heart, you can sleep much better at night, you rest and you even have your mind with greater concentration.
- As nerves affect the whole body, and when we say everything, it is both psychic and physical, mental state, energies … At the health level, the stomach also suffers. Not only because of ailments, but because it affects you to eat more or eat less, you retain liquids, more cellulite, more volume, etc. Here, too, there is a great improvement. It eliminates toxins from the body and, therefore, many benefits are obtained on a physical and health level.
What You Need
- Comfortable clothes. Tights or thin pants and t-shirt.
- A mat.
- A towel.
- Block to help with some asanas.
- Tapes.
- Pillows, cushions, cushions, etc.
- Chairs… It will help to take a better position if you are a beginner.
Councils
In short, this modality of yoga, Iyengar yoga, is very similar to another classic yoga, such as Hatha yoga.
It works not only on a physical level, but also. Obtaining a better coordination of the body, gaining flexibility, gaining more muscle strength, obtaining improvements in health … such as correcting back problems, muscle contractures, relieving stress, decongesting the body of muscle aches caused by stress, correcting body posture, etc. Influencing the energies, soothing, healing, ultimately improving the health of each one. No matter how old you are.
Do not hesitate as soon as you start, tell the teacher with total frankness, all the ailments you have, injuries you have had and various problems you suffer. It will help you to better advise and help you. So be confident in confidence.