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Why Beginners Love Iyengar Yoga
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Why Beginners Love Iyengar Yoga

In Iyengar Yoga, the yoga mat is essentially a laboratory for exploration. Students are not expected to know how to do the poses correctly. Rather, the expectation is that students show up with a willingness to learn, observe, and explore different facets of the asanas.

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The Power of Props in Iyengar Yoga
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

The Power of Props in Iyengar Yoga

Yoga, by definition, is about union - the union of mind and body. Importantly, it’s not about the union of somebody’s body with somebody’s mind, it’s about the union of your body with your mind. This may seem like semantics, but it’s significant. To me, this is really the heart of what makes yoga a contemplative practice, not a sport or merely exercise.

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What is Iyengar Yoga?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

What is Iyengar Yoga?

What is Iyengar Yoga? That's a good question! And one that as a practitioner of the method for almost 20 years, you would think I could easily answer. But Iyengar Yoga is so much more than the sum of its parts.

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Why Beginners Love Iyengar Yoga
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Why Beginners Love Iyengar Yoga

Still sitting on the fence about online Iyengar Yoga? I get it. Trying something new comes with its own set of mind-chatter and trust me, I've heard it all! In this blog, I bust several myths about online Iyengar Yoga and also share tips for setting up a space in your home to support you on your yoga journey.

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Essential Guide to Iyengar Yoga Online - Part II
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Essential Guide to Iyengar Yoga Online - Part II

In this post, I explain why Iyengar Yoga is exceptionally well-suited for beginners. I also share why, as far as beginner classes go, no one teaches the foundational poses better than a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher! And, if you are nervous about trying online yoga, please read right to the end. I wrote this post especially for you!

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Essential Guide to Iyengar Yoga Online - Part I
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Essential Guide to Iyengar Yoga Online - Part I

In this post, I describe the 3 most popular ways to practice yoga online and also share practical advice for figuring out which approach is best for you. Lots of great info for beginners!

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RIMYI 2019 Update
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

RIMYI 2019 Update

The core teaching is the same, it’s what I consider to be the essence of Iyengar Yoga: develop & harness new awareness & sensitivity through Yoga.

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RIMYI 2018 update
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

RIMYI 2018 update

Hello from Pune, India! I’m currently immersed in a month of study at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), the source for Iyengar Yoga.

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Have You Elected a Yoga Governor?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Have You Elected a Yoga Governor?

I remember during my first trip to Pune in 2011, Prashant Iyengar (not uncharacteristically) talked a lot about understanding the why, not just the how or what of each asana.

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Why Study at RIMYI??
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Why Study at RIMYI??

One thing that keeps coming to mind is how special it is to be here and get to be a student of yoga in the truest sense. There is no obligation to teach, no obligation to impress, no obligation to earn an income. My sole responsibility is to study, to delve into my yoga practice.

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The Vastness of Iyengar Yoga
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

The Vastness of Iyengar Yoga

Unbelievably I am already 14 days into my month of study here, at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. Where does the time go?! Every time I come, I think I am going write a prolific number of blog posts about my experience and then I sit down to write and…nothing. It’s so bizarre.

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What Makes Yoga, ‘Yoga’?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

What Makes Yoga, ‘Yoga’?

To follow is a brief outline of the 5 Yamas and a thought process I commonly use to bridge my yoga on the mat with my yoga off the mat.

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Beginner or Advanced?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Beginner or Advanced?

BKS Iyengar developed a series of syllabi and instructed the founding members of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Canada to follow these syllabi when training and ultimately certifying new teachers.

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Yoga Sequence vs Yoga Practice: Same Thing?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Yoga Sequence vs Yoga Practice: Same Thing?

Picture this: you go to a yoga class and it’s amazing. After class, you feel refreshed, clear, invigorated. You think, ‘wow, I wish I could feel like this all the time’. So, while it’s still fresh in your mind, you jot down the sequence. The next day you go and practice ‘the sequence’. You have a great practice.

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What is Intelligence in the Body?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

What is Intelligence in the Body?

In my early days as a yoga student, one of my first teachers said something that has always stuck with me. He said that as beginners, we come to yoga with legs and arms.

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Do you have a good side?
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Do you have a good side?

I’ve always been acutely aware of how different my right side is from my left. Early on in my practice, I noticed that in most of my standing poses, going to the right comes more smoothly for me.

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Guruji’s 95th Birthday
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Guruji’s 95th Birthday

The celebration took place at the lovely Govinda Gardens and I would estimate that about 1000 people were there to honour Guruji.

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Learning from the Assessment Process
Stephanie Tencer Stephanie Tencer

Learning from the Assessment Process

One of the things I love about both the practice and the teaching of Iyengar yoga is that the learning never stops. It seems like the process of continuous improvement is inherent to the Iyengar Yoga method. This, I believe, is a good thing.

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