Photo: Iyengar Yoga Studio Bangkok
SWEAT IN THE CITY – “Is anyone on their periods today?” our teacher Nop asked as we readied ourselves for our Iyengar yoga class. Sheepishly, I raised my hand. Nobody else did.
Usually, I’d just ignore this question and work out like normal, but on this occasion I was feeling quite delicate and washed out, so I decided to fess up and see how Nop could help me. After all, Iyengar yoga teachers tend to be some of the best trained yogis out there, thanks to a required dedication to the practice for several years.
Unlike most other yoga classes you’ve probably taken, an Iyengar yoga class isn’t made up of a long, flowing series of movements. Instead, there are very few movements in which the focus is on perfect alignment, often with the use of props, such as blankets, foam bricks, straps, chairs and bolster cushions. So, even if you’re about as flexible as a steel rod, the nature of Iyengar yoga means you can always do a modified version of the position. The idea isn’t to force yourself into uncomfortable contortions, but to assist your body in achieving the best posture it can and to make you more aware of the minute movements of your body. For instance, if you always interlace your fingers one way, Iyengar yoga encourages you to try the other way. Always cross your legs with left over right? Try right over left. These seem like tiny changes, but it really alters the way you feel and ensures your focus is entirely on how your body is positioned.
Due to my delicate situation, I was given an entirely different range of asanas from the rest of the class most of which involved lying on a pile of bolster cushions. Nop explained that I mustn’t put any extra tension on my core because it was already working overtime. The cushions were all very relaxing and wonderful, but the very best part of it was the attention I got from Nop. I felt a bit like a princess as he helped me gently lie back and talked me thorough easing the tensions in my belly. If only I could get treated like that every month.
While many of the poses look incredibly simple, there’s a lot that’s going on which other yoga classes often whip through too quickly to address. Are you arching your back, are you holding tension in your traps, are you squeezing your eyelids together? Nop reminded me several times to relax my belly (I’m so used to being told to tuck it in during other classes).
Iyengar yoga won’t get you breaking a sweat, but if you’re looking for moving meditation, hoping to improve your posture or rethinking the way you move in an entirely new way, Iyengar is my very favourite way to achieve all that. In fact, walking out of an Iyengar yoga class always feels a bit like walking out from a really great massage; you feel as though every little part of you has been thoroughly loosened up.
Bangkok residents get their first class for free.
Iyengar Yoga Studio, 3rd Floor Fifty Fifth Plaza Building, Thong Lo 2
Phone: 02 714 9924
