Yoga the Iyengar Way

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Yoga the Iyengar Way
ISBN
978-0863184208

Yoga the Iyengar Way is a 1990 guide to Iyengar Yoga, a style of modern yoga as exercise, by the yoga teachers Silva Mehta and her children Mira Mehta and Shyam Mehta. They were among the first teachers to be trained by B. K. S. Iyengar outside India.

The main part of the book is on asanas, yoga postures. This is accompanied by an introduction to yoga, and sections on pranayama (yoga breathing), the philosophy of yoga, the surrender of the self including meditation, and recommended courses of asanas for different conditions. The book presents the asanas with a combination of a brief text and photographs of Mira and Shyam on a single page or a double-page spread.

The book has been well received by critics, who have called it "an influential classic textbook";[1] its publisher describes it as a "backlist bestseller".[2] The authors have been portrayed in some of the asanas illustrated in the book in a set of Indian postage stamps.

Context

Further information: Yoga for women and Yoga in Britain

At the time of the book's publication, Silva, Mira, and Shyam Mehta were teachers of

therapy."[4]

Book

Publication history

Yoga the Iyengar Way was published in paperback by

A. A. Knopf (New York) and distributed by Random House,[5] who describe it as a "backlist bestseller".[2] The book has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Korean, and Spanish.[5]

Topics covered

Virabhadrasana I, how to work within it, and how to use props such as yoga bricks to work correctly if the pose is found difficult.[MMM 2] The effect is "rather more approachable" than Iyengar's own presentation.[6]

The book is arranged with an introductory section, three main parts, and an appendix.

  • Part I is the main part of the book, with some 140 pages covering about 100 asanas.[MMM 6]
  • Part II covers techniques for the mind, including pranayama (yoga breathing) and the
    philosophy of yoga.[MMM 7]

Approach

Each asana is described with a combination of short paragraphs of text and photographs (about half in colour) of Shyam or Mira Mehta. The book is in a large format, 215 mm × 275 mm (8.5 in × 10.8 in), close to

Utthita Trikonasana are given a double-page spread;[MMM 2]
others get a single page.

Each pose is named in Sanskrit (in a pale colour, giving the effect of a decorative frieze at the top of the page) and in transliteration with

diacritic marks. Below that is an explanation of the meaning of the Sanskrit words, and a brief summary of what the pose achieves. Utthita Trikonasana is described in three steps, each with a small photograph the width of a column of text. A pair of small detail photographs show how to hold the ankle or to use a yoga brick for support. A 'focus' section instructs points to note in the pose. An inset photograph in the main image gives a back view, complete with detailed instructions in the caption for the attention needed to the back in the pose. A final 'Work in the posture' section instructs on the movements required to achieve a good posture in the asana.[MMM 2]

Reception

1991 ten-rupee Indian postage stamp marked "Utthita trikonasana"

The scholar of religion

Andrea Jain, in her study of the sociology of yoga, describes the Mehtas as "a family of senior Iyengar Yoga teachers."[7] Yoga Matters calls Yoga the Iyengar Way "an influential classic textbook."[1] The journalist and yoga teacher Ann Pizer, writing on Very Well Fit, rated it the best overall runner-up yoga book of 2019, writing that "the photos may look a little dated because of the unitards. However, they're almost preferable to the 'sexy' photos so often seen in more recent books."[6] Pizer comments that many practitioners see the book as a complement to Iyengar's own Light on Yoga, and that the combination of big colour illustrations and "explicit alignment points"[6] actually make it rather more approachable.[6] The yoga teacher and journalist Marina Jung, writing in Australian Yoga Life, called the book a "bestseller" and "highly influential throughout the world".[8]

The book's authors and their exemplary asanas are commemorated in a set of

Department of Posts in 1991: Shyam wearing blue in Bhujangasana on a 2 rupee stamp, and in Dhanurasana on a 5 rupee stamp; Mira wearing red in Ustrasana on a 6.50 rupee stamp, and in Utthita Trikonasana on a 10 rupee stamp; the images, all redrawn from photographs in the book, were described as "perfect postures".[9][10]

References

Primary

These references indicate the parts of the Yoga the Iyengar Way text being discussed.

  1. ^ a b Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, p. 7
  2. ^ a b c Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, pp. 26–27
  3. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, p. 6
  4. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, p. 8
  5. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, p. 10
  6. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, pp. 12–152
  7. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, pp. 154–170
  8. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, pp. 172–174
  9. ^ Mehta, Mehta & Mehta 1990, pp. 175–187

Secondary

  1. ^ a b "Yoga: The Iyengar Way". Yoga Matters. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Yoga: The Iyengar Way". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. S2CID 72555878
    .
  4. ^ "Pranic Pathways and the Inner Journey with Mira Mehta". Yoga Loft. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Yoga the Iyengar Way". WorldCat. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Pizer, Ann (23 May 2019). "The 10 Best Yoga Books of 2019". Very Well Fit. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019.
  7. OCLC 878953765
    .
  8. ^ Jung, Marina (December 2013). "In Conversation with Mira Mehta" (PDF). Australian Yoga Life (December 2013 – February 2014): 66. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2019.
  9. ^ "India on Yogasana 1991". iStampGallery. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Yoga stamps issued by postal department forgotten". The Times of India. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2019. The set of four multi-coloured stamps in the denominations of Rs 2, 5, 6.5 and 10 were issued on December 30, 1991, depicting yoga postures - Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana, Ushtrasana and Utthita Trikonasana - respectively.

Sources

  • Mehta, Silva; Mehta, Mira; Mehta, Shyam (1990). Yoga the Iyengar Way: The new definitive guide to the most practised form of yoga.
    ISBN 978-0863184208
    .
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