I had a fun conversation with Arundhati Baitmangalkar, the host of Let’s Talk Yoga podcast. In this interview I share my origin story of how I got into the practice of yoga. We chat about creativity in sequencing and the use of props. I share my personal opinion on vinyasa yoga and vinyasa flow. We discuss the use of props as as a support system in yoga practice, and much more. I’ve added some highlights and key points below.
Stream the podcast on the web or listen via Spotify:
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
🔹 First time I practiced yoga was at Santa Monica College around 2005-06 with an Iyengar yoga teacher, Sophie Boller
🔹 I did my first 200 hour teacher training at Yoga To The People in Berkeley in a vinyasa flow style
🔹 I taught my first yoga class at San Quentin Prison in 2012 through Prison Yoga Project
🔹 I did an additional 200 hour TT at YogaWorks in San Francisco
🔹 I followed up with a 300 hour TT with Erika Trice at Yoga Works SF and Mill Valley
🔹 I took workshops with Maty Ezraty and got inspired to go deeper into Iyengar yoga practice
🔹 I luckily found Heather Haxo in Berkeley who successfully mentored me on the path towards Iyengar yoga certification
🔹 I completed the Sadhana Studies program at Adeline Yoga Studio in the fall of 2016
🔹 By good fate, I crossed paths with Carrie Owerko at The Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Fracisco in 2014 and got inspired by her creative use of props
PODCAST KEYPOINTS:
🔸 Mr. Iyengar started experimenting with props for asanas in the mid 1930s
🔸 I consider Mr. Iyengar a kind of a Leonardo Da Vinci like figure – an artist and philosopher, a self taught engineer and genius behind the invention of props for yoga
🔸Zero props are featured in Light On Yoga (1966). Actually there is one prop in there 😉
🔸 Props can be effective tools for assisting less flexible or injured students.
🔸 Not all props are for beginners. Some prop usage is intended for intermediate and advance practitioners.
🔸 Props can make poses and movements easier
🔸 Props can make poses and movements harder
🔸 Props can make poses neither easier nor harder, but instead more interesting—to feel a different quality or tone of the pose, or to sustain it comfortably for a much longer duration of time.
🔸 Your body is your first prop
Be sure to check out Aru’s wonderful roster of interviews: Let’s Talk Yoga
Use of props (chair, belt, blankets, wall) to make Ustrasana (camel pose) more comfortable for neck support.