“The hardness of a diamond is part of its usefulness, but its true value is in the light that shines through it.” —BKS Iyengar

Dear Students – How can we be registering for September classes already?!

Next Monday August 2nd we are closed for the statutory holiday.
On Tuesday August 3rd our online classes begin. We also open registration for September classes – both in studio and online.
WE ASK THAT STUDENTS REGISTERING FOR IN STUDIO CLASSES BE DOUBLE VACCINATED.
On Sunday August 8th our in studio classes begin.
All zoom classes in August still have space available. In studio Level 1 on Tuesday and 55+ on Friday are now full. There are still spots available in the other in studio classes with Gary, Ann and Ty. Please check the class schedule below for details.

Protocols for in studio classes
Feeling unwell on the day of your scheduled in studio class? PLEASE stay home. We can send you a link to a zoom class or give a credit toward your next term.

Please wear masks when entering the building. It is mask optional once you are in the studio. We are registering 15 students in each class, 2 meters apart, as before.

Blocks, the wall and chairs will be used. Please bring your soft props: strap, blankets, mat and bolster, if you have one. (Otherwise, please bring two extra blankets or towels).

Namaste, love
Wendy and Britta

Thank you, Guruji!

Oops… we forgot to put this class on the schedule!

Register now for classes.

Look after the root of the tree, and the fragrant flower and luscious fruits
will grow by themselves.
Look after the health of the body, and the fragrance of the mind and richness of the spirit will follow.

—BKS Iyengar

Dear Students,

It was great to talk to so many of you when you called to register for August classes! There’s real excitement in the air as we move toward August in studio classes. Please call us to register for in studio classes asap – space is limited and classes are filling quickly.

In studio 55+ on Friday with Wendy is now full. There are still spots open in all four other in studio classes with Gary, Ann and Ty. Please check the schedule below for details.

PROTOCOLS FOR IN STUDIO CLASSES
If you are feeling unwell the day of your class, PLEASE stay home. Everyone is a bit nervous about coming together again so please make sure you are in good health before coming to class.

We are asking students to wear masks when entering the building, with the option of removing it once you are in class. We are registering 15 students in each class, 2 meters apart, as before.

Blocks, the wall and chairs will be used. Please bring your soft props: strap, blankets, mat and bolster, if you have one. (Otherwise, please bring two extra blankets or towels).

We look forward to gathering again in the studio or seeing you on zoom in August.

Namaste, love
Wendy and Britta

July classes start Tuesday!

Dear Students,

July is upon us! The next term runs from July 5th to August 1st.

We know the burning question in everyone’s mind is: “Which five people won the early bird registration draw for July??” The following names were drawn from students who registered and completed the new waiver by June 27th:

Brenda Cook
Karen Gibson
Ann Kirkaldy
Ruby Pyke
Ann Smith

UPDATE OF WAIVERS IN JULY

When you register please print, sign and date the waiver and complete it with ALL contact information to make it valid.
Please read all the clauses and initial all boxes.
Since the Centre is currently operating a paperless office, as per WorkSafe BC protocols, please take a photograph of the completed waiver on your device and email it back to the Centre. Or scan it and email to us. If it is not possible for you to send the completed waiver to us electronically, please email the Centre and ask us to mail a copy to you by Canada Post. We ask that you then snail mail the signed waiver back to the Centre.

Namaste, love
Wendy and Britta

Whenever we find stiffness in the body, our mind should be especially supple. It is never the stiffness in our bodies that limits our practice, it is always the stiffness of our mind.

— Geeta Iyengar

Dear Students,

Good news on Tuesday about the relaxation of the public health order!!! BC is moving in the right direction.

In person Yoga (not hot yoga), is now allowed to resume, with teachers and students masked. Depending on the viral count and vaccine rates, the mask order will also be relaxed over the next couple months.

The Centre is following a conservative plan of opening the studio since it is hard to open and close the studio quickly. The schedule for June will remain the same and we will resume studio classes slowly. In July, two or three in-studio classes will be offered and the online classes will continue.

Slowly, slowly we go.

Namaste, love
Wendy and Britta

Dear Students,

The Board wants to express its appreciation for your continued support of the Iyengar Yoga Centre of Victoria by continuing to register for classes and workshops, donating to the Centre, and staying in touch with the staff via phone calls.

We hope that you are keeping safe and well and that your yoga practice supports you. As a registered charity it is our mandate to give back to our community, never more important than during these pandemic times. The Centre is happy to offer ‘free’, or ‘pay what you can’, classes and workshops, during this difficult time. Just let the front desk staff know when you call to register.

The Board still meets monthly, now via Zoom. Our contact with other students, teachers and our members has been limited to seeing each other virtually at the AGM, and in Zoom classes and workshops. We look forward to seeing you in person soon!

With Appreciation
Your IYCV Board of Directors
Ann, Annie, Bev, Carole, Jim, Laine, Roger and Wendy

Dear Students,

We are excited to announce that IYAC (Iyengar Yoga Association of Canada), is welcoming Abhijata Iyengar for six days of virtual teaching, from the institute in Pune, starting next Tuesday May 11th and running to Sunday 16th, from 6-8am (Victoria time).

To register, go to https://iyengaryogacanada.com/

For those not able to take the early morning live practice with Abhi, recorded sessions will be available for two weeks, through IYAC.

The past year has left many of us living with uncertainty. The work shared with us by BKS Iyengar, Geeta, Prashant and, now by Abhijata, gives us the opportunity to draw strength from the roots of our practice. If you have had a minimum of one-experience of Iyengar Yoga, you are welcome to join the Canadian Iyengar community in this special event.

New Office Hours on Sunday: 10:30am-1:30pm
On Sundays Monica is here to take registrations and answer any questions.

Are You Level 2-4 Students?
Sunday Sadhana May 30th with Ty from 10-12pm. ‘Pay What You Want’
Sunday Sadhana and 7th Annual International Day of Yoga on June 20th with Ann from 10-12pm. ‘Pay What You Want’

Coming in Summer
Teacher Intensive Aug 9 to13th with Ann Kilbertus and Louie Ettling
Student Intensive Aug 30th to Sept 3rd with Ty Chandler and Lauren Cox

Namaste, love
Wendy and Britta

Yoga is evenness of mind – a peace that is ever the same.

(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, verse 49)

Peace of Mind? Is that how you’ve been feeling lately? From what I’ve been reading and hearing, this is not the predominant mood as we enter our second year of pandemic.

A year ago, I began writing small pieces on the purpose and value of yoga and in particular establishing your own personal practice. What seems to have happened instead is a plethora of Zoom classes and, or so I hear, some people are practising with teachers from all over the world. In and of itself that is not a bad thing, as long as you integrate and build on what you learn and put it to good use in your life

Reminds me of a class in Pune with Geeta Iyengar where she berated us about our tendency to take more and more classes whilst neglecting to practise what we had already been taught: becoming gatherers rather than practitioners. A few of the group, including me I must admit, were standing there feeling rather smug in the knowledge that we did practise regularly! Indians are raised on long speeches and rituals that go on and on and on. It was a while before Geeta paused and turned her attention to us: “They practise! But what do they practise?” A rhetorical question needing no response!

Hopefully in the years since then my practice has matured as each day I draw on the resources and tools I was trained to use in my search not for only health and well-being but purpose and meaning. Yoga is a discipline. Like all disciplines, it has to be studied, learned, digested and put to good use. Discipline dissipates when practice is lapse and diminishes when we lose focus on its purpose.

One question a yoga master asks of students again and again is: What is the purpose of your Life? As this pandemic continues to hold us in its grasp if it has taught us anything it is to stop wasting time on futile regrets about what we cannot do at present and focus on those aspects of living still under our personal direction.

On my fridge at present is a notice from BC Hydro about a planned power outage in my neighbourhood one day next week. It encourages us to plan how to manage without electricity: something people all over the world have to do day after day because of fragile infrastructure. Metchosin where I live is not at the top of Hydro’s list for dealing with outages, so some years ago Derek and I invested in a generator. Now we are covered provided we make sure the generator has sufficient fuel.

A yoga practice provides the power to face and deal with life’s vicissitudes. Whatever age and state of health (physical and mental) you are presently experiencing, seize the day, practise the yoga you have been taught and see where it takes you. Along the way discard everything that weakens you.

The revered Swami Sivananda’s motto was Be Good! Do Good! Our public health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry regularly encourages us to Be Calm! Be Kind! Be Safe! This latter exultation is as good a slogan as any for your personal yoga practice using whatever outer space is available to you to gain access to that intimate place within.

Shirley Daventry French
Victoria, BC