We Embrace Our Time and Place, and We Support Each Other Through Crisis: Iyengar Yoga for Respiratory and Immune Health and Resilience

During events like this current outbreak of COVID-19, we see anxiety and even panic all around us, which the mainstream media loves to fan and fuel. Instead, can we use this time to remember, and to practice, the calming and strengthening modalities we have cultivated for times like these? We’ve all memorized the CDC recommendations. But what about chamomile tea, favorite books and movies, or going for a walk? I’m sure you have many other practices.

We are incredibly fortunate to have Iyengar Yoga as a resource. BKS Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar developed specific practices for therapeutic application for just about every condition. Although BKS Iyengar was taught as a teenager by the legendary Shri Krishnamachar at the Mysore Yogashala, he quickly discovered, the moment he began teaching, that most of his students could not perform the classic āsanas and vinyasas.

From the very start, in the 1930s in Pune, India, BKS Iyengar (1918-2014) devoted himself to making the practice of āsana accessible to all. Simultaneously, he began considering how āsana could be applied to address the medical needs his students were presenting: arthritis, infertility, low back pain, cancer, and every other condition possible.

His eldest daughter, Geeta Iyengar (1944-2018), developed the practice even further, to specifically address the conditions half the population routinely experience, ie women. Geetaji gifted us with invaluable insight on yoga for menses, pregnancy and postpartum, menopause, and all the challenges these stages of life may bring. She further developed the work her father started, and guided the therapeutic classes in Pune until the very end of her life.

To this day, the medical and therapeutic practices of Iyengar Yoga continue to evolve and develop, through BKS Iyengar’s granddaughter, Abhijata Sridhar, and others, especially Lois Steinberg, my mentor in Urbana, IL. These therapeutic practices are comprehensive, profound, insightful, and take years to learn and apply. To these teachers I owe deep gratitude and a tremendous debt. Forgive me for any missteps; after 20+ years, I am very much still learning.

Before we discuss Iyengar Yoga therapy, let’s acknowledge that almost all the yoga of the diaspora has been disseminated through a Hindu Brahmin lens. Firstly, let it be absolutely clear that BKS Iyengar, though born into the Brahmin caste, from the very start opened the gates of yoga to include people of all castes and religions. His students and teachers have always reflected the great diversity of India, including Dalits and Muslims. Currently, the right wing Hindutva party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is claiming yoga as a Hindu practice, and using it as a tool to oppress and marginalize Muslims. Recently, we've witnessed an uptick in violence against Dalits and Muslims in India.

Let’s be absolutely clear that the yoga we embrace at Iyengar Yoga Detroit Collective is an anti-casteist, non Hindu set of postures and breathwork meant for the good of ALL humanity. Let’s remember that yoga philosophy is nonreligious, and Sanskrit was a spoken, colloquial language in 1^st millennium BCE, before it became favored and protected by the elite. It is our collective task in this day and age to reclaim sacred practices, and denounce the abuse, perversion, and exploitation of such practices, in no uncertain terms. It is also our duty to share these teachings with all people as tools for healing.

Let’s also acknowledge that what we call yoga in the west is largely a commercialized, for-profit practice of the fitness industry, catering to a largely white, upper class and upper middle class population.

At Iyengar Yoga Detroit Collective, we reject both those narratives: yoga as a Hindu Brahmin practice, and yoga as fitness for those who can afford it.

We strive to bring the profound art, science, and philosophy of Iyengar Yoga to everyone who needs it and seeks it. We strive to share the comprehensive practice of Iyengar Yoga as a tool for healing personally and collectively, on physical, physiological, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.

And now, here we are in the Ides of March, facing COVID-19 on a global level. We embrace our time and place, and remember that we were born for this. Perhaps you believe as I do, that on some spiritual level, we chose to incarnate here on planet Earth at this particular time, together. What did we come here to do, and to learn?

Most importantly, let’s be in this together, despite the required social isolation. Remember that all the precautions we are taking are to protect our most vulnerable, whether or not that includes you. None of us have the luxury of being cavalier about washing our hands, like, ALL the time. And there are even more ways we can be useful for each other through Mutual Aid. We are each here, both as learners and teachers.

I offer this in the spirit of sharing resources. I am already teaching online, and will do more in coming weeks. Meanwhile, here are 3 āsanas you can do daily at home:

1.    Supta Baddha Koṇāsana (Supine Bound-Angle): This pose is wonderful because it is calming for the nervous system, stimulating for the lymph system, and brings circulation and vitality to the heart and especially the lungs. If you have knee issues, try stuffing rolled washcloths behind your knee, and have lots of support under your thighs. If you have low back issues, make sure you are strongly lengthening your tailbone toward your heels, and if it still aches, slip a folded blanket or towel under your buttocks. If you have shoulder pain in this pose, elevate your arms with more blankets or towels, or fold your hands onto your abdomen. 

2.    Setubandha Sarvāngāsana (Bridge Pose): This pose also brings tremendous circulatory and lymph benefit to the heart and lungs. It adds the throat lock, Jalandhara Bandha, which balances the thyroid, draws the senses inwards, and quiets the mind. If you experience low back pain in the pose, keep your feet on the floor, legs bent, as you extend the tailbone toward the knees. You could also try placing a small lift (folded blanket or towel) under the buttocks. If you have shoulder pain in this pose, elevate your arms with more blankets or towels, or fold your hands onto your abdomen.

 

3.    Chair Sarvāngāsana (Shoulderstand): If I could only do 1 pose to boost my immune system, this would be it. (This and other inversions are contraindicated for menses. Contact me at kwisuk63@gmail.com if you want more info.) This pose is wonderful because of the combination of inverting, which encourages venous return to the heart/lungs and lymph flow, and balances the pituitary and pineal glands, with Jalandhara Bandha, the throat lock, which balances the thyroid, draws the senses inwards, and quiets the mind. The most common error in this pose is resting the head on the bolster instead of the shoulders. THE BOLSTER IS FOR THE SHOULDERS AND NECK. The head is on the floor. If your low back aches here, reach the tailbone to the heels, lift the buttocks, and place support under the hips and legs (another bolster, or a blanket under the buttocks).

In all these poses, make sure your chest is very broad and open, with the shoulder blades pressing into the back ribs to support that opening. Remember that these poses are designed to support the lungs and respiratory system, and make the lungs strong, supple, and resilient.

These poses are not about developing strength and flexibility. You can do that after this outbreak settles down and we are no longer in a pandemic. This is about staying healthy and reducing contagion, for the benefit of all. This is how our personal practice becomes collective and liberatory.