Marian S. Garfinkel (April 2, 1932 – August 28, 2020) was an early researcher in the field of complementary medicine, showing that yoga could be used to treat and possibly cure a variety of hand injuries resulting from repetitive use. She studied with B. K. S. Iyengar for over 40 years, making annual trips to yoga centers in India, France, California and Michigan. As a result of her contact with Iyengar, she and her former husband Marvin Garfinkel are credited with inspiring the sculptor Robert Engman to create the sculpture After Iyengar, currently on display at the

Morris Arboretum The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania (37 ha / 92 acres) is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Arboretum is open daily except for major holidays. It is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Chestnut ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and at the

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desig ...

in Washington DC.

Life

Garfinkel grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the youngest of four children. She taught at Linden Hall, a prep school for girls, from 1955 to 1957. After the death of her first husband she married Marvin Garfinkel in 1963. She studied art at the

Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation is an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture. Originally in Merion, the art collection moved in 2012 to a new building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Penn ...

under Violette de Mazia, who she considered a friend. She moved from Center City, Philadelphia to Merion Station before settling at

Cobble Court Cobble Court is a historic house originally commissioned by the distiller J. Hazeltine Carstairs, who owned 50 acres from Marple Rd. to Ardmore Ave. Originally named Spring Hill Farms, the house was built alongside the first hole of the Merion ...

in 1974. She returned to Philadelphia in 1986. Following the award of her degree, Garfinkel assumed teaching positions at the

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

. Garfinkel was especially interested in using yoga to treat diseases of the hand, including osteoarthritis as well as repetitive strain injuries. Garfinkel was a senior certified Iyengar teacher who was a student of B. K. S. Iyengar between 1974, when she first met him in Ann Arbor, MI, and his death in 2014. In 2016, Garfinkel's extensive archives regarding B. K. S. Iyengar were donated to the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYANUS).

Research

Garfinkel's 1992 Dissertation showed that yoga and various relaxation techniques were a workable treatment for the pain and mobility issues associated with osteoarthritis. In 1994 Garfinkel was the lead author of a study that showed that yoga could be used for treatment of osteoarthritis of the hands, and in 1998, Garfinkel was lead author of a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrating that yoga could be used to relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. At the time of the article's publication, Garfinkel was in India, studying with Iyengar. On her return from India, she discovered over 900 e-mail messages in her inbox, many from people who were eager to see if she could help them. In 2000, she published an article co-authored with H. Ralph Schumacher, Jr. presenting the ability of Yoga to cure a variety of rheumatic diseases.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfinkel, Marian 1932 births 2020 deaths American yoga teachers