Geeta S. Iyengar (7 December 1944 – 16 December 2018), the eldest daughter of Yogacharya

B. K. S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga guru ...

, was a

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

teacher credited with advancing yoga for women.

Life and work

Geeta Iyengar, eldest daughter of the founder of the worldwide Iyengar yoga method, Yogacharya

, was described as "the world's leading female yoga teacher". Iyengar studied

with her father from an early age. After graduating high school in 1961, she began substituting for her father when he was away on international teaching tours. When he retired in 1984, she became co-director, with her brother Prashant S. Iyengar, of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) as well as undertaking her own international teaching tours.

Teaching

Iyengar adapted her father's method of yoga to the specific requirements of women. Specific

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''s ...

and sequences are given for different stages in a woman's life including

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ...

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ...

, postpartum, and

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...

. Like her father, Iyengar explained how yoga is used as a method to unify body and mind, and strengthen the respiratory system, circulatory system, nervous system, muscles, epidermis, and the mind. In addition to teaching at RIMYI, Iyengar periodically toured worldwide to carry on the Iyengar Yoga lineage. She was a well-known figure in yoga around the world, in North America, Australia, South Africa, and Europe. She trained yoga teachers around the world, for example in Italy. She died on 16 December 2018, two days after her father's birth centenary, aged 74. She was unwell and used a wheelchair for more than a year. She had said that she would not depart this earth until she had completed her father's 100th birth anniversary celebration.

Publications

* Iyengar, Geeta. ''Yoga: A Gem for Women'', 2002. * Iyengar, Geeta. ''Yoga in Action – Preliminary Course'', 2000. * Iyengar, Geeta. ''Yoga in Action - Intermediate Course-I'', 2013. * Clennell, Bobby; Iyengar, Geeta. ''The Women's Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle'', 2007. * Iyengar, Geeta. ''Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood: Safe Practice for Expectant & New Mothers'', 2010.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyengar, Geeta 1944 births 2018 deaths Indian yoga gurus