IYENGAR YOGA

Iyengar Yoga is firmly grounded in the ancient Indian art of yoga.  More than 2,500 years ago, in The Yoga Sutras, Patanjali wrote about Astanga Yoga, the eight-limbed path towards spiritual fulfillment.  Iyengar Yoga addresses this journey from a perspective that is practical, experiential, and intensely personal.

Yoga, at its essence, is union - the union of mind, body and spirit.  In Iyengar Yoga, this search for union begins with ongoing practice of the yoga asanas (postures) with a focus on exact alignment.  In time students learn to penetrate beyond the outer physical layers to the inner kosas (layers) of mind, energy and spirit. 

One of the primary tenets of Iyengar Yoga is that this practice is for everyone.  No one is too stiff, too old or too tired to benefit from yoga.  A Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher can guide students of all ages and physical conditions to experience yoga that is safe, accessible and rewarding.

Certified Iyengar Yoga instructors are held to an unusually rigorous standard.  Only after years of training and evaluation do they become certified.  Iyengar Yoga teachers modify the classic asanas (yoga poses) for individual students with the use of props, such as blocks, blankets and belts.  Props allow for a fuller understanding of the pose, as well as a longer stay in the pose.

Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers (CIYT's) use the deep-seated knowledge of the asanas to individualize corrections and modifications for each student.  Students know they are observed and, if necessary, adjusted.  Clear demonstrations of the posture.  A well-developed eye.  Specific teaching points that awaken the body's intelligence.  These are all hallmarks of an Iyengar Yoga teacher.    

(description courtesy of Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States)

Sarah Harvey

Sarah has studied and practiced yoga since 1991, and has been teaching yoga throughout the Bay Area since 2002.  She is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, and a 2004 graduate of the 500-hour Advanced Studies/Teacher Training Program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco.  Sarah has studied with the Iyengar family numerous times at various locations in the US.  In 2008 she spent a month studying at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India. Her continuing education includes intermediate/advanced level classes with her teacher, Nora Burnett, as well as specialty workshops and classes with other senior Iyengar teachers.

Sarah brings a light, humorous approach to her teaching, combined with direct, detailed instructions for each student.  Although yoga is central to her life and key to her well-being, she is also an avid sports fan (Go A's!  Go Dubs! )  She lives in a small cottage in Oakland with her two cats, and enjoys gardening and gourmet cooking.