Iyengar Yoga as from Runners World.com
WHAT IT IS
Purist yoga named after founder B.K.S. Iyengar. Props—blocks, straps, harnesses, and incline boards—are used to get you more perfectly into positions. That’s why Iyengar’s nicknamed “furniture yoga.”
BEST FOR
Learning the fundamentals, which builds a superior foundation for other styles. Plus it systematically works every part of your body, giving you great muscle definition, not mass.
WHO’S GOTTA HAVE IT
Patient perfectionists. Detail-oriented folks who want to “do it right” rather than “just do it” will get the most from it, says Roger Cole, Ph.D., a certified Iyengar teacher in Del Mar, California.
NEED TO KNOW
If you’re straining to reach the floor, place one of those Styrofoam or wooden blocks so it meets your hand partway. Remember, there’s no shame in this.
CHEAT SHEET
These teachers are sticklers for alignment. Wear fitted clothing so they can check your form.
FAMOUS FOR
ndie McDowell’s rocking almost-50-year-old figure and Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, the 1966 bible of this discipline. We published the sequel Light On Life.
CHEAT SHEET
Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States
Official B.K.S. Iyengar website
Patricia Walden and Manuso Manos are the most senior American teachers in this discipline.