Yoga Vidya: Yogic knowledge
Experiential Philosophy
Yoga is an age-old philosophy. A philosophy grounded in practice. Take a closer look at our philosophy subjects through the lens of practice.
Class Archive
For students wishing to follow recorded classes we have a range class archives in Asana and Pranayama.
A monthly subscription to our live streamed classes delivers access to home practice material also.
Pranayama Subjects
Pranayama is the Yogic art of breathing. Our pranayama subjects are structured to take the student on an inward journey. Through practice we experience pratyahara (sense withdrawal).
Term 3, 2024. Study Focus Subjects
Each term we focus on two subjects. Enrol in one or both subjects and book to attend the Reflective Practice-Sessions (RP-S) These classes can be attended either in studio or online and draw on the content covered in the subject along with forum submissions made by participants. Join us as we Learn/ Study/ Practice & participate in this dynamic community of practice. Bookings for our Reflective Practice-Sessions can be made through the Yoga Mandir timetable. The name of the class is Reflective Practice Session.
Our focal subjects for Term 3, 2024 are T-Ph25 Considering Samyama & P-10 Bhastrika & Kapalabhati. Enrol at any time.
T-Ph25 Considering Samyama
P-10 Bhastrika & Kapalabhati
Yoga Vidya
The word vidya means knowledge or wisdom. Yoga Vidya is a source of knowledge about yoga. For over 10 years we have been delivering subjects to students for independent
study. Yoga Vidya is underpinned by the Digital Research Library (DRL), the
largest systematic digital resource library of Iyengar Yoga in existence. The DRL
has been developed over more than 20 years and contains articles, book extracts,
audio and video recordings systematically filed by subject so that you can
experience the breadth and depth of our system through our subjects. Our subjects allow you to learn, study and practice Iyengar yoga through the voices and writings of our most experienced teachers.
Objective knowledge and subjective experience
‘Knowledge has two facets. One is objective and the other subjective. Objective knowledge is based on speculation, thinking and analysis, whereas subjective knowledge is to verify the objective knowledge with experience. Subjective knowledge comes through practical experience and objective knowledge is earned through theoretical study. Yoga is both a practical as well as a theoretical subject ... One puts this objective knowledge or the acquired knowledge into practice, so that one experiences the reality of the objective knowledge’ BKS. Iyengar
Yoga Mandir understands that yoga is learned through a practice and Yoga Vidya is our study platform for students who wish to delve deeply into the subject to inform their practice.
I have been travelling to India for close to 40 years to study with my teachers and yet the journey of yoga is one of independent practice. What we need is the input of teachers who have lived a life in practice and who understand its demands and benefits.
The history of Yoga is that it is taught from teacher to student (guru to sisya). Our subjects are taught by a teacher, who had a teacher, who had a teacher. We trace our lineage through Prashant Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar, BKS Iyengar, TKV Krishnamacharya back to Patanjali. We offer audio, video and written material of this lineage wherever possible in our subjects so that you too can follow this lineage.
Over almost 50 years of yoga practice I have learned that students bring yoga into their lives when they understand the subject more fully. Having a practice of asana is not enough to get you to the mat each day or to sustain your interest.
Yoga is a quest to understand oneself and the world around us. It truly is a search for meaning
YOGA SADHANA BOOKLET
This downloadable PDF is provided as a comprehensive reference document for maturing Yoga practitioners (sadhakas) who have a firm grounding in asana techniques and are seeking to strengthen their home practice.
It outlines the key philosophical concepts that underpin the practice of Yoga, whilst also providing guidance on how to go about establishing and deepening a home practice over time.
