National Iyengar Yoga Day - what it is all about?

NATIONAL IYENGAR YOGA DAY - Saturday 18 January 2025

On Saturday 18 January 2025 yoga teachers across the UK and Ireland will be holding free taster classes and events to celebrate National Iyengar Yoga Day and are encouraging people who are completely new to Iyengar yoga to give it a try. You can see all the classes we're offering at Maitri Studio here.

Online searches for yoga classes surge in January as many of us try to stick to our New Year resolutions to get fitter, healthier and happier. In the UK statistics show that almost three quarters of us are overweight or obese, whilst one in six adults experience mental health problems. Studies have shown that yoga can have many physical and mental health benefits, boosting our mood and leading to positive changes in our life - which can in turn lead to long term weight loss and improved mental health.

What is Iyengar yoga?

Named after B.K.S. Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014), one of the key figures credited with bringing yoga to the West, the Iyengar method is known for focusing on correct alignment and safety. In a typical beginners class simple poses or ‘asanas’ are taught, and as students progress teachers dive deeper into the detail of the poses as well as other traditional aspects of yoga including breathing, pranayama, and yoga philosophy.

Iyengar was a visionary Indian teacher who recognised the benefits of yoga and determined to make it widely accessible. His international bestseller ‘Light On Yoga’, published in 1966, is still considered an essential guide to yoga postures today. BKS Iyengar’s legacy is Iyengar yoga, an internationally standardised method of teaching popular with students everywhere. Characterised by precision, teachers of Iyengar yoga practice and study for a minimum of six years before they can instruct students. This high level of training has made Iyengar yoga one of the most trusted and widely practised forms of yoga in the world.

In the words of B.K.S. Iyengar in his bestseller Light on Life:

'Yoga can be practised by anyone, whatever one's state of mind or health. It is through practice that the scattered mind is brought to a focal point (knee, chest, etc.). This is a training regimen that moves us toward direct perception. Humour helps people move from fragmentation to wholeness too. It lightens the mind and makes it easier to guide and focus. A stable mind is like the hub of a wheel. The world may spin around you, but the mind is steady.'

Iyengar yoga at Maitri Studio

Maitri Studio is the base for Iyengar yoga in Belfast is well equipped for the practice of Iyengar yoga, with all the mats, ropes and other props you might use. Claire Ferry, who runs Maitri Studio, is a longtime Iyengar yoga practitioner and teacher, with nearly 20 years of teaching experience. Along with Maura Gribbin and Annamarie McCausland, she teaches Iyengar yoga classes with booking via the Maitri Studio website.

• Tuesday & Friday 10-11.15am - yoga with Claire (all levels, slower paced)
• Tuesday & Thursday 6-7.15pm - yoga for active beginners (Claire, Annamarie)
• Tuesday 7.30-9pm - yoga level 2/3 with Claire
• Tuesday 11.30am-12.45pm - chair yoga with Claire
• Sunday 9-10.30am - yoga for active beginners/ongoing with Maura

Rachel Overton, another registered Iyengar yoga teacher, offers beginners and general level classes on a Monday night Maitri Studio with booking directly with her.

Additionally Eva Komuves qualified as an Iyengar yoga teacher but now also teaches other methods and offers Core Yoga on a Friday morning 7.15am.

Claire teaches a monthly workshop, and Rachel teaches workshops occasionally. We also host visiting teachers, including senior teacher Aisling Guirke (monthly Wednesdays) and Eileen Cameron (next visit February 2025).