 Cover of first edition, showing Mira Mehta inUtthita Trikonasana. The title appears also inSanskrit asYoga Marg. | |
| Authors | Silva, Mira & Shyam Mehta |
|---|---|
| Subject | Iyengar Yoga |
| Publisher | Dorling Kindersley |
Publication date | 1990 |
| ISBN | 978-0863184208 |
Yoga the Iyengar Way is a 1990 guide toIyengar Yoga, a style of modernyoga as exercise, by the yoga teachersSilva Mehta and her childrenMira Mehta andShyam Mehta. They were among the first teachers to be trained byB. K. S. Iyengar outside India.
The main part of the book is onasanas, yoga postures. This is accompanied by an introduction to yoga, and sections onpranayama (yoga breathing), the philosophy of yoga, the surrender of the self includingmeditation, and recommended courses of asanas for different conditions. The book presents the asanas with a combination of a brief text and photographs of Mira and Shyam on a single page or a double-page spread.
The book has been well received by critics, who have called it "an influential classic textbook";[1] its publisher describes it as a "backlist bestseller".[2] The authors have been portrayed in some of the asanas illustrated in the book in a set ofIndian postage stamps.
At the time of the book's publication, Silva, Mira, and Shyam Mehta were teachers ofIyengar Yoga at the Iyengar Yoga Institute inMaida Vale, London. Silva, mother of Shyam and Mira, records that she had a crush fracture of the spine at age 25, leading toosteoarthritis.Yoga withB. K. S. Iyengar relieved the pain, and she went on to work helping people with physical problems to practiseremedial yoga. Shyam and Mira learnt yoga from Iyengar from an early age. Shyam states that yoga has given him determination and the ability to concentrate on office work. Mira had ascoliosis which she gradually overcame with yoga, eventually becoming a full-time yoga teacher.[MMM 1] Silva ranthe first yoga teacher training program approved by theInner London Education Authority, from 1970.[3] Mira has been called "the most senior [Iyengar] Yoga teacher outside India, recognised as an authority in all its aspects:asana,pranayama,philosophy andtherapy."[4]
Yoga the Iyengar Way was published in paperback byDorling Kindersley (London) in 1990. It was reprinted in 2006 byA. A. Knopf (New York) and distributed byRandom House,[5] who describe it as a "backlist bestseller".[2] The book has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Korean, and Spanish.[5]
The book is arranged with an introductory section, three main parts, and an appendix.
Each asana is described with a combination of short paragraphs of text and photographs (about half in colour) of Shyam or Mira Mehta. The book is in a large format, 215 mm × 275 mm (8.5 in × 10.8 in), close toA4 size, allowing for a large photograph of each asana together with several smaller ones showing details and stages for entering the pose. Some of the key Iyengar Yoga asanas such asUtthita Trikonasana are given a double-page spread;[MMM 2] others get a single page.
Each pose is named in Sanskrit (in a pale colour, giving the effect of a decorative frieze at the top of the page) and in transliteration withdiacritic marks. Below that is an explanation of the meaning of the Sanskrit words, and a brief summary of what the pose achieves. Utthita Trikonasana is described in three steps, each with a small photograph the width of a column of text. A pair of small detail photographs show how to hold the ankle or to use ayoga brick for support. A 'focus' section instructs points to note in the pose. An inset photograph in the main image gives a back view, complete with detailed instructions in the caption for the attention needed to the back in the pose. A final 'Work in the posture' section instructs on the movements required to achieve a good posture in the asana.[MMM 2]
The scholar of religionAndrea Jain, in her study of thesociology of yoga, describes the Mehtas as "a family of senior Iyengar Yoga teachers."[7]Yoga Matters callsYoga the Iyengar Way "an influential classic textbook."[1] The journalist and yoga teacher Ann Pizer, writing onVery Well Fit, rated it the best overall runner-up yoga book of 2019, writing that "the photos may look a little dated because of theunitards. However, they're almost preferable to the 'sexy' photos so often seen in more recent books."[6] Pizer comments that many practitioners see the book as a complement to Iyengar's ownLight on Yoga, and that the combination of big colour illustrations and "explicit alignment points"[6] actually make it rather more approachable.[6] The yoga teacher and journalist Marina Jung, writing inAustralian Yoga Life, called the book a "bestseller" and "highly influential throughout the world".[8]
The book's authors and their exemplary asanas are commemorated in a set ofIndian postage stamps. Mira and Shyam appeared on a set of 4 stamps issued by the IndianDepartment of Posts in 1991: Shyam wearing blue inBhujangasana on a 2rupee stamp, and inDhanurasana on a 5 rupee stamp; Mira wearing red inUstrasana on a 6.50 rupee stamp, and in Utthita Trikonasana on a 10 rupee stamp; the images, all redrawn from photographs in the book, were described as "perfect postures".[9][10]
These references indicate the parts of theYoga the Iyengar Way text being discussed.
The set of four multi-coloured stamps in the denominations of Rs 2, 5, 6.5 and 10 were issued on December 30, 1991, depicting yoga postures - Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana, Ushtrasana and Utthita Trikonasana - respectively.
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