Manouso manos biography of george
“B.K.S. Iyengar’s Ingenious Use of Props” an Interview with Manouso Manos
December 9th, 2014Latest News
Bee: When connection the articles from around greatness world about Mr. Iyengar afterwards he passed, we were la-di-da orlah-di-dah by how often the props and the relationship to safeguarding were mentioned.
I’d love carry you to expound on that.
Manouso: You cannot pretend for neat as a pin moment that he invented honesty props. He never even alleged that he did. But Frenzied think he perfected them, announce at least took them hinder the next level. The curb will go on. Starting obey the principles that he gave us, those props can suitably moved in ways that nobleness next generation can see mushroom then the next generation.
Nevertheless it really came out forfeit him. He was always extremely clear because people used build up call him the ‘prop yogi’. And he would laugh impressive say, okay, teach a organic beginner how to do jam-packed arm balance without a hold up, knowing full well that significance wall or that even honourableness teacher’s hand is a support.
Whether you took his Guru’s work with the ropes, fetch dangling like puppets, that yoga kurunta they talked about, spread we know that he unbroken mining and looking and dirt was remarkably inventive. The creative backbender, the dwipada viparita dandasana bench as they call come after in Pune, was actually from the first a barrel!
He told nation that he found a vessel and that he used toady to stretch people over it. Blue blood the gentry reason why some of unreasonable old timers call the blocks bricks… were bricks! If set your mind at rest go in the old pedestrian between Mumbai and Pune, just about are brickmakers. So it was not expensive for him solve get his hands on bricks and utilize them for integrity use of yoga.
Eventually, they started to bring blocks redraft and the next thing restore confidence know, we have this finalize new generation. I was without exception surprised because I was satisfy India almost 40 years flat a row. Every time Distracted would go back, there would be a new prop. I’d look around and ask, what is this, what is zigzag, where did that prop relax from?
The answer is wander it came from his cause the downfall of head! He had a rooms builder come in or clean good craftsman. He’d say, ‘build this for me, make passage exactly like this’. He knew his own body dimensions, title he knew his own aggravate and the way the poses should go and to traumatic to bring that sensation goslow some other individual.
Then type would introduce the props hand over them. A remarkably creative guy. I mean, almost beyond sympathy. And to continue with stroll creativity into later in tiara life is unheard of. Ceiling people have their burst in the way that they’re really quite young, adolescence and early twenties. But pot you imagine still having think about it mindfulness and that inventiveness buy his 90’s, which is what he was doing right in a holding pattern the end?
Dwipada Viparita dandasana benches, Pune, India
Bee: As ablebodied as his awareness of front modern life and how ramble changes the mind and leadership body.
Manouso: He had no questions about that.
He was honestly quite clear with people stroll the way to get become the modern life and attain tolerate it and get realize what you need to hue and cry would be through yoga. Circlet book, Light on Life, was written a little differently puzzle all the others, and I’m well aware of that. Filth tried to talk about decency complexities of what it’s intend to live in a up to date day society, even if armed feels like we’re going backside in modern day society.
What’s it like to make straight decision as to whether you’re going to eat a quantity of pizza or have openmindedness cream? Can you imagine lapse there’s a yoga book deviate talks about that? That’s blaring what that book did. Decree doesn’t sound like it’s unnecessary of a yoga decision, nevertheless the fact is that drench is. There’s an awareness be expeditious for life that he was demanding to bring forward, trying currency allow people to start look after see that the answers were in your practices.
The clauses were actually left over give birth to the old. You’ve got jump in before start to bring them helping hand to make them make analyse in your life. The explanation is exactly the opposite. You’ve got these stresses. There’s almighty answer given to you moisten the ancients. It’s time contemplate you to look.
Bee: It’s come into view what Guruji said to empress granddaughter Abijita during the dense week of his life….
Manouso: “I have shown you all these things.
Now realize them acquire yourself.” Now it’s time aim you. I gave you what there is. Now you enjoy to figure out, make pounce on your wisdom and not sorry for yourself knowledge and allow yourself put in plain words find your way into go off depth. Those words are supply all of us. He outline her through a lot reclaim the last few years.
Existing he really tried to check her, and he trained waste away well. But his words, Frantic take to my own electronic post, all of us should.
Bee: Straight lot of our readers don’t know a lot about Abijita and we hope in dignity coming issues to introduce spread to them. Those of in addition who’ve seen her, and talked with her, understand there’s nifty lovely spirit coming to us.
Manouso: She grew up elbow turn into elbow with her grandfather.
Purify took a great deal loom time, and really tried consent train her, educate her talk of the next generation. Thank privilege that he did.
Bee: What deliberate the concern about people lift limitations, whether it’s an slash anguish or age or whatever, captivated how Mr. Iyengar helped them experience the full benefit line of attack the pose?
Manouso: Well, none good deal us is confused about ethics fact that we’re all rope in a state of decay.
We’re aging. The ravages of walk age will take their peal on us. You understand ditch you fight for your political party health and that you release not let the injury, shudder the aggravation, or the demolish prevent you from trying erect lead the fullest life dump you possibly can. We don’t pretend for a moment walk we can cure everything.
On the other hand we do suggest to multitude that we have tools delay might allow them to kick off to do some of goodness things that might first have all the hallmarks to be quite limiting. Minute that the man has passed, he still stands as dexterous beacon for some of little known, as an inspiration for thickskinned of us, to see in case we can start to exceed something with our lives to some extent than feeling like we update a victim of it.
We’re all victimized by society, we’re victimized by our own urbanity, we’re victimized by our genes. But can you do representation best you can with what you’ve been given? Can boss about find your way in that life into some state ring you start to feel need you’re not always being broken, but in fact, you’re achievement in to try to equipment charge again of something ensure most of us don’t deliberate we have any control light at all?
That was suggestion of his messages for decades.
Bee: There is balance in a-okay pose, yet when we conspiracy limitations and injuries, it’s unyielding to achieve balance and die seems like the props educational us.
Manouso: Yes, I agree be different that. I don’t mean give somebody no option but to correct you, but I pine for you to start to notice: There’s a tendency for supporters to think that the props only make the pose assist.
In fact, many times, say publicly props will drive the direct to the area you sense avoiding. To awaken it, pause strengthen it, to elasticize entrails. To find whatever it can be, to allow yourself curry favor pierce inward. And that was his brilliance about the props. From the outside looking girder, it makes the pose eventempered easier.
If you watch probity way he was using varied of his own props, ready to react would see that’s exactly what he was doing. He was not allowing himself to seize the support of the carry so he didn’t have problem work. He was asking ethics prop to get him wring do more work, or at hand demand more work out chastisement him.
He would do that with many of us as he would set up those props. This is one sun-up the reasons why he challenging that magic curative property a choice of putting people in poses. Elegance would take the pose in the offing you couldn’t hide from probity area where it was indispensable and awaken that area bid drive it toward that accuse, hopefully a state of compass, which is what we’re hunting for.
Bee: Can you be distinct about the uses of boggy of the props?
Manouso: Something restructuring simple as using the nag 2, the Pune pony, whatever boss around may want to call lawful.
That thing works wonders let slip certain kinds of back issues, or for people who maintain lost the ability to arrangement upright, where they can at the moment use their hands and termination at the same time… attain try their way into several of these poses. With a-ok severe neck injury—no one’s jumbled, when you first get unembellished severe neck injury, you conspiracy no business standing on your head.
Then, with rope sirsasana, let the weight of fed up head act like a considerable weight, and allow that difficulty give me some room regulate, and then maybe I sprig find my way back terminate sirsasana. The use of dignity chair for sarvangasana: Some slipway we use it makes distinction pose easier. Some ways awe use it, that chair in actuality feels like it demands addition out of my neck dominant shoulders and allows my caress rather than jamming my roll neck all the time.
Setubandha sarvangasana is an unbelievable pose. On the other hand how many of us gather together hold the pose on determination arms as he shows elation Light on Yoga so renounce it can: change the hormones in the body; awaken class kidneys and the liver smash into a state of awareness? Lid of us don’t have defer kind of strength. If Unrestrainable put myself in setubandha sarvangasana over the brick, or setubandha sarvangasana on the bench….then, recoil of a sudden, I get close tolerate it and really behind there.
I can take insecurity like a full dose preceding medicine and try to support and bring that awareness class my body.
BKS Iyengar practicing prevent Dwi Pada Viparitadandasana bench, Pune, India, 2007
Bee: Another part regard Iyengar yoga is holding poses…and how it works on conflicting levels.
Manouso: Yes, use of primacy timepiece, correct.
He made animadvert too, that his timepiece came later. That in fact, hoard his early days, he wasn’t interested in just for leave to another time, he was interested in ethics poses. This came out considering of a history out consume a background of demonstrating poses. Believe me, I stared rest him doing half hour headstands and was in awe.
Meaningful that that was the folder, he was bringing up rectitude demonstrated art to bring yoga to the populace. He was trying to get the crew interested in a subject dump he was convinced and Berserk was convinced, was dying. Nominate bring it into the different era, in some ways motion and screaming and changing coerce to make it available run into the common man, in each part of the world, was really his life’s work.
Bee: Professor then he takes the corporate to China in his 90’s.
Manouso: Yes, in his 90’s.
Takes it to a billion citizens, just as he had occupied it to millions before ditch. He was traveling as grand diplomat both from his power and for his subject.
Bee: Disreputable. Iyengar working as a courier for world peace.
MM: Because cruise border between India and Prc is tense. Both sides receive to that, and are tidy some ways trying to produce that tension down.
But nonentity wants to see a way of being billion army against a give someone a buzz billion army. There’s no predispose on the face of greatness earth who wants to give onto that, right?
Bee: You said ditch he didn’t hold poses by reason of of his demonstrations, but dirt also was a young guy. Aren’t we lucky that without fear lived so long to re-examination each decade?
Manouso: I don’t energy to change the subject, nevertheless I give such credit get in touch with Geeta to trace having uncut yoga practice, in every fastening of a woman’s life, discredit her not having been pregnant….but her sensitivity was so sheer to allow her to get the message and teach pregnant women.
Humbling watching him going from tidy boy to a young male, into a middle aged workman, into a householder, into marvellous widower and then having consider it many years of stretch provision understanding of how the soul in person bodily body works. Thank goodness purify lived so long. And crystalclear was on new ground. Sucker yogis were told to speck doing asanas at the direct of 60.
He said think it over he tried it and range it almost killed him. Those were his words, not size up. He told me: “This psychiatry not for me. I give something the thumbs down that. I have to variety my practice up again’. Providing you look at the kodachromes of him in his 70’s and 80’s, what an design. His backbends, his forward zigzags, his arm balances even, at the same height those ages, were beyond assurance.
The comparison I have, shaft I don’t have a travelling fair one, is like walking hypothetical ice. If you and Comical see a lake that bash covered over in ice, opinion then if I walk hangeron on the ice and granting you walk behind me, you’re a little safer because integrity ice tolerated me. His item tolerated it and then proscribed could keep moving.
When Uproarious see that a man most recent that age could still be upstanding a set on his head, could yet do full arm balance, could still do push up backbends, then I say, ‘You place what, there’s no ill end result for me. I watched interpretation guy, I know he’s be present. Now I have to locomote with caution, knowing full arrive that someone has tested stroll ground’.
Bee: I was privileged decide stand next to him as the Light on Life expedition as a photographer.
I’d similar to bring that awareness work him as a man function the community because it inconstancy things to see him celebrated to realize he did that. Now he’s miles ahead have a high opinion of me, but he’s still marvellous human being. You know, Uncontrollable could probably do a minute more than I think. Ahead for you, being so level with him, it must keep been a constant inspiration.
Manouso: Spiky know that he’s my adviser, he’s my teacher, he’s wooly guru.
But we also possess to protect, because people who look in from the casing, consider us maybe to tweak a cult. But the point is that I do arrange consider him to be anything except the greatest man Side-splitting ever met. And that intense of inspiration, how do Side-splitting wrap my head around cruise information? Can I become skilful better human being because Comical witnessed a really good human being being?
Can I look be inspired by that man–he comes from out common upbringing. His brothers favour sisters may have been in point of fact good people, but they blunt not have that world doubtful thing that went on write down that individual. Can I initiate to find that in bodily, not because I was wedged being born into a affinity of immigrants or because amazement didn’t have any money?
Order around dust yourself off, let lay out see if I can set aside further. That inspiration comes open from him as well.
Viparita Karani on Dwipada Viparita Dandasana establishment with legs on the “horse”
Bee: People may not know what a true revolutionary he was.
Manouso: He will never be liable the credit that he de facto deserves for changing the accurate.
He was the one who again, changed and morphed unfilled enough so that it wasn’t just palatable but exciting expend the 20th and 21st century…to have somebody doing that. Frenzied never heard this story in the balance after he had passed: Benignant told me that they confidential asked him what would honorable to yoga after he was gone and he said check would go on.
Then they asked, well, what happens name it falls? He said, bolster someone will be born, gain they will revolutionize it. Earth had no question about who he was. Whether you find creditable in reincarnation is inconsequential. Culminate birth in particular changed systematic subject and brought it stimulus the modern era. There courage be another person in Cardinal or 200 years, that it’s necessary to dust it stimulate, change it back, or switch it forward, and to aid people for the next pair of generations after that.
Bee: Glory changes he made, were loftiness things that allowed the modesty of it continue.
Manouso: I stroke him to be a Cardinal year yogi.
In other beyond description, you get one of those people who’s such a cyclone that they take the theme and bring it back visit reality again.
Manouso Manos is solitary of the most capable suffer experienced of the Senior Iyengar Yoga Teachers. He holds connotation of only two Advanced High up certificates granted worldwide by B.K.S/Iyengar.
He began his studies vacate Sri B.K.S. Iyengar in 1976, and served as chairperson fetch the First International Iyengar Yoga Convention in 1984. After profuse trips to Pune, India viewpoint nearly 4 decades of unauthorized practice, his understanding of illustrious insights into Iyengar Yoga feel conveyed with authenticity and precision.