by Sara Ivanhoe
Sara: Over the last several years, as yoga has grown in popularity, teachers have been branding their styles of yoga and giving them names. Can you tell me about the style of yoga that you are teaching and why you haven't given it a branded name?
Erich: It's like this: The only person doing Iyengar yoga, really, is Iyengar. The only person doing Bikram yoga is Bikram. I felt like if anyone were really getting it, they would be doing their own yoga. Like you should be doing Ivanhoe yoga. I didn't want to call it Schiffman yoga because then it would be like people were doing my yoga, my style - and I think that they should be doing their own style, riding their own wave. If you are doing somebody's else's yoga, it's mechanical: if you do your own, its authentic. You can't know in advance how that is going to look. Each person is tapping into the same source, but it manifests differently for everyone. The trick is to listen for guidance and dare to do it.
You can find Erich on the web at
http://www.movingintostillness.com/index.html
This short except is from Fit Yoga magazine August 2005.You can find them on the web at
http://www.fitmag.com/r5/home.asp
Paul Grilley has taught yoga since 1979. His special interest in anatomy. He has written a book entitled “Yin Yoga”. He and his wife Suzee have produced two DVDs. “Anatomy for Yoga” is now required study in teacher trainings across the country. The new Yin Yoga DVD is the authoritative presentation of both theory and practice.
Suzee Grilley has practiced and taught yoga since 1980 but has spent much of her time as dancer and choreographer in New York, Los Angeles, and in Ashland where she and her husband have lived since 1994.