Writing
I must write...
Have been reminded by some close friends recently. And more recently this email from Sophie...
"Hey Roy,
Sergey wants you to write a 500 word article on the following topic:
'Use of foam exercise roller in yoga'
Apparently you are a genius and will figure out what this means and will be able to write on this topic.
He will not pay for it and he wants it ASAP.
It seems like you have no choice, you have to accept…
Soph"
Here's what I came up with in about 30 minutes...
props or no props...
that is the question. or ,at least it is the question nto a confused yoga practioner who has learned from mixed Iyengar and Ashtanga methods. blocks, bolsters, blankets, ropes, belts and chairs.
I hear your next question; why not foam rolls?
the Iyengar tradition started using props to support poses a long while ago, perhaps in the early 50's. though it’s true, Iyengar's approach leaned towards using what was readily available (refer to above mentioned list). Iyengar was not in the habbit of going out shopping to buy new products to help his yoga students learn yoga poses (called yoga asanas). (though apparently he was rumoured to have regularly sent his son T.K.V Desikachar out to the corner to fetch mid-morning and mid-afternoon chai from the chai-wallha just down the street from his yoga shala...) I figure, back in the day, inground pools were not en vogue in Pune India, so it is doubtful that Iyengar would have ever had reason to have seen inflatable waterwings, aqua-areobic classes, or for that matter a foam roll.
it is my suggestion however, that had mr.Iyengar ever seen one of these beauties, he would have, very quickly, introduced it to his arsenal of at-hand yoga props. he would have stocked hundreds of them on low shelves all around his yoga shala, in a smorgasbord of colours and sizes, so that when a student needed some kind support for an asana they could not fully express, or for a restorative pose which required some firm yet giving support there was always a foam roller of the right size near at hand.
Ahhh foam rollers… need some support for your thighs in a weighted baddhakonasana? no trouble got a foam roller just for you. thoracic spine needs gentle support for a restorative savasana?? Trying to get a correct arch in your back foot when you do virabadhrasana?? Looking for an appropriate support for your sacrum when you do urdvhadanurasana?? belly gets in the way when you attempt balasana?? the list goes on and on...
what surprises me nowadays however is this… surly the world’s supply of foam rollers comes from india. People there must know foam rollers exist. And Indian-folk are known around the globe to be very creative in the ways they invent new uses for things, so why is it that the wonders of foam rollers have yet to penetrate into iyengar’s shala and his approach to supported yoga postures?
No doubt Iyengar has seen the furious success his competitor bikram choudry has had trademarking the bikram style of yoga?? Why has the world not been introduced to the IFRSS?? The Iyengar Foam Roller Support System?? He could be raking in lakhs of rupees a day!!
Whether your yoga practice is derived from a lineage which applies a form of support during yoga asanas or not is really insignificant, what is clear is that foam rollers is the way to go. Buy them while you can at affordable poolshops in your neighborhood. soon this yogi is planning a trip to Pune to have a chat with mr. iyengar while he is still alive… the IFRSS is soon to be for sale at a lululemon store near you…
