But what is
Iyengar yoga?
Iyengar Yoga: Precision, Props,
and One Very Determined Man
If you’ve ever walked into a yoga studio and thought, “Why are there so many belts, blocks, and bolsters? Is this a yoga class or a hardware store?”- you’ve probably stumbled into an Iyengar yoga space. Grab a blanket and settle down.
Iyengar yoga is a precise, prop-based style of yoga developed by B.K.S. Iyengar over decades of practice and teaching. It is slower than most styles: poses are held, alignment is everything, and no two classes are quite the same. Props like blocks, straps, and bolsters mean the practice is genuinely accessible to every body, at every stage of life. And the longer you practice, the more there is to find.
The Man Behind the Method
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar- known as B.K.S. Iyengar- was born in 1918 in a small village in Karnataka, India, into a family of modest means and considerable illness. As a sickly child who suffered from malaria, typhoid, and tuberculosis, the young B.K.S. didn’t exactly look like a future yoga legend. But at 15, he was sent to study with his brother-in-law, the great T. Krishnamacharya, and everything changed.
Krishnamacharya was a brilliant, exacting teacher- famously not the most patient of souls- and Iyengar had relatively little time learning from him, although he would be profoundly influenced by that time. Iyengar was thrown into an advanced practice and teaching almost immediately, ready or not. He was not particularly ready. Rather than give up, he practiced, and practice, and practiced some more. For decades, and with a ferocity that would make most of us want to lie down in savasana and stay there.
By the time he died in 2014, aged 95 (and still practicing headstands well into his 80s), B.K.S. Iyengar had taught yoga to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, and written the landmark book Light on Yoga, effectively the bible of modern yoga practice.
The Iyengar Experience
Walking into your first Iyengar class, you’ll learn a surprising amount of information about your own body that you never knew you needed. Classes are slower than you might expect, and you might hold poses longer than you’re used to. The teacher will watch you carefully and may come over to adjust your position- moving your arm slightly, or placing a block under your hand. It can feel surprisingly demanding even in “simple” poses, because when you do them correctly and fully, you discover muscles you didn’t know you had.
It can feel intense but it can also feel like someone finally gave you the instruction manual to your own body. For many practitioners, that is transformative.
Iyengar yoga is suitable for anyone. Because of the props and the careful attention to alignment, it works well for beginners, older people, those recovering from injury, and people with chronic pain. But it also challenges experienced practitioners deeply- there’s always more precision to find.
A Legacy Stood on Its Head
B.K.S. Iyengar didn’t just teach yoga; he helped bring it to the Western world at a time when most Westerners thought “yoga” was something vaguely mystical and definitely not for them. Through teaching luminaries like violinist Yehudi Menuhin (who credited Iyengar with saving his playing career), he showed that yoga was a rigorous, therapeutic, and deeply practical discipline.
His institute in Pune, India- the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, named after his wife- still draws students from around the world.
What makes it different?
Iyengar yoga practice has several hallmarks:
Precision
The key feature of Iyengar yoga is alignment: holding poses according to the framework of your own body, using props to support and teach you. Precision and alignment go hand in hand, built gradually through practice, concentration, and focus.
Props
Blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, chairs, ropes: Iyengar invented or popularised all of these as teaching tools. The idea is simple and brilliant: props meet you where you are, so you get the full benefit of a pose without forcing your body into something it isn’t ready for.
Timing
Iyengar yoga invites you to stay. Poses are held for longer than you might expect and you will get very well acquainted with Trikonasana (Triangle Pose).
Sequencing
You never quite know what’s coming in an Iyengar class, but you can be sure it’s been thought through. Iyengar teachers train for years, a minimum of three to six for the first certification, and understand how poses prepare the body for what comes next, and how to adapt for every body in the room.
Level 2 Iyengar yoga teacher
Originally a musician, Francesca came to yoga- or rather, yoga came to her- somewhat reluctantly, not expecting it to change her or her life so entirely. Her life took another unexpected swerve when she joined the teacher training programme in 2016, studying with Delilah King and Rembert Petrus in Amsterdam. She gained her Introductory certificate in 2018 and Level 2 in 2025.
Yoga is still changing her, and she is grateful to have found a path and teachers to guide her through it. Francesca loves teaching and loves being a student even more, and she continues to study with senior teachers (including Berber Schönholzer, Lois Steinberg and Stephanie Quirk) and assist in therapy classes. She still works in music as a producer, which involves a lot of quick thinking and solving problems in the midst of chaos. Aside from yoga and music, Francesca enjoys baking, roller coasters, learning languages and CrossFit.
When?
Classes take place on Saturdays and Wednesdays. More classes will be added in due course.
Francesca also teaches at iYoga Utrecht and Thrive Amsterdam:
Sunday 9.00: iYoga Utrecht (live and online)
Monday 7.30: iYoga Utrecht (online)
Monday 18.30: Thrive Amsterdam Celebesstraat (live)