Aadil Palkhivala
Aadil Palkhivala began studying yoga formally with B.K.S. Iyengar at the age of seven. He holds one of the few advanced Iyengar Yoga teacher certificates. A certified Ayurvedic health science practitioner, naturopath, and bodywork therapist, he is the founder-director of Yoga Centers in Bellevue, WA.
Comments
Years ago, in a workshop led by Palkhivala at Richard Schactels's studio in Seattle, we were doing standing forward bends, on one foot, the other crossed in front of the ankle like a number "4" (don't recall the sanskrit for this pose). Palkhivala, in true Iyengar fashion, walked by behind me and pushed--hard--on my lower back. I heard and felt something go "sproing," and for six months after, I experienced low back pain. To this day, 25 years later, I still have lower back issues. I don't know if his action caused this or simply aggravated it--at the time I was a dancer and in good shape. But I've never forgotten that incident. I'm not at all fond of that style of teaching or "bodywork".
Posted by: Chad Henry | March 22, 2006 01:42 PM
No sound yoga teacher wants to hear a student has been injured either directly or indirectly, at the time or over time.
It's perfectly acceptable to not care for this "teaching style" but acknowledging that it's a style from 1980 is an important distinction.
While I did not study with Aadil 25 years ago (that would make Aadil approximately 22) I can assure you Aadil's teaching has evolved on many fronts.
It might be a bit of a rush to judgement to compare Aadil at 22 with Aadil today. While his style does have Iyengar influence it's obvious in his classes that he's embraced the richness of yoga beyond aggressive asana work.
Keep in mind that his early learning was often comprised of 8 hour asana sessions with Iyengar and advanced poses many of "us" will never attempt.
It would be remiss of me to post without pointing to the big elephant in the post. Twenty five years is a long time to embrace "energy" that powerful. Holding that can't possibly be fruitful for any healing process.
Posted by: Gordon Kaplan | April 25, 2006 09:42 PM