Iyengar Yoga Australia is dedicated to honouring and sharing the teachings of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar in Australia. We are a vibrant and welcoming community of teachers and students devoted to the art, science and philosophy of Iyengar Yoga. Through our network both nationally and internationally, we promote Iyengar Yoga as a healthy way of life.

Recognised as the most widely adopted yoga method in the world, Iyengar Yoga is renowned for its focus on precision, alignment, sequencing, timing and the use of props.

What is Iyengar Yoga?

Iyengar Yoga is for everybody. Recognised as the most widely adopted yoga method in the world, Iyengar is renowned for its focus on precision, alignment, sequencing, timing and the use of props. Regardless of your age or level of fitness, you can enjoy the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of Iyengar Yoga.

About Iyengar Yoga Australia (IYA)

Since our humble beginnings in 1985, IYA now brings together over 800 members. We are a vital, dynamic and robust organisation, and the official liaison of the Iyengar family at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune.

Acknowledgement of Country

Iyengar Yoga Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and we recognise them as the first peoples of this nation. We respectfully acknowledge the deep connection to community, land, sea, waterways and sky. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.”

The IYA Board Supports the Voice

The Voice to Parliament, which will go to a referendum later this year, seeks an important amendment to the Australian Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first custodians of our land, and to respect their right to be consulted on matters that directly affect them and their communities.

Join us and our community.

Become a member of IYA and enjoy the benefits of joining our community of dedicated Iyengar Yoga students and teachers. An annual membership allows you to keep up-to-date with the latest news and events from our community in Australia and around the world as well as premium access at a discounted rate to IYA organised events.

Teacher training

Teacher Training is a rewarding and challenging experience. The knowledge and skills you will gain will deepen your yoga practice and allow you to work towards full certification as an Iyengar Yoga teacher. You’ll also become an invaluable member of our teaching community, and will be able to take part in workshops, retreats and conventions in Australia and overseas.

Recent Articles

Yoga on the Island.

Fiona Rawson from Churchill Island has written a lovely article called "Yoga on the Island" about the outdoor Iyengar yoga classes which ran for 20 years, enduring heat, mozzie's, rain, and a stampede of highland cows, peacocks stutting through and more....
Churchill island is a small island in Southern Victoria accessed by single-lane wooden bridge from Phillip Island in Westernport Bay.

Yoga on the Island.

Churchill Island is a small island in southern Victoria. It is accessed by a single-lane, wooden bridge from Phillip Island in Westernport bay. It was once frequented by the Boonwurrung/ Bunurong Aboriginal people before being settled as a wheat farm by Europeans in 1801. Today it is a tourist attraction boasting original settler buildings, ancient trees, rose gardens and sweeping lawns. It is still a working farm with Highland cattle, sheep, turkeys, horses and chooks.

In 1998, I was approached by a Nature Parks ranger asking if I would take a yoga class on the lawn there on a Saturday morning over the summer holidays. The class would be at 9 am before the island opened to tourists. It was promoted as Yoga With The Birds. The setting was so beautiful and peaceful that we soon had regular students.

However, Victoria isn’t known for consistent weather, and it became obvious we needed some shelter for rainy days. The heritage buildings were small, and the sheds were occupied by animals, so we were given a large tarp strung up between the trees. This did the job, but it was wise for students to arrive early and place their mats away from the edges of the tarp. The rain water would pool on the low points of the tarp and when a gust of wind came through, it would lift it like a sail and pour a torrent of water over the sides, splashing everyone nearby.

With the eventual construction of a visitors’ centre, providing us with a room when needed, we were able to continue the classes year round. There was a dedicated group of locals who came all through Winter, but in Summer the classes were hugely popular. One beautiful, sunny morning in the holidays we set a record with 57 students dotting the lawn on their mats. Flies, mossies, heat and cold were no competition for the ambience of looking out to sea, surrounded by nature.

On another day, the Highland cows escaped from their paddock and stampeded through the middle of our class. Students and cows scattered in panicked confusion, but we were able to regroup once the farmer gathered the herd.

The resident peacocks would strut their stuff between the mats, occasionally pecking at someone’s shoes, and leaving small landmines of dung in the grass.

The most memorable visitor though, was a koala. He made the trek across a ploughed field, under a railing fence and up a small, nearby tree about half way through our class. He sat there, watching, until everyone was lying down in Savasana, then quietly climbed back down and made his way back across the paddock, his curiosity satisfied.

When my first son was born, my partner would bring him along in a pram and they would have all the farm animals to themselves while I ran the class, then I could breast feed him at the end. However, by the time I had my second child, I felt it was time to pass the class on to someone else. It ran for a few more years, re-branded as Yoga At Churchill Island, finally finishing after almost 20 years from those first classes under the rain-filled tarp.

Yoga can take you to some very special places.

yoga on the island 2

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Iyengar Yoga in Gariwerd National Park.

Everyone who comes to Griffins Hill experiences a slice of the yogic peace we have found. We live alongside kangaroos and other wildlife, including Miles the Emu, surrounded by bush and mountains. Kangaroos graze right outside the yoga studio windows and the National Park walking trails start at our front door.

Iyengar Yoga in Gariwerd National Park

By Frank Jesse Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher

In 1995 with the support of my partner Jane I created the Clifton Hill Iyengar Yoga Studio. It was among the few dedicated Iyengar yoga studios in Melbourne at that time. Over the next 14 years, we built a large loyal following. By 2009, when we decided to leave for the country, it was one of Melbourne's most loved and popular yoga schools.

Leaving such a great group of fellow yogis would always be hard.

Although we loved inner city life, Jane and I felt a strong desire to move into a more natural environment in rural Victoria. We'd both grown up in the country. Developing an Iyengar Yoga retreat seemed like a natural progression for this phase of our lives. Our plan was to offer a haven for people to disconnect from the chaos of daily life and find solace in a natural setting.

We moved from Clifton Hill to Griffins Hill, a lovely six-acre property 1.2 km from the Western Victorian town of Dunkeld. This is Djab Wurrung country at the southern tip of Gariwerd (the Grampian mountains). Gariwerd's distinctly rugged mountains rise from the flat western plains. Today, it is mainly sheep country, but it is an ancient landscape famous for its walking tracks and natural beauty. We believed it held immense potential as a distinctive yoga retreat.

Our passion for yoga and nature spurred us on as we embarked on this new chapter. Everyone who comes to Griffins Hill experiences a slice of the yogic peace we have found. We live alongside kangaroos and other wildlife, including Miles the Emu, surrounded by bush and mountains. Kangaroos graze right outside the yoga studio windows and the National Park walking trails start at our front door.

 Iyengar Yoga in Gariwerd National Park 1

Yoga practice in nature

Practice is essential to teaching Iyengar Yoga. Through practice, we develop a deep understanding of the correct alignment and action needed in an asana. We experience the effects of the asana on our body and the nervous system and can guide others towards those experiences. Practicing yoga at the base of the Gariwerd mountains, surrounded by early morning bird calls, adds another layer to the emotional context for my yoga teaching.

Our Iyengar Yoga Retreats are between five and seven days. This means the students have a chance to deeply immerse themselves in the peaceful environment. It's just yoga, delicious organic food and nature. These retreats also allow me to take student deeper into themselves to explore specific aspects of practice, such as inversions or backbends.

Frank Jesse Workshop photo credit Gillian Braddock

Why Griffins Hill is an important place to us

We live below Wurgarri to the west and Mud-dadjug to the North and pay respect to this place by acknowledging the original inhabitants and ecosystems. Peaceful cohabitation with fellow mammals defines 'place' for us and what we do. Our delicately balanced ecosystem is fragile. Australia is quickly losing species, with a poor history of protection. At Griffins Hill, we are involved in a campaign to stop the commercial killing of kangaroos in our area. This is an extension of the yogic practice of Ahimsa (non-violence), and it offers a genuine contribution to 'place'.

After dedicating over forty years to practicing and teaching yoga, I love sharing the spirit of Griffin Hill just as much as I enjoy teaching Iyengar Yoga.

Iyengar Yoga in Gariwerd National Park 2

Griffins Hill Retreat acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Custodians of the land we are on, the Gunditjmara and Eastern Maar Peoples and their elders past, present and emerging.

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Looking back! - The IYA Inaugural Newsletter from 1985

Have a read through the inaugural IYA Newsletter from 1985. It includes a great interview with BKS Iyengar from ABC radio in Sydney, plus member contributions from when the association had 90 members.

IYA Inaugural Newsletter 1985.

Link to pdf of full article.

IYA Inaugural Newsletter 1985

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