Yogathon 2018: Upholding the Legacy | Celebrating Our Community

Every year at Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York there is a big event called Yogathon. It is an annual fundraiser for the Iyengar Yoga Association of Greater New York; a non-profit educational organization. The Yogathon is free to attend, open to the public, and an afternoon of great fun — filled with yoga demonstrations which allow us to show the creativity and joy that Yoga can inspire. As a student currently enrolled in the Teacher Training program at the Institute I get to participate in the demonstrations! I’m very excited for the idea that I’ve come up with as well as my fellow teacher trainees who are helping me make it a reality, especially Rob Resnick who will be singing LIVE!

“In 1966 Kander & Ebb’s Broadway musical, Cabaret opened at the Broadhurst Theater. That same year BKS Iyengar’s book Light on Yoga was published and thus making yoga accessible worldwide. In the later film adaptation of Cabaret, the main character Sally Bowles sings a bawdy farewell in “Mein Herr” as act of independence, while accompanied by cabaret dancers who use only a chair as a partner. While this number is reimagined with each new production, the chair remains the essential theater prop. Amongst the fishnets, fringe, feathers, sequins, and lace look for asana variations familiar to the practitioner of Iyengar Yoga that utilize our ubiquitous metal folding chairs.”

I’m calling it Mein CHAIR… pun fully intended. This idea came to me yeeeaaarrrs ago when I taught yoga to older students at the YMCA and we would often use chairs to make yoga poses possible to those with limited mobility. I would joke with them that I was going to choreograph Cabaret with them using movements they were learning in yoga class.

Please come! We will be kicking off the main event at 2:15pm, so don’t miss us!

Consider a tax-deductible donation to IYAGNY here.