WHITE IRIS YOGA opened in Santa Fe, NM in 1985. From its inception the focus has been to provide exceptional Yoga instruction passed through the lineage of BKS Iyengar. The Iyengar method is known for its methodical and sequential approach to teaching and understanding one’s body through the various asanas.
Who is B.K.S. Iyengar and what makes this particular practice “different?”
B.K.S. Iyengar began his study in India under the tutelage of his brother-in-law, T. Krishnamacharia at a very young age. As his practice developed and he grew into a young man, he devised a method of working with various props that allowed even the stiff, weak, and infirmed to achieve the benefits of yoga practice. He passed in 2015 at the age of 97. His daughter Geeta and son Prashant had carried on the tradition of teaching at their Institute in Pune, India. Beloved Geeta passed in 2018, but her inspirational teaching lives on.
A key element of the Iyengar system is exploring the precise alignment of one’s structure (bones) while doing any given pose. Then learning to strengthen one’s musculature to maintain and deepen one’s
experience.
Meet Your Instructor Gail
Gail Ackerman has been practicing and teaching Iyengar Yoga for 35 + years. She is certified at the Intermediate level. She came to the Iyengar method in 1980 to explore and heal the scoliosis of her spine and chronic sciatica pain exacerbated by a decade making her living as a production potter. She has been blessed with several opportunities to study with both BKS Iyengar and his daughter Geeta both in Pune, India and during their travels to the US. She continues to study with Senior Iyengar teachers, including Patricia Walden and John Schumacher. Taking to heart a quote by BKS Iyengar, just months before he passed “Let my end be your beginning"
She strives to bring freshness and beginners mind to every body in every practice.
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PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATION
She holds an Intermediate Level certificate in Iyengar Yoga (CIYT). She is also registered with Yoga Alliance at the E-500 (E-RYT) and recognized as a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT)
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“Yoga does not change the way we see things, it changes the person who sees.”
-BKS Iyengar
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Testimonials
Gail has been my primary yoga instructor for many years. I find her teaching approach to be the ideal combination of professionalism, competency, and intuition. She is solicitous of feedback as we work together, always respectful of my ambitions for my practice and in turn, the limitations that exist in my body.
I heartily encourage beginning and experienced students alike to work with Gail.
-Wendy Fay
Let White Iris Yoga Change Your Life.
All Bodies Are Accepted
