About The Teachers
All Iyengar teachers are trained to rigorously high standards and are required to pass an assessment. Once qualified, teachers must continue training regularly and complete professional development training each year in order to maintain their membership of the Association. In this way the care and precision that characterises Iyengar yoga is maintained. After gaining the Introductory Yoga Teacher Certificate, now known as Level 1, Teachers can work on attaining higher levels of qualification in the Iyengar Method e.g. Level 2, 3, 4 and beyond. These high teaching standards are part of the reason Iyengar yoga is the most widely performed “style” of yoga worldwide. The Iyengar Certification Mark is the guarantee of this quality.
Our Teachers
Fiona Sarjeant
Fiona started Iyengar Yoga classes in 1985 at the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre whilst studying in the city and was hooked from the start. She was delighted to qualify as an introductory teacher in 1995, a Junior Intermediate III teacher in 2003 and is now a Level 3 teacher and an approved mentor for the UK teachers’ association. A visit to Pune in 2005 to study at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) inspired her to further her therapy training. She regularly studies with senior teachers from Pune and elsewhere. Her commitment and enthusiasm for Iyengar Yoga shines through in her teaching.
Donna Youngson
Donna started Iyengar yoga in 1987, studying under the guidance of Ailsa Peck in Inverness and the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre. She gained her Introductory Level Certificate in 1995 and has been teaching ever since. She has studied over the years with many Iyengar teachers but in July 2005 spent one month in Pune, India studying at the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Institute which was a life changing experience. Her passion for yoga compliments her work as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist by enhancing an understanding of the mind and body connection.
Alice Tree
Alice began studying Iyengar yoga with Fiona Sarjeant in 2004 as a New Year resolution. It became part of her every day life, bringing balance and joy. Fifteen years later in November 2020 she qualified as an Introductory teacher after training in Edinburgh with Liz Ballantyne and Julie Anderson. She qualified as a Level 1 teacher in 2020 and runs a General level class in Ardersier.
Fiona Garner
Fiona found Iyengar yoga in 1988 and was immediately entranced with the clarity of teaching, modifications to postures to suit individuals, and the use of props to enable anyone to feel the benefits of a pose. She qualified as a teacher in 1994 and taught classes in Aberdeen, then in Orkney for a short time. Now living in Inverness, she taught at Bannatynes Gym until 2019. Fiona attended a training course in Pune with Geeta Iyengar in 2015.
Becoming A Teacher
B.K.S. Iyengar developed what has come to be called Iyengar yoga from a firm spiritual, philosophical and practical base. Iyengar yoga is a way of life, rather than a mere physical activity. Students have to take the necessary time to learn the asanas and pranayama purely for the joy of learning. Those who have attended Iyengar yoga classes regularly for a minimum of three years and have a good standard of practice in the introductory asanas may be interested in becoming teachers.
The route to teaching is via mentorship. Candidates for teaching assessment must have achieved a high standard in their personal practice in the Introductory asanas, but also have a preliminary awareness of the subtlety of Iyengar yoga and its philosophy.
An existing student who wishes to become a teacher should contact us to discuss mentoring, they should also attend the General/Intermediate class on a Monday at The Ledge.
