“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured & endure what cannot be cured.”
– BKS Iyengar –
Why ‘Practice as Therapy’?
Iyengar Yoga Therapy is so much more than a prescriptive set of asanas. It’s both broader and more nuanced than that. The aim of this year’s event is to collectively explore the relationship between asana practice and therapeutic applications – how each informs the other, and how therapeutic principles can be a springboard for creative, insightful, and powerful explorations on the mat, for all practitioners.
Who Should Attend?
Studying Iyengar Yoga through a therapeutic lens can enrich one’s practice greatly. Attendees are poised to learn important skills that may shed light on classical asanas and also on how to customize one’s own practice in ways that respond to personal needs. This forum is for keen practitioners of Iyengar Yoga, with a minimum of 1 year dedicated practice.
Join us April 24th-27th 2026!
Session Types
Practice as Therapy
These traditional asana sessions will follow an undisclosed thematic thread. Each will conclude with a brief discussion to share insights and reflections.
Therapy Narratives
These interactive sessions will be an opportunity to experience a therapeutic practice guided by a teacher who has first hand experience with the condition. Participants will also explore how key practice principles apply to their own circumstances.
Pune Practice
Space will be available for collective, unstructured practice. This will be an opportunity to explore ideas, practices, props, or setups that have been experienced in previous sessions. Attendees are invited to practice independently or collaborate in small groups.
Why join us?
Practice
Discover new opportunities for growth and understanding.
Learn
Study the familiar in new and interesting ways.
Connect
Connect with friends & colleagues from across the country.
Celebrate
Celebrate the diverse experiences of our Canadian community
Grow
Challenge yourself to see, think, & practice differently.
Support
Broaden your yoga toolkit to help yourself and others.
Forum Schedule
Here is a preliminary schedule for the 2026 Forum, Practice as Therapy. Please note that several sessions are running concurrently. On Saturday and Sunday, participants will be invited to choose whether they prefer to spend the day focused on musculoskeletal or organic issues.
[Schedule is subject to changes, as needed].
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
General Registration (Hall simultaneously open for Pune Practice)
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Practice as Therapy
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Meet & Greet with light refreshments
ROOM
Musculoskeletal Issues
Organic Issues
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Practice as Therapy
Practice as Therapy
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
LUNCH
LUNCH
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
Shoulders/Neck
GI/Digestive
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Lower back
Eye issues
4:15 PM – 5:30 PM
Scoliosis
Women’s Practices
ROOM
Musculoskeletal Issues
Organic Issues
8:30 AM – 10:15 AM
Pune Practice
Pune Practice
10:30 AM – 11:45 AM
Shoulders/Neck
GI/Digestive
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
LUNCH
LUNCH
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
Lower back
Eye issues
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Knees
Cardiac
4:15 PM – 5:30 PM
Scoliosis
Women’s Practices
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Interactive Q&A
12:00 PM
People can opt-in to a bagged lunch
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
ERT Meeting (for round table members)
Therapy Narratives
Musculoskeletal Issues
These sessions will explore personal narratives relating to muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, joints, and cartilage.
Organic Issues
These sessions will explore personal narratives related to tissues, organs, and body systems.
“Ultimately the aim of yoga therapy is to teach the brain & body to work in harmony”
– BKS Iyengar –
The Venue
Avant Garde is Toronto’s largest independent art gallery and event space.
Located in the heart of Midtown, Avant Garde offers a bright, spacious and unique space, perfectly suited for our collective and creative explorations.
218 Merton Street
Toronto, ON M4S 1A1
View on Google Map
Coming from out of town?
Click for accommodation options.
Forum Blog
This space is a collection of thought provoking ideas, personal experiences from our Canadian community, and helpful resources for further study, all of which pertain to Iyengar Yoga Therapy. You’ll also find important information and updates pertaining to the 2026 Forum.
Have something to say? Submissions are welcome!
Frequently Asked Questions
The registration fee is $450.00 CAD for members and $490.00 CAD for non-members.
Yes! Please click here for more information. If you have specific questions you can contact the Certification Mark Fund directly at certificationmarkfund@iyengaryogacanada.com
A forum is a space for sharing ideas and mutual learning, and that’s what this year’s event aims to be. Rather than deferring to a panel of experts, students and teachers alike will be looking within and consulting one another to reveal new insights and thought provoking questions about Iyengar Yoga practice and therapy.
Absolutely. The forum is about practice, not about teaching. While some of the ideas may be complex for a raw beginner, any keen student with at least 1 year of consistent practice can benefit from an exploration of practice and therapy.
Yes. Please arrange to have 2 blocks, 3-4 blankets (or enough for your Sarvangasana), and 2 straps (preferably one of them a long strap).
We are currently exploring ways of supporting those of you who will be coming from out of town with either borrowing, renting, or purchasing prop kits. More information will be shared soon.
To give us a sense of need, please email forum2026@iyengaryogacanada.com and let us know if you are hoping to acquire a prop kit upon arriving for the forum.
If you are not currently practicing in general Iyengar Yoga classes or self sufficient in your home yoga practice, this forum may not be for you. The focus of the forum is not about treating individual conditions. Rather it’s about how observation, sensation, and calibration can inform one’s practice in insightful ways.
No. This event is in-person only.
- Here are 2 hotels are located near Yonge & Bloor, with easy access to an array of amenities and a short subway ride away from the venue: The Anndore House and W Toronto.
- AirBNB & VRBO – search for accommodations in Midtown Toronto.
Lunch is included on Saturday & Sunday. You also have the option to opt-in to a bagged lunch for Monday.
After completing your registration, you will receive a separate email with a link to form where you can submit any dietary restrictions. Please keep an eye out for that email.
Participants can choose a focus for the Therapy Narratives on Saturday and Sunday––either Musculoskeletal Issues or Organic Issues. The choice is for the entire day, not session by session.
We’ve chosen to run concurrent sessions to maximize both the number of participants and teachers participating in this year’s forum.
You do not need to be a member to register for the Practice as Therapy Forum. However the cost for members is $40 lower than for non-members. For members, ensure you are logged into your IYAC account in order to see the member rate.
The aim of the blog is to provide a platform for Canadian teachers and students to share their thoughts, reflections, experiences, and even questions about Iyengar Yoga Therapy.
These articles are not meant to be research papers or advice from experts but rather personal reflections. We encourage all interested IYAC/ACYI members to submit their thoughts and help shape the conversation around Iyengar Yoga Therapy in Canada!
Here are a few suggested topics:
- What does Iyengar Yoga Therapy mean to you?
- Is therapy only for students with ‘issues’?
- How is Iyengar Yoga therapy different from physical therapy?
- How does philosophy inform Iyengar Yoga therapy?
- What makes an asana therapeutic?
- Is Iyengar Yoga therapy prescriptive?
- How has Iyengar Yoga therapy informed your personal practice?
- How has Iyengar Yoga therapy informed your teaching?
- Describe why a specific sutra or quote from the Iyengar family is especially meaningful when you contemplate, practice, or teach Iyengar Yoga therapy.
- Please write in the first person. What did you learn? How has the practice helped you?
- If you have something to say in 250 words, great. If you have something to say in 1500 words, also great. The length of the piece is up to you.
- Include a title for the article and also a short bio for the contributing writer. Feel free to link to your personal website or local studio.
- If you have a photo to submit that complements the article, please submit it. This is not required though.
- Send proposals and submissions by email to ert@iyengaryogacanada.com
Kindly let us know if you plan to submit an article and propose a date for your first draft to be submitted. New articles will be consistently published between now and the April Forum.
Submissions will be reviewed by the ERT Leads for basic spelling and grammar, and as well to see that the first-person voice is used for consistency.
Community is Everything
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