Carolyn Christie
Intermediate Junior II

Carolyn Christie has practiced  yoga since 1988 and taught since 1995. Mary Dunn is her primary teacher;she also studies with Robin Janis, Patricia Walden, and Gabriella Giubilaro. Carolyn has studied in India with the Iyengar family five times; she has also studied at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco.

Carolyn has a bachelor’s degree in art history and painting, and remains an art enthusiast, spending some of her happiest hours looking at art. 

Carolyn was an avid cyclist who led bicycle trips around the world.  She served in the Peace Corps in Thailand, where she  was introduced to Buddhism and yoga, a “life-changing” experience. Since then, she has endeavored to study and practice the teachings of the Buddha and of B.K.S. Iyengar

With a teaching style that’s “grounded, energetic, and kind,” Carolyn advises students, “Have faith in the practice and the teachers—and yourself. The Iyengar method teaches students to be in an asana fully, with complete involvement, creating awareness that allows one, eventually, to study the mind.”

Carolyn believes it is possible to experience all of one’s life as yoga: “I try to practice when I’m walking, sleeping, looking at art. It’s about bringing the practice into daily life.”

Marcela Clavijo
Introductory

Marcela Clavijo has studied yoga since 1976 and taught since 1985. She studied in India with the Iyengar family in 2000, and counts Judy Brick Freedman, Mary Dunn, and Robin Janis, all senior instructors in the New York area, as her primary teachers.

Born in Colombia and fluent in Spanish, Marcela is an ordained Tibetan Buddhist nun, and considers her roles as daughter, sister, and aunt to be equally influential aspects of her life journey. Before deciding to focus solely on her spiritual quest, she earned a bachelor’s degree in art history and worked as a museum registrar.

Describing her classroom approach, she says, “As a teacher, I try to understand students and help them understand Iyengar's teachings. This method of practice provides much-needed focus, groundedness, and skillful application of one's own innate intelligence. It provides the experience of sobriety and joy.”

Her advice to potential students: “Practice with trust and consistency. Take time to find a method that is appropriate for you and find a teacher who is appropriate for you. Then embark on a path of learning with full confidence and dedication.”

Bobby Clennell
Intermediate Senior I

Bobby Clennell has practiced yoga since 1975 and taught since 1977. She has studied in India with the Iyengar family 15 times and considers B. K. S. Iyengar her primary teacher.

In 1991, after working in film animation in London for 20 years, she moved to New York. Incorporating her skills as an animator and illustrator, she has written and illustrated three yoga manuals: Props and Ailments, detailing the therapeutic applications of Iyengar Yoga props; Iyengar Yoga Glossary, an introduction to the unique “language” of Iyengar Yoga; and A Cosmic Body Map, a key to the Vedic gods, their location and function within the body, and their mythological significance.

Bobby is experienced in using yoga for therapeutic purposes, including fertility and prenatal needs. Her newest book, A Woman’s Yoga Practice: Poses for the Menstrual Cycle, is to be published in 2006.

“In my teaching, I try to help students restore the balance between the constant pull of the external world and our own—oftentimes neglected—individual world,” she says. “Yoga helps us operate on a quieter, less ego-driven path.”

Describing Chaturanga Dandasana as one of her more challenging poses, she says, “All of us face challenges in our individual practice. Have faith and give Iyengar Yoga a chance.”

Lindsey Clennell
Intermediate Senior III

Lindsey Clennell has studied yoga since 1970 and taught Iyengar Yoga since 1977. He has trained 16 times in India with B. K. S. Iyengar, his primary teacher, and the Iyengar family.

Originally a medical student in England, he became a documentary filmmaker and writer, producing and directing more than 200 music videos, concert series, and specials. Among his subjects were Muhammad Ali and Mikhail Gorbachev, and he was nominated for an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema by the British Film Academy.

Reflecting on one of his last film projects—which led to the release of 30 American hostages before the first Gulf War—Lindsey cites a favorite quote from Sri Aurobindo: “All life is yoga.” This concept would have been unobtainable for him without Iyengar’s teaching, which gave him the stamina to endure creative demands and stress.

Since retiring from film, in 1991, Lindsey has focused solely on Iyengar Yoga and its physical and psychological healing effects. A student of philosophy, Lindsey imparts the in-depth teachings of B. K. S. Iyengar's presentation of Patanjali's Astanga Yoga.

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