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THE INSTITUTE Faculty
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| Faculty: D to G
Yvonne De Kock Yvonne De Kock has studied Iyengar Yoga since 1991 and taught Iyengar Yoga since 1997. She has studied in India with the Iyengar family four times; her primary teacher is Mary Dunn. Yvonne's grandmother introduced her to yoga in 1976 in her homeland of South Africa. Nature is an ongoing source of inspiration in her practice and teaching. "The source and life of the universe is revealed in the flow, forms, and rhythms of Nature," she says. Yvonne sees yoga as ”a process that reveals a conscious connection between Nature and a profound Universal Principle.” She believes that “yoga is a path that enables us to have a ‘panoramic view’ of life on earth, and beyond.” Before teaching, Yvonne worked as a clinical psychologist. She is a Certified Movement Analyst (with a certificate in Laban Movement Analysis), and has a background in dance, martial arts, and numerous sporting activities. She is an enthusiastic student of Sanskrit and Ayurveda and leads the Institute's Yoga Sutras Chanting Class. She advises newcomers to yoga to be consistent over time in their commitment to class attendance, even if they start with only once a week.
Matt Dreyfus Matt Dreyfus has studied Iyengar Yoga since 1994 and taught since 1999. He has studied three times in India with the Iyengar family; his primary teacher is Mary Dunn. A double bassist, Matt has performed with the New York Philharmonic and across North America, Asia, and Europe. He draws on the experience and practice of music in his teaching of yoga. His advice to newcomers to yoga is the same he might offer newcomers to music: “Practice. Make it your own. Breathe.” Matt’s goal in his teaching is “to guide students toward an understanding of this method, so that they develop a practice and discover for themselves the richness and depth of their own lives.” His teaching style is “dynamic, integrative, and friendly.” Matt is also a practitioner of Zen Buddhism. Describing the unique character of the Iyengar method, Matt says, “Iyengar Yoga is incredibly rich. I am drawn towards the endless refinement. The more I practice, the simpler it seems, and the more I realize that I have hardly scratched the surface.”
Mary Dunn Mary Dunn began studying with B. K. S. Iyengar in 1974 and from that time she has had regular and extensive study with him and with Geeta and Prashant Iyengar. Mary is the director of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York, and was a founding director of IYNAUS and a founding member of the three Iyengar Yoga Institutes in the United States—in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. As a permanent board member of IYAGNY, she provides continuing vision and direction for the Association and the Institute. Iyengar Yoga became the place her life interests and her life work came together, drawing on her education at the University of Wisconsin in English, history, and philosophy, and her interests in communication, the arts, and music. A master teacher, Mary teaches a variety of classes, including those in the Teacher Training program. Here in New York and worldwide as well, her voice strengthens the roots and encourages the potential of the Iyengar Yoga community. Featured in American Yoga and honored by Yoga Journal as one of the most influential yoga teachers in the U.S., Mary has trained generations of teachers throughout North America. “Yoga facilitates a process for examining and shaping one’s life,” she says. “We can learn profound things about ourselves from our practice.” She examines and teaches with clarity, perspective, and humor. Her advice to new students: “Be a learner. Apply yourself completely to the moment and the process of learning.”
Kevin Gardiner Certified Iyengar yoga instructor Kevin Gardiner, a native New Yorker, began studying yoga in 1970 and has been teaching Iyengar Yoga since 1982. He has had the great good fortune to have studied twice in India with the Iyengar family for extended periods each time. He is indebted and eternally grateful for the genius and compassion of BKS Iyengar, his daughter Geeta and son Prashant whose tireless dedication to the subject is the heart of inspiration. He was a co-founder of the Iyengar Institute of Greater New York serving on it's Executive Committee and in various leadership roles continuously since it's inception. In the States Mary Dunn has been a guiding light and his primary teacher since the early 80's and he has been inspired by the teachings of Manouso Manos, Ramamand Patel, John Schumacher, Faeq Biria, Jawahar Bangera, Dean Learner, to name a few. He has held a Junior Intermediate III Teaching Certificate since 1988, and will be returning India for further study in Fall '09. Until December 2006 Kevin also had his own yoga studio in Manhattan. He then married Erika, also a certified Iyengar teacher, and relocated to Erika's home town of Budapest where they have set up a new home and are now teaching at their own studio. Over the years he has travelled extensively, teaching in North and South America, as well as many years and countless workshops in his ancestral home of Ireland. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kevin was a professional actor, director and teacher for 15 years, including seven years of touring Shakespearean productions in traditional repertory style. Along the way he also sustained a ten year practice of Tai Chi and Shaolin Kung Fu. His teaching is highly detailed and textured, seamlessly incorporating many components of yoga philosophy and the sutras, while continuously challenging students to gain greater sensitivity and awareness in each asana. He has a tremendous practical understanding of the living anatomy of the human body, and a lighthearted and off-beat sense of humor.
Anna Golfinopoulos Anna Goflinopoulos has practiced yoga since 1975 and has been teaching since 1979. She has studied in India with the Iyengar family twice. Her primary teacher is Mary Dunn. Clear communication is the fundamental component of Anna’s teaching, which she describes as “simple and exacting.” She advises potential students to “be attentive, follow instructions.” Interest is the most important quality a student can bring to the study of yoga. “At the very least, curiosity. Attentiveness. Then willingness.” The key to further progress? “Practice. It’s that simple.” In her teaching, she attempts to “attain clarity in communication” to meet her goals: “To sharpen the student’s perception, to emphasize awareness as the precursor to action, and to encourage acceptance of what is in order to meet new challenges.” Her greatest joy as a teacher comes when a student has a “realization,” demonstrating new understanding. For Anna, the unique character of the Iyengar method is its “completeness—the clarity of the teaching.” Asked how yoga has changed her life, Anna says, ”It gave me a sense of well-being that was inexplicable. And it isn’t just physical; it’s a mental well-being, too.”
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