Hatha Yoga Method
The Haį¹ha Yoga Method (HYM) is a potent integration of yoga, meditation, mindfulness and yogic living. It is the synthesis of a combined 60 years yogic study, practice and teaching experience developed by Mandy BeckerKnox and Robert Becker who have enduring links with modern yogic masters and mystics, and skilfully balance the traditional with a modern approach to practicing and teaching yogic asana, pranayama and meditation safely and effectively.
The Hatha Yoga Method combines the best of the wisdom traditions of yoga with modern mindfulness, yogic psychology, Ayurveda, yogic diet, connection to nature, and asana biomechanics. Combined this is powerfully transformative and healing on every level, and translates into practical, accessible classes which are empowering and uplifting.
The Hatha Yoga Method classes and courses incorporate traditional, esoteric and practical, modern approaches to help you become a wellrounded, joyful practitioner of yoga and meditation, a master of your mind and emotions, and perhaps to go on to teach and share with a diverse audience with integrity, intelligence and ease.
Ancient Connections
Yoga is ancient, perhaps dating back to 500 BCE or earlier and has evolved in India over the millennia incorporating the wisdom of the Vedas, Upanishads, and the many great sages, saints, texts and traditions which arose during this period and have endured. The teachings and underlying wisdom are timeless and provide much insight into ourselves, our lives and the world. āØ HYM is informed by the darshanas (fields of knowledge) which inform modern Hatha Yoga including: Hatha, Raja, Nada, Bhakti, Jnana and Karma Yogas, Sankhya, Tantra, Vedanta, Hindu & Buddhist Mythology, and Ayurveda. While modern yoga seeks to reoinvent itself, HYM acknowledges the wonderful saints, sages and seers who have come before us who opened their minds and hearts to receive the knowledge of the human self and to impart it with such generosity and clarity.
Modern Mystics
The most influential of modern yogis are Krishnamacharya in the south of India and Swami Sivananda in the north. The world's most well known and renowned recent teachers were educated by these great masters directly or within their lineages, and have gone on to influence how yoga is practiced and taught around the world. A.G. Mohan and Indra Mohan were students and disciples of Krishnamacharya for the last 18 years of his life. A.G. Mohan is a living lineage holder of this great tradition, and together with his wife Indra Mohan teach in Chennai and around the world. Robert and Mandy are both trained and certified to teach the Mohans' Hatha Yoga of Krishnamacharya. They continue to study and work closely with the Mohans. The wisdom of the Mohans infuses much of what is taught and shared through HYM yoga programs Mandy and Robert have also had a lifelong immersion in the yoga of Sivananda, and have been affilitiated with the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh for decades. Robert is a disciple of Swami Venkatesananda who was a remarkable scholar and student of Sivananda. Both Robert and Mandy have spent much time in the ashrams or centres associated with both lineages in India, and at the ashrams of other realised saints such as Anandamayi Ma, Ramana Maharshi and Somanatha Maharshi.
Yoga Vidya
An authentic yogic education takes a lifetime. This course is a foundation for a life of learning, self-enquiry, embodiment, evolving and becoming. Hatha is often translated as meaning as “sun” and the “moon.” This refers to the balance of forces within all of us. Haį¹ha Yoga can be considered a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. VidyÄ is to truly know, to perceive correctly, it is the wisdom and clarity gained through higher education. VidyÄ is also a name of Saraswati the river goddess who is associated with learning, wisdom, music and the arts, and also known as the mother of the Holy Vedas. HathaVidyÄ is the highest and brightest of yogic education, and is what we aim to provide through the Hatha Yoga Method programs and trainings. Whether your intention is to become a yoga teacher, deepen your own practice, or integrate practical yogic tools and techniques into your daily or professional life there are HYM programs for you to inspire an understanding and experience of Hatha Yoga. You don’t need to be ‘good’ at yoga or an advanced practitioner to participate in any of the HYM programs which are designed to be accessible to all genuine seekers.
