Live Events
Iyengar® LAB is a series of live thematic seminars led by Chiara Travisi at the Iyengar Yoga Institute Milano, Italy, for experienced practitioners, teachers and mentees. Each LAB investigates the foundations of a specific family of āsanas—arm balances, forward extensions, back extensions or twists—and examines how essential actions are established, connected and progressively refined.
Through structured sequences, demonstrations, observation and experimentation, participants learn to recognise the actions that prepare more complex āsanas and explore how variations, sequencing and props can support their development. Rather than focusing simply on performing advanced poses, the LAB offers an opportunity to understand the principles that organise them and consider how these insights may inform both personal practice and teaching.
The Institute’s programme may also include contributions from guest senior teachers, bringing additional perspectives and experience to the shared learning environment.
LIVE THEMATIC SEMINARS
What lies beneath a peculiar yoga technique?
Iyengar® LAB is a series of thematic seminars with Chiara Travisi, designed for experienced practitioners, teachers and mentees. Each meeting returns to the foundations of one family of āsanas and follows their development through a structured and progressive practice.
Fundamental actions are first identified in more accessible poses and then traced across variations and increasingly complex work. Demonstrations, close observation, sequencing and the intelligent use of props help participants understand not only what to do, but how and why an action prepares the next stage of practice.
The aim is not simply to reach a final pose. It is to investigate how an āsana is organised, how actions connect across different groups of poses and how the same principles may be adapted to different bodies and levels of experience.
2026–2027 PROGRAMME
FOUNDATIONS OF ARM BALANCING
3 October 2026
Explore the actions that prepare the body for arm balancing: the organisation of the hands, wrists, arms and shoulder girdle; the relationship between mobility and stability; and the transfer of weight required to become light without losing direction or control.
FOUNDATIONS OF FORWARD EXTENSIONS
6 February 2027
Investigate how the work of the legs, pelvis and spine creates the conditions for forward extensions. The practice examines how to develop length and space without compression, and how support, sequencing and variations can transform both the physical and mental experience of these āsanas.
FOUNDATIONS OF BACK EXTENSION
20 March 2027
Study the foundations of back extension through the coordinated work of the legs, pelvis, spine, shoulders and arms. The seminar explores how to distribute extension through the body, create space and support, and progress towards more demanding back extensions without concentrating the movement in a single area.
FOUNDATIONS OF TWISTS
10 April 2027
Examine how twists are rooted in the feet, legs and pelvis and how rotational actions travel through the spine. Moving from standing foundations towards seated and more complex twists, the practice develops clarity in the relationship between stability, mobility and direction.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Each Iyengar® LAB takes place in person at Iyengar Yoga Institute Milano and is streamed live via Zoom.
Online participants follow the seminar in real time and are part of the shared learning environment through demonstrations, verbal guidance, observation and feedback.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- A structured investigation of one family of āsanas.
- Progressive sequences connecting foundational and more complex work.
- Detailed demonstrations and observation of actions.
- Exploration of how variations and props modify the pose.
- Time to refine perception, precision and discernment.
- Insights applicable to both personal practice and teaching.
WHO IT IS FOR
Iyengar® LAB is intended for experienced Iyengar® Yoga practitioners, certified teachers and mentees with an established personal practice. Other traditions teachers and experienced practitioners are welcome to join to get to know the beauty of the I Iyengar® method.
Any specific requirements, props and practical details will be provided on the page of each seminar.