Located in central Canberra, Yoga Mandir was established by Alan Goode in January 2005. Reflecting the growth and development of its programs, Yoga Mandir became an Institute in 2011 with the blessing of BKS Iyengar.
The Institute has established learning pathways for students of Yoga who have different levels of experience. The ongoing review and development of Institute programs is supported through teacher access to a well established research library and ongoing research work. The Institute also contributes significantly to the teacher assessment and strategic planning activities of Iyengar Yoga Australia.
Alan has trained all of the teachers in the school and has ongoing responsibility for all of the programs and projects undertaken within the Institute. The Institute has evolved through the commitment and dedication of its teachers and students and especially those students who on the journey to becoming teachers also established and held/hold portfolios of responsibility around office management, training administration and research. This continues to be a theme of the Institute where a student’s own growing commitment to the practice of Yoga, and their interest in sharing it with others, leads them to take on one of the paid positions as staff.
The Institute has the icon of the Ashok chakra to represent its work. This symbol dates back to Buddhism and was used by Gandhi in his quest for freedom for India. For the Institute this icon represents the wheel of life: the hub at the centre stands for practice; the 24 spokes depict time. We learn from practice to understand ourselves ‘at a point in time’ and to let go of definitions of ourselves based on past memories or thoughts of the future.
