Retrospective of Silva Mehta 1926 Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia on 2nd February 1939 Came to England 1945 Scholarship to Oxford University to study French and German 1951 Married Batuk Mehta 1951 Fractured her spine 1953 Went to India 1957 Met BKS Iyengar and started doing Yoga 1960 Returned to England and started teaching Yoga 1970 Started training teachers for the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) 1983 Helped found the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Maida Vale, London 1991 Publication of bestseller book ‘Yoga: The Iyengar Way’ 1994 Departed this life, on 26th September

Silva Mehta played a crucial role in the promotion of Yoga throughout the world. Back in 1960 when she started teaching Yoga in England, Yoga was almost unknown in the West. Even in India it was not practised systematically. The worldwide movement started in London because of Mr Iyengar’s visits and then through Silva’s training of hundreds of teachers for the Government sponsored Inner London Education Authority. Iyengar Yoga spread like wildfire in London and then in numerous local education authority classes across the country. A bandwagon started and soon many other Yoga groups began to use the Iyengar style postures. At the same time ‘Iyengar’ Yoga started up in other Western countries and again other Yoga groups soon followed suit. This development was followed some time later in India itself. Yoga became a worldwide movement, followed by tens of millions. There is another reason for this feature too. Silva was an example for all Yoga teachers to follow. In the Bhagavad Gita, three generic systems of Yoga are described: jnaana Yoga (the Yoga of knowledge), karma Yoga (the Yoga of action) and bhakti Yoga (the Yoga of love and devotion). Silva was an exponent of all three Yogas. She studied hard all her life, she was always working to help her students, and she inspired all by her love for her students and her Guru (Mr Iyengar).

In this retrospective we include an article entitled Reminiscences by Silva Mehta, written some months before she died, an article by her son Shyam, a poem by her daughter Mira, and recollections by some of her students and friends.

Reminiscences by Silva Mehta I had a fractured spine and was in tremendous pain. Doctors, surgeons, naturopaths and osteopaths had told me that there was very little hope for me and that whatever I do dieting, exercise, taking medicine - nothing would help me and I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 50. Two or three years after I broke my spine in an accident, I developed osteoarthritis, a crippling disease for which there was no known cure. I was living in India at the time and a surgeon suggested urgently that I have an immediate operation to fuse some of my vertebrae. The idea scared me and I rushed to a wise and well-known naturopath who said to me:- "There is only one thing for your arthritis - Yoga and Mr Iyengar." I knew very little about Yoga. A friend had tried to 'drag' me to a class but I refused, thinking it was an outlandish thing to do. I had heard of B.K.S. Iyengar, as he had recently been in the news as the Guru of Yehudi Menuhin. Indeed, when the World Vegetarian Congress was held in Bombay in November 1957 I attended many functions but missed a lecture demonstration by Iyengar, not being sufficiently interested. Within three weeks I was in his class and attended them ever since, whenever the opportunity presented itself and so did my children. In India there is a saying, “when the chela (pupil) is ready, the Guru (spiritual teacher) appears.” We must have been ready. I was aware of immense kindness. My first memory is of thinking 'here is a man one can trust'. Recollecting those early days, I am struck by my naivete, 'Mr. Iyengar, can you give me some exercises to help my back', thinking my pain would be cured within two or three weeks when it had been a pain of many years' standing. I remember, after starting Yoga, the periodic almost miraculous lifting of pain giving rise to excitement and euphoria, which was a change from the depressions caused by my delicate spine and physical agony. My children came with me to those classes, sometimes playing at doing the postures, sometimes playing with their toys. In this way I completed my first two years of Yoga under Mr Iyengar's tutelage in India, attending two classes a week which became the highlight of my life. On a Saturday afternoon after class a few of us students would meet at a friend's for a meal and Mr Iyengar would tell us stories from Indian classics while we practised our padmasana and virasana sitting on the floor or on a bed. If there was a good programme on in the evening, such as a recital by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, a dance recital by Balasaraswat or a lecture by S Krishnamurti, we would all go and enjoy ourselves together. Those were very companionable times.

When our time came to leave India, in January 1960, I felt we ought to have an Institute in London dedicated to the teaching of 'Iyengar Yoga'. I felt Yoga was important and that it could help many people as it had helped me. However, it was not till many years later, in July 1983 that we got our first Institute building in Maida Vale, partly with the help of my friend Genie Hammond, and with the support of my children and my many friends and pupils. Silvia Prescott and I had looked for a suitable place for many years, and finally Guri Brett found our dream building in an ideal location. We were very lucky, therefore, to have a place entirely devoted to Yoga and to have the support of our Guru. Before the Institute we spent several years introducing Yoga in the ILEA and in LEA's throughout the country. That was a significant and exciting era in the history of our Iyengar movement. Some names deserve mention in having put all their efforts into the spreading of Mr Iyengar's work in this country and elsewhere. Angela Marris, who spent many years in arranging his visits to England and planning classes, Beatrice Harthan, the first chairman of our group who made his work known to influential members of English society and who was connected with the publication of 'Light on Yoga' and 'Light on Pranayama'. Beatrice has received an M.B.E. for her social work with the Lord Mayor's Prisoners' Aid Fund. Diana Clifton propagated his work in America. Penny Nield-Smith was responsible for teaching his method of Yoga in British Universities. Eilean Pearcey did a series of illustrations of Yoga postures which appeared on the jacket of the first edition of 'Light on Yoga'. I was responsible for training I.L.E.A. (Inner London Education Authority) and L.E.A. (Local Education Authority) Yoga teachers at the first Yoga Teachers' Training Course at the College of P.E. from 1970 to 1978. This served the whole of the I.L.E.A., the Home Counties and outlying areas. This was a pilot scheme and a tremendous venture. A few words about Yoga are in order. When BKS Iyengar’s method was introduced in the ILEA, I felt our Guru taught us the philosophy of movement. This means to think, be aware of and analyse each movement of the asanas – in other words, he taught us discriminative discernment or buddhi relating to the performance and teaching of the asanas. His own term for this is ‘meditation in action’ – being absorbed in the action while it is being performed. This absorption translates itself into everyday life. Although a dry philosophy according to his view, yet his method has led to greatly improved health and stamina within education authorities throughout the country. The implications of the postures reach into many spheres, from physical to mental and spiritual. Without health, little can be done. It is hoped that the beneficial effects of Yoga will continue to build better, stronger and healthier people in the generations to come. From 1961 to 1973 B.K.S. Iyengar visited England regularly to teach Yoga to his enthusiastic pupils. A few rarely missed a class – those mentioned above and my children. I did feel it was vital for my son and daughter to attend classes with Mr Iyengar when he was here and I am glad to say both take an interest in Yoga and both teach. In this house it is not easy to get away from Yoga.

In 1975, after his wife's death, Mr Iyengar got an Institute in Pune and we travel regularly to Pune to improve our practice and enlarge our knowledge, sometimes leading/taking groups or a few friends and sometimes going alone. One aspect of Mr Iyengar’s work should be mentioned and that is his vast experience of teaching or treating people with medical problems. Many people like myself have been helped by him to lead a normal life when this seemed an impossibility. In my case Yoga has not only helped me to improve my physical health, but it has given me a new outlook and a new optimism that life is interesting and worthwhile. Far from being in a wheel chair as predicted, I can help others improve or surmount their physical problems. Teaching Yoga is one of the most rewarding and satisfying occupations since it has a twofold benefit, on oneself and on one's pupils. Teaching Yoga can also be taxing, since we seem to take on ourselves the ills of the world, but our Yoga practice overcomes these difficulties or at least helps us to cope with them. Silva Mehta wrote these recollections a few months before she died.

Silva Mehta: Yoga Teacher Extraordinaire by Shyam Mehta Silva Mehta was one of the key founding figures of the now worldwide Yoga movement and inspired thousands to do and teach Yoga. In this short article I write to explain why her influence is still relevant today. Silva was born in 1926 in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). She had a Jewish mother and German father. Her parents ran the Save the Children Fund in Prague (the headquarters was in their flat) and she was brought up as a pacifist, idealist and vegetarian. At the age of 13 she was sent to England to escape the Nazi onslaught. Although knowing no English when she arrived she soon excelled at English (with perfect diction and a huge command of the written word), and at languages. She obtained a scholarship to Oxford University to study French and German; once there she also immersed herself in music and sang in choirs. There she met her future husband. She went to India in the early 1950’s. In 1951, Silva slipped and suffered severe fractures of her spine. The doctors proclaimed that she would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. A friend in Bombay (now Mumbai) said her only hope was to go and study Yoga with BKS Iyengar. She did, thinking that after a few weeks she would have learnt all she needed to and would move on. She never looked back and led an active, if painful, life. She never needed that wheelchair. For the next 40 years, until her death in 1994, she studied and studied and studied. She learnt all there was to know about the intricacies of Yoga asanas and pranayama, the sequencing needs, how to teach Yoga safely, the therapeutic aspects of Yoga. She believed in Yoga completely. She was an example to Yoga students and teachers worldwide in the dedication needed to learn Yoga thoroughly. In 1960, she came back to England. At that time in England, Yoga was almost unknown. BKS Iyengar started to come to the West in 1957, one of the first yogis of India to do so. In those days there were no books containing methods of doing Yoga asanas, or even lists of asanas. Gradually, as the Iyengar method took hold in England from 1960, people started copying

the ‘Iyengar’ postures, to the extent that today most Yoga schools incorporate some ‘Iyengar’ Yoga asanas and pranayamas in their practice. Once the Iyengar method of Yoga took hold in England it gradually spread in other countries. From 1960 my mother started to teach Yoga. She was a completely dedicated teacher. Her students came first, before her own life. She loved her students. She would travel long distances by bus on cold winter days and nights, often waiting for an hour or more at a bus stop to reach her class in time. Whether her students were deeply interested or not had no significance to her: it was her duty to teach. Besides being an example to others in terms of dedication, it is what she taught, how she taught that is crucially important. She knew what to teach, when to teach, how to teach. Students of hers were so thoroughly trained in Yoga asanas that thirty years later they would still outshine newer students who lacked the thoroughness of her teaching methods. In the 1970s she ran the first Government-sponsored Yoga Teacher Training course in London (for the Inner London Education Authority) and developed disciplined and structured teaching methods which have been passed on to generations of teachers. She taught hundreds of teachers how to teach and they in turn have taught hundreds or thousands of students each. This was a major reason why Yoga practice took hold to such an extent in the UK. My mother and sister wrote Yoga: the Iyengar Way which has become an international best seller, and still today is a standard on how a Yoga book should be written. My mother wrote the draft of the techniques all in one go, on one air flight to India. She knew what methods to teach, which postures came first, which next and so on, like the back of her hand. An astonishing thing happened as a result of this book. The Government of India Postal Service held a competition for the best yoga artwork. An unknown person sent in Yoga: the Iyengar Way to this competition and it won. The result was that photos of Silva’s children Shyam and Mira were printed on four Indian stamps: the 2.00, 5.00, 6.50 and 10.00 Rupee stamps for 1991. Millions of these circulated all over the world. She has inspired Shyam and Mira to continue her work. From 1956 until her death in 1994, she was a devoted disciple of Mr Iyengar. Her sole focus was on promoting Mr Iyengar’s name and fame and work. She loved him platonically with all her heart. In everything she did she thought of what he wanted. He was her Guru and in her life that was all that mattered. She taught a class the night before she died peacefully in her sleep.

A poem by Mira Mehta OH, MOTHER! What dark threads did you choose, my Mother, To weave on the loom of your life,

For you loved gold and silver, my Mother, And I remember your singing and laughter. I remember your courage, my Mother, For you were always in pain; And I remember your fear. You never swerved from the straight, my Mother, Though you struggled on a stony road. What was the cost of your choices, my Mother? You kept silent and never complained. No stranger to hardship and sorrow, my Mother, You were forbearing, gentle, Gifted and witty and strong. You were loved by your students, my Mother, For you taught with brilliance and care; You had deep understanding, my Mother, High ideals and unselfish ways. People trusted you with their problems, my Mother, Knew you would hear them and give Advice or comfort or aid. You held fast to your faith, my Mother, Through a life that tested your all; You left this gift with your tapestry, my Mother, Which of all things you valued the most. Against the dark now the gold glisters, my Mother, And the silver is sparkling; May you now rest in peace.

Recollections by friends and students by B.K.S. Iyengar Silva Mehta was attending my weekend classes in Mumbai since 1955. While in India, she had lots of emotional problems in family matters. Yet, she never missed a class on weekends. Her regular practice not only in the class but with Martha Wart in Berger a Russian Lady who also was my student since I started weekend classes in Mumbai in 1954, made her to grasp the subject in quick succession. Silva not only benefited through yoga but made up her mind to teach in the western countries as she was planning to settle soon there. She was only the known student of mine from India. So in 1960 when I was invited to London by Yehudi Menuhin, I wrote her that I am visiting UK, Switzerland and France and

intimated her of my arrival. She came to the airport with some of her students to receive me. As I was teaching her since 1956 and guided her in the art of teaching and healing, I wanted her to help me in public classes that were started by Asian Music Circle. She also came to Switzerland where I was teaching celebrities and local people. She became my senior most teacher in UK. As she had good grasping power she started picking up well and made her to continue the classes which I started in UK. She was soon accepted as a good reliable teacher by all. As she was so much involved in yoga, she became the first yoga teacher to train P.T. instructors of the I.L.E.A, who were all absorbed as yoga teachers when the subject was introduced in the I.L.E.A as well as greater I.L.E.A. She could understand my yogic expression not only accurately but better than me quickly to convey to her students. She developed so much interest in arranging classes and lecture cum demonstrations from 1968 onwards, which helped to raise finance to start an IYENGAR YOGA INSTITUTE in Maida Vale where she was in-charge of it till her last breath. She was a great soul, dedicated her entire life to yoga and when God called her we lost a great good, honest, sincere yogini and a philosopher and guide to many in UK. by J. M. Irwin. Silva Mehta lived a life of passionate dedication and purpose, promoting yoga the Iyengar way, her yoga teacher being Shri B K S Iyengar ( Pune, India ) I met Silva in Bombay,(now Mumbai ), in 1956, and her children, Shyam and Mira, on an introductory letter from a friend in London. It was a privilege to get to know this extraordinary woman of many talents, over 38 years of deep friendship between us. She had friends in artistic and musical fields, prior to coming to Iyengar yoga in 1956, and she introduced me to him in those early classes of his in Bombay, held in the open air on a rooftop of a residence. Shri Iyengar would be dealing with one student's asanas, but knew what everyone else in the class was doing at the same time. You would hear that firm, clear voice reaching out to you at the other end of the class, correcting you and others; he was a teacher of great calibre. B K S Iyengar was the yoga teacher of Yehudi Menuhin, the renowned violinist, who lived in Europe, and when Silva returned to England, and to London, she organised the London group, which she promoted for him on his regular trips to Europe, including the U. K. One time, Jacqueline du Pre, the English cellist attended his yoga tution in London, in her younger years. On my regular visits from working and living abroad, I would join her in her classes, with her children, and others. Shyam and Mira became very proficient as yoga teachers, and as well both grew up to become professional writers. Silva was a humanitarian in many ways; she cared for people, even looking after a sick friend's home and garden in the West country for a while, as I can recall. She would see a need and fill it. A kaleidescope of memories come to mind:- Silva, at the point of publication of her book, Yoga: the Iyengar Way, calm and steady under pressure; Silva, resplendent and organised at her son's wedding in 1982; Silva at the start of her yoga courses at ILEA, proceeding patiently and with constant persistence (and using public transport to get to nighttime classes); Silva, in measured tones, gave a gentle but firm leading to all her

students in their class asanas; Silva, dignified and poised at the opening of the building in London, dedicated to Shri Iyengar. She had the gift of listening to people. As a subject was expounded, at the end you would wait to hear, as others did too, her signature phrase " I See ", and she always did see and understand you. Her empathy with people was unique. She served Shri Iyengar and his teaching with dedication and distinction. with constancy throughout her life, cut short in 1994, at the age of 68 years. Her life was a blessing to all who knew her; she brought a gentle, compassionate touch and a loving peaceful aura to all our lives. Her life was an example of how a peaceful, humanitarian can live with vision, dignity and humility, in a life of service in the wider world. by Sasha Perryman I was first introduced to Silva, aged 16 yrs, when I was taken up to her Iyengar Yoga Teachers Training class at Baker Street, London. Yogacharya BKS Iyengar had appointed her as the first Trainer of teachers in his method in London. As the youngest member of the class, Silva ‘took me under her wing’ and became a strong influence in my life. She was a devout follower of her Guru and had complete and utter faith that to follow the yogic path – a vast subject of science, art and philosophy would eventually lead to the solution of all one’s problems. She taught and advised with wisdom and compassion and encouraged a practise of integrity – not to look for the fruits of ones labour as all would be realised with sustained and devoted practise. She gave her whole heart and soul to this subject. I remember the awesome quality she had of gazing at you intently, looking deeply to see your inner state: standing in front of me in class with unwavering eyes. She had strong charisma and you never quite knew how she would respond. Long silences would break up her words, giving them effect and meaning, often full of humour and with a depth that made you think. Not straight forward answers – but philosophical ones. I remember in India, when she took a group of us the opening ceremony of the RIMYI in 1975, someone asked ‘should we wash the fruit & vegetables before pealing them Silva’ there was the usual thoughtful silence, finally broken by ‘you don’t need to wash the bananas’ Her teaching style created a soul searching atmosphere. Her words were sparse but whatever she did say was profound and got deep into your consciousness. Body and mind linked. She was religiously loyal to her Guru. I’m sure nothing would have been ‘too much’ for her in coming to his assistance. She was always impressing on all of us, how wonderful he was, and how all we had to do was ‘follow’ and our path would be assured. She believed in him without any doubts whatsoever. She taught from the heart and had no interest in financial gain. One of her maxims, I remember: ‘All of us have dualities, the tall order is to be your better self’

by Maxine Tobias. I first met Silva Mehta in 1979. I was attending a Summer Course with BKS Iyengar. Upon first meeting Silva, she could be a little intimidating as she tended to look through you, as though she was reading your soul, which is probably the truth. She was an intelligent and somewhat eccentric person, one of the many reasons for my liking her. I remember on one occasion, a leisure outings to a cinema with Mr Iyengar, she could not find her sandals (she only ever wore sandals even in the bitterest of Winters) so she just went barefoot. I joined the teacher training programme that she ran for the Inner London Education Authority and became friends as upon knowing her she was delightfully humorous, generous and kind. Her cooking was something to be experienced; the finest Indian cuisine that I have ever tasted. Sadly, she died too young and she is still missed. by Dorothy Robinson I heard about Silva about four years before I met her. I was taken to the teacher-training class at the College of PE. I was very apprehensive as I had heard so much about her. I was pleasantly surprised when I met this warm motherly lady with a warm smile and twinkling eyes. I remember saying to my friend “she’s not scary at all”. We started the class, the biggest I have ever been to, and I tried to find a small corner space but was taken to the front by Silva so she could see me better. And as a 5 ft 9in black woman I was very conspicuous. The class was wonderful, she helped me throughout. I was able to stand on my head in the middle of the room for the first time. At the end of the class my friend and I asked Silva how I got on. She said “I have seen worse”. I attended class with Silva from then on and there were lots of firsts. I went on my first trip to India with Silva. I was given my first yoga class to teach by Silva. I was introduced to the Iyengar family by Silva. Whenever I had any problem I would discuss it with Silva. She had a unique way of answering questions. She managed to get you to answer every problem, that you thought was impossible, all by yourself. That method helped me when I was doing my teachers training. I still teach the way Silva taught me after all these years. Not only did she help me in my yoga life but also in my personal and family life. With one personal problem, I asked Silva what I should do. She said use your yoga to complement your life and not to complicate it. I have passed that message onto my students ever since. I have fond memories of Silva, I love her and always will. by Sallie Sullivan Silva made a deep impression on me as a newly qualified teacher when I first went to her teachers’ class. She was the first yoga teacher I had who listened to your voice rather than just the words you spoke. For her it revealed much about the tension you were holding in the throat and brain. And when she felt my tight shoulder muscles, she gave me advice for postures I should practise. She told me ‘you have come to yoga just in time’. Later, when I was more qualified, I assisted her in the medical class and was constantly amazed by the way she could ‘read’ people through their demeanour and expression. She might give two people with similar conditions a substantially different programme of asanas. For example when there were two pregnant women at roughly the same stage, one might be given more vigorous poses such as standing asanas, while the other was given only

restful poses. There was never, ever a question of just applying a yoga ‘recipe’ for a problem and she drew on a vast amount of experience in the therapeutic applications of yoga. She was renowned for her skill as a trainer of teachers. She could be fierce and quite scary, but taught with immense love and care for her trainees and with care for their future students. We still owe her a tremendous amount for the programmes she devised, and for the way she allowed trainees to teach and develop, unpicking their teaching method by questioning them and rest of the group. She rarely just gave the answer, but dug it out of the trainees by a somewhat Socratic approach. I don’t think you can easily forget what you learn in that way. I shall not forget her as long as I am able to practise and teach. by Sissi Gill I had my first ever yoga class with Silva Mehta in a draughty school hall in the autumn of 1979. I did not know what to expect either from yoga or the teacher but I remember being intrigued by her appearance and teaching. Although neither young nor in particularly good health at that time, Silva managed to convey fully the dignity, beauty and serenity of her art. Because yoga in her hands was an art rather than exercise and it has taken me 30 years to try and absorb the lesson she taught me on that first evening. So how did she do it? Not by demonstration as such although she valiantly demonstrated the poses as one does in a beginners’ class. For one thing, Silva’s use of language and choice of words were always very precise and her voice was calm and modulated. This instantly put students at ease, despite the slightly frightening eyes that missed nothing. She was compassionate and supportive when it was required and also had a lovely sense of humour “your ankles look rather distressed….”At the end of the term, we would all get together at Marine Ices to bond but also to be tapped for coins for the Yoga Institute which existed only in Silva’s head. Above all, Silva succeeded in passing on to her students the sense of her dedication to her Guru and to his art and her total commitment to the cause of Iyengar Yoga in the UK. For this alone she must be remembered and celebrated by all of us who were lucky to be her students. by Nigel Treloar, Townsville, Australia I first met Silva in her role as a Senior Iyengar teacher at the Iyengar Institute in Maida Vale, London in 1984. My first impressions were a bit daunting especially as I had no idea what to expect at that time, but I quickly realised she was a passionate and dedicated teacher with a wide depth of experiences and knowledge. I quickly signed up for many classes at the Iyengar Institute and attended regularly for the next two years before departing permanently to live in Australia. During this time my appreciation of Silva grew enormously and in many ways I felt a reciprocated care which was completely Yogic and unequivocally motherly. I never discussed the latter with her, but her interests and concern for my progress was not limited to just Yoga poses but in subtle and strong ways she looked towards my whole well-being, and it touched me greatly. In all the classes I attended, Silva was very appreciative of students that tried their best and worked regularly to achieve success in Yoga. She had come to Yoga herself through personal

injury and knew so well the value it offers. Being so committed and determined to overcome her own spinal injuries surfaced in her enthusiasm to teach others correctly and with great reverence for her teacher Mr Iyengar and Yoga in general. She was able and willing to teach students poses she herself could not practice, due to her own spinal condition, yet you always felt you were guided by someone with great clarity and knowledge. Free standing headstand was just one good example of a pose I learnt with her during this time. I loved her classes and her very dry wit. They could make you laugh at times, yet the focus was never lost. They were always challenging and never left you disappointed. She would encourage everyone to reach that edge, where true understanding of the pose and yoga philosophy combined. Her enthusiasm for Yoga was shared with her two children, Shyam and Mira, and as a family they were a wonderful teaching and learning platform for a beginner student like myself. Every life benefits from those magical moments when you feel close to the stars. Silva was a person able to lift my spirits to the stars and I have always wished her and her family well. by Vicky Alamos & Jose Maria Vigar We met Silva in 1990 in London and since then until the moment she passed away, we had the privilege of her being our mentor in the art, science and philosophy of Iyengar Yoga. Silva having been through the vicissitudes of the Second World War knew how to help two pupils who came from a dictatorial educational system in Spain, so that they could approach Yoga since a perspective where the intelligence went beyond the fanaticism, and the discipline was the right order to live a human life instead of militarism. She gave us roots to consolidate our practice and wings to fly, a feeling we had never experienced in our academic life. Silva taught us that Yoga without ethics is not humane, that its practice is the discipline of action and that the skillfulness and purity of these actions can transform the course of our lives. We also learnt from her that talent is a long life discipline together with patience. We will never forget her hospitality and affection welcoming us to her home during the period of our training, her generosity in her direct transmission of the teaching and those long philosophical discussions she enjoyed having with us and opened a path to our understanding of the classical texts. Nevertheless she had in her mind that her aim was to take us to the feet of the Guru. And it was fulfilled, going with her for the first time in our lives to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India, to receive lessons with the incomparable B.K.S Iyengar. Iyengar Yoga Sadhana in Malaga, Spain, was opened in 1992 and formally dedicated to Yogacharya Sri B.K.S Iyengar, in his presence, in 1996. Though Silva was a pillar in this project she could not visit it due to circumstances. But her inspiration is here and the library of the school houses the books she donated. Missing her was irreparable but as Silva and we, as yoga practitioners, know:

“The unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to be, the reality of both has thus been perceived by the seer of the truth.” Bhagavad G1t2 (II – 16) We would like, as her pupils, that she still would be among us. It is good to have people like her next to us, loving us and inspiring us and above all passed on us her faith when we doubted. by Bertha Shakinovsky Silva was a remarkable and inspirational woman. She contributed significantly to Yoga in the UK. On a personal level, I learnt so much from her. I first met Silva at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Maida Vale having recently emigrated from South Africa in 1984. From the outset she took me under her wing. She noticed I was struggling with the cold and, giving of herself as was her way, she hopped on a bus with me from the Institute down Edgware Road to M & S to purchase thermal underwear – I never took them off for the rest of the winter. She taught me to keep my body warm. In her maternal and caring way, Silva helped me to address some of the anxieties I faced with immigrating to a new country. She helped me to settle by encouraging me to slow down in my practice, not to rush between poses and to learn to pause between the various stages of an asana. This enabled me to become more mindful and immersed in my practice, and in turn, more settled in my life. I was teaching yoga classes and helping with the administration of the Institute. Silva and I spent hours chatting between classes. We sat in the sunny kitchen at the Institute with the bright yellow- painted door. We drank tea and snacked on her favourite chocolate and enjoyed a good few laughs. She was very funny and quite mischievous at times. When I became pregnant with my first child, I started to tire and feel exhausted. Silva guided me through my yoga practice at this time and encouraged me to practice more restorative asanas. She taught me to rest. As a result, I felt more energised and confident throughout my second pregnancy and after the birth of my second child. As a result of Silva’s knowledge and expertise in the field of remedial yoga, the number of students in her remedial class increased. She asked if I would assist her in these classes and I was delighted to accept. Over the years I observed Silva working with her students, helping and encouraging them. I was inspired by her knowledge, her compassion and her generosity. I learnt much and developed a keen interest in remedial work. I was practicing quietly on my own at the Institute and remember being in Sarvangasana when I heard the sad news that Silva had passed away. Her passing was a great loss to Yoga and me personally. I will always appreciate her keen insight and the valuable lessons that I learned. Bertha is a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher who lives and teaches yoga in Sydney, Australia. She is currently the President of the BKS Iyengar Yoga Association of Australia.

by Jenny Deadman Silva Mehta was a very excellent teacher who appeared in my life at just the right time. I had already studied and practiced Iyengar yoga with a student of Mr Iyengar's, Helena Thomas, for a few years in Brighton and from the very first had been absorbed by the practice. Later I made a three months pilgrimage trip to North India and on my return felt very clear that I wanted to go further into my yoga. It was then that I heard about and joined Silva's weekly ILEA [Inner London Education Authority] class in Baker Street, London. I was in the beginners' row of an enormous gymnasium where I felt both very honoured to be a part and very at much home as well. Some very advanced and inspiring students were in the class and Sylvia Prescott was assisting Silva in her teaching. There was a wonderful quality to Silva's voice which I was attentively, instinctively drawn to, it was so full of truth and the very sound was melodious and nourishing. She was always calm, always dignified, often somewhat dry and always went straight to the point. After some time of regular attendance and of course daily practice, it was Silva who told me about the group which Jean Maslen was taking to Pune and I was able to join them at Mr Iyengar's Institute for an month long intensive in January 1977. I am very fortunate to have been told personally about this planned intensive in Pune, and I believe it was one of the first, as the institute was very new. Of course it was an experience of inestimable value. On my return I resumed my studies with Silva and gained my teaching certificate later in 1977. Under Silva's watchful eyes I always felt in safe hands and felt no fear. I was required to prove my teaching ability by teaching in front of the whole group, and had by then demonstrated my dedication to the art, and perhaps a sufficient degree of right understanding of the discipline. All this Silva nourished in me. I am so very grateful to Silva for her example, her delightful presence and her encouragement.