Podcast
On the Light
Hosted by Susan Johnson · EN
Welcome to "On the Light," a podcast dedicated to illuminating the profound teachings and legacy of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar.
Join us as we engage in enlightening conversations, diving deep into the life's work of B.K.S. Iyengar, whose dedication and insight have touched countless lives around the world. From his innovative approach to asana practice to his profound spiritual teachings, we'll uncover the essence of Iyengar Yoga and its relevance in today's world.
This podcast also explores the auspicious subject of yoga itself, delving into its ancient roots and texts, and receiving insight from established Iyengar Yoga teachers.
Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just beginning your yoga practice, "On the Light" offers a space for learning and inspiration. Please enjoy “On the Light”.
“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.” B.K.S. Iyengar
25episodes
Episodes
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Episode 1: It Was a Silent Ritual - Prashant Iyengar
6d ago00:58:55Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome to Light on Cooking: The Iyengar Tradition. I’m your host, Susan JohnsonIn this opening conversation, Prashant Iyengar reflects on the role of food within the life and culture of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar—not simply what was eaten, but the deeper philosophy surrounding food, discipline, ritual, timing, silence, and awareness.What unfolds is far more than a discussion about meals or favorite dishes. Prashantji offers a rare glimpse into the atmosphere of the Iyengar household: food prepared by family members, meals taken in silence, eating as an offering rather than consumption, and the profound relationship between nourishment and practice.He speaks about sattvic food, the discipline of mealtimes, Guruji’s simplicity and moderation, and the understanding that yoga does not end on the mat, but extends into every aspect of daily life. The conversation moves between philosophy, culture, memory, and lived experience, revealing how even the most ordinary acts can become sacred when approached with awareness.This episode sets the tone for the series itself: an exploration not only of cooking and food traditions, but of care, consciousness, family, and the subtle ways yoga is woven into everyday living.Welcome to Light on Cooking: The Iyengar Tradition.Please consider supporting the cookbook. 🙏🏼Support the show
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Light on Cooking, The Iyengar Tradition - trailer
2w ago00:01:09Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome to Light on Cooking: The Iyengar Tradition, a companion podcast to On the Light.In this series, conversations move into the kitchen and toward the role of food within the life and teachings of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar. Through stories shared by family members, students, and long-time practitioners, we explore cooking, nourishment, daily ritual, and the ways yoga extends into all aspects of life.These conversations are not simply about recipes or meals, but about care, discipline, culture, and the lived experience of practice.This podcast will also document the unfolding process of creating the Light on Cooking cookbook project — a gathering of stories, traditions, recipes, and memories connected to the Iyengar family and lineage.I’m Susan Johnson, and I’ll be your host.Stay tuned for Episode One with Prashant Iyengar, coming next week.Thank you for listening.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 50: Our Tradition is All Inclusive - Prashant Iyengar
Mar 3001:03:55Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThis episode holds a special place for me because …it is my 50th interview! and it feels deeply appropriate that this milestone is shared with Prashant Iyengar.From the very beginning of this podcast, Prashantji has been a guiding presence. His generosity with his time, his willingness to engage in these conversations, and his continued support have made this work possible in ways I don’t take lightly. This podcast, in many respects, lives in the space he continues to illuminate.Rooted in the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar, On the Light has always been about listening more deeply—to the method, to the tradition, and to the voices that carry it forward. And Prashantji sits right at the center of that living tradition.In this summative episode on sangeet— He reminds us that while forms may evolve over time, the essence remains untouched—like the sun behind an eclipse, or a diamond beneath layers of dust.Prashant speaks to the importance of preserving the source of the tradition, even if only a very small number continue to carry that work forward. And I find myself reflecting that this podcast, in its own small way, is part of that effort—to listen, to learn, and to help keep that thread alive.It is an honor, and truly a privilege, to share this 50th conversation with him.Please enjoy this episode of On the Light.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 49: Shiva Danced, Why Shouldn’t You? - Eric Small
Mar 2301:13:48Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome to On the Light. I’m your host, Susan Johnson.In this episode I am deeply honored to be in conversation with Eric Small—a pioneering teacher of Iyengar Yoga whose work has spanned more than six decades.At 93, Eric brings a lifetime of experience shaped by direct study with Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar, as well as his groundbreaking work adapting yoga for students with multiple sclerosis. Through storytelling, reflection, and lived experience, he shares what it means to teach from the heart, to observe deeply, and to serve with humility.This conversation is both a historical record and a personal testament—offering insight into the early years of Iyengar Yoga in the West, the depth of the teacher-student relationship, and the enduring power of practice as a path of healing and self-understanding.Please enjoy this conversation with Eric Small.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 48: Immense Presence - Mary Reilly
Mar 1600:49:08Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome to On the Light. I’m your host, Susan Johnson.Today I’m joined by longtime Iyengar Yoga teacher Mary Reilly. Mary began practicing yoga in the early days of Iyengar Yoga in the United States, studying with teachers who had just returned from India after working directly with B.K.S. Iyengar. What began as a simple attempt to regain her concentration after finishing a demanding biology degree quickly became a lifelong path of practice and study.In this conversation, Mary shares what it was like to encounter Iyengar Yoga in its early years, her first trips to Pune during the intensive programs at the institute, and the profound lessons she absorbed from Guruji and Geeta Iyengar. We also talk about the art of teaching, including Mary’s memorable experience participating in the filmed teaching demonstration known as The Art of Teaching in Chicago.Along the way, Mary reflects on listening with the body, trusting the intelligence of practice, and what it means to teach from the heart rather than simply from the mind.If this episode resonates with you, I invite you to like, share, or subscribe. And if you’re able, a small monthly contribution helps sustain the continued production of this podcast.Please enjoy my conversation with Mary Reilly.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 47: Building a Community of Sangha - Jennie Williford
Mar 900:54:51Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailToday I’m joined by Jennie Williford, a longtime practitioner and teacher of Iyengar Yoga. Jennie has spent the past two decades studying, teaching, volunteering, and helping build Iyengar Yoga communities across the Midwest and beyond.In this episode, Jennie shares how she first discovered Iyengar Yoga, what drew her deeply into the method, and her experiences studying at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune. We talk about the powerful presence of Guruji and Geetaji, the teachings of Prashant Iyengar, and the importance of community and service in sustaining this living tradition.If this episode resonates with you, I invite you to like, share, or subscribe. And if you’re able, a small monthly contribution helps sustain the continued production of this podcast.Please enjoy this episode of On the Light.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 46: Practice Every Aspect - Gloria Goldberg
Mar 201:28:24Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome back to On the Light. I’m your host, Susan Johnson.Today, it is my great honor to speak with Gloria Goldberg, a longtime student and teacher of the Iyengar method, whose decades of dedicated study and service have placed her in direct contact with Guruji, Geetaji, and the Iyengar family for many many years.Gloria’s journey began in the early 1970s, when she was first drawn to yoga as a way to manage her asthma. What began as a simple, personal practice soon became a lifelong path—one that led her to study in Pune, assist in organizing conventions, help develop teacher education programs, and serve the Iyengar community with extraordinary devotion.In this conversation, Gloria shares intimate memories of her time with Guruji and Geetaji, reflections on practice as an experiential and transformative process, and the profound responsibility of preserving and transmitting this work to future generations.If this episode resonates with you, I invite you to like, share, or subscribe. And if you’re able, a small monthly contribution helps sustain the continued production of this podcast.Please enjoy this episode of On the Light.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 45: Sangeet part 4 -Life is a Spontaneous Drama - Prashant Iyengar
Feb 1601:06:54Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome back to On the Light. I’m your host, Susan Johnson.In today’s episode, I’m grateful, as always, to sit down with Prashant Iyengar for another conversation that takes us deeper into the subject of Sangeet.Prashant begins by explaining that Sangeet arises from the Natya Shastra — the ancient Indian treatise on dramaturgy and the performing arts, a text that explores music, dance, theatre, rasa, and the inner mechanics of expression itself.From there, he leads us into a profound reflection: that life itself is a kind of drama.We are not the roles we play.Father, mother, friend, student — these are enactments.Costumes. Movements within a larger unfolding.And the Self, he reminds us, is beyond all of it.If you enjoy On the Light, please consider liking, sharing, or subscribing. And if you’re able, a small monthly donation helps support the continued production of this podcast.Please enjoy this episode of On the Light.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 44: There Is So Much To Open Your Heart To Learn - Devki Desai
Feb 900:47:49Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome back to On the Light. I’m your host, Susan Johnson. Today I’m joined by Devki Desai.Devki’s journey with Iyengar Yoga began in Mumbai in the mid-1980s, when her father first brought her to class as a teenager. What began with some resistance soon became a lifelong path, shaped by early study with senior teachers and, soon after, direct exposure to B.K.S. Iyengar himself. Over the years, Devki’s life became deeply interwoven with the Institute in Pune—through practice, teaching, family, and seva.In this conversation, Devki shares intimate stories of being guided and trained by Guruji, Geetaji, and Prashantji —three influences she never separates, but experiences as a woven whole. She reflects on learning to teach through direct instruction, observation, and responsibility; on being “thrown into” classes as a form of training; and on the grace that carried her through those formative years.She also speaks movingly about pranayama, motherhood, devotion, and the subtle ways yoga shapes a life over time.This is a conversation rich with memory, lineage, and lived experience, and I’m so grateful to share it with you.If you enjoy On the Light, please consider liking, sharing, or subscribing. And if you’re able, a small monthly donation helps support the continued production of this podcast.Please enjoy this episode of On the Light.Support the show
Transcribe →Episode 43: Sangeet part 3 - Bhartiya Sangeet is a Gateway to the Heavens - Prashant Iyengar
Feb 201:02:01Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWelcome back to On the Light. I’m your host, Susan Johnson. Today I’m honored as always to speak with Prashant Iyengar.In this episode, Prashant offers a rich historical lens on yoga, he further discusses the origins of Sangeet, where he speaks to sound not as performance, but as a spiritual practice deeply woven into nature, ritual, and self realization. In this episode he also shares some family history, including a very special story of the time he went to visit the Krishna temple with Guruji and his mother.If you enjoy On the Light, please consider liking, sharing, or subscribing. And if you’re able, a small monthly donation helps support the continued production of this podcast.Please enjoy this episode of On the Light.Support the show
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