Patricia Walden is a classical Iyengar yoga teacher who has studied regularly with B.K.S. Iyengar for over 25 years. She was cited by Yoga Journal as one of the “25 American Yoga Originals who are shaping yoga today.” She was featured in Time magazine for her work with yoga and healing, and she has been on numerous covers of Yoga Journal.
Patricia has a special interest in yoga for women and yoga for depression, and authored the book The Women's Book of Yoga and Health (with Linda Sparrowe). She has also created Gaiam's Yoga for Beginner DVDs, teaching that yoga is a way to awaken the mind-body-spirit connection.
“There is something beyond the body when you do yoga,” Patricia says. “Yes, we can become more fit, our bodies can become more toned, we can learn to relax and even feel peaceful. But there's something much more. We have the opportunity to find our Self with a capital "S" through the practice of yoga.”
Patricia's first spiritual teacher was Murshed Samuel Lewis, a Sufi master. He taught dance as spiritual movement - a joyful prayer. This theme of “praying with the body” naturally transformed into her yoga practice in the early '70s. In 1976, she met her teacher B.K.S. Iyengar, and she immersed herself in practice. Under Mr. Iyengar's guidance, she gained a systematic and inspirational approach to practice and teaching. His influence was complemented a few years later when Patricia met Dona Holleman of Florence, Italy. Dona was a master teacher of the Iyengar method, and her disciplined and profound approach to yoga ignited Patricia's passion for practice.
Patricia has recently closed The BKS Iyengar Yoga Studio in Somerville Mass., which she co-founded and directed for 17 years. Now she teaches in the Boston area for her new Iyengar Yogamala studio without walls.
