Yoga in the Times of Transition. The First Decade of Iyengar Yoga in Poland (1984-1994)

In post-war Poland, posture-based yoga developed from the early 1960s. Malina Michalska and Tadeusz Pasek promoted Hatha Yoga based on the teachings of the BSY in Munger and the Kayvalyadhama Institute in Lonavla. Iyengar yoga began to be popularized after 1984, when Sławomir Bubicz returned to Poland after his two-year's stay at RIMYI in Pune. At that time, there was a well established system of yoga instructors training within the structures of the Society for the Propagation of Physical Culture (TKKF) where yoga was taught as "relaxation and concentration exercises" (RCE) according to the Polish yoga adaptation by Romanowski and Pasek. When Bubicz was invited to teach at TKKF refresher course for RCE instructors in 1985, it was a turning point for the popularity of Iyengar yoga in Poland. Many former RCE instructors converted to Iyengar yoga, and attended Bubicz's classes, e.g. in Lublin at the Leon Cyboran Study of Yoga Knowledge and Practice. At Bubicz's invitation, Gabriella Gubilaro, an Italian student of Iyengar, used to come to teach advanced courses. The group of Iyengar yoga instructors steadily increased. The basic textbook for Iyengar yoga practitioners in Poland was Gubilaro's yoga manual written for her Polish students ("Hatha-yoga", 1985). B.K.S. Iyengar's “Light on Yoga” was also published in Poland, at first only in fragments, distributed unofficially as “Asana” (translated by Bubicz, 1985), while the entire book with illustrations was published by the state publishing house PWN in 1990. Initially, most yoga classes took place within the structures of TKKF, through neighborhood clubs or community centers. After the fall of communism in 1989 and the introduction of a free market economy, private yoga schools began to emerge, and yoga became gradually commercialized. Over time, new yoga trends appeared in Poland, however Iyengar yoga remained the most popular style for decades