Nathalie Fairbanks, Dipl.-Kauffrau, M.Sc., M.A., Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher was born in Germany and raised in a bilingual French and German family. An avid musician, she started her higher education studying recording engineering, then finance and finally foreign language teaching. She has worked in all of these fields yet has a passion for teaching Iyengar Yoga. Her almost 30-year practice has transformed her and allowed her to taste freedom in her physical, emotional and mental body. She loves to share Iyengar Yoga with students of all ages and physical conditions.
Nathalie Fairbanks, Iyengar Yoga Instructor & Yoga Therapist
How did you get started practicing yoga?
In January 1996, I was an exchange student from Berlin in a graduate program in Hoboken, NJ, just across the Hudson River from New York City. It was a time of transition. I felt that, as a foreigner, I had a lot of freedom to explore life without having to meet outside expectations. Growing up in Germany, I hadn’t realized how much pressure I had felt to conform to a certain rigidity of thought. I was having issues with what we would now label as anxiety, which made it difficult to be in enclosed spaces with people, whether in a classroom or on a bus.
I explored several healing modalities, which jumpstarted me on an intense path of self-discovery. When I came across an ad for yoga classes at a Korean grocery store, I took down the phone number. The next Monday, I found myself in a freezing cold church basement not far from the school and learned my first standing poses. I was holding on to the columns in the room for dear life, trying to do a crooked Tree Pose. I can laugh now, but it was a struggle! Forward bends were very challenging, as I am not limber by nature. My hamstrings were incredibly sore. I saw girls who obviously knew what they were doing and decided to keep trying. My teacher David Yearwood’s precise instructions helped me concentrate on my body, and I gave yoga my best effort. I started feeling stronger and was surprised that, little by little, my body became more bendy. I took classes with David for six months before going back to Berlin.
Was it hard to transition to a yoga class back in Germany?
I didn’t know at first that I had stumbled upon Iyengar Yoga, a method of learning yoga that is taught worldwide, following the principles B.K.S. Iyengar set forth. Changing locations merely meant adapting to a different teacher’s personality. I found a studio in Berlin Kreuzberg and continued learning and practicing with Stefanie Roth.
What are the hallmarks of Iyengar Yoga?
There’s an emphasis on correct alignment. You receive precise instructions on what each part of your body is supposed to do. The teacher watches if you’re implementing those instructions and will show you how to correct misalignments. The order in which we practice poses, called sequencing, is different for every class and follows certain principles. For example, we differentiate between heating and cooling poses by the way they affect the nervous system and choose poses that allow the body and mind to settle down toward the end of each practice. Additionally, we work with timings. We stay in the poses to build stamina and explore each pose in more depth. B.K.S. Iyengar referred to the physical poses as “meditation in action.” Working on one pose at a time makes the practice ideal for students with injuries or when moving quickly from pose to pose is overwhelming. Lastly, we use props (blankets, blocks, straps, chairs) to create more optimal alignment when the body isn’t quite ready to be in the classical pose or to learn a particular aspect of a pose. This makes the practice accessible to everyone, young and old, flexible or not.
You’re in the U.S. now, when did you come back?
My time in New Jersey had been transformative, and I felt drawn to move back to the U.S. in 1999. While in Germany, I completed my German Master’s in Finance and also trained as a massage therapist. I brought all that knowledge with me back to New York City, determined to support myself as I set a goal to teach languages and yoga.
Did you start Yoga teacher training right away?
There were many of us students interested in becoming teachers at the time, so the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York set up a demonstrated practice assessment in July 1999 to determine who would be part of the next teacher training. Those few hours of demonstrating all the poses on the Level I syllabus clearly showed me my limitations. I wasn’t too shocked to receive a very nice letter telling me that I needed more practice before starting teacher training.
So when did you actually start training?
Life took several turns, with me working in investment banking on Wall Street for a few years, teaching German as an adjunct professor in New York City, and getting married. I ended up in Death Valley, CA, in 2006, as my husband was working for the National Park Service at the time. The closest studio was in Las Vegas, so I started going there for classes and for a break from the isolation of living in the desert. By then, I was expecting my daughter. My teacher, Aileen Epstein-Ignadiou, welcomed me into teacher training, pregnancy and all.
Did the pregnancy hinder your training?
Not at all, on the contrary. Iyengar Yoga is very mindful of the health of the mother and baby. There are strict guidelines on which poses to modify and how, depending on the stage of pregnancy. For example, you don’t jump or do abdominal poses; you make adjustments to inversions and forward bends to protect the uterus from being compressed. Similarly, we adapt the practice during a female student’s menstrual cycle.
How long did the teacher training take?
The formal training was to take three years. We moved to Washington State in 2009, and I was expecting my son. Since we lived remotely by Mount Rainier National Park, the closest teacher was in Seattle. I continued training there with Richard Schachtel, often with the kids in tow. I remember four summer weeks of intensive teacher training, during which my parents and a friend came to spend a few weeks in Seattle with me, stopping by the studio a few times a day so my little guy could nurse. Fun times!
Applying for assessment was another step in the process. At the time, you had to travel and spend 2-3 days to complete all parts of the exam: philosophy, anatomy and teaching principles, demonstrated practice, and teaching demonstration.
To prepare for it, I spent a month in Las Vegas two years in a row, with Aileen coaching me. She was incredible! She had me stay at her house with my young kids, and I went to all of her classes, teaching, assisting, and practicing. I passed the second part of the Level I assessment in 2013.
Something to keep in mind is that in Iyengar Yoga, we are students first and foremost, especially as teachers. We joke that our training is measured in decades rather than hours.
What prompted your interest in Yoga Therapy?
My students did. When I started teaching in Eatonville, WA, I had a student with scoliosis. I wanted to help her as best I could and trained with Elise Miller to learn how to adapt poses for her. In time, more students came who had different scoliotic curves, which deepened my understanding.
Then, I started teaching a 50+ class at a Parks and Recreation Center in Graham, WA. Most of my students there were women. Some were asking me about safety while practicing with osteoporosis or osteopenia. Dr. Loren Fishman was my guide there. His training, "Yoga vs. Osteoporosis," was comprehensive, and he’s a fun and inspiring teacher.
What benefits have you seen from your yoga practice?
Initially, I started feeling a lot better overall and improving my stamina. I needed less sleep. I became stronger and more flexible, so nothing surprising there. Emotionally, I felt more stable, and my anxiety subsided. I worked around several injuries and recovered.
While it was challenging to practice when the kids were little, I am so grateful for the help of wonderful teenagers who came to play with them. I keep joking that yoga is what keeps me sane! It has to do with the intense mental focus the practice requires. It helps me extricate myself from the chaos around me and remember that there’s more to life than my current circumstances.
What makes teaching yoga compelling to you?
Seeing students improve in their practice and heal ailments is a great motivator. Then, there’s the intricacy of figuring out how to modify a pose for students with issues: knee pain, eye problems, hip or shoulder replacement, back pain, surgeries of all kinds, we see everything! The Iyengar method gives us principles that allow us to intelligently navigate around obstacles and still find a way for a student to participate. When I run into a problem I can’t solve, I can ask my mentor, Gloria Goldberg, for help. That part is invaluable, as she has been a direct student of the Iyengar family and has been practicing for over 40 years.
Also, I enjoy the community that builds within a yoga class. The practice is rigorous and attracts students who are willing to do the work and stick with it, even when it gets challenging. Students get to know each other, and friendships build. I will say that yoga potlucks have the best food!
What are your aspirations going forward?
I would love to teach more Yoga for Osteoporosis classes and spread the word about the incredible benefits of this practice. I will keep practicing, learning, and preparing for the next level of assessment (Level 3, which might take another few years!). The field of Iyengar Yoga is vast, and there’s no way anyone can completely grasp the last detail of what has been shared. I’m excited to know that there’s always more to learn, understand, and integrate. Now that my children are teenagers, I have a little more time to devote to studying yoga philosophy, which ties together why we spend so much time learning correct alignment in the poses and how to better align our thinking and decision-making with universal principles. Long term, I’m looking forward to spending time in Pune, India, at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, where it all started.
What would you recommend to someone interested in starting with Iyengar Yoga?
Find a teacher near you if you can. Another option is to take online classes, which have proliferated since 2020. Start with a Beginner or Level I class. In Iyengar Yoga, the idea is that you attend class to learn new concepts and then practice them at home during the week. You will be taught step by step; there’s no need to feel self-conscious about doing something you’re not familiar with. Your progress will depend on your personal practice. Get yourself a mat, two wood blocks, 3-4 Mexican blankets, and a yoga strap so you have everything you need to start. Then stick to 2-3 poses a day for a while and watch the transformation!
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