The aims of the UKYSF are to provide a fun community event that promotes Yoga Sport in a healthy, enjoyable, friendly, and inclusive way.
We have judges, we have medals, we have prizes. But we also recognise that what you take away from the event, and the lessons and progress learnt in the preparation for, during, and after the event, this growth is what makes one a winner regardless of a score or placing. Our annual event honours each and every participant, it has a great respect for every participant and their own individual reasons for sharing their routine.
We aim to be inclusive, and we invite all ages, all types of body, practitioners of all types of yoga, all nationalities, everybody, to participate in our event including anyone who is not a resident in the UK, does not have a UK passport, or who does not have a federation hosting a competition in their country*
We invite participants from all styles of yoga and all geographical locations to our events. However, if you are in London then a lot of participants (and non-participants) practice the 84 asanas on Wednesday’s and Sunday’s at 2pm at Bikram Yoga London Bridge and we happily invite you to join us in this class.
ABOUT YOGA SPORT
Yoga competitions originated in India many many years ago, they still run there today with hundreds of participants. Although the western world still has a resistance to the events then yoga sports events are now happening in many countries worldwide. There are several different governing bodies of yoga sports and here in the UK we follow the rules of the IYSF.
Yoga per se is not a competitive practice, but the yoga sport events done in addition to a non-competitive daily practice can offer many benefits to the individual taking part, as well as being a very fun day and creating worldwide friendships.
BKS IYENGAR wrote in a letter to the IYSF with reference to the All India National Yoga Championships:
“Out of the eight petals (limbs) of yoga, the only petal that is exhibitive is the yoga-asana-s where as the otherpetals are very individual and personal. As such there is nothing wrong inholding a competition on the qualitative presentation of the yoga-asana-s… Thepresentation must be very natural with innocence and humility rather than prideand arrogance. Then I consider such competitions as healthy. It should becompetition on the artistic level and not on egoistic body cult.”
http://www.usayoga.org/assets/docs/iyengar%20letter.pdf