Larry Hatlett founded and directed The Yoga Center of Palo Alto from 1975 until 2005. He is now a senior teacher at the California Yoga Center. Standing out early in his career as a master teacher, Larry was awarded a rare Advanced Yoga Teaching Certificate by B.K.S. Iyengar in 1983.
While he studied extensively with Iyengar through the 70s and
80s, Larry gradually developed his own style. Today he teaches
IYENGAR FLOW: a unique style of Hatha Yoga taught also by Lily Anne Hillis and Karl Duffy. As a deep and original thinker about yoga
and the body, Larry has let experience, experimentation, and his
vast knowledge of anatomy be his guide.
Philosophically he is most attuned to the style of J. Krishnamurti
(1895-1986), who encouraged spiritual freedom and the discovery
of understanding through intense self-observation. To avoid the
significant problems created in the authority/follower type of
relationship, Larry encourages teachers and students alike to
think about and question everything they are told. "Many of the
injuries that occur in yoga come from teachers imitating their
own teacher and passing on knowledge without understanding it
for themselves," Larry says. Paramount to the practice of IYENGAR
FLOW is first establishing a foundation of health and understanding
in the poses, and then focusing on one's own experience through
exploration and sensitivity.
While Larry's contributions to yoga have been great, his teaching
comes in an unassuming package. Exuding the joy of yoga, he is
unpretentious and non dogmatic. His teaching embodies simplicity
and ease. He's light at heart and a lover of life and people.
Connecting with his students- hearing about their golf game or
the new baby twins- is just as important to him as doing the poses.
When he's not teaching or doing yoga, you'll find him enjoying
a round of golf on Thursdays, playing tennis in between, and during
his vacations, hiking national parks and forests with a 40-pound
photography pack on his back. Visit his photography site at www.larryhatlett.com |