MARLA APT

Marla visited India for the first time while doing research for a degree in Buddhist Philosophy and has since returned numerous times for yoga studies in Pune with B.K.S. Iyengar, his daughter, Geeta Iyengar and son, Prashant Iyengar, including a one-year residency. Marla served the Iyengar Yoga community as President of both the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States and Southern California Association. She also served as as a member of the national certification committee for over 12 years. She was honored in 2013 by the Iyengar Yoga Association of Southern California with a Community Leadership award. In 2019, Marla developed the Ethical Guidelines to Prevent Verbal Abuse, Sexual Harassment and Physical Abuse for all Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers in the United States. She is continuing to work with the National Association to expand ethics training for its certified teachers. Marla has been involved with medical research studies at UCLA on yoga for depression, anxiety and IBS and created the first yoga therapy content to be incorporated into the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine’s curriculum. She has been a writer/contributor for Yoga Journal and other periodicals. She is pursuing her interest in making the healing benefits of yoga available to a diversity of communities as a founding board member of the non-profit organization, Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics (IYT). In addition to providing free therapeutic yoga classes and partnering with community based organizations, IYT offers continuing education in yoga therapy topics for teachers. Based in Los Angeles, Marla conducts teacher training, leads workshops and retreats and presents at conferences throughout the U.S. and abroad.