B.K.S Iyengar's teachings on the back brain - occipital region

The occipital region is the back part of your brain, located at the base of your skull.

More specifically:

It sits just above the neck

It’s the area you’d touch if you place your hand on the back of your head

The occipital region contains the Occipital lobe

which is responsible for:

processing visual information

interpreting what you see (light, shape, movement) brain

Iyengar's words and the Brain

(steadying, cooling, clarifying the mind)

The brain in Iyengar Yoga is not just an organ.

It is the seat of perception, memory, fear, imagination and identity.

B.K.S. Iyengar taught that most agitation of the mind begins with overactivity in the frontal brain and depletion in the back brain.

Practice therefore becomes a re-education: quieten the front brain, nourish the back brain and allow intelligence to spread evenly through the nervous system.

 the forehead must descend, soften and release its gripping.

Nourish the Back Brain (Occipital Region)

In inversions

Keep the back brain lifted and spacious

Do not harden the throat or jaw

Let the brain feel as if it is “hanging” from the spine rather than gripping forward

Maintain even weight through both sides of the head

Inversions such as Sirsasana and Sarvangasana irrigate the brain with fresh circulation but only when the throat is soft and the face quiet.

Otherwise they excite rather than soothe. 

In standing Poses

Standing poses naturally provoke:

effort

ambition

pushing forward

The front brain wants to:

achieve the shape

go deeper

“perform” the pose

But when you shift into the back brain:

the pose becomes steady instead of aggressive

Key actions to access the back brain in standings

Slight descent of the head

Not dropping—but subtly:

chin soft

throat quiet

Soften the eyes

gaze steady, not gripping

eyes recede slightly back into the skull

This draws awareness:

→ from the front → to the back brain

Broaden the back of the skull

Feel the skin at the back of the head spreading

and the base of the skull releasing

This creates:

coolness

space for observation

Let the back body initiate awareness

Instead of pushing from chest or face

You begin to feel back ribs, dorsal spine, back skull

and the whole pose is experienced from behind

Effort becomes intelligent, not forceful

Breath moves more evenly

You stop “reaching” into the pose

The nervous system quiets

And most importantly:

You stop escaping through effort.

Happy Practising.

Practise and All is coming

Sending Love and Peace