Student of the Month - Martin Fletcher
Left to right: Randy, Martin, Ned and Tammy getting started on building the rope wall.
The next time you enjoy the rope wall at Iyengar Yoga Asheville, you may want to offer up a heartfelt thank you to Martin Fletcher, whose expertise and hands-on effort were critical to its construction. In fact, Martin’s years of experience as a carpenter and construction manager were instrumental in the renovation of the entire studio. Ned and Randy contributed hours of sweat equity, too, but Martin was definitely the crew “boss” for which we are most grateful!
If you don’t know Martin by name, perhaps you’d recognize his accent that has lost none of its hometown Kingston upon Thames resonance. If you have a really good ear, you might detect a bit “en francais” in his voice from his childhood attending the Lycée Français in London and from his teenage years living in Aix en Provence.
What you may not know about Martin is that after he finished his degree in economics in Aix, he traveled to India and neighboring countries for nearly two years. As he wrly explained: “I suppose I could have gotten a job working in a bank, but I wanted a total shift in perspective from a materialistic view to a transendental one.” So Martin set off with his then girlfriend for a journey that took them to several places in south-central Asia, including Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kashmir.
“One of the true highlights of our travels was visiting The Golden Temple in Amritsar, in Punjab, India,” Martin said. This is the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, built in the late 16th century by Guru Arjan Dev. A copy of the Sikh scripture was placed inside the Gurudwara in 1604. Its sanctum walls were covered in marble and the dome decorated with gold foil in the 19th century.
Martin began his study of yoga during these travels, practicing asana and pranayama, so it was no surprise that he spent four months studying at the Institute of Yogic Culture in Kerala, India. The founder and director of the Institute was a highly respected Sanskrit scholar, Dr. P.D. Pillai, who he admired greatly; in Martin’s words: “He was an exceptional person and you would resonate with the immediacy of his knowledge.” At the institute, Martin trained as a massage therapist and deepened his knowledge of asana and pranayama.
After his time at the yoga institute, Martin set off for more adventure through India for several months, including a trek from Kashmir to Manali, along the Chenab Valley, near the Chinese border with India and Ladahk.
“This was quite a journey,” Martin recounted. “The part of the trip along the Chenab Valley took an entire month. All I carried was a small cooking pot and a side satchel to hold a few clothes and other essentials. Once I returned to the Ganges Valley, I went on a meditation retreat at Bodh Gaya, India, where the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree until he experience enlightenment. I can’t say that happened to me, but I did have the experience of discovering the Mind behind the mind.”
When he at last returned to Europe, Martin chose to live in a spiritual community in England and the U.S, where he earned a living as a carpenter and continued his spiritual practices. Eventually, Martin moved to Boston, where he and Jill were married and resided until 2005, when they relocated to Asheville.
“Jill and I were drawn to the lifestyle and natural beauty of the Asheville area,” Martin explained. He continued his yoga studies, taking classes from Nicole Kintz, Letitia Walker, and Ryan Conrad. “I was drawn to the genuiness of Mr. Iyengar’s approach. His exploration of yoga involves a deep intelligence that I feel leads one to self-discovery. Although I am dedicated to my yoga practice and fascinated by the the Hindu cosmology of yoga, my heart is called to Buddhist teachings.”
When next you walk into the studio, please pay renewed attention to the lovely shelf structure that adorns the corner to the right of the door: it holds photos of Mr. Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar, Ryan Conrad, and Beth Sanfield—teachers and students who live on in our memory. Martin designed and built the shelves, and we thank him for his talent and heartfelt dedication.