Kanoon Yoga was established and headed by Masoud Mahdavipour in 1975 as a center for training body and mind. When yoga was officially recognized in Iran in 1995 through his endeavors, Kanoon Yoga obtained an official permit from the Physical Education Organization and continued to work until February 2019.
Kanoon Yoga began its unofficial activities in 1975-1976 in a residential building on Kargar Street in central Tehran. At the same time, it pursued its activities in Shahid Beheshti University (former Melli University) and present-day Hijab Sports Center. These unofficial activities continued until yoga was formally recognized in the country in 1995through the efforts of Masoud Mahdavipour and Kanoon Yoga continued its activities with an official permit from the Physical Education Organization.
Prior to 1995 (before and after the 1979 Revolution), Kanoon Yoga actively pursued its efforts to introduce yoga to officials at the Welfare Organization, the Physical Education Organization, and the Ministry of Health. Inspectors from the two former organizations above were actively in touch with Kanoon Yoga throughout these years to learn more on the subject.
In the years 1983-1984, Kanoon Yoga was also actively involved in working with paraplegic veterans at the Kahrizak War Center (Vet support facility) and Shafa Yahyayian Hospital.
The Kanoon Yoga method: Harmonic yoga
Harmonic yoga is practiced at Kanoon Yoga. In this type of yoga, as much attention is paid to the cultivation and management of the “mind” and its faculties, such as increased attention and concentration of thought, as it is to a healthy body. Fifty percent of the body and fifty percent of the mind are engaged in these exercises. Masoud Mahdavipour is the founder of this type of yoga.
This is a method based on the ancient Pantanjali yoga in which the students learn to combine their stretching and torsional exercises, muscle contractions, power techniques, balancing poses, and inverted asanas with mental abilities such as release and focus.
Experience shows that when a person works body and mind with equal effort, they experience physical vitality and agility at the same time as a motivated, positive, and focused mind. They will see the clear results in the rhythm of their actions, behaviors, thoughts, and decisions.
To obtain the best results in yoga and achieve growth and balance, equal attention must be paid to both powerful limbs in each practice: body and mind. Otherwise, we may tend either towards “mentalism” or become “body-oriented”. The outcome would only be the reflection of one extreme and its excesses on the other.
At each practice session, instructors at the center will always teach the physical techniques (tensile and contractile) together with relaxation, concentration, and mindfulness techniques. This method is the outcome of 45 years of experience at the center and Kanoon Yoga always strives to provide practical methods of creating physical and mental balance in the simplest ways for yoga enthusiasts.