Sat Sang – A Primer on Prāyānāma : Arjun von Caemmerer

A Book + CD launch

Sat Sang primarily concerns the intersection of Prāṇāyāma, the yogic ‘breathing practices’, with poetry, a novel conjunction the author has dubbed 'Prāyānāma'. His work, deeply steeped in Sri BKS Iyengar’s yoga methodology and Patañjali’s pragmatic yoga philosophy, (as encapsulated in his Yoga Sūtra) will be of interest to all serious students of yoga, including practitioners and teachers.

Sat Sang touches on the practical application of Prāyānāma to the interrelated yogic practices of Prāṇāyāma, Japa (mantra recitation), Dhyāna (sitting meditation) and Śavāsana, the āsana that is perhaps the most fundamental of all the yoga postures. In venturing into these territories, Sat Sang aims to introduce an additional dimension to yoga practice, one that complements and supplements existing approaches, rather than supplanting or replacing them.

The foreword has been graciously penned by Stephanie Quirk, internationally recognised as a leading authority, seasoned and skilled, in the therapeutic applications of Iyengar Yoga.

The audio component, voiced by the author, includes 14 poems (including words from the 11th Century King Bhoja and the 17th Century Thomas Traherne) as well as Morton’s Method, a detailed, guided Śavāsana, that illustrates the direct application of some of the principles informing Prāyānāma.

The book’s front cover picture is by local artist Steven Grainger. Book and CD design are by Arjun. Both the book printing and CD manufacture were completed in Nipaluna / Hobart.

Arjun von Caemmerer is a Hobart-based writer and general medical practitioner (practising in Moonah from 1996). Arjun, a long-term student and practitioner of Iyengar Yoga, is certified at a ‘Senior’ teaching level with Iyengar Yoga Australia. He and Naomi Cameron established the Hobart School of Iyengar Yoga in 1995 where they both still teach. Vice Versa, new & selected poems, featuring Lingua Franka, Arjun’s concrete poetry homage to Frank Zappa, was released in 2016. Arjun was a guest poet of the 2017 Tasmanian Poetry Festival and of the Australian Doctors Orchestra group in 2023. Arjun has collaborated extensively with composer/pianist Michael Kieran Harvey on Melbourne's Move Records, most recently contributing material, spoken and written, to Harvey's acclaimed War Sonatas CD (2025). Arjun has written diversely on yoga (poems and essays), with subject matter ranging from yoga philosophy and yoga therapeutics to the intersection of yoga with mathematics and running.

Arjun will be in conversation with Madeleine Maloney. Madeleine grew up in Sydney, Cooma and Wagga Wagga where her exposure to reading from a young age – via public schooling, the public library and, in particular, her Irish grandparents (who introduced her to Seamus Heaney, Yeats, James Joyce & poet/priest John O’Donoghue) planted the seeds that instilled an enduring, deep and passionate engagement with literature, in particularly with poetry. The meditative experiences that surfaced in a fully engaged outdoor running practice, a discipline that Madeleine commenced in her teens and continued for many decades, made the discovery of Iyengar Yoga (in Darwin in 2012) a natural and close fit. She is a dedicated long-term student and practitioner of Iyengar Yoga who has attended the Hobart School of Iyengar Yoga since 2014.

Join Arjun and Madeleine at the Afterword Cafe.