Hi markern,
Sounds like you have to decide between your inner and outer gurus.
I agree with you that ANB is benign when practiced in moderation and there is no reason to wait 2 years to practice it.
Iyengar is not the last word on everything hatha altho he does have a lot of street cred. My style of hatha has a lot of Iyengar in it but it has other elements from other authorities as well.
I think you should feel free to explore what works for you rather than adapt yourself to some rigid system that probably doesn't apply to you, personally.
It reminds me of the evolution of ergonomics. It used to be that a worker had to adapt themselves to the work place. If the work bench was 3 feet high, but they needed one that was 4 feet high to work comfortably without strain, avoid injury and be optimally productive.....Well, tough, stop whining and get to work.
But now some companies, in response to the high cost of work injuries as a result of that policy, got smart and started adapting the work place to the employee and started using adjustable height work benches that would accommadate the real world needs of the employee.
Best, yb.