B.K.S IYENGAR

Visited 200 times, 3 so far today

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Yoga is like music
The rhythm of the body,
The melody of the mind,
and harmony of the soul,
create the symphony of life.
-BKS Iyengar

About B.K.S Iyengar

Belur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (BKS) Iyengar was born in 1918 in Karnataka, India to a large poor family.He had a difficult childhood and was afflicted with malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis which made him frail and ill.

At age 15, he moved to Mysore to stay with his sister and her husband, a well known yogi and sanskrit scholar Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who introduced B.K.S to yoga in an effort to improve his health.At the beginning, he struggled as his body was too weak to perform the asanas but gradually with diligence he mastered some of the techniques and managed to improve his health.

When B.K.S was 18 years old, Krishnamacharya sent him to Pune to teach and preach on yoga.He arrived there nearly penniless and due to lack of schooling, inadequate knowledge of English language and little experience on the theory of yoga, he faced much difficulty in teaching.With determination to succeed, B.K.S practiced yoga for 12 hours each day experimenting and exploring various techniques.Though, he suffered immense pain through incorrect techniques, B.K.S refused to give up.He survived on a diet of bread and water during this hard time.His determination paid off finally and he developed a deep personal understanding of the technique of each posture and the effects.His students grew and so did his fame as a yoga teacher spread.

B.K.S worked with a surgeon who believes in the healing power of yoga and learned about anatomy and medicine thus developing a style of yoga known for precision alignment and use of props to make poses accessible to those with physical ailments.He is considered the world’s greatest living yoga master who introduced ancient practice to the Western world.

When violin maestro, Yehudi Menuhin visited India in 1952, he became B.K.S student and was instrumental in introducing Iyengar Yoga to the Western countries.Menuhin made the arrangement for B.K.S to teach in Europe and United States.

B.K.S published his first book “Light On Yoga” (known as Bible of Yoga) in 1966 and it became international best-seller and succeeded in making yoga universal and well known.This book illustrates hundreds of yoga poses and breathing techniques.

In 1975, he founded Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India in memory of his dearly departed wife.Today, he is a well respected author of 14 books and has taught several famous personalities. Some of his famous books are :

• Light on Yoga
• Light on Pranayama
• The Tree of Yoga, Shambala
• Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• Light on Life
• Yoga : The Path of Holistic Health

B.K.S has practiced yoga for over 70 years and has won worldwide respect and recognition.He officially retired from teaching in 1984 but continues to be active in teaching yoga classes during special events and writing books.These days, though he is still based and runs Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, classes are conducted by his children and senior teachers. B.K.S was featured in Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century because of his contribution and dedication to Yoga.

About Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar Yoga is based on the eight-limbed path of Yoga as illustrated by Sri Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Created by the world’s best known teacher B.K.S Iyengar, it is the most widely practiced style of yoga.

Attentiveness is a fundamental element of Iyengar Yoga.Great emphasis is placed on finer detail and precise alignment of the postures.When the mind is focused on the action and feeling of the pose, it naturally become quiet and allow one to refine one’s awareness and penetrate deeper into the body.That’s the reason Iyengar Yoga is called ” Meditation In Action“.

Poses are held for a longer period of time, which can be very strenuous while the alignment is being perfected and repeated several times.Between poses, students will rest in child or corpse pose. Through Tadasana, the standing pose, one learns to adjust and align the body correctly to prevent pain and injury.This helps to build strong legs, improve coordination, circulation and balance.

Iyengar Yoga popularized the use of props such as straps, chairs, pillows and blocks as an aid in performing asanas.This props compensate beginner’s lack of flexibility to experience asanas easily and fully by stretching the stiff parts and strengthening the weak parts.Observation of normal breathing pattern is practiced during relaxation period.Regular practice of Iyengar Yoga will improve posture, build strength, increase flexibility and vitality and at the same time reduce stress and anxiety.

Pranayama (breathing techniques) is gradually introduced after a firm foundation of asana is established which usually take up to two years. Iyengar has developed and systematized over 200 classical yoga asanas and 14 different types of pranayama from simple to the incredibly difficult.This allows beginner to practice simple and basic postures according to their capability and progress slowly to more complex and refine postures.Technique, sequence and timing distinguishes Iyengar Yoga from other styles of yoga.Iyengar yoga can be used to treat diseases and disorders under the supervision of a qualified or experienced teacher.

There are almost 200 Iyengar Yoga Institute worldwide and taught in more than 40 countries.One can find Iyengar Yoga centers even in the remotest corner of the world.Instructors are only certified to teach after completing 2 to 5 years of rigorous training for the introductory level while the higher level certification may take a decade or more.

Since this is not an intense style of yoga, it is recommended for newcomers and those who are not physically fit.

Tags: BKS Iyengar, Iyengar Yoga, Krishnamacharya, Light on Yoga, Yoga Props

Leave a Comment