BKS Iyengar
14/12/1918 ~ 20/08/2014
www.bksiyengar.com
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, was born in 1918 ,in Bellur, Kolar district, Karnataka. Better known as B.K.S. Iyengar, he founded the style of yoga known as “Iyengar Yoga” and has been credited with popularising yoga, first in India and then around the world.
As a child he suffered from constant poor health. At the age of 15, he was sent to Mysore to learn yoga from his brother in law, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, Vedic and Sanskrit scholar.
In 1937, he was sent to Pune to teach yoga. He spent many hours each day studying his own experience in the poses and those of his students. He learnt and experimented with various techniques. He classified and categorised over 200 asanas and 14 pranayamas (breathing techniques) into a linear progression so that beginners could advance to more challenging asanas and pranayamas in a safe way. So was developed a system and ‘Iyengar yoga’ was born.
BKS Iyengar
14/12/1918 ~ 20/08/2014
www.bksiyengar.com
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, was born in 1918 ,in Bellur, Kolar district, Karnataka. Better known as B.K.S. Iyengar, he founded the style of yoga known as “Iyengar Yoga” and has been credited with popularising yoga, first in India and then around the world.
As a child he suffered from constant poor health. At the age of 15, he was sent to Mysore to learn yoga from his brother in law, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, Vedic and Sanskrit scholar.
In 1937, he was sent to Pune to teach yoga. He spent many hours each day studying his own experience in the poses and those of his students. He learnt and experimented with various techniques. He classified and categorised over 200 asanas and 14 pranayamas (breathing techniques) into a linear progression so that beginners could advance to more challenging asanas and pranayamas in a safe way. So was developed a system and ‘Iyengar yoga’ was born.
“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.”
“Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.”
Guruji as he was called by his students taught yoga to thousands. His students included the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Sachin Tendulkar as well as thousands of students from the milieu of India.
He wrote several books on yoga, including the seminal “Light on Yoga” that has been translated into18 languages till date.
In 1991, the Indian government awarded Iyengar the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2014.
In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
Surrounded by his family and loved ones, Guruji breathed his last in August 2014 at age 95.
Iyengar Yogamandala is located at USO Rd, Block A, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi, Delhi 110067
