What is Yoga?
What is Iyengar Yoga?
Who is B.K.S. Iyengar?
How do I choose a teacher?
What is a good book on Iyengar Yoga?
What is Yoga?
To best answer this question we can only quote the man who has practiced more than perhaps anyone in the 20th century, Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar: "Yoga means union, the union of the individual soul with the universal spirit". "According to Patanjali, Yoga is the restraint of the fluctuations of the mind, when the fluctuations cease, the soul is uncovered". "The Yoga I teach is purely Astanga Yoga". "Astanga Yoga is the greatest and noblest gift that Patanjali has offered to man. It's beauty lies in the fact that it can be adopted, adapted, and absorbed according to one's physical and intellectual capacity. Patanjali wants everyone to work not only to prevent sorrows, pains, and diseases, but also to build up their mental character in the way of thinking and action so that one's actions are free from afflictions. He sums up the effects of the eight-fold yogic practice, saying that Yoga not only destroys the impurities of body, mind, and consciousness at the physical, moral, mental, intellectual and spiritual levels, but generates knowledge and kindles the light until the crown of wisdom shines and radiates in glory." Iyengar explains the eight-limbs of Yoga expounded by Patanjali, "Yogangas are eight in number; namely, YAMA, NIYAMA, ASANA, PRANAYAMA, PRATYAHARA, DHARANA, DHYANA, and SAMADHI. YAMA means moral and ethical injunctions. NIYAMA means fixed and established observances to be followed. ASANA means posture. PRANAYAMA means regulating and restraining the breath in order to channel the energy. PRATYAHARA means withdrawing the senses from the external objects and then to internalize them towards their source. DHARANA means concentration or attention. DHYANA means meditation. SAMADHI means absorption."
Do you have a general question about Iyengar Yoga that we should include on this page? Please tell us!
What is Iyengar Yoga?
The following is from a talk Prashantji Iyengar gave on December 14th, 1999, the day of B.K.S. Iyengar's 81st birthday. "Usually a legacy, a tradition, a system, is already present in a learning situation. That was not the case for Guruji. Guruji had to create the alphabet. Our system is vast, and therefore difficult to identify and demarcate. To identify what the Iyengar system is, is like the story of the five blind men identifying an elephant by touching it's various parts. Because our Yoga is multifaceted, it gets described in various ways. If you ask children about the Iyengar system, they would say that it is just to play, jump around and enjoy. Teenagers would say the system is for strength, it is powerful, dynamics, builds stamina, flexibility, challenge, willpower, and etc. Adults would think that this is a system for vigor, vitality, and a healthy life. Other concepts of our systems are that it is a remedial system, a preservative and body-corrective, disease-preventative. What is Iyengar Yoga? A patient, a child, a teenager, a young adult, an older adult and an aged person would all have different perspectives and they would all be served by Iyengar Yoga". Guruji writes, "The Yoga I teach is purely Astanga Yoga, known as the eight limbs of Yoga, expounded by Patanjali". "I have no right to brand my practices or teaching as Iyengar Yoga. My pupils call it Iyengar Yoga to distinguish it from the teachings of others. What I do is pure, authentic, traditional Yoga. There is no distinction between one Yoga and another. Yoga, like God, is one. But people call him by different names."
Do you have a general question about Iyengar Yoga that we should include on this page? Please tell us!
Who Is Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar?
The life of Yoga Master B.K.S. Iyengar is of epic proportions. Born into
sickness and financial distress, he overcame great obstacles with raw
determination, perseverance, dedication, and divine grace. His life is an
amazing testament to the transformational powers of Yoga. Read his personal
accounts in "70 Glorious Years of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar" and "Iyengar:
His Life and Work".
Bellur Krishramacharya Sundararaja Iyengar (Sundara) was born on December
14th, 1918, during a world-wide influenza epidemic, which struck both
he and his mother. They both survived, but it took a toll on his health.
By the time he was thirteen, he had been sick with malaria, typhoid, and
tuberculosis. He was not expected to live past 20 years of age. In
Iyengar's words, a "flash of destiny" would prove that prediction quite
wrong. That flash of destiny was Yoga.
In 1934 Iyengar visited his sister in Mysore while her husband, Sri. T. Krishnamacharya, traveled and taught Sanskrit and Yoga. Krishnamacharya had studied Yoga in Nepal, practiced various darshanas in Varanasi, and was a sanskrit scholar. When
he returned home, he suggested that Iyengar stay with them, attend school,
and work on his health through Yoga. Iyengar agreed, and his brother-in-law
taught him some yoga postures (asanas). It was then that Krishnamacharya
became his guru. Unfortunately, Iyengar couldn't even touch his fingers to
his knees and his guru lost all interest in teaching him. It wasn't until
Krishnamacharya's main student suddenly left that his attentions turned back
to Iyengar. This was a very difficult time for the young Iyengar as his
guru gave few instructions, yet demanded that Iyengar be prepared for public demonstrations. Reading Mr. Iyengar's personal accounts of those times is riveting as he summoned incredible determination to progress. Iyengar wrote, "sometimes the body and at other times the mind refused to cooperate", "each day was an ordeal but God's
grace forced me to make one more attempt for every failure". He gradually
began conducting classes at various locations and in 1943 married Smt.
Ramamani and settled in Pune. She was a dedicated and loving wife and he a
responsible husband. Times were tough as he struggled to provide for the
household, yet through it all he maintained a vigilant early morning Yoga
practice.
In 1946 Iyengar had a prophetic vision. Lord Venkateshwars, his family
deity, blessed him in a dream, telling him that his vocation was to practice
and teach Yoga. He was told that from then on he would not have to worry
about his survival. On the same night his wife also had an auspicious
dream. In it, Devi Laksmi (the goddess of abundance and prosperity) came to
her and gave her a coin, saying she was returning something she had borrowed
from him long ago. Iyengar wrote, "from 1934 to 1946 Yoga was attached to
me, but today it is I who am attached to Yoga". His fortune had changed,
his passion for Yoga sparked.
Today Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar still lives in Pune, India. His Yoga
Institute is named in memory of his beloved wife Ramamani. Having
become the greatest yogi of the 20th and 21st centuries, he is a
living example of the power of Yoga. He has six children, thus proving to
the world that a householder can scale the heights of Yoga. His
daughter Geeta and son Prashant live with him at the Institute and together
they teach classes to students who arrive from all over the world. He has
toured 25 countries, has published 7 books on Yoga, has received hundreds of
prestigious awards and recognitions, and continues his practice of Yoga
daily.
Do you have a general question about Iyengar Yoga that we should include on this page? Please tell us!
How do I choose a teacher?
Choose a teacher listed on this site and you can rest assured that you have found an instructor who has dedicated the time and experience to pass the most comprehensive, demanding teacher certification process in the world. Yoga instructors certified in the Iyengar Method understand how to teach the yoga asanas (postures) safely and effectively for each individual. If there are no certified Iyengar Yoga instructors in your area, contact the closest and see if they know of any teachers in your area.
Do you have a general question about Iyengar Yoga that we should include on this page? Please tell us!
What is a good book on Iyengar Yoga?
Books to begin with:
"Yoga In Action by Geetaji Iyengar. A preliminary course based on the syllabus taught at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. This is a brand new release with sequences, drawings, and excellent explanations.
"Light on Yoga" by Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar. The classic treatise on Yoga. Includes a comprehensive introduction on philosophy and an amazing description (with pictures) of almost every yoga asana (posture) existing. A must addition to any yoga library.
"How to Use Yoga" by Mira Mehta. Written by a long-time student of the Iyengar's, this book has excellent pictures and sequences, including programs for headaches, neck and shoulder stiffness, backaches, and menstruation.
Do you have a general question about Iyengar Yoga that we should include on this page? Please tell us!
