Iyengar Yoga
The Yoga of assiduousness, discipline and rigor.
THIS YOGA METHOD IS NAMED AFTER ITS FOUNDER:
BELLUR KRISHNAMACHAR SUNDARARAJA IYENGAR (B.K.S. IYENGAR).
HIS LIFE IS A LEGEND INSPIRING HOPE FOR ALL OF US.
HE LIVED IN A HUMBLE FAMILY IN SOUTHERN INDIA.
HE LOST HIS FATHER WHEN HE WAS 9 YEARS OLD.
AS A PUNY CHILD, HE SUFFERED FROM CHRONIC DISEASE.
HE HAD TO LIE DOWN, WHICH PREVENTED HIM FROM GOING TO SCHOOL
LIKE THE OTHER CHILDREN OF HIS AGE.
In 1934, destiny called B.K.S. Iyengar.
His brother-in-law, Shriman Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, invited him to come over
to his Yoga school in Mysore, to initiate him to Yoga and help improve his health.
From this day on, B.K.S. Iyengar dedicated the rest of his life to yoga.
Later, T. Krishnamacharya sent him to Pune, near Bombay to be a yoga teacher.
B.K.S. Iyengar arrived there alone; he had no family there,
he did not know anyone, he had no landmarks…
his only luggage was his strict knowledge of asanas.
He established himself in Pune, where his work and generosity
radiated for about 80 years and reached the entire world.
The Yoga institute he founded there is still active. I went there in 2016.
People from all over the world go there, as if to capture his energy
still palpable in every part of this place.
I had the great privilege to follow the teaching of his granddaughter.
This for me is an unforgettable experience.
Iyengar Yoga is based on the thorough practice of Asanas (yoga postures)
and Pranayama (yogic breathing).
After learning more than 200 classical Asanas and 14 different types of Pranayama,
B.K.S. Iyengar condensed and organized them in order of increasing difficulty,
to enable beginners to progress gradually according to their level and capacity.
“Asana is achieving the perfect firmness of the body, steadiness of the intellect
and benevolence of the spirit.
Each Asana must fulfil five functions:
the conative, cognitive, mental, intellectual and spiritual functions.
When they all merge into Asana, a state of pure joy reaches simultaneously
every cell of the body and the mind.
Body, mind and soul are united. »
B.K.S. Iyengar
The Iyengar Method
- Attention to the alignment of the different parts of the body in space
- The organisation of postures into “sequences”
- The use of supports (straps, bricks, blankets, chairs, ropes…),
as an integral part of the “Iyengar process”.
BKS Iyengar developed this method for himself first,
after a scooter accident in which his spine was injured.
His body, which he described as “a tool to discover the immensity of the universe
of Yoga”, needed support.
BKS Iyengar’s ingenuity was equalled only by his benevolence.
