Inside Yoga 153 (14/12/15)
Today BKS Iyengar would have been 97 and to mark this Google has put some images of a yogi, sort of resembling Iyengar, in various postures.
Iyengar, who was born in Karnataka in 1918, struggled during his childhood with illness such as malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and general malnutirtion. He wrote: “My arms were thin, my legs were spindly, and my stomach protruded in an ungainly manner. My head used to hang down, and I had to lift it with great effort.”
When he was 15 he went to Mysore to learn yoga – in order to improve his health – from his brother-in-law T Krishnamacharya who is regarded today as the father of modern yoga. (See my blog, https://www.yogabristol.co.uk/2015/11/16/yoga-in-four-lines/ )
It was a short visit in terms of time but a major visit in terms of what then followed. At 18 Iyengar moved to Pune to teach yoga – encouraged by Krishnamacharya – and Iyengar would continue to teach in Pune for the rest of his life. This might have been the only place he was known and taught had it not been for some of his pupils. His international break came after he met violinist Yehudi Menuhin in Bombay and began to teach him. Menuhin believed his musical skills were improved by yoga, and in 1954 invited Iyengar to Switzerland. In 1956 he went to the United States.
His book, Light on Yoga, was published in 1966 and went on to become a yoga bible for so many yoga students – myself being one of them. One of my teachers, Clive Sheridan, who first went to India in the late-1960s said he always carried the book in his backpack, as I did in the 90s when I travelled in Asia. It is still the first book I recommend to people who want to buy their first yoga book, especially if they want to learn the asanas.
One of Iyengar’s teaching methods which made him so popular was his attention to the details of yoga asanas (postures) such as alignment and correct use of the postures. He has left a legacy that will continue as his methods have spread across the world.
BKS Iyengar died in August 2014 at the age of 95.
A Google Doodle seems trivial but at least it has got the media chatting as several newspapers and stations have picked up on the fact that Google have yoga on their home page and have written about Iyengar.
There are more than one doodle with Iyengar doing a posture on Google – I am not sure how many – so keep going to Google to find out, and perhaps let me know via comment box below. See one of the Google Doodles at https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl
Perhaps use the Google to look at the news stories about Iyengar posted today!
Any comments for me use the panel below please,
