Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (BKS) Iyengar was born on December 14, 1918. His father Sri Krishnamachar was a school teacher and therefore Guruji has all his father’s qualities even at this age. Guruji was a victim of malaria, typhoid and tuberculosis in his childhood . At the age of 16, he was introduced to yoga by his Guru Sri T. Krishnamacharya. At the age of 18, he was sent to Pune, Maharashtra by his guru to teach and preach yoga as he knew a little of English. This missed his opportunity to learn a lot about yoga directly from his guru. Guruji was a sincere and committed practitioner.
His own practice helped him to explore and achieve perfection in yoga asanas. This is reflected in his teachings all over these years. Guruji’s teachings were first published in 1966 as Light on Yoga . This book has been translated into 18 languages. Today, he is the author of 14 books. Guruji was the first person to teach large group of students. He lays great emphasis on precision and alignment which is followed by his students. He gets students to perform and break barriers. He brings about an automatic transformation in the mind and habits of people.
He is the only person to teach the highest aspects of yoga – Atma Darshan through asanas. He has taught several famous personalities. In 1998, he taught 800 of his students for a week on the occasion of his 80th birthday at Pune. Again, in the year 2000, he conducted a special course for senior “Iyengar Yoga” teachers from nearly 40 countries. Even today, at the age of 91, he continues to practice. While in practice, he is an artist at work. He is always at ease in any posture he performs. Precision and beauty mark the asana, and the regular practice he advocates integrates the body, mind and emotions.
