Whether you practice the dynamic Vinyasa and Ashtanga series of Pattabhi Jois, the refined alignments of B.K.S. Iyengar, the classical postures of Indra Devi, or the actualized self-discovery Viniyoga methods of T.K.V. Desikachar, your practice stems from one source, a five-foot, two-inch Brahmin born more than a hundred years ago in a small South Indian village. He never crossed an ocean, but Krishnamacharya’s yoga spread throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Today it’s difficult to find an asana tradition he hasn’t influenced. Even if you learn from a yogi outside the traditions associated with Krishnamacharya, there’s a good chance your teacher trained under the Iyengar, Ashtanga or Viniyoga lineages before developing another style.
Krishnamacharya’s contributions have been thoroughly integrated into the fabric of yoga. He was a pioneer in refining postures, sequencing them optimally, and ascribing therapeutic value to specific asanas. By combining pranayama and asana, he made the postures an integral part of meditation instead of just a step leading toward it.
Yoga’s resurgence in India owes him a great deal due to his countless lecture tours and demonstrations during the 1930s. His four most famous disciples are Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi and T.K.V. Desikachar. All with their own interpretation and style of his methods. These four disciples played a huge part in popularizing yoga in the West.
Krishnamacharya remains a relative mystery. He never wrote a full memoir or took credit for his innovative methods. According to biographical notes, which Krishnamacharya made toward the end of his life, his father initiated him into yoga at the age of five, when he taught him about Patanjali’s sutras and told him that their family had descended from a revered ninth-century yogi named Nathamuni. Although his father died when Krishnamacharya was quite young, he remained interested in pursuing his knowledge of yoga and continued his studies. Eventually he made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Nathamuni where he maintained he had a vision of speaking to his legendary forefather. The elements of Krishnamacharya’s teachings can be traced to a ninth century text entitled Yogarahasya written by Nathamuni.
Krishnamacharya eventually sought the teachings of a yoga master named Sri Ramamohan Brahmachari, of whom we know very little about except that he was known to have lived in an isolated cave in the forest. Krishnamacharya spent seven years with his yoga master and claimed he mastered 3,000 asanas. When Krishnamacharya departed, his master asked him to return to his homeland, to marry and to spread the teachings of yoga. And, so he did but it was a difficult path. He lived in poverty with little more than a loin cloth as clothing. Yet his determination was boundless.
In the 1930s his situation improved when he received an invitation to teach at the Sanskrit College in Mysore. The ruling family of Mysore championed indigenous arts and supported the reinvigoration of Indian culture. They were aware of hatha yoga methods and wanted to learn more. Krishnamacharya was given a good salary and place to live. For the next few decades, the Maharaja of Mysore helped Krishnamacharya promote yoga throughout India, financing demonstrations and publications. The diabetic Maharaja felt especially drawn to the connection between yoga and healing, and Krishnamacharya devoted much of his time to developing this link.
But Krishnamacharya’s post at the Sanskrit College didn’t last. He was far too strict a disciplinarian, his students complained. Since the Maharaja liked Krishnamacharya and didn’t want to lose his friendship and counsel, he proposed a solution by offering Krishnamacharya the palace’s gymnastics hall as his own yoga school or yogashala. It was during this time Krishnamacharya developed his Ashtanga Yoga series and Vinyasa methods.
His students were primarily young boys so Krishnamacharya incorporated gymnastics and wrestling into the yoga practice. He also highly stressed strength and stamina and developed the Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) sequences to lead into asana sequences to improve upon these traits. Discipline was greatly required with the movements so a drishti or gazing point was encouraged for developing concentration and awareness.
It was during these times at the yogashala in Mysore that Krishnamacharya’s four most influential disciples came to learn from the Mysore master. Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi and T.K.V. Desikachar, who was actually the son of Krishnamacharya, all studied and eventually spread the teachings learned from this five-foot, two-inch Brahmin yogi born more than a hundred years ago in a small South Indian village.
(More on the disciples of Krishnamacharya in future newsletters. Namaste.)
Susan T Lee 