Iyengar Yoga is a method of asana practice developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, a great Indian yogi and teacher. born in 1918. As a young man, Iyengar studied for a short while with Krishnamacharya, so he descends from the same lineage as Sri K Patthabi Jois and Desikachar (Krishnamacharya’s son). But as many great practitioners, Mr. Iyengar developed his own innovative approach to asana practice, building upon the ancient tradition and making it accessible to all body types and constitutions. Through a life time of dedicated teaching and a particular focus upon working with westerners, Iyengar gained a deep and precise understanding of the human body. Iyengar yoga incorporates these insights, bringing to yoga practice a grasp of alignment based upon the detailed workings of organs and the muscular-skeletal system.
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Iyengar learned how to apply these principles in a therapeutic manner as well, using the postures of hatha yoga to heal all sorts of physical and mental ailments. He refined the use of props such as blocks, belts, bolsters, chairs and blankets as aids to practice. An Iyengar approach to yoga incorporates them often--sometimes to make postures more accessible to beginners and sometimes to enhance their benefits for more experienced practitioners. An Iyengar practice can take many different forms and includes hundreds of variations of asanas. It can be very strong and exacting, but it can also be calm and restorative. Iyengar yoga is perhaps the best known form of asana practice in the west and has influenced many other methods and styles.
Though Mr. Iyengar is mainly known for his brilliant contribution to the science of asanas, he in no way is proposing a merely physical yoga. A reading of his introduction to “Light on Yoga” demonstrates that clearly. Iyengar yoga is not “merely physical”, as some people erroneously believe. Iyengar has written a major work on pranayama, “Light on Pranayama”, a work on the yoga sutras of Patanjali and a beautiful book on the philosophical, spiritual and practical application of yoga called “The Tree of Yoga”.