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The classes taught at the Center are based on the work of B.K.S. Iyengar, his daughter, Geeta Iyengar, and son, Prashant Iyengar. Those teachings have come down through the ages from the great sage Patanjali.
When you come to class at the Center, you start by learning the practice of asanas or yogic postures. Asanas help to strengthen the body, steady the nerves, and make the practitioner healthy in all aspects from the most exterior layers (such as the skin, muscles, and skeleton) through to the more subtle layers (such as the circulatory and respiratory systems). Through regular practice of the asanas, one then penetrates the subtlest layers of the self, those of mind, intelligence and consciousness. After progress in the practice of yoga asanas, students undertake the practice of the yogic breathing called pranayama. Pranayama strengthens and tones the nervous system and disciplines the mind, making it a fit tool for the practice of concentration and meditation, and a bridge to the soul. |
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B.K.S. Iyengar was a true master of yoga. He was born in 1918 and took up the practice of yoga at about age fifteen. After years of dedicated and rigorous practice, his efforts to bring yoga to light in the modern world began to see some success. At the invitation of the classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, he left India for the first time and traveled to Europe. He continued his annual teaching visits to Switzerland and England for many years to instruct Mr. Menuhin and others. His visits to the United States began in 1956.
In 1966 his book "Light on Yoga" was published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd. "Light on Yoga" is to this day the foremost modern text on the subject. Since then he has written several books, including "Light on Pranayama" and "Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali." |
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He received numerous awards and tributes for his life's work in yoga. He has also been the subject of many documentaries and interviews on radio and television.
Guruji died on August 20, 2014 in his home city of Pune, India. Yoga students from around the world travel to learn at his institute, the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. Guruji's daughter, Geeta Iyengar, passed away in December 2018. She was renowned for her pioneering work on yoga for every stage of a woman's life and wrote Yoga: A Gem for Women. She had been co-directing the teaching at the institute for many years, with her brother, Prashant. Currently Prashant and Guruji's grandaughter, Abhijata, share the day-to-day teaching duties at the institute and are recognized worldwide for their mastery of the subject of yoga. |
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