(Dec. 14, 1918 – Aug 20, 2014)
Biggest news in the yoga community – B.K.S. Iyengar, 95 year old legendary yoga master passed away today.
We lost a giant…Luckily, there are so many of his students teaching around the world – like my teachers Judith H. Lasater and …there are many…as his brand of yoga spread around the world to some 70 countries. He made yoga accessable to all – sickly and weak with many physical ailments Iyengar suffered many challenges from an early age, but the turning point came when Iyengar trained under a renowned yoga guru as a teen. He, then over 4-5 years, healed himself through the dedicated practice of yoga. Not only did he heal himself to ultimate vitality of health and fitness but he went beyond to become strong and masterful. Having started from a very weak and sickly state, using yoga as a therapy, he is all about customizing the practice, individualizing the sequence according to each unique student’s needs – in a way, he was that old fashioned doctor who prescribed doze of yoga for each ailment that plagued the suffering student – headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, mental fuzziness, aches and pains… the list goes on. His entry and introduction to yoga came from a slightly motivation than his contemporary, K. Pattabhi Jois (July 26, 1915 – May 18, 2009), another legend who spread the Ashtanga style of yoga in the West. It’s all good, whether focused on vinyasa or flowing movement or precision & alignment in poses that are held.
“ Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it.”
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It was reported that he continued to practice as much as he could remarking, “practice is my feast” and apparently still able to do the sirsasana – or the headstand – for half an hour until last year. It is also reported that he used around 50 props! (Yes, there are ways to do inversions without ruining your cervical spine and still get all the anti-aging, gravity defying benefits.)
On his website, this gem – he lived a full life of service – may he rest in peace:
I always tell people “live happily and die majestically.”
Thank you BKS Iyengar – your book, Light on Yoga (one of the textbooks used in my teacher training), shed so much light. It will remain a go-to textbook for anyone studying yoga forever. Whatever “style” you practice, he’s all about the foundation – grounded and yet uplifting, whether he’s defying gravity or not. He knew all about lavitation and floatation … now he’s truly liberated and up above in the sky, probably smiling and laughing, having a time of his life as life is eternal post death.
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BKS Iyengar (himself comes from family of 12 kids!)and his wife Ramamani, together had 6 children(!) even though they were struggling financially and life was not easy for the couple…
In the Big Apple, on Wall Street… truly shows that today yoga is not some exotic esoteric Eastern practice but an inclusive practice, embraced by all people, beyond religious divide or fixation on Eastern or Hindu roots – Iyengar contributed a lot to bring about that acceptance of yoga for modern life, for anybody and everybody. As Mind & Body connection is made, East – West connection is made – it’s separate and different but at the same time, oneness and wholeness prevails when we transcend that duality.
Child rearing can be challenging – Family Yoga available at Trinity on Wall Street – how about that? Christian church offering yoga practice to bring people together, strengthen ties and turn up the …JOY:) Pure Joy – it’s all good – Nice!
