Bks Iyengar

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 30 Mar 2007, 12:15

A true legend who revolutionised yoga. He continues to practise at the age of 89 and he is better than many 30 year olds even at this age.

There are some videos featuring this great man at
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=BKS+Iyengar.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 07 Apr 2007, 10:47

I don't know if there is any interest in this forum in Yoga but I'll keep trying! Some more information below on the BKS Iyengar method.

Iyengarâ€™s method is based on giving primary importance to the physical alignment of the body in the poses. There is a correct way to do each pose. The stress on alignment and use of props to aid the alignment are pathbreaking innovations of the Iyengar school. There are other schools that show the students some stick diagrams and ask them to do the asanas by looking at the picture. What results is usually a sloppy, incorrect posture and injuries. In the Iyengar method, you have to be alert and alive in each and every pose.

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 08 Apr 2007, 02:29

BKS Iyengar states that his guru, Sri tirumalai kRSNamAcArya, received the yOga rahasyA of SrImannAtamuni. SrImannAtamuni received the nAlAyira divya pAsurangal from svAmi nammAzhvAr. He then authored the yOga rahasya around 900 AD. He gave the nAlAyiram pAsurangal to SrI uyyakonDAr (aka svAmi punDarIkAkSa) and the yOga rahasyA to tirukkurugai kAvalappan who lived in gangaikOnDacOzhapuram instructing both of them to hand it over to his grandson, the second most important SrI vaiSNavA preceptor, Sri yAmunAmuni (aka svAmi ALavandAr). SrI uyyakonDar was successful but tirukkurugai kAvalappan died before he could and the yOga rahasyA was lost. In the 1900s, SrImannAtamuni is supposed to have come in the dream of Sri tirumalai kRSNamAcArya during his trip to mAnasarOvar and given him the yOga rashyA. tirumala SrI kRSNamAcArya is said to have in turn taught it to his disciples tirumala dESikAcAryA (TKC's son), SrI paTTAbhi jois (??), bELur SrI kRSNamAcAr sundararAjAcAryA (aka BKS Iyengar) and other. tirumala SrI kRSNamAcAryA also codified the aStAnga yOga methods with SrI paTTAbhi jois. It is said that the three students have totally different thoughts. But still all three forms are considered authentic since they trace the origins to the yOga rahasyA of SrImannAtamuni. yOga rahasyA of SrImannAtamuni is supposed to have codified the ways of the bhakti yOga Sastram. We can find this information in books like guruparamparA prabhAvam, pEriyatirumuDi aDaivu, some works of svAmi ALavandAr though they do not have any direct qoutation from it. SrIvaiSNavAcAryas are of the belief that SaraNagati Sastram is superior since we have received the SaraNagati SastrAm of svAmi nammAzhwar instead of the yOga rahasyA of SrimannAtamuni. But please do not get me wrong. I'm neither putting down yOga rahasyA nor bhakti yOga. yOga definitely is a good way to exercise the human body and its organs.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 08 Apr 2007, 10:07

Ksrimech,
Where does Patanjali fit in this history? I'm familiar with the Iyengar method. I have seen students from KYM. They seem to be good in pranayama but their asanas are far from perfect. I have heard a lot about Pattabhi Jois but they are too expensive (atleast for me!!!). Some of my friends who have learnt from other schools have said the Iyengar school is the best as far as asanas are concerned. All said and done, we are still surviving because of these 3 legends. The Western world seems to be investing more in this artform than we are and soon we will be learning these styles from Americans!

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 08 Apr 2007, 21:06

sbala wrote:The Western world seems to be investing more in this artform than we are and soon we will be learning these styles from Americans!

The NCCAM (National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine) at the National Institutes of Health is looking at the 'benefits' of yOga (among other methods of AM) through what they claim are scientifically designed protocols, with extensive pre and post treatment work-ups of the volunteers. The only question I have is how do they blind the participants?:P

I think that all these studies can tell us is if the benefits can be assessed by measures accepted by allopathic medicine - but not really to tell us how to practice the methods...

Anyway, if anyone is interested, this web-site lists the trials that are being conducted/funded by NCCAM: http://nccam.nih.gov/clinicaltrials/alltrials.htm

Check out the 'Yoga' link and the (transcendental) meditation links in particular.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 08 Apr 2007, 21:32

Ravi,
I have done some volunteering for similar studies by Dr. Krishnaraman, who is a student of BKS Iyengar. Infact, he has got a book that talks about the medical benefits of yoga proved through scientific studies. If I'm right, the Iyengar school has corrected some of the classical postures based on their findings.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 08 Apr 2007, 21:47

Where does Patanjali fit in this history?

"....it must never be forgotten that pranayama is merely a physical means to a spritual end. Many uninformed people imagine that yoga is nothing but a system of breathing exercises and complicated postures - 'holding your breath and standing on your head.' When they speak of 'yoga' they really only mean 'hatha yoga', which is the correct name for this system of exercises, as originally practised in ancient India. Hatha yoga was designed to prepare the aspirant for spiritual experience by perfecting the body; but it has been condemned by spiritual teachers because it tends, in practice, to concentrate mind upon the body itself. In the West, it is to be found in a completely degenerated form, as a cult of physical beauty and prolonged youth. As such, it may be effective, certainly, but also dangerous. Overindulgence in breathing exercises, just for the sake of the agreeable 'oxygen-jag' which they produce, may lead to hallucintions and, possibly, insanity. And, even at best, an excessive preoccupation with our physical appearance and well-being is obviously a distraction, causing to forget, in silly vanity, our proper purpose."

'Patanjali Yoga Sutras' (translated with a new commentary) by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood - Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai Publication- pp 42 explaining Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.34.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 08 Apr 2007, 22:51

VG has correctly focussed on the psychological effects of hatha yoga which physicians tend to forget. To understand the deep significance of yoga as expounded by Patanjali does require a Hindu spiritual orientation! There is an attempt in the West and in India too to isolate Yoga from Hinduism of which it is an integral part! Meditation is indeed the natural extension of yoga which is the preliminary preparation of the body to prepare the reception/perception of the inner spiritual spark!
(since this is Easter Sunday one may give some credence to the story of the missing years of Jesus when he was supposed to have learned Yoga and spiritualism during his perigrinations at India!)

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 09 Apr 2007, 08:07

This is where I have a problem. Most people who talk cannot do these physical postures. Let a spiritual teacher show me a perfect padmasana and then I'm willing to listen to his arguments. But, if he has not achieved perfection in an area, then he should not be talking about it. An interesting incident involving BKS Iyengar in a conference on Yoga with 2 other spiritual gurus. Before the conference began, it seems they told the audience that questions regarding the practical benefits of asanas or ways of doing them should be directed to BKS Iyengar. It takes years and years of practice to perfect these poses and you need an exceptionally strong mind to achieve that perfection. If you can do these postures and then say it is just a means to an end, the argument is more credible. But, to condemn the postures as mere gymnastics is nonsense when you have never done and felt these poses in depth. I'm not arguing with VG sir or CMlover sir. My arguments is against these so called spiritual gurus who should not be talking about something they don't know. While I do agree its a means to an end, let's not condemn it because it ain't the end.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 09 Apr 2007, 13:00

sbala,
The quotatation posted by me is not meant to condemn 'hatha yOga' - far from it. I am aware of the benefits and merits of 'hatha yOga'. I just wanted to draw attention to the use of the word 'yOga' to mean 'hatha yOga'.

Now-a-days, in Western nations 'hatha yOga' is the most abused Indian contribution, - a hedonism; everyone seems to think that 'yOga' is all about physical fitness; that's what condemned in the quotation.

Like the famous author Kushwant Singh said, 'if I had known earlier that Kundalini yoga brings more sexual pleasure, I would have learnt it and adopted' - or words to that effect.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 09 Apr 2007, 14:43

VG Sir,
I understood your intent but I have come across some half-baked yoga teachers who talk a lot but don't do much. Yoga is much abused in the West but I think that is more an Indian interpretation of the West. Last I heard, there is something called Dog-Yoga in Japan/Korea and weighttraining-yoga in our very own India. These stupid innovations can't hurt yoga. It's the serious practioners and researchers who will contribute more to the artform and it seems to me the West will overtake India in this respect once the lives of the legends are over. I was told by one of my teachers that the Bihar School of Yoga has more foreigners than Indians. I don't know whether its true but if it is, these are the sign of things to come

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 09 Apr 2007, 21:06

sbala,

I think it is great that amidst everything right or wrong going on, an exponent like BKS Iyengar is showing the world how yOga is done right. I watched a video sometime ago on the Internet by BKS Iyengar on just inhalation and exhalation and was amazed. Tantra is another thing that is subject to a lot of mispropoganda and misuse.

Why do such degradations of our rich ancient methods sell amongst our own people? Because we don't know enough or we don't take pride in having descended from such a rich ancestry, or more importantly, because we have fallen prey to the philosophy of the West that anything is real/useful if science can prove it. Science proved the heliocentric theory in the 17th century. Our ancestors knew it when they wrote the Agama shAstras. Any navagraha sannidhi in any temple has sUrya at its centre with the other grahas around it.

These same websites that discuss Dog-Yoga, Dance-Yoga or Temperature-Yoga have paragraphs and paragraphs of quotes from yOgasUtras and scriptures of how yOga is spiritual and how it is a union with the One and all that. And then, they say they have customized it for specific goal-oriented life. People should know better than to get influenced by this.

I believe a big fraction of this misled crowd does not have access to the original literature and resources on this and so, go by whoever has to say whatever on this.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 09 Apr 2007, 22:33

Karthik,
Yes. BKS Iyengar has done lot of research on Pranayama. I know people from other schools who complained of feeling dizzy when they do it. The KYM school is also known to be good on Pranayama. As far as your other points are concerned, they are all valid. But, I like the West, their approach to science, teaching, sports etc. I don't watch Baywatch or Hollywood movies..So, my model of the West is a little bit different. You could not have built something like America if it only had people with loose morals!

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 09 Apr 2007, 22:56

sbala :

I am not criticizing the West at all. I like a lot of things about the West too. I am more concerned about why we Indians don't want to create an identity for ourselves based on our past? Why can't we take pride in what was handed down to us by our ancestors? There are many people in India who think sanskrit is a dead language, but then there's people at NASA who can put it to work at Artificial Intelligence.

vasya10 · Post by **vasya10** » 10 Apr 2007, 00:50

karthik76:

I am more concerned about why we Indians don't want to create an identity for ourselves based on our past? Why can't we take pride in what was handed down to us by our ancestors?

Thats because we are still inflicted with the Macaulay syndrome.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 10 Apr 2007, 01:21

I googled up what the Macaulay syndrome meant, and here's what I found -

To him goes the credit to introduce the prototype of what is today known as the English/Secular Education System. The purpose of introducing this system, in Macaulayâ€™s own words, was: â€œSo that a generation may arise, which is Indian in birth and English in thought.â€