Health Benefits of Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar yoga is a yoga style that emphasizes precision and physical alignment of the body. By
working to achieve perfect alignment in each pose, Iyengar yoga students aim to create
balance in the body and mind. In addition to helping students gain flexibility and strength,
Iyengar yoga may be useful in the management of certain health conditions.
Practicing Iyengar Yoga
Like all forms of yoga, Iyengar yoga combines physical poses, deep breathing, and meditation. A
unique feature of Iyengar yoga is the use of props (such as blocks, pillows, chairs, and
bolsters), which help students attain perfect alignment in each pose. Iyengar yoga also
involves performing poses in a specific sequence in order to maximize their beneficial effects.
Learn more about Iyengar yoga.
Health Benefits of Iyengar Yoga
Research suggests that practicing Iyengar yoga may yield specific health benefits. Here's a
look at some key study findings:
1) Osteoarthritis
In a pilot study published in 2005, scientists found that Iyengar yoga may reduce pain among
people with osteoarthritis of the knee. The study included 11 yoga beginners with
osteoarthritis, all of whom were assigned to eight weeks of Iyengar yoga training (involving
one 90-minute session each week). In addition to experiencing significant reductions in pain,
the seven participants who completed the study showed a decrease in joint stiffness and
improvement in function.
2) Low Back Pain
Iyengar yoga may ease pain, improve function, and lift depression among adults with chronic
low back pain, according to a 2009 study. Study results showed that 43 patients assigned to
six months of biweekly Iyengar yoga classes had significantly greater reductions in pain
intensity, disability, and depression (compared to the 47 study members who received
standard medical care). Members of the yoga group also appeared to reduce their use of pain
medication during the course of the study.
3) Breast Cancer Recovery
Iyengar yoga may benefit survivors of breast cancer, a 2010 study shows. For 12 weeks, 24
breast cancer survivors took part in Iyengar yoga classes. Analyzing questionnaires completed
by 17 study members, researchers found significant improvements in several quality-of-life
factors (including pain and mental health).
Using Iyengar Yoga for Health Purposes
Although Iyengar yoga is generally regarded as safe, it's possible for damage to occur with
any type of yoga if poses aren't executed properly. If you're considering the use of Iyengar
yoga for a specific health problem, make sure to get guidance from an expert teacher.




Iyengar Yoga, named after and developed by B. K. S. Iyengar, is a form of Hatha
Yoga that has an emphasis on detail, precision and alignment in the performance of
posture (asana) and breath control (pranayama). The development of strength, mobility
and stability is gained through the asanas.
B.K.S. Iyengar has systematised over 200 classical yoga poses and 14 different types of
Pranayama (with variations of many of them) ranging from the basic to advanced. This
helps ensure that students progress gradually by moving from simple poses to more
complex ones and develop their mind, body and spirit step-by-step.
[1]

Iyengar Yoga often, but not always, makes use of props, such as belts, blocks, and
blankets, as aids in performing asanas (postures). The props enable students to perform
the asanas correctly, minimising the risk of injury or strain, and making the postures
accessible to both young and old.
Iyengar Yoga is firmly based on the traditional eight limbs of yoga as expounded
by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras.

B. K. S. Iyengar, or Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (born 14 December
1918), is the founder of Iyengar Yoga and is considered one of the foremost yoga
teachers in the world.
[1][2]
He has written many books on yoga practice and philosophy
includingLight on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Iyengar yoga classes are offered throughout the world. Iyengar is one of the earliest
students ofTirumalai Krishnamacharya, who is often referred to as "the father of modern
yoga."
[3]
After modern yoga had arisen from the teachings of Krishnamacharya, it was
Iyengar who established it. As he revealed in an interview in the documentary Breath of
the Gods he struggled in the beginning to make a living as a yoga instructor because he
was confronted by a great deal of prejudice. He has been credited for establishing and
popularizing yoga firstly in India and then moreover around the world.
[4]

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma
Vibhushan in 2014.
[5][6]
In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential
people in the world by Time Magazine.
[7][8]


Early years[edit]
B.K.S. Iyengar was born into a poor Iyengar family
[9]
(a
priestly Brahmin caste)
[10]
at Bellur, Kolar District,
[11]
Karnataka, India. He was the 11th of
13 children (only 10 of whom survived) of father Sri Krishnamachar, a school teacher,
and mother Sheshamma.
[10]
Iyengar's home village of Bellur, in Karnataka, was in the
grip of the influenza pandemic at the time of his birth, leaving him sickly and weak.
Throughout his childhood, he struggled with malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and
general malnutrition. When he was five years old, his family moved to Bangalore and
within four years his father died of appendicitis.
[10]

Education in yoga[edit]
In 1934, his brother-in-law, the yogi Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, asked Iyengar, who
would have been 15 years old at the time, to come to Mysore, so as to improve his
health through yoga practice.
[10]
There, Iyengar learned asana practice, which steadily
improved his health. Krishnamacharya had Iyengar and other students give yoga
demonstration in the Maharaja's court at Mysore, which had a positive influence on
Iyengar.
[10]
Iyengar considers his association with his brother-in-law a turning point in his
life
[10]
saying that over a two-year period "he [Krishnamacharya] only taught me for about
ten or fifteen days, but those few days determined what I have become today!"
[12]
K.
Pattabhi Jois has claimed that he, and not Krishnamacharya, was Iyengar's guru.
[13]
At
the age of 18 (1937), Iyengar was sent by Krishnamacharya to Pune to spread the
teaching of yoga.
[10][14]

Though BKS Iyengar has very high regard for Krishnamacharya,
[15]
and occasionally
turned to him for advice, he had a troubled relationship with his guru during his
tutelage.
[16]
In the beginning, he predicted that the stiff, sickly teenager would not be
successful at Yoga. He was neglected and tasked with household chores. Only when
Krishnamacharya's favorite pupil at the time, Keshavamurthy left one day, did serious
training start.
[17]
Krishnamacharya began teaching a series of difficult postures,
sometimes telling him to not eat until he mastered a certain posture. These experiences
would later inform the way he taught his students.
[18]

Teaching career[edit]
With the encouragement of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar, aged 18,
[9]
moved to Pune in
1937 to teach yoga. He spent many hours each day learning and experimenting with
various techniques.
He taught yoga to several noted personalities including Jiddu Krishnamurti, Jayaprakash
Narayan and Yehudi Menuhin.
[19]
He taughtsirsasana (head stand) to Elisabeth, Queen
of Belgium when she was 80.
[20]

International recognition[edit]
In 1952, Iyengar befriended the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
[21]
Menuhin arranged for
Iyengar to teach abroad in London, Switzerland,Paris and elsewhere. The popularity of
yoga in the West has been attributed, by some, in large part to Iyengar.
[8]

In 1966, Light on Yoga was published. It eventually became an international best-seller
and was translated into 17 languages. Light on Yoga was followed by titles
on pranayama and various aspects of yoga philosophy. In total, Iyengar has authored 14
books.
[22]

In 1975, Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, in
memory of his late wife. He officially retired from teaching in 1984, but continues to be
active in the world of Iyengar Yoga, teaching special classes and writing books.
Iyengar's daughter, Geeta, and son, Prashant, have gained international acclaim as
teachers.
[8]

In 2005, he visited the United States to promote his latest book, Light on Life, and to
teach a special workshop at the Yoga Journalconference in Colorado. 3 October 2005
was declared as "B.K.S.Iyengar Day" by San Francisco city's Board of
Supervisors.
[2]
Anthropologist Joseph S. Alter of the University of Pittsburgh stated "He
has by far had the most profound impact on the global spread of yoga.
[2]

In June 2011, he was presented with a commemorative stamp issued in his honour by
the Beijing branch of China Post. There are over thirty thousand Iyengar yoga students
in 57 cities in China.
[23]

The noun "Iyengar" is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as "a type of astanga yoga...",
named after B.K.S.Iyengar, its deviser.
[24]

Personal practice[edit]
BKS Iyengar reported in interviews
[15][16]
that, at the age of 90, he continues to practice
asanas for 3 hours and pranayamas for an hour daily. Besides this, he mentions that he
finds himself performing non-deliberate pranayamas at other times.
Approach to teaching[edit]
BKS Iyengar attracted his students by offering them just what they sought - which
tended to be physical stamina and flexibility.
[16]
He conducted demonstrations and later,
when a scooter accident dislocated his spine, began exploring the use of props to help
disabled people practice Yoga. He also drew inspiration from Hindu deities such as
Yoga Narasimha and stories of yogis using trees to support their asanas.
[18]

Recognition by Krishnamacharya[edit]
In an interview to Namarupa this is what BKS Iyengar said about Krishnamacharyas
endorsement of his teaching style:
[15]

"He [Krishnamacharya] never taught me much about teaching, but he saw me teach. In
1961, he came to Pune and was teaching my daughter and son. He taught them for
many hours, but unfortunately they could not get what he was trying to show them.
When I came up and asked what was wrong, my daughter told me what she did not
understand about a posture. So, I explained to her, "You must stretch from this end to
that end". And immediately when Krishnamacharya saw this, he gave me a gold medal
known as Yoga Shikshaka Chakravarti, which means "Emperor of Yoga Teachers,
Teacher of Teachers". He said I must teach like this and not just in private, but in public".
Family[edit]
In 1943, he married Ramamani, to whom he had been introduced by his brothers.
Together they raised five daughters and a son. Both his eldest daughter Geeta (born in
1944) and his son Prashant have become internationally-known teachers in their own
right. The other children of B.K.S. Iyengar are Vanita, Sunita, Suchita, and
Savita.
[25]
Geeta Iyengar is the author of Yoga: A Gem for Women (2002), and Prashant
is the author of several books, including A Class after a Class: Yoga, an Integrated
Science (1998), and Yoga and the New Millennium (2008). Geeta and Prashant co-
direct the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune.
[26]

Charitable works and activism[edit]
Iyengar has supported nature conservation, stating that it is important to conserve all
animals and birds.
[27]
He donated Rs. 2 million toChamarajendra Zoological Gardens,
Mysore, reckoned to be the highest amount donated to any zoo in India.
[27]
He also
adopted a tiger and a cub in memory of his wife, who died in 1973.
[27]

He has helped promote awareness of multiple sclerosis with the Pune unit of the Multiple
Sclerosis Society of India.
[28]

See also[edit]

Yoga portal

Biography portal

India portal
Iyengar Yoga
Bibliography[edit]
Iyengar published his first book (Light on Yoga) in 1966. The book has been translated
into 17 languages and sold 3 million copies.
[2]

Iyengar, B.K.S. (1966; revised ed. 1977). Light on Yoga. New York: Schocken. ISBN
978-0-8052-1031-6
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1989). Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing. New York:
Crossroad. ISBN 0-8245-0686-3
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1985). The Art of Yoga. Boston: Unwin. ISBN 978-0-04-149062-6
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1988). The Tree of Yoga. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-464-X
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1996). Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. London:
Thorsons. ISBN 978-0-00-714516-4
Iyengar, B.K.S., Abrams, D. & Evans, J.J. (2005). Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to
Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom. Pennsylvania: Rodale. ISBN 1-
59486-248-6
Iyengar, B.K.S. (2007). Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health. New York: Dorling
Kindersley. ISBN 978-0-7566-3362-2
Iyengar, B.K.S. (8 Vols, 2000-2008). Astadala Yogamala: Collected Works. New
Delhi: Allied Publishers.
Iyengar, B.K.S. (2009). Yoga Wisdom and Practice. New York: Dorling
Kindersley. ISBN 0-7566-4283-3
Iyengar, B.K.S. (2010). Yaugika Manas: Know and Realize the Yogic Mind. Mumbai:
Yog. ISBN 81-87603-14-3
Iyengar, B.K.S. (2012). Core of the Yoga Sutras: The Definitive Guide to the
Philosophy of Yoga. London: HarperThorsons. ISBN 978-0007921263