What is Iyengar Yoga? Who started it?

Iyengar yoga has been created by BKS Iyengar who has been practicing and teaching yoga for many years.



He has also written several books on yoga and its philosophies. Iyengar Yoga is based on the eight fold path of the `yoga sutras'.



This is a form of `Hatha Yoga' where stress is laid on aligning different parts of the body. Iyengar yoga is primarily learnt through hatha yoga poses and breath control.



The various postures and breathing techniques have been structured from easy to difficult. This iyengar style yoga has been developed for the gradual progress of the beginners in performing these exercises and to develop their bodies and minds in flexibility, strength and control.



With the progression of this schedule of exercises, the mind, body and spirit of the learners keep nearing a harmonious balance. Iyengar School of yoga teaches perfection through meticulousness.

Each Iyengar yoga asana is performed to master the different aspects of `Astanga' yoga, propounded by Patanjali, which is to control the body and thence to control one's mind.



Iyengar Yoga teaches us to perform a particular pose in a proper manner and not to do a pose too swiftly or too slowly. To sequentially perform all the poses, attention is given to details and props such as benches, blocks and belts are used to enhance the effectiveness of the exercise.



In the yoga class, the errors are immediately corrected and the ill students are also taught to enjoy the postures through various props. Learners are given precise instructions to perform the various poses and emphasis is laid on the standing poses. This builds their leg muscles and improves blood circulation in the body.

The postures are designed to provide relief and cure from various diseases like backaches, depression and high blood pressure. Iyengar yoga is designed specifically to achieve perfection in performing the poses. For this, precision is stressed upon and individual approach in practicing the postures is discouraged. With the help of Iyengar yoga, a fine balance is achieved, stress is reduced and our senses are revitalized, thus helping us in building perfect yoga health.