Tirumalai Krishnamacharya-father of modern yoga
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was born in Muchukundapura, a town in thitradurga, Karnataka. He was a great Yoga teacher and called the father of Modern Yoga for his immense work on Postural and Hatha yoga. His teachings have always inspired lakhs of yoga students worldwide, and he was the architect of Vinyasa yoga. His teaching style follows the requirements to satisfy every yoga patient precisely what they asked for. He was a renowned yoga guru of asana, pranayama, and Dayanand and developed the ability to stop his heartbeat.
Krishnamacharya education
Under the stern instruction of his father, he started studying literature like the Amarakosha, learning to speak and write Sanskrit, and chanting the Vedas. His father passed away when Krishnamacharya was ten years old. Later, he travelled to Mysore to continue his studies there and at Mysore University under the supervision of Srinivasa Brahmatantra Parakala Swami, his great-grandfather. Krishnamacharya travelled extensively throughout India in his youth while studying the six Indian philosophies of Samkhya-yoga-sikhamani, Mimamsa-ratna, Mimamsa-tirtha, Nyayacarya, Vedantavagisa, Veda-Kesari, and Yogacarya. He worked with Brahmashri Shivakumar Shastry of Banaras University, “one of the greatest grammarians of the age,” while attending university to study logic and Sanskrit. Additionally, Brahmasri Trilinga Rama Shastri taught him the Mimamsa.
Ayurveda expert
Krishnamacharya was an Ayurvedic doctor with extensive knowledge. In terms of diet, herbal medicine, oils, and other treatments, he “had great expertise.” Ayurvedic doctors like Krishnamacharya were trained to start a patient’s treatment with a thorough examination to decide the best course of action. To get the desired result, Krishnamacharya emphasised the significance of combining breath training (pranayama) with yoga postures (asanas) and meditation (dhyana).
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya yoga contributions
In Krishnamacharya’s opinion, yoga is what India has given the world the most. He taught yoga because he believed it could be a spiritual discipline and a physical therapy method. Vinyasa Krama Yoga is the current name for his yoga school. The Yoga Yajnavalkya and the Patanjali Yoga Sutras laid the foundation for Krishnamacharya’s teachings.
Krishnamacharya books
- Yoga Makaranda (1934)
- Yogaasanagalu (1941)
- Yoga Rahasya,
- Yogavalli (1988)
Krishnamacharya students
He had some of the most renowned yoga teachers in the world as his disciples.
- Indra Devi
- Pattabhi Jois
- BKS Iyengar
- TKS Desikachar
- Srivtsa Ramaswami
- A G Mohan
