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BNS Iyengar
While Sri K. Pattabhi Jois focused on the propagation of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system, BNS Iyengar, also a
direct disciple of Krishnamacharya, continued the Ashtanga tradition through the teachings of pranayama, mudra
and meditation. Jois and Iyengar were students of Krishnamacharyas in Mysore at the same time. When
Krishnamacharya left the city, he left the teachings of Ashtanga in the hands of his oldest and most experienced
student, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. These teachings are now at the University of Mysore. At Jagamohan temple, a
Vaishnava temple in which Krishnamacharya also taught, led by BNS Iyengar, a Vaishnava like
Krishnamacharya, the tradition of teaching continues up until today!
Krishnamacharya
If one traced back the tradition of Ashtanga Yoga from Pattabhi Jois and BNS Iyengar a step further, one comes
to Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. This great sage and yogi traveled to the Himalayas in the year 1916 to learn
yoga. There he met his guru Sri Ramamohan Brahmachari and spent seven and a half years with him. In this
time he studied the Ashtanga yoga system. In 1933 he first taught in Mysore, and later on in Madras for many
Indian and Western students. In addition to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and BNS Iyengar, among his best known students
are Indra Devi, BKS Iyengar and his son TKV Desikachar. Influenced by these masters, yoga styles have
stemmed from one family. Their representatives were students of the great master Krishnamacharya, just at
different times. Krishnamarchaya taught the most traditional and original form of yoga , Ashtanga yoga, in
Mysore. In Madras he changed his style, which ultimately became Vini-Yoga. However, the origin connects
Ashtanga- with Vini- and Iyengar-Yoga.
2.
3.
Asana (position)
4.
5.
6.
Dharana (concentration)
7.
Dhyana (meditation)
8.
Samadhi (self-awareness)
This eightfold path, seeking the calming of thoughts in the mind, is the namesake of Ashtanga Yoga: Ashta =
eight, anga = limbs, yoga = peace of mind
Patanjali, the author of the "Yoga Sutra", is recognized as an incarnation of Adisesa, the mythological serpent
protector of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu sleeps on Adisesa in the ocean of existence. Patanjali was born to a
woman named Gonica. She was a very serious yogini. When she offered a prayer to the sun god Surya, a small
snake appeared in her hands and took human form. Gonica was asked to adopt the boy as her son. She followed
this request and named him Patanjali, which is a description of the circumstances of his birth: "fallen Prayer"
(pata = to fall; anjali = prayer).
Page keywords:
Ashtanga, Yoga, Pattabhi Jois, Krishnamacharya, Patanjali, Vamana Rishi, Vishnu, Tradition
Tradition
Traditions/roots
Krishnamacharya
Way to the West
Children of Ashtanga Yoga
Basics
Asana Vinyasa Series