Krishnamacharya: The Teacher Behind Modern Yoga

Iyengar yoga, Ashtanga vinyasa yoga and Viniyoga all trace back to one teacher, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, often called the father of modern yoga. Here is who he was, what and how he taught, and which of his pupils went on to found schools of their own. How to pick a yoga style that suits you is covered in How to Choose a Yoga Style for Yourself.

Childhood and Studies

Krishnamacharya came into the world on 18 November 1888 in the village of Muchukundapura in southern India, in what is now the state of Karnataka. His father, a respected Vedic scholar, taught him Sanskrit from the age of six. Later Krishnamacharya spent years traveling around India to study the six classical schools of Indian philosophy, yoga among them, and in 1906 he went to study in Varanasi. He also trained in Ayurveda, India’s traditional medicine, and at home in India he is known above all as a healer.

The Mysore Years

In 1926 Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, ruler of Mysore, engaged Krishnamacharya to teach yoga to him and his family. Through the 1920s Krishnamacharya toured the country giving talks and public demonstrations: he held difficult asanas, seemed to stop his own pulse and lifted heavy things with his teeth. His yoga school opened its doors on 11 August 1933 in a wing of the Jaganmohan Palace, and in 1934 his book Yoga Makaranda came out.

His Pupils

Many of the best-known yoga teachers of the twentieth century studied with Krishnamacharya. Among them were Indra Devi; Pattabhi Jois, the founder of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga; B. K. S. Iyengar, who founded Iyengar yoga, was his brother-in-law and began studying with him as a boy in 1934; and his own son, T. K. V. Desikachar. That is why Iyengar yoga and Ashtanga yoga are branches of one lineage that share many asanas.

What He Taught

Krishnamacharya is credited with creating vinyasa in the sense of linking breath to movement. His guiding rule was to teach each person what suits that person. From 1952 he lived in Madras, now Chennai, working with pupils of every age and state of health and shaping the practice for each one, an approach that became known as Viniyoga. He never called himself a master, only a student. Krishnamacharya never once left India, and he died on 28 February 1989 at the age of 100. What yoga does for health is covered in The Benefits of Yoga for Physical and Mental Health.

How to Get Started

In our yoga course, students learn the basic asanas, breathing exercises and meditation, build strength and flexibility, and practice focusing on movement and breath. Lessons are open to students from age 8. A trial lesson costs $8: it is individual and lasts 45 minutes. More about the course is on the Yoga page.