Iyengar yoga
The term Iyengar Yoga refers to the style of Yoga taught by Yogacharya Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar. B.K.S. Iyengar, who was born on 14th of December, 1918 was introduced to yoga by his guru T. Krishnamacharya at the tender age of 16. Within a couple of years, his guru was so impressed with his yoga skills that he sent him to Pune, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra to teach yoga. Over the years, B.K.S. Iyengars stature as a yoga guru grew very rapidly and he became famous not only in India but all over the world. To facilitate his ambition of teaching more and more people yoga, he started the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune in1975. Since then, several such institutes have been started all over the world and today there are hundreds of certified yoga instructors teaching his brand of yoga - Iyengar Yoga.
The basic question that comes to mind is that how is Iyengar Yoga different from the other styles of yoga that are being practiced today. There are three primary differences between Iyengar Yoga and other styles of yoga. Firstly, Iyengar Yoga lays great emphasis on technique. The alignment of ones body needs to be perfect while performing pranayama and asanas. Secondly, the sequence in which the various forms of pranayama and the asanas are practiced is very important. The right sequence can bring about not only mental and emotional effects but also spiritual evolution which is otherwise not possible. And the third difference lies in the stress that Iyengar Yoga lays on the duration of time spent in doing each asana or pranayama. It takes the body a certain amount of time before it becomes stable in any given asana. Doing the asana for the right amount of time will ensure that the body derives the maximum benefit out of the asana.
"What also differentiates Iyengar Yoga from other styles of yoga is the use of props. It was B.K.S. Iyengar who first came up with the idea of taking the aid of props while performing certain asanas. Today, Iyengar Yoga uses a number of props including cushions, benches, wooden blocks, straps and sand bags. These asanas help novices in perfectly performing asanas that normally take years of practice to master. And perhaps the more utilitarian advantage of props is that students who are either tired or ill can perform many of the asanas easily as using these props makes the asanas less taxing on the muscles.
Iyengar Yoga follows the path of Astanga Yoga as preached by Sage Patanjali who is widely credited as being the father of yoga. The eight aspects of Astanga Yoga are Yama - social conduct, Niyama - personal conduct, Asanas - body postures, Pranayama - breath control, Pratyahara - internalization of the senses of perception, Dharana - concentration, Dhyana - meditation and Samadhi which is supposed to be the final stage of self realization. Iyengar Yoga aims at perfectly combining all these eight aspects of Astanga Yoga so that the individual can master his body and work towards uplifting the soul. It tries to integrate the body, the mind and the spirit into one being.
Iyengar Yoga teaches over 200 classical yoga asanas and 14 different types of pranayamas. Asanas are the basic building blocks of Iyengar Yoga. Beginners start with the simpler asanas and proceed to the more difficult ones, once the body has become flexible and the mind has a reasonably strong control over the body. Iyengar Yoga lays great stress on the standing asanas. These asanas help build strong legs and improve the coordination and balance of the body. They prepare the body for the more complex asanas.
Pranayama is a very important aspect of Iyengar Yoga. Before one proceeds to do true meditation one must master pranayama. Meditation is not just about sitting in one pose with one s legs folded and concentrating. It is much more than that. While meditating one must have absolute control over ones body. The aim of meditation is not to make the mind completely still but to make it so sharp that it can detect even the slightest of changes in the body. When one can truly practice pranayama, he has complete control over ones breathing process and this serves as a stepping stone for practicing true meditation - in which one has absolute control over ones body. Pranayama not only helps in controlling the respiratory system but it also helps in smoothing the functioning of the circulatory, digestive and nervous systems. After a good session of pranayama or meditation, the body feels extremely calm and energetic as well. Meditation as preached by Iyengar Yoga is not just about being able to concentrate in one position but being able to concentrate in any position at all.
B.K.S. Iyengar has played an important role in spreading awareness of the benefits of yoga all over the world. When Sage Patanjali wrote his treatise on yoga in 5th century B.C., it was a terse document comprising 196 aphorisms. B.K.S. Iyengar used Patanjalis treatise and made it into a brand of yoga that can be easily practiced by all and one. Today Iyengar Yoga is taught all over the world by teachers who have had between 2 to5 years of rigorous training to achieve the introductory level of certification. There are Iyengar Yoga institutes all over the world which provide various different courses in yoga for interested learners. B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga National Assocation of the United States is the biggest Iyengar Yoga association in the United States.
Iyengar Yoga helps people in improving their physical, emotional and mental health. It provides them with inner peace and intellectual clarity. A healthy body and a clear mind help the practitioner in excelling in whatever career they are pursuing. In addition it is also beneficial for people suffering from a number of chronic ailments like arthritis of the knee, cervical spondylosis, lower back pain, slipped disc, unclosing spondylosis, sciatica pain, angina pain, hypertension, constipation, acidity, flatulence, diabetes, colitis, hiatus hernia, asthma, sinusitis, bronchitis, headache and migraine. In fact even drug addicts and HIV patients have experienced an improvement in their life after practicing Iyengar Yoga.
B.K.S. Iyengar has spread yoga all over the world as Iyengar Yoga and has made the benefits of yoga accessible to all and one.
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