B. K. S. Iyengar, Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West, Dies at 95

B. K. S. Iyengar, who helped introduce the practice of yoga to a Western world awakening to the notion of an inner life, died on Wednesday in the southern Indian city of Pune. He was 95.

NYTimes

R.I.P Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar

I was fortunate to have taken his Saturday classes in Mumbai, until I left for Hawaii. Iyengar Yoga changed my life in many ways–including changing from a mostly meat-eater to a vegetarian 23.5 years ago.

This is what he looked like back then:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t2OLXi2xvY

Unfortunately, the clips that I have viewed on YouTube do not display his relaxed, mischievous manner. I can still see the infrequent flashes of impatience or frustration. The occasional “kick” or “whack with a rope” followed by the loud chuckle or laugh. [I use quotes as the “hits” never hurt’ He always knew what he was doing.]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.