Teaching system

There are 180 Iyengar Yoga Institutes worldwide and Iyengar Yoga is taught in more than 40 countries. B.K.S. Iyengar has evolved precise posture (asana) and breathing (pranayama) techniques with a firm philosophical base in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Patanjali lived about 1700 years ago, in India. He is credited with texts on Ayurvedic medicine and Sk grammar as well as the yoga sutras which encapsulate yoga philosophy in just 196 sutras (aphorisms).

The system of teaching is methodical and progressive, emphasising detailed correctness and absolute safety. When necessary, it uses supports called “props” that allow students to progress in their practice of postures safely at their own pace, to suit their body. Beginners work in a basic way on simple postures according to their capabilities. As they develop they then move on to more refined ways of working as well as to more complex postures.

For more information about the Sage Patanjali, and to hear a recording of B.K.S. Iyengar singing the invocation to Patanjali, please go to: http://www.bksiyengar.com/modules/IYoga/sage.htm