I'm going through some of my previous photos of India and the yoga school to get me in the mood to travel next week (yeah, right...like I need to get in the mood to go to India!), and I found this one of Desikachar (we only call him "Sir") chanting for us in our vedic chant class. You can see the portrait of his father, Krishnamacharya, behind him.
Krishnamacharya was the grandfather of modern hatha yoga. His students were Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and his son, Desikachar, and others such as Indra Devi, AG Mohan, and my teacher, Srivatsa Ramaswami. Ramaswami studied with his guru for over 30 years. So from Krishnamacharya three major yoga styles flowed: Iyengar, astanga, and viniyoga (although Desikachar no longer calls it viniyoga.)
If you are a "yoga therapist" you owe a huge debt to Krishnamacharya because he believed that you teach to the individual, you do not make the individual fit your style of yoga. Although I study at KYM, I do not want to be "certified" in yoga therapy. No one called Krishnamacharya a "yoga therapist." I believe all yoga is therapy if it's applied in the proper way.
In the 1920s, Krishnamacharya walked from Mysore to Tibet to study with his guru.
mmmmm...6 more days and I'll be in the arms of Ma India.....
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