A day after B.K.S Iyengar breathed his last, yoga practitioner and teacher Sharmila walked into a bookstore and asked for 10 copies of a book penned by the late guru. The shop attendant was curious to know if she was buying the books after hearing the news of his demise. Sharmila was purchasing the books as part of a curriculum she designed for a teacher training programme. “The entire day, Hiren (her husband and lawyer Hirendernath) were distraught learning about Iyengar’s passing away. We had a session of yoga as a mark of respect to him,” says Sharmila.
Sharmila and Hiren’s yoga studio is modelled on the principles of Iyengar yoga, with the use of props such as wooden blocks, belts, ropes and custom-made benches for back bends that make the toughest of asanas accessible to everyone. The couple got initiated into yoga through ‘The Art of Yoga’ written by Iyengar. “This was in 1998, when my daughter was born and I had post partum issues. Hiren encouraged me to practice. We didn’t know practitioners of Iyengar yoga in Hyderabad and learnt from his books,” recalls Sharmila.
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The practice, they realised, empowered students from within. They made repeated trips to Iyengar’s school in Pune over the next few years and attended classes taken by Iyengar’s daughter Geeta S. Iyengar and son Prashant. “They helped us ease into postures we never thought we were capable of,” says Sharmila, who was stuck by the importance given to alignment and technique. “We loved the simplicity and humility at the school,” says Hiren, who notes how foreign students outnumber Indians at the school. “Foreigners have taken over yoga, are capable of focused practice, and have made yoga popular all over the world,” he says.
The Iyengar school in Pune, the couple observes, follows a system of training students to become teachers only after years of practice. “We observed well known yoga teachers who have several studios abroad coming back to Iyengar for short periods, and becoming students under his watchful eyes when they perform asanas,” says Hiren.
One of the biggest contribution of Iyengar to yoga is the use of props, which help relatively new practitioners perform asanas safely. “A beginner can hurt himself performing headstands (sirsasana) without support. The Iyengar method uses specialised ropes which newcomers can use to perform headstands and thus de-stress himself safely,” says Hiren.
Modern yoga gurus like Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar, Sharmila points out, empowered people to use yoga to deal with conditions. “They didn’t make people dependant on the guru. Someone with renal problems is taught how to do specific asanas by himself. Probably this is why westerners, who like to be independent, liked this form of yoga,” she says.
Iyengar’s method emphasises performing asanas with awareness and breathing technique. A seemingly simple Tadasana, taught by Iyengar himself, demanded students to be mentally alert, engaging the right groups of muscles. “You cannot let your mind wander and go into a Trikonasana in his class. He observes how each student places his foot, engages shoulder muscles and so on,” says Sharmila.
Yoga is not mechanically performing 100 Suryanamaskars but moving into asanas with alignment and breathing technique.
Iyengar’s de-linking of yoga from religion has been lauded. In addition, Sharmila and Hiren feel he being a family person made him connect with people. “He is a householder yogi. Yoga acts like a fulcrum that enables a practitioner to get on with his or her day to day duties.”
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