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B.K.S. Iyengar

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December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India

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male

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Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (Kannada: ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರ್ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮಾಚಾರ್ ಸುಂದರರಾಜ ಐಯಂಗಾರ್), (also known as Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and...more Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (Kannada: ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರ್ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮಾಚಾರ್ ಸುಂದರರಾಜ ಐಯಂಗಾರ್), (also known as Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.

B.K.S. Iyengar was born into a poor Hebbar Iyengar family. He had a difficult childhood. Iyengar's home village of Belur, Karnataka, India, was in the grips of the influenza pandemic at the time of his birth, leaving him sickly and weak. Iyengar's father died when he was 9 years old, and he continued to suffer from a variety of maladies in childhood, including malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and general malnutrition.

At the age of 15 Iyengar went to live with his brother-in-law, the well-known yogi, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya in Mysore. There, Iyengar began to learn asana practice, which steadily improved his health. Soon he overcame his childhood weaknesses.

With the encouragement of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar moved to Pune to teach yoga in 1937. There his practice developed as he spent many hours each day learning and experimenting in various techniques. As his methods improved, the number of students at his classes increased and his fame spread. In Pune, his brothers introduced him to Ramamani, whom he married in 1943.

In 1952, Iyengar met and befriended the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Menuhin arranged for Iyengar to teach abroad in London, Switzerland, Paris and elsewhere. This was the first time that many Westerners had been exposed to yoga, and the practice slowly became well known. The popularity of yoga in the West can in large part be attributed to Iyengar.

In 1966, "Light on Yoga," was published. It gradually became an international best-seller and was translated into 17 languages. Often called “the bible of yoga,”[citation needed] it succeeded in making yoga well known throughout the globe. This was later followed by titles on pranayama and various aspects of yoga philosophy. Mr. Iyengar has authored 14 books.

In 1975, Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, in memory of his departed wife. He officially retired from teaching in 1984, but continues to be active in the world of Iyengar Yoga, teaching special classes and writing books. Iyengar's daughter Geeta and son Prashant have gained international acclaim as teachers.

Iyengar has been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

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Books by B.K.S. Iyengar

Average rating: 4.26 · 2,579 ratings · 270 reviews · 23 distinct works

	Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga... by B.K.S. Iyengar, Yeudi Menuhin (Foreword by) 4.33 avg rating — 1,353 ratings — published 1987 — 13 editions	My rating:
	Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom by B.K.S. Iyengar, Douglas Abrams, John J. Evans 4.28 avg rating — 472 ratings — published 2005 — 10 editions	My rating:
	The Tree of Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar, Patricia Walden (Foreword by) 4.02 avg rating — 183 ratings — published 1988 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Yoga: The Path To Holistic Health 4.21 avg rating — 182 ratings — published 2001 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 4.24 avg rating — 141 ratings — published 1966 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing by B.K.S. Iyengar, Yehudi Menuhin (Designed by) 4.01 avg rating — 112 ratings — published 1981 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Teoria e pratica dello yoga 3.73 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1983	My rating:
	Illustrated Light on Yoga: An Easy-to-follow Version of the Classic Introduction to Yoga 4.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2000	My rating:
	Iyengar Yoga For Life 4.62 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2009	My rating:
	Concise Light on Yoga 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1982 — 2 editions	My rating: