Yoga: Krishnamacharya

Born in 1888, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was a direct descent of Nathamuni, a ninth century yogi. Krishnamacharya began his formal education at the age of six, at the Parakala Math, His thirst for knowledge gave him the opportunity to travel widely and seek all aspects of the vedic tradition from the best teachers across India. He in turn mastered of these systems and was bestowed with titles such as Sankhya Yoga Sikhamani, Mimamsa Tirtha, Nyayacarya, Vedanta Vagisa and Veda Kesari. He was also a master of Ayurveda (the ancient Indian system of healing) and Sanskrit. At the age of twenty-eight, he trekked 211 miles to lake Manosarovar at the foot of Mt. Kailash, in the Himalayas to learn Yoga from Ram Mohana Brahmacari who became his teacher. He left Manosarovar seven and a half years later at the command of his guru to share his wisdom with society.

Being a master in disciplines, Krishnamacharya was offered high scholastic positions in great institutes of learning and in courts of Kings. But he chose to be a teacher, the promise he made to his yoga teacher.

On many occasions he demonstrated the world the great potentials of yoga, in different areas of health and control over oneself. The most prominent among them was being able to stop the heart beat for more than two minutes, using yogic practices. With his vast learnings in yoga as well as other systems of Indian philosophy, he emphasized that the practice of yoga must be adapted to the individuals, and not the individual to yoga. This was probably one of his most significant contributions in the field of health and healing, through yoga.

Krishnamacharya lived over a hundred years and continued to teach till the last few days before his death.