In 1976 I was shown a book by my then yoga teacher that had photos of a man doing such extreme poses that they almost turned me off taking up this method. Indeed, it took me three years to get myself along to a class taught by a senior Iyengar teacher, and then I got hooked for many years.
I’m a very slow learner, and it’s taken me years to get back to reading B.K.S. Iyengar’s ground-breaking tome, Light on Yoga. Now, I’ve picked it up again, and with fresh appreciation.
Imagine writing such a thorough and far-reaching book in the early 60’s? A book that includes:
• An introduction which is both pithy and accessible, elucidating the Bhagavad Gita, Hatha Yoga Pridipika, and The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
• The body of the book contains technical information on over 200 poses and breathing exercises, accompanied by wonderful stories related to the etymology of the pose names.
• Stunning photos showing the great man in all of his flexibility and precision
• Two appendices – one of them is a 3- course yoga program that could take one up to six years to complete (if ever!); and the other is a section on what we now call yoga therapy.
One the occasion of Mr. Iyengar’s 93rd birthday, I say, “Bravo!”