The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram “revolutionised yoga practice”

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Wednesday, Jul 08, 2009
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Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram “revolutionised yoga practice”

Staff Reporter

Meeting organised in honour of T.K.V. Desikachar

KYM moving to its new premises
It is the first yoga institute to receive
ISO 9001:2000 certification

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Facets of personality: Cinematographer Madhu Ambat inaugurating a photo exhibition on T.K.V. Desikachar, founder, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, in Chennai on Tuesday. Mr. Desikachar and N. Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu, are in the picture.

CHENNAI: In the 60s and 70s, when yoga was practised only by a small section of people, even in India, T.K.V. Desikachar quit his job as an engineer and embarked on a journey in yoga.

In 1976 he founded Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) which “revolutionised the yoga practice in the country,” said Kausthub Desikachar, co-founder of Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation, narrating how the KYM was founded.

He was speaking at a meeting in honour of Mr. Desikachar here on Tuesday, on the occasion of KYM moving to its new premises.

During the event, a photographic exhibition on Mr. Desikachar titled “Portraits of a Grand Master” was inaugurated by cinematographer Madhu Ambat.

The photographs in the exhibition were by Mr. Kausthub, son of Mr. Desikachar. The photographs spoke about the person behind the institution, Mr. Kausthub said, adding that each photograph expressed different facets of Mr. Desikachar’s personality.

Mr. Desikachar was “someone who is the great torch-bearer of the timeless legacy of the great Yogacharya Krishnamacharya,” said N. Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu, who was the guest of honour.

Mr. Desikachar had learnt yoga from his guru and father Yogacharya Krishnamacharya.

Mr. Desikachar’s method, like his father’s, was different, said Mr. Murali. Unlike many institutes who marketed yoga as an “over-the-counter” prescription for everyone, KYM believed that yoga had to be adapted to the individual and not vice-versa, he said.

The treatment was holistic, as both the mental and physical well-being of the individual was attended to, he said.

Expressing his thanks to his teacher and father, Mr. Desikachar said that he had not intended to take up yoga. Owing to a chance meeting with a disciple of his father who was cured of eight-year sleeplessness, he had decided to take up yoga.

Mr. Desikachar pioneered many innovations in the field of yoga, said Mr. Kausthub. He formulated the system of teaching yoga by drawing stick figures to convey various postures, he said, adding that it was a common practice in yoga teaching now.

Mr. Desikachar was also involved in the philosophy of yoga, he said, adding that he had translated many treatises to make them accessible. KYM was the first yoga institute to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification, said Mr. Kausthub.

Apart from teaching yoga, the institute was also involved in yoga research and had programmes for children with special needs, he said.

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