Yoga is an ancient practice dating back thousands of years, with its roots in India, and has been passed down through the ages by many important yoga masters, creating new lineages and styles of yoga.
Some of the most famous and respected yoga masters are;
Patanjali, who wrote the Yoga Sutras, a classic yoga text outlining the fundamental principles and teachings of yoga, and the creator of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
B.K.S. Iyengar, who was one of the first yoga teachers to bring yoga to the West and is known for his emphasis on precision and alignment in yoga postures, creator of Iyengar Yoga.
Sri Krishnamacharya, who is considered the “father of modern yoga” and is known for his focus on adapting yoga to the individual needs of each student. Some of his students were B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, his son T.K.V. Desikachar and later Indra Devi, who created the yoga postures and routines used today.
Swami Sivananda, who was a spiritual teacher and founder of the Divya Jivan Sangha Order and is known for his focus on the practice of yoga as a way to achieve spiritual realisation and inner peace.
Swami Vishnudevananda, who was a disciple of Swami Sivananda and founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, which promote the practice of yoga as a way to improve physical and mental health and well-being.
Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, yoga teacher and founder of Golden Bridge Yoga in Los Angeles, is known for her focus on the practice of yoga as a means of personal transformation and spiritual growth.
Indra Devi was an actress and yoga teacher known as “The First Lady of Yoga”. Devi is known for being one of the first women to teach yoga professionally and for helping to promote yoga in South America and the United States.
These are just a few examples of the many important yoga teachers who have contributed to the practice and teaching of yoga to create what we know today as yoga in the West.
Many of the lineages, teachings and styles that we teach at the centre come from these teachers and their experiences.
Namasté.
