Bedeni Eğitmek, Zihni Eğitmek, Ruhu Eğitmek. Yoga öğretisinin üç temel sacayağıdır bunlar. İçimizdeki ruhumuzla dışımızdaki varlığı aynı anda duyumsadığımızın farkındalığıdır. Manevi dünyamızı yetkinleştirmek, ruhun sonsuz makamına erişebilimek için bıkmadan usanmadan bedeni eğitmek, zihni eğitmek, ruhu eğitmektir Yoga'nın yolu.. Ta ki tüm evren tek bir ruh olana kadar. Yaşayan en büyük yoga ustalarında B. K. S. İyengar'ın yoga derslerinden derlenmiş bu kitapta tenimizin yüzeyinden ruhumuzun enginliğine götüren bilgiler keşfedeceksiniz. Bu kitapta İyengar usta eski metinlerden yola çıkarak Yoga'nın ne amaca hizmet ettiğinden, Yoga'nın sağlık yönünden. Yoga ile Ayurveda ilişkisinden, Yoga'nın şifa sanatından söz ediyor. Yoga öğretisi açısından sevgi ve evliliğin ne anlama geldiğinden, aile yaşamından, çocuklardan, yaşlılıktan söz ediyor. Ruhsallığın merkezine erişebilmek için neden bedenimizi eğitmemiz, zihnimizi temizlememiz gerektiğinden... Ve daha da ötesi Yoga'nın gündelik yaşamla bütünleştirilmesinden söz ediyor. Yeni başlayanlar için olduğu kadar, deneyimli uygulayıcılar için de yol gösterici bir kılavuz.
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.
Bu kitabı okuyarak yoga ne demek, yoganın katmanları nelerdir, meditasyon nedir, yoga ile ayurveda tıp arasındaki farklılıkları, yoganın bir çok sanatı barındırdığını ( görsel,ruhsal,şifa sanatı gibi) öğrenebilirsiniz. İkinci bölümdeki “ağaç ve bölümler” kısmı yoganın katmanlarını bir ağaca benzetmesi çok hoş. Yoga yaptıkça, toprağa atılan bir tohumun çabası, çabanın farkındalığı ve bu farkındalık sonucunda da sevinci olan meyvelerini bizler de elde edebiliriz. Kitabın 90. Sayfasındaki “yoga;bilinci,zihni ve bedeni bütünleştirerek ruhu özgürleştirmenin bilimidir” tanımı ile Kitabın 142. Sayfasındaki “meditasyon bütünleşme,insanın birbirinden ayrı düşmüş parçalarının tekrar bir araya getirilmesidir” tanımı da çok güzel ve yerinde tanımlardır.