tkv desikachar 1938 - 2016

yet another bright lamp of yoga is extinguished
tkv desikachar  ~

founder of
The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram 
(click here)
in madras, india..now chennai..

sri desikachar was the son of krishnamacharaya..
the guru of pattabhi jois, bks iyengar and so many more..

desikachar was a simple direct teacher who brought
forth the practice of one to one teaching..
offering individual practices and therapeutic sessions ..
begin where you are..
adapting the postures to the needs of the student..

breath is the heart of yoga ~ 
he would say over and again..
he was a master of sound ..
vedic chanting - a passion..

he was the primary teacher of j. krishnamurti..
whom desikachar said..
taught him how to be a student of yoga.. (!)

desikachar stayed the course that yoga was yoga..
not a brand nor a type..
we practice yoga..simply yoga..

when asked -
what kind of yoga do you teach?
i will always say:
~ starts with a Y and ends in an A ~

when you call yourself an indian or a muslim 
or a christian or a european, or anything else,
you are being violent.
do you see why it is violent?
because you are separating yourself
from the rest of mankind.
when you separate yourself by belief, 
by nationality, by tradition,
it breeds violence.
one who is seeking to understand violence 
does not belong to any country,
to any religion, to any political party or partial system;
he/she is concerned with the total understanding
of mankind.
                   j. krishnamurti

i am grateful and honored to have been in his presence..
to have been his student  ..
a student of clarity and simplicity and kindness..
my head to his feet, i bow ~