Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
Krishnamacharya at 100 years (1988)
Born	(1888-11-18)November 18, 1888 Chitradurga district, Mysore Kingdom
Died	February 28, 1989(1989-02-28) (aged 100) Madras, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Yoga teacher
Known for	The Father of Modern Yoga

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (November 18, 1888 – February 28, 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. Often referred to as "The Father of Modern Yoga," Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as one of the most influential yoga teachers of the 20th century and is credited with the revival of hatha yoga.

Krishnamacharya held degrees in all the six Vedic darśanas, or Indian philosophies. While under the patronage of the King of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Krishnamacharya traveled around India giving lectures and demonstrations to promote yoga, including such feats as stopping his heartbeat. He is widely considered as the architect of vinyāsa, in the sense of combining breathing with movement. Underlying all of Krishnamacharya’s teachings was the principle “Teach what is appropriate for an individual.” While he is revered in other parts of the world as a yogi, in India Krishnamacharya is mainly known as a healer who drew from both ayurvedic and yogic traditions to restore health and well-being to those he treated. He authored four books on yoga—Yoga Makaranda (1934), Yogaasanagalu (c. 1941),Yoga Rahasya, and Yogavalli (Chapter 1 – 1988)—as well as several essays and poetic compositions.

Some of Krishnamacharya's students include many of yoga’s most renowned teachers: B.N.S. Iyengar(1927-) still teaching Ashtanga in Mysore studied directly with Krishnamacharya in Mysore Jagan Mohan Palace from 1943 to 1948. B. K. S. Iyengar ( 1918-2014) studied with Krishnamacharya in Mysore Jagan Mohan Palace from 1943 to 1948.T. K. V. Desikachar (1938-2016), Indra Devi (1899–2002), K. Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009), A. G. Mohan (born 1945), and Srivasta Ramaswami, Avathuta H. H. Guru Dileepji Maharaj (born 1969).

Krishnamacharya was born on November 18, 1888 in Muchukundapuram, situated in the Chitradurga district of present-day Karnataka, in South India, to an orthodox Iyengar family. His parents were Sri Tirumalai Srinivasa Tatacharya, a well-known teacher of the Vedas, and Shrimati Ranganayakiamma. Krishnamacharya was the eldest of six children. He had two brothers and three sisters. At the age of six, he underwent upanayana. He then began learning to speak and write Sanskrit, from texts such as the Amarakosha and to chant the Vedas under the strict tutelage of his father. Krishnamacharya's father also taught him asanas and pranayama.